Garrett's Games and Geekiness

Playing experiences are a primary topic on this episode as Dave Gullett joins the gang from last week and delves into what makes a new game OK, though he loathes learning new games.  Then Susan McKinley Ross talks about Qwirkle's move to iOS and German licensing, and we discuss getting total strangers to buy 'our' games.  App versions are part of the discussion too. Istanbul Hanabi Paperback Qwirk...

Susan McKinley Ross joins in on the mics (along with last week's crew) and Erik Oliver shows up for a discussion of the games that sparked debate and enjoyment over the course of the weekend.  Those games include Norderwind (North Wind) Hollywood Advanced Civilization 18XX Freedom Nations Maskmen Glass Road Camel Up Das Letzte Kamel Castle Dice Power Grid One Night Ultimate Werewolf

Candy, Ric, Joe, Kevin, and Brett join Shelley and me for a conversation about the SdJ nominees/winners, what a 'game' is, and whether BGG needs to be more user friendly or is 'just right' as Goldilocks would say.

Ted, Doug, Ric, Denis, Paul and a couple others join Shelley and me for a discussion of the state of Kickstarter, prototypes, development, and playtesting.  Then we talk about some of the latest titles we were able to get to the table.  

The group spends some time discussing SdJ and KdJ nominees and winners, then delve into a deeper discussion of design and publishing led by Ted's experiences in the field.   Enjoy!

Shelley returns to Agricola for a compare/contrast after her playing and discussion of Caverna from Episode 421, then we try out a city-building game from Mercury Games - The Capitals by Thiago Boaventura - and finally try out TAJ, the last of Chris Handy's forthcoming tiny-box games that is currently on Kickstarter. Agricola by Uwe Rosenberg from Z-Man The Capitals by Thiago Boaventura from Mercu...

Shelley and I finally get the BIG box game Nations to the table, building our civilizations as best we could, then try to throw punches to knock each other out in TKO Nations by Rustan and Nina Hakansson, and Einar and Robert Rosen from Lautapelit.fl and TKO by Chris Handy from Perplext Remember to keep spreading the word about our site change, and consider donating to the podcast by going to PayP...

Shelley and I began tackling the dregs of Essen 2013 with Pelican Bay and Packet Row, then enjoyed a quick forthcoming dexterity game called FLY. Pelican Bay by Jacques Zeimet from Drei Hasen in der Abendsonne Packet Row by Henrik and Ase Berg from White Goblin and FLY by Chris Handy from Perplext Enjoy! And if you're here at the site and can help defray the cost of the podcast, please donate on P...

Shelley and I finally do some heavy lifting this week, getting Uwe Rosenberg's monster Agricola sequel CAVERNA The Cave Farmers to the table for a couple of plays in a row.  Then we talk about another of these wonderful forthcoming 'gum packet-sized' games from Chris Handy.  This week GEM is on the docket. Caverna The Cave Farmers by Use Rosenberg and published by Lookout Games. and GEM by Chris H...

This week Shelley and I look at another Essen 2013 (yep they're still out there!) that we borrowed from Ted & Toni, then discuss the first in a great batch of forthcoming games. Citrus by Jeffrey Allers and published by dlp Games and HUE by Chris Handy and soon to be Kickstarted! Enjoy and thanks for listening!  Send your comments to garrettsgamesATmac.com or go onto our guild at BoardGameGeek.com...

This week's episode features two reviews of older games, but includes the recent expansion for one.   Tokaido by Antoine Bauza + the Tokaido Crossroads expansion from Fun Forge   Royal Palace by Xavier Georges from Rio Grande/Filosofia/Hans im Gluck

Pagoda from AEG and Vikings from Rio Grande get discussed this episode.

Shelley and I check out Helios with a first play (more on this one next time too) and also pull another oldie (is it a goodie??) off the shelf after 5 years: Comuni.   Helios by Martin Kallenborn and Matthias Prinz from Hans im Gluck and Z-Man   Comuni by Accitttocca and Virginio Gigli from Elfinwerks, HUCH, and TenkiGames