They're Called Victory Points -- Table Talk (and friends)

Not many notes, but you should be grateful we even got this one done. Games mentioned: Wandering Towers Intarsia Azul Cinematic Universe Harvest Fromage Viticulture Three of a Kind Agricola Prey another Day DroPolter Gem Hue Mycelia UnderGrove Wingspan Mariposas Festival Intarsia Nusfjord Check us out at https://theyrecalledvictorypoints.com/ or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theyre_cal...

Table Talk 013: A Chat about Gateway Games Taylor and Alice discuss games that got them into the hobby and what makes something a “gateway game” anyway.  Games mentioned (so many!): Agueda https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/317515/agueda-city-of-umbrellas Chai https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/253185/chai Nine Tiles Extreme https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/391084/nine-tiles-extreme Nine Tile...

An experimental podcast with only one voice about games getting reskinned. What are your favorite reimplementations? What makes them better than the original? Or, alternatively, worse?   Games mentioned in this episode: Curios Wonder Woods Century: Golem Editions Furnace Azul: Master Chocolatier Check us out at https://theyrecalledvictorypoints.com/ or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the...

After a hiatus of embarrassing length because of a disastrous attempt to record an actual play podcast of the infuriating and deeply beige game De Vulgari Eloquentia, we return triumphantly for our first double-digit show! Taylor and Alice talk about reorganizing Alice’s collection and both best practices and pitfalls around that.   Games mentioned: Codex Naturalis Sagrada: Artisans Robot Quest Ar...

Was GenCon 2023 a dumpster fire? Or just a smoldering waste paper basket? Listen on, friends, as Taylor and Alice wax poetical! Games mentioned: Disney Lorcana Cosmic Frog Gartenbau The Finest Fish Habitats Framework Fairy Trails Nova Luna Applejack Ticket to Ride: Europe Undergrove Lacuna Mycelium Wonder Woods Curios Starry Night Sky Quoridor Qawale Pollen District Noir Three Sisters Splito Cat i...

Taylor G and Alice C talk with RPG superstar designer Cezar Capable about design, feelings, colonization, and, apparently, zombie cows.    Cryptid: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/246784/cryptid Paint the Roses: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/253759/paint-roses Century: A New World: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/270970/century-new-world Furnace: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3...

This week, Alice and Taylor have some strong feelings about house rules for board games.   Games referenced in this episode: Curious Cargo New York Zoo Beer and Bread Renature Azul: Queen’s Garden Glass Road Patchwork Monopoly Viticulture Parks Uno Scrabble Mahjong Rummikub Euchre Dominoes Canasta Rummy Shanghai Jenga Tzolk’in Founders of Teotihuacan Catan Royal Game of Ur Ticket to Ride Wingspan...

It took us a while to get our meeply asses in gear, but we (Alice, Bailey, David, Taylor, and Victoria) finally managed to get together in one (virtual) place and pay tribute to Klaus Teuber, designer of CATAN (originally The Settlers of Catan ) and one of modern Eurogaming’s OG’s. After starting off with the usual “what we’ve been playing”, we share our earliest memories of CATAN and other Teuber...

What makes a game replayable a few times? Many times in a row? Something you long to play again? Taylor and Alice give you the definitive answer.   Caverna  Agricola  Frosthaven  Shifting Stones  Moon Base  Greed  One Night Werewolf  Dominion  Undaunted: Normandy  The Gallerist  Sea Salt and Paper  Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar  Azul: Queen’s Garden  My City  Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy...

Taylor and Alice chat with friend and DWP contributor Bailey D about how she finds off-beat and less popular games. And they’re coming to you live (recorded) from the Edge House’s annual 24-Hour Board Game Marathon fundraiser. Want to support that community? Go to www.edge-uc.org/donate .  Games we discussed: The Gallerist Acquire Moon Base Moon Adventure So, You’ve Been Eaten Charioteer Conestoga...

When you go on vacation, how do you take your game collection? Obviously, you need to take them, you’ll need to play them. But what about all those boxes and bits? What games are good for various situations? Don’t worry, Taylor and Alice have you covered.   Surrealist Dinner Party Paint the Roses Exit: The Advent Calendar The Initiative Agricola Azul: Queen’s Garden Art Robbery 5211 Mint Rails Tra...

In the grand tradition of annual “best of” lists, Taylor and Alice offer you a list of the best games for extremely specific people. All of which are actually good. Games Mentioned: Fairy Trails The Gallerist Masterpiece (also Mastermind) Taco Bell Party Pack Card Game A Gentle Rain Patchwork SHH Consentacle USPS: Great American Mail Race Down Palm Island I Guess This Is It… The Acts of the Apostl...

Taylor and Alice talk about why they love/hate games about feelings in this meandering and contemplative third episode. What is your experience of games about feelings? Do you tolerate them? Try to get all your friends and family to play them with you? Wish you could instead stay in the land of Beige Traders forever?   Games mentioned: Sea Salt and Paper , yes again Ticket to Ride Framework Color...

Table Talk 002: A Chat about First Plays   When you play a game for the first time, what do you look for? How do you play well? What makes a first play fun? Or, for that matter, a second or 50th?   Featured in this episode: new, improved sound quality, two bleeped swears, and the following games: Sea Salt and Paper Sushi Go Azul: Queen’s Garden Azul: Summer Pavilion Quirkle Dreamscape Jericho Poke...

Welcome to our conversation, featuring unprofessional bag crinkling and table-smacking!   Games talked about in this podcast: Century: Spice Road Viticulture Azul: Queen’s Garden Shifting Stones Town 66 Canopy Great American Mail Race Miyabi Suburbia Quacks of Quedlinburg Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar Parks Settlers of Catan Fog of Love   Discussion questions: Has anyone else thought about this? Wh...

In this episode David starts out by looking at what we get out of competing vs cooperating in tabletop games... ...and then things take an unexpected turn. All music copyright 2022 by David Weiss. Check out David's writing at The Daily Worker Placement . Support us on Patreon ! Check us out at https://theyrecalledvictorypoints.com/ or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theyre_called_vi...

If game design is an artform--and I believe it is--then it deserves an aesthetic framework and a language to discuss it and its potential. Hence FORMAT. To discover what FORMAT stands for, in all senses, have a listen to Episode 3. All music copyright 2022 by David Weiss. Check out David's writing at The Daily Worker Placement . Support us on Patreon ! Check us out at https://theyrecalledvict...

If a game is "a machine for telling stories that end with players winning and/or losing", what are its components? And what energy drives it? That's what we're discussing this month. (Which is also a way of saying that new episodes will be dropping monthly.) All music copyright 2022 by David Weiss. Check out David's writing at The Daily Worker Placement . Support us on Pat...

Welcome back to The Game Changers. In the first episode, David catches you up on his 2021 and then plunges in to the first Big Question of Season Two: just what  is  a game? Check us out at https://theyrecalledvictorypoints.com/ or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theyre_called_victory_points/ !

Yes, that's right. It's taken over a year, but Season Two of The Game Changers is coming! Check us out at https://theyrecalledvictorypoints.com/ or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theyre_called_victory_points/ !

In the epic finale to Season One, David looks back on what he learned by trying to tell the story of Modern Tabletop, and looks forward to Season Two. Check out David's writing at The Daily Worker Placement . Support us on Patreon ! Intro Music: Violet World by Aquartos - https://artlist.io/jp/song/7373/violet-world Bach Cello Prelude BWV 1007 performed by Julia Sofia Nagyova - https://archiv...

Wingspan's status as Tabletop most recent Game Changer stems less from its design than its designer. Elizabeth Hargrave's choice of theme, and her outspoken involvement in Tabletop culture, portends a sea-change in the artform's attitudes and norms. Check out David's writing at The Daily Worker Placement . Support us on Patreon ! Intro Music: Violet World by Aquartos - https://...

Who could have ever predicted a game about birds would become the monster hit of 2019? Our final Game Changer is Wingspan, and in Part 1 we look at how Elizabeth Hargrave came to design it. Check out David's writing at The Daily Worker Placement . Support us on Patreon ! Intro Music: Violet World by Aquartos - https://artlist.io/jp/song/7373/violet-world Check us out at https://theyrecalledvi...

In this episode we look at four of the most prominent Teutonic designers and their major works: two Germans (Feld; Cramer) and two Austrians (Pfister and Warsch). While Pfister is expanding the narrative vocabulary of the Euro, it is Warsch who has had the most immediate effect on the industry. Check out David's writing at The Daily Worker Placement . Support us on Patreon ! Intro Music: Viol...

A new wave of European designers crashed ashore in the 2010's who had grown up playing first-gen Euros and therefore hungered for something more complex. In Part One, we look at various national "styles" that became embodied by talented designers in Poland, Italy, and Portugal. Check out David's writing at The Daily Worker Placement . Support us on Patreon ! Intro Music: Violet...