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A conversation about tabletop games
Episodes
Thursday Jun 28, 2018
Thursday Jun 28, 2018
I give the rundown of three digital card games that I've enjoyed quite a bit: Monster Slayers, Slay The Spire, and Age of Rivals. All three have some unique and interesting interactions only logistically feasible in a digital game. I also preview the most significant change to the Thoughtful Gamer patreon that will be happening in a couple of weeks.
Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction
Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
Wednesday Jun 20, 2018
Wednesday Jun 20, 2018
At long last we've reached the conclusion of the 2018 countdown. Marc, Matt, and Orion talk about the best of the best. The cream of the crop. The best games ever made! Seriously, these games are incredible and I get giddy just thinking about them.
SPOILERS BELOW
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3:44 - 7 Wonders
7:16 - Concordia
14:30 - Pulsar 2849
20:21 - War of the Ring
24:38 - Agricola
29:29 - Lisboa
35:53 - Suburbia
43:36 - The Castles of Burgundy
47:33 - Through The Ages
53:28 - Here I Stand
1:00:20 - Dominion
1:04:09 - Dominant Species
1:08:23 - Space Alert
1:12:51 - The Resistance
1:19:01 - Android: Netrunner
1:22:38 - Mage Knight
1:26:08 - Spirit Island
1:31:13 - Twilight Imperium
1:34:18 - Twilight Struggle
1:38:47 - Gloomhaven
Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction
Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
Wednesday Jun 13, 2018
Wednesday Jun 13, 2018
Marc, Orion, and Matt sit down with Eric Reuss, designer of Spirit Island. This is one of our longest podcasts ever, but it might be our best ever. Eric was a delightful conversationalist, and we learned so much about the design and lore of Spirit Island. We were absolutely amazed to hear about all of the thought and work that went into the design. There's so much going on underneath the surface that you only see glimpses of in the game itself. I think you'll be equally enthralled.
Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction
Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
Thursday Jun 07, 2018
Thursday Jun 07, 2018
Marc's fighting off a cold but that won't stop him! Orion and Matt join to count down some truly excellent games and fail to stay on topic. You know how it is.
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7:02 - Terra Mystica
11:37 - Fog of Love
17:45 - Robinson Crusoe
22:40 - 7 Wonders Duel
27:30 - Churchill
33:14 - Power Grid
36:54 - Mombassa
43:05 - Scythe
47:40 - Star Wars Armada
53:52 - Pandemic Legacy Season 1
58:14 - Tzolk'in
1:01:57 - Vinhos
1:07:12 - Triumph And Tragedy
1:14:11 - The Gallerist
1:17:55 - Falling Sky
1:22:16 - Viticulture
1:27:30 - Downforce
1:31:47 - Codenames
1:38:06 - Food Chain Magnate
1:41:43 - Battlestar Galactica
Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction
Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
Friday Jun 01, 2018
Friday Jun 01, 2018
Marc, Matt, and Orion are joined by Trey Chambers, designer of Argent: The Consortium, Harvest, and Empyreal: Spells and Steam (now on kickstarter!). We hit all of the important topics: whether dogs or cats are better podcast mascots, dreams about Stefan Feld, and how long you can ramble on a tanget after the end of the podcast before you inadvertently begin a second podcst.
Also some stuff about Trey's games.
Empyreal is only on kickstarter for a couple more days. It looks wild. Check it out! Also play Harvest because it's seriously legit and seems to have slipped under the radar. Also check out Trey's podcast, which focuses on important topics in the board game community, called Eternally Board.
Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction
Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
Friday May 25, 2018
Friday May 25, 2018
Special for our list-aficionado fans out there--another list! The middlest of the best games ever, or something like that. Marc, Matt, and Orion talk about some quality games.
SPOILERS BELOW
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1:53 - Stats
4:47 - El Grande
9:49 - Colonial Twilight
14:48 - Friday
17:55 - Mechs v. Minions
22:49 - Sushi Go Party
25:23 - Secret Hitler
30:12 - Captain Sonar
34:40 - Eclipse
38:50 - Harvest
43:30 - Tokaido
46:29 - Memoir '44
52:48 - Roll For The Galaxy
58:36 - Galaxy Trucker
1:02:42 - Fire In The Lake
1:06:13 - Carcassonne
1:09:31 - Forbidden Desert
1:12:30 - Mysterium
1:15:37 - Keyflower
1:18:21 - Lost Cities
1:20:53 - Nusfjord
Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction
Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
Thursday May 17, 2018
Thursday May 17, 2018
Marc, Orion, and Matt talk about "hindered communication" games, where you're trying to communicate something to another person with an arbitrary barrier in the way. Word association games like Taboo or Codenames are the most well-known types of these games, but we discover that the genre we kind of made up is a lot bigger than that.
Also in this episode, Marc pitches his million dollar invention idea, and everyone marvels over the word "algorithm".
2:11 - Defining Our Terms
3:58 - The Classics
9:55 - The Apples To Apples Continuum
13:45 - Word Association Games
30:23 - Beyond Word Association
35:55 - Idea Association
46:04 - How These Games Succeed
1:03:08 - Oddities And The Hanabi Problem
1:15:31 - Metagaming
Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction
Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
Wednesday May 09, 2018
Wednesday May 09, 2018
We're creeping down the list to better and better games. Marc, Matt, Orion, and Ben talk through some of Marc's favorite games ever. This time we hit some serious controversy, the ripples of which are felt all throughtout the rest of the list. Marc stands by his rankings.
SPOILERS BELOW
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2:35 - Command And Colors: Ancients
5:10 - Wits and Wagers
9:54 - Archipelago
14:11 - Dice Forge
16:40 - Capital
18:44 - Millennium Blades
23:55 - Libertalia
27:18 - Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective
32:14 - Star Wars Rebellion
36:32 - Dungeon Lords
41:48 - Paramedics: Clear!
45:40 - Above and Below
50:12 - Blood In The Fog
54:34 - CrossTalk
1:01:17 - Onitama
1:03:37 - London
1:08:13 - Kemet
1:14:08 - Calimala
1:18:08 - Star Wars Imperial Assault
1:21:52 - Five Tribes
Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction
Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
Friday May 04, 2018
Friday May 04, 2018
Prompted by a discussion in the Thoughtful Gamer discord channel, Marc, Orion, and Matt explore the nature of language, games, and aqueousness as they discuss what constitutes a dry game. It's a concept that people seem to understand but can't quite define. Will we be able to do it? Spoiler: I have no idea.
Skip to 5:09 if you don't care about sports.
Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction
Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
Wednesday Apr 25, 2018
Wednesday Apr 25, 2018
The countdown has returned! Marc has expanded the list to 100 games this time, so there's double the fun. In this installment Marc and Orion blast through numbers 100-81. They're all great games you should check out!
SPOILERS BELOW
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5:11 - Seikatsu
7:32 - Sekigahara
9:25 - Terraforming Mars
12:26 - Medici: The Card Game
14:08 - Descent 2nd Edition
18:22 - For-Ex
24:16 - The Shipwreck Arcana
28:53 - Isle Of Skye
30:54 - Time of Crisis
37:12 - Deception: Murder In Hong Kong
39:16 - Evolution: Climate
44:30 - 1960: The Making Of The President
47:09 - Alchemists
50:30 - Scrabble
52:07 - Caverna: The Cave Farmers
57:09 - Exceed
1:01:18 - Riftwalker
1:06:22 - Sagrada
1:07:34 - Ticket To Ride: Europe
1:11:18 - Three Kingdoms Redux
Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction
Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.