Alle afleveringen
434 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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Luthier
28 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 29 min
"'Frederick Chopin was a Polish composer in the Romantic style who wrote primarily for the piano.' Lees meer
I guess this is sort of interesting, as most facts are. But history has shown us that *facts are not what most humans believe.* They are not that which motivates most men and women to love to or to crime.
Now COMPARE this statement:
'Frederick Chopin was a Polish composer in the Romantic style who was obsessed with ladybugs, often letting dozens of them gallop over his neck, arms, and long, tapering fingers while playing the piano.'
Obviously the lie is so much more compelling. It also explains how Chopin finally got rid of his aphid problem."
-John Hodgman, "The Areas of My Expertise"
Games Played Last Week:
01:28 -Phoenix New Horizon (Jorge J. Barroso, Devir, 2024)
11:35 -Sweet Lands (Totsuca Chuo, uchibacoya, 2025)
23:42 -Voidfall (Nigel Buckle & Dávid Turczi, Mindclash Games, 2023)
29:35 -KINGs: TRICKTAKERs (Hiroken, Joyple Games, 2023)
32:58 -Yokai Septet (Muneyuki Yokouchi, Ninja Star Games, 2018)
36:56 -Origin Story (Jamey Stegmaier & Pete Wissinger, Stonemaier Games, 2025)
45:03 -Keep the Heroes Out!: Boss Battles (Luís Brueh, Brueh Games, 2024)
48:26 -Things in Rings (Peter C. Hayward, Allplay, 2024)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
54:26 Burned available on Gamecrafter's Crowdsale
54:49 Legacy of Mars' audacious release plan: 4 plays in base game
56:17 Did you observe Arkhipov Day on Oct. 27th? Celebrate Vasili Arkhipov and his having saved the human race!
56:56 Feature Game: Luthier (Dave Beck & Abe Burson, Paverson Games, 2025)
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Rulebooks
21 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 18 min
As ever, we do not acknowledge one of the most pernicious false dichotomies in the rulebook space; whether rules should be strictly permissive (you can only do what the rules say you can) or strictly restrictive (you can do anything unless the rules say otherwise). I have never seen a rulebook forbid me from choking an opponent, nor have I see a rulebook give me permission to breathe. I will thus reject both models as being rather too simplistic. Lees meer
01:28 AYURIS: Galactic Renaissance (Christian Martinez, Matagot, 2024)
Games Played Last Week:
05:09 -The Guest (Arkaitz Caride, Devir, 2025)
10:48 -Cosmic Encounter (Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Bill Norton, Peter Olotka, and Kevin Wilson, Fantasy Flight, 2008)
16:04 -Firefighters on Duty (Konstantinos Kokkinis & Sotirios Tsantilas, Artipia Games, 2025)
22:10 -Deck of Spies (James Newman, Web published, 2021)
24:43 -Fishing (Friedemann Friese, 2F-Spiele, 2024)
29:27 -KINGs: TRICKTAKERs (Hiroken, Joyple Games, 2023)
36:11 -Gaslands: Refuelled (Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Publishing, 2019)
40:08 -Cockroach Poker (Jacques Zeimet, Drei Magier Spiele, 2004)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
43:45 Burned available on Gamecrafter's Crowdsale
44:42 Claustrophobia 3rd edition, 1692, by Devir
46:33 Mystic Curling by Asmadi Games on Kickstarter
46:50 Amigo US is no more; No Thanks joining CMYK's Magenta line along with I'm Out
47:46 Voidfall expansion: Resurgence
48:27 Sidereal Confluence expansion: Proliferation
49:11 Winnie the Pooh: Serious Detective
49:39 Arkhipov Day: Oct. 27th. Celebrate Vasili Arkhipov and his having saved the human race!
50:29 Topic: Rulebooks
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Samurai
14 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 15 min
"Wiarton Willie is the name given to a Canadian groundhog who lives in the community of Wiarton in Bruce County, Ontario. Every February 2, on Groundhog Day, Willie takes part in the local Wiarton Willie Festival. His role is to predict whether there will be an early spring. Although the original Wiarton Willie died in 1999, the Wiarton Groundhog Day celebrations continue each year with a successor of the original Willie (except in 1999 and 2021 where, due to the previous Willies' deaths, no groundhog was used), and each successor is also referred to as Wiarton Willie. Lees meer
Groundhog Day, featuring Wiarton Willie, is a popular annual festival in Wiarton and is similar to events in other locations in North America. A midwinter celebration involving an animal with predictive powers was an element of Celtic culture. The link between weather prediction and the day is said to have been inspired by an old Scottish couplet: "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear/ There'll be two winters in the year.""
-Wikipedia
Games Played Last Week:
01:40 -Etherstone (Virginio Gigli & Simone Luciani, ThunderGryph Games, 2025)
12:38 -Dogs of War Second Edition (Paolo Mori, Play to Z, 2026)
26:39 -Vantage (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games, 2025)
34:06 -Monikers (Alex Hague & Justin Vickers, CMYK, 2015)
41:06 -My Very First Games: Let's Be Veterinarians (Kristin Mückel, HABA, 2024)
42:55 -Riff Raff (Christoph Cantzler, Zoch Verlag, 2012)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
46:30 Kristian Amundsen Østby and Kjetil Svendsen take tricks with Tax the Rich
47:10 Elder Scrolls expansion, Heroes of Tamriel, on Gamefound
48:00 Berserk on Gamefound
50:54 Battlecrest: Overlord on Kickstarter
51:36 Feature Game: Samurai (Reiner Knizia, Hans im Glück, 1998)
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Tile-Laying Games
7 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 23 min
Rest assured that every topic we address here at SVWAG will be utterly comprehensive and final, unless and until we decide to address it again. Thus, when we discuss tile-laying games, we perforce will cover all of them, each and and every one, and failure to specifically mention any title means it does not exist and must be scrubbed from all records as a revisionist lie. Lees meer
01:41 AYURIS: Kutná Hora: The City of Silver (Ondřej Bystroň, Petr Čáslava, and Pavel Jarosch, Czech Games Edition, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
04:55 -Caper: Europe (Unai Rubio, Keymaster Games, 2022)
07:55 -Framework (Uwe Rosenberg, Edition Spielwiese, 2022)
12:38 -INK (Kasper Lapp, Final Score Games, 2025)
16:59 -Bombastic (Robert Hovakimyan, Bitewing Games, 2025)
18:56 -No Loose Ends (Taiki Shinzawa, GameHead, 2025)
26:48 -Marabunta (Reiner Knizia, Space Cowboys, 2023)
30:03 -Saltfjord (Kristian Amundsen Østby & Eilif Svensson, Aporta Games, 2024)
32:01 -Titans Tactics (G. Kelly Toyama, Imbalanced Games, 2013)
35:39 -Guildlands (Ken Boyter & Kedric Winks, Outset Media, 2025)
43:36 -Ascending Empires: Zenith Edition (Ian Cooper, Play to Z, 2024)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
46:27 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag
48:09 Fat Bear Week concludes: Chunk is victorious
49:39 Don't Starve: The Board Game
50:38 Arkhipov Day! In recognition of Vasily Arkhipov saving the entire world on October 27, 1962, we celebrate Arkhipov Day on October 27th.
51:43 Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor Big Box and True Solo Mode on Kickstarter
52:45 Decipher the Voynich Manuscript in The Voynich Puzzle
55:25 Topic: Tile-Laying Games
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Ayar: Children of the Sun
30 september 2025 · 1 uur 5 min
"A quipu usually consists of cotton or camelid fiber cords, and contains categorized information based on dimensions like color, order and number. The Inca, in particular, used knots tied in a decimal positional system to store numbers and other values in quipu cords. Depending on its use and the amount of information it stored, a given quipu may have anywhere from a few to several thousand cords. [...] Lees meer
Inca administration used quipus extensively for a variety of uses: monitoring tax obligations, collecting census records, keeping calendrical information, military organization, and potentially for recording simple and stereotyped historical "annales"."
-Wikipedia
SVWAG's Pickaxe stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t8XLnJha-E
Games Played Last Week:
00:55 -Marvel Dice Throne Missions (Gavan Brown & Nate Chatellier, Roxley, 2025)
05:03 -It's a Wonderful World (Frédéric Guérard, La Boîte de Jeu, 2019)
09:03 -The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game (Bryan Bormueller, Office Dog, 2025)
12:03 -Corporate America (Teale Fristoe, Nothing Sacred Games, 2013)
15:23 -Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders (Tim Eisner and Ben Eisner, Druid City Games, 2024)
18:03 -Captain's Gambit: Kings of Infinite Space (AC Atienza, Alvin Lee, and Mitchell Loewen, Cloudfall Interactive Studios, 2020)
23:51 -Lacuna (Mark Gerrits, CMYK, 2023)
27:12 -Stellar Conflict (James Ernest & Tom Jolly, Artipia Games, 2015)
29:48 -Figment (Wolfgang Warsch, CMYK, 2025)
31:53 -Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester (Changhyun Baek, Flaminia Brasini, Virginio Gigli, Stefano Luperto, and Antonio Tinto, DiceTree Games, 2023)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
35:43 Reprint of At the Gates of Loyang
36:09 Fat Bear week comes to its climax! https://explore.org/fat-bear-week
37:19 The Hobbit: There and Back Again roll-and-write by Reiner Knizia
37:42 Dogs of War reprint: controversy over hats
38:38 Wandering Galaxy: A Crossroads Game
39:50 Cross-Bronx Expressway by Non-Breaking Space an…
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Why Is This Game So Long?
23 september 2025 · 1 uur 15 min
We are staunchly body positive here at SVWAG, but we do prefer our bears fat. "Let me have about me bears that are fat," said Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, or he would have, had he known about the glory that is Fat Bear Week. I guess Caesar wouldn't have been totally down with the democratic aspect of the whole voting thing, but whatever! Exercise your franchise and vote for the moist chonkers bears. Lees meer
https://explore.org/fat-bear-week
01:38 AYURIS: Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester (Changhyun Baek, Flaminia Brasini, Virginio Gigli, Stefano Luperto, and Antonio Tinto, DiceTree Games, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
03:29 -Magical Athlete (Richard Garfield & Takashi Ishida, CMYK, 2025)
10:29 -Revive: Call of the Abyss (Helge Meissner, Kristian Amundsen Østby, Eilif Svensson, and Anna Wermlund, Aporta Games, 2023)
13:19 -River Rats (Mathijs Jansen & Robin Stokkel, Four Suits Studio, 2025)
20:16 -Yokai Septet (Muneyuki Yokouchi, Ninja Star Games, 2018)
24:56 -Amun-Re: The Card Game (Reiner Knizia, Super Meeple, 2017)
31:25 -Regicide Legacy (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, and Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2025)
34:58 -Light Speed: Arena (Leonardo Alese, James Ernest, Tom Jolly, and Emanuele Santellani, Tablescope, 2025)
37:51 -Everdell Silverfrost (James A. Wilson & Clarissa A. Wilson, Starling Games, 2025)
42:16 -ORBIT (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2025)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
46:05 Dogs of War on Gamefound
48:51 A Billion Suns 2E open beta with Mike Hutchinson's Planet Smasher Games
50:23 Twilight Imperium 4th ed. digital edition on Steam
51:42 GAMA Game Store Day: November 1st
53:22 Special edition of Terra Mystica by Steamforged Games
54:10 Topic: Why Is This Game So Long?
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Star Wars: Battle of Hoth
16 september 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
We tempt fate and refer to a number of third rails in the hobby community. For one, we acknowledge a loss in Regicide Legacy, which reliably summons the chattering mobs. Further, we mention both Star Trek and Star Wars, so undoubtedly we get a detail "wrong" that will "justify" a detailed response. Lees meer
Look, we're experts here. We completed the Kobayashi Maru in under 12 parsecs. We're regular callers to Car Talk with Martok. Don't test us.
Games Played Last Week:
01:06 -Galactic Cruise (T.K. King, Dennis Northcott, and Koltin Thompson, Kinson Key Games, 2025)
05:30 -Spectres of Brocken (Aaron Lim, Web published, 2022)
15:58 -Rumble Nation (Yogi Shinichi, Hobby Japan, 2017)
18:49 -SILOS (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2025)
26:09 -Hot Streak (Jon Perry, CMYK, 2025)
28:16 -The Gang: Jokers and More (Uncredited, KOSMOS, 2024)
32:37 -Marshmallow Test (Reiner Knizia, Gamewright, 2020)
35:12 -High Tide (Marceline Leiman, Underdog Games, 2024)
37:14 -Bombastic (Robert Hovakimyan, Bitewing Games, 2025)
40:01 -Regicide Legacy (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, and Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2025)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
45:52 Federation: Piracy expansion
47:03 Flow movie gets its Flow board game
47:49 Part of the Pickaxe Network! Join us Thursday, September 25th at 17:00-18:30 BST for Pickaxe week on the Yogscast Twitch feed.
48:45 Feature Game: Star Wars: Battle of Hoth (Richard Borg & Adrien Martinot, Days of Wonder, 2025)
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Nostalgia
9 september 2025 · 1 uur 17 min
"Well, that was your mother Lees meer
And that was your father
Before you was born dude
When life was great
You are the burden of my generation
I sure do love you
But let’s get that straight"
-Paul Simon, "That Was Your Mother"
01:34 AYURIS: Nucleum (Simone Luciani & Dávid Turczi, Board&Dice, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
04:04 -SILOS (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2025)
09:34 -Ayar: Children of the Sun (Mandela Fernandez-Grandon & Fabio Lopiano, Osprey Games, 2025)
17:46 -Ichor (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2025)
24:24 -Kingdom Rush: Elemental Uprising (Alara Cameron, Helana Hope, and Sen-Foong Lim, Lucky Duck Games, 2023)
27:02 -Carolingi (Christoph Cantzler & Sebastian Freudenberg, Sea Cove Games, 2024)
39:17 -Giants Moving Tiny Furniture (Ian Clayman & Ken Gruhl, Exploding Kittens, 2025)
42:59 -TowerBrix (Simon Thomas, KOSMOS, 2024)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
45:36 Shackleton Base Expansion: Below. Above. Within.
47:07 Burned on Gamecrafter October 14! https://www.thegamecrafter.com/crowdsale/burned
48:02 Container reprint, a little more minimalist this time
49:03 Topic: Nostalgia
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Light Speed: Arena
2 september 2025 · 1 uur 5 min
On this day of Labour, we offer our solidarity to you. We also offer our labour, because we don't take many days off. No union for us in the opinion mines! I'd complain to my manager, but since that's me, I guess I'd be inclined to ignore it. Classic conflict on interest. The gibbons only complicate the org chart in unhelpful ways. Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
01:01 -Hot Streak (Jon Perry, CMYK, 2025)
04:13 -High Tide (Marceline Leiman, Underdog Games, 2024)
09:23 -Hyperborea (Andrea Chiarvesio & Pierluca Zizzi, Asterion, 2014)
12:55 -Tianxia (Antonio Petrelli & Daniele Tascini, Board&Dice, 2025)
20:37 -Federation (Dimitri Perrier and Matthieu Verdier, Explor8, 2022)
27:49 -Through the Desert (Reiner Knizia, Allplay, 2024)
29:43 -So Clover! (François Romain, Repos Production, 2021)
34:24 -Figment (Wolfgang Warsch, CMYK, 2025)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
39:42 Kasper Lapp's INK
40:37 Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag
41:22 Adam and Brady Sadler's The Malice of Light Adventures from Twintale Studios
42:51 Suna Valo by Andreas Odendahl
43:14 Part of the Pickaxe Network! Join us Thursday, September 25th at 17:00-18:30 BST for Pickaxe week on the Yogscast feed.
43:40 Feature Game: Light Speed: Arena (Leonardo Alese, James Ernest, Tom Jolly, and Emanuele Santellani, Tablescope, 2025)
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Trick-Taking Games Redux
26 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 9 min
I've always chafed at the conventional wisdom that young goats are good at trick-taking games. Or, at least, ones where you are not incentivized to go null. Do they hold their cards in their cloven hooves? Do their dead eyes come to life when contemplating the vagaries of trump suits? Lees meer
It must be true, though, because I have it on good authority from a cartoon rabbit that tricks are for kids.
01:23 AYURIS: Envelopes of Cash (Andy Schwarz, Envelopes of Cash LLC, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
03:57 -Ginkgopolis (Xavier Georges, Pearl Games, 2012)
08:48 -Vaultbreakers (Valentino Mori, Vaultbreakers Games, 2024)
13:07 -Sidereal Confluence (TauCeti Deichmann, Wizkids, 2017)
17:46 -Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor (Cornelius Cremin, Pawel Mazur, & Dirk Sommer, Nemesis.Games, 2021)
20:01 -Hot Streak (Jon Perry, CMYK, 2025)
21:47 -Signal (Jasper Beatrix, DVC Games, 2025)
26:36 -KINGs: TRICKTAKERs (Hiroken, Joyple Games, 2023)
32:40 -Quantum (Eric Zimmerman, Funforge, 2013)
-Fromage (Matthew O'Malley and Ben Rosset, Road to Infamy Games, 2024)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
38:52 Part of the Pickaxe Network! Join us Thursday, September 25th at 17:00-18:30 BST for Pickaxe week on the Yogscast feed.
39:49 Hanami by Keymaster, reprint of Reiner Knizia's Samurai, on Kickstarter
40:51 Topic: Trick-Taking Games Redux
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fate of the Fellowship
19 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 7 min
Losing a component is rough. Knowing that one of your games is incomplete is like having a permanent absence in your soul. It's one thing to eschew that one added expansion--that's a triumph of restraint. But that missing block in Viking See-Saw will taunt you forever, a blight on your consciousness that can never be healed. Maybe I'm exaggerating. Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
00:52 -Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor (Cornelius Cremin, Pawel Mazur, & Dirk Sommer, Nemesis.Games, 2021)
04:37 -Riftforce: Beyond (Carlo Bortolini, 1 More Time Games, 2022)
09:44 -Unstoppable (John D. Clair, Renegade Game Studios, 2025)
3D printed tokens: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1851400332/
14:27 -Signal (Jasper Beatrix, DVC Games, 2025)
20:35 -Viking See-Saw (Reiner Knizia, itten, 2021)
23:19 -Dune: Imperium--Uprising (Paul Dennen, Dire Wolf, 2023)
28:32 -MicroMacro: Kids--Crazy City Park (Johannes Sich, Edition Spielwiese, 2025)
29:35 -Champions of Midgard (Ole Steiness, Grey Fox Games, 2015)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
31:57 Part of the Pickaxe Network! Join us Thursday, September 25th at 17:00-18:30 BST for Pickaxe week on the Yogscast feed.
32:57 Ryan Laukat's Song of Silveranth
33:42 Feature Game: The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship (Matt Leacock, Z-Man Games, 2025)
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Starting Over Your Collection
12 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 19 min
Inigo: I am waiting for you, Vizzini. You told me to go back to the beginning. So I have. This is where I am, and this is where I’ll stay. I will not be moved. Lees meer
Brute: But the Prince gave orders —
Inigo: — So did Vizzini — when a job went wrong, you went back to the beginning. And this is where we got the job. So it’s the beginning, and I’m staying till Vizzini comes.
-The Princess Bride
(who knew Inigo was a Black Sabbath fan?)
02:39 AYURIS: Federation (Dimitri Perrier and Matthieu Verdier, Explor8, 2022)
Games Played Last Week:
05:32 -The Gang (John Cooper and Kory Heath, KOSMOS, 2024)
10:08 -The King Is Dead: Second Edition (Peer Sylvester, Osprey Games, 2020)
13:28 -TEAM3 PINK (Alex Cutler & Matt Fantastic, Brain Games, 2019)
18:02 -Rebel Princess (Daniel Byrne, José Gerardo Guerrero, Kevin Peláez, and Tirso Virgós, Zombi Paella, 2023)
23:00 -Fives (Taiki Shinzawa, CMYK, 2025)
26:53 -Bargain Hunter (Uwe Rosenberg, Valley Games, 1998)
31:14 -The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship (Matt Leacock, Z-Man Games, 2025)
32:48 -Line of Fire: Burnt Moon (Trevor Benjamin & David Thompson, Osprey Games, 2025)
39:22 -Cosmic Frog (Jenna Felli, Devious Weasel Games, 2020)
45:05 -Planepita (Eisuke Fuijinawa & Kazunori Hori, SzpiLAB, 2022)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
47:15 Part of the Pickaxe Network! Join us Thursday, September 25th at 17:00-18:30 BST for Pickaxe week on the Yogscast feed.
[EDIT: Mark says the wrong date on the show. The correct date is September 25th.]
48:35 Expansions! For Freedom: The Underground Railroad, Twilight Imperium 4th, Thunder Road: Vendetta, and another edition of Shogun because why not?
51:08 Update on CGE's Harry Potter-themed Codenames: CGE pledges 100% of profits to appropriate charities
52:14 Devir pledges to replace racist imagery in Ace of Spades
53:09 Topic: Starting Over Your Collection
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Vantage
5 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
"We don’t ask that you stop loving your fantasy world. We ask
you stop paying money for the privilege to dream of it. If
you want to read the [Harry Potter] books or watch the movies, consider
buying second-hand or renting them from a library. Small
changes can make sure you never put your hard-earned
money into JKR’s hands."
-Blacklist CGE zine Lees meerGames Played Last Week:
01:01 -Through the Desert (Reiner Knizia, KOSMOS, 1998)
05:49 -Tiletum: Prospect for Silver (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Board&Dice, 2025)
10:10 -Endeavor: Deep Sea (Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray, Burnt Island Games, 2024)
18:03 -Through Ice and Snow (Fernando Eduardo Sánchez, 2Tomatoes Games, 2024)
22:41 -Hot Streak (Jon Perry, CMYK, 2025)
27:39 -The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship (Matt Leacock, Z-Man Games, 2025)News (and why it doesn't matter):
41:05 New Doom board game(s) by Modiphius
41:46 High Tide by Marceline Leiman
42:20 SVWAG's statement on boycotting Czech Games Edition and in support of trans and non-binary gamers
Blacklist CGE zine: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10BUxxRO08jS9ZFnfnt0dnMPEZi5lrwke44:15 Feature Game: Vantage (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games, 2025)
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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SVWAG Con Report
29 juli 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
A chief misgiving Mark has about the con is that he is a terrible playtester. He was able to play two unpublished games, and while the designers were gracious he is seldom able to offer anything of much substance. "This game," he might say, "has cards. And other things." Past that, for some reason, when confronted with a prototype his faculties often fail him. Lees meer
01:48 AYURIS: Arborea (Dani Garcia, Alley Cat Games, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
05:00 -Phantom Division (Pete Ruth & Mark Thomas, Phantom Horizon, 2026)
14:38 -Westphalia (Amabel Holland, Hollandspiele, 2019)
23:33 -Project: ELITE (Konstantinos Kokkinis, Marco Portugal, & Sotirios Tsantilas, CMON, 2020)
27:19 -Ankh: Gods of Egypt (Eric M. Lang, CMON, 2021)
33:25 -Rise & Fall (Christophe Boelinger, Ludically, 2024)
38:15 -Space Cadets: Dice Duel (Geoff Engelstein and Sydney Engelstein, Stronghold, 2013)
43:06 -Outlive (Gregory Iliver, La Boite de Jeu, 2017)News (and why it doesn't matter):
N/A45:22 Topic: SVWAG Con Report
Chef Ashlee: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068315809451
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#369: Take That
22 juli 2025 · 1 uur 19 min
The purest juxtaposition that reveals the absurdity of "take that" effects can be found in many of your heavier games and some consims with cards. You gather the resources, marshal your forces, laboriously haul those troops hither and yon, and then sometimes have to manage some activation tokens or whatnot to finally get it on. And then your opponent plays the "nuh uh" card. Fun! Lees meer
01:19 AYURIS: Daybreak (Matt Leacock & Matteo Menapace, CMYK, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
04:35 -Star Wars Unlimited (Jim Cartwright, Tyler Parrott, Daniel Schaefer, & Jeremy Zwirn, Fantasy Flight Games, 2024)
09:33 -Steam Power (Martin Wallace, Wallace Designs, 2024)
16:20 -Spot It! Bluey (Denis Blanchot, Jacques Cottereau, Guillaume Gille-Naves, & Igor Polouchine, Blue Orange, 2025)
19:15 -Mosaic: A Story of Civilization (Glenn Drover, Forbidden Games, 2022)
21:47 -TowerBrix (Simon Thomas, KOSMOS, 2024)
25:46 -Walk the Plank: Deluxe Edition (Shane Steely & Jared Tinney, Mayday Games, 2017)
28:36 -Bomb Busters (Hisashi Hayashi, Pegasus Spiel, 2024)
32:47 -Paint the Roses (Ben Goldman, North Star Games, 2022)
38:24 -Kinfire Delve: Scorn's Stockade (Kevin Wilson, Incredible Dream Studios, 2024)
41:55 -Transgalactica (Daniele Tascini, Devir, 2025)
49:15 -Phantom Division (Pete Ruth & Mark Thomas, Phantom Horizon, 2026)News (and why it doesn't matter):
55:14 Looking forward to SVWAGCon!55:43 Topic: Take That
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#368: Shackleton Base
14 juli 2025 · 1 uur 21 min
"Dear friend, if you wanna feel better
Don't let the devil make you toss this letter
If you've been crossed up by hoodoo voodoo
A wizard or the lizard
You got family trouble, man trouble, woman trouble
No light through the tunnel
If you're lookin' for a true friend, or a true lover
Or if you've been livin' undercover
Well, I'm comin' to your town to break it all down
And help you with all of this
I'm lookin' to help you find bliss one day
Or one way, can't miss" Lees meer-Jack White, "Archbishop Harold Holmes", presumably extolling the virtues of the Millipede Death Cult
Games Played Last Week:
01:14 -Cthulhu: Death May Die--Fear of the Unknown (Rob Daviau, Eric M. Lang, and Marco Portugal, CMON, 2024)
06:28 -Dune: Imperium--Uprising (Paul Dennen, Dire Wolf, 2023)
12:48 -Innovation Ultimate (Carl Chudyk, Asmadi Games, 2025)
18:25 -Leviathan Wilds: Deepvale (Justin Kemppainen, Moon Crab Games, 2025)
22:03 -Line of Fire: Burnt Moon (Trevor Benjamin & David Thompson, Osprey Games, 2025)
27:23 -Rumble Nation (Yogi Shinichi, Hobby Japan, 2017)
29:23 -Iron Forest (Brian Gomez, Brain Games, 2024)
32:23 -Crash Octopus (Naotaka Shimamoto, itten, 2021)
33:08 -Junk Art (Jay Cormier & Sen-Foong Lim, Pretzel Games, 2016)
33:51 -The Breach (Michele Morosini, Ludus Magnus Studio, 2024)
41:27 -A Gentle Rain (Kevin Wilson, Incredible Dream Studios, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
44:34 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July 27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd
45:24 REPRINTS! PitchCar and expansions, Ra: The Dice Game, Rheinlander, Junk Art
49:35 Carnegie expansion in development49:52 Feature Game: Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon (Fabio Lopiano & Nestore Mangone, Sorry We Are French, 2024)
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#367: Set Up and Tear Down
7 juli 2025 · 1 uur 25 min
It is remarkable to reflect on how much hobbies can demand of us, and certainly board gaming is no different. Setting aside the administrative, economic, and social burdens; we then have to spend so much time teaching, setting up, and tearing down. Alas! 23-step processes for general set up prior to the 12-step individual player board set up. It was not always thus, but here we are. Lees meer
01:42 AYURIS: Voidfall (Nigel Buckle & Dávid Turczi, Mindclash Games, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
07:15 -Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon (Fabio Lopiano & Nestore Mangone, Sorry We Are French, 2024)
13:37 -Cthulhu: Death May Die--Fear of the Unknown (Rob Daviau, Eric M. Lang, and Marco Portugal, CMON, 2024)
17:48 -Barony: Heroes (Marc André, Grail Games, 2025)
21:04 -Netrunner: System Gateway (Zoe Cohen, McGregor Crowley, June Valencia Cuervo, Max Chippington Derrick, Gregory Tongue, and Jade Wesley, Null Signal Games, 2021)
34:37 -Planepita (Eisuke Fuijinawa & Kazunori Hori, SzpiLAB, 2022)
40:50 -ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo (Scott Rogers, Ravensburger, 2021)
44:47 -Endeavor: Deep Sea (Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray, Burnt Island Games, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
50:05 Germán P. Millán's Covenant
50:35 Blood Rage: Valhalla expandalone to be on crowdfunding
53:52 Little Soldiers: green army men miniatures game
54:38 SVWAG Con (July 25th-July 27th) SOLD OUT55:34 Topic: Setup and Teardown
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#366: 7 Empires
1 juli 2025 · 1 uur 13 min
Apparently the American custom of the "push present" can trace its roots to the Anglo-Indian tradition of the "baby bauble", although in the latter case jewellery is the more standard gift (instead of, say, boardgames). Can we acknowledge that baby bauble is a much less crude term? Let's try to be classy here, people. There is already enough about childbirth that is fraught. Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
2:07 -Galactic Cruise (T.K. King, Dennis Northcott, and Koltin Thompson, Kinson Key Games, 2025)
6:31 -Cerebria: The Inside World (Richard Amann, Viktor Peter, István Pócsi, Frigyes Schőberl, Nick Shaw, & Dávid Turczi, Mindclash Games, 2018)
12:53 -Phantom Division (Pete Ruth & Mark Thomas, Phantom Horizon, 2026)
23:19 -Space Gits (Mike Hutchinson, Planet Smasher Games, 2025)
28:03 -Earthborne Rangers (Andrew Fischer, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt, Andrew Navaro, Adam Sadler, and Brady Sadler, Earthborne Games, 2023)
30:00 -Dro Polter (Paul Schulz, Oink Games, 2023)
33:14 -Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon (Fabio Lopiano & Nestore Mangone, Sorry We Are French, 2024)
40:56 -TONKS (Apocrypha_Now, Web-published, 2023)News (and why it doesn't matter):
43:41 Flurry of Friedemann Friese: Formidable Farm, Fearless, Five Families
44:45 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July 27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd45:14 Feature Game: 7 Empires (Mac Gerdts, PD-Verlag, 2024)
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#365: Small Box, Big Game
24 juni 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
Walker's approach to parenting eschews what he sees as the coddling endemic in other families. He believes in competition above all else, where newbs must be pwned and even babies must git gud. "L2P" is his family motto. Some appalled anthropologists tried making a documentary about the Walker household, but they were forced to tone it down and release it as Squid Game. Lees meer
01:21 AYURIS: Through the Desert (Reiner Knizia, KOSMOS, 1998)
Games Played Last Week:
02:56 -Pocket Paladin (Joe Klipfel, Mythfield Games, 2025)
09:44 -7 Empires (Mac Gerdts, PD-Verlag, 2024)
21:10 -A Gentle Rain (Kevin Wilson, Incredible Dream Studios, 2024)
24:37 -Flip 7 (Eric Olsen, The Op Games, 2024)
25:31 -NMBR 9 (Peter Wichmann, ABACUSSPIELE, 2017)
27:44 -Earthborne Rangers (Andrew Fischer, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt, Andrew Navaro, Adam Sadler, and Brady Sadler, Earthborne Games, 2023)
31:23 -Everdell (James A. Wilson, Starling Games, 2018)
35:12 -Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon (Fabio Lopiano & Nestore Mangone, Sorry We Are French, 2024)
40:47 -Animal Upon Animal (Klaus Miltenberger, HABA, 2005)News (and why it doesn't matter):
45:16 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July 27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd
47:38 Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag
48:12 Law 96 threatens hobby game stores:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/hobby-shops-say-it-will-be-game-over-for-their-businesses-due-to-quebecs-language-law/49:49 Topic: Small Box, Big Game
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#364: Pulling Levers
17 juni 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
"Because of the long-standing mutual enmity between Meany and Brown, Meany was named among the suspects in The Case Of Encyclopedia Brown’s Mangled Corpse. Meany denied the allegations. Lees meer
'It’s true that Detective Brown and I didn’t see eye to eye, but I would never do something so downright dirty rotten as murder him,' Meany said. 'Besides, it’s a matter of public record that, at the time the crime was committed, I was at the North Pole watching the penguins.'"
-"Idaville Detective 'Encyclopedia' Brown Found Dead In Library Dumpster", The Onion
01:42 AYURIS: Zoo Vadis (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
4:12 -Sky Team (Luc Rémond, Le Scorpion Masqué, 2023)
7:20 -Ofrenda (Orlando Sá & André Santos, Osprey Games, 2025)
12:51 -Galactic Cruise (T.K. King, Dennis Northcott, and Koltin Thompson, Kinson Key Games, 2025)
20:05 -Twins (Reiner Knizia, Oink Games, 1996)
23:59 -Clinic Deluxe Edition (Alban Viard, AVStudioGames, 2019)
28:23 -Stationfall (Matt Eklund, Ion Game Design, 2023)
37:46 -Great Western Trail: New Zealand (Alexander Pfister, eggertspiele, 2023)
40:45 -Schotten Totten 2 (Reiner Knizia, IELLO, 2020)
45:18 -Corps of Discovery: A Game Set in the World of Manifest Destiny (Jay Cormier & Sen-Foong Lim, Off the Page Games, 2025)News (and why it doesn't matter):
49:13 Balance updates to Fromage
50:17 Tianxia by Daniele Tascini & Antonio Petrelli, another "T" game by Board&Dice
50:39 Burned by Stone Circle Games will have a crowd sale on The Game Crafter soon
51:19 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July 27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd51:45 Topic: Pulling Levers
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#363: The Social Contract
10 juni 2025 · 1 uur 16 min
We generally frown on ad hominem here at SVWAG, ensconced as we are in our glass houses. In the case of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (known affectionately as "Ja-Jay" by no one), though, who wrote extensively about proper methods of childhood education, we shall report that he confessed to rather callously sandbagging his lover into abandoning their children (Rousseau claimed there were five of them, though records are tricky). Way to be a douchebag, Jay-Jay. Lees meer
01:47 AYURIS: City of the Great Machine (German Tikhomirov, CrowD Games, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
03:36 -River Rats (Mathijs Jansen & Robin Stokkel, Four Suits Studio, 2025)
08:08 -The Gang (John Cooper and Kory Heath, KOSMOS, 2024)
09:47 -SCOUT (Kei Kajino, Oink Games, 2019)
11:47 -Storm Raiders (Shem Phillips, Arkus Games, 2025)
13:36 -Tigris & Euphrates (Reiner Knizia, Hans im Gluck, 1997)
16:17 -Corps of Discovery: A Game Set in the World of Manifest Destiny (Jay Cormier & Sen-Foong Lim, Off the Page Games, 2025)
21:58 -Dogs of War (Paolo Mori, CMON, 2014)
25:27 -Stroganov: Turukhan (Andreas Steding, Game Brewer, 2024)
32:48 -Veiled Fate (Max Anderson, Zac Dixon, and Austin Harrison, IV Studio, 2022)
40:29 -Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard (Gaëtan Beaujannot, Olivier Cipière, and Geonil, Mandoo Games, 2023)News (and why it doesn't matter):
43:56 SEAL Team Flix follow up Phantom Division! Stealth! Tactics! Flicking! on Kickstarter
44:29 Pacific Command, fleet miniatures game, by Osprey and Mike Hutchinson
45:41 Agricola Special Edition on Gamefound
47:43 Catacombs Alpha, new minimalist Catacombs starter, on Kickstarter
48:25 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July 27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd49:17 Topic: The Social Contract
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#362: Rumble Nation
3 juni 2025 · 1 uur 9 min
I've read several different accounts of the battle of Sekigahara, and I swear there's no mention of Kevin Bacon or anyone bleaching their hair. How am I to know if Pony Boy stayed golden? Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
01:42 -MicroMacro: Kids--Crazy City Park (Johannes Sich, Edition Spielwiese, 2025)
04:20 -Good Puppers (Chris Cieslik, Asmadi Games, 2021)
07:38 -23 Knives (Tyler J. Brown, Play to Z, 2025)
15:13 -TEAM3 GREEN (Alex Cutler & Matt Fantastic, Brain Games, 2019)
20:04 -Marabunta (Reiner Knizia, Space Cowboys, 2023)
21:28 -Ra (Reiner Knizia, alea, 1999)
23:13 -Ra: The Dice Game (Reiner Knizia, Rio Grande Games, 2009)
26:16 -Moving Company (Guo Jiahui & Wu Ying, Whales Entertainment, 2025)
31:42 -Santorini: Riddle of the Sphinx (James Van Niekerk & Paul Saxberg, Roxley, 2025)
37:30 -The Crew: Family Adventure (Thomas Sing, KOSMOS, 2024)
42:07 -Hot Streak (Jon Perry, CMYK, 2025)
43:42 -Flip 7 (Eric Olsen, The Op Games, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
45:09 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July 27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd
46:35 Tabletop Tycoon acquires the rights to Eric Lang CMON designs: Blood Rage, Rising Sun, Ankh, Arcadia/Starcadia Quest
48:48 Follow-up to SEAL Team Flix: Phantom Division on Kickstarter! (Pete Ruth, Mark Thomas)
50:52 Sniper Elite: Operation Kraken on Gamefound52:02 Feature Game: Rumble Nation (Yogi Shinichi, Hobby Japan, 2017)
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#361: What Makes Longer Games Worth It
27 mei 2025 · 1 uur
Walker and Mark almost come to blows over Flip 7 this week. Their disagreements over the merits of the product (Game? Experience? Way of Life? Sub "Roll a 6, Win a Cookie" distraction?) have long simmered, but the fundamental schism can no longer be ignored or papered over. They finally have it out. Lees meer
02:27 AYURIS: Knarr (Thomas Dupont, Bombyx, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
03:36 -Autobahn (Fabio Lopiano and Nestore Mangone, Alley Cat Games, 2022)
06:39 -Scythe (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games, 2016)
09:47 -Fairy Tale (Satoshi Nakamura, What's Your Game?, 2008)
15:00 -Moon (Haakon Gaarder, Sinister Fish Games, 2023)
18:17 -Spots (Alex Hague, Jon Perry, and Justin Vickers, CMYK, 2022)
21:13 -ito (326, Arclight Games, 2019)
28:06 -Deep Rock Galactic (Ole Steiness, MOOD Publishing, 2022)
31:45 -Flip 7 (Eric Olsen, The Op Games, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
35:50 Recall from Alion by Dr. Ø; pseudo-sequel to Revive?
38:07 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July 27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd38:40 Topic: What Makes Longer Games Worth It?
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#360: Hot Streak
20 mei 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
"Observers brought attention to [Gritty's] appearance, which could be construed as frightening, while The Guardian described him as an "acid trip of a mascot." Response to Gritty's introduction was immediate and sharply mixed, with many fans on social media expressing bewilderment and some fright at his appearance. Public perception of Gritty became increasingly positive as Gritty's antics, which subverted the cuddly, family-friendly appearance and demeanor of other NHL mascots, gained more attention on social media."
-Wikipedia Lees meerGames Played Last Week:
00:56 -Can't Stop (Sid Sackson, Playte Games, 2023)
04:01 -Tigris & Euphrates (Reiner Knizia, Hans im Gluck, 1997)
13:09 -Hansa Teutonica: East Expansion (Andreas Steding, Argentum Verlag, 2010)
19:06 -Pandemic: Fall of Rome (Matt Leacock & Paolo Mori, Z-Man, 2018)
22:03 -SpellBook (Phil Walker-Harding, Space Cowboys, 2023)
24:40 -Skara Brae (Shem Phillips, Garphill Games, 2025)
29:52 -Sausage Sizzle (Inka and Marcus Brand, 25th Century Games, 2012)
32:07 -Unstoppable (John D. Clair, Renegade Game Studios, 2025)
38:41 -Toy Battle (Paolo Mori & Alessandro Zucchini, Repos Production, 2025)
40:38 -Leviathan Wilds (Justin Kemppainen, Moon Crab Games, 2024)
43:48 -Men at Work (Rita Modl, Pretzel Games, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):
49:10 Lunar Rush expansion: Innovation
49:30 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd
49:58 Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship
51:18 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag53:32 Feature Game: Hot Streak (Jon Perry, CMYK, 2025)
[EDIT] We neglected to disclose that this was a review copy provided by the publisher. We apologize for the omission.
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#359: Gibberers
13 mei 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
"gibber--intransitive verb
:to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and often foolishly"
-Merriam-Webster Lees meer"gibberer--noun
:the hosts of SVWAG"Games Played Last Week:
01:17 -Sausage Sizzle (Inka and Marcus Brand, 25th Century Games, 2012)
05:22 -Landmarks (Rodrigo Rego & Danilo Valente, Floodgate Games, 2024)
09:11 -Skara Brae (Shem Phillips, Garphill Games, 2025)
14:20 -Moving Company (Guo Jiahui & Wu Ying, Whales Entertainment, 2025)
16:49 -First Rat (Gabriele Ausiello & Virginio Gigli, Pegasus Spiele, 2022)
20:47 -Barbecubes (Brett J. Gilbert & Rob Sparks, Alley Cat Games, 2025)
24:35 -Unstoppable (John D. Clair, Renegade Game Studios, 2025)
29:48 -Battle of Mekaverse (Reiner Knizia, Kids Logic, 2024)
34:25 -Dorfromantik: The Board Game (Michael Palm and Lukas Zach, Pegasus Spiele, 2022)
37:41 -Toy Battle (Paolo Mori & Alessandro Zucchini, Repos Production, 2025)
40:04 -Dungeon Twister: The Card Game (Christophe Boelinger, Asmodee, 2013)
46:34 -Rumble Nation (Yogi Shinichi, Hobby Japan, 2017)News (and why it doesn't matter):
50:10 SETI expansion: Space Agencies
50:46 Flamecraft digital
51:28 POGs are coming back? Slam Throne
52:02 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd53:53 Feature Game: Gibberers: The Word Game of Language Invention and Civilization Development (Keisei, Hobby Japan, 2024)
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#358: Tricky Edge Cases
6 mei 2025 · 1 uur
Chaka Khan, let me rock you
Let me rock you, Chaka Khan
Let me rock you, that's all I wanna do
Chaka Khan, let me rock you
Let me rock you, Chaka Khan
Let me rock you, 'cause I feel for you Lees meer-Chaka Khan, "I Feel for You"
01:26 AYURIS: Barcelona (Dani Garcia, Board&Dice, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
03:10 -Snap Ships Tactics: Swarm Box (Josh Derksen, Snap Ships, 2025)
10:13 -Battle of Mekaverse (Reiner Knizia, Kids Logic, 2024)
15:34 -Everdell Farshore (James A. Wilson & Clarissa A. Wilson, Starling Games, 2023)
20:19 -Trading Titans (Reiner Knizia, Kids Logic, 2024)
25:03 -TAH WARS: Dice Tower Game (Luca Vince Caltabiano, BOARD TO DEATH, 2025)
31:06 -Things in Rings (Peter C. Hayward, Allplay, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
35:06 Lifeboat by Jeff Siadek reprint on Kickstarter
37:15 Underwater Cities: Data Era expansion
38:18 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd39:55 Topic: Tricky Edge Cases
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#357: Post-Easter Update
29 april 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
While we pride ourselves in playing more games in a week than many play in a month, when we take a week away from the SVWAG studio we often face a truly herculean backlog of games to discuss. This two-week period is no exception. Rest assured, we would never leave our dear listeners in the lurch, so we will keep you updated so you need not miss a thing. Lees meer
01:00 AYURIS: Race to the Raft (Frank West, The City of Games, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
03:40 -Knarr (Thomas Dupont, Bombyx, 2023)
06:42 -Quin (Brian Rooney and Taeleen Woodard, Arch & Gravity Publishing, 2024)
11:41 -Slay the Spire: The Board Game (Gary Dworetsky, Anthony Giovannetti, and Casey Yano, Contention Games, 2024)
14:47 -Gùgōng: Pànjūn (Andreas Steding, Game Brewer, 2020)
22:00 -Skull (Hervé Marly, Asmodee, 2011)
24:09 -Space Gits (Mike Hutchinson, Planet Smasher Games, 2025)
30:06 -Bad Company (Kenneth Minde, Kristian Amundsen Østby, and Eilif Svensson, Aporta Games, 2021)
34:44 -Rebirth (Reiner Knizia, Mighty Boards, 2024)
36:48 -Tír na nÓg (Isaac Shalev & Jason Slingerland, Grand Gamers Guild, 2024)
38:51 -Let's Go! To Japan (Josh Wood, AEG, 2024)
41:52 -Keyflower (Sebastien Bleasdale & Richard Breese, R&D Games, 2012)
42:54 -Altay: Dawn of Civilization (Paolo Mori & Ole Steiness, Ares Games, 2024)
47:09 -Abandon All Artichokes (Emma Larkins, Gamewright, 2020)
49:58 -Quacks (Wolfgang Warsch, Schmidt Spiele, 2018)
52:02 -23 Knives (Tyler J. Brown, Play to Z, 2025)
59:15 -Ghost Blitz: Spooky Doo (Jacques Zeimet, Zoch Verlag, 2016)News (and why it doesn't matter):
1:03:26 Catacombs Alpha, new entry point in the Catacombs series, on crowdfunding
1:04:13 Tariff highlights: Stegmaier lawsuit, CMON, Greater Than Games
1:07:15 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd
1:07:47 Commands & Colors news: new Memoir '44, Battle of Hoth
1:09:08 SVWAG interview with James of One Man Clapping episode #26Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands…
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#356: Endgame Scoring
15 april 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
Tiebreakers are arguably a kind of endgame scoring. I respect the fact that they are invariably necessary (I mean, if for no other reason than if they're omitted some smartass like me will complain). That said, clearly if the scoreboard goes to 200+ I don't imagine we'll be hauling out the second tiebreaker condition all that much. Frequently the endgame conversion of resources to points already serves as a tiebreaker anyway. Lees meer
01:48 AYURIS: Nidavellir (Serge Laget, GRRRE Games, 2020)
Games Played Last Week:
04:57 -FlickFleet (Jackson Pope & Paul Willcox, Eurydice Games, 2018)
11:55 -Slay the Spire: The Board Game (Gary Dworetsky, Anthony Giovannetti, and Casey Yano, Contention Games, 2024)
14:21 -Altay: Dawn of Civilization (Paolo Mori & Ole Steiness, Ares Games, 2024)
17:19 -Wizards of the Grimoire: Shifting Sands (Cole Banning & Joe Banning, Grimoire Games, 2025)
21:23 -Risk 2210 A.D.: Frontline (Mike Gills, Renegade Game Studios, 2025)
32:57 -Calimala (Fabio Lopiano, Alley Cat Games, 2024)
37:20 -Ransom Notes: House Party Edition (Josh Roberts, Evan and Josh's Very Special Games Company, 2023)
40:16 -Leviathan Wilds (Justin Kemppainen, Moon Crab Games, 2024)
42:57 -Regicide (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, & Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2020)News (and why it doesn't matter):
45:15 New Meltwater by Capstone Games
46:19 Open registration for SVWAG Con (July 25th-July27th) on Eventbrite! https://tinyurl.com/25s6p5jd47:24 Topic: Endgame Scoring
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#355: Rise & Fall
8 april 2025 · 1 uur 16 min
When is a thing like another thing? Is Albedo like Core Worlds? Is Cat Blues like Rummy? Is Through the Desert like Go? Is a nudge as good as a wink to blind bat? Are all Roll & Writes inferior to Roll a 6, Win a Cookie? Is Christophe Boelinger France's Vlaada Chvátil? Probably, because it's all just like Mage Knight in the end. Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
04:46 -Street Masters: Tide of the Dragon (Scott McFall, Adam Sadler, Brady Sadler, and Mitch Schroeder, Blacklist Games, 2022)
09:45 -Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Collector's Edition (Ted Alspach, Bézier Games, 2022)
13:55 -Cat Blues: The Big Gig (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2024)
22:14 -Moon Colony Bloodbath (Donald X. Vaccarino, Rio Grande Games, 2025)
28:03 -Albedo: Space Pirates! (Kai Herbertz, Herbertz Entertainment UG, 2018)
35:43 -Malediction (Leo Cunha, Nicole Lobo, and Daniel Pettersen de Lucena, Loot Studios, 2025)
39:46 -Hey, That's My Fish! (Günter Cornett & Alvydas Jakeliunas, Bambus Spieleverlag, 2003)
40:55 -Parks: Roll & Hike (Henry Audubon & Mattox Shuler, Keymaster Games, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
44:04 Tariffs impacting the hobby
45:12 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag
46:23 Zombie Princess, a riff on Spades, by Bézier and Ted Alspach47:05 Feature Game: Rise & Fall (Christophe Boelinger, Ludically, 2024)
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#354: 20th Century Games
1 april 2025 · 1 uur 20 min
People have favourably described our physical appearances as "borderline tolerable" and "just short of hideous", and that was just our mothers. In light of this, we put ourselves forward as candidates for all manner of game show. Mark is quite fond of Rice-a-Roni and thus would be more than happy to just have a consolation prize, and Walker just wants to spin something as hard as he can. Better reinforce your props. Lees meer
01:43 AYURIS: Archeos Society (Paolo Mori, Space Cowboys, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
03:16 -Ethnos (Paolo Mori, CMON, 2017)
08:20 -Wizards of the Grimoire: Shifting Sands (Cole Banning & Joe Banning, Grimoire Games, 2025)
12:14 -Jenga Maker (Uncredited, Hasbro, 2022)
16:20 -Click A Tree (Uwe Rosenberg, Skellig Games, 2025)
18:15 -Street Masters: Tide of the Dragon (Scott McFall, Adam Sadler, Brady Sadler, and Mitch Schroeder, Blacklist Games, 2022)
22:15 -Crafting the Cosmos (David Gordon & TAM, Office Dog, 2025)
23:48 -Scape Goat (Jon Perry, Indie Boards & Cards, 2020)
28:41 -Shuffle and Swing (Robert Hovakimyan, Bitewing Games, 2025)
32:31 -Bebop (Robert Hovakimyan, Bitewing Games, 2025)
39:53 -El Grande (Wolfgang Kramer & Richard Ulrich, Hans im Glück, 1995)
44:03 -Crokinole (Uncredited, Mayday, 2025)News (and why it doesn't matter):
47:19 Phantom Division returning and editorial challenges
47:55 Early Registration for SVWAGCon for patrons! www.patreon.com/svwag
48:20 G.I. Joe Heroscape--will Transformers follow?
52:53 CMYK game show: Perfect Line hosted by Deborah Norville
54:26 Ark Nova spin-off Sanctuary
54:54 StarCraft miniatures and board games incoming
55:14 Alley Cat games sticking to crowdfunding, skipping retail55:37 Topic: 20th Century Games
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#353: Rebirth
25 maart 2025 · 1 uur
In logic, conditionals are always true if the antecedent is false. You can't falsify the conditional if the conditions aren't met. For example, if Mark can bench 500 pounds, then vinegar tastes like cotton candy. Rest assured that I ain't benching that much, so don't worry about it; the conditional is true. Similarly, I can invite pretty much whoever I want to SVWAGCon. Fareed Zakaria, Olivia Rodrigo, and Jordan Mechner? Sure, they're all invited. They don't know about us, but it's all good. Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
04:00 -Finspan (David Gordon & Michael O'Connell, Stonemaier Games, 2025)
07:51 -Slay the Spire: The Board Game (Gary Dworetsky, Anthony Giovannetti, and Casey Yano, Contention Games, 2024)
11:16 -Marvel Dice Throne Missions (Gavan Brown & Nate Chatellier, Roxley, 2025)
13:28 -Star Trek: Into the Unknown (Max Brooke & Michael Gernes, WizKids, 2025)
21:51 -Lunar (Masato Uesagi, Allplay, 2024)
23:25 -Lone Wolves (Yasuyuki Nakamura, Wonderful World Board Games, 2024)
27:57 -Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2024)
33:00 -Duos (Johannes Schmidauer-König, CMYK, 2025)
35:35 -Creature Caravan (Ryan Laukat, Red Raven Games, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
41:00 Early Registration for SVWAGCon for patrons! www.patreon.com/svwag
42:37 Space Gits on Kickstarter soon! A dexterity miniatures game of drunk orcs43:48 Feature Game: Rebirth (Reiner Knizia, Mighty Boards, 2024)
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#352: Ascending Empires: Zenith Edition
18 maart 2025 · 1 uur 17 min
I was donating blood while wearing my Transformers Converse shoes, and two different phlebotomists commented positively about them. "We have won the cultural argument," I said, deliberately burying the lede that demographic destiny is probably the chief cause. I suspect that the same forces explain increased societal acceptance of toys, and board games are not immune. Thank goodness! Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
01:22 -Guards of Atlantis II Arcane Hero Pack (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2024)
07:56 -Creature Caravan (Ryan Laukat, Red Raven Games, 2024)
10:46 -Marvel Dice Throne Missions (Gavan Brown & Nate Chatellier, Roxley, 2025)
15:55 -The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era (Josh J. Carlson, Michael Gernes, Logan Giannini, Ryan Howard, Salem Scott, and Josh Wielgus, Chip Theory Games, 2025)
26:21 -Dungeon Kart (Michael Xuereb, Brotherwise Games, 2024)
30:50 -Star Trek: Captain's Chair (Nigel Buckle & Dávid Turczi, WizKids, 2025)
34:47 -Keyflower: The Merchants (Sebastian Bleasdale & Richard Breese, R&D Games, 2014)
40:47 -Rush M.D. (Athony Howgego, Konstantinos Kokkinis, & Dávid Turczi, Artipia Games, 2020)News (and why it doesn't matter):
46:34 Yokohama Duel 2nd edition by Synapses Games
46:56 Helldivers II board game by Steamforged Games
49:02 New content for Inis and Tiletum
50:02 Early Registration for SVWAGCon for patrons! www.patreon.com/svwag50:41 Feature Game: Ascending Empires: Zenith Edition (Ian Cooper, Play to Z, 2024)
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#351: Flexing New Muscles
10 maart 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
As is readily apparent from the show's subject matter and our general presentation, we here at SVWAG are stone-cold jocks who excel at the sports and are thoroughly ripped. We trust the launcher and never ever skip leg day. Lees meer
00:57 AYURIS: Expeditions (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
03:04 -Coloretto (Michael Schacht, ABACUSSPIELE, 2003)
07:16 -Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game (Emerson Matsuuchi, CMON, 2025)
14:20 -Mega Civilization (Flo de Haan, John Rodriguez, and Francis Tresham, 999 Games, 2015)
30:11 -Star Trek: Captain's Chair (Nigel Buckle & Dávid Turczi, WizKids, 2025)
37:38 -Keep the Heroes Out!: Boss Battles (Luís Brueh, Brueh Games, 2024)
40:46 -Until Proven Guilty: The Starry Sky Necklace (Enrico Procacci, DV Games, 2024)
46:46 -Crafting the Cosmos (David Gordon & TAM, Office Dog, 2025)News (and why it doesn't matter):
48:24 Granddaughter success with Heap-O-Sheep
48:48 Registration for SVWAGCon open for patrons! www.patreon.com/svwag
50:18 Note-taking in Space Alert and Paint the Roses53:57 Topic: Flexing New Muscles
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#350: Beyond the Horizon
4 maart 2025 · 1 uur 3 min
Despite the welcome relative absence of anthropomorphic animals this week--aside from some sundry ducks in Lorcana--we see a lot of animals and various critters this week. We eschew sacrifices to a dodgy snake in Imperium, we fling sheep with abandon, we throw down with some wrestling bugs, and that's on top of comparatively mundane animal husbandry in Keyflower. Mark offered some unflattering comparisons between Walker and various animals during Crokinole, but that doesn't quite count. Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
02:22 -Space Alert (Vlaada Chvátil, Czech Games Edition, 2008)
04:58 -Imperium: Horizons (Nigel Buckle and Dávid Turczi, Osprey Games, 2024)
09:17 CMYK's Magenta Series: Duos (Johannes Schmidauer-König, CMYK, 2025), Figment (Wolfgang Warsch, CMYK, 2025), Fives (Taiki Shinzawa, CMYK, 2025), Fruit Fight (Reiner Knizia, CMYK, 2025)
12:21 -Heap-O-Sheep: The High Flying Game of Flingin' Sheep! (Dominic Yard, Fat Brain Toy Company, Unknown)
16:48 -Crokinole (Uncredited, Mayday, 2025)
19:36 -Kabuto Sumo: Sakura Slam (John Brieger, Michael Dunsmore, & Tony Miller, Allplay, 2024)
24:28 -Disney Lorcana (David Iezzi, Ryan Miller, and Steve Warner, Ravensburger, 2023)
32:40 -Keyflower: The Farmers (Sebastian Bleasdale & Richard Breese, R&D Games, 2013)News (and why it doesn't matter):
38:24 Agricola: Dead Harvest from Awaken Realms
39:07 Rest in peace, Rodger MacGowan, prolific designer and artist
40:01 Chris Farrell has a substack! https://chrisfarrell317.substack.com/p/week-of-feb-24th-2025
40:52 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag
Patreon perk: early registration for SVWAG Con!43:03 Feature Game: Beyond the Horizon (Dennis K. Chan, Adam Hill, Ben Pinchback, and Matt Riddle, Cranio Creations, 2024)
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#349: A Plowful of Games
25 februari 2025 · 1 uur 7 min
While we hate to confirm your most reductive of preconceived notions, snow removal in Canadian cities is no joke. The fleet of vehicles required to allow for daily life in even a small Canadian city after major snowfall is impressive. The balletic dance of some of their formations while in operation calls to mind the precise of mid-air refuelling. Lees meer
01:03 AYURIS: Ra (Reiner Knizia, alea, 1999)
Games Played Last Week:
04:07 -Mistborn (John D. Clair, Brotherwise Games, 2024)
09:17 -Cerebria: The Inside World (Richard Amann, Viktor Peter, István Pócsi, Frigyes Schőberl, Nick Shaw, & Dávid Turczi, Mindclash Games, 2018)
13:40 -1793: Patriots & Traitors (Jason St.Just, Sound of Drums, 2024)
20:35 -Navegador (Mac Gerdts, PD-Verlag, 2010)
26:43 -Galactic Renaissance (Christian Martinez, Matagot, 2024)
29:25 -Cyclades: Legendary Edition (Bruno Cathala & Ludovic Maublanc, Open Sesame Games, 2024)
39:24 -Whale Riders (Reiner Knizia, Grail Games, 2021)
41:06 -Figment (Wolfgang Warsch, CMYK, 2025)
46:01 -Kabuto Sumo: Sakura Slam (John Brieger, Michael Dunsmore, & Tony Miller, Allplay, 2024)
49:53 -Portmanteau: A Cooperative Game of Linguistic Fusion (Robert Fisk, Doghalla Games, 2025)
54:26 -Dragon Valley (CW Karstens, Diamond K Games, 2012)News (and why it doesn't matter):
1:01:56 Dragon Valley: Advisors & Quests, 2012
1:02:27 2001: A Space Odyssey 1 vs. all
1:03:13 Paolo Mori and Alessandro Zucchini form Ingenioso Hidalgo for Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars
1:03:53 Feya's Swamp from Helge and Anselm Ostertag
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#348: SETI
11 februari 2025 · 1 uur 6 min
Colour nouns are essentially arbitrary; how one decides to chop up the visible spectrum of light is a matter of contingent taxonomy. Some languages have one noun for both blue and green, for example. English has a word for light red (pink) where other languages don't. Russian similarly has a word for light blue. And then there's magenta, which we can all agree is a scene and a half. Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
02:35 -Fruit Fight (Reiner Knizia, CMYK, 2025)
06:55 -Fives (Taiki Shinzawa, CMYK, 2025)
09:49 -Figment (Wolfgang Warsch, CMYK, 2025)
12:49 -Duos (Johannes Schmidauer-König, CMYK, 2025)
16:17 -Sidereal Confluence (TauCeti Deichmann, Wizkids, 2017)
19:24 -Fishing (Friedemann Friese, 2F-Spiele, 2024)
24:36 -The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era (Josh J. Carlson, Michael Gernes, Logan Giannini, Ryan Howard, Salem Scott, and Josh Wielgus, Chip Theory Games, 2025)
32:24 -Storm Raiders (Shem Phillips, Arkus Games, 2025)News (and why it doesn't matter):
38:55 Mythic Games in trouble (again), crowdfunding commitments unfulfilled
40:37 Monolith's Reichbusters: Reloaded
41:10 Cardboard Ghosts by Amabel Holland and CRC Press
41:46 Lord of the Rings Pandemic! Fate of the Fellowship
42:06 Crawling Chaos by Mike Hutchinson on Kickstarter
44:15 Endless Winter expansion crowdfunding soon
44:28 Rebel Princess: Happily Ever After44:44 Feature Game: SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Tomáš Holek, Czech Games Edition, 2024)
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#347: How Expansions Can Fail
4 februari 2025 · 1 uur 9 min
Our upcoming convention, July 25th-27th 2025, is in its planning stages! We have a venue but nothing much else yet. Not even a name! Suggestions welcome. Mark quite likes So Very Wrong About Games Fun Times Good Vibes Only Trans Rights Are Human Rights Boardgame Jamboree, but he worries that it might be too pithy. Few things are off the table! Special guests? Maybe! Fabulous prizes? Well, prizes, definitely. More like obligatory prizes. Lees meer
03:08 AYURIS: Undaunted: Battle of Britain (Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson, Osprey Games, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
04:49 -Malediction (Leo Cunha, Nicole Lobo, and Daniel Pettersen de Lucena, Loot Studios, 2025)
12:09 -Slay the Spire: The Board Game (Gary Dworetsky, Anthony Giovannetti, and Casey Yano, Contention Games, 2024)
13:43 -Lone Wolves (Yasuyuki Nakamura, Wonderful World Board Games, 2024)
18:51 -Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape (Alex Olteanu & Marco Portugal, CMON, 2022)
24:01 -Critter Kitchen (Alex Cutler & Peter C. Hayward, Carboard Alchemy, 2025)
27:59 -Coloretto (Michael Schacht, ABACUSSPIELE, 2003)
29:26 -The White Castle: Matcha (Israel Cendrero & Sheila Santos, Devir Games, 2024)
32:56 -Planet Unknown: Supermoon (Ryan Lambert & Adam Rehberg, Adam's Apple Games, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
38:59 Bullet big box
40:03 Benjamin Sperling Persuasion roll and write on Kickstarter
40:32 Champions of Midgard 10th Anniversary Edition
41:15 SVWWAG Convention! July 25th, 26th, 27th. Details to follow!42:21 Topic: How Expansions Can Fail
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#346: 2024 Year in Review
28 januari 2025 · 1 uur 38 min
If you can choose to be the regular version or the spicy version, you obviously choose the spicy version. I mean, sure, the capsaicin may sting, but one assumes that the canonical version is caliente. Put another way, would you prefer "SVWAG" or "SVWAG en fuego?" The choice is clear. It is a corollary of sorts to Winston Zeddemore axiom that when someone asks you if you are a god, you say yes. Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
01:33 -Under Our Sun (Maximilian Lichtner and David Poluda, tabletopper games, 2024)
06:05 -Cosmic Frog (Jenna Felli, Devious Weasel Games, 2020)
09:34 -Ankh: Gods of Egypt (Eric M. Lang, CMON, 2021)
14:20 -Trio (Kaya Miyano, Cocktail Games, 2021)
17:17 -Don't L.L.A.M.A. Dice (Reiner Knizia, AMIGO, 2021)
18:58 -Slay the Spire: The Board Game (Gary Dworetsky, Anthony Giovannetti, and Casey Yano, Contention Games, 2024)
21:02 -The Vale of Eternity: Artifacts (Eric Hong and Mathieu Rivero, Mandoo Games, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
25:06 If you know of games lost in the L.A. fires, let us know!26:28 Topic: Year in Review 2024
27:43 Walker and Mark's Personal Top 10s
48:50 2024 SVWAG Game of the Year
52:24 Special Categories
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#345: Thunder Road: Vendetta
21 januari 2025 · 1 uur 9 min
"Robert! This here is velvet--not velveteen. A gentleman must learn the difference."
-Gilbert Fontaine de la Tour D'Haute Rive Lees meerGames Played Last Week:
01:53 -Fishing (Friedemann Friese, 2F-Spiele, 2024)
08:04 -Revive (Helge Meissner, Eilif Svensson, Anna Wermlund, and Kristian Amundsen Østby, Aporta Games, 2022)
10:46 -SCOUT (Kei Kajino, Oink Games, 2019)
14:33 -MLEM: Space Agency (Reiner Knizia, Rebel Studio, 2024)
16:53 -Unconscious Mind (Laskas, Jonny Pac, Yoma, and Antonio Zax, Fantasia Games, 2024)
20:10 -SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Laskas, Jonny Pac, Yoma, and Antonio Zax, Czech Games Edition, 2024)
28:27 -Kollide (Uncredited, Relatable, 2024)
31:12 -Gun It (Randy O'Connor, Randy O Games, 2024)
35:14 -Harmonies (Johan Benvenuto, Libellud, 2024)
38:08 -Gudnak (Timothy S. O'Brien and Ian Oliver, Chaotic Great, 2024)
42:19 -Good Puppers (Chris Cieslik, Asmadi Games, 2021)News (and why it doesn't matter):
44:20 The System Works: BGG improved plague counters, Rise & Fall replacement part
45:50 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag
46:05 If you or someone you know has lost games in the West Coast fires, please reach out47:05 Feature Game: Thunder Road: Vendetta--Maximum Chrome (Dave Chalker, Noah Cohen, Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, Brett Myers, and Brian Neff, Restoration Games, 2023)
Thunder Road: Vendetta--Carnival of Chaos (Noah Cohen, Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, and Brian Neff, Restoration Games, 2024)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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#344: Only at Certain Player Counts
14 januari 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
The editorial department of So Very Wrong About Games has several sub-divisions, and admittedly the orgchart gets a bit baroque at this point. The rules errors office is technically a sub-branch of the fact checking desk, but it is funded out of the game design sub-budget. This muddies the line of accountability, and as anyone who works with gibbons can tell you, this is not ideal. Lees meer
03:53 AYURIS: Lacrimosa (Gerard Ascendi and Ferran Renalias, Devir, 2022)
Games Played Last Week:
05:20 -Endeavor: Deep Sea (Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray, Burnt Island Games, 2024)
08:30 -Hanabi (Antoine Bauza, ABACUSSPIELE, 2010)
13:55 -Thor (Reiner Knizia, Heidelberger Spieleverlag, 2002)
16:39 -Quin (Brian Rooney and Taeleen Woodard, Arch & Gravity Publishing, 2024)
21:12 -Hamster Roll (Jacques Zeimet, Zoch Verlag, 2000)
24:33 -Gun It (Randy O'Connor, Randy O Games, 2024)
30:20 -Spirits of the Forest (Michael Schacht, ThunderGryph Games, 2018)News (and why it doesn't matter):
33:44 Project K: The League of Legends Trading Card Game
35:42 Dragons Down: Natives and Legends on Kickstarter
36:26 Assault on Doomrock: Party Hard expansion soon on crowdfunding
37:11 Gamers in need after Los Angeles fires: https://www.gofundme.com/f/our-home-is-gone-we-need-your-help38:11 Topic: Only at Certain Player Counts
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#343: Fromage
7 januari 2025 · 1 uur 10 min
It has come to our attention that there has been a great deficiency in SVWAG through the years, namely our shameful neglect of the French language. The sheer Gaul! Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
01:34 -The Isle of Cats Duel (Frank West, The City of Games, 2024)
04:28 -Res Arcana: Lux et Tenebrae (Thomas Lehman, Sand Castle Games, 2019)
08:00 -Worldspanner Factions (Brett G. Murrell, Worldspanner, 2024)
17:44 -The Crew: Mission Deep Sea (Thomas Sing, KOSMOS, 2021)
20:30 -Atiwa (Uwe Rosenberg, Lookout Games, 2022)
23:33 -My Favorite Things (Daiki [Nilgiri] Aoyama and Pepe_R, Play for Keeps, 2015)
31:03 Endeavor: Deep Sea (Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray, Burnt Island Games, 2024)
37:35 -Through the Desert (Reiner Knizia, Allplay, 2024)
39:39 -Dro Polter (Paul Schulz, Oink Games, 2023)News (and why it doesn't matter):
41:34 Fort Circle Games' First Monday in October by Talia Rosen available for pre-order
42:28 Stranger Things Risk...?
43:10 APE Games to reprint Whale Riders
43:38 Kasper Lapp's Our Secret Society
44:04 Formaggio, expandalone to...44:18 Feature Game: Fromage (Matthew O'Malley and Ben Rosset, Road to Infamy Games, 2024)
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#342: Sheep in Wolves' Clothing
31 december 2024 · 56 min
Trust the launcher. Lees meer
01:28 AYURIS: Darwin’s Journey (Simone Luciani and Nestore Mangone, ThunderGryph Games, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
03:49 -Iron Forest (Brian Gomez, Brain Games, 2024)
10:22 -Slide Quest (Nicolas Bourgoin & Jean-François Rochas, Blue Orange, 2019)
14:00 -The Gang (John Cooper and Kory Heath, KOSMOS, 2024)
17:08 -Harmonies (Johan Benvenuto, Libellud, 2024)
19:23 -Set a Watch (Mike Gnade and Todd Walsh, Rock Manor Games, 2019)
23:12 -Endeavor: Age of Expansion (Jarratt Gray, Burnt Island Games, 2020)
28:05 -Windmill Valley (Dani Garcia, Board&Dice, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
32:35 It's already Lunar New Year
33:33 From Fortress America to 2045, Walker makes associations
37:21 Second Zenobia Award winner: The Porters, by Lucas Cockburn, Neco Cockburn, and Alex Goss about unionization of black Canadian rail workers38:57 Topic: Sheep in Wolves' Clothing
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#341: Holiday Catch-Up
24 december 2024 · 58 min
Walker's glorious return portends a bumper crop of games to discuss, so we will forego a feature game or topic this week in favour of a deluge. Lees meer
02:11 AYURIS: Stationfall (Matt Eklund, Ion Game Design, 2023)
Games Played Last Week:
07:08 -Tiny Mini Golf (Kamis Kamiński, Self-published, 2023)
12:46 -Green Team Wins (Nathan Thornton, 25th Century Games, 2022)
15:33 -Flip 7 (Eric Olsen, The Op Games, 2024)
18:08 -The LOOP (Maxime Rambourg and Théo Rivière, Pandasaurus Games, 2020)
20:20 -Civolution (Stefan Feld, Deep Print Games, 2024)
24:26 -Iron Forest (Brian Gomez, Brain Games, 2024)
27:20 -Windmill Valley (Dani Garcia, Board&Dice, 2024)
28:44 -Dragons Down (Scott DeMers, Mr. B Games, 2024)
36:05 -The White Castle: Matcha (Israel Cendrero & Sheila Santos, Devir Games, 2024)
37:43 -Black Forest (Tido Lorenz and Uwe Rosenberg, Feuerland Spiele, 2024)
40:26 -Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game (Antoine Bauza, Corentin Lebrat, Ludovic Maublanc, and Théo Rivière, Scorpion Masqué, 2024)
47:44 -Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders (Tim Eisner and Ben Eisner, Druid City Games, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
51:48 Red Tank media literacy: ask what elements of con hauls were purchased
53:43 Green Team Wins Holiday Party PackAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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#340: Frustration with Randomness
17 december 2024 · 1 uur 15 min
In addition to having to struggle with new hardware on account of gravity murdering his tablet of 10+ years, we now must try to adjust to capturing the sweet, sonorous tones of the elusive Jimbo. It's hard to get audio levels right when the mic's compressor itself swoons from sheer bliss. Lees meer
02:43 AYURIS: Revive (Helge Meissner, Eilif Svensson, Anna Wermlund, and Kristian Amundsen Østby, Aporta Games, 2022)
Games Played Last Week:
06:28 -Civolution (Stefan Feld, Deep Print Games, 2024)
19:45 -Race for the Galaxy (Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande Games, 2007)
25:22 -Don't L.L.A.M.A. Dice (Reiner Knizia, AMIGO, 2021)
27:56 -Windmill Valley (Dani Garcia, Board&Dice, 2024)
30:32 -The Isle of Cats Duel (Frank West, The City of Games, 2024)
34:22 -The White Castle: Matcha (Israel Cendrero & Sheila Santos, Devir Games, 2024)
37:01 -Battalion: War of the Ancients (Paolo Mori and Francesco Sirocchi, Osprey, 2024)
43:11 -Spirit Island (R. Eric Reuss, Greater Than Games, 2017)News (and why it doesn't matter):
45:31 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag
46:00 New content for Snap Ships Tactics!
46:52 Behold: Rome is on The Game Crafter
47:15 Persuasion by Xoe Allred Hollandspiele (PAX Unplugged)48:11 Topic: Frustration with Randomness
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#339: D.E.I.: Divide et Impera
10 december 2024 · 1 uur 2 min
We're trying this YouTube thing in earnest, now, doing the video podcasting thing. This is our inaugural attempt at plastering our mugs on the internet in a podcast form. You have to be where your audience is, and also, Mark hopes that a link to a video can serve in lieu of his having to travel to see anyone ever again.
https://www.youtube.com/@SoVeryWrongAboutGames Lees meerGames Played Last Week:
01:08 -This Is Not a Test: Post-Apocalyptic Skirmish Rules (Joseph McGuire, Worlds End Publishing, 2013)
05:17 -The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth (Antoine Bauza & Bruno Cathala, Repos Production, 2024)
11:13 -Iron Forest (Brian Gomez, Brain Games, 2024)
16:55 -Trudvang Legends (Jordy Adan, Fel Barros, Guilherme Goulart, Eric M. Lang, Marco Maggi, Francesco Nepitello, Umberto Pignatelli, & Fabio Tola, 2022)
20:38 -The Gang (John Cooper and Kory Heath, KOSMOS, 2024)
23:31 -Wonderland's War (Tim Eisner, Ben Eisner, & Ian Moss, Druid City Games, 2022)
26:33 -SCOUT (Kei Kajino, Oink Games, 2019)
28:49 -Fromage (Matthew O'Malley and Ben Rosset, Road to Infamy Games, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
33:05 Witcher 3's card game Gwent getting a physical version from No Loading Games
34:57 Hachette distributing MicroMacro Crime City in North America
35:19 Reiner Knizia's Ape Town from Piatnik
36:22 Shut Up & Sit Down form "Strategic Partnership" with Play to Z Games37:35 Feature Game: D.E.I.: Divide et Impera (Tommaso Battista, Ludus Magnus Studio, 2022)
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#338: Managing Tempo
3 december 2024 · 1 uur 3 min
All of our musical references are at least a decade out of date, even when we attempt to reference contemporary artists--I must assume, because Mark knows her name, that no one listens to Billie Eilish anymore. We think Drake is suing Kendrick Lamar over claims he plagiarized a board game design, but the details elude us. Lees meer
01:43 AYURIS: Gatefall (Jack Dire, Jack Dire Studios, 2020)
Games Played Last Week:
05:09 -The Gang (John Cooper and Kory Heath, KOSMOS, 2024)
07:45 -Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard (Gaëtan Beaujannot, Olivier Cipière, and Geonil, Mandoo Games, 2023)
11:28 -Chronicles of Avel (Przemek Wojtkowiak, Rebel Studio, 2021)
13:49 -Han (Michael Schacht, ABACUSSPIELE, 2014)
16:12 -Splendor Duel (Marc André and Bruno Cathala, Space Cowboys, 2022)
18:41 -Battalion: War of the Ancients (Paolo Mori and Francesco Sirocchi, Osprey, 2024)
23:23 -Rats of Wistar (Simone Luciani and Danilo Sabia, Cranio Creations, 2023)
25:12 -Galactic Renaissance Expansion: 5th Player (Christian Martinez, Matagot, 2024)
30:20 -Hallertau (Uwe Rosenberg, Lookout Games, 2020)News (and why it doesn't matter):
34:30 Tales of the Arabian Nights 40th Anniversary Edition
35:11 Powerboats ripped off by Rebellion's Joyride? In any case, cite your work!38:44 Topic: Tempo Control
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#337: Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game
26 november 2024 · 57 min
When you are obliged to cite your sources is a fraught question, full of nuance. Even in academia there is some disagreement as to when yo quote, when to paraphrase, and when simply to assume common knowledge. Like the preceding sentence, for example--I assume it is common knowledge not requiring a citation, but then again maybe not, and were I using footnotes here I would comment on the absurdity of citations in episode notes (to say nothing of footnoting episode notes). And don't get me started on ibid, supra, and all their blighted ilk! Safer, I think, just not to ever read anything, and thus one's incoherent nonsense is indisputably one's own. Lees meer
Games Played Last Week:
01:20 -Versailles 1919 (Geoff Engelstein & Mark Herman, GMT Games, 2020)
12:33 -Mass Effect: The Board Game - Priority: Hagalaz (Eric M. Lang and Calvin Wong Tze Loon, Modiphius Entertainment, 2024)
16:11 -Fromage (Matthew O'Malley and Ben Rosset, Road to Infamy Games, 2024)
24:56 -Behold: Rome (Joe Klipfel, Mythfield Games, 2024)
28:34 -Karvi (Torgei Tjong, Hans im Glück, 2023)
30:44 -Revive (Helge Meissner, Eilif Svensson, Anna Wermlund, and Kristian Amundsen Østby, Aporta Games, 2022)
35:07 -Castle Combo (Grégory Grard and Mathieu Roussel, Catch Up Games, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
36:04 Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan re-print and new campaign on crowdfunding
37:06 Sad passing of Kory Heath, designer of Zendo and co-designer of The Gang
38:44 Join us on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/sowronggames.bsky.social39:13 Feature Game: The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game (Bryan Bormueller, Office Dog, 2025)
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#336: Opening the Box Downers
18 november 2024 · 1 uur 11 min
Apparently there were scrapped plans for the Gorn (the lumbering rubber lizard suit dude Kirk fights in that famous episode) to show up in other Star Trek properties. One plan had a Gorn show up as Worf's guest to Riker's bachelor party in Nemesis, and frankly despite how awful those latter movies were I would have been all over that. I can only imagine that the plan was abandoned when the props department couldn't get a styrofoam cocktail to look right. Lees meer
01:42 AYURIS: The Wolves (Ashwain Kamath and Clarence Simpson, Pandasaurus Games, 2022)
Games Played Last Week:
03:49 -Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders (Tim Eisner and Ben Eisner, Druid City Games, 2024)
10:28 -Mass Effect: The Board Game - Priority: Hagalaz (Eric M. Lang and Calvin Wong Tze Loon, Modiphius Entertainment, 2024)
16:15 -The LOOP (Maxime Rambourg and Théo Rivière, Pandasaurus Games, 2020)
20:57 -Cryo (Tom Jolly & Luke Laurie, Z-Man Games, 2021)
24:37 -Flip 7 (Eric Olsen, The Op Games, 2024)
26:23 -Rebel Princess (Daniel Byrne, José Gerardo Guerrero, Kevin Peláez, and Tirso Virgós, Zombi Paella, 2023)
31:05 -Tiny Laser Heist (Evan Katz and Josh Roberts, Evan and Josh's Very Special Games Company, 2024)
37:54 -D.E.I.: Divide et Impera (Tommaso Battista, Ludus Magnus Studio, 2022)
44:42 -Modern Art (Reiner Knizia, CMON, 2017)News (and why it doesn't matter):
48:13 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag
49:15 Ingenious goes vertical: Einfach Genial 3D
49:58 Clans of Caledonia's long-awaited expansion: Industria
51:26 Star Trek Ascendancy: The Gorn!52:41 Topic: Opening the Box Downers
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#335: Catching Up
12 november 2024 · 1 uur 21 min
Thrill to the latest superhero epic, "X-Men: Layover in Dulles." When the Blackbird is grounded due to an unexplained indicator light (meddling from the sinister Magneto? Who can say?!?!), the elite group of heroic mutants must navigate the perils of terminal D. Wolverine is having problems with the metal detectors again, which is troublesome as he is smuggling Cuban cigars. Rogue must battle the temptation of the 15-minute massage station. Panera bread keeps getting Cyclops' order wrong. It's epic, it's exciting, it's eight hours long! Lees meer
01:42 AYURIS: The Great Wall (Kamil 'Sanex' Cieśla, Robert Plesowicz, & Łukasz Włodarczyk, Awaken Realms, 2021)
Games Played Last Week:
04:43 -Don't Rock the Croc (Uncredited, FoxMind, Unknown)
07:52 -War Story: Occupied France (Dave Neale and David Thompson, Osprey Games, 2024)
13:20 -Barcelona: Passeig de Gràcia (Dani Garcia, Board&Dice, 2024)
20:27 -Mass Effect: The Board Game - Priority: Hagalaz (Eric M. Lang and Calvin Wong Tze Loon, Modiphius Entertainment, 2024)
27:04 -Freedom Five: A Sentinel Comics Board Game (Richard Launius, Adam Sadler, and Brady Sadler, Arcane Wonders, 2024)
32:13 Behold: Rome (Joe Klipfel, Mythfield Games, 2024)
36:40 -Rebel Princess (Daniel Byrne, José Gerardo Guerrero, Kevin Peláez, and Tirso Virgós, Zombi Paella, 2023)
39:00 -Seers Catalog (Taylor Reiner, Bézier Games, 2024)
40:35 -The Gang (John Cooper and Kory Heath, KOSMOS, 2024)
45:00 -Flip 7 (Eric Olsen, The Op Games, 2024)
49:31 -Scholars of the South Tigris (S J Macdonald and Shem Phillips, Garphill Games, 2023)
53:10 -Dogs of War (Paolo Mori, CMON, 2014)
57:33 -Crossbows & Catapults: Fortress War (Stephen Baker, Noah Cohen, Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, and Brian Neff, Restoration Games, 2024)
1:03:50 -Catapult Feud (Kristian Fosh, Vesuvius Media, 2021)
1:07:23 -51st State: Ultimate Edition (Ignacy Trzewiczek, Portal Games, 2023)
1:08:54 -Ceres (Gustaf Sundström, Artipia Games, 2023)
1:10:02 -Last Aurora (Mauro Chiabotto, Pendragon Game … -
#334: EGO
29 oktober 2024 · 1 uur 11 min
Walker: But, indeed, sir, we make holiday,
to see Freedom Five and to rejoice in its triumph. Lees meerMark: Wherefore rejoice? What delight brings it home?
What enjoyment follows it to the table,
To grace in fun times its board presence?
You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!Games Played Last Week:
01:08 -Freedom Five: A Sentinel Comics Board Game (Richard Launius, Adam Sadler, and Brady Sadler, Arcane Wonders, 2024)
10:51 -Things in Rings (Peter C. Hayward, Allplay, 2024)
13:46 -City of the Six Moons (Amabel Holland, Hollandspiele, 2024)
19:56 -Lost Cities: Rivals (Reiner Knizia, KOSMOS, 2018)
22:58 -Through Ice and Snow (Fernando Eduardo Sánchez, 2Tomatoes Games, 2024)
29:54 -Don't L.L.A.M.A. Dice (Reiner Knizia, AMIGO, 2021)
32:24 -Cockroach Poker (Jacques Zeimet, Drei Magier Spiele, 2004)
37:03 -The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth (Antoine Bauza & Bruno Cathala, Repos Production, 2024)
39:42 -Harmonies (Johan Benvenuto, Libellud, 2024)News (and why it doesn't matter):
40:18 Twilight Struggle 20th Anniversary Hall of Fame Edition
41:25 Richard Garfield and CMYK revamp Magical Athlete
42:19 Tons of upcoming Devir releases
44:49 Amazing hidden movement: Burned is back on Kickstarter45:31 Feature Game: EGO (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2025)
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