So Very Wrong About Games

We take a break from heady issues this week; so we instead touch on what constitutes a trick, what friends are good for, and colonialism. You know, light discussion.

02:35 AYURIS: Core Worlds (Andrew Parks, Stronghold, 2011)

Games Played Last Week:
04:09 -Fort (Grant Rodiek, Leder Games, 2020)
09:15 -Ascension Tactics: Miniatures Deckbuilding Game (Justin Gary & Ryan Sutherland, Stone Blade Entertainment, 2021)
12:09 -The Voyages of Marco Polo (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Hans im Gluck, 2015)
13:16 -Endeavor: Age of Expansion (Jarratt Gray, Burnt Island Games, 2020)
15:51 -Turn the Tide (Stefan Dorra, AMIGO, 1997)
20:22 -6 nimmt! (Wolfgang Kramer, AMIGO, 1994)
21:45 -Spirit Island (R. Eric Reuss, Greater Than Games, 2017)
23:45 -Yokohama (Hisashi Hayashi, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2016)
25:42 -Sonora (Rob Newton, Pandasaurus Games, 2020)
28:36 -Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy (Touko Tahkokallio, Lautapelit.fi, 2020)

News (and why it doesn't matter):
29:12 Dune: Imperium
30:24 "Everyone's waiting for Tidal Blades"
31:25 More Assault on Doomrock, but only in Polish
32:44 Yet another edition of Blood Bowl, no more Guild Ball
35:02 Gods Love Dinosaurs (as do everyone else)
36:04 Ashes: Reborn
[Editor's note: Plaid Hat has not sold Ashes to Team Covenant; the latter will merely be handling the distribution. We apologize for the error.]
37:10 Topic: Restrictive Player Counts

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"Put down your chainsaw and listen to me
It's time for us to join in the fight
It's time to let your babies grow up to be cowboys
It's time to let the bedbugs bite
...
Talk with your mouth full
Bite the hand that feeds you
Bite on more than you chew
What can you do
Dare to be stupid"

-"Weird Al" Yankovic, noted Lovecraft scholar, "Dare to Be Stupid"

Games Played Last Week:
01:07 -Project: ELITE (Konstantinos Kokkinis, Marco Portugal, & Sotirios Tsantilas, CMON, 2020)
03:57 -Imperial Struggle (Ananda Gupta & Jason Matthews, GMT Games, 2020)
08:38 -Downforce (Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, & Wolfgang Kramer, Restoration Games, 2017)
12:03 -Albedo: Yggdrasil (Kai Herbertz, Herbertz Entertainment UG, 2019)
16:25 -Off the Rails (Andrew Platt & Stuart Platt, Rotten Games, 2018)
18:34 -Planet Apocalypse (Sandy Petersen, Sandy Petersen Games, 2020)
23:54 -Madeira (Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro & Paulo Soledade, What's Your Game?, 2013)
26:30 -Gaslands: Refuelled (Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Publishing, 2019)

News (and why it doesn't matter):
31:27 FFG News... except not
32:05 Mythic Games' Darkest Dungeon
32:46 Mythic will do right by its Reichbusters backers?
34:21 TI4: Prophecy of Kings
35:20 X-Men: Mutant Insurrection
36:43 Dire Alliance from Blacklist Games
38:23 Santorini: New York
39:00 Knizia's Tutankhamun
39:15 Street Masters Digital
40:40 All the Games You Like Are Bad is back. Sorry.

41:12 Feature Game: Cthulhu: Death May Die (Rob Daviau & Eric Lang, CMON, 2019)

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Walker is a force of nature, a pent-up human-shaped mass of pure rage. The only outlet that can sate his furious destructive impulses is the ecstasy of the uninhibited flick--the catharsis of venting all of his power on a disc and then watching it careen around the board (then off the table, off someone's skull, off the floor, under the bookshelf, and then embedded in the drywall). He ten thunders with laughter, even as Huey informs him he missed his target and Dewey calls an ambulance. Is it a wonder, then, that Mark favours flicking games that encourage a modicum of restraint?

01:18 AYURIS: Quartermaster General: The Cold War (Ian Brody, PSC Games, 2018)

Games Played Last Week:
03:00 -Menara: Rituals and Ruins (Oliver Richtberg, Zoch Verlag, 2019)
08:08 -Rangers of Shadow Deep (Joseph McCullough, Self-published, 2019)
10:20 -Alone (Andrea Crespi & Lorenzo Silva, Horrible Guild, 2018)
15:48 -Pax Renaissance 2nd Edition (Phil Eklund & Matt Eklund, Ion Game Design, 2020)
18:06 -Albedo (Kai Herbertz, Herbertz Entertainment UG, 2017)
23:08 -FlickFleet (Jackson Pope & Paul Wilcox, Eurydice Games, 2018)
25:33 -Blitzkrieg!: Nippon Expansion (Paolo Mori, PSC Games, 2019)
29:33 -Qwixx (Steffen Benndorf, Gamewright, 2012)

News (and why it doesn't matter):
31:13 The team behind Wavelength gives us Fuzzies
32:25 Everyone can relax: Steven Universe Beach-a-Palooza funded
33:48 Mobile painting studio for the post-plague world
35:08 Return of All the Games You Like Are Bad: video reviews to follow

36:22 Topic: Communication Restrictions

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“The game which our enemies have laid before us is, in so far as the French dictated it, is a monument of pathological fear and pathological hatred; and in so far as the Anglo-Saxons dictated it, it is the work of a capitalistic policy of the most brutal and cleverest kind.”
–A deliberate misquote of Count von Brockdorff-Rantzau reviewing Versailles 1919

Games Played Last Week:
01:40 -Nippon (Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro & Paulo Soledade, What's Your Game?, 2015)
05:24 -Space Cadets: Away Missions (Dan Raspler & Al Rose, Stronghold, 2015)
09:10 -Sonora (Rob Newton, Pandasaurus Games, 2020)
14:51 -Godzilla: Tokyo Clash (Prospero Hall, Funko Games, 2020)
19:41 -Flaming Pyramids (Norbert Abel, Cheeky Parrot Games, 2018)
21:27 -FlickFleet (Jackson Pope & Paul Wilcox, Eurydice Games, 2018)
23:17 -Can't Stop (Sid Sackson, Parker Brothers, 1980)
24:24 -Alone (Andrea Crespi & Lorenzo Silva, Horrible Guild, 2018)

News (and why it doesn't matter):
31:00 Spiel des Jahres (Pictures) and Kennerspiel des Jahres (The Crew) winners
32:06 Daimyo: Rebirth of an Empire by laboitedejeu
33:03 Steven Universe: Beach-a-Palooza is in trouble?
35:30 Walker watches Pendulum
36:15 Spielworxx's Die Macher on BGG Store

37:22 Feature Game: Versailles 1919 (Geoff Engelstein & Mark Herman, GMT Games, 2020)

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Walker feels he has missed his calling, and tries out his tight five as an insult comic this week. He directs his barbs at the typical targets--Mark, board game covers, games no one asked for, Mark, media he finds unengaging, and Mark. The latter (and former) does his level best at being supportive in the classic tradition of Ed McMahon, but one remembers why Don Rickles and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog are solo acts.

02:03 AYURIS: Talon (Jim Krohn, GMT, 2016) and Talon 1000 (Jim Krohn, GMT, 2018)

Games Played Last Week:
03:45 -The Voyages of Marco Polo (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Hans im Gluck, 2015)
06:20 -The Crew: The Quest for Planet 9 (Thomas Sing, KOSMOS, 2019)
07:29 -Versailles 1919 (Geoff Engelstein & Mark Herman, GMT Games, 2020)
16:10 -The Taverns of Tiefenthal (Wolfgang Warsch, Schmidt Spiel, 2019)
17:38 -Cosmic Frog (Jim Felli, Devious Weasel Games, 2020)
21:02 -Reichbusters: Project Vril (Jake Thornton, Mythic Games, 2020)
26:20 -That's Pretty Clever (Wolfgang Warsch, Schmidt Spiele, 2018)
30:04 -The Hunted: Twilight of the U-Boats, 1943-1945 (Gregory M. Smith, GMT Games, 2020)

News (and why it doesn't matter):
36:14 Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps at last?!
37:20 Dim possibility of Descent Third Edition?
39:50 Not Alone expands on Kickstarter
40:26 Tammany Hall reprint
41:03 Rita Modl and King of 12
42:04 Mindclash's Perserverence: Castaway Chronicles
43:39 Catapult Kingdoms
43:48 Walker dunks on Escape the Night

45:41 Topic: I'm 90% Sure: Rules you Forget or Ignore

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"From the discovery of New France to the 1981 Referendum, all of Quebec history is based on a single fallacy: that the British actually wanted to own Quebec. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The British already had a surplus of colonies in the sunny Caribbean and took little interest in the Canadian icebox later dismissed by Voltaire as nothing more than 'quelques arpents de neige'... In 1759, with war raging everywhere between France and England, the British knew if would look suspicious if they didn't engage the French in North America. They placed the expedition in the hands of a thirty-two-year-old, inexperienced general, James Wolfe, and gave him strict orders: 'Put up a good fight... but lose.' Wolfe devised a clever theatrical strategy. He would choose an impossible attack-route: Arriving by boat on the St. Lawrence river then scaling the unassailable walls of the fortress of Quebec, thus guaranteeing defeat and dumping Quebec with France for good. But Wolfe's glorious defeat was snapped from the jaws of victory by Montcalm who brilliantly out-manoeuvred Wolfe and surrendered--a stroke of genius that got the colony off France's hands once and for all."
-Nick Auf der Mar, "La Petite Histoire du Québec (Version Anglaise)"

Games Played Last Week:
01:09 -SEAL Team Flix (Pete Ruth & Mark Thomas, WizKids, 2018)
02:37 -Teotihuacan: City of Gods (Daniele Tascini & Dávid Turczi, NSKN Games, 2018)
04:04 -Yokohama (Hisashi Hayashi, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2016)
04:48 -Sprawlopolis (Steven Aramini, Danny Devine, & Paul Kluka, Button Shy, 2018)
08:26 -Mezo (John Clowdus, Kolossal Games, 2019)
13:25 -The Crew: The Quest for Planet 9 (Thomas Sing, KOSMOS, 2019)
15:02 -Qwixx (Steffen Benndorf, Gamewright, 2012)
16:41 -That's Pretty Clever (Wolfgang Warsch, Schmidt Spiele, 2018)
17:30 -Coloretto (Michael Schacht, ABACUSSPIELE, 2003)
19:32 -Orléans: Invasion (Inka Brand, Markus Brand, & Reiner Stockhausen, dlp Games, 2015)
20:59 -Scythe (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games, 2016)

News (and why it doesn't matter):
25:55 Expansion to Twilight Imperium 4th ed.
26:44 Pandemic Legacy Season 0
27:20 Undaunted: Reinforcements
28:39 DeepMind: An AI for Diplomacy?
29:35 Lord of the Rings: Anniversary Edition
31:01 Steven Universe Beach-a-Palooza on Kickstarter July 14th
31:29 Pendulum by Stonemaier
31:39 Lost Ruins of Arnak by CGE
31:59 Documentary: Gamemaster

32:42 Feature Game: Imperial Struggle (Ananda Gupta & Jason Matthews, GMT Games, 2020)

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We return, ill-advisedly, to the heavily-mined waters of classification and taxonomy. Mark will put up with it because of his love of Mac Gerdts, and Walker will put up with it because he gets to troll Mark with contrived classifications.

01:10 AYURIS: Gloomhaven (Isaac Childres, Cephalofair Games, 2017)

Games Played Last Week:
03:24 -Reichbusters: Project Vril (Jake Thornton, Mythic Games, 2020)
07:56 -Hanamikoji (Kota Nakayama, EmperorS4, 2013)
10:59 -Lords of Waterdeep (Peter Lee & Rodney Thompson, Wizards of the Coast, 2012)
14:44 -Cartographers: A Roll Player Game (Jordy Adan, Thunderworks Games, 2019)
20:50 -Barrage (Tommaso Battista & Simone Luciani, Cranio Creations, 2019)
25:18 -Thunderbolt Apache Leader (Dan Verssen, Dan Verssen Games, 2012)

News (and why it doesn't matter):
29:48 Frostpunk Board Game
30:43 The Field of the Cloth of Gold
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/105690/designer-diary-story-making-field-cloth-gold
32:08 Yura Yura Penguin
33:12 Max Temkin and Cards Against Humanity’s Toxicity
35:06 Paranoia: The Infinite Hole

36:15 Topic: Rondels

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Editorial standards are constantly evolving here at SVWAG, and they lately proceed largely from Walker's unilateral declarations. Things get to be pronounced however he wills them. Prior utterances by anyone are rendered immediately obsolete if and when he deigns to acknowledge something. Comparisons are now his exclusive purview. Walker has spoken.

Games Played Last Week:
01:52 -Hour of Need (Adam Sadler & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2020)
04:21 -Inhuman Conditions (Tommy Maranges & Cory O'Brien, Web published, 2018)
08:59 -Crazy Tower: Contruction/Sabotage (Alexis Harvey, Félix Leblanc, Manuel-Lucas Bergeron Duhamel, & Mathieu Auger, Synapses Games, 2020)
12:15 -Fantastic Factories (Joseph Z Chen & Justin Faulkner, Metafactory Games, 2019)
14:51 -Fuji Koro: Deluxe (Jerome Demeyere, Game Brewer, 2020)
17:04 -Flick Wars (Shaun Austin & Andrew Tullsen, Breaking Games, 2019)
20:59 -Big City: 20th Anniversary Jumbo Edition! (Franz-Benno Delonge, Mercury Games, 2019)

News (and why it doesn't matter):
24:52 Pipeline 2P? Curious Cargo
25:31 Pandemic: Hot Zone PnP
26:28 Starfinder pre-painted minis
27:09 Gloomhaven hits Target
28:33 Sonora: "Flick and Write", again
29:41 More Battleground: Fantasy Warfare
31:13 Games are political: ConsimWorld's myopia
[NB: An earlier version of this episode falsely claimed that Cool Mini or Not has been silent on Black Lives Matter. CMON issued a statement of support on June 5th, 2020. We apologize sincerely for the error.]

35:29 Feature Game: Project: ELITE (Konstantinos Kokkinis, Marco Portugal, & Sotirios Tsantilas, CMON, 2020)

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Change is exactly like a starving polar bear, in that it is a frightening beast that will bite your face off. Despite that, we have changed the format of our episode notes in a startling act of courage. That said, as Robert Browning wrote, "One taste of the old time sets all to rights." It is in that spirit that we began, with the blessing of the Government of Ontario's health guidelines, to actually play games in meatspace again. We express our sincere condolences to those unfortunates living in situations where that is not safely feasible.

03:22 AYURIS: New Frontiers (Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande, 2018)

Games Played Last Week:
05:17 -Street Masters (Adam Sadler & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2018)
10:47 -Monolith Arena (Michał Oracz, Portal Games, 2018)
14:05 -Tank Duel: Enemy in the Crosshairs (Mike Bertucelli, GMT Games, 2019)
17:34 -Flick Wars (Shaun Austin & Andrew Tullsen, Breaking Games, 2019)
22:23 -Spirit Island (R. Eric Reuss, Greater Than Games, 2017)
24:45 -Hyperborea (Andrea Chiarvesio & Pierluca Zizzi, Asterion, 2014)
26:49 -Asgard’s Chosen (Morgan Dontanville, Mayfair Games, 2013)
29:16 -Fuji Koro: Deluxe (Jerome Demeyere, Game Brewer, 2020)

News (and why it doesn't matter):
37:33 Biblios Roll & Write
37:53 Freedom Five: More Sentinels
39:19 Monumental Cost
40:00 Charles S. Roberts Wargame Awards
40:45 Domination

41:21 Topic: Multiple Paths to Victory

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"Please note that there are only two references to sports in this book... and both are appropriately dismissive. If you wish for sports information, might I kindly refer you to every other aspect of our culture?"
-John Hodgman, "The Areas of My Expertise"

Games Played Last Week:
-Commands and Colors: Napoleonics 1m40s (Richard Borg, GMT Games, 2010)
-Wingspan 3m08s (Elizabeth Hargrave, Stonemaier Games, 2019)
-Flick ‘Em Up: Dead of Winter 6m05s (Gaëtan Beaujannot, Jonathan Gilmour, Jean Yves Monpertuis, & Isaac Vega, Pretzel Games, 2017)
-The Taverns of Tiefenthal 12m47s (Wolfgang Warsch, Schmidt Spiel, 2019)
-Legacy of Dragonholt 20m17s (Nikki Valens with Daniel Clark, Tim Flanders, Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda, & Greg Spyridis, FFG, 2017)
-Tank Duel: Enemy in the Crosshairs 22m48s (Mike Bertucelli, GMT Games, 2019)

News (and why it doesn't matter):
-Terraforming Mars Big Box 26m40s
-Awaken Realms Makes Walker Whole 29m01s
-Dragon Gyas 29m36s
-Massive Darkness 2 31m53s
-Merchants of the Dark Road 34m28s
-Kemet: Blood and Sand--Matagot's Responsiveness 35m56s

Feature Game: Aristeia! 37m41s (Alberto Abal, Jesús Fuster, & David Rosillo, Corvus Belli, 2017)

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