Draft Mechanic Episode #78: The 2017 Redux! Looking back at 2017, six months later. Plus: Tokyo Highway, Circle the Wagons, Carcassonne: Amazonas and more
It’s the middle of the year! What better time to take a weathered look back at last year’s games? We’ve played more 2017 games, and the hype has died down from others, so it’s time to recalculate those lists and see how it’s shaken out! We’ve also got Circle the Wagons on tap, recent plays of Carcassonne: Amazonas and Tokyo Highway, some odd beer news from across the pond, and a pair of Kickstarters that couldn’t be more thematically distant. Sit back, relax, grab a pint and enjoy the show!
01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates
02:20 Draft Mechanic BGG microbadge!
04:45 Games News: Terraforming Mars’ 4th Expansion
07:52 Games News: BGG Gen Con GeekPreview
09:34 Kickstarter Updates
11:11 Kickstarter: So Long, My World
15:41 Kickstarter: Wreck Raiders
18:27 Recent Plays: Carcassonne Amazonas
38:17 Recent Plays: Tokyo Highway
47:37 Recent Plays: Circle the Wagons
55:28 On Tap: Circle the Wagons
61:45 No CO2? Yes Problem!
68:14 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot
69:24 2017 Superlatives Redux
78:36 2017 Top 10 Games Redux
105:13 Final Round: New Favorites from 2017
110:00 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Draft Mechanic is a proud member of Punchboard Media, where we all bring something to the table. Check out our diverse group of audio, video and written board game content creators!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help! Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/78redux17
Draft Mechanic Episode #77: Vinhos High Gravity review & on tap; Coldwater Crown: The Sea; Carcassonne: Over Hill & Dale; Alhambra; Cleopatra & the Society of Architects
Hello again! Today, we return to the heavier side of gaming today with Vinhos in our featured High Gravity review segment, and give the game of strategic winemaking our On Tap treatment. We take a look at the upcoming The Sea expansion for Bellwether Games’ Coldwater Crown, discuss recent plays of another Carcassonne spinoff (Over Hill and Dale) and classic titles Alhambra and Cleopatra. Danielle’s beer primer segment is all about hefeweizens today, and in the Final Round we talk about when it’s ok to help other players choose their moves. Enjoy!
01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates
04:26 News: Origins awards
08:00 Kickstarter Updates
11:46 Kickstarter: Creatures & Cupcakes
13:30 Kickstarter: Fantastic Factories
15:19 Kickstarter: Coldwater Crown “The Sea” expansion!
19:15 Recent Plays: Carcassonne Over Hill and Dale
28:57 Recent Plays: Alhambra
34:57 Recent Plays: Cleopatra and the Society of Architects
44:38 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot
45:48 High Gravity Review: Vinhos
46:42 Vinhos Gameplay Overview
51:41 Vinhos Discussion
92:32 Vinhos Final Thoughts
94:39 On Tap: Vinhos
98:39 The Beer Primer: Hefeweizen
108:46 Final Round: Helping Other Players
117:23 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help! Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/77vinhos
Draft Mechanic Episode #76: Altiplano six-pack review & on tap; Food Truck Champion, Carcassonne: The Discovery, The Mind, Sour Beer, Story or Game?
In episode 76, we review Altiplano, the new bag-building, Alpaca-farming game from Renegade Games and share a pack of beers to pair it up with. We discuss Food Truck Champion, The Mind, and Carcassonne: The Discovery; also, there’s Kickstarters, news, a discussion on sour beer, plus our final round discussion about the difference between an interactive story and a game. Enjoy!
01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates
03:03 News: Choose Your Own Adventure game
04:31 News: Spring Meadow
08:17 Kickstarter: On Tour
11:23 Kickstarter: Villagers
15:44 Kickstarter: Herbaceous Sprouts
18:54 Recent Plays: Food Truck Champion
32:49 Recent Plays: Carcassonne: The Discovery
43:35 Recent Plays: The Mind
49:17 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot
50:22 Six Pack Review: Altiplano
50:55 Altiplano Gameplay Overview
56:52 Altiplano Discussion
85:53 Altiplano Final Thoughts
87:38 On Tap: Altiplano
92:22 The Beer Primer: Sours
103:00 Final Round: Story or Game?
108:13 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help! Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/76altiplano
Draft Mechanic Episode #75: Geekway 2018 Recap & Pot De Vin on tap
In today’s episode, we’re looking back at our trip to St Louis for Geekway to the West! This episode’s going to break free from the normal structure as we want to talk games, games and more games! We talk about games new, old and rare that we found in the incredibly deep Geekway games library and about the convention as a whole. We’ve also got Pot De Vin, a neat trick taking game we stumbled upon at the con, on tap for some beer pairings. Enjoy!
01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates
02:55 News: Spiel & Kennerspiel Nominees
06:46 Kickstarter Updates
08:53 Geekway Part One
15:15 Recent Play: Indian Summer
23:14 Recent Play: Topiary
29:05 Recent Play: Majesty for the Realm
35:13 Recent Play: Clans of Caledonia
46:55 Geekway Part Two
48:39 On Tap: Pot De Vin
59:09 Visiting Urban Chestnut Brewing Company
60:44 Recent Play: Star Scrappers: Cave In
66:58 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot
68:07 Geekway Part Three
68:22 Recent Play: Capital Lux
74:43 Recent Play: Castles of Burgundy: The Dice Game
82:00 Recent Play: Carcassonne: The City
91:28 Recent Play: Yspahan
101:05 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help! Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/75geekway
Draft Mechanic Episode #74: Decrypto v Codenames; Dice Throne; Wonderland; Hive; Biblios
We’re back! Today’s episode features a Variants segment where we pit newcomer team word game Decrypto against the juggernaut of Codenames. We recap Tabletop Day with Dice Throne, Hive, Biblios & Wonderland. Decrypts on tap with five beer pairings, and for the beer segment today we discuss the winners and results from the 2018 World Beer Cup. We’ll be back on our regular schedule next Monday with our Geekway to the West recap. Enjoy!
01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates
02:21 Geekway to the West meetup!
03:10 News: Asmodee for Sale?
08:37 News: My Little Scythe
11:24 Kickstarter Updates
13:32 Kickstarter: Overlight RPG
17:29 Kickstarter: Gravity Warfare
19:32 Kickstarter: Journal 29 Revelation
22:42 Recent Plays: Dice Throne
31:29 Recent Plays: Hive
36:21 Recent Plays: Biblios
44:11 Recent Plays: Wonderland
52:31 Recent Plays: Among the Stars app
54:34 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot
55:43 Variants: Decrypto v Codenames
78:05 On Tap: Decrypto
81:52 World Beer Cup 2018 Results
91:00 Final Round: Retheming for Kids
94:15 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help! Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/74decrypto
Draft Mechanic Episode #73: Rising 5 six-pack review; Blight Chronicles: Agent Decker preview; Happy Planet Games (Monster Match & Funky Chicken); Las Vegas Boulevard
Hello again! On today’s episode, we’re looking at Rising 5, the new app-enhanced deduction game featuring some stellar artwork from Vincent Dutrait. We have a Kickstarter preview of Blight Chronicles: Agent Decker from Board & Dice, and we look at the new Happy Planet games from North Star Games, Monster Match and Funky Chicken! Also: the Boulevard expansion for Las Vegas, a history of hard cider, and a final round where we discuss what games should be called ‘modern classics.’ Enjoy!
01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates
02:42 News: Gen Con Events Catalog is live
04:55 News: Asmodee’s Modern Classics
07:42 Kickstarter Updates
10:16 Kickstarter: Kitchen Rush expansion
12:15 Kickstarter: The Estates
15:23 Recent Plays / KS Preview: Blight Chronicles Agent Decker
27:11 Recent Plays: Las Vegas Boulevard
34:50 Recent Plays: Happy Planet Games: Monster Match & Funky Chicken
42:52 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot
44:01 Six Pack Review: Rising 5
44:42 Rising 5: Gameplay Rundown
50:34 Rising 5: Discussion
68:19 Rising 5: Final Thoughts
70:27 On Tap: Monster Match
74:47 The History of Cider
83:28 Final Round: Modern Classics
95:11 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help! Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/73rising5
Draft Mechanic Episode #72: The RPG episode! Home-brew campaigns, one shots; Vinyl & Filler previews; Sunset Over Water; Homebrewing
Welcome, adventurer, to Episode 72 of Draft Mechanic! Today, we’re diving into RPGs in a few segments: Danielle’s D&D group discusses their GM’s home-brew campaign, we played Millennial Apartment Hunters, put Dungeons & Dragons on tap, and the Final Round we talk about other home-brew RPGs. We have two Kickstarter previews today: Filler from Green Couch Games and Vinyl from Talon Strikes Studios. Dive in!
01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates
04:29 News: Kitchen Rush expansion
05:29 News: Race for the Galaxy expansions
09:32 Kickstarter Updates
11:31 Kickstarter: Fireball Island
12:46 Kickstarter: Graphic Novel Adventures
14:35 Kickstarter: Filler
22:47 Kickstarter: Vinyl
32:04 Recent Plays: Sunset Over Water
40:47 Recent Plays: Millennial Apartment Hunters
51:39 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot
52:50 D&D Homebrew Case Study
87:38 On Tap: Dungeons & Dragons
91:11 Homebrewing
99:59 The Final Round: Homebrew RPGs
102:08 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help! Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/72rpgs
Oh dear, what’s this then.
First off, I must warn you - this show is exceptionally NOT SAFE FOR WORK. Not in the slightest.
Some time ago, we asked for your gaming advice related questions with the promise that we might do something fun with them. Well, nearly a year later, that tree has finally borne fruit. And so, we unleash upon the board gaming world a project we have called “My Meeple and Me,” a loving homage to one of our favorite podcast media empires, the McElroy brothers’ juggernaut advice podcast “My Brother, My Brother & Me.” If you’ve enjoyed this, you will enjoy their shows much, much more. Check ‘em out!
Suggested talking points: Cargo shorts; archaeology; BASIC programming; dance moves; rules interruptions; getting the game group together.
My Meeple and Me has been a joint production of Aaron from Boards Alive, Jake from Draft Mechanic, and Alex from The Dukes of Dice.
Our theme song for this project is “One Hit Pitch Pipe” from Shapiro, friends of Jake’s from back in the college days who put together one banger of an album. You can go buy a copy of the album on their website, you should do that thing, it’s so good.
Thank you so much for listening to this oddity of a podcast, we hope you enjoyed it. Now, go listen to some McElroy goodness.
Draft Mechanic Episode #71: One Deck Dungeon (six-pack review & on-tap); Mystery of the Temples preview; Hardback; Pitch Deck; SMaSH beer & Soloable Games
Dungeons! They’re everywhere these days, right? Always opportunities to delve for treasure, so what makes One Deck Dungeon unique? We’ll find out today in our Six-Pack review of this rogue-like, pocket sized dungeon delving card game. If temples are more your thing, we’ve got a preview of Mystery of the Temples (hitting Kickstarter this week!). And then there’s Hardback, a deck builder of letters, and Pitch Deck, a company pitching game of tropes. We round this one up by explaining what SMaSH means in the beer world (no crushing is involved) and we ask the Slack about what makes a game great for solo play. Adventurer, don’t fear going into this episode alone!
01:00 Show Intro
03:02 News: Star Trek: Galactic Enterprises
06:12 News: Asmodee Entertainment
10:32 Kickstarter Updates
11:04 Kickstarter: Architects of the West Kingdom
15:32 Kickstarter: Fire in the Library
19:06 Recent Plays: Mystery of the Temples
29:10 Recent Plays: Pitch Deck
38:23 Recent Plays: Hardback
53:13 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot
54:03 Six Pack Review: One Deck Dungeon
54:32 One Deck Dungeon: Gameplay Overview
63:40 One Deck Dungeon: Discussion
88:11 One Deck Dungeon: Final Thoughts
90:32 On Tap: One Deck Dungeon
93:17 SMaSH Beer
101:00 The Final Round: Soloable Games
108:33 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help! Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/71onedeck
Draft Mechanic Episode #70: Kitchen Rush! Six pack review & on tap; TIME Stories: Santo Tomas de Aquino; Clank! Sunken Treasures; Crossfire; the Cicerone program
Order up! Today’s episode of Draft Mechanic features our usual double-feature review & beer pairings for Artipia Games’ new real-time kitchen management co-op game, Kitchen Rush! We’ve got a slew of recent plays as well with a number of smaller games, and Danielle’s beer segment is on the Cicerone beer server certification program. In the Final Round, we discuss job simulator games that work as well as some that don’t. Get it while it’s hot!
01:00 Show Intro
02:43 News: Plan B buys Tric Trac
05:58 News: BGG Golden Geek Awards
11:32 Kickstarter Updates
12:14 Kickstarter: Bad Medicine
13:31 Kickstarter: Robin Hood and the Merry Men
15:35 Recent Plays: TIME Stories: Santo Tomas de Aquino
22:45 Recent Plays: Clank! Sunken Treasures
28:31 Recent Plays: Crossfire
33:00 Recent Plays: 13 Chefs
36:33 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot
37:32 Six Pack Review: Kitchen Rush
38:12 Kitchen Rush: Gameplay Overview
40:58 Kitchen Rush: Discussion
66:55 Kitchen Rush: Final Thoughts
67:51 On Tap: Kitchen Rush
72:25 The Cicerone program
79:15 The Final Round: Job Simulator board games
82:35 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help! Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/70kitchenrush
Draft Mechanic Episode #69: Gaming on the Go! Travel Games & Gaming Apps; Island Hopper on tap; The Palace of Mad King Ludwig; Ponzi Scheme; Traveling with Beer
Secure that seat belt low and tight across the hops, because it’s time to travel! Our feature today is a discussion about gaming on the go, both in terms of travel games and gaming apps. We’ve got the dexterity pick up & deliver game Island Hopper on tap, plus we talk about recent plays of The Palace of Mad King Ludwig & Ponzi Scheme. We hope you enjoy your flight today with Draft Mechanic!
01:00 Show Intro
03:00 News Bits: Expansions!
10:29 Tantrum House & TantrumCon
12:37 Kickstarter Updates
13:09 Kickstarter: The Big Score
14:29 Kickstarter: Edge of Darkness
20:46 Recent Plays: Ponzi Scheme
33:14 Recent Plays: The Palace of Mad King Ludwig
43:32 Recent Plays: Island Hopper
55:06 On Tap: Island Hopper
58:44 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot
59:42 Gaming on the Go!
70:40 Our Six Favorite Board Game Apps
84:36 Traveling with Beer
91:45 The Final Round: Gaming on the Go
98:24 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help! Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/69onthego
Draft Mechanic Episode #68: Agra (High Gravity Review); 7 Ronin; Flee the Scene; Bock Beers & the Weight of Games
Today on Draft Mechanic, we take a big deep-dive into the latest heavy euro release from Quined Games, Agra. This game’s a beast and we’re kicking off a new kind of review called “High Gravity” so we can feature big, complex games like this on the ‘cast. We’ve also got a look at some new Kickstarters, recent plays of 7 Ronin and Flee the Scene, plus a beer primer on beers in the Bock style and sub styles. Enjoy!
01:00 Show Intro
02:27 News Bits
07:42 Kickstarter: Updates from Last Episode
08:40 Kickstarter: Fields of Green “Grand Fair” Expansion
12:48 Kickstarter: Page Quest Season 1 / A4 Quest
15:20 Recent Plays: 7 Ronin
28:04 Recent Plays: Flee the Scene
34:24 The Beer Primer: Bocks
49:38 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot
50:47 High Gravity Review: Agra
52:21 Agra: Gameplay Overview
59:45 Agra: Discussion
106:14 Agra: Final Thoughts
108:28 The Final Round: Heavy Games
116:53 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help!Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/68agra
Draft Mechanic Episode #67: Expandapalooza! Scythe: The Wind Gambit; Terraforming Mars: Venus Next; Tash Kalar Expansions
We’re back, and we brought expansions! In today’s expandable episode, we’re looking at expansions for Tash Kalar, Scythe & Terraforming Mars. And as our own personal expansion, we’re expanding our On Tap beer selections for Scythe and Terraforming Mars as well with a few beers to pair with the new content in these two list-topping games from 2016! Our Slack chimes in on the expansion conversation by sharing their Essential Expansions. All this, plus a ton of Kickstarters, news and a Beer Primer on milk stouts! Enjoy!
00:55 Show Intro
03:13 News Bits
05:07 Upcoming: Clank “The Mummy’s Curse”
08:05 Upcoming: Great Western Trail “Rails to the North”
10:52 Kickstarter: Endeavor, Age of Sail
13:40 Kickstarter: Herbalism (Deep Water Games launch)
15:29 Kickstarter: The Art of Tokaido
17:41 Expandapalooza: Tash Kalar “Nethervoid” and “Etherweave” expansions
31:16 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship spot
32:26 Expandapalooza: Scythe “The Wind Gambit” expansion
45:40 On Tap: Scythe “Invaders from Afar” and “The Wind Gambit”
50:26 Expandapalooza: Terraforming Mars “Venus Next” expansion
62:16 On Tap: Terraforming Mars “Venus Next”
63:56 The Beer Primer: Milk Stouts
69:41 Final Round: Essential Expansions
82:12 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help!Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/67expand
Draft Mechanic Episode #66: Fog of Love six-pack & on tap; Favelas; Illimat; Great Western Trail; 2018 Gaming Challenges
On today’s episode, we dig into the 2-player romantic comedy board game Fog of Love! We give it the usual Draft Mechanic double-feature with a six-pack review and on tap beer pairings. In recent plays, it’s the abstract tile-placement game Favelas, the Decemberists-inspired card game Illimat, and the cow-moooovin’ eurogame Great Western Trail. Danielle runs down the details about low-alcohol beer, and in the Final Round we asked the Slack about their 2018 gaming challenges!
Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping
03:13 Upcoming Conventions
04:18 Kickstarter: Tokyo Series, Pat 1
08:59 Recent Plays: Favelas
16:41 Recent Plays: Illimat
23:54 Recent Plays: Great Western Trail
34:50 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship spot
35:42 Six Pack Review: Fog of Love
36:20 Fog of Love: Gameplay Overview
44:53 Fog of Love: Discussion
68:08 Fog of Love: Final Thoughts
70:51 On Tap: Fog of Love
74:11 Low-Alcohol Beer
82:12 Final Round: Your 2018 Gaming Challenges
91:48 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help!Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/66fogoflove
Draft Mechanic Episode #65: 2017 In Review
Happy New Year! We’re back once again with our first episode of the year and our customary recap of the year that was. We take a look back at the biggest news stories in gaming and beer in 2017, share our favorites in a pile of categories, discuss our six favorite beers of 2017, and of course our top six games of last year as well. We’re tying this episode up with responses from our new DM Slack channel’s “Final Round” topic: What was the biggest surprise in gaming for you in 2017? Enjoy!
Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping
02:32 Announcing the Draft Mechanic Slack Channel!
05:27 Meta Mechanic, 2017 by the numbers
08:27 Preface to the Superlatives
11:43 Biggest News Stories of 2017
25:10 Superlative Categories
55:34 Our Top Six Beers of 2017
71:20 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot
72:08 Our Top Six Games of 2017
96:48 Final Round: Biggest game surprises
103:41 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help!Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2018/65-2017
Draft Mechanic: Spoiler Episode Eta
T.I.M.E Stories: Estrella Drive, 1982 NT
WARNING! This episode contains MAJOR, MASSIVE, COMPLETE SPOILERS for the T.I.M.E Stories scenario “Estrella Drive.” Due to some complications, Spoiler Episode Zeta for Lumen Fidei never existed. But that doesn't stop us from picking apart the latest scenario where we dig into a potentially haunted mansion in 1982 Los Angeles!
Both team Alpha and Beta sat down with the recorder right after finishing to share their thoughts, and we present them to you unedited and complete.
Want more discussion? Join our new Slack channel! Sign up at http://www.draftmechanic.net/slack for games, beer and more!
We hope you enjoy today's spoiler episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join us at the local, our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also very active on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our spoiler episode theme music is “Rinse/Repeat” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to Drew and Jeff for making it happen!
Thanks for listening and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
Draft Mechanic Episode #64: Variants: Queendomino v Kingdomino; BONK; Clank! Sunken Treasures
It’s the final episode of the year! Today we bring you a Variants discussion with Queendomino v Kingdomino: which do we prefer, and which one’s for you? In recent plays, we discuss Tumblin’ Dice, BONK, Sons of Anarchy and the Sunken Treasures expansion for Clank! We put Queendomino on tap, and Danielle’s beer segment is a followup to last week’s Barleywines discussion. And in the Final Round, we answer some very important food and beverage questions from listeners! Thanks for joining us in 2017 and we’ll see you again on New Year’s Day!
Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping
03:44 News: Downforce expansion!
06:25 Kickstarter Updates
07:35 Recent Plays: Tumblin’ Dice
11:32 Recent Plays: BONK
19:48 Recent Plays: Sons of Anarchy
28:45 Recent Plays: Clank! Sunken Treasures
36:11 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot
37:20 Variants: Queendomino v Kingdomino
63:42 On Tap: Queendomino
68:45 Barleywines v Old Ales
75:20 Final Round
79:26 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join us at the local, our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Draft Mechanic is sponsored by Grey Fox Games. Check out their website for information on all their great games, and sign up for the newsletter for updates direct to your inbox!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help!Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2017/64queendomino
Draft Mechanic Episode #63: Azul six-pack review & on tap; Alien Frontiers, Harvest Dice, Go Nuts for Donuts!; Listener Q&A; Barleywines
It’s December, but don’t feel blue - unless you’re talking about today’s six-pack review feature, Azul! We’re looking at Plan B Games’ newest family-weight abstract games and also sharing a handful of thematic beer pairings. In recent plays, we talk about games we played at the fourth quarter MooseCon game day: Alien Frontiers, Go Nuts for Donuts & Harvest Dice. Danielle’s beer segment is about barleywines, and we wrap up this episode with some quick listener Q&A. Enjoy!
Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping
02:30 FBGL Championship & Wrap-up
04:58 Games News
07:42 TIME Stories News
13:24 TIME Stories: A note about Estrella Drive
16:41 Kickstarter Updates & New Projects
21:48 Recent Plays: Alien Frontiers
31:44 Recent Plays: Go Nuts for Donuts!
36:47 Recent Plays: Harvest Dice
46:10 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot
47:20 Six Pack Review: Azul
48:06 Azul: Gameplay Description
53:25 Azul: Discussion
71:50 Azul: Final Thoughts
73:23 On Tap: Azul
79:28 The Beer Primer: Barleywine
88:13 Listener Q&A
96:59 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join us at the local, our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help!Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2017/63azul
Draft Mechanic Episode #62: Six Tasty Games; Caverna on tap; Book of Dragons preview; Gamers for Cures marathon
I hope you’re hungry, because this one’s stuffed full of flavor! Today we’ve got a six-pack of tasty games for the Thanksgiving season, plus Danielle’s got a beer segment on cooking with beer! Our on tap game today is Caverna, and we recap our recent plays at the Gamers for Cures charity gaming marathon last weekend in Cary, NC. We’ve also got a Kickstarter preview of Robert Burke’s Book of Dragons!
Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping
02:45 Games news
08:27 FBGL Championship Update!
12:46 Kickstarter: Bushido
15:15 Kickstarter: Book of Dragons
20:21 Gamers for Cures Marathon
21:15 Recent Plays: Shadows over Camelot
30:33 Recent Plays: Cytosis
39:17 Recent Plays: Mission: Red Planet
49:55 Recent Plays: Problem Picnic: Attack of the Ants!
54:39 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot
55:29 Six Pack: Tasty Games for Thanksgiving
73:52 On Tap: Caverna
82:09 Cooking With Beer
89:54 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join us at the local, our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help!Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2017/62tasty
Draft Mechanic Episode #61: Downforce review, Exoplanets on tap, Extra Life Game Day: Hotshots, Dragonfire & more!
Just like Extra Life, this episode is marathon-length! We played for 15 hours straight and turned around to record this episode with our recent plays plus a review of Downforce from Restoration games and an on-tap segment with Exoplanets. Danielle wraps up this episode with a discussion of various packaging strategies: what’s the difference between bottles and cans? Find out this answer and much more in today’s Draft Mechanic!
Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping
03:34 Among the Stars app!
10:55 FBGL Update - 3 Weeks left!
14:38 KS Preview: Mars Open
21:26 Extra Life Game Day
23:00 Recent Plays: Hotshots
32:03 Recent Plays: Camel Up!
37:47 Recent Plays: Police Precinct
46:23 Recent Plays: Dragonfire
56:38 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot
57:29 Six Pack Review: Downforce
57:55 Downforce: Rules Overview
62:19 Downforce: Discussion
73:45 Recent Plays: Exoplanets
85:13 On Tap: Exoplanets
88:25 Canning versus Bottling
101:38 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join us at the local, our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help!Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
Draft Mechanic Episode 60: Fast Forward! Fear, Fortress & Flee; Matryoshka on tap; InBetween; Best Treehouse Ever: Forest of Fun!
Essen is just around the corner and we’ve got a few of the hot hot releases to talk about! Our big feature today is the new Fast Forward series from Friedemann Friese - three new ‘fable’ games that you learn as you play and change with each game. It’s a wild new idea - did FF pull it off? We’ve also got a look at the latest from Board&Dice - InBetween - a tight two-player battle over a quiet suburban town. We’re also going to share a Kickstarter preview for the latest Green Couch Games title - Best Treehouse Ever’s standalone/combinable expansion Forest of Fun! Spoiler: it’s FUN. Our on tap is one of our recent plays - the small-box card collecting and trading game Matryoshka - and we share four beer pairings worth hunting down for your collection if you can! Danielle’s got a beer primer on the difference between Scottish and Scotch ales to wrap the episode up. But what’s that, down there in the timestamps? Seems there’s some mysterious audio at the end of this episode after the credits? How odd…
Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping
03:47 Jake’s Essen Picks
11:21 Kickstarter: Legends of Sleepy Hollow
13:46 KS Preview: Best Treehouse Ever: Forest of Fun!
24:12 Recent Plays: InBetween
40:41 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot
41:32 Feature: Friedemann Friese’s Fast Forward Series
43:55 Fast Forward: Fear
49:25 Fast Forward: Fortress
54:52 Fast Forward: Flee
60:08 Fast Forward: Wrap-up
64:55 Recent Plays: Matryoshka
74:22 On Tap: Matryoshka
80:05 Beer Primer: Scottish and Scotch Ales
87:11 Outro?
88:21 Mysterious Audio
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join us at the local, our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help!Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2017/60fastforward
Draft Mechanic Episode 59: Six Spooky Games for the Season; Summit on tap; Flamme Rouge, Blood Bowl: Team Manager, Insider; GABF 2017 Recap
In today’s episode, we lean into the spooky season with a six-pack of games for your Halloween festivities. We’re also putting Summit on tap with six thematic beer pairings to help you get up the mountain safe and sound. In recent plays, we talk Flamme Rouge, Blood Bowl: Team Manager & Insider, and wrap it up with a recap of the 2017 Great American Beer Festival. Excellent, let’s get to it!
Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping
02:18 FBGL Week 4 Recap
05:30 [Essen Intensifies]
07:03 Kickstarter: Near & Far: Amber Mines
09:15 Kickstarter: Zero Hour
11:16 Kickstarter: The 7th Continent follow-up
15:29 Recent Plays: Blood Bowl: Team Manager
21:43 Recent Plays: Flamme Rouge
33:03 Recent Plays: Insider
41:03 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot
42:12 Six Spooky Games for the Season
66:28 On Tap: Summit, The Board Game
75:57 Quick notes on Summit hops
78:19 2017 Great American Beer Festival
86:48 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join us at the local, our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help!Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2017/59spooky
Draft Mechanic Episode 58: The 7th Continent review, Part 1 & On Tap beer pairings; Photosynthesis; Lazer Ryderz; Raiders of the North Sea; FBGL Update and Understanding Yeast in Beer
In today’s land-mass sized episode, we dig in deep to The 7th Continent for the first of what will be several reviews of this mammoth card-based exploration game. How is it holding up after ten-plus hours of gameplay? Judging by the length of this episode, we had a lot to say! We’re also giving it the On Tap treatment with five great beers for your next continental exploration session. In recent plays, we look at Photosynthesis, Lazer Ryderz, and Raiders of the North Sea. Danielle wraps up this episode with a discussion of a history of our understanding of yeast in beer. I hope you’ve got plenty of durability left on your podcast player, because this episode’s a big one!
Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping
02:57 Kickstarter: Stellar Leap
05:43 Fantasy Board Game League Update
12:40 Recent Plays: Photosynthesis
23:12 Recent Plays: Lazer Ryder
29:13 Recent Plays: Raiders of the North Sea
38:59 Review: The 7th Continent (Part 1)
40:05 The 7th Continent: Gameplay Run-through
44:29 The 7th Continent: Discussion
84:46 The 7th Continent: Final Thoughts… for now
85:55 On Tap: The 7th Continent
91:49 Understanding Yeast in Beer
96:31 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join us at the local, our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help! Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2017/58seventh1
Draft Mechanic Episode 57: Second Podiversary! The 2017 Fantasy Board Game League! The Networks: The Executives preview! Magic Maze! Indulgence on tap!
Welcome back, dear listeners! It’s time for our second Podiversary - and with that, it’s time for the second season of the Fantasy Board Game League! We’ve teamed up with board game content creators across the boardosphere for this season and it’s time to kick off the first week of matchups! We discuss the Top 10 draft picks and look back at the Year Two state of the podcast in our feature segment. But we’ve also got a big feature at the top of the show - a Kickstarter Preview of the new expansion for Gil Hova’s The Networks - The Executives! We dig this expansion (currently on Kickstarter!) so much that we made it into its own feature. We also look back at recent plays of Magic Maze, Eminent Domain & Illimat and then put Indulgence on tap! Thanks again for listening, enjoy the show and don’t forget to vote for your favorite FBGL teams each week at draftmechanic.net!
Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping & happy 2nd Podiversary!
04:35 Games news: Essen buzz & Conventions
09:35 Kickstarter Preview: The Networks: The Executives
23:10 Recent Plays: Magic Maze
31:50 Recent Plays: Eminent Domain
39:03 Recent Plays: Illimat
47:37 Grey Fox Games sponsor break
48:41 The 2017 Fantasy Board Game League!
72:44 2017 State of the Podcast
77:55 On Tap: Indulgence
85:52 Oktoberfest!
93:32 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join us at the local, our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to the band for their help!Come listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2017/57fbgl
Draft Mechanic Episode 56: Ex Libris six-pack review and on tap; Codenames: Duet; Custom Heroes; Seikatsu; The Beer Primer: Cream Ale
We’re wrapping up our Summer of Hot Games bonus episodes with the hottest, freshest batch of games around! Our six-pack review for this episode is Ex Libris, the hot new release from Renegade Game Studios that will be hitting FLGS shelves soon! We’ve also got three smaller hot new titles to talk about. The first is our yearly check-in with Codenames - how does Codenames: Duet adapt and improve on the system? Second is Custom Heroes from AEG - a new ladder-climbing card game that adds Mystic Vale’s Card Crafting system to create cards that are constantly evolving throughout the game. Finally, we’re looking at Seikatsu from IDW Games, a three-player abstract game that will leave your brain fried right out. Danielle’s putting together a Beer Primer on the Cream Ale style today, and we’ve got some final thoughts from Gen Con 50 as well. Sit back, relax, and enjoy Episode 56!
Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping
03:51 Gen Con 50 Wrap-Up
12:44 Kickstarter: “Now Boarding” from Tim Fowers
15:10 Recent Plays: Codenames Duet
24:40 Recent Plays: Custom Heroes
34:16 Recent Plays: Seikatsu
42:05 Six Pack Review: Ex Libris
44:14 Ex Libris: Gameplay overview
50:27 Ex Libris: Discussion and review
75:12 Ex Libris: Final Thoughts
76:09 On Tap: Ex Libris
80:53 The Beer Primer: Cream Ale
86:20 Outro
We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net!
Join us at the local, our BGG Guild (#2470)!
We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook!
Our theme music is “Superpower of Choice” by the Liberation Jumpsuit - thanks to Drew and Jeff for making it happen! And now, you can listen to the full album on our website!
Thanks for listening! Please game responsibly and we’ll see you back here again soon for another round!
http://www.draftmechanic.net/show-notes/2017/56exlibris