It's almost over. This . . . year.

Nothing much to do other than gather up some lists of the things that got us through. We hope you dig it.

COUNTDOWN:

00:05:14 -- Best Games we played for the first time.
01:48:20 -- Whiskies of the Year
01:58:32 -- Best of the Book Club
02:06:37 -- Cat Intermission
02:08:15 -- The Music That Got Us Through the Year

It took us two tries to get this one right. Well, right might be too strong of a word. Lets swap that for recorded. Yeah, we finally got the episode recorded. I mean, right, ha, probably more like wrong, but you know how it is.

Anyway, on with the show.

ATTEMPTS:

00:15:35 -- The Listening Rooom (The Jesse Green Test)
01:12:10 -- Joe's Magical Gaming Experience (Abandon Ship!)
01:59:56 -- Destiny 2, The Ghost of Tsushima and many violent ends.

This episode marks the beginning of our 8th year ranting and raving about games (and books (and music (and life))).

We kick it into gear with some heavy discussions of almost all of the above. Pretty much, if it ain't broke. . . . or, if it is broke, lean into it.

TOAST:

00:19:09 -- Whiskies
00:22:48 -- Giving Thanks
00:26:36 -- Our Once and Future Books
00:33:13 -- On Listening
00:44:24 -- The Crack of Destiny
00:58:03 -- Hallertau Almost Got Me
01:02:10 -- Viscounts of the West Kingdom (in-depth)
01:46:33 -- The Cost (in-depth)
02:24:23 -- Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman

Favorite mechanics? Nah.

How about a discussion of a bunch of games and the one thing each of them offers to stand out from the crowd?

One thing in one game!

Yeah, we can get into that. Follow along, if you please.

THINGS (Not just One and Two):

00:04:22 -- The Election of the Century
00:26:45 -- A Brief Musical Interlude (technical difficulties)
00:28:39 -- Argent: The Consortium (a session)
00:32:20 -- Game news?? Terra Mystica Adjacent
00:38:09 -- One Thing in One Game (a list)

We're keeping it simple as we're back to remote recording. One Game. One book. One in-depth discussion.

Still over two hours of quality goodness. Enjoy.

CHAPTERS:

00:05:39 -- Tekhenu (in-depth)
01:21:39 -- Short takes: Smartphone Inc. expansion and Pax Porfiriana
01:32:51 -- Deacon King Kong by James McBride

One. Two Three. Four.

We front load this episode with four games discussed in detail, included are forays into adjacent concepts in gaming. After two hours of that nonsense we delve into some music and television that's enlightening our minds and enriching our lives.

Please enjoy.

VIEWING SCHEDULE:

00:04:25 -- Alma Mater
00:48:57 -- Worker Placement: Offensive???
00:55:55 -- Babylonia
01:14:45 -- Marvel Champions with a Side of Legendary
01:42:11 -- Let's Pour Another Round: Midsummer's Night Dram and Festbier
01:47:50 -- Spirit Island
02:11:57 -- Big Music Discussion (Pineapple Thief, Pattern Seeking Animals, Airbag, Drive-by Truckers)
02:43:43 -- Don't Forget the Driver: TV Off the Beaten Path

To hell with the experts, if just for one day. Travel happened. Games were played. Most importantly, human contact was regained, if just for 9 days.

ITINERARY:

00:17:00 -- I Did a Bad Thing
00:54:30 -- The Games
01:03:21 -- The Capitals
01:15:20 -- Die Handler
01:23:33 -- Joe's Confession
01:25:05 -- Founding Fathers (2007 ed.) and Gandhi
01:40:22 -- Overcooked (video game)
01:42:53 -- Call to Post

It was a lovely evening away from the maddening crowd so we decided to do a show. Just like the 181 times before, we gathered with some microphones and chatted about board games and other things. Even our special guest, Chip, the cricket, seemed to approve.

CHIRPS:

00:09:49 -- Celebrity Boardgame Deathmatch
00:12:47 -- The view from 30,000 feet
00:25:46 -- Cooper Island (in-depth first impression)
00:59:23 -- High Rise (in-depth first impression)
02:07:12 -- Clonakilty Bordeaux Cask Edition
02:13:21 -- Jim Goes to the Record Shop

Shambolic: adjective -- chaotic, disorganize, confused.

Could we use that definition to describe this episode? Sure.
Will we? Sure.
Will You? Possibly.
Does that make it bad? Possibly.
Is it here anyway? Yup.
Is it a misfire or just some catchy jazz? You tell us.

CATCHY SOLOS:

00:02:12 -- Navigating This Covid Life
00:26:21 -- The Lackluster Side of Gaming
00:35:40 -- Should it Stay or Should it Go: Russian Railroads
00:46:51 -- Kogge
00:50:31 -- The Q&A (Gloomhaven, Fae)
01:22:55 -- Sleepers???????
01:49:20 -- Tomatin 14 yo Port Cask.
01:52:42 -- The Music We're Hearing
02:06:50 -- The Given Day, Dennis Lehane

Once in a century Pandemic.
Once in a generation civil upheaval.
Once in a decade game?

We take a 90 minute journey through the 18th Century world of Imperial Struggle, throwing a little pandemic, protest and pot-luck life discussion in at the end of the show. We hope you enjoy the ride.

CONFLICT POINTS:

00:18:33 -- A Prelude to Digression
00:31:08 -- Imperial Struggle (in-depth)
02:01:50 -- The Wind-down

Well, you caught us on a nice summer evening, sitting outside, sippin' whisky, and talkin' board games. It's the best we can do in this paranoid pandemic times. Maybe the closest we've come to the old days in a while. The most human the interaction has been. Whatever the case, we think we did alright with this one.

FIELD RECORDINGS:

00:07:19 -- The Taverns of Tiefenthal (in-depth) with a side of Nusfjord
00:51:50 -- It's a Wonderful World (short take)
00:56:13 -- In the Hall of the Mountain King (in-depth)
01:18:42 -- Is this the Real Life?
01:22:03 -- Coal Country (short take)
01:28:48 -- Gaming Refresh
01:45:30 -- Literature vs. the World
02:00:45 -- Glen Scotia Single Malt
02:09:25 -- The Gloaming
02:12:00 -- Stillwater: encores

And on and on and on.

Joe returns from his long, strange trip and we slowly get back into the socially distanced swing of things.

PRATTLES:

00:03:07 -- Life During Wartime
00:38:57 -- That's a T-Shirt!
00:45:00 -- Clonakilty Irish Whiskey & Loch Lomond 18yo Scotch
00:55:15 -- The Ramshackle Game Parade
00:56:04 -- The Gaia Project
01:12:10 -- 18XX Family Time
01:29:12 -- Memoir '44
01:36:10 -- Madeira
01:39:00 -- Antiquity
01:44:08 -- Baseball Highlights 2045
01:45:29 -- Guildhall
02:00:35 -- Upcoming Games
02:09:53 -- Gabriel Bump's Everywhere You Don't Belong

With Joe still on the road two of the masterminds behind the upcoming Spielworxx game The Cost, Armando Canales and Lyndon Martin,  join Jim in a wide-ranging discussion of games, game-states and playing manners.

In addition, Jim finds out just how wrong he's been all these episodes.

INCORRECTIONS:

00:06:00 -- A differing opinion on Tank Duel
00:17:50 -- Group Losing
00:26:54 -- Trick Taking Responsibilities
00:42:43 -- Player Manipulation
00:49:08 -- Hate Drafting
00:53:48 -- Takin' it Back
01:01:03 -- Pulling Levers: Math vs. Art
01:15:46 -- The Cost (designer insight)

It's been a hard couple of weeks here, so for those of you tuning in, we thank you. It really does mean something to us.

This is a solo effort as Joe is off burying his mother and attending to all that accompanies a person's passing. Our broken hearts are with him.

And we are all devastated by the murder of George Floyd as well as the continued beatdown we're all taking from the Coronavirus pandemic. Hard times come again no more indeed.

So I muse on all of the above and close with discussion of 3 Playstation titles that are keeping me out of my own head late at night. No wisdom, just ramblings.

Take care. Be kind. Love. Peace. Understanding.

Black Lives Matter!

Have you really played all the games? Probably not.

And we've all probably got a couple on our list that folks might consider classics, or required games. We talk about those glaring oversights here in the latest episode of As the Lockdown Turns.

Many other items covered as well. You know, a typical show. Enjoy.

SCRUTINIES:

00:02:47 -- Because We're Livin' It!
00:18:47 -- Libations
00:23:55 -- The Board Gaming Glaring Oversight Committee
01:10:20 -- Gugong (in depth), and a side of Ginkgopolis
01:15:51 -- New Music (Willie Nile, Jason Isebell)
02:09:07 -- Apeirogon, by Colum McCann
02:32:55 -- The top Albums of 1976

Wasting no time, we dive into the main game we played the past few weeks. A handful of games follow.

Still, all the content you expect, just in a different order.

Enjoy.

THE SCRIPT:

00:01:24 -- Hansa Teutonica (in-depth, session)
00:45:29 -- The Albums of 1975
00:57:54 -- Memory Failure: Did We Already Discuss the family Hellas Session?
00:59:18 -- Triumph & Tragedy (session)
01:15:25 -- Santa Maria (first take)
01:35:50 -- Captains of Industry (session)
01:56:00 -- Books, the Surreal Life and Other Miseries

Here we are in the new world order, or rather, the chaotic world order.

We're just trying to survive and maybe discuss a few games and other things of cultural import. Just trying to raise our spirits.

It's a journey. Thanks for your company on the ride.

TICKETS:

00:20:11 -- Surprising Lack of Games on the Table during Lockdown
00:26:57 -- Netplay, Strat-O-Matic Style
00:39:55 -- Tabletop Simulator (yes, it works!)
00:52:49 -- Pax Transhumanity (update)
01:00:41 -- Architects of the West Kingdom: Age of Artisans (in-depth sessions)
01:12:23 -- The Appreciation Level of Others
01:24:44 -- 1974
01:32:52 -- New Music (Bill Frisell, Melt Yourself Down)
01:42:54 -- Illicit Maneuvers
01:46:05 -- The Cactus League, by Emily Nemens

Struggling for sanity, we put together another installment of our virus lockdown series.

In this one we answer the question, which five non-GMT titles should’ve been developed and published by GMT? There might be something about someone getting drunk as well.

Hopefully this will distract you for a little while.

Live from Portland, the 173rd stop on our world tour, presented in it's entirety without cuts or overdubs, our latest show in all its glory.

Will there be technical difficulties? Yes.

Will we stumble trying to answer tough questions? Possibly.

Will it be good? Sure?

SETLIST:

00:11:31 -- Freedom of Thought or Just an Illusion
00:28:40 -- Unhelpful Billionaires
00:31:12 -- Bruxelles 1897
00:41:13 -- Ora et Labora for Two?
00:44:59 -- Table Top Simulator
00:47:20 -- Barrage: The Leeghwater Expansion
00:58:59 -- A Daily Dose of Metheny, Shakaba and the Ancestors
01:09:13 -- Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban
01:12:39 -- Top 5 Mechanisms, sort of.
01:24:20 -- Top 5 GMT Games
01:33:02 -- Watch Outnumbered. 

Part 4 of this series and we've settled in a little to the new reality.

Having solved his technological difficulties, Joe returns to add his wisdom to the question of getting games to the table with your significant other. Also, we discuss table games played via computer vs. computer games.

All in All, 25 % less dread, 50 % more games.

Join us as we enter week two of the lockdown. We desperately want to keep in touch with our listeners. Hopefully we can keep each other sane as we navigate this brave new world. Included are some tips on gaming with your partner while on lockdown.

In part 2 of our limited series we get Joe setup with a recording rig at home. We talk a little more about the current predicament and then migrate our book discussion over and take a look at Lydia Fitzpatrick's Lights All Night Long.

Hey all.

The Punching Cardboard team is in Isolation. Isolation sucks. It's lonely. It's unnerving. It's stopping us from playing games and talking about them.

But we still have voices, and we think just maybe you'd like our voices to visit the wilderness of your own isolation. You know, to counteract the ones in your brain urging you to scream and never stop.

So, for now, while this disruption lasts, we're gonna send you this series. Our way of talking through the absurdity that is life, especially now that it's truly absurd. These episodes will be shorter and much more frequent (because what the hell else do we have to do) and probably much more free of form and topical, not like we do the PCP any other way.

We hope you dig it.

There are times when you need to make something out of nothing. Entering the studio for episode 172 was one of those times. I mean, we had next to nothing. A game session, a new dram, a couple albums.

But we pulled it together, rambled into other territories, consolidated some stray ideas, and in the end lasted for the marathon. Yea us!?

PATHS:

00:04:17 -- The 2020 PCBA Baseball Season: Last Call
00:08:00 -- Couch, Whiskey, & Digression
00:35:09 -- Bingo Time
00:43:11 -- Back in Good Graces: Time of Crisis
00:47:50 -- I've Never Played Automobile
00:56:45 -- Divinity 2: Orifginial Sin (Group Dynamics A)
01:16:11 -- Bull Run American Whiskey Aged in Pinot Noir Casks
01:25:23 -- Music: Drive By Truckers
01:30:40 -- Memory: Pat Metheny and the best album of 2020
01:51:14 -- Kohle & Kolonie (Group Dynamics B)

If you're only here for our in-depth, main game discussion, then skip the first two hours of the show. If you want to know a little about a lot of game related things, then tuck in at the beginning and enjoy the ride.

ANSWERS:

00:07:01 -- Book List
00:14:10 -- Bingo Begins
00:19:52 -- The Q&A Session Starts Here
00:26:01 -- Fatigued?
00:33:57 -- Will We Attend Any Conventions?
00:41:55 -- To Deluxify or Not to Deluxify?
00:44:26 -- Taking Tricks
00:48:32 -- Of Trains and Wars
00:52:29 -- Feedback in Games
01:04:28 -- Pax Alluring.
01:33:29 -- The Greatness
01:39:09 -- Terra Mystica: Merchants of the Seas (first take)
01:49:47 -- Port Charlotte 10-yo Heavily Peated
01:57:20 -- Music (The Flower Kings, Tame Impala, Spanish Love Songs, The Jayhawks)
02:07:41 -- Flotilla (in-depth)
02:42:44 -- The Night Tiger, by Yangsze Choo

The water flows. The oil moves. The beat goes on. A new era begins, same as the old era. We continue on. Enjoy.

RATES:

00:05:00 -- The State of the Podcast
00:19:19 -- An Adjacent Thought or Two
00:28:45 -- Teasing Terra Mystica's New Expansion
00:34:00 -- Bingo Rules
00:39:27 -- Strat-O-Matic Baseball (of dice and the 2019 PCBA World Series)
00:53:44 -- The Christradamus Predictions
00:55:20 -- Wildcatters (session)
01:09:31 -- Barrage (in-depth)

Route building. Colony building. Future building. Restaurant building.

We turned a lot of resources into a lot of structures these past few weeks. We also bought and sold shares of stock and grilled some burgers. A little of everything, really, resulting in a lot of game talk.

STATIONS:

00:17:52 -- On Joe's Table: Xenon Profiteer & The Arrival
00:22:42 -- On Jim's Table: Food Chain Magnate: Ketchup and Other Mechanisms Expansion
00:41:35 -- Stephenson's Rocket (first take)
00:57:10 -- Pax Transhumanity (first take)
01:15:26 -- High West Campfire
01:27:22 -- On Mars (first take, in-depth)
02:11:14 -- Night Boat to Tangier, by Kevin Barry

Missiles are raining down in Iraq, but ain't we got smiles.

Yeah, I guess. With 2020 already looking doomed already, we steady ourselves and take a look at some of the good things we encountered over the Winter break.

We have hope. We will forge ahead. There are games to be played.