Homo Ludens Podcast

We’re Back to Berg baby! After a mixed experience crossing the mountains, the boys are trying one of Berg’s takes on Antietam, arguably the most influential battle of the American Civil War. Originally published in 1995, the same year as the first GMT edition of Three Days of Gettysburg which would spawn the modern era of GBACW, and substantially revised in 2002, Glory is a light hex and counter from one of our favorite designers. Will we like it more than GBACW? You can probably already guess!

Stonewall Jackson has had his way, and now, thanks to the recovery of some lost orders, the boys are in Maryland fighting over a couple of gaps in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Can Stuart break through the rebel lines or will he suffer the ignominious fate of performing worse than McClellan did? Listen on to hear what they think about this John Poniske design on the Battle of South Mountain, its Rick Barber map, and the beginnings of the Maryland Campaign.

This episode the gang are headed back to Manassas along Stonewall Jackson's Way (2), part of the venerable Great Campaigns of the American Civil War. Will they roll high enough to get there? Can they manage their fatigue? And most of all, do they like it enough to pay the cost? Listen to find out!

Having finally reached the end of the second day, the gang emerges from the woods of Shiloh battered but miraculously still alive. For the second time they pushed some blocks around and rolled some dice, and compare Columbia's take on Shiloh with the games they have played before. Do wooden components make for the best woods? Which Shiloh game did Pierre and Stuart like best? Answers to these questions and more lie within the final episode of Season 1 of We Intend to Move on Your Works.

It is once again April 1862 and Pierre and Stuart are lost in the woods near Shiloh Church. This time it is with the far less complex Shiloh 1862 from Worthington Publishing. How will they fair with naught but eight pages of rules to guide them? Will Stuart get extremely angry about the woods again? Was Albert Sidney Johnston's death a turning point in the war? Listen to find out as the deep dive into the Battle of Shiloh continues!

The boys decided to take a break from their chronological playthrough and mark the 160th anniversary of Gettysburg with a game about James Longstreet. Unfortunately, they got a little carried away and are still recovering from their wounds - Pierre insists the amputation was unnecessary but this podcast adheres to only the highest standards of historical accuracy. After some delay, please enjoy our thoughts on Hermann Luttmann's Blind Swords system and what it has to say about the second day of the Civil War's most famous battle.

In this episode things heat up as the team takes an extra spicy look at the venerable giant of American Civil War gaming: Great Battles of the American Civil War. The discussion centers primarily on the latest entry in the series, Into the Woods, which covers the Battle of Shiloh in early 1862, but addresses many parts of the series as a whole (at least in its most recent incarnation). Includes free vexillology lesson and extensive discussion of slavery, listener discretion is advised.

Episode 4: Montreal's Revenge sees the return of Alexandre as host while the boys discuss Amabel Holland's intriguing hex and counter game, Seven Pines; or, Fair Oaks. Amabel brings her trademark creativity and love of brittle design to this treatment to the largest battle in the Virginia theater to date, and the one that would unintentionally give Robert E. Lee his command. There's obviously plenty to discuss, and discuss it we shall!

In this spin-off series, a southerner and two Frenchmen play through the American Civil War in approximately chronological order, discussing the Lost Cause and how wargames have chosen to portray what is arguably the United States' most significant war as they play each game.

For this episode we're keeping things operational with the Late Unpleasantness by Steve Ruwe. Pierre and Stuart played The Gates of Richmond scenario about the Seven Days Battles and had... a time that's for sure. Join us as we chat Lee vs McClellan and how even something as seemingly small as a name can imply allegiance to one side or the other!

A Homo Ludens podcast exclusive episode where we talk about somewhat historical board games related stuff we read, watched and play in April 2023 and collectively review our game of the month: Polis, an intriguing euro-wargame on the Peloponnesian War.

Part 1: 00:00 - cultural debrief with Joe Dewhurst.

Watched: White Noise, Banshees of Inisherin, The first Cow, Aloners etc...

Played: Frosthaven, Land and Freedom, Maria, Hegemony... 

Musical Interlude: 50:47 LCD Soundsystem - New Body Rhumba

Part 2: 54:22 - Collective review of April's 2023 “Club de jeu” game, Polis, released by Devir, designed by Fran Diaz.

Guests for the discussion: Deborah, Joe Byer, Russ.

Outro: 01:41:26 Meryem Aboulouafa - Ya Qalbi

To become part of the Homo Ludens community & support the show, send me a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/homoludens1871

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/homoludens1871