🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Secret Societies by S J Macdonald. This is Sam's second ever solo design after Circadians: First Light. The aim of Secret Societies is to gain the most Power by outbidding and outsmarting your opponents to establish your institute as the one most deserving of total governance. Players step into the role of a highly unique Secret Society, equipped with various tools and abilities to help give them the edge over the competition. Over 7 Rounds you will gain Income, Bid for Deeds, deploy Agents, start Projects, make Investments, and seek to control the all-important Conferences. Secret Societies is currently live on Kickstarter here.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:06:16 - Intro
0:06:31 - Overview of Secret Societies
0:07:56 - Discussion of Secret Societies
1:05:03 - Questions for audience
1:13:35 - Top 200 Draft: 51-60

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss A Feast for Odin by Uwe Rosenberg. In A Feast for Odin, players Viking civilisations. In this game, you will raid and explore new territories. You will also engage in the day-to-day activity of collecting goods with which to achieve a financially secure position in society. In the end, the player whose possessions bear the greatest value will be declared the winner.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:04:41 - Intro
0:04:57 - Overview of A Feast for Odin
0:09:09 - Discussion of A Feast for Odin
1:05:03 - Questions for audience
1:05:23 - Top 200 Draft: 41-50

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this anniversary episode marking one year of Lens and Veil, they answer a variety of questions provided by fans in the Garphill Discord.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Intro
0:00:55 - Which would you prefer?
0:05:36 - Quick Fire with Shem
0:08:48 - Q&A and Discussion
1:11:17 - Top 200 Draft: 31-40

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Underwater Cities by Vladimír Suchý. In Underwater Cities, players represent the most powerful brains in the world, brains nominated due to the overpopulation of Earth to establish the best and most livable underwater areas possible. Players take worker placement actions, trying to combine the action with correctly coloured cards in order to gain both bonuses. The game is made up of 10 rounds but with production only occurring 3 times during the game.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:06:12 - Intro
0:06:29 - Overview of Underwater Cities
0:10:12 - Discussion of Underwater Cities
0:54:43 - Questions for audience
0:55:11 - Top 200 Draft: 21-30

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss The Anarchy, and are joined by the game's designer Bobby Hill. In The Anarchy, players take on the role of English nobles loyal to King Stephen during the civil war. Over five rounds, players must build their domain, defend their castle from attacks by the approaching Angevin armies, and storm strongholds loyal to Matilda with their own crafted siege weapons.

You can purchase The Anarchy at garphill.com.

You can find out more about about Bobby's upcoming games on his website here.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Intro
0:00:28 - Which would you prefer?
0:05:06 - Overview of The Anarchy
0:07:06 - Discussion of The Anarchy
0:53:00 - Questions for audience
0:53:25 - Top 200 Draft: 11-20

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Civolution by Stefan Feld. Civolution is a heavy euro-style sandbox game that uses a dice selection mechanism to trigger actions on a tech tree-like structure. The game has many strategies and paths to victory. Each time you play, you will only explore a fraction of the possibilities that the game’s system and many cards provide.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:10:37 - Intro
0:10:55 - Overview of Civolution
0:20:10 - Discussion of Civolution
0:59:39 - Questions for audience
0:59:58 - Top 200 Draft: 1-10

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this special episode they discuss the nominees for the Kennerspiel Des Jahres 2025: Looot by Charles Chevallier and Laurent Escoffier, Endeavor: Deep Sea by Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray, and Faraway by Johannes Goupy and Corentin Lebrat. They each talk about some things they loved or liked and one thing they disliked about each game, then they each answer the questions: "Which do you think will win?", "Which do you think deserves to win?", and "Which would you like to win?".

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:05:29 - Intro
0:06:06 - Discussion of Looot
0:27:57 - Discussion of Endeavor: Deep Sea
0:56:45 - Discussion of Faraway
1:11:23 - Predictions Introduction
1:11:46 - Which game will win?
1:15:11 - Which game deserves to win?
1:17:56 - Which game would we like to win?

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Assyria Second Edition by Emanuele Ornella, Shem Phillips, and S J Macdonald. In Assyria Second Edition, each round players bid for turn order, expand on the map, and take various actions. After the third and sixth rounds, a flood will occur, wiping away everything along the two rivers. After the final flood, the player with the most points wins. You gain points primarily by building huts and ziggurats, making offerings, and increasing your influence.

Visit the Kickstarter

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:07:55 - Intro
0:08:15 - Discussion of Assyria Second Edition
1:11:55 - Questions for audience
1:12:19 - Kickstarter Overview

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Lost Ruins of Arnak by Elwen and Mín. Lost Ruins of Arnak combines deck-building and worker placement in a game of exploration, resource management, and discovery. In addition to traditional deck-builder effects, cards can also be used to place workers, and new worker actions become available as players explore the island.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:06:03 - Intro
0:06:22 - Overview of Lost Ruins of Arnak
0:11:30 - Discussion of Lost Ruins of Arnak
1:03:38 - Questions for audience
1:04:01 - Weekly Board Game Dilemma

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this special episode they perform a snake draft of board game designers into their 5-a-side team. They each need to choose at least 1 attacker, 1 midfielder, 1 defender and 1 new recruit.

Attackers: Designers who have the ability to make real hits, even if they're not always consistent.

Midfielders: Designers who have a wide variety and are prolific.

Defenders: Designers who mostly stay in their lane, but don't have many duds.

New Recruit: A new designer, or someone who hasn't designed many games.

📜Chapters:

• 0:00:00 - Intro
• 0:04:30 - Draft
• 0:40:49 - Captains
• 0:42:34 - Honourable Mentions
• 0:47:40 - A Dilemma!!

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠