Unnecessary Gaming

Board Games: Chris is back from his mysterious extended leave and he and Euan want to tell you all about going rogue in sandbox Wild West game Western Legends by Kolossal Games; Dave has recently received a Kickstarter from Scottish publisher One Free Elephant called Microbrew, which has the tiniest box we've ever seen but is somehow amazingly deep; and we've finally got round to having a go at fantasy-themed programming game Lords of Xidit by Libellud. Enjoy!

Western Legends (02:00)

Microbrew (18:20)

Lords of Xidit (33:00)

This episode hosted by Chris Hanratty, Euan Glasgow, and Dave McCreary

Music by the hosts, with Jokin Etxeberria

This episode recorded and produced by Chris Hanratty

Logo by Rebecca Horner

www.firstplayertoken.com

Video Games: With Chris stil away, we cover a rather varied trio of games this week. Pawel has been playing his cards right in hard to define RTS-themed card game Prismata; obsessing over the texture of Diablo-clone Warhammer: Chaosbane; and Dave has been getting to grips with simian smash and grab Ape Out. To close, the lads have a bit of a discussion about choosing the gender of your video game character. Also, Chris pops in unexpectedly to help finish the episode.

Prismata (5:13)

Warhammer: Chaosbane (20:10)

Ape Out (38:05)

VG chat: Choosing the gender of your video game character (48:40)

This episode hosted by David McCreary, Euan Glasgow, and Pawel Daruk

Music by the hosts, with Jokin Etxeberria

This episode recorded and produced by David McCreary

Logo by Rebecca Horner

Video Games: Chris is away and it's another anarchic episode. Pawel explains why newly released coop shooter Anthem is rubbish when you play it solo. Euan makes a welcome return to ever expanding rouguelike Streets of Rogue. Pawel tells us what it's like to play multiplayer wizarading sim Nine Parchments on your own, and Dave attempts something as well, but gives up on it half way through the episode. Enjoy!

Anthem (3:45)

Streets of Rogue (22:00)

Nine Parchments (36:00)

This episode hosted by David McCreary, Euan Glasgow, and Pawel Daruk

Music by the hosts, with Jokin Etxeberria

This episode recorded and produced by David McCreary

Logo by Rebecca Horner

Board Games & Tabletop: Pawel has insisted on having his annual RPG slot, so we let him talk about the latest edition of Legend of the Five Rings by Fantasy Flight for a good chunk. Next up is the proper gaming section for proper people, where we enjoy the new deckbuilder Hand of Fate: Ordeals by Hand & Make, which is based on the video game of playing a deadly game of card-based adventure against the Dealer. Finally, Chris and Euan have gone back to a classic as they introduced a new board gamer to the archaeological fun that is Thebes by Queen Games, with its interesting time-spending mechanic. Gotta dig up the dirt! Enjoy!

Legend of the Five Rings (04:49)

Hand of Fate: Ordeals (25:36)

Thebes (45:04)

This episode hosted by Chris Hanratty, Euan Glasgow, and Pawel Daruk

Music by the hosts, with Jokin Etxeberria

This episode recorded and produced by Chris Hanratty

Logo by Rebecca Horner

www.firstplayertoken.com

Video Games: This week, Dave and Pawel have an argument about the gameplay mechanics in the Resident Evil 2 remake (or is it a remix?), although Pawel doesn't really mind about Dave's opinions because he's actually fallen in love with roguelite adventure game Sunless Skies. Chris has been getting sweaty in VR with Beat Saber, and has wound down by tending to his cemetery in the wacky Harvest Moon-esque game Graveyard Keeper. Enjoy!

Resident Evil 2 (01:24)

Sunless Skies (29:30)

Beat Saber (44:50)

Graveyard Keeper (51:43)

This episode hosted by Chris Hanratty, Pawel Daruk, and Dave McCreary

Music by the hosts, with Jokin Etxeberria

This episode recorded and produced by Chris Hanratty

www.firstplayertoken.com

This week we have an episode rammed with board games, as Chris, Dave and Euan attended the ticket launch party for Tabletop Scotland 2019 and played a few little gems there! There's Klask, a dexterity game of magnets and scoring goals; Evil Overlord, a short but utterly chaotic card game of set collection; Skull, the simple but elegant bluffing game; Rhino Hero: Super Battle, a dexterity game of building a cardboard tower and having your superhero ascend it; and Walk the Plank, a short take-that card game with a programming twist! Finally, Chris and Dave talk about their recent experience at Red Dice Games, where they managed to get a play of New Frontiers, the latest in the Race for the Galaxy game family. Enjoy!

Tabletop Scotland ticket launch (01:48)

Klask (05:10)

Evil Overlord (12:04)

Skull (19:30)

Rhino Hero: Super Battle (31:08)

Walk the Plank! (41:35)

New Frontiers (46:50)

Tabletop Scotland website: https://tabletopscotland.co.uk

(Note: Since this episode aired, Shades of Vengeance, the publishers of Evil Overlord, have informed us that the correct player count is 3-10, and the designer is Ed Jowett, with art by Sofia Michailidou and graphic design by Alexander Korchnev. Thanks for clearing this up guys!)

This episode hosted by Chris Hanratty, Euan Glasgow, and Dave McCreary

Music by the hosts, with Jokin Etxeberria

This episode recorded and produced by Chris Hanratty

The first video games episode of 2019 begins with Chris feeling quite chuffed with his new Twitch affiliate status, which is mainly down to him playing 7 Days to Die obsessively. The crew chat about their first impressions of co-op adventure shooter Strange Brigade, while Chris and Pawel get confused by survival horror game Darkwood and the strategy game This Is The Police 2. Finally, Chris has another dive into the realms of nostalgia with Dungeon Keeper-esque War For The Overworld. Enjoy!

7 Days to Die/Twitch chat (01:48)

Strange Brigade (07:50)

Darkwood (25:12)

This Is The Police 2 (36:07)

War For The Overworld (48:32)

This episode hosted by Chris Hanratty, Pawel Daruk, and Dave McCreary

Music by the hosts, with Jokin Etxeberria

This episode recorded and produced by Chris Hanratty

In this first episode of 2019 the team are talking about their festive season tabletop gaming! Euan kicks off with Jurassic Park: Danger, a light attempt at replicating the original film, and also playing Munchkin with his family. Chris then goes back in time a little as he revisits a couple of old episodes (remember episode 17, when Pawel wasn't there to discourage Chris and Euan's behaviour? Or episode 72, when Chris wasn't there to discourage Dave's behaviour? Good times!), and talks about Century Spice Road, a lovely little cube trading and hand management game. Finally, Dave and Pawel had got together to play the extremely festive third edition of Arkham Horror... but is it really a third edition or a completely new game? Enjoy!

Jurassic Park: Danger (05:07)

Munchkin (14:20)

Episode nostalgia (22:10)

Century Spice Road (25:43)

Arkham Horror (29:45)

This episode hosted by Chris Hanratty, Euan Glasgow, Pawel Daruk, and Dave McCreary

Music by the hosts, with Jokin Etxeberria

This episode recorded and produced by Chris Hanratty

It's the final episode of 2018, and video games are on the festive menu. Pawel spins a yarn about the high risk nature of future capitalism in Battletech, Dave tells a topical tale of the difficulties unifying a divided land in Reigns: Game of Thrones, and Chris happily delves back into the past, reliving his childhood in Road Redemption.

Battletech (05:18)

Christmas themed games chat (21:00)

Reigns: Game of Thrones (27:34)

Road Redemption (38:58)

This episode hosted by Chris Hanratty, Pawel Daruk, and Dave McCreary

Music by the hosts, with Jokin Etxeberria

This episode recorded and produced by Dave McCreary

It's the final board games episode of 2018! The team have finally got their hands on Dinosaur Island, and give it a good in-depth review in which we ask: is it Dinosaury enough? We've also played a couple of older games, starting with K2, the mountain climbing game which has caused some grumbles in climbing circles, and Dixit, the party game with the weird and wonderful card art.

Enjoy!

Dinosaur Island (01:45)

K2 (40:15)

Dixit (59:22)

This episode hosted by Chris Hanratty, Euan Glasgow, and Dave McCreary

Music by the hosts, with Jokin Etxeberria

This episode recorded and produced by Chris Hanratty