So Very Wrong About Games

Walker's old man impulses are manifesting in a growing anti-Pokémon ideology. As a frontline retail employee, he deserves out sympathy, but surely Bulbasaur and Onyx do not deserve his scorn. After all, they are but servile prize-fighters, made to do violence at the behest of their child-masters. Similarly, they are not responsible for the broader economic forces that eventually lead to the abuse of those who are made to sell the cursed cards.

01:40 AYURIS: SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Tomáš Holek, Czech Games Edition, 2024)

Games Played Last Week:

04:58 -Greylune (William Attia, Sorry We Are French, 2026)

11:25 -Container (Franz-Benno Delonge, Thomas Ewert, and Kevin Nesbitt, Allplay, 2026)

20:35 -Altay: Dawn of Civilization (Paolo Mori & Ole Steiness, Ares Games, 2024)

23:43 -Bruxelles 1897 (Etienne Espreman, Geek Attitude Games, 2019)

30:14 -Drillers (Roman Bednář & Adam Španěl, CGE, 2026)

34:35 -Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition (Vlaada Chvátil, Paul Grogan, and Phil Pettifer, WizKids, 2018)

38:54 -The Red Cathedral (Israel Cendrero & Sheila Santos, Devir Games, 2020)

48:15 -The Witches of Willowspur (Jenna Felli, Devious Weasel Games, 2026)

53:26 -Almighty (Kevin Privalle & Malachi Ray Rempen, Keen Bean Studio, 2026)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

59:58 Horizon Wars: Zero Dark 2nd edition beta incoming!

1:01:05 Games Workshop reprints in new setting (e.g., Chaos in the Old World->Devastation in the Dread World) by Restoration Games

1:06:17 Walker's emerging hypothesis: Pokémon ruins everything and causes all theft

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Invented proper names are fine and all, but come on, give me a context. Is Gunsen a person, place or thing? Is it an event, a state of mind, a code, a vibe? I am meant to believe that Toshi Ranbo is the big fortress in the middle, definitely unlike a factory or Mecatol Rex, but is a Toshi Ranbo truly the best of all Ranbos? I don't know. I asked Louie, and he seemed about to get to the answer, but I kind of lost the plot when he started showing me one of his framed Legend of the Five Rings card sets. I say one of, for there were several.

Games Played Last Week:

01:26 -Ceres (Gustaf Sundström, Artipia Games, 2023)

06:49 -Sidereal Confluence (TauCeti Deichmann, Wizkids, 2017)

14:07 -Deckers (Richard Wilkins, Deep Print Games, 2025)

19:03 -Eternal Decks (Hiroken, tricktakers Games, 2025)

26:03 -Star Wars: Imperial Assault (Justin Kemppainen, Corey Konieczka, and Jonathan Ying, Fantasy Flight, 2014)

28:03 -Guards of Atlantis II (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2022)

34:33 -Mountain Goats: Legacy (Alex Cutler, Michael Mihaelsick, & Stefan Risthaus, Allplay, 2026)

38:45 -Cthulhu: Dark Providence (Travis R. Chance & Martin Wallace, CMON, 2025)

49:00 -Rheinländer (Reiner Knizia, 25th Century Games, 2026)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

56:11 Battlestar Galactica reprint by Ghost Galaxy

57:21 Tag Team: SNK Legends Iori Yagami bonus characer pre-order bonus from Scorpion Masqué

58:34 A Billion Suns 2nd Edition from Mike Hutchinson

59:59 Feature Game: Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo (Matthew O'Malley & Ben Rosset, Office Dog, 2026)

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Nothing captures the fundamental duality for which SVWAG strives than our two patron saints, Vasily Arkhipov and Honky Chonk Beardonkadonk. We aspire to be both enlightening and diverting, embracing both the ridiculous and the sublime, while trying to be simultaneously erudite and stupid. It's a daunting endeavour, but then again, both Arkhipov and The Beardonkadonk put in the work.

02:12 AYURIS: Thunder Road: Vendetta--Maximum Chrome (Dave Chalker, Noah Cohen, Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, Brett Myers, and Brian Neff, Restoration Games, 2023)

Games Played Last Week:

04:41 -Star Wars: Imperial Assault (Justin Kemppainen, Corey Konieczka, and Jonathan Ying, Fantasy Flight, 2014)

07:48 -Blood Rage: Valhalla (Eric M. Lang, Tycoon Games, 2026)

15:15 -Falling (Kentaro Yazawa, SUNNY BIRD, 2026)

18:19 -Regicide Inferno (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, and Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2026)

24:06 -Alibis (Yusuke Sato, Allplay, 2025)

28:02 -Starts With Ends With (Uncredited, Relatable)

30:27 -Bookshelf (Caezar Al-Jassar, Alley Cat Games, 2026)

33:08 -Opera Magna (Tommaso Battista & Stefano Castelli, Ludus Magnus Studio, 2026)

39:29 -Feya's Swamp (Helge Ostertag & Anselm Ostertag, Fractal Juegos, 2025)

44:19 -Got Five! (Yoann Levet, Blue Orange, 2026)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

47:06 Creature Caravans expansion--more creatures, longer caravan

47:42 Feya's Swamp does mushrooms, and the ducks would like a word

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Walker claims that his grandfather invented Crokinole, just because no one else is given credit. Next he'll be saying someone in his family invented poutine, or calculus even before Leibniz and Newton got to it. Heck, let's say an ancient Walker formalized Linear B and call it a day.

01:44 -Crokinole (Uncredited, Mayday, 2025)

04:40 -Spaggetin (Franco Spardo, Alley Cat Games, 2026)

07:34 -Galileo Galilei (Tomáš Holek, Pink Troubadour, 2024)

10:36 -Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo (Matthew O'Malley & Ben Rosset, Office Dog, 2026)

19:16 -Regicide: Crown Duels (Paul Abrahams & Sketchgoblin, Badgers from Mars, 2026)

25:31 -Into the Machine (Kasper Lapp, AEG, 2026)

28:37 -Grabble (Naoki Fukuda, CMYK, 2026)

31:45 -Railroad Tiles (Hjalmar Hach & Lorenzo Silva, Horrible Guild, 2025)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

35:30 Arkhipov Day! In recognition of Vasily Arkhipov saving the entire world on October 27, 1962, we celebrate Arkhipov Day on October 27th.

35:58 TurnSignal

38:37 Feature Game: The LOOP (Maxime Rambourg and Théo Rivière, Pandasaurus Games, 2020)

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In addition to using The Seven Years War quasi-exclusively to refer to that conflict, Canadians have a bevy of unique regionalisms to delight and confound our American neighbours. Our standards and measures are famously opaque, switching between imperial (a person's height and weight, distances less than ~100 meters) and metric (temperature always [except when baking], non-human weights usually, volume always [OUNCES DON'T MAKE SENSE, Y'ALL], most long distances [except when driving, then we use time]).

There are more, trust me.

02:51 AYURIS: Fromage (Matthew O'Malley and Ben Rosset, Road to Infamy Games, 2024)

Games Played Last Week:

06:33 -Deckers (Richard Wilkins, Deep Print Games, 2025)

10:45 -Salton Sea (David Bernal, Devir, 2024)

16:30 -Regicide Inferno (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, and Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2026)

20:41 -Regicide Legacy (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, and Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2025)

23:45 -Dune: Imperium--Uprising (Paul Dennen, Dire Wolf, 2023)

27:49 -Azure (Trevor Benjamin & Brett J. Gilbert, Bitewing Games, 2026)

29:34 -Sky Garden (Totsuca Chuo, uchibacoya, 2026)

35:15 -Ostia (Totsuca Chuo, uchibacoya, 2022)

40:43 -Star Wars: Imperial Assault (Justin Kemppainen, Corey Konieczka, and Jonathan Ying, Fantasy Flight, 2014)

45:02 -Romi Rami (Antoine Lefebvre, Randolph, 2023)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

49:14 Witches of Willowspur by Devious Weasel in distribution, more to follow

50:30 The LOOP correction: expansions will not come bundled, to be purchased separately

51:05 Rebirth 2, featuring Greece and Italy

52:47 Magical Athlete expandalone, Second Wind

53:23 A Feast for Odin pseudo-sequel The Danes hitting crowdfunding soon

54:18 Arkhipov Day! In recognition of Vasily Arkhipov saving the entire world on October 27, 1962, we celebrate Arkhipov Day on October 27th.

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"Oh, boardgaming's very popular, Ed. The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads — they all adore it. They think it’s a righteous hobby."

-Grace from Ferris Bueller's Day off, correctly observing that the hobby is for everyone

Games Played Last Week:

01:13 -Revenant (Allan Kirkeby, Mindclash Games, 2026)

06:33 -Torres (Michael Kiesling & Richard Kramer, Rio Grande Games, 1999) (TIK< JAV< MEX Kramer & Kiesling

12:13 -Mein Lieber Scholli (Stefan Kloß & Anna Oppolzer, Zoch Verlag, 2024)

15:06 -Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars (Paolo Mori & Alessandro Zucchini, Ingenioso Hidalgo, 2025)

21:02 -Star Wars: Imperial Assault (Justin Kemppainen, Corey Konieczka, and Jonathan Ying, Fantasy Flight, 2014)

25:12 -All In: Predictions (Phil Walker-Harding, Next Move Games, 2026)

29:25 -The Court of Miracles (Vincent Brugeas & Guilhem Gautrand, Lumberjacks Studio, 2019)

34:08 -Pagan: Fate of Roanoke (Kasper Kjær Christiansen & Kåre Storgaard, Wyrmgold GmbH, 2022)

39:59 -Patchistory (Yeon-Min Jung & Jun-Hyup Kim, Deinko Games, 2013)

42:01 -Endeavor: Deep Sea (Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray, Burnt Island Games, 2024)

44:11 -Reef Gardens (Jeffrey D. Allers, dlp games, 2025)

46:48 -Got Five! (Yoann Levet, Blue Orange, 2026)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

47:41 More Keep the Heroes Out: Keep the Villars Out!

48:37 Flintlock!: Global Warfare in 20 Minutes. Blitzkrieg! successor by Paolo Mori, Roger Tankersly, and David Thompson

50:44 The LOOP reprint

51:11 Arkhipov Day! In recognition of Vasily Arkhipov saving the entire world on October 27, 1962, we celebrate Arkhipov Day on October 27th.

51:26 Feature Game: Toy Battle (Paolo Mori & Alessandro Zucchini, Repos Production, 2025)

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We cover the gamut of historical figures this week, from shy spiders, Thor, the Italian Masters, Iggy Pop, Terry Bogard, and one underexamined and grossly underappreciated figure in the form of Vasily Arkhipov. He made your life possible, so you owe him at least a day.

01:07 AYURIS: D.E.I.: Divide et Impera (Tommaso Battista, Ludus Magnus Studio, 2022)

Games Played Last Week:

04:01 -Patchistory (Yeon-Min Jung & Jun-Hyup Kim, Deinko Games, 2013)

07:04 -Grabble (Naoki Fukuda, CMYK, 2026)

10:47 -Creature Caravan: Wanderers (Ryan Laukat, Red Raven Games, 2024)

15:59 -Blood Rage: Valhalla (Eric M. Lang, Tycoon Games, 2026)

23:39 -Star Wars: Super Teams (Max Gerchambeau, Zygomatic, 2025)

27:09 -Claustrophobia 1643 (Croc & Laurent Pouchain, Monolith, 2019)

32:04 -Igloo Pop (Heinz Meister & Klaus Zoch, Zoch Verlag. 2003)

34:57 -Entropy (Tommaso Battista, Simone Luciani, & Nestore Mangone, Board&Dice, 2026)

41:36 -Rumble Nation (Yogi Shinichi, Hobby Japan, 2017)

44:25 -Tag Team (Gricha German & Corentin Lebrat, Scorpion Masqué, 2025)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

47:53 Arkhipov Day! In recognition of Vasily Arkhipov saving the entire world on October 27, 1962, we celebrate Arkhipov Day on October 27th.

48:53 Tag Team expansions: Arthur's Legacy and SNK Arcade Legends (!).

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To paraphrase Sir Mix-a-Lot (O.B.E.), I like big bears and I cannot lie! Fat Bear Week is upon us. Let these corpulent kings of ursine excellence strut their stuff, and let us admire in awe at their tangible gains. These bears do not skip leg day. Some people have mukbang--we have out fat bears.

Games Played Last Week:

01:05 -Panda Spin (Carl Chudyk, Moon Gate Design 2024)

05:04 -Brightcast (Nicholas Forker & Hugh Kramer, self-published, 2025)

09:10 -Landfall: A Cozy Volcano Island-Building Game (Evan Katz, Zachary Lee, and Josh Roberts, Evan and Josh's Very Special Game Company, 2026)

14:08 -Leaps and Ledges (Uncredited, MindWare, 2014)

16:44 -Spaggetin (Franco Spardo, Alley Cat Games, 2026)

20:24 -Othello (John W. Mollett, Lewis Waterman, and Goro Hasegawa, Tsukuda Original, 1973)

27:26 -Cyberpunk Trading Card Game (Chris Solis, WeirdCo, 2026)

33:50 -Floral (James Newman, Edition Spielwiese, 2024)

36:00 -Drillers (Roman Bednář & Adam Španěl, CGE, 2026)

41:31 -Jibber Jabble (Cassie Sikes, Allplay, 2026)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

48:33 Got Five: Ghost!

49:26 Opera Magna: Throwback theme, novel distribution?

50:43 It's Fat Bear Week! https://explore.org/fat-bear-week

51:11 Feature Game: How to Save a World (Yuval Grinspun, Burnt Island Games, 2025)

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With Walker imminently about to move (to Kingston from Kingston) and Mark still storing his games from the previous move, the overwhelming preponderance of the SVWAG collection(s) is currently shackled by packing tape. So much good design and fun toys yearning to get out! Alas, physical instantiation is a curse, the material world is a prison, and entropy always wins. Find me one realtor sympathetic to the specific needs of a boardgame collector, and that'd be something, at least.

01:12 AYURIS: The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game (Bryan Bormueller, Office Dog, 2025)

Games Played Last Week:

04:04 -The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth (Thomas Sing, KOSMOS, 2026)

06:32 -Avalon: The Riven Veil (Jamie Jolly, Shadowborne Games, 2026)

18:14 -Got Five! (Yoann Levet, Blue Orange, 2026)

22:06 -Tiefe Taschen (Fabian Zimmermann, Fobs Games, 2016)

28:14 -Keltis: Dad Orakel (Reiner Knizia, KOSMOS, 2010)

32:16 -Regicide (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, & Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2020)

34:04 -Starts With Ends With (Uncredited, Relatable)

39:39 -Cyclades: Legendary Edition (Bruno Cathala & Ludovic Maublanc, Open Sesame Games, 2024)

47:24 -Race for the Galaxy: Xeno Counterstrike (Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande Games, 2026)

53:53 -Railway Boom (Hisashi Hayashi & Simone Luciani, Arclight Games, 2025)

57:08 -Reef Gardens (Jeffrey D. Allers, dlp games, 2025)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

1:00:44 Too Many Bones -> Too Little Time from Chip Theory

1:01:27 Cola Wars pulled from crowdfunding over AI generated art, will retool and relaunch

1:03:19 Antlanteum from Bad Comet

1:03:52 New expansion for Dwellings of Eldervale

1:04:39 New Deception in Hong Kong! No Murder, Heist

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The SVWAG Canon (https://www.sowronggames.com/svwag-canon) is an elite list of games that Walker and Mark both very much enjoy. Walker is nervous around recommendations, per se, and the imitations on an ideal game library or somesuch is subject to many practical constraints--so instead SVWAG has an unruly list of games that are greatly enjoyed by both the hosts. And it is time for that list to be updated!

02:08 AYURIS: EGO (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2025)

Games Played Last Week:

04:52 -Dwellings of Eldervale (Luke Laurie, Breaking Games, 2020)

09:10 -Brumble Quest (J. Arthur Ellis, Plaid Hat Games, 2026)

13:53 -Endless Winter: Paleoamericans (Stan Kordonskiy, Fantasia Games, 2022)

16:31 -Banana Governance (Mukai, Mukai, 2025)

23:06 -Avalon: The Riven Veil (Jamie Jolly, Shadowborne Games, 2026)

30:26 -Cats Knocking Things Off Ledges (David Killing & Sen Foong-Lim, The Op games, 2026)

35:37 -The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers--Trick-Taking Game (Bryan Bornmueller, Office Dog, 2026)

38:06 -World Championship Russian Roulette (Anthony Burch, Tuesday Knight Games, 2017)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

43:57 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag

49:17 Glorious Listener Survey over

46:07 Concept Kids to Concept: Stories

47:00 Mass market, big box store versions of Scout and now Dro Polter

47:54 Wizards of the Grimoire (aka Bookie Bookie, Pew Pew) 3

48:24 Topic: Canon Update

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