Tonight on GeekNights, we review two games by the legendary Sid Sackson: Can't Stop (1980) and All My Diamonds (1969). They're both worth playing, but for different reasons. In the news, Overwatch League is in deep trouble along with much of the global esports ecosystem.Related LinksThings of the Day

• Rym - German Community Gardens (Schrebergarten)
• Scott - Chip Player JS

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss worker placement as a game mechanic. We intend to turn this into a series of shows and panels following on from Mastering Game Mechanics as presented at PAX East 2013. In the news, Marvel Snap's Conquest mode is fantastic, and Valve is dropping Battle Passes for Dota 2 because "nobody buys them."Related LinksForum Thread

• Game Mechanics: Worker Placement

Things of the Day

• Rym - its not always about the money spiderman
• Scott - Zone of Death

Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It's one of the best pieces of entertainment software ever made. 11/10. S-Tier. A case study in good game design. Just go play it if you aren't already. In the news, Overwatch 2 is banning 5,000 cheaters a week, Street Fighter 6's control modes are looking pretty good, and Wizards of the Coast called the Pinkertons on a youtuber.Related LinksForum Thread

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Things of the Day

• Rym - THE CARTWHEEL - Banned Shot Put Technique!
• Scott - Rating Strangers Shots

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider lore in games. You know, all that text you didn't read in the tooltips of the inventory. Or what characters told you in Half Life while you tried to clip out of the room. In the news, the Rangers begin their first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is a real game, SGDQ 2023 is imminent, and Ingress is getting a Monster Hunter skin.Related LinksForum Thread

• Lore

Things of the Day

• Rym - Do you want to take this train?
• Scott - High Pressure Water Main Repair

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Muneyuki Yokouchi's fantastic Cat in the Box. This is an S-tier trick taking game. A must-own. It takes about two minutes to teach (three if the player is unfamiliar with trick taking games) and we've had a blast with it so far.

In the news, the world is safer today as Finland formally joins NATO, a Florida man is indicted for fraud, Klaus Teuber, the designer of the timeless classic Settlers of Catan, has passed away at age 70, and the new D&D movie might be good.

Related LinksThings of the Day

• Rym - COFFEE IS AN EYE OPENER FOR SURE
• Scott - Resident Evil 4 Anime PV Resident Evil Masterpiece Theater

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Stacklands (2022). In the news, Counter-Strike 2 is likely coming, Disco Elysium gets a collage mode, and DPReview falls victim to Amazon layoffs and capitalism.Related LinksThing of the Day

• Rym - Masami Okui - Live in Hibiya 13 - Toki ni Ai wa (ITARU ver.).mpg

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss gamer furniture of the non-chair variety. In the news, Nintendo adds Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games to Switch Online, Microsoft adds Call of Duty to Nintendo, and Magic: The Gathering adds Lord of the Rings. We also streamed this show live on the Discord Stage in the official GeekNights Discord!Related LinksThings of the Day

• Rym - The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Season 1 (1989)
• Scott - Math Breakdown: Anime Homing Missiles

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss games that are not fully dead, but are mostly dead. Dance Dance Revolution (at home), the resurrected Netrunner, The Realm, Steel Battalion, and whatever game you're mad we didn't include in this short list just now. In the news, The Last Rockstars have debuted, Rym has a high opinion of the L-TEK EX PRO 2 DDR pad, the Nintendo Direct is tomorrow, and the Nintendo Switch is the third best-selling console of all time.Related LinksForum Thread

• GeekNights Tuesday - Mostly Dead Games

Things of the Day

• Rym - Wario Lore
• Scott - Turrican II PC-DOS Remake

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider teams. Playing on teams, forming teams, team sports, team games. All that team stuff. In the news, Dwarf Fortress with graphics is here (recall we interviewed Tarn Adams on GeekNights back in 2008), the FTC sues to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Blizzard will need someone new to offer World of Warcraft in China in a story that keeps evolving, and we hope Diablo 4 will let us click until we kill satan.Related LinksForum Thread

• GeekNights Tuesday - Playing on Teams

Things of the Day

• Rym - The Interesting Inertia of a Potato
• Scott - SEAHAC 2022

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss comms in games. Text chat, voice chat, open versus restricted, and the like. In the news, Pentiment is available, and Rym is obsessed with Disco Elysium.Related LinksForum Thread

• GeekNights Tuesday - Comms in Games

Things of the Day

• Rym - Digital database documents vital infrastructure created by the New Deal
• Scott - Adversarial Policies Beat Professional-Level Go AIs