So Very Wrong About Games

Reading your audience is a hard thing, and not even just when blasting your errant opinions over the interwebs. Mark couldn't read the room when Walker requested a certain game, and that didn't end well. Walker couldn't perceive Mark's growing misgivings about the feature game. This one time I thought a baby boy was a baby girl and the parents were very offended. Life is hard!

Games Played Last Week:
-Star Realms 2m19s (Robert Dougherty & Darwin Kastle, White Wizard, 2014)
-Amun-Re: The Card Game 4m59s (Reiner Knizia, Super Meeple, 2017)
-Endeavor: The Age of Sail 7m03s (Carl de Visser & Jarratt Gray, Burnt Island Games, 2018)
-Ortus Regni 9m26s (Jon Sudbury, Jon Sudbury Games, 2014)
-Star Wars: Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm 12m02s (Todd Michlitsch & Paul Winchester, FFG, 2017)
-Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu 13m10s (Matt Leacock & Chuck D. Yager, Z-Man, 2016)
-Mage Knight Board Game 15m42s (Vlaada Chvatil, WizKids, 2011)
-Race for the Galaxy: The Brink of War 18m25s (Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande Games, 2010)

News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Fighting games have sequels, so too must Street Masters 19m45s
-Carcassonne goes on safari 21m48s
-The Grail lost? 22m44s

Feature Game: 24m24s
-Battle for Rokugan (Molly Glover & Tom Jolly, Fantasy Flight, 2017)

Topic: Gateway Games 51m50s

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I hope you're planning your Arkhipov Day festivities. Don't get me wrong, I dig Stanislav Petrov as much as the next guy, but for my money Vasili Arkhipov is the man, and he doesn't get nearly enough credit. Because, you know, he either saved your life or your ancestors' lives--the least we could do is give the man a holiday. He doesn't even have a card in Twilight Struggle! See, I brought it back to games in the end.

Games Played Last Week:
-Galaxy Trucker: Missions 3m00s (Vlaada Chvátil, CGE, 2015)
-Terraforming Mars: Prelude 6m04s (Jacob Fryxelius, Stronghold, 2018)
-Quartermaster General: Prelude 7m01s (Ian Brody, Griggling Games, 2018)
-Star Wars: Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm 9m24s (Todd Michlitsch & Paul Winchester, FFG, 2017)
-Specter Ops 10m24s (Emerson Matssuchi, Plaid Hat Games, 2015)
-Master of the Galaxy 14m54s (Timofey Bokarev & Konstantin Seleznev, Ares Games, 2018)
-Paper Tales: Beyond the Gate 19m38s (Masato Uesugi, Strongold, 2018)


News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Fog of Love expands to LGBTQ scenarios 24m22s
-Z-Man Lords over Vegas 25m34s
-SVWAG SWAG: Take our stuff 26m20s
-Pfister Blacks Out Hong Kong 27m46s
-Mac Gerdts brings the love in Concordia 28m37s
-Terraforming Mars digitally 29m40s
-Chip Theory's neoprene obsession 30m00s

Feature Game: 31m28s
-Level 7 [Omega Protocol] (Will Schoonover, Privateer Press, 2013)

Topic: Keeping Games Moving 57m42s

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We're always wondering about what comes next, always on the lookout for the next big thing--both in games and broadcasting. That's why we're open to being elevated to the judiciary, so the next time there's a search committee feel free to add Mark and Walker to the ol' shortlist. We're open to traveling, so it doesn't have to be any particular country. We hear The Hague is nice?

Games Played Last Week:
-Mystic Vale 2m02s (John D. Clair, AEG, 2016)
-Sentinels of the Multiverse 6m27s (Christopher Badell, Paul Bender, & Adam Rebottaro, Greater Than Games, 2011)
-Istanbul 10m34s (Rudiger Dorn, Pegasus Spiele, 2014)
-Vengeance 11m49s (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2018)
-XenoShyft: Onslaught 13m30s (Keren Philosophales & Michael Shinall, CMON, 2015)
-51st State: Master Set 15m46s (Ignacy Trzewiczek, Portal, 2016)
-War Chest 17m46s (Trevor Benjamin & David Thompson, AEG, 2018)
-Menara 21m41s (Oliver Richtberg, Zoch Verlag, 2018)

News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Food Chain Magnate catches up to condiments 22m07s
-Takla's bridge to nowhere 23m28s
-The Boldest, a Wagnerian epic 24m22s
-The city published once in a Blue Moon 25m36s

Feature Game: Gaslands 27m42s (Glenn Ford & Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Publishing, 2017)

Topic: The Perils of Collecting 54m58s

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We would like to apologize for the poorer audio quality of this episode. The editor (Mark) would dearly like to attribute it somehow to Walker's illness-induced stupor, but try as he might he can't seem to blame the victim on this one. The microphone has let us all down, dear listeners, and all we can do is vow not to repeat the twin errors--the one being the reduced audio quality, the other in Mark not being able to scapegoat the victim.


Games Played Last Week: -Street Masters: Redemption 1m30s (Brady Sadler & Adam Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2018)
-Sentinels of the Multiverse 3m35s (Christopher Badell, Paul Bender, & Adam Rebottaro, Greater Than Games, 2011)
-SEAL Team Flix 7m34s (Pete Ruth & Mark Thomas, WizKids, 2018)
-Mystic Vale 10m57s (John D. Clair, AEG, 2016)
-Vengeance 13m10s (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2018)
-Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King 16m26s (Andreas Pelikan & Alexander Pfister, Lookout Games, 2015)

News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Mississippi Queen: too many reprints? 17m00s
-The Key series Flows on 20m21s
-Pretzel Games puts Men at Work 21m31s
-Neuroshima Hex! gets fantastical in Monolith Arena 22m31s

Feature Game: BattleCON 23m54s (Brad D. Talton, Level 99 Games, 2010)

Topic: Catch-up Mechanics 53m31s

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Sometimes, dear listeners, the news does matter, and in such instances our hosts feel under-equipped to address them properly. Such is the nature of crippling incompetence. I mean, they could have devoted their time to worthwhile pursuits (like playing games) but instead they shout into a can to strangers (about playing games). But sometimes circumstances demand a brief segue into matters of consequence, and so we here at SVWAG swear by the majestic mountains of Manitoba to do our best.


Games Played Last Week: -Ethnos 1m54s (Paolo Mori, CMON, 2017)
-El Grande 2m52s (Wolfgang Kramer & Richard Ulrich, Hans im Gluck, 1995)
-Who Goes There? 4m34s (Anthony Coffey & Jesse Labbe, Certifiable Games, 2018)
-Street Masters: Twin Tiger 8m51s (Brady Sadler & Adam Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2018)
-Level 7 [Invasion] 10m49s (Will Schoonover, Privateer Press, 2014)
-Grand Austria Hotel 13m19s (Virginio Gigli & Simone Luciani, Lookout Games, 2015)
-Mecanisburgo 15m43s (Servando Cavallar, Gen-X Games, 2008)


News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Walker discovers Norwegia 20m05s
-BattleCON big (huge) box 20m45s
-El Dorado gets hexed 21m05s
-dlp Games' callous disregard and intellectual laziness re: Manitoba 21m29s

Feature Game: Too Many Bones: Undertow 29m19s (Adam Carlson & Josh J. Carlson, Chip Theory Games, 2018)

Topic: Difficulty in Co-ops 52m01s

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Oh, hello there. The door's unlocked--just come on in. Please pardon our informal setting, here, we just want you to be comfortable. I suppose, though, that a tone of complete familiarity shouldn't prevent us from doing introductions. I'm the episode description, and I'm the thing you don't read. Our hosts are Mark Bigney and Mike Walker, and they're the ones you don't respect. Stay with us for a while, won't you?


Games Played Last Week: -Aeon's End 1m15s (Kevin Riley, Action Phase Games, 2016), -XenoShyft: Onslaught 4m43s (Keren Philosophales & Michael Shinall, CMON, 2015), -Fast Forward: Fortress 11m17s (Friedmann Friese, Stronghold Games, 2017), -Asgard's Chosen 16m24s (Morgan Dontanville, Mayfair Games, 2013), -Age of Industry 21m26s (Martin Wallace, Treefrog Games, 2010)


News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Ancient Rome falls to a Pandemic 23m31s
-Horizon: Zero Dawn 24m36s
-There's a party and you're not invited 26m06s

Feature Game: Sentinels of the Multiverse 27m05s (Christopher Badell, Paul Bender, & Adam Rebottaro, Greater than Games, 2011)
Sentinels of the Multiverse: OblivAeon 36m53s (Christopher Badell, Paul Bender, & Adam Rebottaro, Greater than Games, 2018)

Topic: Explaining Rules 54m14s

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Walker, ever truculent, finally succumbs to the inevitable and submits his top ten. Now we can move on, and it is best we do, as there is no shortage of games to be played! Gencon is over and the new releases flow like sweet chocolate milk. Despite this pressure, Mark and Walker find the time to indulge in old classics of yesteryear, and not just the "classics" from "back in the day" of "2012".


Games Played Last Week:
-Eclipse 3m00s (Touko Tahkokallio, Lautapelit.fi, 2011)
-Dungeon Alliance 4m41s (Andrew Parks, Quixotic Games, 2018)
-Outlive 8m16s (Gregory Iliver, La Boite de Jeu, 2017)
-Food Chain Magnate 9m20s (Jeroen Doumen & Joris Wiersinga, Splotter Spellen, 2015)
-Star Wars: Imperial Assault 12m22s (Justin Kemppainen, Corey Konieczka, & Jonathan Ying, Fantasy Flight, 2014)
-Blue Lagoon 14m37s (Reiner Knizia, Blue Orange, 2018)
-Mechs vs. Minions 17m02s (Chris Cantrell, Rick Ernst, Stone Librande, Prashant Saraswat, & Nathan Tiras, Riot Games, 2016)
-Ghost Blitz 19m55s (Jacques Zeimet, Zoch Verlag, 2010)
-Kingdomino: Age of Giants 22m00s (Bruno Cathala, Blue Orange, 2018)
-Cult of the Cockroach King/Don't Mess with Cthulhu Deluxe 23m09s (Yusuke Sato, Indie Boards & Cards, 2018)
-Root 25m34s (Cole Wehrle, Leder Games, 2018)
-DC Spyfall 27m04s (Uncredited, Cryptozoic Entertainment, 2018)
-Civilization 30m00s (Francis Tresham, Avalon Hill, 1980)


News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Quite a quantity of Quarriors 36m57s
-Norwegians' toast to Odin 38m53s
-Jabba lands on your mobile device 39m57s
-OblivAeon is a lie 41m16s
-Walker gets digital 42m34s
-The Great Looping One loops ever onward, praise be his biplane 43m16s


Feature Game: The Voyages of Marco Polo 44m24s (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Hans im Gluck, 2015)


Topic: Walker's Top 10 Games (whatever that means) 1h10m51s
In no particular order:
-Tigris & Euphrates
-Scythe
-Space Hulk
-Gaia Project
-Orleans
-Level 7: Invasion
-Diplomacy
-Hansa Teutonica
-Kemet
-Axis and Allies: WWI 1914

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We are but slaves to your whims here at SVWAG, and when our massed masters demand that we dance for their amusement, we must perforce oblige. We resisted for a time, but clearly that was folly. The people have spoken, and their demands will be met: we will descend to the realm of clickbait and listicles and present to your our top 10 games. Walker remains dubious of the enterprise, but Mark is confident that slavish obedience is the path to true happiness.


Games Played Last Week:
-Battle for Rokugan 1m11s (Tom Jolly & Molly Glover, FFG, 2017)
-Warhammer 40K: Kill Team 5m04s (Uncredited, Games Workshop, 2018)
-Hit Z Road 8m09s (Martin Wallace, Asmodee, 2016)
-Outlive 10m00s (Gregory Iliver, La Boite de Jeu, 2017)
-Lost Cities: Rivals 12m13s (Reiner Knizia, KOSMOS, 2018)
-Shogun 14m11s (Dirk Henn, Queen Games, 2006)
-Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition 17m35s (Nikki Valens, FFG, 2016)
-Scythe: The Rise of Fenris 23m38s (Ryan Lopez DiVinaspre & Jamey Stegamaier, Stonemaier Games, 2018)


News (and why it doesn't matter)
-More Neue Heimat = The Estates 25m05s
-More Dune = more silly Spice memes 27m59s
-More Meeple Circus = more joy 29m31s
-More Spirit Island = more dead colonizers 29m49s
-More Shadespire = Nightvault 30m48s


Feature Game: Root 32m31s (Cole Wehrle, Leder Games, 2018)

Topic: Mark's Top 10 Games of All Time 56m49s

#10: Tribune Expansion
#9:Ra
#8:Infinity
#7:Loopin' Louie
#6:Race for the Galaxy: The Brink of War
#5:Gloomhaven
#4:Imperial 2030
#3:Antike II
#2:Blue Moon Legends
#1:Tigris & Euphrates

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Since the dawn of time, predating recorded history, there has been the genius of Reiner Knizia. The Code of Hammurabi taught its readers how to play Tigris & Euphrates. Enkidu had his own custom set fashioned from the bones of his enemies. Gilgamesh sought immortality merely so he had enough time to git gud. Marduk once accidentally flooded the world in enthusiasm over a blue external conflict. It is literally the Ur-game. But everything gets a sequel now, so let's talk about Yellow & Yangtze.


Games Played Last Week:
-Downforce 1m59s (Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, & Wolfgang Kramer, Restoration Games, 2017)
-Let's Make a Bus Route 3m11s (Saashi, Saashi & Saashi, 2018)
-Grimslingers: The Northern Territory 3m54s (Stephen Gibson, Greenbrier Games, 2018)
-Custom Heroes 6m15s (John D. Clair, AEG, 2017)
-Chicken Caesar 9m07s (Bryan Fischer & John Sizemore, Nevermore Games, 2012)
-Menara 11m31s (Oliver Richtberg, Zoch Verlag, 2018)
-Paper Tales 13m61s (Masato Uesugi, Catch Up Games, 2017)
-Blood Bowl: Team Manager 15m47s (Jason Little, Fantasy Flight, 2011)
-Titans Tactics 17m06s (G. Kelly Toyama, Imbalanced Games, 2013)
-The Resistance: Avalon 20m00s (Don Eskridge, Indie Boards & Cards, 2012)

News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Richard Garfield has a new distribution model to take your money 22m09s
-Consolidation: It's not just for Asmodee 27m01s
-Make Project ELITE again 28m25s

Feature Game(s): Tigris & Euphrates 30m44s (Reiner Knizia, Hans im Gluck, 1997)
Yellow & Yangtze 48m51s (Reiner Knizia, Grail Games, 2018)

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This episode enters the Fire Swamp, the reputed lair of the R.O.U.S.--the Rodents of Unusual Size. Mark doesn't think they exist. We go in-depth into Thunderstone Quest, a long-serving deckbuilder that is a loyal as a farm boy. Walker announces that take-that cards killed his father, and they should prepare to die. I guess Andre the Giant shows up...?

Games Played Last Week:
-Gaslands 3m46s (Glenn Ford & Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Publishing, 2017)
-San Juan 2nd ed. 5m27s (Andreas Seyfarth, alea, 2014)
-13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis 6m39s (Asger Harding Granerud & Daniel Skjold Pedersen, Jolly Roger Games, 2016)
-EXCEED Fighting System 9m01s (D. Brad Talton, Level 99 Games, 2016)
-Duhr: The Lesser Houses 10m11s (Jim Felli, Devious Weasel, 2018)
-Rum & Bones: Second Tide 14m03s (Michael Shinall, CMON, 2017)
-Guards of Atlantis 14m53s (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2017)
-Scoville 15m57s (Ed Marriott, Tasty Minstrel, 2014)

News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Eclipse 1st edition gets eclipsed by 2nd ed. 17m43s
-Overturn KS gets overturned by KS 21m36s
-Vital Lacerda's vital work continues 24m36s
-Knizia lays tiles in the Blue Lagoon 25m01s
-Walker explains Wacky Races 25m44s
-Asmodee being transferred from one Paris equity firm to another 27m27s

Feature Game: Thunderstone Quest 28m40s (Mike Elliott, Bryan Reese & Mark Wootton, AEG, 2018)

Topic: The Romance is Over: Mechanisms We're Tired Of 1h00m46s

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