So Very Wrong About Games

We adopt a policy of firm opposition to irresolvable paradoxes here at So Very Wrong About Games. Then again, everything we say is wrong, so take that for what it is worth. Don't even ask us about sets not containing themselves. We turn our attention to Vlaada Chvatil's work for the first time, and ruminate about multiplayer conflict games and how they often fail. Also, swimwear...? And "cascades...

Mark references several films while trying, and failing, to keep his composure. Walker tells stories that may or may not resemble reality. Both hosts rant about design decisions they find inexplicable. It's a very cathartic experience for all involved. Games Played Last Week:-Dinosaur Island 1m16s (Jonathan Gilmour & Brian Lewis, Pandasaurus, 2017)-Cockroach Poker Royal 2m17s (Jacques Zeimet, 999...

Mark and Walker explore how sophisticated the rejoinder "git gud" can be, perhaps indicating that they are getting good at unhelpful trash talking. Perhaps anything can be an art. Perhaps being a better degerenate is truly the life lesson they have extracted from their years as hobbyists; Mark's experiences have certainly turned him into a fantasy racist. Join us for A Very Special Episode of So V...

Walker pretends to tolerate Mark's digression into pronunciation, and in exchange Mark pretends to be surprised to hear that TI4 has problems. Both fail to be even remotely surprised that CMON is in the plastic pushing business, novelty or creativity optional. Games Played Last Week:-Zombicide: Black Plague 4m39s (Raphaël Guiton, Jean-Baptiste Lullien, & Nicolas Raoult, CMON, 2015)-Black Orchestra...

Why can't we all just get along? This week Mark and Walker agree that anyone causing pain should be tortured to death. Wait, that doesn't work. Okay, can we agree that people who cause pain wrongly are wrong? Hm. That seems problematic. What about we should shun those that aren't friendly? Crap. Let's just say that everyone should be nice to me, how's that? Games Played Last Week:-Clans of Caledon...

Walker acts on his firm conviction that sympathy is for the weak, and the internet seems to endorse this position. Fueled by Mark's misery, the pair utter a great deal of words on the topic of Rising Sun, which has had a firm grip on their gaming time of late. They then decide to move on to matters of history and politics, which are always safe topics. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Games Played...

Mark and Walker dare the siege perilous in this, their thirteenth installment. Walker shares a rare moment of sincerity, and Mark restrains himself from taunting him for the lapse. Rising Sun is revisited and compared to Twilight Imperium, and shockingly Mark highlights ways in which that is favorable to TI:4. Mass hysteria ensues. Games Played Last Week:-Tigris & Euphrates 2m16s (Reiner Knizia, H...

Mark has a bit of an identity crisis, but his devotion to his listeners will see him through. Walker, as is his wont, merely patiently rolls his eyes-especially when Mark almost tries to get him to review a game they've only played once. The insolence! Games Played Last Week:-Rising Sun 2m14s (Eric Lang, CMON, 2018)-Sid Meier's Civilization: A New Dawn 11m31s (James Kniffen, Fantasy Flight, 2017)-...

Mark and Walker switch roles this week in a stunning reversal. Walker avoids telling Mark to "get good," but it's a close thing only narrowly avoided. In Walker's defense, Mark really should git gud--as has been noted by many a scholar and physician. They discuss the redevelopment of Terra Mystica called Gaia Project, and then they generalize to how publishers sometimes mess up new editions of the...

Mark and Walker address so many questions this week. How many ways can Walker pronounce "coyote?" Why is all of Oceania laughing at CMON? What is the best social and economic system? How condescending can Mark get? Listen up, as all will be explained herein. Games Played Last Week:-First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet 1m59s (Ignacy Trzewiczek, Portal Games, 2017)-Mombasa 3m17s (Alexander P...

Mark and Walker engage the ALL CAPS in a very HARDCORE WAY. Or something. All in all, they're very civil, even while disagreeing about Sidereal Confluence and being mystified by people's strong reactions to HATE. Rage gets all the love, but HATE gets all the confusion. Games Played Last Week:0:54 -Sakura Arms (BakaFire, AEG, 2017)2:31 -Blood Rage (Eric Lang, CMON Games, 2015)4:15 -Assault on Doomr...

Mark and Walker engage in rampant hearsay, or at least that's what someone told me. They perform a dissection of Alien Artifacts, only to discover that it was a shoddy rubber suit all along. They then discuss their thoughts on Kickstarter's influence on the hobby--is it making games cute but stupid? Also, a friendly reminder that Star Control II is the greatest video game ever made. Games Played L...

Mark and Walker discuss many things Stonemaier games, and ask the rhetorical question: why does everything gotta have a campaign? They then try to answer that question, because they don't know what rhetorical means. Games Played Last Week:1:35 -Monikers (Alex Hague & Justin Vickers, Palm Court, 2015)2:16 -One Night Ultimate Werewolf (Ted Alspach & Akihisa Okui, Bezier Games, 2014)4:10 -Pandemic Le...

Mark and Walker spend zero moments wondering what a lang syne is, but instead praise the classic Space Hulk and look forward to 2018 with some gaming resolutions. As is the way with such things, they've probably already been broken--especially the one where Mark tries to be more nice. Games Played Last Week:1:34 -Through the Desert (Reiner Knizia, KOSMOS, 1998)4:19 -Santorini (Gord!, Roxley, 2016)...

Mark and Walker engage in furious duel, where Mantis Style triumphs over Crane Style. Music is impugned. Characters disparaged. Time itself is on trial! This is getting metaphysical, people. Games are also discussed. The highs and lows of 2017 are discussed, and each host lists their personal Top 10 before jointly declaring So Very Wrong About Games' 2017 Game of the Year. Games played last week:2...

Mark (alias Flavor Flav) and Walker (alias Chuck D) disagree about many things, among them Twilight Imperium 4th ed., Spirit Island, GMT Games, and rulebooks. Fight the power, by which we mean listen to this podcast of a couple of white dudes talking about games. Games played last week:1:37 -Pericles: The Peloponnesian Wars (Mark Herman, GMT Games, 2017)4:42 -Great Western Trail (Alexander Pfister...

Mark and Walker praise the themeless Hansa Teutonica and proceed to break down what makes for successful themes in games, leading to unexpected agreement on many things Star Wars. Games played last week:1:18 -Castles of Burgundy (Stefan Feld, alea, 2011)2:46 -The Expanse (Geoffrey Engelstein, Wizkids, 2017)5:27-Die Fiesen 7 (Jacques Zeimet, 999 Games 2015)6:54 -Tribune: Primes Inter Pares (Karl-He...

Mark and Walker have some civil disagreements concerning Terraforming Mars (Jacob Fryxelius, Stronghold, 2016) and cannibalism before enthusing about playing with toys. As a note, whips are not considered toys in this context. Games Played Last Week:1:27 -Empires (David and Daniel Stephenson, WizKids, 2017)5:03 -Clank! In! Space! (Paul Dennen, Renegade Game Studios, 2017)6:23 -Pandemic Legacy: Sea...

Mark and Walker talk about how Kingdom Death: Monster (Adam Poots, 2015) is an unrelenting nightmare, and why that's (mostly) a good thing. The featured topic is randomness and how to deal with it, both from a game design and a player's perspective. Games played last week:1:00 Champions of Midgard and its expansions (Ole Steiness, Grey Fox Games, 2015)2:15 Sidereal Confluence (TauCeti Deichmann, W...