So Very Wrong About Games

One of the under-appreciated virtues of an auction game is that each session can provide its own economy. While daunting to new players, who don't know what things might be worth, their flailing speculation actually helps determine what things are worth. If they buy that share of red for a squillion moneys, guess what, that is what that market would bear. At least for now, that is. Some jerk might then get the next share for two cents and a smile, but watching those economies develop differently every time is part of the magic.

Games Played Last Week:

01:22 -Snow Planner (Akashi, Soragame Studio, 2024)

04:24 -That's Not a Hat (Kasper Lapp, Ravensburger, 2023)

05:45 -Guards of Atlantis II (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2022)

10:27 -Iberian Gauge (Amabel Holland, Capstone Games, 2017)

18:17 -Medici (Reiner Knizia, AMIGO, 1995)

23:08 -CATAN: Starfarers Duel (Klaus Teuber and Benjamin Teuber, KOSMOS, 2023) 

28:46 -Mythwind (Nathan Lige and Brendan McCaskell, Open Owl Studios, 2023)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

31:08 Star Realms 10th Anniversary edition and Star Trek Star Realms 

31:41 Satoshi Matsuura illustrates Yield 

31:56 Iliad and Ichor from Reiner Knizia and Bitewing on Kickstarter

32:53 Imperial Borders--massive numbers of troops on a massive map from Larry Summers

33:44 Feature Game: Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2024)

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While we pride ourselves on our internationalist focus here at SVWAG, we have been remiss in our multilingualism lately. While we reliably rendezvous with French on a semi-regular basis, a skosh of Japanese here and there, a quantum of Latin periodically, and whatever language AYURIS pretends to be, our Spanish could use some work. We thus devote ourselves to utter three whole words of Spanish in this episode.

01:30 AYURIS: Dwellings of Eldervale (Luke Laurie, Breaking Games, 2020)

Games Played Last Week:

03:36 -Federation (Dimitri Perrier and Matthieu Verdier, Explor8, 2022)

06:40 -Successors 4th Edition (Richard H. Berg and Mark Simonitch, PHALANX, 2022)

12:10 -Knarr (Thomas Dupont, Bombyx, 2023)

13:13 -TRICKTAKERs (Hiroken, Joyple Games, 2021) [EDIT: Mark mistakenly claimed that there is no English edition, but this is incorrect]

16:40 -Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2024)

22:03 -The Plum Island Horror (Hermann Luttmann, GMT Games, 2023)

26:36 -Sky Team (Luc Rémond, Le Scorpion Masqué, 2023)

28:45 -Slay the Spire: The Board Game (Gary Dworetsky, Anthony Giovannetti, and Casey Yano, Contention Games, 2024)

35:42 -Gaia Project (Jens Drögemüller & Helge Ostertag, Feuerland Spiele, 2017)

37:47 -nana (Kaya Miyano, Mob+, 2021)

40:48 -Murray the A**hole Frog (Jenna Felli, Devious Weasel Games, 2024)

46:04 -Jenga Maker (Uncredited, Hasbro, 2022)

48:32 -Arcs (Cole Wehrle, Leder Games, 2024)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

55:33 Game Brewer, publisher of Stroganov, Oak and Gugong, calls it quits

55:51 Star Wars: X-Wing and Armada terminated by Atomic Mass Games

56:56 Hans im Glück starts asserting its ownership of the word "meeple"

57:30 Mike Hutchinson and Planet Smasher Games' possible future products: Perilous Tales/Gaslands XL box sets?, Space Gits merging dexterity and miniatures, and more

59:26 Topic: The 180

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There are certain portentous events that presage massive upheaval and transformative revolution, both good and ill--Mark regards travel as one of these cataclysmic convulsions (ill), but the same is true of the arrival of the man known as Doctor Stallone (good). Both have coincided in the world of SVWAG this week, a confluence more consequential than the great passage of Halley's comet that prompted the original quote of "Après moi, le déluge." There's just a lot, people.

01:33 AYURIS: Flamecraft (Manny Vega, Cardboard Alchemy, 2022)

Games Played Last Week:

03:12 -Dune: Imperium--Uprising (Paul Dennen, Dire Wolf, 2023)

06:17 -Anunnaki: Dawn of the Gods (Simone Luciani and Danilo Sabia, Cranio Creations, 2023)

10:08 -Ra (Reiner Knizia, alea, 1999)

13:19 -Skyrise (Gavan Brown, Sébastien Pauchon, and Adam Wyse, Roxley, 2024)

16:37 -Medici (Reiner Knizia, AMIGO, 1995)

22:13 -Stroganov (Andreas Steding, Game Brewer, 2021)

26:53 -Blitzkrieg!: World War Two in 20 Minutes (Paolo Mori, PSC Games, 2019)

29:05 -Radlands (Daniel Piechnick, Roxley, 2021)

31:05 -Root (Cole Wehrle, Leder Games, 2018)

33:40 -Paku Paku (Antoine Bauza, Ravensburger, 2017)

34:26 -Project: ELITE (Konstantinos Kokkinis, Marco Portugal, & Sotirios Tsantilas, CMON, 2020)

36:47 -Orléans (Reiner Stockhausen, dlp Games, 2014)

38:14 -Tower of Babel (Reiner Knizia, Hans im Gluck, 2005)

39:27 -Telestrations (Uncredited, USAopoly, 2009)

41:11 -Beyond Balderdash (Laura Robinson and Paul Toyne, Canada Games Company, 1993)

43:30 -Quest (Don Eskridge, Indie Boards & Cards, 2021)

46:23 -Calico (Kevin Russ, Flatout Games, 2020)

47:55 -Legacy of Yu (Shem Phillips, Garphill Games, 2023) 

49:51 -BattleCON: Unleashed (D. Brad Talton, Level 99 Games, 2020) 

53:07 -TEAM3 GREEN (Alex Cutler & Matt Fantastic, Brain Games, 2019)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

55:32 Tapple After Dark...? Uh, no thanks

56:28 Race for the Galaxy Roll & Write from Tom Lehman

57:04 Walker tells lies that evoke a greater truth

57:50 Check out Mark's video game podcast, All My Best Friends Are Digital

All I need to know about animal reproduction I learned from Uwe Rosenberg. I suspect many people have The Talk, which in my case was my father teaching me how to play Agricola. Navigating my twenties in utter ignorance wasn't easy, but now that Uwe has told me about the birds and the bees (and the sheep and the pigs and the cows) via Agricola I'm practically a biologist.

01:25 AYURIS: Dead Reckoning (John D. Clair, Alderac Entertainment Group, 2022)

Games Played Last Week:

05:10 -Tigris & Euphrates (Reiner Knizia, Hans im Gluck, 1997)

09:12 -Antike II (Mac Gerdts, PD-Verlag, 2015)

11:32 -That's Not a Hat (Kasper Lapp, Ravensburger, 2023)

16:26 -Galactic Renaissance (Christian Martinez, Matagot, 2024)

21:56 -The Vale of Eternity (Eric Hong, Mandoo Games, 2023)

23:58 -Meeple Circus (Cedric Millet, Matagot, 2017)

27:31 -Mythwind (Nathan Lige and Brendan McCaskell, Open Owl Studios, 2023)

30:48 -Titans Tactics (G. Kelly Toyama, Imbalanced Games, 2013)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

33:59 Please support us on Patreon, if inclined! www.patreon.com/svwag

35:06 Dávid Turczi and Nigel Buckle's pseudo-sequel to Imperium, Star Trek: Captain's Chair  

36:47 Dungeon Fighter will get a Star Trek reimplementation

37:05 Mark's new podcast with Caitlin Bailey, All My Best Friends Are Digital: video games and the stories they tell

37:37 Defenders of the Realm gets a reprint and a facelift

38:10 Topic: Games that Make You Uncomfortable

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After a prolonged period where we have not discussed Kramer & Kiesling (the Kramer & Ulrich duo yielded El Grande, which we mention rather frequently), here we see a bumper krop of K&K kollaborations. The gibbons are fickle, and even the mighty Wolfgang and Michael must yield to their whims. But fortune (and apes) have at last smiled on them, and we revel in the classic Euro goodness as well as their more recent offering.

Games Played Last Week:

01:05 -Monikers (Alex Hague and Justin Vickers, CMYK, 2015)

05:34 -Java (Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer, Ravensburger, 2000)

11:31 -Tikal (Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer, Ravensburger, 1999)

13:31 -Wandering Towers (Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer, ABACUSSPIELE, 2022)

18:30 -Morgan's Magic Map (Gian Andrea Cappuzzo, Rio Grande Games, 2023)

20:17 -Tiny Towns (Peter McPherson, Alderac Entertainment Group, 2019)

22:08 -Sniper Elite: The Board Game (Roger Tankersly & David Thompson, Rebellion Unplugged, 2022)

25:43 -Earthborne Rangers (Andrew Fischer, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt, Andrew Navaro, Adam Sadler, and Brady Sadler, Earthborne Games, 2023)

35:57 -Through the Desert (Reiner Knizia, Allplay, 2024)

38:34 -Mythwind (Nathan Lige and Brendan McCaskell, Open Owl Studios, 2023)

44:41 -Tapple (Uncredited, The Op Games, 2021)

46:04 -G.I. JOE: Battle for the Arctic Circle (Matt Hyra, Renegade Game Studios, 2024)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

48:56 CYSMIC update on Gamefound and board game bundling economics

51:03 Ada's Dream from Alley Cat

51:20 So much drama around Wonders of the First CCG! AI art, NFTs, ratings, oh my!

53:10 Feature Game: Leviathan Wilds (Justin Kemppainen, Moon Crab Games, 2024)

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In the vast panoply of human misfortunes, it is often fruitless to try to rank misery. Was historical tragedy X worse or better than atrocity Y? It seems callous to ask. That said, thanks to the applied research of a retired ethicist with the aid of Reiner Knizia's Zoo Vadis, we have conclusively discovered that it is better to be extorted by a marmoset than assaulted by an armadillo. Thus is human knowledge expanded.

01:01 AYURIS: Heroscape (Stephen Baker, Rob Daviau, & Craig Van Ness, Hasbro, 2004)

Games Played Last Week:

05:30 -Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor (Cornelius Cremin, Pawel Mazur, & Dirk Sommer, Nemesis.Games, 2021)

10:23 -Zoo Vadis (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2023)

15:53 -Marabunta (Reiner Knizia, Space Cowboys, 2023)

22:35 -Feed the Kraken (Maikel Cheney, Dr. Hans Joachim Höh, and Tobias Immich, Funtails, 2022)

26:19 -La Granja: Deluxe Master Set (Michael Keller and Andreas "ode." Odendahl, Board&Dice, 2023)

31:30 -Sand (Ariel Di Costanzo and Javier Pelizzari, Devir, 2024)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

38:45 Calico spinoff: Knitting Circle

39:29 Founders of Reyvick: Richard Garfield and GMT

40:54 Boardgaming has jumped the shark: Winston: Nineteen Eighty-Four 

42:56 Expeditions: Gears of Corruption

43:14 Radlands gets 1.2 rules and a new deck

44:20 Topic: The One that Broke the Kallax's Back

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Before the people of Quebec celebrated the Journée nationale des Patriotes (National Patriots' Day), they instead on the same day had the Fête de Dollard. A cynic might speculate that the timing of these holidays was chosen so as to pre-empt the English Canadian Victoria Day, and that cynic would be right.

Games Played Last Week:

01:21 -Dice Flick (Rami Gaber, Pegasus Spiele, 2021) 

04:49 -A Message from the Stars (Clarence Simpson, Allplay, 2024)

11:21 -Switchbacks (Susumu Kawasaki, Allplay, 2022)

14:23 -Mage Knight: The Board Game (Vlaada Chvatil, WizKids, 2011)

18:29 -Leviathan Wilds (Justin Kemppainen, Moon Crab Games, 2024)

19:32 -Priorities (Uncredited, Clarendon Games, 2020)

22:11 -Word Traveler (Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance, Office Dog, 2024)

25:59 -Cascadito (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2024)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

28:27 Grail Games will be reprinting Marc André's Barony with its Sorcery expansion

28:53 Indonesia reprint from Splotter with a new board

29:51 Black Forest from Tido Lorenze, Uwe Rosenberg, and Feuerland Spiele

30:04 Another Frostpunk game, this time from Board&Dice

30:28 Walking Dead game from Button Shy

30:39 New expansion for Aquatica, Coral Reefs

30:50 Followup to Oathsworn from Shadowborne and Jamie Jolly: Avalon: The Riven Veil

31:02 Darktide the miniatures game from Games Workshop

31:33 Dungeon Twister 20th Anniversary Edition by Christophe Boelinger and Ludically

32:57 Congratulations to the Golden Geek winners! 

34:02 Feature Game: Cascadero (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2024)

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It is striking that no one submitted a question regarding the hues of our auras, so allow us to address the issue here and declare that amber is the colour of our energy.

I regret nothing.

01:39 AYURIS: Capital Lux 2: Generations (Eilif Svensson & Kristian Amundsen Østby, Aporta Games, 2020)

Games Played Last Week:

03:46 -G.I. JOE Deck-Building Game: Raise the Flagg Campaign Expansion (T.C. Petty III, Renegade Game Studios, 2023)

07:10 -Through the Desert (Reiner Knizia, Allplay, 2024)

11:27 -Leviathan Wilds (Justin Kemppainen, Moon Crab Games, 2024)

14:14 -Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Scrawlers--Heroes of Waterdeep (Vangelis Bagiartakis and Konstantinos Karagiannis, WizKids, 2023)

16:44 -Set a Watch (Mike Gnade and Todd Walsh, Rock Manor Games, 2019)

20:52 -Mysterium Park (Oleksandr Nevskiy and Oleg Sidorenko, Libellud, 2020)

24:08 -Biohack (Yofiandhy D Indrayana, uchibacoya, 2024)

30:05 -Mage Knight: The Board Game (Vlaada Chvatil, WizKids, 2011)

32:31 -Word Traveler (Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance, Office Dog, 2024)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

36:23 Regicide Legacy on Kickstarter! Can Badgers from Mars triumph again?

38:30 Dune: War for Arrakis expansion/reprint on Gamefound

40:03 Topic: Omnibus Questions Delta Bet

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There is only one novel and commendable Kant pun, delivered in the novel and commendable film Hedwig and the Angry Inch:

"I got kicked out of university after delivering a brilliant lecture on the aggressive influence of German philosophy on rock and roll, entitled, 'You, Kant, Always Get What You Want.'"

01:41 AYURIS: Mosaic: A Story of Civilization (Glenn Drover, Forbidden Games, 2022)

Games Played Last Week:

04:11 -Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs (Joe Klipfel and Nikki Valens, Cephalofair Games, 2024)

07:59 -Scrap (Kenny Michael-Otton, Jolly Swagman Games, 2023)

14:52 -Biohack (Yofiandhy D Indrayana, uchibacoya, 2024)

18:42 -Leviathan Wilds (Justin Kemppainen, Moon Crab Games, 2024)

23:44 -Wolves (Connor Alexander, Coyote & Crow LLC, 2024)

33:57 -Dungeon Fighter: Second Edition (Aureliano Buonfino, Lorenzo Silva, and Lorenzo Tucci Sorrentino, Horrible Guild, 2021)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

38:42 Mythic Battles goes to Egypt

40:07 Vote for the Golden Geek and for the Deutsche Spiele Preis (DSP) awards!

40:44 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag Coming soon: 3-part series on philosophy 

42:07 Topic: Omnibus Questions Delta Aleph

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We are storytellers here at SVWAG. This week, we tell the stories of mismatched plagues with dead llamas posing as European dudes, of quixotic strivings for yet more skirmish games, of famous philosophers who hustled cards. Of course, if you wish to hear different stories, the power is yours! You have but to submit your questions for the upcoming Omnibus Questions episode, and all your idle demands shall be satisfied!

Games Played Last Week:

02:33 -Scrap (Kenny Michael-Otton, Jolly Swagman Games, 2023)

09:12 -Root: The Marauder Expansion (Nick Brachmann, Patrick Leder, Cole Wehrle, and Joshua Yearsley, Leder Games, 2022)

14:29 -Cartographers: A Roll Player Game (Jordy Adan, Thunderworks Games, 2019)

16:52 -Lacuna (Mark Gerrits, CMYK, 2023)

19:21 -The Edge: Dawnfall (Michał Oracz, Krzysztof Piskorski, and Marcin Świerkot, Awaken Realms, 2018)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

27:26 dlp's Orléans 10th Anniversary Edition, Walker has grievances

30:47 Star Control II sequel, Free Stars: Children of Infinity, on Kickstarter

31:56 Feature Game: An Age Contrived (Chris Matthew, Bellows Intent, 2024)

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