Boardgames To Go

Opener: Pack O Game (especially BOO and DIG from Set #2) Closer: Tabletopia As you might have seen, I was lucky enough to participate in a few recent episodes of Game Night! when the gang discussed the recent game awards: Spiel des Jahres, Kinderspiel des Jahres, and Kennerspiel des Jahres. Although I was able to share some of my opinions & experiences with the games on those videos, I have more to say on my own podcast...and here it is.

Kennerspiel des Jahres Raiders of the North Sea nominee Exit: The Game winner! Terraforming Mars nominee (and my favorite) Kinderspiel des Jahres Captain Silver nominee Ice Cool winner! The Mysterious Forest nominee (and my favorite) Spiel des Jahres Magic Maze nominee The Quest for El Dorado nominee Kingdomino winner! (and my favorite) -Mark

Opener: Aton I'm back in California now, since my work in France is done. All told, we were there about nine months. That's a little shorter than the year originally planned, but clearly we enjoyed a wonderful experience. I was there for my job, and the job changed a bit (for the better), which is why we came home "early." All of that time was spent in Paris. It was the move to Toulouse that didn't happen. As my wife Candy says, we'll just have to go there on vacation some day. Before we left France, however, we recorded a podcast with our good friends Melissa & Olivier. They were the first people who responded to my invitation for a Light/Short group. Not only did they become our most reliable boardgamers in the group, they also became our best friends in France. It was difficult to say goodbye, but I'm confident we'll see them again. As you'll hear, they're new to the hobby, very enthusiastic, and are starting to attend big events in the hobby. They'll return to the UK Games Expo at the end of this week, may go to Essen later, and will no doubt start attending the game events in France. If their careers bring them back to New York, then I expect we'll see them at the American game events, too. I enjoy hearing how my friends got into the hobby, and this interview has the added benefit of Olivier's international perspective. Anyone who wishes their spouse played more boardgames will be green with envy when you hear how these two enjoy the hobby together. Wow!

Other mentions: New York 1901 with its artwork like bande dessinée London Notre Dame Risk (which originated as the French game, La Conquête du Monde) Ticket to Ride: USA, Europe, and UK Paris Connection TransEuropa (Polish edition) First Class: All Aboard the Orient Express! French game groups & meeting places: English Speaking Boardgamers of Paris Cafe Meisia Anticafé Beaubourg Joueurs Anonymes

Say hi to Melissa & Olivier if you see them at the UK Games Expo

Closer: Our international hobby -Mark

Opener: A light wargame! Miracle on the Loire: Joan of Arc

My buddy DaveO has been on the podcast before, talking about euro gaming at Essen, or if any games are good for five players. Like most of us, he's played an overwhelming number of strategy boardgames over the years. The didn't include wargames, though he was kind of curious about them. In 2016 he was "tricked" into going to GMT Games' Warehouse at the Weekend, and found himself first horrified by and later part of the wargaming going on there. This makes him a good ambassador to regular boardgamers who don't think in terms of hexagons, Combat Results Tables, and lines of supply. He still remembers watching "pipe-smoking history professors" stick their noses in rulebooks while little happened on their gameboards, an activity that didn't look fun at all. That's not exactly the kind of wargaming he's doing now, but DaveO definitely HAS become a wargamer. Are you wondering what all the fuss is about Falling Sky, Churchill, or W1815?

Whether you are looking to dive into the deep end of wargaming, or just want to see what a smaller/shorter wargame can be like, I hope this conversation between DaveO and I can give you some answers. Definitely also look at Jim Cote's excellent blog post, Wargames: Barriers to Entry. I agree with all but two points of it. Which two points? Let's discuss in the comments. Closer: Heading back to California

Opener: Paris Connection A quick, solo show to catch up on some things. If you've been following my (sort of) weekly session report geeklists, or on social media (twitter, facebook), you'll know that I've been boardgaming with a group I created for Monday nights in Paris. It focuses on light/short games, and has an ulterior motive--it's a good outing for couples. My mostly non-gamer wife even goes with me to these! We're having a good time, and meeting good people. Besides that, I also want to share some of my other observations about being a gamer in France, now that I'm at or past the half-way point of my time over here. Links English-Speaking Boardgamers of Paris (Meetup, Facebook) Okkazeo (French used boardgame marketplace) TricTrac Festival International des Jeux-Cannes Closer: (Finally) figuring out the right kind of games for the players you've got -Mark

David Thompson (Skirmish_Tactics) Chris Marling (hairyarsenal)

Opener: Mansions of Madness (2nd edition), TIME Stories, Terraforming Mars, Great Western Trail This is really a double-episode. In the second half we talk about more Essen titles, and the experience of my two guests who attended from England. However, these aren't just any two guests--they are collaborative game designers. Their big release at Essen 2016 was Armageddon, and they tell about the experiences designing, pitching, and launching the game. Along the way there are other stories about the collaborative design process, and how those designer-publisher pitch meetings go behind-the-scenes at Essen. It's a fascinating discussion.

Then I asked them to share just a handful of particular titles they acquired and enjoyed from the event. More good stuff.

Closer: The pitfalls of looking at BGG ratings without context; the Splendor app...and its achievement system; does a game become classic when people forget the rules? -Mark

Opener: skipped this time, because we cover so many games in the main show My last episode of 2016 is going to (pretty much!) wrap up my coverage of BGGcon. Two more SoCal friends join me across many miles & timezones to share their experiences at the convention. It's a very game-specific episode, with many titles discussed. They're pictured below, but you really should follow along with their geeklists (linked below). This brings another year and season of Boardgames To Go to a close. I'll definitely be back in January to kick off the next season. When I moved to France for my job mid-year, I really wasn't sure what would happen with the podcast. I knew I WANTED to keep it going, but could I? Yes! It may even be possible that I've put out more episodes than I would've at home (especially if you include Wargames To Go, which is on a roll.) Thanks to all of my listeners who stuck with me another year.

Brian's Geeklist of the following games & star ratings Dave's Geeklist of the following games & star ratings

Closer: skipped this, too, because we talk about "meta" stuff throughout the episode -Mark

(Gregarius)

Opener: skipped this time, because we cover so many games in the main show As before 2014, I was not able to attend BGGcon myself, so lived vicariously through my friends there. Greg is an "every timer" at BGGcon, and many of those years we've talked over Skype afterward about the games he played there. I know Greg--he keeps a pocket notebook with him to at least record the titles he plays, and maybe a thought or two about them. Later that helps him construct a geeklist with all of those games, and a simple, first-impression 5-star rating for how he felt about the play. You can follow along to that geeklist while listening, or refer to it later if you need it.

Closer: Improving AI in boardgame apps, and the BGGcon Puzzle Hunt -Mark

Opener: Saint Malo The gig in France that allowed me to go to Essen last month has a downside--I had to cancel my plans to attend BGGcon. I'd attended the big event in Dallas last two years and was eager to make a third year in a row. Instead, I had to skip it this time, and follow remotely like so many others in the hobby.

(Gregarius) Dave OConnor (daveo1234) Ryan Wheeler (Ryan Wheeler) Spielgeek.com (elschmear) Rick Byrens (civplayer)

Luckily, my buddies were willing to take a break from their fun to record a long-distance podcast with me. While they were being night owls at BGGcon's Saturday night, I woke up early in France to dial in. Several of them gathered around an iPhone and told me about their time at the event. Greg Pettit always does this with me (and that's still an upcoming episode), and he took the reins to direct a meta-conversation about BGGcon itself. Later we wrapped up with some specific game recommendations.

Closer: Light/Short/Couples Game Group in Paris, combined with Joueurs Anonymes at the Anticafé Beaubourg -Mark

Opener: Bohnanza Das Duell A solo episode where I get to tell stories about Essen 2016 and reflect on my own experiences there. If you followed my Twitter feed during or after the event (on my blog), you may already know what I'm going to say. If you've listened to my podcast for a while, you know that I like taking the long view of our hobby, looking back a decade or more to gain more context about what's happening now. In this case, I have my own personal long view to take, since I was at Essen once before, back in 2003. That was before I had a podcast, yet I still reflected on my experience in an online magazine article. I've recently re-posted that article on my blog here at BGG. I don't think it's the best aspect of our hobby, but it's undeniable that "show us the loot" photos and lists are part of the Essen experience. There's more buying than playing at this event, as far as I can tell. Ok, here are mine:

Land in Zicht! (Dutch version of Entdecker), Saint Malo, Mont Saint Michel, Airborne Commander, Evolution The Beginning, Hanabi promo, Happy Salmon, Astronuts, Visby, Fünf Gurken, Romans Go Home!, misc game bits, Port Royal Unterwegs!, Jolly & Roger, Camel Up Cards, Las Vegas Card Game, X Nimmt!, Bohnanza Das Duell, Futschikato, Twins, Honshu, HMS Dolores, and my Spiel coffee mug!

Closer: Light/Short/Couples Game Group in Paris -Mark

Against my own expectations, I ended up recording a podcast WHILE I was at Spiel 2016 in Essen. My buddies DaveO and Steve joined me just outside the Messe convention hall for an open-air recording this afternoon. Now I'm editing it and posting it while on on wifi with the train back "home" to Paris. This is a seat-of-the-pants episode, just giving you a feel for what the impressions are DURING the actual event, when general impressions and incomplete information are the name of the game! (Shoot, I forgot about my opener/closer framework AGAIN! This was MY idea! I'll get better at that.) By the way, I also recorded a segment with Doug Garrett for HIS longstanding podcast, Garrett's Games & Geekiness. I'm just one of a few people he talks to for that upcoming episode. Check it out. Games mentioned: Papà Paolo, Key to the City - London, Great Western Trail, Railroad Revolution, Qwixx Das Duel, Life is Life, Take That,Kuhhandel Das Brettspiel, GLÜX, World Monuments, Checkpoint Charlie, 13 Clues, HMS Dolores, Camel Up Cards, X Nimmt!, Bohnanza Das Duell,Twins, Port Royal Unterwegs!, Fuji Flush, 23, Mea Culpa, Area 51: Top Secret -Mark P.S. Maybe later I'll upload some of the photos I sent out over social media while I was there. In them meantime, you can see them all here. http://twitter.com/BoardgamesToGo