Three Moves Ahead

The original cast, gets together to look at the strategy games they liked in 2011. We focus on the positive and talk about Atom Zombie Smasher, Shogun 2, Unity of Command, Men of War and lots of other names are dropped. Also a preview of the games we are looking forward to in 2012.

Rob hosts a conversation with Catalyst Game Labs' Randall Bills and Piranha Games' Russ Bullock and Bryan Ekman. Such a group can only mean one thing: BattleTech discussion. Does the BattleTech board game hold up after all these years? Do the various BattleTech and MechWarrior games and books create difficult expectations for what a mech game "should" be? What are the benefits of having a gameworld with so much history, and how do BattleTech-related games tap into it? How do the board games influence the upcoming MechWarrior Online?

Rob and Troy talk about 2x2's new entry-level wargame, Unity of Command, and why it is such a huge success. How does it stack up against Panzer Corps, and why is it more a wargame than a puzzle game? Why is its treatment of supply so important? Can you make a really challenging wargame without implying puzzle-like solutions?

A heavily medicated Rob hosts Julian, Troy, and Bruce to explain what's so boring about peace, love, and understanding. Why does strategy gaming usually come back to armed conflict, with the exception of city-builders? Do most people really even want games about other subjects, and can designers make good games out of them? What ever happened to A Force More Powerful, and why does it make Bruce want to punch Troy? How do board games handle these subjects, and do Eurogames get them right?

It’s more a fancy lecture and masterwork design class than a bunch of guys guessing about what works when board game desiger Lee Brimmicombe-Wood sits down with Troy and Bruce to talk about his history of making games about air power, the challenges in getting all the cool technical bits down and the difficulties in making the bombing of civilians a game factor you cannot ignore. Can you make a strategic game about an air war still be about flying? What limits do you put on the player to make Luftwaffe raids roughly historical?

When you're too busy for a real topic, it's good to have listeners that are ready with questions. Rob and Troy take some time to answer your queries. Games we hate, the definition of RTS, whether Paradox has a subgenre monopoly and much more.

Friend of the show and returning guest Rob Daviau joins Rob and Julian to talk about his new game, Risk: Legacy. They talk about how Legacy uses unlocks and persistent changes to deepen the standard Risk experience. Daviau describes lessons learned during playtesting about how players learn games and fail to make good long-term decisions. Why have some gamers been so resistant to the changes in Legacy? Does Legacy suggest a line of development for board gaming? Is it all a nefarious plot to make people buy more games?

Risk: Legacy is available right now at game stores, and on Amazon next week.

Phill Cameron comes back for a conversation with Rob, Troy, and Julian about how personality and persistence change our relationship to strategy games. Troy reveals the depths of his callousness to tiny, computerized men. Julian points out that Dwarf Fortress is the pinnacle of this approach, but Troy explains why it frustrates him. Rob is stunned to learn that he is apparently the only one who had a pet dwarf in the Myth games.

Toronto FoS meetup

Chicago Loot Drop

Julian hosts Bruce and editor-podcaster extraordinaire, Ryan Scott, of Geekbox and Comedy Button internet fame. They talk about the lure of League of Legends, whether these DotA / MoBA games are even strategy games, and how Valve's and Blizzard's attempts at the DotA genre will fare against the LoL powerhouse.

Rob summon Troy and Julian for an emergency therapy session about how many strategy games simply cannot get their acts together when it comes to basic standards. The panel discusses busted cameras and mouse controls, disastrous campaigns, and nonexistent endgames.

The beginning of the Subversion saga