Cocktails – Meeples And Wine

Hey, and welcome back to Meeples & Wine! We’re Michael and Suzy, and this is your favorite spot for board game reviews for couples, with a drink in hand.

This week, we went fully thematic. We’re reviewing a cocktail-making board game, so naturally, we had to skip the wine and mix up a cocktail!

We’re sipping on a Mescalita, and it’s a fantastic smoky, citrusy, and spicy combo. If you want to make one at home while you listen, here’s the recipe!

What You’ll Need:

The notes for this drink suggest pairing it with smoked meats, cheese, chocolate, tropical fruits, or even spicy curries.

The game on our table this week is The Mix by Ruse Games.

You play as a brand-new recruit at the famous Foxtrot Bar, and your goal is to become the top mixologist. You’ll be honing your skills, learning new recipes, and serving customers to earn the most Victory Points (VP).

It’s a strategic, cocktail-themed game that blends engine building, resource management, and worker placement.

Here are the quick stats:

The game is all about efficiently using your “Mixologist” workers. On your turn, you take actions like:

The “engine building” part really kicks in during the Setup phase at the end of your round. This is when you get bonuses from your Setup Track, your unique Mixologist Card, and your Technique cards.

The game end is triggered once 15 total Clients have been completed. You tally up your VP from completed orders, set collection bonuses, and remaining money, and the highest score wins!

A quick note: The rulebook we saw was still marked as a “Work in Progress,” so some final rules might change.

We look for the coolest games coming out on crowdfunding sites, and this one is heading to Gamefound! You can back it HERE!

That’s all for this week! What do you think of the Mescalita recipe? Are you planning on backing The Mix? We want to hear from you!

If you loved the show, the best thing you can do is share it with a friend.

See you next time on Meeples and Wine!

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This episode Michael and Suzy spend their Easter afternoon playing Ruse Game’s recent release Bunny Boom, fresh out of their crowdfunding on Gamefound! Your quiet village is being overrun by hordes of soft and cuddly rabbits and you work to push as many as you can to your opponent’s board! Lay your cards down on the board to build the village, matching suits to close out the space so no more cards can be played, or don’t match suits to play that card that may win you the game, but you’ll get more bunnies as a penalty! Force your opponent to take the carrot, which adds more bunnies, and you can use the burrow and the fox to add even more buns! The one with the least bunnies wins!

We also taste a traditional Easter brunch cocktail, the mimosa, but with a twist! From Coffee and Champaign, it’s the French 75 Mimosa. With a dash of lemon juice and citrus simple syrup, along with gin this is a delicious alternative to your standard sparkling wine and orange juice. We used Conniption American Dry gin with this one, after tasting it at the local store (Thanks Paul!) it’s citrus rind and spicy nose complemented the drink nicely!

The Final Call for the week is Cleaning Service – Print and Play!

If you’ve got a game that you’d like us to demo get in touch at [email protected], at our Twitter (@Meeplesandwine) or Facebook or if you’d like to leave us a voicemail you can go to 

https://www.speakpipe.com/MeeplesandWine or call at (707) 572-5282!

You can also check out our quicklinks page! https://podcast.show/meeplesandwine/

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Welcome to episode 80! This time around we’re playing the deck-drafting game Smash Up! by Alderac Entertainment Group. This 2-4 player game pits all the teams that you’ve wanted to see fighting against each other to lay claim to bases to score 15 victory points to win. Have you ever wanted to play Zombie Truckers, Kung-Fu Sheep, or Robot 70’s Vigilantes? All possible in Smash Up!

This episode we’re also not tasting a wine, but a cocktail, the Whiskey Smash (see the connection?) This simple cocktail with only a few ingredients, whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup and mint. It’s easy to make and has a nice sweet/sour flavor that goes well with just chilling out and playing your favorite game.

The Kickstarter last call is the Fallen London RPG based off the long running online text-based game of the same name. Venture into the world of Fallen London, which now sits at the bottom of a miles deep chasm, where demons and monsters dwell.

We also have an actual voicemail line now! Call us at 707-572-5282 and leave us a message!

If you’ve got a game that you’d like us to demo get in touch at [email protected], at our Twitter (@Meeplesandwine) or Facebook or if you’d like to leave us a voicemail you can go to 

https://www.speakpipe.com/MeeplesandWine or call at (707) 572-5282!

You can also check out our quicklinks page! https://podcast.show/meeplesandwine/

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This week Michael and Suzy play Shadows Amsterdam, from Libellud games, an abstract clue giving game where players guide their teams across the map to discover clues, avoid the police, and find their client before their opponents do (or the timer completes!) That’s our Amazon Associates link up there, if you use it we will get some cash from it!

Instead of a wine, we taste a mixed drink this week, the Phillip Marlowe Gimlet. This sweet tart drink made of Bombay Gin and Rose’s Lime Juice, with roots going back to the 1800s!

If you’ve got a game that you’d like us to demo get in touch at [email protected], at our Twitter (@Meeplesandwine) or Facebook or if you’d like to leave us a voicemail you can go to 

https://www.speakpipe.com/MeeplesandWine or call at (707) 572-5282!

You can also check out our quicklinks page! https://podcast.show/meeplesandwine/

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Heading in for the haunting season we have our first on show mixed drink and get into the world of cocktails with “The Gargoyle.” This classic 1920s drink takes center stage as we uncover the history of the Gargoyle Club, a legendary haunt for bohemian aristocrats and socialites founded by David Tennant. We discuss the picture of this iconic club’s ambiance and its transformation over the years, including its famous elevator and notable visitors, from Fred Astaire to Nick Cave. We also discuss the interesting history of the Gargoyle Club, emphasizing its significance in the 1920s social scene and it’s place in recent history.

In this episode, we dove into the world of Disney’s Gargoyles Awakening board game, and it was quite the adventure. Gargoyles fans from the ’90s will appreciate the nostalgic trip back to New York with Goliath and the gang. The game had a good balance of strategy and action, although it could get a bit frustrating at times, especially when playing with just two players. The villains, particularly Demona, seemed a bit overpowered, making our battles challenging. We tried various strategies, like doubling up on characters, but it was still tough. The game’s components, including the detailed plastic figurines and the 3D buildings, added to the immersion. However, the board felt a bit cramped, and the rules could have been clearer. Overall, it’s a fun game, but it’s best enjoyed with more players to balance the action. We gave it a rating of 6.5 out of 10 and concluded that it’s worth a try for Gargoyles fans, even though it may have a few rough edges.

For our Last Call, Suzy has found a captivating mystery game called “The Great Tea Robbery,” which offers an immersive mystery adventure. This game features unique components like tea, porcelain bowls and cups, and a wooden box filled with intriguing ephemera. Players will unravel the mystery while retracing Robert Fortune’s journey through China, adding a historical and thrilling twist to the gameplay. It’s a high-quality experience with plenty of replayability, making it worth the investment.

Next, Michael discusses “Faceless Amusement Park,” a game that takes an eerie turn as players try to reclaim stolen memories from a demon haunting the park. The game uses a unique magnetic compass mechanism to control elements on the board. While the concept and visuals are appealing, we’re uncertain about how well the magnet feature functions in gameplay. He also mentions a related game, “Faceless,” with a similar magnetic mechanism. Overall, it’s an intriguing game with some mysteries of its own.

If you’ve got a game that you’d like us to demo get in touch at [email protected], at our Twitter (@Meeplesandwine) or Facebook or if you’d like to leave us a voicemail you can go to 

https://www.speakpipe.com/MeeplesandWine or call at (707) 572-5282!

You can also check out our quicklinks page! https://podcast.show/meeplesandwine/

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Welcome to the bloodiest of our shows so far! We’re tasting Pernod Ricard Lillet Rouge, a French fortified wine that can be drunk as an aperitif or as a mixer in such beverages as the Vesper Martini and the Corpse Reviver #2! We chose this one due to it’s being a favorite drink of a certain literary character that segues nicely into the game of the week! (Listen to find out this one!)

Out wandering the streets one night we came across a game store that we had not visited before, Treasures in Naperville! This fine establishment is run by a very entertaining chap named Mike, who is quite the game enthusiast!

He directed us to the game Psycho Killer from Escape Tabletop Games, a 2-6 player card game that finds everyone as a character in an 80’s horror film! You’ll find yourself playing cards such as “Let’s Split Up!”, “Slam the Door!” and “Disarm” all while trying to avoid the 5 Psycho Killers wandering around the deck.

For Last Call Suzanne has found the DohicKey, a palm sized hotswappable, programmable, six key pad you can hold in your hand. Michael brings Weirdwood Manor, an co-op adventure in time with a very clever circular spinning board!

If you’ve got a game that you’d like us to demo get in touch at [email protected], at our Twitter (@Meeplesandwine) or Facebook or if you’d like to leave us a voicemail you can go to 

https://www.speakpipe.com/MeeplesandWine or call at (707) 572-5282!

You can also check out our quicklinks page! https://podcast.show/meeplesandwine/

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This episode, Michael is still drinking 3 Floyds craft cocktails and has moved on to the Negroni, while not loved all that much by Suzy, it’s still a solid drink! (If this is too ginny for you try an Americano!) We discuss who you’d like to have when facing off against terrorists, demons or aliens, Jack Burton, MacReady, or John McClane?

We also talk about tabletop games based on movies, such as Die Hard: The Nakatomi Heist, The Thing:The Board Game, and Big Trouble in Little China: The Board Game!

If you’ve got a game that you’d like us to demo get in touch at [email protected], at our Twitter (@Meeplesandwine) or Facebook or if you’d like to leave us a voicemail you can go to 

https://www.speakpipe.com/MeeplesandWine or call at (707) 572-5282!

You can also check out our quicklinks page! https://podcast.show/meeplesandwine/

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Welcome to episode 20, where we try 3 Floyds Daiquiris and kittens in blenders for dessert!

Wait.

Let me rephrase. Welcome to episode 20, where we drink 3 Floyds Barnabus Lime Daiquiri (still not as good as a Hemmingway), and talk about the card game Kittens in a Blender and what are the best Thanksgiving desserts! Much better, kinda.

If you’ve got a game that you’d like us to demo get in touch at [email protected], at our Twitter (@Meeplesandwine) or Facebook or if you’d like to leave us a voicemail you can go to 

https://www.speakpipe.com/MeeplesandWine or call at (707) 572-5282!

You can also check out our quicklinks page! https://podcast.show/meeplesandwine/

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