Punching Cardboard (Board Games)

Sometimes you just can't get things right. You find a ghost in the signal chain and try to fix it only to find you've made things worse. Apologies in advance for all the pops and clicks.

Among the noisy abberations you will find a fair amount of game discussion and enough salt and vinegar to properly dress your chips.

POPS & CLICKS:

00:09:49 -- Drinkin' and Vaxxin'
00:20:06 -- The Long and Winding Railroad
00:35:05 -- Kickstarting, Streaming, and Video Gaming
00:52:13 -- Freedom: The Underground Railroad
01:00:07 -- Last Will
01:04:03 -- The Sands of Time (Joe's visit)
01:22:15 -- Apocalypse Road
01:42:55 -- The Red Cathedral
01:57:36 -- Nidavellir
02:27:53 -- Of Golden Eagles and T-Shirts

Direct download: PCP_197_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:27pm PDT

This is a pretty rough and raw episode. We're fighting off the depths of despair, the height of a Pandemic, and an attack on our way of life from the people who are sworn to protect it. Can a two-mile high frog be the hero we need to get us through this episode. Tune in and find out.

DESPERATE MEASURES:

00:03:02 -- Polis, Fight for the Hegemony, 2nd edition
00:10:26 -- Siena
00:25:05 -- Angola (session report)
01:00:15 -- Cosmic Frog (in-depth)
02:07:25 -- Resolutions
02:09:05 -- Call to Post is a Dead Parrot
02:27:48 -- No More Windmills

Direct download: PCP_190_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:52pm PDT

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

 

Direct download: PCP_189a_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:11pm PDT

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

Direct download: PCP_187_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 5:12pm PDT

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)

 

Direct download: PCP_186_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:42pm PDT

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

Direct download: PCP_185_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 2:41pm PDT

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

Direct download: PCP_183_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 2:38pm PDT

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

 

Direct download: PCP_182_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:40pm PDT

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

Direct download: PCP_179_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 5:08pm PDT

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

Direct download: PCP_178_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:34pm PDT

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)

 

Direct download: PCP_177_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 7:14pm PDT

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

Direct download: PCP_176_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 5:36pm PDT

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

Direct download: PCP_174_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:27pm PDT

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.

Direct download: Whisky_005a_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 2:41pm PDT

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

 

Direct download: PCP_173_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 10:26pm PDT

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.

Direct download: Whisky_004_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:32pm PDT

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)

Direct download: PCP_172_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 2:25pm PDT

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

Direct download: PCP_171_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:20pm PDT

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)

Direct download: PCP_170_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:54pm PDT

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

Direct download: PCP_168_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:22pm PDT

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.

Direct download: PCP_167_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:10pm PDT

Another Year gone by and it's time for the lists to come out. These are the things that moved us in 2019. How do your experiences compare?

Grab a holiday cocktail, relax, and enjoy.

LISTS:

00:09:41 -- TV & Visual Entertainment (Spoilers and Rants)
00:25:36 -- Video / Computer Games
00:30:56 -- Board Games
01:32:23 -- Music
02:52:50 -- Whiskey & Whisky
02:57:50 -- Books

 

 

Direct download: PCP_166_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:02pm PDT

We go heavy on the games in this year's penultimate episode. Almost two hours taken to cover three games. We expect you'll have a good Idea on whether these are for you.

Enjoy.

PROCEEDINGS:

00:00:00 --  Straight Into Some Music (Delines, Clutch, Joe Henry, Perpetual Grace, Ltd.)
00:32:18 -- Symphony (first take)
00:57:44 -- Bios: Origins 2 (in-depth)
01:38:30 -- Circadians: First Light (in-depth)

 

Direct download: PCP_165_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:30pm PDT

This episode marks six years on the air. We take some time, at Joe's behest, to consider this and where the show might go from here. Also, we revisit a a game that was featured on the second episode, and preview a new release.

Have fun.

THE YEARS:

00:05:15 -- Tournamentville
00:09:35 -- Apologies and Better Angels
00:16:33 -- What I Appreciates
00:22:32 -- Making Bad Better and Good Worse
00:30:19 -- 6 Years Down the Road
01:00:10 -- Tank Duel (first take)
01:25:23 -- Yedo (revisited in-depth)

 

Direct download: PCP_164_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 2:30pm PDT

Fighting a cold and the off-season blues, we power though this episode to bring you some pretty heavy game discussion on entries old and new.

Whisky, music and a book round out the proceedings.

CARGO:

00:14:26 -- Panamax (revisited, in-depth)
00:58:36 -- Paladins of the West Kingdom (in depth)
01:45:27 -- Tearraforming Mars: No Need to Draft
01:58:04 -- Kavalan ex-Bourbon Cask Whisky
02:04:15 -- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Ghosteen
02:10:58 -- Lanny, by Max Porter

Direct download: PCP_163_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:56pm PDT

Often postponed, but never defeated, this new episode transforms from a pile of scraps into a glorious quilt of gaming discourse.

Other stuff as well.

Enjoy

PATTERNS:

00:10:24 -- High Frontier
00:19:44 -- Living Rules, Collections, Rules Again, and So Forth . . . .
00:41:57 -- To Play or Not to Play?
00:54:24 -- Hannibal and Hamilcar (1st Take)
01:03:28 -- Polis
01:05:37 -- More Hannibal
01:08:18 -- Back to Polis
01:15:06 -- New Games??
01:18:42 -- Ardbeg AN OA Single Malt
01:33:10 -- Music (Sturgill Simpson, Mikal Cronin, Mark Lanegan, Anna Meridith, Guided by Voices)
02:03:32 -- War Room (1st Take)

Direct download: PCP_162_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 5:16pm PDT

Consider a concert set list. The band comes out and opens with a couple of deep cuts, a bit slow-tempo, really a nod to the fans. But then they kick it in, building tension, generating release, mixing cuts from all their albums, back and forth across the years. For the encore, a few more deep cuts for the die-hards who haven't rushed out to beat the traffic.

We'll just say that this episode is like that show.

CUTS:

00:16:08 -- Player Usage and the Art of Making Out
00:21:46 -- Guild Usage and the Art of Restaurant Patronage
00:23:59 -- T-Shirt usage and the Art of Support
00:27:52 -- City of the Big Shoulders and the Art of Declaration
00:31:18 -- Creating Music and the Art of Distribution
00:35:21 -- High Frontier 4 All and the Art of Paying What's Due
00:39:10 -- The Long and Winding Road (A Games Journey)
01:36:25 -- Right Here, Right Now: Top 5 Euro Games
01:53:04 -- Undaunted: Normandy (in-depth)
02:27:21 -- Snap, by Belinda Bauer

Direct download: PCP_161_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 5:26pm PDT

We start slow, as cool ambient music on a rainy Autumn evening, but by the halfway point we warm to the task and heat the discussion up to a boil.

Some games just get you that way.

TEMPS:

00:06:01 -- Tournament Losses (Wir Sind das Volk)
00:17:11 -- Innovation & Shogun (sessions)
00:28:25 -- Five-Player Games, now!
00:40:57 -- Spiderman on PS4
00:52:35 -- Endless Legend
01:00:45 -- City of the Big Shoulders (in-depth)
01:43:50 -- Vindication (preview)
01:54:57 -- Oban Little Bay
01:58:32 -- Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan

 

Direct download: PCP_160_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 5:12pm PDT

Games, Games, Game. Now that Summer is ended, or at least Summer vacation has, we're getting back into a routine that promises to result in the playing of more games.

As a result, despite a brief interlude where we express a bit of weariness with the state of the world, we're diving deep into a few games currently hitting our table. Get your wet suit on and join us.

ROUTINES:

00:09:18 -- Wir Sind das Volk (tournament sessions)
00:33:49 -- Sekigahara (Session)
00:45:20 -- Weary and Filled with Despair
00:55:45 -- The City of the Big Shoulders (preview session)
01:19:27 -- Lords of Hellas (in-depth)

Direct download: PCP_159_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 2:47pm PDT

It's been a pretty lazy Summer here in the Pacific Northwest; hence, we are pretty lazy at the moment.

We find ourselves without a deep take on a game here, so we wander lazily around a number of game sessions and offer up some first impressions. This one's really pretty much about playing games.

Cheers.

LAZY AFTERNOONS:

00:16:35 -- Joe's Light Game Roundup
00:25:41 -- Play it Now! Games with 2 Players
00:36:49 -- Food Chain Magnate (session)
00:45:22 -- Too Light & Too Long: SpaceCorp?
00:50:17 -- Pipeline (first take)
00:56:43 -- Lords of Hellas (first take)
01:11:10 -- Agra & Lowenherz (on the table again)
01:13:41 -- Crusader Kings (first take)
01:23:16 -- Outpost (first take)
01:28:48 -- Star Wars: Outer Rim (first take)
01:41:20 -- Call to Post (session)
01:49:10 -- Not 2:18 (was something cut?)

Direct download: PCP_158_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 6:10pm PDT

There is no particular order to the order in which we talk about games in this episode.

We have a free-wheelin' conversation covering several games to kick things off and then go off on tangents for awhile before a couple deeper dives, including all the mistakes we made.

I mean, come on, who presents their mistakes as a feature of a game conversation? That's just how we do I guess. Enjoy.

CRITICAL ERRORS:

00:04:26 -- Freewheelin' Game Chatter
00:24:08 -- A Wir Sind Das Volk Tournament update
00:29:43 -- The Gen Con Non-Preview Segment featuring Pusher Joe. We're Sorry.
00:58:24 -- Birthday Gaming: Escape Plan (a five-player revelation)
01:17:48 -- Aberlour 16 year old
01:25:38 -- Downfall: Mistakes Were Made (in-depth, kinda)
02:12:00 -- Retro Spins #1: Beth Orton's Central Reservation
02:16:31 -- Dark & Money Heist (sexy)

Direct download: PCP_157_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:11pm PDT

Here we present a nice little boardgame stew peppered with a bit of digression and topped off with morally ambiguous book. A hearty Summer meal, kinda like a pasty in Phoenix in the middle of July, except it's games.

Made sense to me when I wrote it. Enjoy.

COMMODITIES:

00:13:24 -- Homestretch with Middle-Schoolers
00:22:02 -- Customer Service: The 7th Continent Replacement Cards
00:26:04 -- Less Stranger Things, More Patriot Please
00:31:17 -- PCBA and other Computer Games
00:38:31 -- The Teeth of Dominant Species and the Paperwork of 18XX
00:57:23 -- A Session of Pax Pamir, 2nd Edition
01:20:00 -- Yinzi: The Shining Ming Dynasty (in-depth)
01:59:57 -- The Painter, by Peter Heller

Direct download: PCP_156_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:32pm PDT

Everything old is new again.

We spend a couple hours discussing games that are maybe a bit long in the tooth. Do they hold up? Are their technologies still viable in this modern world?

We also talk about some new old music and old new whiskey.

MECHANICS:

00:09:47 -- Caylus or Doing Taxes (Joe's choice)
00:14:37 -- Two Versions of Pax Pamir
00:23:25 -- A Little Glen More off the Shelf
00:26:30 -- Yinzi (first take)
00:40:36 -- Q&A and Whiskey
01:11:05 -- The Quiet of Night and High Lonesome Recollections: Western Stars
01:33:07 -- Agricola (in-depth)
01:52:20 -- Agricola: Farmers of the Moor (in-depth)

Direct download: PCP_155_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 1:52pm PDT

Not you people. Not you, the listeners. But when you put 9 people in a house for a week things can get lively. I wonder why they've never made a TV show about this.

So here's what we recall of our annual trip to Colorado, at least the games portion of it. Lots of games

CHAPTERS:

00:03:46 -- A Festivus of Thank Yous
00:17:25 -- Safe Travels
00:24:56 -- Condottiere (session strategies)
00:34:47 -- Carolvs Magnvs (first take)
00:43:20 -- El Grande (in-depth)
01:03:23 -- Roll For the Galaxay: Rivalry (first take)
01:16:07 -- Macallan Edition 3
01:24:20 -- The Dream Syndicate, These Times
01:31:54 -- Sidereal Confluence (in-depth)
02:02:36 -- Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, Patrick Radden Keefe

Direct download: PCP_154_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:28pm PDT

A pretty full show.

We cover three Euro games of various weights, several albums that have found their way into rotation and a dram of fine Scotch. Also, a heated discussion about the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones.

Now, who needs more rocks?

PLOT POINTS:

00:11:12 -- Game of Thrones, Penultimate edition (SPOILERS!!!!), Now With More Mandalorian
00:44:55 -- Concordia Venus (session)
01:00:30 -- Agra Again (another session report)
01:15:06 -- The Macallan Edition #2
01:24:24 -- King Gizzard, Trapper Schoep, Fontaines D.C., Little Steven, Craig Finn (new albums)
01:32:33 -- Glen Hansard, The Wild Willing and the idea of album sequencing
01:47:44 -- Architects of the West Kingdom (in-depth)
02:22:13 -- The Marx Brothers Meet Salvador Dali (next book selection??)

Direct download: PCP_153_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:51pm PDT

I will never fly again. I will never fly again. I will never fly again. I will never fly again.  We played Escape Plan. I will never fly again. I will never fly again. I will never fly again. I will never fly again. I will never fly again. Enjoyed a dram of the BenRiach Horizons. I will never fly again.  I will never fly again. Not Leet. I will never fly again. I will never fly again.

DELAYS:

00:07:42 -- Are You Watching Game of Thrones (Spoilers)
00:20:25 -- Last Ditch Effort (Games on the Stack)
00:24:41 -- The Journey of a Lifetime (Jim vs. the Airlines Round 2)
01:21:03 -- Escape Plan (in-depth)
02:08:20 -- Episode X: A False Hope (Call to Post Edition)
02:15:52 -- The BenRiach Horizons 12yo Single Malt (Nutty Lemons)
02:22:50 -- Tigerman

Direct download: PCP_152_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 1:22pm PDT

Sometimes, after recording, I'm uncertain as to whether the episode is worth releasing.

Sometimes we go into the recording session thinking we have very little to say.

Episode 151 met both of those conditions. Yet, in the editing, all seemed well, and in fact, it felt as though much good was accomplished. Whether you agree or not is another matter completely.

MEDITATIONS:

00:15:45 -- 10 Days of Silence
00:32:02 -- Culling the Social Media Some More
00:35:43 -- The Games People Play (Part 1)
00:38:15 -- World's Fair 1893 (in-depth revisited)
00:59:49 -- Snow Tails (in-depth)
01:16:16 -- It's Okay to Lighten Up
01:24:30 -- Nikka Whisky From The Barrel
01:36:49 -- The Games People Play (Part 2: Electronic Ramble Edition)
02:22:26 -- Not Suffering
02:27:07 -- No Rants

Direct download: PCP_151_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:29pm PDT

Welcome to our 150th episode extravaganza! And by extravaganza we mean the same ol' same ol'. A few games, an album, a book, some banter, a disagreement or two.

Parades and fireworks not included.

MILESTONES:

00:12:44 -- Great Western Trail: Rails to the North (in-depth)
00:40:46 -- Lowenherz (session)
00:59:43 -- Mercury Rev, Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited
01:14:20 -- Quartermaster General: The Cold War (in-depth session)
01:48:00 -- Spoonbenders, Daryl Gregory 
02:20:25 -- The State of the Podcast
02:39:22 -- Loss

Direct download: PCP_150_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:50pm PDT

We execute all the plans we never had. Rather, we have no plan and decide to abandon the plan we don't have. In other words, this one is just a loose conversation touching on a slew of games, a couple artful albums, and a damn fine dram of whisky.

Enjoy.

GAME PLAN:

00:15:08 -- Sessions (Game of Thrones, Aquasphere, Calimala, Thunder Alley, Agra)
00:35:05 -- Destiny 2 00:36:50 --Civ Games
00:53:51 -- Kilchoman 2008 Single Malt
01:02:16 -- Music (Dan Mangan, Charles Lloyd, Lucinda Williams)
01:20:18 -- Q&A

Direct download: PCP_149_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 5:15pm PDT

Some Games. A Dram. A good book.

Need More? Thought not.

INDULGENCES:

00:16:11 -- Feudum Revisited
00:30:11 -- The Return of the Video Game (Civ 6, Endless Space 2, Destiny 2)
00:53:34 -- The Glendronach 15 yo Single Malt
01:02:17 -- New Frontiers (First Take)
01:13:26 -- Smartphone Inc. (In-Depth)
01:56:40 -- The Relic Hunter

Direct download: PCP_148_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 5:03pm PDT

It was the best of games. It was the worst of games. Yeah, we got wisdom, and foolishness, and whatever else this old fat world throws at us.

Welcome to the 147.

The people of the 147 are in a bit of a mood and and the discussion is a bit gritty, but there is much to explore in this one. The folk here aren't interested in the black and white of things, but instead revel in the shades of gray embedded throughout.

Don't be outraged, be engaged.

TONAL VARIATIONS:

00:18:27 -- 18Ireland
00:40:57 -- SpaceCorp (in-depth)
01:08:57 -- Glendalough 13 yo Irish Single Malt
01:21:20 -- Captains of the Gulf (in-depth)
01:39:33 -- Love & Hip-Hop???
01:53:17 -- Dodgers (Bill Beverly)
02:32:40 -- No-Fun February

Direct download: PCP_147_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:54pm PDT

Here it be.

Our annual look back. Our listaganza. The episode where we talk all about the best games, whiskies, and albums we encountered the previous year. You ask for it and we provide it. Or, maybe you don't ask for it, but here it is anyway.

So take a listen and see if we are remotely close to where last year took you.

REMEMBRANCES:

00:02:30 -- January's Book
00:12:43 -- The Music Lists
01:07:47 -- The Games Lists
01:58:40 -- The Games Honorable Mentions
02:05:45 -- The Whisk(e)y Lists
02:23:25 -- Outro: Odds, Ends and Deliberations

Direct download: PCP_146_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 6:29pm PDT

Welcome to the final episode of 2018.

In contrast to the happenings of the real world, we close out the year on a high note, talking about some recent plays and recent releases that have us excited to sit down at the table again.

Enjoy.

LAGRANGE POINTS:

00:10:40 -- Thank Yous
00:13:27 -- Resolutions and our Giveaway
00:26:07 -- Managers Wanted
00:29:21 -- Martian Rails (Session)
00:52:52 -- KeyForge Throwdown (Session)
01:06:07 -- The Dalmore 15 yo Single Malt
01:10:00 -- The Flow of History (First Take)
01:24:39 -- SpaceCorp (In-depth First Take)

Direct download: PCP_145_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 5:07pm PDT

With the December chill in full swing we need to get down with something hot, so we're talking a couple new releases that were highly anticipated here in the dungeon. Could they live up to our expectations? Do they play? Do they have legs? Will our travels be rewarded?

The answers to those questions and much more can be heard in our latest episode. Have fun.

TIMETABLES:

00:09:20 -- Blood on the Ohio contest
00:13:03 -- The Good, The Disappointing and the Frustrating
00:31:42 -- The Republic of Rome
00:41:08 -- 18Lilliput
01:08:39 -- KeyForge
01:43:44 -- Book Club #2: Beartown, by Frederik Backman

Direct download: PCP_144_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 2:06pm PDT

It's one episode before 30 (will there be a 30?) and we've decided to give some underplayed and undervalued games some love.

This is a long episode, which starts with a discussion about reviewing games and gives a little insight on how we approach this podcast.  For our discussion proper we each choose 3 games and reveal them in order. Here's a rough idea of when we actually get to the games.

Number 3 choices -- @ 20 minute mark
Number 2 choices -- @ 43 minute mark
Number 1 choices -- @ 65 minute mark

Direct download: PCP_029_Final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:45pm PDT

On tour again, back in the power trio format! We ship ourselves to the Portuguese colony of Madeira, where we encounter wild grapes, free range wheat and unprocessed sugar. And lots of wood.  

Yep, it's a Euro game and we have punched the cardboard and pushed the wood.  Is Madeira the best of the 2013 Essen crop?  Listen on.

Direct download: PCP_026.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 2:18pm PDT

What creates depth in a board game? Is it a complexity of mechanics? A heavy coat of theme? Level 10 armor? Cows? A fair amount to drink?

Listen in and see if we can figure it out as we discuss some recent releases that are simple to play but offer more than meets the eye, or brain.

Direct download: PCP_025_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 2:50am PDT

Everything old is new again as Eric makes his triumphant return to the podcast.  In this episode we take a long look at playing with our . . . by, by ourselves, and we talk about some of the games that lend themselves well to this endeavor.

Mainly we discuss what everyone in the know already knows about Mage Knight, but we do it in a charming and entertaining fashion.  Just go with it.

Direct download: PCP_024_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 1:20pm PDT

I am a Samurai warrior, going it alone for episode 23.  One must do what one has to in order to keep to schedule, and I must talk to myself for 30 minutes (I can't believe I went on for 30 Minutes).

Anyway, what follows is a fairly comprehensive review of Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan.

Direct download: PCP_023_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:48pm PDT

Hello and welcome to cross-stitching 101.  

Okay, not really, but we are going off into the world of the Arts with today's podcast arguing (and we mean arguing) over the qualities of a little game called Bruxelles 1893.

Listen in to find out what we think about schmoozing patrons at the theater and building fancy works of art. Hint: we disagree.

Direct download: PCP_022_Final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 2:06pm PDT

We answer viewer mail in this episode.  Well, we respond to a question posed by one of our listeners.  Same thing, really.  No?

Okay, fine, so we have no viewers, but we do ramble on a little about viewing bad TV game shows, so something somewhere has been viewed.

Anyway (and I say this too many times in this episode), after quite a bit of banter to open the show we decide to address the question of whether collectible editions are good for the hobby. Are they?

And, oh yeah, those are old school Netrunner cards in that photo.

Direct download: PCP_020_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 1:56pm PDT

Seeing as Russia has taken over the world's headlines (and not yet the world) we decide to get all topical up in this house and revisit the new version of an old game that we played a while ago.  The game is set in a Russia's second city, which is how we get all topical.

We also give The Agents another shout out and then because we like you we cut this episode short and leave you with more time in your day to find something fun to do.  You're welcome.

Direct download: PCP_019_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 10:39am PDT

Spring Break is over and we are back to talk about board game expansions.

What do they add to game play?  Are they worth it? Why such a big box? That little box is cute.  Where the hell is the Trains expansion?  I don't like these giants. You're sacrificing who to whom? You got your Carcassone in my Keyflower!

We want Trains, expanded!

Direct download: PCP_017_Final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 11:58pm PDT

It's a Cramer fest!

This week we discuss the merits of making Scotch whisky for clansmen up in Scotland, fighting France for the favor of King Henry, and sewing dresses for the French socialites we just, um, conquered for said King, while drinking the whisky we made, because, well, why make it if you're not going to drink it, and will this sentence ever stop running?!?

What we're trying to say is we look at several games designed by Matthias Cramer. Maybe we should stop drinking.

Direct download: PCP_015_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 1:45pm PDT

Yes, this was it: our show about nothing, our Seinfeld episode.  See what the critics have to say.

"Not since the Pop-O-Matic have we been so enthralled." ~ Gerbil Monthly
"Is this going on the air?" ~ Justin Bieber
"It was a discussion." ~ BBC 13
"A few thoughts were completed." ~ The Journal of Non-Sequitur Dining
"Frank Turner will never hang out with them." ~ Tattoo Weekly

We promise to be much better next time out.

Direct download: PCP_014_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 10:06pm PDT

If you thought that when humans set up a colony on Mars we would have a group of industrious scientists working to unlock the secrets of the red planet, you were wrong.  According to Travis R. Chance, we humans will do what we do best once we colonize Mars: Exploit and corrupt everything.

We cover the excellent game Infamy on this week's show, and we get a little help from our friend Craige, who has recently become a hardcore analog game addict.  He must've taken too much compound in his younger days.

Direct download: PCP_013_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 9:16pm PDT

Episode 12 - No Need to Dumb it Down

Really, you're sitting there with Candyland spread out on the table and the Wiggles on your stereo?  Oh, the humanity!

Save Yourself!  

Trust that your kids can handle something more, something deeper, something that makes you less likely to pack it all in. Throw Galaxy Trucker on the table and Magical Mystery Tour on the turntable (what, no turntable!?!?), and watch your children come alive.

Direct download: PCP_012_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 11:14pm PDT

Beware, low energy conversation ahead!  

The dog days of August are an exaggeration.  It's the dog days of February that really get ya, and as our energy wanes we attempt an intelligent and critical discussion of Russian Railroads.  

Maybe Monday night isn't the best time to record. 

Direct download: PCP_011_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 1:36am PDT

Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized bone catapults or one bone-catapult-shaped duck?  

Or, as an alternative to dying either way, would you rather listen to this podcast?   "Just look at those bones in the middle there."

All in All a very difficult decision, one similar to the decisions that will break your brain in Vlaada Chvatil's latest invention.  All of this is discussed within. 

Direct download: PCP_009_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 11:30pm PDT

It's a rainy night in Portland.  It's toward the end of a long week, and it's getting late.  Energy levels are low and we are far from progressing to our next power plant upgrade.  

But we push forward and fight through the dead air.  We will not be defeated.  We will discuss this beast called The Capitals.  We will conquer a wonky rule book and fiddly mechanics, and we will be the better for it.  For this Capital can be beautiful.

* FYI - Contrary to the info provided in this podacst the inventor of the Segway is alive and well; however, we were close to the truth in our Segway story.  Tune in to Episode 10 where we solve the mystery.

Direct download: PCP_008_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 3:57pm PDT

Think of this podcast as our "about" page, at least until we think up some really good stuff to write about ourselves.

We try to discuss what brings each of us into the hobby, and then we try to explain why this analog form of gaming bests digital gaming.  Success? Eh??

Direct download: PCP_007_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 1:22am PDT

It's that time of year.  Top 10 lists abound.  People pontificate. This is better than that and that is nowhere near as good as the other, all in order, from 1 - 10.

We decide that we too can count to ten, and make lists, but we like to be different.

So, our New Year's Eve episode sees us taking on BGG contributor Sarah Reed's challenge of playing 10 games 10 times each in 2014. We make individual lists (because it's a list episode, and well, it's just the thing to do) and then compare them in an utterly thrilling manner.

Unable to leave well enough alone, we add a special Punching Cardboard rule to the madness and count to 11. It all results in a what seems to be a very logical commitment: we decide to play our games.

Direct download: PCP_005a.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 2:11am PDT

In our longest episode so far we discuss the longest game we play.  How long is too long? Does satisfaction diminish as the hours drag on? Why are all those little wooden pieces so fiddly? And can we play again, immediately?  Now!

Direct download: PCP_004_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 10:09pm PDT

We review Francis Drake and discuss the high quality of its components and the trend toward higher game prices.

Direct download: PCP_001_final.mp3
Category:Board Games -- posted at: 4:01pm PDT

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