So Very Wrong About Games

Chaka Khan, let me rock you

Let me rock you, Chaka Khan

Let me rock you, that's all I wanna do

Chaka Khan, let me rock you

Let me rock you, Chaka Khan

Let me rock you, 'cause I feel for you

-Chaka Khan, "I Feel for You"

01:26 AYURIS: Barcelona (Dani Garcia, Board&Dice, 2023)

Games Played Last Week:

03:10 -Snap Ships Tactics: Swarm Box (Josh Derksen, Snap Ships, 2025) 

10:13 -Battle of Mekaverse (Reiner Knizia, Kids Logic, 2024)

15:34 -Everdell Farshore (James A. Wilson & Clarissa A. Wilson, Starling Games, 2023)

20:19 -Trading Titans (Reiner Knizia, Kids Logic, 2024)

25:03 -TAH WARS: Dice Tower Game (Luca Vince Caltabiano, BOARD TO DEATH, 2025)

31:06 -Things in Rings (Peter C. Hayward, Allplay, 2024)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

35:06 Lifeboat by Jeff Siadek reprint on Kickstarter

37:15 Underwater Cities: Data Era expansion

38:18 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd

39:55 Topic: Tricky Edge Cases

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While we pride ourselves in playing more games in a week than many play in a month, when we take a week away from the SVWAG studio we often face a truly herculean backlog of games to discuss. This two-week period is no exception. Rest assured, we would never leave our dear listeners in the lurch, so we will keep you updated so you need not miss a thing.

01:00 AYURIS: Race to the Raft (Frank West, The City of Games, 2023)

Games Played Last Week:

03:40 -Knarr (Thomas Dupont, Bombyx, 2023)

06:42 -Quin (Brian Rooney and Taeleen Woodard, Arch & Gravity Publishing, 2024)

11:41 -Slay the Spire: The Board Game (Gary Dworetsky, Anthony Giovannetti, and Casey Yano, Contention Games, 2024) 

14:47 -Gùgōng: Pànjūn (Andreas Steding, Game Brewer, 2020)

22:00 -Skull (Hervé Marly, Asmodee, 2011)

24:09 -Space Gits (Mike Hutchinson, Planet Smasher Games, 2025)

30:06 -Bad Company (Kenneth Minde, Kristian Amundsen Østby, and Eilif Svensson, Aporta Games, 2021)

34:44 -Rebirth (Reiner Knizia, Mighty Boards, 2024)

36:48 -Tír na nÓg (Isaac Shalev & Jason Slingerland, Grand Gamers Guild, 2024)

38:51 -Let's Go! To Japan (Josh Wood, AEG, 2024)

41:52 -Keyflower (Sebastien Bleasdale & Richard Breese, R&D Games, 2012) 

42:54 -Altay: Dawn of Civilization (Paolo Mori & Ole Steiness, Ares Games, 2024)

47:09 -Abandon All Artichokes (Emma Larkins, Gamewright, 2020)

49:58 -Quacks (Wolfgang Warsch, Schmidt Spiele, 2018)

52:02 -23 Knives (Tyler J. Brown, Play to Z, 2025)

59:15 -Ghost Blitz: Spooky Doo (Jacques Zeimet, Zoch Verlag, 2016)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

1:03:26 Catacombs Alpha, new entry point in the Catacombs series, on crowdfunding

1:04:13 Tariff highlights: Stegmaier lawsuit, CMON, Greater Than Games

1:07:15 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd

1:07:47 Commands & Colors news: new Memoir '44, Battle of Hoth

1:09:08 SVWAG interview with James of One Man Clapping episode #26

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Tiebreakers are arguably a kind of endgame scoring. I respect the fact that they are invariably necessary (I mean, if for no other reason than if they're omitted some smartass like me will complain). That said, clearly if the scoreboard goes to 200+ I don't imagine we'll be hauling out the second tiebreaker condition all that much. Frequently the endgame conversion of resources to points already serves as a tiebreaker anyway. 

01:48 AYURIS: Nidavellir (Serge Laget, GRRRE Games, 2020)

Games Played Last Week:

04:57 -FlickFleet (Jackson Pope & Paul Willcox, Eurydice Games, 2018)

11:55 -Slay the Spire: The Board Game (Gary Dworetsky, Anthony Giovannetti, and Casey Yano, Contention Games, 2024) 

14:21 -Altay: Dawn of Civilization (Paolo Mori & Ole Steiness, Ares Games, 2024)

17:19 -Wizards of the Grimoire: Shifting Sands (Cole Banning & Joe Banning, Grimoire Games, 2025)

21:23 -Risk 2210 A.D.: Frontline (Mike Gills, Renegade Game Studios, 2025)

32:57 -Calimala (Fabio Lopiano, Alley Cat Games, 2024)

37:20 -Ransom Notes: House Party Edition (Josh Roberts, Evan and Josh's Very Special Games Company, 2023)

40:16 -Leviathan Wilds (Justin Kemppainen, Moon Crab Games, 2024)

42:57 -Regicide (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, & Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2020)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

45:15 New Meltwater by Capstone Games

46:19 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd

47:24 Topic: Endgame Scoring

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When is a thing like another thing? Is Albedo like Core Worlds? Is Cat Blues like Rummy? Is Through the Desert like Go? Is a nudge as good as a wink to blind bat? Are all Roll & Writes inferior to Roll a 6, Win a Cookie? Is Christophe Boelinger France's Vlaada Chvátil? Probably, because it's all just like Mage Knight in the end. 

Games Played Last Week:

04:46 -Street Masters: Tide of the Dragon (Scott McFall, Adam Sadler, Brady Sadler, and Mitch Schroeder, Blacklist Games, 2022)

09:45 -Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Collector's Edition (Ted Alspach, Bézier Games, 2022)

13:55 -Cat Blues: The Big Gig (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2024)

22:14 -Moon Colony Bloodbath (Donald X. Vaccarino, Rio Grande Games, 2025)

28:03 -Albedo: Space Pirates! (Kai Herbertz, Herbertz Entertainment UG, 2018)

35:43 -Malediction (Leo Cunha, Nicole Lobo, and Daniel Pettersen de Lucena, Loot Studios, 2025)

39:46 -Hey, That's My Fish! (Günter Cornett & Alvydas Jakeliunas, Bambus Spieleverlag, 2003)

40:55 -Parks: Roll & Hike (Henry Audubon & Mattox Shuler, Keymaster Games, 2024)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

44:04 Tariffs impacting the hobby

45:12 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag

46:23 Zombie Princess, a riff on Spades, by Bézier and Ted Alspach

47:05 Feature Game: Rise & Fall (Christophe Boelinger, Ludically, 2024)

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People have favourably described our physical appearances as "borderline tolerable" and "just short of hideous", and that was just our mothers. In light of this, we put ourselves forward as candidates for all manner of game show. Mark is quite fond of Rice-a-Roni and thus would be more than happy to just have a consolation prize, and Walker just wants to spin something as hard as he can. Better reinforce your props.

01:43 AYURIS: Archeos Society (Paolo Mori, Space Cowboys, 2023)

Games Played Last Week:

03:16 -Ethnos (Paolo Mori, CMON, 2017)

08:20 -Wizards of the Grimoire: Shifting Sands (Cole Banning & Joe Banning, Grimoire Games, 2025)

12:14 -Jenga Maker (Uncredited, Hasbro, 2022)

16:20 -Click A Tree (Uwe Rosenberg, Skellig Games, 2025)

18:15 -Street Masters: Tide of the Dragon (Scott McFall, Adam Sadler, Brady Sadler, and Mitch Schroeder, Blacklist Games, 2022)

22:15 -Crafting the Cosmos (David Gordon & TAM, Office Dog, 2025)

23:48 -Scape Goat (Jon Perry, Indie Boards & Cards, 2020)

28:41 -Shuffle and Swing (Robert Hovakimyan, Bitewing Games, 2025)

32:31 -Bebop (Robert Hovakimyan, Bitewing Games, 2025)

39:53 -El Grande (Wolfgang Kramer & Richard Ulrich, Hans im Glück, 1995)

44:03 -Crokinole (Uncredited, Mayday, 2025)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

47:19 Phantom Division returning and editorial challenges

47:55 Early Registration for SVWAGCon for patrons! www.patreon.com/svwag

48:20 G.I. Joe Heroscape--will Transformers follow?

52:53 CMYK game show: Perfect Line hosted by Deborah Norville

54:26 Ark Nova spin-off Sanctuary

54:54 StarCraft miniatures and board games incoming

55:14 Alley Cat games sticking to crowdfunding, skipping retail

55:37 Topic: 20th Century Games

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In logic, conditionals are always true if the antecedent is false. You can't falsify the conditional if the conditions aren't met. For example, if Mark can bench 500 pounds, then vinegar tastes like cotton candy. Rest assured that I ain't benching that much, so don't worry about it; the conditional is true. Similarly, I can invite pretty much whoever I want to SVWAGCon. Fareed Zakaria, Olivia Rodrigo, and Jordan Mechner? Sure, they're all invited. They don't know about us, but it's all good.

Games Played Last Week:

04:00 -Finspan (David Gordon & Michael O'Connell, Stonemaier Games, 2025)

07:51 -Slay the Spire: The Board Game (Gary Dworetsky, Anthony Giovannetti, and Casey Yano, Contention Games, 2024) 

11:16 -Marvel Dice Throne Missions (Gavan Brown & Nate Chatellier, Roxley, 2025)

13:28 -Star Trek: Into the Unknown (Max Brooke & Michael Gernes, WizKids, 2025)

21:51 -Lunar (Masato Uesagi, Allplay, 2024)

23:25 -Lone Wolves (Yasuyuki Nakamura, Wonderful World Board Games, 2024)

27:57 -Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2024)

33:00 -Duos (Johannes Schmidauer-König, CMYK, 2025) 

35:35 -Creature Caravan (Ryan Laukat, Red Raven Games, 2024)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

41:00 Early Registration for SVWAGCon for patrons! www.patreon.com/svwag

42:37 Space Gits on Kickstarter soon! A dexterity miniatures game of drunk orcs

43:48 Feature Game: Rebirth (Reiner Knizia, Mighty Boards, 2024)

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I was donating blood while wearing my Transformers Converse shoes, and two different phlebotomists commented positively about them. "We have won the cultural argument," I said, deliberately burying the lede that demographic destiny is probably the chief cause. I suspect that the same forces explain increased societal acceptance of toys, and board games are not immune. Thank goodness!

Games Played Last Week:

01:22 -Guards of Atlantis II Arcane Hero Pack (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2024)

07:56 -Creature Caravan (Ryan Laukat, Red Raven Games, 2024) 

10:46 -Marvel Dice Throne Missions (Gavan Brown & Nate Chatellier, Roxley, 2025)

15:55 -The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era (Josh J. Carlson, Michael Gernes, Logan Giannini, Ryan Howard, Salem Scott, and Josh Wielgus, Chip Theory Games, 2025)

26:21 -Dungeon Kart (Michael Xuereb, Brotherwise Games, 2024)

30:50 -Star Trek: Captain's Chair (Nigel Buckle & Dávid Turczi, WizKids, 2025)

34:47 -Keyflower: The Merchants (Sebastian Bleasdale & Richard Breese, R&D Games, 2014)

40:47 -Rush M.D. (Athony Howgego, Konstantinos Kokkinis, & Dávid Turczi, Artipia Games, 2020)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

46:34 Yokohama Duel 2nd edition by Synapses Games

46:56 Helldivers II board game by Steamforged Games

49:02 New content for Inis and Tiletum

50:02 Early Registration for SVWAGCon for patrons! www.patreon.com/svwag

50:41 Feature Game: Ascending Empires: Zenith Edition (Ian Cooper, Play to Z, 2024)

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As is readily apparent from the show's subject matter and our general presentation, we here at SVWAG are stone-cold jocks who excel at the sports and are thoroughly ripped. We trust the launcher and never ever skip leg day.

00:57 AYURIS: Expeditions (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games, 2023)

Games Played Last Week:

03:04 -Coloretto (Michael Schacht, ABACUSSPIELE, 2003)

07:16 -Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game (Emerson Matsuuchi, CMON, 2025)

14:20 -Mega Civilization (Flo de Haan, John Rodriguez, and Francis Tresham, 999 Games, 2015) 

30:11 -Star Trek: Captain's Chair (Nigel Buckle & Dávid Turczi, WizKids, 2025)

37:38 -Keep the Heroes Out!: Boss Battles (Luís Brueh, Brueh Games, 2024)

40:46 -Until Proven Guilty: The Starry Sky Necklace (Enrico Procacci, DV Games, 2024)

46:46 -Crafting the Cosmos (David Gordon & TAM, Office Dog, 2025)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

48:24 Granddaughter success with Heap-O-Sheep

48:48 Registration for SVWAGCon open for patrons! www.patreon.com/svwag

50:18 Note-taking in Space Alert and Paint the Roses

53:57 Topic: Flexing New Muscles

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Despite the welcome relative absence of anthropomorphic animals this week--aside from some sundry ducks in Lorcana--we see a lot of animals and various critters this week. We eschew sacrifices to a dodgy snake in Imperium, we fling sheep with abandon, we throw down with some wrestling bugs, and that's on top of comparatively mundane animal husbandry in Keyflower. Mark offered some unflattering comparisons between Walker and various animals during Crokinole, but that doesn't quite count.

Games Played Last Week:

02:22 -Space Alert (Vlaada Chvátil, Czech Games Edition, 2008)

04:58 -Imperium: Horizons (Nigel Buckle and Dávid Turczi, Osprey Games, 2024)

09:17 CMYK's Magenta Series: Duos (Johannes Schmidauer-König, CMYK, 2025), Figment (Wolfgang Warsch, CMYK, 2025), Fives (Taiki Shinzawa, CMYK, 2025), Fruit Fight (Reiner Knizia, CMYK, 2025) 

12:21 -Heap-O-Sheep: The High Flying Game of Flingin' Sheep! (Dominic Yard, Fat Brain Toy Company, Unknown)

16:48 -Crokinole (Uncredited, Mayday, 2025)

19:36 -Kabuto Sumo: Sakura Slam (John Brieger, Michael Dunsmore, & Tony Miller, Allplay, 2024)

24:28 -Disney Lorcana (David Iezzi, Ryan Miller, and Steve Warner, Ravensburger, 2023)  

32:40 -Keyflower: The Farmers (Sebastian Bleasdale & Richard Breese, R&D Games, 2013)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

38:24 Agricola: Dead Harvest from Awaken Realms

39:07 Rest in peace, Rodger MacGowan, prolific designer and artist

40:01 Chris Farrell has a substack! https://chrisfarrell317.substack.com/p/week-of-feb-24th-2025

40:52 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag 

Patreon perk: early registration for SVWAG Con!

43:03 Feature Game: Beyond the Horizon (Dennis K. Chan, Adam Hill, Ben Pinchback, and Matt Riddle, Cranio Creations, 2024)

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While we hate to confirm your most reductive of preconceived notions, snow removal in Canadian cities is no joke. The fleet of vehicles required to allow for daily life in even a small Canadian city after major snowfall is impressive. The balletic dance of some of their formations while in operation calls to mind the precise of mid-air refuelling.  

01:03 AYURIS: Ra (Reiner Knizia, alea, 1999)

Games Played Last Week:

04:07 -Mistborn (John D. Clair, Brotherwise Games, 2024)

09:17 -Cerebria: The Inside World (Richard Amann, Viktor Peter, István Pócsi, Frigyes Schőberl, Nick Shaw, & Dávid Turczi, Mindclash Games, 2018)

13:40 -1793: Patriots & Traitors (Jason St.Just, Sound of Drums, 2024) 

20:35 -Navegador (Mac Gerdts, PD-Verlag, 2010)

26:43 -Galactic Renaissance (Christian Martinez, Matagot, 2024)

29:25 -Cyclades: Legendary Edition (Bruno Cathala & Ludovic Maublanc, Open Sesame Games, 2024)

39:24 -Whale Riders (Reiner Knizia, Grail Games, 2021)

41:06 -Figment (Wolfgang Warsch, CMYK, 2025)

46:01 -Kabuto Sumo: Sakura Slam (John Brieger, Michael Dunsmore, & Tony Miller, Allplay, 2024)

49:53 -Portmanteau: A Cooperative Game of Linguistic Fusion (Robert Fisk, Doghalla Games, 2025)

54:26 -Dragon Valley (CW Karstens, Diamond K Games, 2012)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

1:01:56 Dragon Valley: Advisors & Quests, 2012

1:02:27 2001: A Space Odyssey 1 vs. all

1:03:13 Paolo Mori and Alessandro Zucchini form Ingenioso Hidalgo for Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars

1:03:53 Feya's Swamp from Helge and Anselm Ostertag

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