Three Moves Ahead

In one of our biggest panels ever, Rowan, Fraser, Len, Jon, and Mike are joined by Sin Vega to discuss the many city builders currently stewing in Early Access, or which had a long tenure there. What is the role of Early Access for this genre, and why does it seem to be such a popular starting point? Also, what would we like to see in the next generation of city builders?

Rob and Len are joined by behind-the-scenes mastermind Mike to pursue some millennial agriculture fantasies, step on some grapes, and grit their teeth through a bit of sus localization. Will they taste victory, or find themselves sprawled in an alley with a bottle of $8 chardonnay wondering why they thought they could drop out of school and join a punk band? Are these hypotheticals getting more weirdly specific all the time? Does anyone even read the description anyway?

Michael Hermes makes a port of call as Rob, Nick Capozzoli, and Matt Flanigan take to the high seas in Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail. Rob hates the land combat, Matt hates the way the ships behave like sports cars, Capo greets both with measured approval, and Michael thinks we're all being a bunch of picky jerks looking a gift-horse in the mouth.

Rob, Jon, and Len have taken up their swords and strapped on their sandals to party like it's 2004. What did the original Total War: Rome do right that the series hasn't since? And does it hold up beside its younger, prettier siblings? And why is no one talking about Lone Star? Seriously. It's a great movie.

Troy and Rob are joined by Kotaku's Luke Plunkett to discuss Unity of Command II's Barbarossa expansion. How much of the frustration you feel leading the Germans on the Eastern Front comes from any given game, and how much of it comes from the mere situation of leading the Germans on the Eastern Front?

This week, as we prepare for the release of Total War: Rome Remastered, Rob welcomes Creative Assembly's Kevin McDowell and Guy Davidson, who both worked on the original Rome. They talk about the studio's early days and precarious finances, the surprisingly slow-burn success of Rome, and the long development hangover that resulted from CA's old culture of crunch.

Producer's note: We weren't able to get an isolated vocal track for one of our guests and there are a few places where there's a definite echo. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Len and Jon are joined by Alice Caldwell-Kelly and Justin Roczniak of Well There's Your Problem to talk about Workers and Resources: Soviet Republic. May contain revisionism.

Check out Well There's Your Problem, a podcast about engineering disasters: wtyppod.podbean.com/

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Rob is joined by freelance writer Sin Vega to discuss Suzerain, a branching narrative head-of-state simulator that asks you to make complex decisions about the politics of a small, Cold War nation.

Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/3ma

Rob, Jon, and shadow councilor Mike are joined by 3ma Panelist Emeritus Tom Chick to discuss Shadow Empire, a post-apocalyptic sci fi colony management sim with a 300+ page manual.

Bruce takes the Winter of Wargaming to the Streets of Stalingrad as he interviews acclaimed wargame designer Dana Lombardy to discuss his past, present, and future work.

Check out lombardystudios.com where you can still pre-order MacGowan and Lombardy’s The Great War card game at the Kickstarter backer price.