Punching Cardboard (podcast)

Eric returns from his travels for a classic PCP episode and we get down to doing what we do best. We have Tramways in-depth. We have rants. We have disagreements. We have things that went bad.

Add in some raves, some whisky and a meaty trick-taking card game and I believe all the boxes have been ticked. Much fun was had. No animals were hurt. It's a win-win. Enjoy.

SCHEDULE:

02:20 -- Business & Scheduling
13:12 -- Trick of the Rails
32:18 -- New Pornographers, Deep Purple, Chuck Prophet, Vagabond, Hurray for the Riff Raff. Jesca Hoop
43:52 -- The Father John Misty Throwdown
59:00 -- The Quiet Man 8 Year Old Single Malt
63:15 -- Things Went Bad (Tramways Edition)
70:50 -- Tramways (in-depth)
113:05 -- Unbelievable (or is it?)

Direct download: PCP_108_final.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 1:15pm PDT

It's finally here. Our first 18XX extravaganza. After 40-plus hours of 18XX gaming, and with the help of guest hosts Joe Sturgis and Tony KR, plus cold medicine, tea and lozenges, the PCP finally goes deep on this train crazy phenomenon. Run those routes and split those stocks!

Coming at this from a new player's perspective, we take you on a ride from the casual ease of 1846 to the intense pressure of 1854. And by "casual ease" we mean pretty damn hard, but with a friendlier learning curve. Anyway, it's pretty much all 18XX this time around, and the main drama is whether Jim's voice will hold out for the entire episode. Enjoy.

STATIONS:

06:47 -- To 18XX or not to 18XX
16:43 -- 1846
54:38 -- 1854

Direct download: PCP_107_final.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 6:12pm PDT

Welcome to an episode filled with old games and some special guests. Edward and Amanda from Heavy Cardboard join in as we discuss how to get old games back to the table. And after a day of gaming here at Punching Cardboard headquarters, we unleash a session report covering the three underrated titles that ended up on our table. To be honest, we weren't even planning to play these games.

In this episode we leave the cult of the new outside in the rain and rediscover (or discover) some titles that should be getting a little more love. We hope you have as much fun listening to it as we did making it.

SESSIONS:

15:40 -- The Wayback Machine
16:54 -- Baseball Highlights:2045, Super Motherload, Argent
27:19 -- Getting Games Back to the Table (Part 1)
32:17 -- Dominant Species, Wir Sind Das Volk, In the Year of the Dragon, Metropolys, Florenza
40:29 -- Getting Games Back to the Table (Part 2)
53:21 -- The Music Segment
61:33 -- Edward as Navigator, a True Adventure.
62:55 -- The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire (Session Report)
75:51 -- Shogun (Session Report)
94:13 -- Thunder Alley (Session Report)
109:37 -- Captains of the Gulf: A Friend gets his due.

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Direct download: PCP_106_final.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 11:34pm PDT

In this episode we try to honor February, that month in which we unsuccessfully try to play games already played and on our shelves. After opening with an in-depth look at all Arkwright still has to offer, we dust off Bruxelles 1893, a 2013 title that has just been reprinted and can be found once again sitting on store shelves, beckoning all newcomers.

In-between we also discuss 1846, Fields of Despair and Jump Drive, all of which have been getting some serious play here in the land of punched cardboard.

We pepper all this game talk with a little whiskey and music because, well, whiskey and music. Art, architecture, trench warfare, railroads, stock markets, distilled grains, space, fuzzy guitars, Catalonian TV: Where else are you gonna get such disparate elements in one show? Have at it folks, and play nice.

ORDERS:

03:06 -- Arkwright (revisited, with additions)
43:10 -- Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition Irish Whiskey
46:01 -- Whiskey 101-1 -- Types and Grains
53:02 -- 1846:The Race for the Midwest (First Take)
58:20 -- Fields of Despair: France 1914-1918 (First Take)
68:10 -- Jump Drive (First Take)
74:15 -- Merli
76:36 -- Japandroids, Near to the Wild Heart of Life
84:05 -- Bruxelles 1893 (revisited, in-depth)

Direct download: PCP_104_final.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:01pm PDT

Your mission should you choose . . . wait. Umm, in a Galaxy far, far . . . no, not that (please, not that). Space, the final . . . uh-uh. Can anyone hear you scream in space? Who is Zarathustra, and why did he Also sprach? I think I'm running out of references here.

Anyway, here be episode 103 replete with an in-depth conversation about Spielworxx's latest, Solarius Mission. We also get into what the future holds for our gaming lives, answer viewer mail, discuss what hit our tables during Portland's snowpocalypse and drink some Bruichladdich classic whisky. Get your steak knives out.

CAPTAIN'S LOG:

06:20 -- Recently on Eric's Table (The Colonists, Ora et Labora, Days of Ire, First Class)
21:45 -- Recently on Jim's Table (Bios: Genesis, Wing Leader, Age of Thieves)
30:15 -- Viewer Mail
53:12 -- Bruichladdich Scottish Barley, The Classic Laddie
63:21 -- The Year Ahead: Questioning the Gaming Hobby.

Direct download: PCP_103_final.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:24pm PDT

Welcome to our annual ranking of the good stuff. Within you will find us telling you about all the drams, tunes and games we really connected with this past year, all organized, categorized, ranked and presented with tidy little bows. This is the whole big cake of goodness, and you might want to cut and ingest a few slices at a time.

Then again . . . we know you guys. Just forget the forks and plates and dive right in. It’ll all be okay in the morning. Right?

LISTS

05:40 — Games 15 down to 11
28:49 — Whisk(e)y of the Year
49:19 — Games 10 down to 6
98:54 — Albums of the Year
131:29 — Games 5 down to 1

Direct download: PCP_102_final.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 1:33pm PDT

Just like John Ford filming a classic western, we brave the elements to bring you episode 101 in all it's Technicolor, widescreen glory. Winter may be wicked outside, but we're moseying down the trail, single malt in hand, and we're delivering the low down on a chuck wagon full of games, followed by a full dissection of what life's like on The Great Western Trail. Get 'em up.

CATTLE CALL:

01:37 -- Shirts & Other Business
06:06 -- The Lightning Trail Begins
06:44 -- Forged in Steel (Quick take)
08:35 -- Lorenzo Il Magnifico (Quick Take)
12:29 -- Inis (Quick Take)
20:13 -- Solarius Mission (Quick Take)
34:04 -- Kepler 3042 (Quick Take)
42:21 -- The BIOS:Genesis Rulebook (AARRRGGGHHHHH!)
45:28 -- Oracle of Delphi (Quick Take)
47:33 -- Guild Ball (Quick Take) - Last entry on the Lightning Trail
51:00 -- Bleeding Heart Pigeons - Is
55:09 -- Other spins (The Stones, Leonard Cohen, Thank You Scientist, Car Seat Headrest, L.A. Salami)
61:10 -- Clynelish 14 year old
70:24 -- The Great Western Trail (In-Depth)
133:35 -- The Crazy World of Lego Robotics

Direct download: PCP_101_final.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:11pm PDT

Well, we made it. Episode 100. An epic journey culminating in an epic show. Yea us!

Yep, this one's a long one, filled to the brim with hearty conversation. And while we do what we normally do, including covering two massive releases, Princes of the Renaissance and A Feast for Odin, we do take a few moments toward the end to acknowledge the milestone and heap some praise on ourselves (I mean, someone's gotta do it).

Thanks to everyone who listens because you're the people who really got us here. In other words, it's your fault. Seriously, thank you all for tuning in. We really dig this show, and we hope it makes your day when it lands in whatever podcast app you use. Thank You.

08:07 -- BGG CON 2016
20:00 -- Princes of the Renaissance (1st impressions)
48:03 -- In Search of James Hetfield -- The New Metallica Album!
56:13 -- A World Off Its Axis
65:27 -- A Feast for Odin (in-depth)
115:27 -- Episode 100! (Some Self-indulgence)
131:28 -- VH1's Behind the Podcast: The Hegemonic Years

Direct download: PCP_100_final.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:13pm PDT

Welcome to episode 99 of the podcast; a shorter, more concise episode this time out. Why? because your time is valuable and we care and it was definitely not because we were a little wiped out by time we recorded this week, because there's no reason to be wiped out trying to make a living and raise a family and live life. Nope.

Anyway, we have a Terraforming Mars session report along with an in-depth discussion on Haspelknecht. And some first impressions of A Feast for Odin to boot. All in about 90 minutes. You're welcome.

MENU:

04:15 -- T-Shirts?
09:35 -- Terraforming Mars: The Revenge! (session report)
21:40 -- A Feast for Odin (a Drool for Eric (1st impressions))
37:03 -- Atlanta
41:17 -- Haspelknecht (in-depth)

Direct download: PCP_099_final.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:21pm PDT

If you've ever been to the races, you may have seen a race where one of the horses goes off slowly. He doesn't stumble out of the gate; rather, he lollygags, taking in the sights, smelling the fresh cut of the infield, letting the pack get a dozen or so lengths ahead for the first part of the race. After a bit of this our boy decides to kick it into gear so he can see what all the fuss is about at the front of the pack. With luck he gets there before the race is done.

Well, this is kinda what we do in episode 98. We kick things off with one of our new-ish segments, which isn't fine-tuned to our usual perfection (ahem). But we soon catch up and start plowing through the field, challenging for the lead until the end. You can tell us if we've won or not.

GENERATIONS:

03:00 -- Thank You Jason Dinger
08:20 -- Wayback Machine - October 2013
22:44 -- Vinhos Deluxe (unboxing)
29:19 -- This Hobby's Done! No It Isn't! Yes It Is!, No! 
31:39 -- (a diverion) Doctors!
38:12 -- Back to the Hobby Question
56:30 -- Glengoyne 18 year old
68:23 -- Nick Cave Wants Your Soul - Skeleton Tree
83:33 -- Terraforming Mars (in Depth)

Direct download: PCP_098_final.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 4:42pm PDT