Punching Cardboard

Hey kids, it's No-fun February, 2021 edition. And this February has been the most No-fun in years.

We've got your ice storms and power outages and never-ending pandemics and Criminal Orange-men still on the loose. All that and so much more.

However, rebels that we are, we try and make something out of this mess and talk some games, both video and board. We discuss some music and get back on track with the books. And yeah, yeah, we also gripe about and question everything else under the pandemic soaked sun. We are who we are after all.

Welcome to the fun-house! Enjoy all the mirrors.

ATTRACTIONS:

00:31:15 -- A Destiny 2 Session to Die for (over and over and over again)
00:52:23 -- Antike II
01:00:20 -- Race for the Chinese Zodiac
01:22:05 -- Slay the Spire
01:26:37 -- Some Renewed Energy, Baseball Draft Style
01:40:33 -- Not Too Long for Whatever it is
01:53:59 -- Tunes: Shame, The Besnard Lakes and Transatlantic Revisited
02:17:12 -- Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, by Olga Tokarczuk

Three games and four albums discussed.

This should be easier.

SELECTIONS:

00:14:05 -- The Online Boardgaming Space and Acquiescence
00:19:01 -- Res Arcana (revisited -- Joe's thoughts)
00:39:34 -- Praga Capvt Regni (in-depth)
01:23:28 -- Carnegie (first take, session)
02:20:02 -- Tunes: Goat Girl, Arlo Parks, Transatlantic, The Notwist

As 2021 seems an awful lot like 2020 we are still finding the time and energy to get some games to tables, both virtual and physical. And these games are surprising, entertaining and frustrating us in the ways they always do. Here are some stories about those games.

Some things change (someday) and the rest stays the same.

CHAPTERS:

00:29:07 -- Wir Sind das Volk: 2+2 (in-depth session)
01:01:41 -- Res Arcana and Res Arcana: Lux et Tenebrae (in-depth)
01:31:32 -- Dos Rios (in-depth)
01:47:10 -- Those Golden Moments
01:49:39 -- Tunes: Old School and New
02:10:16 -- Still-life Talking
02:37:24 -- Book Selections for January and February

This is a pretty rough and raw episode. We're fighting off the depths of despair, the height of a Pandemic, and an attack on our way of life from the people who are sworn to protect it. Can a two-mile high frog be the hero we need to get us through this episode. Tune in and find out.

DESPERATE MEASURES:

00:03:02 -- Polis, Fight for the Hegemony, 2nd edition
00:10:26 -- Siena
00:25:05 -- Angola (session report)
01:00:15 -- Cosmic Frog (in-depth)
02:07:25 -- Resolutions
02:09:05 -- Call to Post is a Dead Parrot
02:27:48 -- No More Windmills

It's almost over. This . . . year.

Nothing much to do other than gather up some lists of the things that got us through. We hope you dig it.

COUNTDOWN:

00:05:14 -- Best Games we played for the first time.
01:48:20 -- Whiskies of the Year
01:58:32 -- Best of the Book Club
02:06:37 -- Cat Intermission
02:08:15 -- The Music That Got Us Through the Year

It took us two tries to get this one right. Well, right might be too strong of a word. Lets swap that for recorded. Yeah, we finally got the episode recorded. I mean, right, ha, probably more like wrong, but you know how it is.

Anyway, on with the show.

ATTEMPTS:

00:15:35 -- The Listening Rooom (The Jesse Green Test)
01:12:10 -- Joe's Magical Gaming Experience (Abandon Ship!)
01:59:56 -- Destiny 2, The Ghost of Tsushima and many violent ends.

This episode marks the beginning of our 8th year ranting and raving about games (and books (and music (and life))).

We kick it into gear with some heavy discussions of almost all of the above. Pretty much, if it ain't broke. . . . or, if it is broke, lean into it.

TOAST:

00:19:09 -- Whiskies
00:22:48 -- Giving Thanks
00:26:36 -- Our Once and Future Books
00:33:13 -- On Listening
00:44:24 -- The Crack of Destiny
00:58:03 -- Hallertau Almost Got Me
01:02:10 -- Viscounts of the West Kingdom (in-depth)
01:46:33 -- The Cost (in-depth)
02:24:23 -- Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman

Favorite mechanics? Nah.

How about a discussion of a bunch of games and the one thing each of them offers to stand out from the crowd?

One thing in one game!

Yeah, we can get into that. Follow along, if you please.

THINGS (Not just One and Two):

00:04:22 -- The Election of the Century
00:26:45 -- A Brief Musical Interlude (technical difficulties)
00:28:39 -- Argent: The Consortium (a session)
00:32:20 -- Game news?? Terra Mystica Adjacent
00:38:09 -- One Thing in One Game (a list)

We're keeping it simple as we're back to remote recording. One Game. One book. One in-depth discussion.

Still over two hours of quality goodness. Enjoy.

CHAPTERS:

00:05:39 -- Tekhenu (in-depth)
01:21:39 -- Short takes: Smartphone Inc. expansion and Pax Porfiriana
01:32:51 -- Deacon King Kong by James McBride

One. Two Three. Four.

We front load this episode with four games discussed in detail, included are forays into adjacent concepts in gaming. After two hours of that nonsense we delve into some music and television that's enlightening our minds and enriching our lives.

Please enjoy.

VIEWING SCHEDULE:

00:04:25 -- Alma Mater
00:48:57 -- Worker Placement: Offensive???
00:55:55 -- Babylonia
01:14:45 -- Marvel Champions with a Side of Legendary
01:42:11 -- Let's Pour Another Round: Midsummer's Night Dram and Festbier
01:47:50 -- Spirit Island
02:11:57 -- Big Music Discussion (Pineapple Thief, Pattern Seeking Animals, Airbag, Drive-by Truckers)
02:43:43 -- Don't Forget the Driver: TV Off the Beaten Path