When every day starts to feel like groundhog day, the same windows and walls of yesterday and the day before, we have a cure for you. The rich meadows of Ecosystem, bees and bears living in harmony, wolves grouping in packs, and foxes foraging in the forest. Here's an escape. And 20 games that you may love as everyone else does, but that disquiet us and leave us feeling stressed or unfulfilled -- we tell you about our top 10 great games that we don't like, and probably never will. Enjoy this episode of Two Wood for a Wheat.

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Read Tony's blog: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/maxlongstreet/blogs
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Visit our website: http://twowood4awheat.com/

02:34 Tokaido
06:13 Happy Salmon
07:33 Codenames
09:00 Just One
10:26 Settlers of Catan
13:40 Risk Legacy & Draftosaurus
18:24 Board Game Arena, Sushi Go, Clans of Caledonia, 7 Wonders, Nippon, and Terra Mystica
20:10 FEATURE REVIEW Ecosystem
32:43 FEATURE TOPIC Great Games that We Don't Like
33:45 Ingenious
34:29 Tigris & Euphrates
35:19 Santa Maria
36:32 Puerto Rico
37:45 San Juan
38:54 Splendor
40:17 Evolution: Climate
41:13 Oceans
41:27 Dominion
43:13 Tyrants of the Underdark and Supermotherload
43:27 Glass Road
45:08 Inis
46:30 Dungeon Petz
47:56 Age of Steam
49:54 Endeavor: Age of Sail
51:57 Captain Sonar
53:41 Altiplano
54:51 Agricola
56:16 Carcassonne
57:35 Food Chain Magnate
59:53 Through the Ages
01:01:22 Power Grid

In this purrfect and awwsome episode, we discuss Isle of Cats, the new polyomino card drafting game by Frank West, paired with our feature discussion of cute games and how they get in under our defenses. Try not to get sick!

Leave us a review on Apple podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/y2eyvqux
Read Tony's blog: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/maxlongstreet/blogs
Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a-wheat
Visit our website: http://twowood4awheat.com/

03:40 Underwater Cities: New Discoveries
04:08 Trickerion
10:53 FEATURE REVIEW Isle of Cats
32:14 FEATURE TOPIC Cute Games
34:24 Everdell, Isle of Cats, Root, A Fake Artist Goes to New York
35:19 Barrage
35:42 Charterstone
36:09 Everdell
37:28 Isle of Cats
38:35 Architects of the West Kingdom & Paladins of the West Kingdom
40:09 Root
46:01 Wonderland's War
49:25 Marvel United
50:31 Sea of Clouds
51:53 Harvest
53:39 Ryan Laukat Games including Empires of the Void II
56:31 Bunny Kingdom
59:39 Men at Work
01:01:36 Calico

Sometimes I look at a board game and think, "That ain't right, man."

Today we look at controversial and objectionable themes in board games -- who gets to decide what's right and what's wrong to include. Hint: it's not Shut Up and Sit Down's responsibility, who we take a few shots at. We explore how a controversial or objectionable theme affects the perception of a game's merit.

We also review Glen More II, a game about producing the most whiskey and sheep in Scotland. Wait, didn't we do this one already? Nope! This one has tile placement, too!

Leave us a review on Apple podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/y2eyvqux
Read Tony's blog: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/maxlongstreet/blogs
Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a-wheat
Visit our website: http://twowood4awheat.com/

02:46 On Tour
03:09 Ghandi
03:31 Isle of Cats
03:36 Everdell
07:01 Root
07:09 Maracaibo
08:14 Eclipse
08:17 Gloomhaven
08:39 It's a Wonderful World
09:29 Underwater Cities: New Discoveries
10:41 FEATURE REVIEW Glen More II
27:35 Barrage & Maracaibo
28:27 FEATURE TOPIC Controversy and Objectionable Themes
28:41 Secret Hitler
29:56 Clans of Caledonia
30:20 New Bedford
34:48 Maracaibo
36:43 Five Tribes
37:00 Endeavor: Age of Sail
39:51 4X, Eclipse, 18xx, Brass, John Company
41:51 Spirit Island
42:36 COIN Games and Soul of the Empire
44:03 Rising Sun, Blood Rage, and Ankh
44:48 Don't Drop the Soap

On this episode of TWFAW, we do a most magical and sorceror-like activity of laying tiles. We're reviewing the real-time tile-laying game Sorceror City. This is a game with three (that's right, three!) colors of tile. If you don't think that three colors can provide enough substance to theme a game, then baby, you've never seen red, blue, and yellow on a color wheel.
And, in my unending bid to enjoin Tony to love a Lacerda game, we discuss what brings depth to a game's play space. And no, it's not a 3D printed board. Is it interlocking complex mechanisms or a simple but rich playspace that allows one to return to a game and develop skill?

Leave us a review on Apple podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/y2eyvqux
Read Tony's blog: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/maxlongstreet/blogs
Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a-wheat
Visit our website: http://twowood4awheat.com/

01:10 Maracaibo
03:01 Glen More II, Wavelength, Just One
04:32 Codenames, Point Salad, Men at Work, Uno
06:52 The Trolley Problem
06:58 Egizia: Shifting Sands
08:46 FEATURE REVIEW Sorceror City
23:49 FEATURE TOPIC Depth of Play
24:26 On Mars
26:30 On Mars cont.
27:45 The Castles of Burgundy
28:33 On Mars & Castles of Burgundy
29:46 Voyages of Marco Polo, Lorenzo il Magnifico, Underwater Cities
31:17 Maracaibo
34:21 18xx Games
35:37 Maracaibo cont.
36:54 18xx Games cont.
37:10 The Voyages of Marco Polo
37:53 Clans of Caledonia
39:10 On Mars & Lisboa
40:14 Rising Sun, Eclipse, Underwater Cities, Food Chain Magnate

I'm writing this on my 15th cup of coffee and the excitement is threatening to shoot through my fingers!
Today we're reviewing Coffee Roaster, a game about turning beans into better beans and hoping that your coffee doesn't taste like dirt. It's also a solo game and you'll find that we're finally embracing our loneliness.
We're also discussing our most anticipated games of 2020. Tony takes the fully pledged Kickstarter route, since he prefers being spoon fed his enjoyment, while I walk through the deserts of the Board Game Geek, searching through abandoned shacks covered in sand for a game morsel that's bigger than a stick of salami. I'm not sure why this became a Mad Max post.
Enjoy!

Leave us a review on Apple podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/y2eyvqux
Read Tony's blog: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/maxlongstreet/blogs
Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a-wheat
Visit our website: http://twowood4awheat.com/

02:15 Maracaibo
06:36 Clans of Caledonia
07:21 FEATURE REVIEW - Coffee Roaster
25:25 FEATURE TOPIC - 2020 Most Anticipated Games

We finish our 2019 coverage with our top 10 games of the year. We also review Euro-darling, Maracaibo, Alexander Pfister's privateering heavy-weight euro. For once, Tony and I agree on something. Happy new year, everyone!

Leave us a review on Apple podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/y2eyvqux
Read Tony's blog: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/maxlongstreet/blogs
Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a-wheat
Visit our website: http://twowood4awheat.com/

04:33 FEATURE REVIEW - Maracaibo
37:29 FEATURE TOPIC - Top 10 of 2019

In which Tony and Pat sharply disagree over the hot new card drafting game, It's a Wonderful World, Pat gives first thoughts On Mars, and they both share the games they didn't play in 2019 - both the ones they wish they had and the ones they're glad they missed.

Leave us a review on Apple podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/y2eyvqux
Read Tony's blog: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/maxlongstreet/blogs
Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a-wheat
Visit our website: http://twowood4awheat.com/

3:40 On Mars
8:33 Just One
9:10 The King's Guild
9:45 FEATURE REVIEW It's a Wonderful World
39:08 FEATURE TOPIC 2019: The Games We Didn't Play
41:22 Games We're Glad We Didn't Play
59:34 Games We Wish We'd Played

We look back at our best games of 2018 in our one year anniversary episode.
Is Space Base still playable? Are we eternally grateful for Rising Sun and Underwater Cities? Have we maintained any sort of editorial integrity?
Also, Pat needs to vent about Tainted Grail. And we review Silver & Gold in like... 30 seconds. Which is about as long as the game lasts.
And introducing our new sister podcast, Iowa Talk, where we talk all things Iowa.

Leave us a review on Apple podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/y2eyvqux
Read Tony's blog: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/maxlongstreet/blogs
Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a-wheat
Visit our website: http://twowood4awheat.com/

02:25 Barrage
03:02 Tainted Grail
12:29 The Magnificent
16:31 Dominant Species
21:36 FEATURE REVIEW Silver & Gold
28:41 FEATURE TOPIC 2018 Retrospective

Why won't you play my game? It's... Pipeline? It's a solid heavy economic game? There's... pipes... Yeah, okay, we can play Dune. I'll see you at 12.

Also, Azul: Summer Pavilion and it's clickety clackety-ness.

01:05 A Fake Artist Goes to New York
01:37 Barrage
03:17 Agricola
05:04 Tainted Grail
05:13 Gloomhaven
09:47 FEATURE REVIEW Azul: Summer Pavilion
25:37 FEATURE TOPIC Why won't you play my game?

In the immortal words of Gob Bluth... I've made a huge mistake.

We talk on the strategic, psychological, and social pains of making a huge mistake early on in a large strategy game. Normally, this mistake can haunt you for the next two or three hours of the game, as you sit there knowing that you're going to lose. But those with a greater grasp of character can rise form the ashes and find a way to enjoy the game, and sometimes even win.

No feature game this week. We're mixing up the structure for a bit and sticking to the games we played and a feature topic.

How do you recover from a huge mistake? Comment on www.twowood4awheat.com and let us know your worst moment and how you recovered.

01:31 High Frontier
02:53 Vindication
07:08 Trismegistus
10:40 7 Wonders Duel
10:45 Reef
11:26 Tiny Towns
11:54 Blood Rage
13:00 Castell
16:50 FEATURE TOPIC - Early huge mistakes and how to deal with them