BGTG 95 - SR & Feedback (Container & Chicago Express)

Whoops! I almost let two months go by since my last show. I've been playing plenty of games, so here's a session report & feedback show to describe my inability to play economic games with any skill! But as badly as I've been doing at them, I'm still interested. In fact, I'm even more interested in the games because it feels like there's something everyone else understands about their strategy . . . that I don't! Two plays of one game, four plays of the other, and I'm still struggling. What I really need is for someone to make a play-by-web version of either of these games, then I could really practice. (I've gotten pretty good at Brass that way.)

The previous few episodes generated a ton of great feedback, and that's what I really wanted to share on the podcast. Keep 'em coming--all of your podcasters love feedback.

BGTG 94 - Are any of our games Classics? (with Greg Pettit)

It comes up from time to time in discussions about our hobby--will any of the games we're playing now achieve "classic" status? There are commercial classics like Monopoly, Risk, and Scrabble, as well as cultural or timeless classics like Go, Chess, and Poker. That's an awfully high standard for any game to achieve, even ones we think so highly of on our game nights and gamesdays. What does complexity or availability have to do with it? And is the world just so different today that games have a different path to achieve that status?

The conversation is long, but a particularly good one. I think so, anyway. I told my guest, Greg Pettit, afterward that this is just the sort of subject I enjoy tackling in the podcast. Because I always enjoyed reading about it from the likes of Peter Sarrett, Mike Siggins, or Greg Aleknevicus. That's good company to be in!

We go back & forth between philosophical descriptions of classics, and considerations of individual titles. Partway through the show, Greg poses a wonderful question about what games we might put in a 50 or 100-year time capsule, wanting to show future generations how wonderful, entertaining, and creative these games are . . . even if those future people are used to playing virtual reality, holographic, full-sensory "videogames" and zipping around in their flying cars. :-)

-Mark

Follow BGTG on Twitter

I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with it yet, but went as far as deciding to get a Twitter account for this podcast. My podcasts have tended to be longer and in more depth--Twitter is about the opposite form of communication. That's why it may prove useful--sometimes I have small, even tiny things to say or ask that are appropriate for Twitter.

Boardgamegeek now has some hooks into Twitter, but the one for logging game plays wasn't too meaningful yet. Perhaps it will be improved, or perhaps I'll just write my own tweets to note game sessions of interest. I look upon this is an expansion of the cool widget Aldie made that lets me show the covers of the last several games I played. I don't know if anyone takes notice of those (the RSS feed doesn't update when the games played scroll changes), but with Twitter I can send out a one-liner about some interesting game played. If I hear back about some interest, perhaps that indicates an interesting podcast discussion? It's worth experimenting with. If you're at all interested, go check out http://twitter.com/BoardgamesToGo .

And don't worry--this isn't about to replace the podcast itself!

-Mark

BGTG archives going ALL the way back...

A podcast listener recently posed this question about easy access to the BGTG archives.

I'm a long time listener but ever since my iPod was decommissioned I've been away. Now that I've got a new one, I'm trying to catch up with previous episodes but I've hit a small snag - iTunes (or rather BGTG's feed on iTunes store) only shows the 10 most recent files [. . .]


Not that this is really a problem, since I can manually download each file, but they show up as regular music files on iTunes and not as Podcasts (alongside the most recent shows). I've looked all over on how to make these downloaded files be grouped together with those available via subscription but there's apparently no way (short of buying a Mac to run a AppleScript hack or creating a fake Feedburner feed with a modified hosts file).


Soooo, I was wondering if you could please make all files available via iTunes (update the XML?). This way, after searching for the show on iTunes Store, I could manually select the podcasts I'd like to download before hitting the "Subscribe" button. It seems all files are already available via Libsyn, so there wouldn't be new costs involved. As an extra benefit, new listeners (as well as old a****-retentive users like myself) could be able to select what to hear, like a special all-about show or a particular theme. How about that?

I know how to do this. A setting in my blog hosting software will allow up to 500 blog entries to be listed on the front page. As I recall, that will reset iTunes into listing them all again. The only trouble is that it might start automated downloading of all those old episodes for ALL of my listeners, not just the ones who are actively seeking them. Some people may be unhappy about the inconvenience of it all.

I'd like to see if anyone knows how to solve this request another way. The listener who wrote me is willing to dig back through the BGTG archives--he just needs a way for them to show up as podcasts on his MP3 player, not just as generic music files.

-Mark

BGTG 93 - All About Big City (with Eric Burgess)

It must be just about time for a boring show with just me on the mic, but you're spared once again! This time I have fellow podcaster Eric "Boardgame Babylon" Burgess with me to talk about another of my favorites, Big City. Turns out it's one of his, too, and when I made a half-serious request for someone to do this episode with, Eric responded right away. We live somewhat far from each other, though still both in Southern California. Better still, we commute our opposite directions to both coverge on our workplaces only a few miles apart.

Big City is a game notable for its wonderful plastic pieces--not normally something I'm swayed by--but it's also an outstanding and unique tile-laying game with strong theme. Though out of print by Goldseiber and Rio Grande Games, it is due to be reprinted by Valley Games pretty soon. And there's always the used game market.

-Mark

P.S. Be sure to check out Eric's "Power Grid: In Depth" podcast, as well as the rest of Boardgame Babylon.

BGTG 92 - Game Awards (with Dave Arnott)

Part 2 of my discussion with Dave Arnott was about game awards. There are a bunch of them, from the Spiel des Jahres to the Golden Geeks. We talk about a whole range of them, and also consider how game awards are similar or different from other artistic awards, such as the Oscars. (By the way, I did go see Slumdog Millionaire that night, and though I liked it I wouldn't have called it the Best Picture of the year.)

-Mark

P.S. Let me know if you think the audio levels sound better on this recording. Like most of my guests, Dave has lower lows and (especially) higher highs than my own voice, which makes leveling the audio tricky with my low budget rig. Aldie suggested I pipe it through some software called Levelator, so I'm trying that for this second half of our show.

BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in Review (with Dave Arnott)

What started as one show with two topics ended up being two shows. This is the first part, where Dave Arnott and I reflect on 2008. That means talking about our games played, totals as well as "fives & dimes." We also consider which were are favorite releases or discoveries in 2008. Along the way are some inevitable discussions about online plays, whether realtime (e.g. brettspielwelt, Game Table Online) or play-by-web (e.g. Mabiweb, Spielbyweb).

-Mark

Join me for PBW Brass?

Lately I've really been enjoying Brass in its play-by-web implementation. The presentation isn't pretty, but is perfectly functional, and it enables more play of this deep game. Anyone care to join me? The password is bgtg, as always.

http://wargamessoc.union.shef.ac.uk/brass/index.php

http://wargamessoc.union.shef.ac.uk/brass/lobby.php?GameID=1406

BGTG 90 - Veto-Proof Game Night (with Ryan Wheeler)

My buddy Ryan Wheeler is part of our local game group, the Santa Clarita Boardgamers. In fact, he's the driving force of the group, hosting most of the game nights, always adding to his collection, and infecting the rest of us with his enthusiasm and sense of humor. When schedules conflicts led to only two of us showing up for games one night, I pressured him into recording another podcast with me. (Later that night we played Risiko Express and Ice Flow, which we don't talk about on the podcast.)

The topic I chose was a recent, successful experiment in the group: veto-proof game night. It was the idea of Ryan's wife, Erin, who occasionally plays games with us. That label (and the title of this BGTG episode) isn't what Ryan & Erin called it, and doesn't quite describe what she had in mind. But it was the only name I had for it. Basically, she suggested that each of us gets one week's game group session in the month of December to pick a game from our collection that we really wanted to play, probably one we haven't gotten to the table yet, and as a "gift" everyone would happily play it--no questions asked.

It was great. Three of us picked games on successive weeks--games that probably wouldn't have seen play otherwise--and everyone was onboard with just jumping right in. What was interesting for the podcast was the different nature of the three games. I think it made for some interesting discussion, together with side points about session reports and game group dynamics, in general.

-Mark

Games for auction

I've posted another auction on Boardgamegeek. Help me get rid of some games so I can trick myself into buying more, immediately overwhelming the storage space I'm trying to recover! :)

Auction ends on Friday, March 6. See the instructions at the top of the page.

More play-by-web

I'm doing that again (never stopped, really). Go to the usual sites (SpielByWeb, Mabiweb, MichaelSchacht.net) to look for games I've started for BGTG podcast listeners, and the password for each is bgtg.

Also, if you go to the realtime sites Brettspielwelt or GameTableOnline (or the hybrid pbw/realtime site Yucata.de--which just added Arkadia in beta test), be sure to see if I'm online. I always go by the straightforward username MarkJohnson.

-Mark

Did you leave me a voicemail?

Someone just did, and I'd like to respond on a future episode, but unfortunately he must've been calling on a cell phone with a poor signal. The audio drops out during all of the important words of his message, like his question why I don't do more shows about my ______ games. What was that? Or his name--that also dropped out.

If you're out there, please try again!

BGTG 89 - SR & Feedback (Viva Topo!, Slamwich, Tief auf Tier)

Before I can post any new shows, I wanted to clear the decks for some accumulated feedback, as well as follow-through on my previous blog entry about family gaming over the holidays. Again I brought I bag full of specially chosen games, and again we played some of them. Just a few, really, but I knew to expect that. This year my gaming was mostly confined to playing with my young nephews, which I enjoyed even now . . . and expect to enjoy in the future as I turn at least one of them into a gamer. :-)

A lot of the feedback focuses on Dominion, since it's still the hot game right now, and I shared my thoughts about it on the previous podcast. Plus there's one golden feedback about a dad playing HGSB with his kid.

-Mark

Thanksgiving Weekend gaming

This Thanksgiving we packed up the car to drive 300 miles to my folks' house. My brother did the same with his family, coming from the other direction. (California is a long state!) As usual, I packed up a bunch of games, knowing full well we wouldn't play all or even most of them. But we've got room in the minivan, and so why not pack different games so we have options. :-)

As it turned out, I did manage to play quite a few games this weekend, but not the ones you might expect. Although I got in a few games with just my brother, and one game with just my son, most of the games were with one or both of my young nephews. These are little guys, ages 5 and 3, so we're talking little kid games. Both of them, especially the older one, had a good time with them. In fact, I think that 5yo will be playing games with me for years to come, so I'm more than happy to spend the time on kid games now.

I think this would make a decent subject for a podcast, so maybe that's what I'll do next. I know there are gamer dads out there with kids this small that are chomping at the bit to play games with them. Perhaps this show will give you some ideas of good games to try.

Quickly, then, the games I played this holiday were Viva Topo!, Slamwich, Tier auf Tier, Rattlesnake, Cribbage, Poker, Zertz, and Dvonn.
-Mark

BGTG 88 - Dominion, Arkham Horror, Marrakech, and En Garde

This is a session report & feedback show . . . but without the feedback. The reason for that is that I had to record this podcast in the car. I say had to because I spent too much of my at-home podcasting time playing Dominion instead! I started playing this game on brettspielwelt, and then got my own set to play face-to-face games. Hype is a turnoff for me, even buzz makes me suspicious, but in this case I'm enjoying the game just as much as everyone promised. I can't help but experience the game as a former Magic:the Gathering player, and I'm not sure what gamers without a CCG background will make of this. I think it's fantastic, and I try to explain why in this podcast. I think it's an incredible application of German boardgame style & elegance to CCGs.

This episode was originally planned to feature me gushing about games I really enjoyed, but I threw in Arkham Horror because it goes against that grain. Really, this isn't my kind of game, but that doesn't mean I'll never try it (or turn down my friends who want to play it). The last two, Marrakech (aka Suleika) and En Garde are new & old favorites.

-Mark

A fresh call for online games

As usual, your best bet to find me is on a play-by-web game. I've recently started the following, all of which can take more players as I write this. The password is the same as ever, BGTG.

On Mabiweb: In the Year of the Dragon, Samuari, Kreta, In the Shadow of the Emperor

On Spielbyweb: Amun-Re, Hoity-Toity, Reef Encounter, Santiago

On michaelshacht.net: Hansa (two of these)

On Boardgamegeek: Tigris & Euphrates (two of these)

All of these are in English, very easy to understand.

Also, don't forget that the offer still stands to play Vinci with me. Only Ed Rozmiarek took me up on that earlier offer, and we need a couple more players to start. This website is all in German, but we'll help a newbie learn the ropes. Once you get the hang of it it's a great interface.

-Mark

P.S. On BSW, look for MarkJohnson. I'll probably be losing at Dominion again, enjoying myself. :-)

Vicarious Essen

Essen is behind us now, and the Fairplay scouts & other reports are settling in on the better titles. Remember two years ago when I insisted I'd buy Die Saulen von Venedig? Then the mediocre reports came in, and I got to play it once. It wasn't a bad game, but it didn't shine for me. I didn't buy it. (Though I'll probably play it again some day.)

This year the game that fits that description this year is Sutter's Mill. I haven't ruled it out entirely, but I hope I'll get a chance to try someone else's copy first. Hmm, come to think of it, Oregon may have been the equivalent game in 2007. Both western-themed, which is what interested me originally.

My group has placed an overseas post-Essen order. This used to be an annual tradition, both to grab exciting new titles and to pounce on special sales for older games (usually a game you loved more than everyone else). The way the hobby's been going, those orders have been slowing down. I don't think we even placed one last year. This time, though, it was decent-sized again. The somewhat better exchange rate helps, as well as some other factors (like Martin Wallace's Treefrog games being no more expensive this way). Too bad we won't get the games before the Thanksgiving holidays in late November, but at least they should arrive before Christmas. (When's Hannukah this year?) So we'll get our Essen excitement while it's still 2008.

One new game I have gotten to play a bunch lately is Dominion, thanks to the online implementation at Brettspielwelt. I haven't been a BSW regular for years (play-by-web works better for me than realtime), but once in a while I check it out again, especially when there are new titles. In my podcast I mentioned how the hype for Dominion is kind of a turn-off, but now that I've played it I can happily report I like it. In fact, I really like it. Deckbuilding was a fun part of my Magic:The Gathering days, and it's very cool to see that built right into a euro card game. My only concern is that the BSW interface makes everything so fast & easy, when I eventually play with the real game I'll be bothered by the effort to collect & shuffle cards constantly, track extra actions & buys, and so on. But that's a nit. The game is great fun and I can't wait to get my hands on a real copy.

-Mark

Essen photos

I mentioned it in the last podcast, and more than ever I recognize how influenced I am by the look of these games. I like reading the Essen first-impression reports, but I like seeing the photos even more. These days, you'd think you could do a search on "Essen spiel" in Flickr and find tons of photos, both from BGGers and average Germans who took photos & uploaded them. I've found a few that way, but not many.

Now the other reports and photo-pages are starting to trickle in, and so far the best I've found is at Milan Spiele. Looking through the Thursday (Donnerstag) photos, I see one game that jumps out at me: Windriver, by Argentum Verlag. It appears to be the designer's first game, and the publisher doesn't have a big track record, either. The rules are online, so I may have to actually read them. Heck, there's a good chance the game isn't so special. But it sure looks great to me. (I guess I'm a sucker for western themes, too. Doesn't that map look like the Little Big Horn area, with feeder streams into a larger river with mountains around?)

-Mark

BGTG 87 - Essen Anticipation 2008

As promised, here's my annual episode running through the new Essen games that have caught my eye. There are games I'm pretty sure I want, others I'm pretty sure I don't, and a whole bunch I need to know more about first (hopefully by playing).

Essen opens its doors to everyone tomorrow, and the press-only day has already started. Folks like me will be checking internet sites repeatedly through the weekend to digest scraps of information and opinions about the new titles. Exciting!

-Mark

Pre-Essen show

Essen is now right around the corner, but I'm going to try to squeeze in an "Essen Anticipation" show, as I've done in previous years. I got a few requests for this episode, and that's the best inspiration for doing it.

-Mark

Anyone for Vinci?

This blog recently received a great comment from Tristan who re-listened to the 2.5-year old All About Vinci episode after finally getting to try the game in-person. Vinci is still a great favorite of mine, and now I'd like to see if any other listeners would like to join me in a play-by-web version. Now, I'll warn you that the website is all in German, so if you've never played pbw (or Vinci), then this is a tough way to learn. But for any that aren't put off by that obstacle, please join me at

http://zocktempel.dyndns.org/vinci

I'm in game number 5525, and the password (as always) is BGTG.

-Mark

BGTG 86 - All About Harry's Grand Slam Baseball (with David Gullett)

As promised, here's another All About show, my first in a long time. The way these shows work, I usually employ a guest, and the two of us talk about one game in great detail. This time, that guest is David Gullett, who you've heard on BGTG before, and the game we're talking about is Harry's Grand Slam Baseball.

Now, HGSB is a rather small, light game to spend more than an hour talking about. That is, until you consider that it's a game we both consider favorites, both rate a 10. How can a game that's so simple & small--its detractors say it's all luck, with no real decisions--interest us so much? That's the sort of stuff we talk about. In the process, many more games are brought up for discussion, such as other light card games (e.g. Mille Bornes) and sports board/card games (e.g. Pizza Box Football).

Actually, I did my best to cover light board & cardgame treatments of all kinds of sports, since those are a particular interest of mine. We cover Pizza Box Football, Pizza Box Baseball, Dirk Nowitzki's Crunchtime Basketball, Gridiron Fantasy Football, Pocket Football, Card Football, En Garde, Scoozie, and Streetsoccer. I should've included Strand-Cup and You Can't Check Me.

Towards the end Dave asks me some questions about why I sound so unethusiastic about games most times on BGTG. That's not my intent, and the conversation may lead me to making some changes in how I talk about games in future episodes, especially how I wrap up a segment.

This is a longer episode, just past 90 minutes. I think you'll like it.

-Mark

Another "All About..." show is coming

Hurray! I've wanted to do another "All About" show for some time, and last night I recorded one. It wasn't about Big City, though, as I'd hinted in my last podcast (that's another I still want to do). No, for this one I got my buddy Dave Gullett (BGG's davebo, aka the Big Red Rock Eater) to share the mic with me and talk all about Harry's Grand Slam Baseball. That might seem a little game for a whole show, but we found plenty to talk about, between the game itself, sports, sports board/card games, and light games in general. I think you'll like it.

-Mark

BGTG 85 - SR & Feedback (with Rattlesnake, XiangQi, Citadels, Manila, and Tribune)

You're in luck. The carcast I recorded earlier about some games played at a recent Games Day was also destroyed accidentally, so I just had to re-record it at home. This way it ends up with better audio quality, and I got to tack on some recent email feedback, too.

These are all games I played at a recent Games Day put on by LA's famous Stephanie. You've heard about her on other podcasts, and heard her directly on Boardgame Babylon. I ought to feature her on one of my own podcasts sometime!

-Mark

A truly lost episode

Oops. I thought I'd finally get around to posting a carcast recorded more than a year ago after I'd played some business-themed games, comparing & contrasting all three of them. They were Shark, Buy Low Sell High (aka Palmyra), and one more I've forgotten. Well, it doesn't matter now because this apparently I deleted this recording I discarded when I was at a low ebb in my satisfaction with carcasts. It's gone! And while I can just spout off about BLSH any time I want, I'm a lot less familiar with Shark and couldn't recreate my comments about that game without playing it again. Not to mention the forgotten third game (Acquire? Big Boss?). Now I wish I hadn't hit that delete button.

Oh well, I'll just have to record something new. I've played a lot of old favorites and some new games (Agricola, TTR:Card Game) recently, so there should be plenty to talk about. And I know I do have one remaining carcast lying around, talking about playing games with my kid & others at a local games day. So I'll get that posted next.

-Mark