Before we get to the games on the table this week we want to take a moment to let you know that from October 1st through October 8th we will be proud participants in the 2014 Stonemaier Charity Auction. Stonemaier Games will be auctioning off nine supreme copies of Euphoria, including extra bells and whistles like Game Trayz inserts, pairing each game with a different blogger/podcaster. Each blogcaster will be choosing a charity that will receive 50% of bid for that particular copy. The blogcaster with the largest amount bid will see the entire amount sent to it's charity. The Charity we have chosen is the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. We have much more information about this on the podcast, and you can click the links above (or below) to find out even more. And keep an eye out for tweets to keep you updated as the week progresses.

We also get to some games, taking a first look at Spanish farming in La Granja and a full look at gun-fighting in the Doomtown corral. And we even discuss the reviewing of games in general, something sparked by recent reviews of a Kicstarter game called Lagoon. Follow the timeline below for all the goodness.

1:55 -- Stonemaier Charity Auction
10:40 -- La Granja
31:20 -- Review Fight!
50:45 -- Doomtown: Reloaded

Charity Links:

https://bbrfoundation.org/
http://stonemaiergames.com/2014-charity-auction/

What's wrong with us?

In opposition to those poorly received games we like, our guilty pleasures, there must be games that are well-loved and critically acclaimed which elude our ability to enjoy. Right? Surely.

We spend the Lion's share of this episode discussing games that, despite their acknowledged goodness, one of us is unable to like. It was a fun, maddening discussion, and we hope you'll enjoy it, or at least tell us why we're wrong. Because we are wrong.  Very, Very wrong.

Timestamps:

2:55 -- Kickstarted Games Update
17:10 -- Anticipated Games
23:05 -- What's Wrong With Us
25:48 -- Tzolk'in
31:55 -- Shogun
44:47 -- Brass
50:00 -- Suburbia
54:13 -- Le Havre
61:10 -- Honorable Mentions

This is one action packed episode, chock full of opinions about games old and new. Games of all types. Card games, war games, Euro games. You like laying tiles? Yup, we talk about those too.

It's a long one, so here's a menu in case we're talking about anything you want to skip:

3:39 -- The Arran Malt Whisky (cask strength)
4:27 -- Doomtown: Reloaded
13:25 -- Fire in the Lake
24:00 -- Will we be playing Five Tribes?
27:20 -- Clearance!
28:15 -- The Castles of Burgundy
33:15 -- Ginkgopolis
41:50 -- Seasons
48:45 -- Quantum
59:15 -- Istanbul
103:45 -- Legacy: The Testament of Duke DeCrecy

There is always special satisfaction in grabbing an item off a clearance table and finding it to be something of real value. Even better when said item is a worker placement game that you will be able to enjoy many times over.

What's He Building in There? is such a game, a fairly straight forward exercise in placing workers, but with a theme that makes us smile as we place them. Find out just how much fun we had building our doomsday machines in this week's episode.

This week we're arming Orcs and Elves and hobgoblins, all in the name of making more money. More moola. No prestige or honor, just cold hard cash.

Battle Merchants allows you to get you "Lord of War" on and we're gonna discuss just how much fun that is.  As if you expected anything else.

The imperials are here, and they are settling!

It seems like you have to wait forever to access games that debut at the big cons (Panamax anyone?), but a GenCon release lands in the Pacific Northwest just days after its debut in Indianapolis, so we're here to tell you about it.

Portal Games has gotten copies of Imperial Settlers to market, to stores, to shelves, and more importantly, to us. Yes! Imperial Settlers is ours, and we're playing the something out of it.  Tune in here to see what we think.

This episode finds us doing a rare preview for a game yet to see publication: Galaxy of Trian. We put the basic game of this lovely galaxy through it's paces and teleport back to tell you what we think. Bear in mind, we are working with a prototype of the final game and things may change.

Since we are doing a preview/review we should also say our stance regarding previews is simple: (spoilers) If someone sends us a demo or prototype and asks us to give it a review, we will play it and if we like it we may do a show about it.  If we don't, we won't.  And when we say "like it," we mean we would put it into rotation with the published games we are playing at that time. Phew.

Potato Man! Port Royal! Gem Rush!

Yes, little games are people too. Or sometimes you just want to play a bunch of short, satisfyingly simple games.

So we get down with some quick, light fillers, two of which are not yet available in the U.S., but we do have an international audience, so we talk about them anyway. And did we say Potato Man!

Despite what we say on the podcast this is indeed episode 35.  The number of this episode shall be 35 and none other, etc., etc.

And in this episode we offer up a little Carl Chudyk action by discussing two of his more recent inventions, Innovation and Impulse. Listen in to see where we come down on strategic, chaotic card play and wild momentum swings.

We could care less about NASCAR, or Indy car, or Motorcross, or F1, or any other type of real world contest where people climb into or on machines and go fast, and yet here we are looking at a game that just might be the first legitimate contender for the best game of 2014.

There is nothing overly complex or unique about Thunder Alley; however, it's card driven mechanics and bring the field with you strategies result in an experience that's just fun. Simple fun.  Oh, and it's exciting too.

Step inside, we'll tell you more.