The Dice Men Cometh

360! It’s the degrees in a circle, and the number of this cheeky, little episode! To celebrate, we’re going to fill your eardrums with three reviews of three games by three Dice Men!

We kick off with some bones…well, many bones actually, in fact there are…Too Many Bones, and these specific bones are by Chip Theory Games. Garth starts off with a mighty review of this hefty and dicey game! Can you roll your way to victory? Can you train your Gearlocs to be the mightiest warriors? Can you roll them bones the right way at the right time? Probably not the first time…but surely the second time will be easier! Ha! Ha, we say!

We move on to Leon’s review of Archeos Society, a set collecting adventuring game where you could be the best Botanist out there! Or a Physician, a Pilot, a Guide or even a Student! Will you lead your expeditions to victory or will three monkeys cause you pain and suffering?

And like all good trilogies, we save the third one until last! Yes, it’s our own wizened old traveler, a man who was there when the ring was forged and who will be there after the White Tree of Gondor has sprouted it’s last leaf. Mark retells the most famous Middle Earth tale, but this time through the power of cards in The War of the Ring: The Card Game. Can this game come close to the epic, dudes on a map version that everyone knows and mostly everyone loves? Do you need both? Does it really have a card about Sam and Potatoes? Only one man knows, and he’s probably forgotten already!

And to wrap it up, we address the Oliphant in the room…. We’ve been a little quiet lately so we give you the low down on what’s up, and what that means for The Dice Men after 10 years of tabletop podcasting gold!

Thanks as always to our eternal sponsor, LFG Australia, and to our other amazing partners in Behold Games, Good Games, VR Distribution and Let’s Play Games! Thanks everyone, and keep on playing more games!!!!!!

It’s that time of the year again when the Spiel Des Jahres and Kennerspiel (yes, and the Kinderspiel) are announced to applause, gasps and cheering! And then the inevitable discussions start…are these games actually worthy winners??

This week Mark and Garth delve into Kenner territory and start with a review of this years champ, Challengers! In this somewhat deck-building auto-battler, 1 to 8 players (yes, you can play solo) will pair up over 7 rounds before the top two players flip it out for undisputed supremacy and victory! So, Garth and Mark simply then ask…is this game good AND is it Kenner worthy? How does it compare to fellow nominees Iki and Planet Unknown (polymino lazy susan anybody?) and what does this years Kenner mean for gaming and getting people into the hobby.

We also then bring it home with Mists over Carcassone, which has been generously provided to us by Good Games Australia! While Carcassone has been around for decades this is the first co-op version (as long as ghost meeples don’t freak you out too much!). So does this game have a place next to other versions of Carcassone on your shelf? How and why should a co-op version exist? What is the term for a ghost meeple anyway? Geeple? Ghople? Mhost? Ghosple? Meest? Gheestple? Suggestions are welcome.

So thanks to our sponsors and thanks to every listener out there!

Because we’re back from an event…. Our brains are tired from four days of gaming, realising that we probably should have got some sleep, Damn! We sure played some fantastic games!

Even after it’s over, let us tell you all about it, right from the beginning, all the way to the end… Can you guess what we’re talking about? Oh? do you really think you know what it was? Nevermind, let us tell you a little story…. This week, there is only one thing on our mind so let’s get to it!

Thanks as always to LFG Australia. Go buy your games from them, but also thanks go to the tireless committee members of the best damn convention located on the border!

We’re sooo sleepy….we’ve just flown back from BorderCon, and geez, are our arms tired….

This week is a show of two halves with the first being a quick-fire review of Top Ten! This game, which shot to prominence after being nominated for last year’s Spiel, features Unicorns and poo…for reasons known only to itself! Is is worthy of the nomination? Or is it worthy of the poo? Only the Dice Men know for sure.

We then cram in a few cheeky interviews from the who’s who of the BorderCon world! Did you want to hear from designers, competition winners and convention organisers? Of course you did and these interviews will offer you more satisfaction than that winning move you did once in that game you thought was lost BUT YOU WON!!! Remember that move? So satisfying….

Thanks to the BorderCon committee for an amazing event as always, and thank you to our lead sponsor LFG Australia! Be sure to order your games from them!

Let’s just say that this episode is so full of goodness, you probably won’t be able to fit dessert in after listening to it!

We start of with a serving of mousse…not wait, a serving of Hickory Dickory which is all about mouses or meese or mice! These mice are jumping on and off the minute hand of a clock all trying to delivery items to the chirping Lord Cuckoo before the stroke of midnight! Will your crack squad of mices band together and win the day? Will the cat thwart your mousy plans? Will this game play as well as it looks?

And for your next course we serve a refreshing glass of blue milk and roasted Porg as we take you to a deckbuilding game from a long time ago in a galaxy far far away! Yes it’s Star Wars: The Deckbuilding game and Garth and Mark have been locked in a duel of the fates trying to bring peace and stability to the galaxy…by smashing each other with heroes and villains; capital ships and bounty hunters, all while trying to destroy the others base (because it’s all about the base, ‘bout the base…).

But wait! We also have a sneaky little, BIG, competition for you – so you better listen in and listen hard as this one is a cracker! We’ve giving you a chance to win the best darned boardgame book released all year! We won’t tell you what you need to do to enter…but just remember this… [email protected].

Thanks to LFG as always, and a massive thank you to Good Games Australia for providing both of our review games on this episode!

The great thing about this particular episode is that Everybody Wins!

Yes, it’s episode 355 and we take to the skies with a little game with a lot of sand, well sand timers anyway…who would think that a small box, fully co-op, real time, one deck game about flying Kites would hit the table? If you like Kites, or co-ops, or real time, or sand timers this may be a game that hits your table soon too!

Next it’s time to get comfortable as we feature an interview with gaming legend and author, James Wallis, to discuss his book, Everybody Wins, which is all about the winners (and losers) of the Spiel des Jahres over the years!

And of course, we announce the winners of our BorderCon competition! It’s all soooo exciting!!

So thanks to Good Games for our copy of Kites, thanks to James Wallis for making time to chat with us from the other side of the globe, and thanks of course to our leading sponsor LFG Australia!

This episode is officially one of the top 354 we have ever done! And not only that, you get the reward or punishment of no Leon, so it’s just Garth and Mark talking you through all things tabletop.

We kick off with a game that has been generously provided to us by Guf Studios – it’s time to traverse an Endless Winter. In this game you are guiding your PaleoAmerican tribe through generations of eating, hunting, migrating and monolithing all to secure you place in history. You will be managing cards and resources, controlling areas, using your Chief and so so many other things! This game is not for those with a small table, but with a big presence does it provide big enjoyment?

We then wrap up with a journey back into childhood as Mark reminisces about playing in his backyard with his mates and his pets…not to mention this awesome Fort he had…Yes, we’re discussing Fort and it’s Cats & Dogs expansion. So if you like multi-use cards, cute art and made up rules this small box deckbuilder could be one worth picking up…or not. We guess you better listen in and make up your own minds!

Thanks to our long suffering sponsor LFG Australia, and be sure to check them out for all your gaming needs!

Mark & Garth were lucky enough to feature as guests on the Launch Tabletop Vodcast, Materialise Episode 22, where they talked with Kate Finch and Alannah Kearney about the perils of navigating negative boardgame reviews.

It was a very interesting discussion, with us being on the other side of the questions for once, so we figured it worth sharing far & wide.

If you are really keen, you can even watch the Video Version on Youtube, but be warned, we are on radio for a reason!

Tonight it’s a publisher ‘feature episode’ as Mark and Garth delve deeply and thirstily into two games that have been generously provided by Stonemaier Games.

We start with the latest iteration of wine-making for fun and profit, with Mark talking us through Viticulture World. In this solo and/or co-op journey around the continents, you and your fellow winemakers are battling against the game in search of vines, grapes, wine and ultimately victory points (with a healthy dollop of influence points too). So, if you’re on the hunt to find out what makes this game different, and why you may like it – this is the episode for you. Oh, and hats…

We move onto a chat about Tapestry, and specifically the Plans and Ploys expansion. In this 2 hour civilisation building game the expansion adds more cards, more tiles, more buildings, and MORE!!We all know that Leon only wants more and more from an expansion so this one ticks those boxes. Is it worth buying if you have already got the base game? Does it really change the experience? Will you be able to lead the new civilisations to victory?? Well, Garth couldn’t, but he did try his best.

And finally, it’s the final reminder to get in your final entries for your final chance to get your hands on the final 2 tickets for BorderCon. You only have to listen in to find out how, and even if you have tickets, think of your gaming friends who don’t and get them to listen and enter!

So that’s your lot for this episode, and thanks as always to our main sponsor LFG Australia. Be sure to visit their website for your next gaming purchase!

Have you ever wanted to just throw it all in and join a band of mercenaries on the hunt for the next big payday? Well, this episode may lead you down a path you won’t finish for days, weeks, months…or even years. We dedicate this whole episode to one publisher…Cephalofair Games and specifically to one designer…Isaac Childres.

Garth and Mark start by running through Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, which has been hitting our table recently, before we push ‘play’ on a recent interview that Mark had with Mr Childres himself. The interview covers a broad range of Gloomyhaveny things including the newly released Frosthaven and the upcoming Gloomhaven RPG – so keep your ears peeled for all the tastiest of Gloomiest Haveniest tidbits!

And we end with a community service announcement! Our annual BorderCon competition is alive and well, so if you want a chance to win 2 tickets to this sold out gaming extravangaza, make sure to stay until to the end for all the juicy details.

Thanks to Cephalofair Games for providing us with Jaws of the Lion, and of course to our main sponsor, LFG!