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Episode 3: Our top 10 games of all time!
36 Plays1 month ago
Shane and Steve continue their count dow n of their favourite games.
Before that, Steve discusses some recent games he has been playing, such as Big Shot and Clank! Legacy 2 - Darkest Magic. Shane talks about an option for board game fans who like to read more than rule books, as he reviews the Tabletop Gaming Magazine.
Shane talk about a crowdfunding project that he is actually backing, and Steve considers dropping $400 on a game he previously sold.
Then the countdown is on! What do you think will be in their lists?
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Mate Let's Play'
00:00:13
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Mate Let's Play, a board game podcast with two Australians talking about the games that they're playing and want to play. so And today we're talking about our most favourite games ever in the existence of humanity. So I will introduce my co-host, the wonderful Shane. How are you doing?
Saturday Morning Energy and 'Black Snow'
00:00:31
Speaker
I'm excellent, mate. Happy Saturday morning and hope you've got your coffee, tea and some brekkies sitting in front of you at... ah And yeah, it is our most favourite game since 2017 for me. So let's keep the theme going, shall I? Yeah, sure. um I'm actually surprised I'm as perky as I am this morning. My wife and I stayed up last night and watched the entire series' first season of Black Snow, which is an Australian like murder mystery show.
00:00:57
Speaker
And we didn't get into bed until after midnight. And I've already got up, I've already had my breakfast, and I'm ready to rumble. So i don't know where that energy came from, but I'm taking it. Did you binge the whole season one? Yeah. Yeah, well done.
00:01:08
Speaker
Season two, you'll enjoy it. Fair enough. I'm probably going to have it tonight, I assume. so let's see
Travis Fimmel and Board Games
00:01:14
Speaker
how we go. Actually, no, we've got friends coming over for board games, so more important. so i think That is more important. And i actually I actually don't mind Travis as an actor. He's really good.
00:01:22
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. It's the guy from Vikings, right? Vikings, Dune, the Dune series. um and What else he baiting in? Something else. He's quite good. I really enjoy it. Those eyes, hey. like just They're not like, you know how like some people have those eyes that people are ooh, gloomy eyes. His are just like, there's some crap going on in your world.
00:01:42
Speaker
i it's They look like they've seen a bit. He plays crazy well. Yeah, absolutely. yeah and and And his beer is very good too, the Traveller beer. um And there's there's there's a few ads going around where he basically pulls in on his boat, typical Aussie fashion.
00:02:01
Speaker
There's some guys you know sitting on the side of the banks of a river. He'll pull in his boat and just dump a case out and say, you know, enjoy the piss and you know a few things like that. So he's a good bloke, a really good bloke.
00:02:14
Speaker
So anyway, I'll have to get her around more of your stuff. Anyway, back to board
Exploring Top Board Games since 2017
00:02:17
Speaker
games. So before we get stuck into our top 10 games of all time since 2017, we are going to talk about what we've been playing lately. I might kick this one off if you don't mind, Shane.
00:02:28
Speaker
Go for it, my friend. I've got two to talk about, but one's quick. So I'll start with that. and You can actually take it. You can expand your session out because I've got nothing. But keep going. Okay. Fair enough.
00:02:39
Speaker
So in Shane's place, I've got a game that I've been playing. No, it's this game. So I mentioned last week, I think, that I played Arapa Mine. Yes. And I mentioned that I got a few games from Korea. One of the other games I got was a remake of Big Shot, which is a 2001 game.
00:02:59
Speaker
It's like an auction-ish kind of auction area control game. And I was, it i just, honestly, the reason I got it was because the guy was offering a discount if you bought multiple copies of multiple different games.
00:03:11
Speaker
yeah So it was the game that made it. Yeah. It's the game that made it a multiple pack. And it was one of these, i don't know if you're familiar with plate games, but
Korean Board Game Purchases
00:03:19
Speaker
they kind of their, their shtick is that the box cover actually folds out to be the board game table, the board game, um like the board. Oh yeah. Okay. Yeah. yeah And they've got like magnets in it. So there's two sheets and you stick them together and that's your board.
00:03:32
Speaker
and it's this game where it's set in Victoria, oddly enough, and not that it specifies that it's particularly Victoria, it's just that there's like Port Phillip Bay and there's a few other things that there's like Victoria Street.
00:03:45
Speaker
A few like little nods to that area, but not necessarily, obviously they didn't go into a deep enough research to go, this is definitely a map of Victoria because they didn't want backlash. So they've clearly just gone, here here's a section, it's pretty much, fixed anyway.
00:03:59
Speaker
So there's these four cubes of each player color around the board. And if you're playing two players, you play two colors. And you roll a die and you move the like investor, I think they're called, along. And whatever group of four cubes it lands on you then bid for who gets to place them out on the board.
00:04:17
Speaker
And what you're looking to do when you place them out on the board is have the majority of your cubes in one area, and then you control that area, and that area is worth X amount of points. That's pretty much the whole game. However, the thing I love about this game is the thing i love about another game that you and I have played a bit, Shane, ah which is Las Vegas, and that is that if you're in an area where it's you can only put a maximum of seven cubes in an area, but if two people are tied on three cubes, they just get wiped out and the person takes control who's got one cube. Cool.
00:04:45
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, and as soon as I figured out that that was in the game, I'm like, oh i love this.
00:04:51
Speaker
and and And it takes a lot for me to like auction games because, um like I mentioned, Ra in my top 20 last time. And that's pretty much the only auction game that I can put on a high pedestal. and But this one, it's pretty good. it's like I quite like this. And um I just played it with Raf and I.
Playing 'Big Shot' and Auction Mechanics
00:05:06
Speaker
And so we played two colors each. But then I've got friends coming over tonight. and I'm thinking it's probably the perfect little intro game to play because it probably lasts about 20 minutes, 25 minutes.
00:05:17
Speaker
You can really, it's one of those things where like, I'm just putting out cubes. What's so exciting? And then all of a sudden you realize, oh, hang on. yeah Raphael's got four of his cubes in that area and they're the only four cubes in that area and I've got to place two of his cubes.
00:05:28
Speaker
So i'm just going to throw them in that area because he's controlling it anyway and that just means these cubes get wasted. So there's that. There's also the trying to balance it out so you can you can do what we you said. and So I love the fact that you're placing other people's cubes.
00:05:41
Speaker
That's probably the hook here. Yeah, it's it's really cool. So it's called Big Shot and, yeah, I was pleasantly surprised. How many is it playing? ah Four. Four, yeah.
00:05:53
Speaker
You'd have to play that four. That would be epic, I reckon. Well, yeah, i don't know how three works. So basically two works. Like I said, you're controlling two colours. But it's cool in that respect as well because there's a times two spot on the board and anything that you've got ah anything you've got adjacent to the times two spot, if you control the times two spot,
00:06:12
Speaker
and you control the spaces adjacent, you get times two each of those spaces. But that's one of your colours. So we were we were setting it up and I'm like, my blue was controlling the times two, but my yellow was controlling the things adjacent to it. And then we got to scoring and I'm like, oh, crap, I don't get the times two bonus because that's the blue team controlling that. So it worked really well at two. i don't know how it works at three. I haven't played at three, but I'm keen to play it at four tonight and just see how it flies. So, yeah, big shot. Look forward to hearing how that one goes tonight.
00:06:42
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. i Yeah, very surprised. The other one I'm not
Adventures in 'Clank Legacy Season 2'
00:06:46
Speaker
surprised with. it was It delivered exactly what I hoped, and that is Clank Legacy Season 2, Darkest Magic. Finally you got it out.
00:06:53
Speaker
we got it out, and we played the first mission on Wednesday, and just in typical Clank Legacy fashion, the game went forever because there is so there is so much lore and storyline that you need to read.
00:07:06
Speaker
I had one turn where I triggered two different or maybe three different objectives and each of them came with their own story and stickers to put on the board and things to add and all this sort of ripping up cards. And it just, I felt like we'd played the whole game in one of my turns. It was, it was insane, but wow so good. It's so well-written. It's, and then you're just playing clink and clink's great.
00:07:28
Speaker
So um it was it was really good. Probably took us about two and a half hours to get through the first mission, but ah we're all super keen to go again, named all of our characters, um put all the places on the board. We had to name a castle, so we called it Burgundy's Castle.
00:07:43
Speaker
um So some little nods to other games and stuff. You can just make it up as you go along. Which is clank, right? It is clank. There's little nods and little quirky things in there. yeah Absolutely, yeah. And and even and just for G-Money, I doubt here hold out he'll listen to
Balancing Work and Solo Gaming
00:07:56
Speaker
this podcast.
00:07:56
Speaker
He didn't even listen to the podcast that he was on. But... so If he does, one of the questions he asked me about Clank Legacy Season 1 was, have you come across Jim Darkmagic? And I don't know any of the previous Acquisitions Incorporated Petty Arcade story that he does. and so But then I did come across that character.
00:08:15
Speaker
Well, he is like the game here. He's taken over as the CEO of... um Acquisitions Incorporated. So he's your boss. So it's, yes, there's a lot of Jim Darkmagic information here. So G-Money, this one is especially for you if you want to get into it.
00:08:31
Speaker
So there you go. Well, I better contribute something to, because I have not played anything all week. And that's just usuallyly because purely because I just don't don't have the time at the moment.
00:08:43
Speaker
And to the fact where I've actually said to the to the boys that month of March, I can't host
Epic Game of 'Castles of Burgundy'
00:08:49
Speaker
any game nights. I'm just too busy with work. so So I'm going to have to get back into some solo gaming. So my promise to to yourself, mate, is that next week I will be playing a solo game that I can talk about.
00:09:01
Speaker
But I thought, I don't know if we've touched on this epic game that we've had in Castles of Burgundy in any of our chats so far. Yeah, yeah, yeah. chat so far but we we I thought I'd just you know just quickly talk about it, but what an awesome game of Castles of Burgundy we played on BGA.
00:09:19
Speaker
It was four-player, and really it came down to the last turn to determine the winner of the four players because um I think everyone we were just so it was such a tight game. and There was only i think would have been about probably 20 points from first to fourth,
00:09:39
Speaker
think it was less. I think it was like 12 or 13. It was like really close. yeah. yeah Because I actually thought I'd won it and then I realised I'd messed up. And then I looked at you and I'm like, well, the only way Shane can win it is he gets that tile. And then I'm like, there's no way he can get that tile.
00:09:54
Speaker
And and i I already counted out ah Mick, who's my nephew, because I was like, no, I've got him covered in points. And then Tristan was close too. And I'm like, oh, I don't know, maybe Tristan gets it by two.
00:10:05
Speaker
And then I messed up on one of my scoring tiles. I thought it was something that was something else. So I scored nine points less than I thought I was going to score and you didn't get your tile. and Didn't get my tile. And then somehow Mick won by two points. I'm like, far out. What a game.
00:10:18
Speaker
And it was just, and I mentioned last week when i when I touched on Castles of Burgundy.
Challenges for Colorblind Players
00:10:24
Speaker
Actually, I don't think I have touched it yet, but it's always that one last turn.
00:10:29
Speaker
one last turn that you need in Castles of Burgundy and you're always just reaching. i I sat on that, how can I get that animal tile? yeah And I actually left it for a few hours and went back to it because I thought, i've got it I can't just rush this.
00:10:45
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Because there's potential for me actually winning the game. And I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. and so But you know from first to fourth, we were all over 200 points. That, to me, is just an epic game. Yeah.
00:10:59
Speaker
If you haven't played Castles of Burgundy on BGA, jump on it. It's brilliant. So that was what I'd touch on. i um I joined a yeah ah reader game of it just because they're easy to get going when you're looking for a game to get started quickly.
00:11:14
Speaker
And it's the old map. It's the old edition, first edition. yeah And that just threw me because I know that that obviously the version of BGA is the second edition.
00:11:26
Speaker
and then obviously we both own the special edition, but the first edition, it's really bad for colorblind people. Like it's worse again because all of your, you know how you, if you get if the first person to put down all the color of all all the tiles of one color, you get the rewards.
00:11:43
Speaker
Yeah. They're all yellow with just a slightly different color in the border. So someone's got the first one. I'm like, how on earth have they got all of the, what are they called, the yellow tiles, the monastery tiles? I think how they got all of them down already.
00:11:58
Speaker
It's like turn three of the game. What the hell? But it turned out it was the yeah it was the mines or it was the cast. The grey or whatever. Yeah, yeah. It's one of the easy ones. I'm like, what on earth? And I say every time I'm like, I can only play this on my computer because I have to hover over everything so I know what everything is.
00:12:14
Speaker
Yeah. So, yeah. ah tell you Great game. It is a good game.
Excitement for 'Final Girl'
00:12:19
Speaker
ah So that's it, mate. That's all I've you know really had to talk about. and But I do promise I will get some – I've got a stack of Final Girl. So you talk about the the board being in the actual game box and you have to fold it out.
00:12:30
Speaker
That's Final Girl. Yeah, yeah. um So I've got, I don't know, six volumes of Final Girl there. So I might get one of those out and and talk about one of those next week. Excellent. Well, I guess we'll move right along then to any kind of news or crowdfunding.
00:12:46
Speaker
um Maybe I'll touch on and ah couple of items. um Nothing in the news space, but one thing at that the family bought me for my birthday last year, and not many people may know it's out, but there's a tabletop gaming magazine, and it's literally called Tabletop and Gaming.
00:13:08
Speaker
and Lauren and and the boys bought a subscription for me, and it's ah from the UK. And so every month I'm getting the latest news, A magazine, on Tabletop Gaming sent to my iPad.
00:13:21
Speaker
It's excellent. um like the
Tabletop Gaming Magazine Subscription
00:13:23
Speaker
like The latest version in in March talks about Star Wars Unlimited Lightspeed, so it goes in-depth of that. um And this issue is actually the 100th issue. So you can...
00:13:34
Speaker
sign up for a subscription subscription. And I can't remember how much it costs, but it wasn't much. Um, and then every month you're getting a magazine sent, I think that magazines, if you want to buy them separately, are like five bucks digital, a digital copy.
00:13:46
Speaker
Um, and, and, or you can buy all the back issues. So I haven't done that yet, cool but I potentially may do that because, you know, you can see, I think it goes back to 2019, maybe a little bit, uh, before that, but you can get all those issues.
00:14:02
Speaker
And so you can look at some older games that, you know, probably sit in there. Like Alex, i probably haven't still played them yet. um and But this this issue talks you know goes in depth with reviews on like SETI, for example, which is, I know, a game that you really want to get on the table.
00:14:19
Speaker
It goes into ARX, which I know is a game you definitely don't want to get on the table. um But, yeah, look, really, if you want to... If you like reading and you don't have a magazine that, you know, a subscription coming every month, jump on. We'll put the link in there the show notes, the lesser show notes this week for you, mate.
00:14:40
Speaker
um And it's it's a good subscription. Totally recommend it. So um that is Tabletop Gaming Magazine ah from the UK. Excellent. Just one thing I thought I'd just share.
Backing 'Rome: Fate of an Empire'
00:14:52
Speaker
GameFound.com.
00:14:54
Speaker
um I've actually backed the game. haven't backed the game for ages. I didn't back Narkin because I'm an Unc. Oh, really? No, no, I didn't. In the end, I'm ah i'm an Unc. Moorpok fan, so there's no point getting both.
00:15:08
Speaker
um And I'm never going to get rid of Unc. Moorpok. My copy's signed by my by Martin, so that's never going out of my collection. But the... but the latest one, it's it's the latest in the solo game of the month. Have you seen those on GameFound?
00:15:26
Speaker
Oh, yeah, I've seen them each month, yeah. I think his name's Gabe Barrett. He brings them out once a month. And I think he started them back in January of last year, every month, or even that Hunted series.
00:15:42
Speaker
don't know if you remember the Hunted series coming out GameFound. There's a stack of those. um But in April last year, there was a game called Rome fate of an empire. Yeah.
00:15:53
Speaker
And i don't know if you saw it or not, but I didn't get on it. Uh, and I don't know why, but they've re-released it, um, on game found. And it's, think it's got 13 days left to go.
00:16:06
Speaker
So I wasn't going to miss it this time. Um, and this is, they've got a deluxe copy. So they, they, the last, last year, they just did a ah base copy and a, and a print play.
00:16:17
Speaker
And, um, Fans of the game, <unk>s it's quite highly rated. I think it's 8.2 on BGG. um And a lot of reviewers put it as the solo game of the year last year.
00:16:31
Speaker
So i they're all asking for a deluxe copy. So they've re-released it so you can get the base game if you just want the base game. You can get a print and play for $9 if you're keen at building your own ah version of this game.
00:16:47
Speaker
Um, or can do what I did and I've gone the deluxe all in, which is, ah you know let's call it $113. So nine bucks for 113 bucks.
00:16:57
Speaker
Um, but so I'm not, I'm not one to sit there and print and play. Um, but in that you get everything deluxified. There's triple layered boards, there's neoprene mats, uh, deluxe tokens.
00:17:09
Speaker
Um, but it's, it's a, it's a game about, um, you're basically leading Rome to glory. So you start with a faction and, you know, you you work on that faction's strategy and decide, you know, the fate of the empire. You're just going to build the empire up for success or obscurity either way.
00:17:34
Speaker
um It's a deck-building game and tableau-building game with resource management and combo-tastic. is just if you get if you get the engine going really good and singing, you can go that's going to trigger that, that's going to trigger that, that's going to trigger and you can just go you can explode with it.
00:17:53
Speaker
It's a real mind bender as well. um And like it's Euro. um And have you played Mage Knight before?
00:18:05
Speaker
ah Yes. Okay. So same system. It's built off the same system as Mage Knight. Okay. It's probably a little bit more difficult. than Mage Knight, which Mage Knight is difficult as it is, but this one just goes that little bit next level because you can really get your engine blowing up um and really satisfying when when that when that happens. So a lot of people have said it's kind of like Rez Arcana meets Mage Knight. Okay.
Insights from Game Design Reading
00:18:34
Speaker
that's If that's a good good good comparison, I know a lot of people like Rez Arcana.
00:18:38
Speaker
um So I've backed it. It's the first game I've backed since Steam Power. um And by the way, Steam Power's coming out for delivery now for everyone that's backed all the like deluxified edition of that, that's so that's on its way.
00:18:53
Speaker
um and But if you' if you're into solo games, you love combo-tastic stuff, ah totally recommend it. ah The solo game of the month. On GameFound? I've actually got a actually got a book by Gabe Barrett, ah Tabletop Game Design. He wrote a really, really good book on game design. It's one of those ones where read it and I went, cool, I don't know if I can do this.
00:19:16
Speaker
ah It's in the back burner. We'll see. One maybe. one day baby yeah um I had a little bit of a Nanny Narkin experience similar to yours, not with Nanny Narkin though, with another game that I used to love and we played
Debating 'Champions of Midgard' Editions
00:19:33
Speaker
it and I feel like we maybe overplayed it.
00:19:36
Speaker
It was one of the early on games that I had, which was Champions of Midgard. And we took this to a trip to Bali once. was one of the infamous games that was in that a lot with Wingspan that I got stocked at Customs and they thought I was carrying drugs in egg-shaped containers.
00:19:54
Speaker
um It was also in there. but So we played it a lot on that holiday and Helen played it. It was like that and Lords of Waterdeep were my only two worker placement games for the longest time.
00:20:05
Speaker
Yep. And after a while, we just stopped playing it and I kept Lords of Forti Deep, but I got rid of Champions of Midgard. ah But recently, kind of coincidentally, recently Helen was saying to me, she's like, what's that Viking game where we used to go and hunt stuff and then our dice would die and we'd get the tokens? And I'm like oh, Champions of Midgard. She's like, yeah, why don't we play that? i'm like, oh.
00:20:26
Speaker
About that. um So anyway, and then like a week later, it shows up ah in like a news feed that I follow about upcoming Kickstarters. And now it's actually live.
00:20:36
Speaker
They're doing a 10th anniversary Champions of Midgard where you can get a fully deluxified, like literally putting your dice in actual little ships, like shaped ships rather than just on a piece of cardboard.
00:20:49
Speaker
and and everything, you can go crazy. There's like a standard POVO version. Then there's the, hey, you like some nice bits? Here's some nice bits. And then the, hey, you've got too much money? Here's your too much money copy.
00:21:00
Speaker
And, of course, I look straight at the too much money copy because I don't have too much money, but it sounds like something I'd waste money on. um And I backed it. And then about 48 hours later, I unbacked it because I'm like, I don't know. i don't know whether this game that I didn't think was good enough to keep in my collection is worth spending a few hundred dollars on.
00:21:21
Speaker
Maybe that's a bit silly. It's random bucks. Well, that's if you want to buy that yeah the fancy schmancy. So there's there's three pledge levels. So you've got, like I said, the $249 US is the everything is that everything is beautiful, yeah everything is awesome,
00:21:38
Speaker
one and then you go down to like just the gameplay with you know upgraded bits is 150 which is not too bad when you consider that includes everything like the two expansions that originally came and and then you can go just to the base game without the expansions and i don't know why anyone would do that but it's 89 us So there are different areas to jump in.
00:21:59
Speaker
But if you go any of the gameplay bundles, they also have all of the promos, which I also did have. And there's like some really cool Dice Tower ones. There's some Game Boy Geek ones. So there's there's ah there's a bad monster or droga called...
00:22:14
Speaker
I think it was C-Zam, which was a two-headed Draugr that had Z and Sam's head sticking out of it, which was just great to come across that every now and again. And um one of the characters you could play as was clearly Jason Levine.
00:22:28
Speaker
So yeah you yeah so there was there was lots of little nods to um different content creators out there from 10 years ago. So ah it's it's definitely, I'm still i'm um humming and harring on it.
00:22:43
Speaker
I just, it's a lot of money. That's still $400 when you can compar can convert it for the fancy schmancy. So I'd probably go down to the other one, which should be about $225. That's still a lot of money.
00:22:55
Speaker
So i don't know. For a game i I upgraded and sold, which is the hard part. So had beautiful 3D printed inserts. I had the play mat. I shouldn't have got rid of it. yeah Regrets. I've got a few.
00:23:10
Speaker
so But that is a good game. I did own that as well, and I played that a lot very early on as well. I had the base game, didn't have any expansions.
00:23:21
Speaker
But I did it. And i'm similar to you, mate, I have Lords of Waterdeep 2, and they were the two games. um Lauren likes Lords Waterdeep, and she still does to this day.
00:23:32
Speaker
So that's in my collection, and Midgard's gone. Yeah. Yeah, so I'll update you in a future episode of whether it will stay out of my collection or whether I've taken out a 17th mortgage on a house I don't own or something.
00:23:49
Speaker
Anyway. That's a bit of a stretch, $400. Yeah. Well, anyway, that's ah that's my news. got anything else? Nope, nothing else. I haven't even looked at Kickstarter. i was just more on that GameFound at the moment. So I thought I'd write definitely recommend that Roam.
00:24:06
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. going to check it out. But so with that then, we'll head over to the top ten. Let's go. Woo-hoo!
00:24:27
Speaker
Righty-o, best games of all time.
Countdown of Top 10 Games Begins
00:24:33
Speaker
Surely these are the exact same games. like when There's going be 10 crossover here because i got how could there not be? We've had no crossover yet.
00:24:41
Speaker
That's true. i mean, obviously, by virtue of doing the top 20 first, I know that there will be some crossover because of what's on um and what that's on my list. That's pretty obvious. But I'm interested to see whether there's anything else that hasn't been mentioned on either of our lists that meant makes it into both of our top 10s.
00:24:59
Speaker
i reckon I reckon mine's pretty transparent. but Actually, no, there might be one that you may not know that's on my list. Yeah. um Well, just on that, I've only got one new game to my list and it's new with a massive asterisk. So other than that, everything else has been on my list.
00:25:16
Speaker
However, two games have never been in my top 10 before. Yeah. And one game has been in and out, in and out, in and out, but it's back in.
In-Depth Look at 'Hadrian's Wall'
00:25:27
Speaker
Otherwise, yes, if you've listened to any of my top 10 lists before, you've definitely heard six of these games mentioned in the past.
00:25:35
Speaker
Seven, if you've listened a few times. but i think i've got I think I've got one, two, three new games to my top ten.
00:25:47
Speaker
Fair enough. Yeah, three years yeah we've also we've also got the the ongoing Shem Phillips, Sam McDonald saga. So I mentioned in the last episode Wayfarers and we said that, said how many something of the something something games are we going to have on our list? And you predicted that I would have four or five. Yep.
00:26:08
Speaker
And that was, no, no, you predicted I was going to have at least two more than you. Correct, two more than you. And i and i i so I made the assumption that you would have two, which means you would expect me to have four or five.
00:26:19
Speaker
Okay. And I've had one, which is obviously Wayfarers. um And I might kick off the list this time if it's okay with you. Go for it. Because a nice little segue from that is not a something of the something something game.
00:26:35
Speaker
Right, yeah, okay, I got you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's actually a game that you taught me. Yes. So you have any ideas based on the fact that I just did that massive preamble about Shem Phillips and Sam McDonald and then it's not a west and yeah something of something game and you taught me it? What could it be?
00:26:52
Speaker
And it's not it's not a Shem Phillips shamphilip saw or Sam McDonald game. It would be a Bobby Lee game. leak Bobby Hill, yeah. Bobby Hill, yeah, Bobby Hill, that's it. And would be two massive pads that sit in front of you and then you tick away. Yes.
00:27:07
Speaker
Yes, Hadrian's Wall is my number 10 game. This is the one that's the first time it's ever been in my top 10. And it's had just a massive resurgence. I've played it like 30 times this year. yeah and and and And a lot of those times have been the physical copy at the table because I've been working through the solo campaign.
00:27:23
Speaker
And I think that's probably what's rekindled my... just adoration of this game is the fact that I've actually got the physical thing out rather than just playing it on BGA, which I have also done a lot as well.
00:27:34
Speaker
But just getting the components out, remembering that I had to put, it's it's the always the downside. This was one of the games. I don't know you remember, I'm sure you do actually, but when I was on the board game barbecue, I had a massive crack at Garfield games with their colors.
00:27:50
Speaker
Yes, he did. um And to be fair, I don't know if it's because of me, but they have certainly addressed that. They have. um So, you know, kudos to Garfield Games for, you know, acknowledging that. Whether it was for me whinging and complaining on a small-time board game podcast in Australia or not, I don't know.
00:28:08
Speaker
But um either way, Hadrian's Wall, the online version, the BGA version, has fixed the colour issue. And I pulled out the old version and I'm going, oh, that's right. I've had to put white markers on all my purple workers so I could tell the difference between them and the blue workers. and um so But either way, it's still great. And the solo campaign, I absolutely recommend if you haven't done it.
00:28:29
Speaker
I'm up to about for nine or ten now. And it just what it does is it it teaches you how to use the rest of the pad. Yes. um So you you're forced to use gladiators one round. Yeah, I guess. No one uses the gladiators. But you know what?
00:28:45
Speaker
Now I do. Now when I play it normally, I'm like, I've got a few extra things left. i could i could I could have a battle. I could do some gladiators. And the temples, I never used the temples because I was like, it just seems like so many workers for just a little bit of piety.
00:29:01
Speaker
But piety is so hard to get. So it's like – ah Anyway, but I've worked out that if you're looking for some cheek piety, just just put one gladiator in each column and kill them both and you get four piety. It's great. There's a tip for everyone.
00:29:16
Speaker
Yeah, that's it. So an extra four points. ah But yeah, it's it's so great. it's I distinctly remember when you taught me this. We were at a game day and I was in the middle of teaching the three T games in a row, followed by Heroes of Land, Air and Sea, which is a mistake I'll ever make again.
00:29:33
Speaker
But i was I think it was halfway through TO. I think halfway through the second one. You know were looking exhausted, I think tapped you on shoulder. Yeah, and you're like, do you want to learn this? and you're like you And I'd had this game for a while and I was overwhelmed by it. So when you put that into context, it didn't make sense that I was like, yes, please teach me this two-page massive resource management roll and write.
00:29:57
Speaker
and but yeah And we got through like half of the first round and I was already in love. Like I was just, you're just explaining it to me. And I'm like, oh, so that, and that gets, oh my God. And that gets me that. And and oh I'm nearly out of workers. Oh, but I can go there and get another yellow work. And I'm just like, you just keep going. going down Yeah. Yeah.
00:30:14
Speaker
And, and I talked about um unconscious mind recently and I was saying about how, I love the fact that it looked like you had to take a while to build this engine, but all of a sudden on your first turn, you are just doing crazy combos.
Praise for 'Blood Rage'
00:30:27
Speaker
Well, Hadrian's Wall is just crazy combos, the game. So yeah, yeah it's just a classic solo game. actually really like it at multiplayer.
00:30:36
Speaker
Not so much as a competitive game. I like it at multiplayer because every now and again, someone will just throw you a warrior or throw you a stone and you're like, oh, that just solves all of my problems. Yeah. ah So its you don't get that in the solo version.
00:30:50
Speaker
But ah yeah either way, i I always battle against my own score. Actually, funny story on that. My top score ever was 89. Yeah. yeah And I have played against people who have scored in the hundreds. And I was like, I don't know how. And I can't even get to 90.
00:31:06
Speaker
And then I randomly, a couple of weeks ago, scored 106. Yeah, that's great. It's a good score. So I still don't know how to score in the ninety s And I haven't scored over 80 since. but it so But I jagged 106. Did you take the photo?
00:31:21
Speaker
I was so proud. i was just like, honestly, I sat there for a while just going, what did I do differently this time? Like, how did this just all work? and um And I was putting it into BGA, BGStats, thinking, oh, this is great.
00:31:35
Speaker
And then it says, personal best. And I'm like, what? Has someone got more than this? And I've logged a game and some guy on BGA got 107 once against me.
00:31:47
Speaker
And I'm like, oh, come on. It's one point. So my best score ever by a country mile is still not the best score I've apparently seen. Seen or gone up against. Good choice, mate. Have you played Legacy of You?
00:32:01
Speaker
Yes, yes. I haven't played it all the way through, but it is, like again, once I finish this ah Hadrian's Wall solid campaign, I think going back to Legacy in Vue. Similar. Not as combo-tastic, but still good.
00:32:13
Speaker
Good choice, mate. So it doesn't count on the count. No, it doesn't count. It doesn't count. Sneaky, it doesn't count. um But I actually did think that would be in your top 20 somewhere.
00:32:25
Speaker
Yeah. ah My number 10 is a game that I... probably one of the first games I wanted to buy that was in Sam Healy's top 10.
00:32:37
Speaker
So back in 2017 when I watched the top 10 essential ballgames everyone should own, this was in Sam's top 10. I think it was actually probably Sam's number one at that point in time.
00:32:51
Speaker
you're probably thinking where I'm going here. I'm assuming so, yeah. And... It took me a while to get it, but I eventually did get it. And then it was one of the first games got taught to me at a game night at Chermside by a couple of friends. And um I've been hooked since.
00:33:09
Speaker
um I've been crushed every time I play it. I think I've only won it once. um And Helen is... just murderous at this game.
00:33:21
Speaker
Um, and that's blood rage. Um, blood rage is brilliant. I've got a full, it's the, the only, uh, painted minis that I've actually done so far for a board game. So i actually spent months, uh, sitting there painting, painting each clan and yeah researching on YouTube on what colors go for each clan.
00:33:42
Speaker
I paid for all the big monsters to get done professionally by, uh, by Anita, who is an excellent painter. And, um, And, yeah, so it's it's a full blinged-out set. When it's out on the table, it looks fantastic when you got all the clans out and you're playing a full player count.
00:33:58
Speaker
So, yeah, Blood Rage, brilliant. ah Again, brutal game, but it is it is so much fun. And Helen just kills you. she's She's fantastic at it.
00:34:12
Speaker
it's ah Which, you know, Helen's great at most games, but this game, oh, man, she's brutal. ah she was there There was a game we played at a game day, and she'd almost lapped everyone on points.
00:34:24
Speaker
Yeah, right. It was great. All right, so number 10 for me um boy by the great man, Eric Lang, who may appear here again, by the way.
00:34:35
Speaker
Just saying. I'm expecting expecting at least one more Eric Lang game. so There might be another Eric Lang game down the track. yeah But yeah, Blood Rage, awesome. Recommend it. Fantastic.
00:34:47
Speaker
ah So for my number nine is a game that you did mention. I'm fairly sure you mentioned last time. So this might be our first crossover of sorts.
00:34:58
Speaker
It's also a game that you and I have a bit of steep history in. Yeah, okay. And it's not TI4. No, no. I kind of got it. yeah Yeah. So this is a game that I always joke and I say that this game was so good it spawned an entire book series, movie series, and TV series.
Admiration for 'Dune Imperium'
00:35:16
Speaker
Because when I first played this game, I didn't know. oh i knew that they all existed, but i hadn't ah entered into this IP at all until I played Dune Imperium. And then I went and discovered the books and the movies and the TV shows. So as far as I'm concerned, the board game came first and everything else followed. But it was so bizarre that they were able to get the same characters from the board game to play the parts of the movie.
00:35:39
Speaker
Amazing. ah But yes, Dune Imperium, fantastic game. Really, one of the things that you'll notice of a bit of a theme in my top 10 and probably from my 11 to 20 as well is that I like resource management, I like worker placement, and I like deck building.
00:35:54
Speaker
And there's not a lot of resource management in this game, but it definitely has work for building worker placement and deck building up to Wazoo. What I love about this game, as opposed to most games that have combat, because I'm not a big combat fan, is that the combat is...
00:36:11
Speaker
your choice how how heavy you want to go. You're not forced into any situation where you need to go in and fight. You make the decision based on what's happening in the game, and I love that. I love the fact that you can just leave all your people in your garrison if you wish and only put them into the combat if you wish.
00:36:29
Speaker
ah And it's that's one of the things I love about this game, but there's there's so many. it's that You've got the four tracks that you're going up that provide you with what's the word I'm looking for?
00:36:41
Speaker
No, like the alliances with i the Fremen or whoever it is. And, you know, I love the fact that once you get to two on each of those tracks, you get a victory point.
00:36:53
Speaker
And once you get to four, you take the token that says, I have the alliance with this person, but then someone can take it off you if they pass you. So it's like it's got a little bit of fluidity about that. You can move around. That can move around. That could be a really big play if someone suddenly takes a point off you. That's a two-point swing. If it happens late in the game, you're racing to 10 points, so it's pretty short.
00:37:12
Speaker
Well, it's not short, but like it's tight, I guess. There's not points going everywhere. And the other the other thing that's great is that it's expanded quite well. Rise of Ix is a great expansion that offers tech and offers the...
00:37:27
Speaker
dreadnoughts that can fight in the combat. And then there's also there's there's a few other expansions. There's Immortality, which helps you get churned through the cards in the row that you can buy cards from, which is sometimes really handy.
00:37:41
Speaker
And then, of course, they released Doom Imperium Uprising, which is an entirely new game, which is very, very similar, just adds a few things. And I've kind of morphed all of mine into one collection, and it adds sandworms.
00:37:52
Speaker
And they're really awesome in combat too. And there's sections on the board that You can't go to unless the sandworms are smashed through a gate. And once they've smashed through, you can go there and all the actions are really strong. And it's there's just so much.
00:38:05
Speaker
But if you just have the base game, it's still an amazing game. It would still be in my top 10 just as the base game. All of the other stuff has made it better, but is also, i would not call it necessary. So, yeah, Dune Imperium, just a phenomenal game that creates moments and...
00:38:23
Speaker
yeah When I think about if if we're doing a top 10 moments of in board games or experiences rather than top 10 games of all time, this would also be in the top 10 for those moments.
00:38:35
Speaker
There are a lot of games that aren't in my top 10 that would be, but it would stay. It would be one of the ones that is still there because I can – I can reference when things happened in those games with particular people like yourself. You know, there are moments that happen just and everyone's just like, whoa, you bastard, or I didn't see that coming, or I knew you were collecting them for a reason, and, know, so on and so forth. So, yeah, Dune Imperium, great game. Obviously, it was on your list, so you clearly agree. But, yeah, that's my number nine.
00:39:04
Speaker
Yep, I do agree. And, um you know, talk about moments. At that moment made me drive all the way home and purchase the game at a local game store. Yeah, excellent. After that game we played.
00:39:15
Speaker
So good choice, mate. ah My number nine is a game I think is going to be on your list. Okay. But a but a different version. Okay.
00:39:27
Speaker
So, and, you know, it's – It's Smurf the board game, I call it really. ah Dwellings of Eldervale, where you're creating the Smurf villages. ah you know Every time I build my little house and my little village, I'm singing the Smurf theme all the time. I've never made that connection.
00:39:48
Speaker
Not sure. yeah Every time I do, I'm singing. that but that and it is It is a good game. Lots going on. Again,
00:40:00
Speaker
plenty of moments, I'm not going to talk about it too much, but there's been plenty of moments when I've played that game where there's ah lots of moments that, you know, you just, again, Helen killed us, but I think that was the last time I played it was with Helen and Dave.
00:40:13
Speaker
um And yeah, Helen just smoked us all. um and But if you you get if you get your engine going really well and you're really dominant ah on you know a couple of factions, you've got to do everything in the game.
00:40:26
Speaker
You can come out on top. um But it was a game I played for my 50th, I think, with some friends as well. was the one game I wanted to get to the table. So my number nine, Dwellings of Eldervale, and I believe that you will have the newer version of that in your list, I reckon, in your top ten.
00:40:44
Speaker
I can tell you that Dwellings is not in my top ten. Yes, yes. Didn't think it would be.
00:40:51
Speaker
Okay, number eight. So this is probably, well, technically not, but really kind of the newest game in my top. Yes, this is the newest game in my top ten.
00:41:05
Speaker
Yes, I'm just double-checking that a third time. Yes. ah But it's not necessarily new. It's just that most of my games, except for one with an asterisk, is fairly stapled. And that this game jumped into my top ten the first time i first time it was able to, which was last year.
00:41:21
Speaker
And it is a game about making spirits. Oh, yes, good game. The theme is amazing. The theme really comes through here, but you don't have to have an attachment to the theme. I'm not a big drinker.
00:41:32
Speaker
I've never been a home brewer, but distilled is phenomenal. It is one of the best theme attachments to a Euro that I think I've ever seen distilled.
00:41:43
Speaker
the fact that you're adding all your ingredients and you're shuffling them up and you take the top of the bottom card off, which is similar to ah similar to when you are making a spirit and you apparently don't take the top layer of the barrel and you don't take the bottom layer. That's so that's That's why that that is there.
00:42:01
Speaker
I love the fact that everyone has their own unique and region or person from a region that has a specific thing that they want to make, which is kind of similar like the the the Brown Brothers, for example, in Australia.
00:42:15
Speaker
That's kind of obvious. I would assume that that's. similar to all the other countries that there's some sort of nod to a local distributor. like yeah Yeah. Yeah. Which is really cool. And, you know, the the scott Scottish person likes whiskey and, you know, that makes sense. And, you know, it's just really well put together, but it's a game of – ah it getting ingredients to make spirits. And i love the fact that you don't know how you're going because you can be just making the spirits and turning them straight away by doing the ones that don't require any aging.
00:42:50
Speaker
But then other people are doing the aging ones. So they're sitting there with five victory points in round six. and you're sitting there with 85 and you have no idea whether you've got enough points because you don't know how many points they've got locked away in their in their aging warehouse that they'll sell at the end of the game and just yeah just romp home with a massive amount of points. So yeah I'm a big fan of games that sort of you're just on the edge of your seat right up until the end of scoring, not just the game.
00:43:22
Speaker
And I think Distilled does that really well. Yeah. I have back Luthier, which is Pavison Games' next game, so I'll be interested to see how that is because that's also a theme that I'm not massive on, like great violins.
00:43:33
Speaker
Yes, ah which, you know, classical music. I'm sure I love music, but I'm not much of a classical music fan, but I'm not a big drinker and I love Distilled, so I'm very keen to see what they do with Luthier. So there we go, Distilled, my number eight. Fantastic game.
00:43:48
Speaker
Good choice. Good choice. It is a good game. I didn't enjoy my last play of it. It's only because... We were at a boys' weekend, so it was hurting my head at one point.
00:44:02
Speaker
I don't recommend playing at the boys' weekend. um But ah no, it's a good choice, mate. My number eight is a new one to my list. And I'm just turning around to see if I can see it. Yeah, there it is. It's a nice big box up the back there. um And that is Vindication.
00:44:20
Speaker
Oh, okay. Okay. Vindication is just a cool euro. um And ah again, I'm not going to talk about it too much. It's been out for quite a while.
00:44:33
Speaker
I've got the deluxified edition. um The only thing I didn't get for it was the solo rules. So I do need to get the solo rules because I really think... think I downloaded some, but it was too fiddly.
00:44:46
Speaker
But I believe that the the the ultimate deluxe that came out did have a solo campaign in there. So I do want to try and get a hold of that somehow um and play it solo because it's good.
00:44:58
Speaker
I really enjoy playing it with the with the group on a Thursday night. We haven't played it for a while, but every time we've played it, we've all enjoyed it. um So yeah, vindication, number eight. Comes with your own scumbag.
00:45:11
Speaker
It does come with your own scumbag.
00:45:15
Speaker
Which it weirdly doesn't suit the feel of the game. Like, I know that's the whole point of the game. You are a scumbag, right? And you're trying to communicate yourself. Yeah, but it just it you know it didn't feel like that when I played it.
00:45:28
Speaker
It just felt like, yeah, anyway, it's just and I'm just pulling things out of a scumbag. I thought, this is this is hilarious. Yeah. Okay, my number seven is, it's the highest rated game on my list that I give no shits about winning or losing.
00:45:46
Speaker
ah too So I always compare this to a teach that I once had of Zombicide. And Zombicide is not on my list. I'm not a massive fan of Zombicide, but when I got taught Zombicide, the person teaching me said, you can't take this game too seriously. like you're going to die. Things are going to happen. We just carry on. We don't have to follow the rules.
00:46:05
Speaker
Now, I don't – I follow the rules in this game, but it has that same teach where I say to people, forget about winning or losing. This is just chaos and on a table. Leave brain in the door.
00:46:16
Speaker
Yeah, and it's Thunder Road Vendetta. yeah And it's just that like this this is the game that I suggest to people in almost all circumstances now. Like, again, we've got people coming over today and my wife doesn't necessarily like this game, but she can see how other people love it.
00:46:33
Speaker
So she said, i think – I think Manuel, who's the guy that comes over and plays, and his partner Lily, she's like, I think Manuel and Lily would love this game. But I hate it. But I want to play it with them because i reckon they love it.
00:46:44
Speaker
And that's that's what it is. and And I heard it described recently, and I thought that is the best way to describe this game. And that is if you look at the box and you like the box, you already like the game.
00:46:57
Speaker
And if you look at the box and go, eh, then it's not for you. And I'm like, that that is so true. Like it is everything that this game is, the box represents perfectly. It's just bedlam, chaos, cars going everywhere, choppers in the sky, blowing stuff up.
00:47:13
Speaker
That's the game. that there is There is every now and again, there's the decision to be made in this game. And the decision is to go safe or to go into a hazard and see what happens. And I always go into the hazard to see what happens because that's way more entertaining.
00:47:25
Speaker
I remember once I played this at the board game day at the community place with my first time, my brother and my nephew had played it. And I was really worried because they're both big Euro fans and, you know, like theme doesn't matter. Give me the great mechanics. I was really worried that they weren't going to love it.
00:47:42
Speaker
And we had this moment where, I was pooping out oil slicks out of my car and it was all really tight. Someone drove into an oil slick, which flicked them into a slam, which flicked them into another slam, which flicked them onto an oil slick, which flicked them. back And it went on for like 10 or 12 rolls. And eventually someone flew off the side of the board and was out and was eliminated.
00:48:02
Speaker
And that whole time in my head, I'm just going, I hope you don't think this is stupid. I hope you don't think far out this is taking too long. Let's get to the end of the turn. By the end of that turn, my nephew had backed the up the new version on Kickstarter.
00:48:15
Speaker
Like he didn't even wait to the end of the game. It was that turn. and And my brother was an Emmett. He didn't back it because his son was obviously backing it, but he knew he did. And he was like, i just I'm going to jump on the back of Vic's campaign, I think. I think I'll do that. Yeah.
00:48:29
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's and I was so happy. And it is a game that, except for my wife, apparently, everyone who's played it seems to think it's a hit. So, yeah, it's just chaos in a box. Thunder Road Vendetta.
00:48:40
Speaker
I have got the expansion. It's good. It's not necessary. I think I'd play with it every now and again, but... It's a different game. it's completely changes the game itself. But the game itself, it doesn't affect it if it changes, but I'd prefer the side-scrolling car chase. reminds me of playing Silkworm when I was a kid on the Amiga.
00:49:00
Speaker
Okay. That's another one. Still yet to play it, mate. I have not played it. I'm hanging to play it. So hopefully ah a game day that I get to next, someone's got it and they'll let me jump in and have a game because, yeah.
00:49:15
Speaker
It does look fun every time I've seen it being played. It looks like crazy chaos. That's the best way to describe it. Awesome. um My number seven
00:49:29
Speaker
is definitely going to be in your top ten. I'm calling it out already. and It's going to be probably higher up than mine, and that is Architects of the West Kingdom.
00:49:42
Speaker
So ah again, yeah something, something, something series. So that's one all. Architects the West Kingdom ah is brilliant.
00:49:53
Speaker
It is, you know, worker placement extreme um and, you know, managing resources, getting a bit of a combination going.
00:50:05
Speaker
But also, too, being a bit of an arse as well to other players because you have to play this game in a little bit mean ah by capturing and then, you know, cashing them in and putting them in prison. and um I'm actually playing a game of it at the moment on BGA with Shane and Ingrid and but they haven't played it for a while.
00:50:26
Speaker
And I think my sick and second or third move, I just captured about four or five of them their workers and put them put them in.
00:50:38
Speaker
um and went I went, hang on. They haven't played for a while. Let's take it a little bit easier. yeah
00:50:44
Speaker
But it's it's such a good game. So my number seven, Architects to West Kingdom. um It is my favorite game from Shem Phillips. Oh, there you go. Not Sam McDonald, though? ah yeah No, actually, no. Sam's i've got a favourite. Sam and Sam?
00:51:01
Speaker
yeah Yeah. You know, I've got a, you know, their combination, yes, but I've got a Sam-only game that I do like. Yeah. Well, ah just on architects, it's um one of my favourite things to do in that game is to capture people and not put them in jail and just let them hang out on my board for a while. You want to go pay $5 to get them back or do you want to sit there and work with two workers? Let's see how this goes.
00:51:26
Speaker
No, it is great. I only recently played it too on the table, which was that which was fun. But I will move to my number six, which is a something of the something something game. Hey, here we go.
00:51:37
Speaker
It's a something of the West Kingdom game, but it is Paladins of the West Kingdom. Yes. Paladins has slowly just just kept on moving up for me in my estimations, especially in reference to those games.
00:51:50
Speaker
ah For the longest time, Architects was my favourite. Viscounts, I used to think, was right up there, and Paladins was kind of third of the three, but they were all in my top 20, so they were all amazing games.
00:52:01
Speaker
But as time goes on, Paladins just has crept up and crept up and crept up. to the point where it is my highest something of the something something game. Ah, there we go. ah So, yes, Paladins is number six. And it's i was thinking about it recently. Why it stands out so much is that everyone talks about how heavy this game is. And while there's a lot of decisions that can be can affect your game, in the end, all you're doing is placing different colored workers on your board to do different things. Everything that you can do is printed in front of you.
00:52:34
Speaker
But it's what you can do with that that really blows my mind in this game. I've gotten to these internal, like these eternal loops where with the amount of townsfolk that I have, I basically, can't spend the workers that I've got in the turn. There's just no way to spend them. And I have to throw out all of them except for three.
00:52:53
Speaker
um And that, if if I knew that when I first played this game, I, that would have blown my mind because I would have thought, how on earth do you do that? But this is a game where,
00:53:04
Speaker
for the longest time I thought 40 or 50 was a good score and then I randomly scored over 100 once. And then I'm like, okay, and now I score over 100 fairly regularly. And then you play against someone else and they score like 50 more than that again. And you're like, wow, there are levels to this game – that Just, yeah, there's there's things to go on top of things.
00:53:22
Speaker
The expansion, while adding complexity, also, I think, makes the game even better again. It isn't something that I would play with somebody unless they played Paladins at a good five or ten times.
00:53:35
Speaker
yeah But if you've got two people who know how to play Paladins, that expansion just enriches this game. tenfold. But even just the base game, it's it's ah it's a lot to get your head around if you haven't come from the West Kingdom series.
00:53:49
Speaker
It's not that bad if you have, or from any something-and-something games. But what I think it does really well, it's why Wayfarers was in my top 20. And it's why I'll still play Scholars and I'll learn how to play Inventors one day.
00:54:05
Speaker
And it's because, yes, it's a heavier game, but because of that familiarity, it makes all of the other games far more digestible and it and it introduces the heaviness in in their games, which wasn't there before. Architects is not a heavy game.
00:54:20
Speaker
Raiders was not heavy game. Explorers and Shipwrites were not heavy games. yeah This was their first real sort of tilt towards that heavier end, and it sort of sets you up for the next four games if you want to want to go down that road. Or if you go, this is heavy enough for me, well, you've got, you know, a few games there before it that are not as heavy. So...
00:54:38
Speaker
Yeah, Paladins. I'm probably talking too much, but it's yeah phenomenal, and it is my highest Garfield game on my list. So, yes, notics no Architects, no Viscounts. I thought Architects would have been there, but good choice, the Paladins. um It would be probably my favourite solo game from Garfield Games.
00:54:58
Speaker
It's fantastic solo. And I agree with you that expansion just cranks it up a level, but you do need to know how to play the game to... add that into the mix. Well, for reference, Architects was 23, Viscounts 27, and Raiders 29. So they're all there. yeah, yeah. If we did the top 30, they'd all be there. Yeah, yeah. You'd be ah you you killing me with your ah with your prediction.
00:55:22
Speaker
So there you go. Good choice. Excuse me. My number six um is my favourite Martin Wallace game.
00:55:34
Speaker
um and a We know what it is, don't we? We know what it is. I think I've already mentioned it in this episode. ah It is a very rare game. It's even rarer that I have a signed copy, thanks to Martin signing it one day.
00:55:50
Speaker
and it is a game that I really enjoy playing with four people. You've got a player that's a full player count and um the the strategy that you have to pull out depending on what faction or what leader you're going with and then the the whole game is then you're trying to guess what someone else is going for um and so that that adds a lot of banter throughout the game. Oh, you're trying to clear the deck. I can see what you're trying That's why you're wasting heap cards.
00:56:19
Speaker
And every time you're wrong, right? yeah I don't think I've got the guest one yet. and And that is Unk Morpok. um So similar to and on the game found at the moment, Nantinarking.
00:56:30
Speaker
It's basically the same. was exactly the same game. But Unk Morpok is just quirkier. the cards The cards and all the dialogue on the cards are quite funny. um And, you know, you can you can play a little bit mean in it as well.
00:56:44
Speaker
And so totally recommend it. My favourite Martin Wallace game, Unk Morpok number six. I really enjoyed that play. I've only played it one time when was down last have Christmas.
00:56:55
Speaker
And i i imagine with more plays, it would it would definitely go up in my estimation. It was it was a very cool game and it it made me nearly back Nantinaki.
00:57:06
Speaker
and The only reason it didn't, I didn't, was because... you couldn't just get Nantinarking. You had to get – there was no, like, just buy Nantinarking pledge.
00:57:17
Speaker
There was Nantinarking. Yeah, buy you can just buy this just the base gate Nantinarking. Oh, I didn't think I saw that option. Yeah. um Because I didn't want – like, I don't care about Cthulhu coming to London, you know, like, ah to spend all that extra money. But, yeah, it was – yeah, I really enjoyed it. I love the fact that the whole time – i yeah I was deliberately doing things to try and make people think I was something else that I was going for. And that just meant I failed at not only what I wanted to do, but also convincing people what I was trying to do. so And I think, yeah, you had the ability where you knew what two of the things were in the game that weren't being used.
00:57:54
Speaker
And that was clearly one of the things I was trying to pretend that I was doing. And so you were on to me from the start, from wherever you got that option. I'm like, well, that's great. Yeah. Yeah, I think it was like the card that I played that gave me the option to look at the remaining remaining leaders that were left or the characters that were left.
00:58:11
Speaker
And so then I went, okay, yeah, all right. So i know what's kind of out there. But everyone knows because you've got that you've got your own player aid and on the back of the player aid, it shows every single character and what their ability is. So you can try and work that out throughout the game.
00:58:25
Speaker
And I think that's that's a really good good thing about the game is that banter that you're getting, ah which we had in our game. It was good fun. think in my first turn I took coins and Ingrid's like, ah, you're the guy who wants money.
00:58:38
Speaker
yeah And I wasn't. so I'm like, cool, I'm going to keep doing that. So people think that's what I'm into. And then you're like, well, no one had that one. like Damn it. Great game.
00:58:50
Speaker
um All right, number five. Well, look, it it has it's not a crossover and it is the new to my list game with an asterisk. And yes, it is Andromeda's Edge and it is replacing Dwellings. I wouldn't say replacing. I'd say Dwellings is not as good a game. it's Dwellings is excellent.
00:59:10
Speaker
Andromeda's Edge takes an excellent game and a little bit like the crew mission Deep Sea did to the crew, just goes, you know what? We could have done this better and here's here's everything better.
00:59:22
Speaker
One of my favourite Luke Lurie things in a lot of his games in Manhattan Project, in Whistle Mountain and and in Dwellings is that idea that your turn where you're essentially resetting and bringing your workers back to your board is interesting.
00:59:38
Speaker
There's actual things happening there. There's decisions. This takes this, that to the nth degree, to the point where you're essentially building your recovery to that's yeah almost the whole game.
00:59:51
Speaker
Unlike dwellings where you can trigger a benefit on a card, you can trigger a benefit in a row and then spend extra resources to trigger every other benefit. So coming back to your board,
01:00:02
Speaker
can result in 12, 13 or 14 different actions that you get to take when you bring it it back. It's insanity. It just keeps going. You get all this energy and then energy allows you to do other resources other things. And so you're just getting resources, you're getting workers, you're doing all that sort of stuff on your on your bring back turns.
01:00:21
Speaker
And the other big thing that, again, I didn't have a problem with the combat in Dwellings. I kind of laugh at people who get too serious about this game and want to talk about, oh, it's just dice rolling and it's not fair that someone can roll one, six, and you're rolling five dice and you don't roll a six.
01:00:37
Speaker
And i'm like, yeah, that's it's monsters fighting you. Like, where did fairness come into this? Like... Seriously, you're this one little dude with an axe. Why do you think that a huge monster is going to give a crap about how fair it is when they fight you?
01:00:52
Speaker
Or, you know, that's not the person who puts one little worker in there. Well, they're trying to do something too. So I liked Yeah. um And this game still has that, but what it also has is this floor where if you have three units or four units into a combat, they might give you I can't remember what the the name of the the term is, but they'll give you essentially a floor for your dice. So if you your floor is three and you roll a two or a you get to re-roll those twos and ones.
01:01:24
Speaker
And that's continual. So you guarantee that every one of your dice is going to be three or higher if your four is three. Yeah. So that that neate negates that sort of, you know, one person beating five.
01:01:36
Speaker
It can still happen, but it's less common, I guess. And if that settles down the Euro gamers, then that's fine. um But... Either way, I'll take the combat either way. I do i do actually prefer the combat in Andromeda's Edge, but it's by a hair.
01:01:51
Speaker
i like What I like about that is that it's made the game more accessible to people because people who didn't like that now can't complain about that. But ah that's that's what I actually like about dwellings is you know, you have these big epic dice rolls, right?
01:02:04
Speaker
I remember one game we had, we had everyone just rolling all their dice and then you're just counting up who had the win. But, you know, you could be only rolling one or two dice against someone that's rolling five and you will still win.
01:02:15
Speaker
You've got that chance, to do which is what I like about dwellings. So yeah don't I don't know if I'd like the floor one where you're upgrading the dice, so you're rolling a minimum. don't know. Yeah, it works. And i and it's it means combat scene dwelling in both games, actually. Sometimes you want to lose combat. Sometimes it's about getting space on the board so you can go back to an action that you want to do again or if you yeah need for other reasons. There are some reasons where losing combat is a good thing.
01:02:45
Speaker
It makes it easier to do that and in Andromeda's Edge. Like you can go into a fight just like yeah whenever someone has a combat. If you're neighboring, you can choose to join in. Well, let's say that's on ah on a spot that you really want to go back to.
01:02:59
Speaker
You can choose to join in knowing that you'll lose because then on a future turn, you can jump back in and take that action again. You can do that a lot easier at Andromeda's Edge, I guess, because you're not likely to win against someone who's not rolling anything lower than a three and you're rolling one die.
01:03:11
Speaker
So it works both ways. but Yeah. Anyway, Andromeda's Edge, that's it's just the the only thing it doesn't have is it in dwellings, you could sometimes you could take control of one of the the yeah the baddies, the monsters.
01:03:24
Speaker
yeah It doesn't have something like that. But at the same time, the enemies that you fight are... incredible there's some of the things like one of them's like this hive and it sends out um things all over the board so if you've got to control like five different things at once rather than just one ah but if you smash up the hive then it'll get rid of the whole thing but if you don't then they'll just keep producing across the board and Yes, really cool.
01:03:50
Speaker
And the best thing that happened in this game, even though I don't love playing with an untested monster or baddie or ship, was that my son decided to get his...
01:04:03
Speaker
mandalorian funko pop and make his own rules as a baddie so we played i can't remember what he called it wasn't mandalorian we got this huge big mandalorian funko pop sitting in the middle of the table and it worked it just worked that's great yeah yeah great little game designer yeah definitely anyway that's the drumming as edge yep dwellings in space um My number five.
01:04:33
Speaker
um number five is a game you spoke about last week. um And it put Awakened Realms on the map as far as board games go. And that is This War of Mine.
01:04:47
Speaker
It kind of fell out of my top ten, but then it's it's back. It's back. It's um such a good game. And brilliant solo. Still yet to win it.
01:04:59
Speaker
either playing with people or solo. I haven't haven't won the game yet. Um, but it does come with a warning. It is, it is a very serious game and there's some decisions you need to make in this game that kind of go against your, your grain and your values that, um, sometimes you have to make that call and, uh, you know, you, you, you do pay for that too throughout the game.
01:05:21
Speaker
So, um, I totally recommend it. This war of mine, number five. Uh, I talk about it a lot. Um, And I think Awakened Realms are bringing it back to GameFound.
01:05:32
Speaker
Yeah, and it's a like yeah yeah it's a luck second edition. second edition. um So I won't be backing it because I've got everything. I've got everything as it is. So the only thing I don't have is the...
01:05:43
Speaker
the It's the rubble dice. you know the actual The original Kickstarter had this ah dice made of all rubble, and you're just rolling that. but It's like a barbed wire in there, and it looks really cool. um But yeah, number five is four of mine.
01:06:02
Speaker
I haven't gotten to it yet. I heeded your warning and thought I might just tread carefully with that one, but we're very keen to play it. Maybe play it solo first. Yeah, play it solo first and maybe watch a playthrough.
01:06:14
Speaker
um and i kindt i In a weird way, I kind of don't want to watch a playthrough because I don't want... I know it's not like ah spoils, but I keep hearing about all these decisions and and kind of I kind of want to experience them firsthand. I don't want to see someone else have experienced them before. you don't yeah okay. Yeah, no, it's fair call.
01:06:31
Speaker
um And, yeah, the epilogue that goes along and the and the the stories that you read out just really add add to the flavour of the game. So, yeah. Recommend it, but, yes, definitely play it first night.
01:06:45
Speaker
Well, my number four in a similar vein is a very serious game that can leave you very upset at the end of it if you manage to spit out multiple times on the one corner and watch everyone pass you because you... And that is my favourite racing game, and that is Heat, pedal to the metal.
01:07:03
Speaker
it's It really... I feel like they're doing a really good job of managing when content comes out. And this is a weird thing to start with, but I got the base game ah in 2023 and I played it a heap and I love it.
01:07:18
Speaker
And I was just starting to get a little bit you know, like, oh, I could really use a different board. And then they released new boards. And it was like, oh, cool. And different mechanisms. Oh, cool. You know, it was the perfect time. But again, i keep saying expansions, but with or without the expansions, Heat Pedal to Metal is such a great game.
01:07:36
Speaker
The upgrades to the cars are where it's at. This is one of those few games where I say don't listen to what they tell you when you play your first game. Just go straight into the upgrades.
01:07:46
Speaker
They've got basic cards that you take out of your deck and add upgrades in. Don't start with those basic cards because it just then becomes, hey, I'm playing this number card to move this many spaces, and that's not as fun as doing cool shit with your card.
01:08:02
Speaker
So, yeah, I really like it. It's... It's the best racing game because it feels like a racing game, but it also has a lot of strategic decisions and placement matters, you know, working out how to slipstream through a corner that you probably shouldn't have, but you've got the heat to be able to pay for it. Now you feel like you're almost a turn in front of everybody else. But then this is also a game that doesn't doesn't reward being in front because,
01:08:28
Speaker
If you're behind people, you can slipstream and you can get benefits from being further back that you that you don't get in front. So you kind of only whether you want to get to the front towards the end of the game rather than try and lead all the way.
01:08:41
Speaker
um It's just great. So Heat Pedal to Metal, my number four. I will happily play this with anyone on BGA because i think it works really well on BGA, um but also would love to get my physical version to the table more often. So Heat, Pedal Gear Metal, my number four. And yes, I will buy in the new expansion when it eventually releases.
01:09:00
Speaker
do Do you recommend, though, for a first-time player, they play a physical version first or BGA? recommend...
Preference for Physical Board Games
01:09:06
Speaker
i recommend I recommend the physical version of the BGA version for pretty much every game. Yeah. But definitely for this because it just makes you understand. Like, yes, you can learn the game and you can play it online, but the card play, whenever there's a game that involves card play, having the cards in your hand makes everything make sense more.
01:09:25
Speaker
ah you've got all the information in front of you and i don't know, there's something tactile about it that just makes sense when it's when you're holding the cards. I don't quite know what that how that is different to online, but it just feels like that to me. yeah and And this is one of those games where you could play it once physically and then you could jump jump a BGA and play it for the rest of your days and you'd be fine.
01:09:48
Speaker
but learning it online, I think in not just in this example, but in many examples can sort of diminish your opinion of a game because you don't get that desired feel that the, you know, the creator was actually going for, especially it's a, it's a
Quality of Days of Wonder Games
01:10:05
Speaker
days of wonder game. So it's produced quite well.
01:10:08
Speaker
There's nothing overdone. It's all done exactly how it should be done. And, um It just, don't know, there's something about it. It just, it makes sense. The cars are the shape they are because that's the era that the game's set in, which is also shown on your play mats.
01:10:21
Speaker
So it all makes sense live where on on on BGA, you're just a car in a race and you're playing your cards. You don't see, you don't take in all that other stuff. Yeah, I asked that question because i've only played it on BGA.
01:10:33
Speaker
And I don't have that same feeling you do because I feel like I need to play the physical live game first to then learn it live, then jump into BGA. so um So that's another game I'm looking forward to hopefully playing at our next board game day somewhere. So i'll be I'll be looking out for someone playing it so i can jump in.
01:10:54
Speaker
Now, the other thing that might interest you too and the thing the other thing that makes this game great is it it's great at every player count, including one and seven and everything in between. Yeah. Because the way that the AI works is the simplest way you could possibly make it work and they are super competitive. Like you are not going to win this game every time you play it against the AI. No way in um they they are very competitive. I've played this against some really good players and the AI wins.
01:11:26
Speaker
and yeah We all come second, third, fourth and fifth. you know it's That's good. um yeah Playing solo, you just play with six ai It's all on one card. You can move all of the ai flipping one card. Definitely recommend it even for you're someone who plays a lot solo games.
01:11:42
Speaker
ah Cool. I will look out for a live version of it and then I'll jump into BGA a lot more with it. um My number four is a game that I love playing at max play account.
Exploring 'Power Grid' and Its Variants
01:11:53
Speaker
And, uh, we played a fair bit in our group.
01:11:56
Speaker
It's an economic game. Uh, it's been around for a very long time. It's my favorite freedom and of freeze game. Oh yeah. Uh, and that is power grid. Um, power grid is fantastic.
01:12:08
Speaker
Auction mechanism. Brilliant. Uh, building your, you know, getting your plants going, using your resources and building some cash. Um, is fantastic. And then, you know, also too, bit of blocking mechanisms as well, because you can see someone's going to be wanting to get some resources. So you don't, you know, you're, you're cashed up. So, you know, you buy all that.
01:12:29
Speaker
So, so you're either blocking them or you're making it more expensive for them. Um, uh, we all love playing it. There's so many maps out there for power grid. Um, and and And Nick, Pastor Nick's got the deluxified version of it. ah He's got so many maps. He's got this special ah laser cut ah auction board that all the cards go on and move through.
01:12:53
Speaker
um And I'm going to start deluxifying mine now that I've got a 3D printer. i'm going to start printing off all the little resources and, yeah, Power Grid number four. is brilliant.
01:13:06
Speaker
that was that's That's gone up a lot. um That's really crept into my top 10. And you know if I want to play an economic game that really you don't need much math with, let me just call it out. It doesn't burn your brain. It's fantastic.
01:13:23
Speaker
I think it's pronounced maths in Australia. Yeah, no. there's there's there's There's something that goes along with that, so don't worry. callback. yeah that's it's It's a little nod to so a certain board gamer out there one day when – and you were there.
01:13:38
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I was there. You were there when I said math and it burnt his brain. so Yeah. ah The game was a lot like Ticket to Ride. It was.
01:13:51
Speaker
Anyway, and we'll move on from our in-jokes. Power Grid's on my shelf of shame. I've had it for about a year and a half. ah Based, I think, on your top 10 previously, I like, oh, I'll get it.
01:14:02
Speaker
And it sat there and I haven't actually got to the table, so I really need to do that. You do. And, look, I'm happy to one day when we are together, absolutely get it out and give it a go.
01:14:14
Speaker
I was also concerned as to why Friedman Friese has one game that doesn't start with an F, and it was Power Grid. But then I realized that the German word for Power Grid is Funkenschlag, and I was okay with it after that.
01:14:26
Speaker
ah As far as I'm concerned, that game is called Funkenschlag. Funkenschlag. Okay. Did not know that. Apparently, his new game, Fish, is doing really well. I'm hoping I get a content warning for that. Yeah, yeah.
01:14:38
Speaker
Looks good. All right. Let's move on to, what are we up to? Number three. Number three. no no this This could be a crossover. I don't know. i don't know if it's this high on your list.
01:14:52
Speaker
It's probably not. We've only got three to go. Yeah, i know. That's what thinking. Like, yeah top three. i already know what, I definitely know what two of yours are. trying to work out what the third one it could be this. Maybe. i don't know.
01:15:03
Speaker
um But this is a game that is totally out of my wheelhouse. um It's it's a my favorite come on game out of about three come on games that I play.
01:15:14
Speaker
yeah um And it's not Marvel United. And in fact, that's pretty much the only other come on game I play. Unless you count Potion Explosion. um So we are we are close. There is a come on game. Yeah. yeah Okay.
01:15:28
Speaker
ah So this could be a crosshalla. Could be.
Excitement for 'Cthulhu: Death May Die'
01:15:30
Speaker
It's not going to be there. Okay. This is a game about an IP that I do not like. which is the only game that I like from this IP, including some quite big games. and it is there is content bizarre for this because, of course, it is a come on game. So, of course, there is.
01:15:54
Speaker
And you can currently late pledge for a humongous Godzilla of this game in this game, if you wish. And it is Cthulhu, Death May Die, My favorite cooperative game, my favorite of any of those things I just mentioned. Come Cthulhu, you know, HP Lovecraft, cetera. This game, man, it's so much fun.
01:16:14
Speaker
It's just you sit down, you have a good laugh, you play you have some strategy. some of the Some of the missions are just bonkers. They are bonkers. Yeah, like yeah the first couple, yeah, it's pretty standard, you know, go and fix this up and then, you know, then the beast will come down and then we can fight and we win. Hey. hey And then some of them are like, you've got an ice cream stand and people are getting like ah brainwashed by eating this ice cream. So you've got to stop the ice cream stand and then convince the brainwashed people that the ice cream is bad and they shouldn't buy more of it. But then the monster is making the the people think that ice cream is good again. And like, what? What?
01:16:51
Speaker
How many drugs were you on when you came up with this as a theme? So good. And the the characters that you use are hilarious and they've all got a backstory, but yeah it's as much, it's it's as hilarious as you want it to be. You could just not read the back and play this game and not care about any of that. But if you do venture down that road, you kind of get stuck reading every character's back sheet because they're just brilliant.
01:17:14
Speaker
and And the nods to reality too, like um I always go to Lizzie Borden, the lady who um apparently killed her family with axes but then got never got convicted. And it says on the back of her sheet, like, we don't know what she did with her axes. We just know that she knows how to use them.
01:17:29
Speaker
And, yeah, it's just great. So, yeah. I had such a great time playing it was set with Raph. We played through all of season one, most of season two, and a bit of season three and four.
01:17:41
Speaker
Wow. Yeah. it's just we just It's one of our go-to games. And playing two players is really cool because it doesn't it's not on the table for too long. We did try it once playing four-player, controlling two characters, and we died, like, in 35 minutes. So...
01:17:59
Speaker
Maybe it's harder at four. I don't know. But at two, it's a decent, a really good challenge. yeah. yeah And all the new stuff, like from season three and four that adds... You can add relics, which makes it easier for you, and you can add, can't remember what they're called, but basically um monsters from other ah versions. So you can be playing a Season 3 scenario with a couple of monsters from Season 1 or 2 thrown in, good which is really cool. So you can make it harder, you can make it easier.
01:18:28
Speaker
yeah However you find the game, you can you can balance it out. Great choice. Great choice. and Eric Lang as well. Yes, correct. There you go. It's my favourite Eric Lang game.
01:18:38
Speaker
Wow. I can tell for sure. Well, here's favourite. But I'm guessing it's not on that list. Here's my favourite Eric Lang game. Well, if it's your favourite, I know what it is, in which case it's not Cthulhu Death May Die. do like Cthulhu Death. I just haven't played it in a very long time and I've only just re-bought it.
01:18:57
Speaker
sir um So it didn't really hit my top 20 at all was Cthulhu Death May Die. But it is an Eric Lang game and it is by... Come on.
Comparison to 'The Godfather: Corleone's Empire'
01:19:07
Speaker
um It's my favourite game to play at full player count, which is five.
01:19:13
Speaker
And it is brutal. You can beat each other up. You kill off everyone and throw them in the Hudson River. And that is the godfather. Corleon's Empire is and fantastic.
01:19:30
Speaker
um the The card play in it, the way you're stashing your money, you don't know who's got what money by the end of the game.
01:19:39
Speaker
And, you know, you see people setting up and next thing you know, I'm going to go and throw a car bomb in. Bam, off goes everyone. They're in the Hudson until the next round. And it's brutal. Have you played it yet?
01:19:53
Speaker
No, and it's funny because the way it was described to me was if Blood Rage was Mafia. Yes. Yeah. yeah Yeah, kind of. Kind of. And it's it's my favourite.
01:20:06
Speaker
I love playing it. And if anyone, ah go to a board game day and I've got five players hanging around, always have it packed. It's always in my bag just in case there's five players and out it will come.
01:20:18
Speaker
um I'll play it at four, but it just sings at full player count. That is The Godfather, Corleon's Empire, my favourite Eric Lang game, and actually two Eric Lang games in my top ten.
01:20:34
Speaker
Yeah, that's right. Eric Lang's getting a more mention than Shem Phillips. Who saw that coming? I i know. Who saw that coming? Okay, my number two game is quite a funny story about how I acquired this game. And I do apologize because if anyone listens to the On Board Games podcast, I literally said this exact same spiel on their most recent episode because we also did our top 10 on that.
TOT Wakan, City of Gods Discovery
01:20:57
Speaker
um So if if you've heard this before, I apologize. But this game came into my collection by accident. it was a I'd ordered a bunch of board games from Gameaholic, and everyone in Australia knows how reliable Gameaholic are.
01:21:10
Speaker
um That's sarcasm. And i got this box of games eventually after chasing them up for ages. And I was unboxing it and i'm like, hang on, ah didn't order this game.
01:21:23
Speaker
And it was one of those moments where like, do I tell them that this game turned up because the amount of hell I went through just to get these games here, do I bother getting back in touch with them? And I tried to, and they never responded, which is on point for Gameaholic, I didn't care anymore, and I moved on.
01:21:38
Speaker
And it sat on my shelf because I got it fairly early out on in the hobby, and I was like... i cannot play that game. I hadn't even played Scythe at that point and it sat on my shelf and I was the whole time just going, I'm never going to learn that game. i'm never going to learn that game. And then eventually on episode one of the Board Game Barbecue podcast, which is the first podcast ever did, we had a segment called Swear and Oath where you would say, I'm going to learn this game.
01:22:02
Speaker
yeah And it was my first Swear and Oath game and it has been my favourite game for many years. It is no longer my number one game. It is TOT Wakan, City of Gods, my number two game of all time.
01:22:16
Speaker
And it is just magic. It is the only game, well, not the only game, but my favorite game where you play it And you have a strategy and your strategy just goes up in smoke early on.
01:22:32
Speaker
And you sit there for 20 minutes going, the hell am I going to do now? like And then all of a sudden the matrix starts to appear and you can start going, oh, hang on, I can pivot and go and do this. And then and then you end up with a better score than you've ever got before. And you're like, how? But everyone's doing the same thing. Everyone's just going, oh, well, I'll work on that. And then there's four workers there. So now it's going to cost you four cocoa to go there. and you're like, I can't afford that.
01:22:56
Speaker
I'll have to pivot and do something else. But then everyone, someone else pivots from what you're going to. And then suddenly all these options become available to you. It's like, this is awesome. And moving up tracks everywhere. There's four tracks to go up five. If you got the expansion, it's just insanity. And, and there is a very few games that I play where I just absolutely tank and have no idea what my strategy is going to be.
01:23:19
Speaker
And you've witnessed me doing that in one game. Yeah. which was possibly the most hilarious game because in the first turn I scored like 13 points in one move and everyone around the table was like, oh shit. We're gone.
01:23:31
Speaker
Oh yeah. And then, and I think I scored like only another 80 for the whole game. Everyone overtook me and I'm like looking at my board going what's happening. Um, uh, fun thing story. I played against Shane and Ingrid online not long after that. And I scored like 270 and seventy i like redemption.
01:23:50
Speaker
So, yeah, it's it's great. And um it's like and another game that comes with a few expansions, and it's also another game that I almost almost always will never teach with those expansions. I might throw in the the variable playing powers because sometimes actually make it easier to learn the game.
01:24:08
Speaker
But there is the odd occasion, specifically with my brother, when we get together, we play that game fully expanded everything in. And it's just, it's next level. It's so, it's such a good game. Like you think about how heavy that game is and the amount of decisions you've got in a normal game of that. And then you add like two extra parts of a board and then these extra, these extra workers and these extra resources. And you just, ah, so good.
01:24:34
Speaker
So yeah, TOT Wakan. City Guides probably just dropped off my number one because realistically in the last year, i have played my number one game significantly more than this.
Love for 'Castles of Burgundy'
01:24:45
Speaker
so And, yeah, it's it's really a flip of a coin. They could switch over next year. Yeah. I've been waiting for that game, mate. It's been sitting there in my brain. I'm thinking it's going to either be one or two.
01:24:57
Speaker
sir I was expecting it be one. though um Good choice. My number two is the most expensive game I've ever bought and got all the bits for. i have everything for it and it takes up half my Kallax up on the top shelf there because I do have everything for it.
01:25:21
Speaker
And it's a game that everyone was crying out for for many, many years for everyone to upgrade it. And then they brought out the anniversary edition, which was just just more bits of cardboard, which were horrible.
01:25:34
Speaker
and then it just took Awakened Realms to come out with it and absolutely bling it to the nth degree. And that's Castles of Burgundy. It is fantastic. The combos you can get going, and you know I've already talked about it, where you always just need that one more last move that you can never pull out to to really get everything going for you. But I play it a lot.
01:25:58
Speaker
um I haven't played it solo yet. So I might even try and do that over the next couple of weeks. I'm not going to be able to do much in the way of board gaming. I might learn the solo rules for it and give it a go. I play at a stack on BGA. I think i've got about three or four games going on bta Which is a pain because you go you go, you click, you go, okay, this is what I'm doing here.
01:26:17
Speaker
And you click next. Shit, what am I doing in this one? ah yeah, I'm doing that. It takes me a while to work out what I was actually doing. And I know there's a notes page there, but don't have the time to go in put in my notes.
01:26:29
Speaker
and ah And, yeah, so number two, Castle of Burgundy. Fantastic game. Yeah, great. That's one of our few crossovers. So what have you had? Just Castles Burgundy and Dude Imperium across the top 20. Yeah.
01:26:45
Speaker
Yeah. yeah yeah And we won't have a crossover with this one, my number one. I think I know what your number one is. um I was trying because i was I had Castles of Burgundy and Godfather, and there was another one that was that i I'm thinking it is. I'm assuming what's what has been high before will stay high. That's that's what I'm going with.
01:27:07
Speaker
like And I'm assuming you know what my number one is as well. so Go for it, mate. What is your number one?
Celebrating 'A Feast for Odin'
01:27:13
Speaker
My number one is a game ah about feeding people. um yeah That's pretty much that's it. that's just That's the game. It's called A Feast for Odin, so it's about a feast. Feast for Odin is an amazing worker placement, resource management, polyomino placement game.
01:27:32
Speaker
I think that's all of the things it does. It's, I guess, it exp explore exploration as well, if you want to throw that in there. But what I love about this game is that there are so many options for you to take on your turn. There is...
01:27:45
Speaker
I'm ah'm pretty sure on the base box, in the base game, at four players, there's 66 worker placement spots on the board. That's ridiculous. And it takes about two turns before someone takes the one spot that you needed to go.
01:27:58
Speaker
yeah Like there's 66 of these bastards and you took the one place that I was looking at. How can you possibly do that? now it's It is a game that just, it's a gift that keeps giving for me because ah it's similar to Paladins when I talked about that, where the first few times I played this, I loved it. And I'm like, oh, one day I'm going to really learn how to go and explore those islands. and And you'd end up, you know, then you'd explore one island. So you'd do your home board and then one island and maybe a hut and then something changes and suddenly you can start to handle three islands and two huts and and then you play against someone who really knows what they're doing and they've got four islands and six huts and you're like how are you generating this much more stuff than me like how how how have you figured that out and and then yeah you try a few different strategies i
01:28:44
Speaker
What I like about this game, especially on BGA because it's on BGA and it's pretty pretty pretty good. And what I like about it is if I'm playing against someone who hasn't played much before, and I do the same thing in TO to be fair, I'll just go after a strategy that I don't normally go after. Yep.
01:28:59
Speaker
And every now and again, that turns into the most amazing game of that I've ever played. And I feel bad because I've just slaughtered this person who's playing it for the first time. And here I am with like 45 cattle somehow um that all score points.
01:29:12
Speaker
But anyway, I won't go into everything. It's it's it's a classic. It's been around for a long time. It's a lot of people's favorite Uwe Rosenberg game. um I think it's his magnum opus. i just there's There's nothing about this game I dislike.
01:29:26
Speaker
I have played it 61 times. Yeah, wow. For such a big game to play it that many times. Yeah. And again, just recently I played against someone who scored over 200 and I'm just like, I don't understand.
01:29:40
Speaker
ah I don't understand. I've gone back and watched him play it and i'm like, yeah, I do that. I do that too. but How is he doing this? What is he doing that I'm not?
01:29:51
Speaker
I don't understand. and yeah, like my best score ever is like 140, think. And yeah he got over 200 and I just, um yeah, blown away. So there's lots more to exploit explore in this game.
01:30:02
Speaker
The expansion is wonderful as well. so Yeah, okay. It's a game I've learnt on BGA ah and it's one that i actually want to learn it live though because I think this is one of those games where I think it will glock to me being live versus on BGA.
01:30:18
Speaker
It is a very hard teach on BGA. Yeah. This is definitely a game that rewards learning it in person. There's just so much tactile nature to the game in one aspect, but also just...
01:30:32
Speaker
processing everything on its own level rather than seeing all 66 choices in one turn. You know, like you can could start to, you know, that works with this and this works with that. and Yeah. So this goes with that. Suzanne. Feast for Odin, my number one game of all time. It has been, was my number three, my number four, my number four, my number 13, my number 17. It's always been there.
01:30:53
Speaker
But that was going backwards in time, obviously. But, yeah, number one and... I say this every year. Boy, I hope it's not number one next year. just That means I've just played a better game than Feast for Odin.
01:31:05
Speaker
How amazing would that be? Yeah, that would be good for you. All right, over to you, sir. Number one, for me, it's going to be no-brainer for everyone that knows me. um It is a game that I hated the first time I played it. Yes. Absolutely hated it. Did not want to go back to it again.
01:31:27
Speaker
and It took a good mate, Dave, and you guys, actually. The next time I played it, it was the second time. Because Dave said it it was his favourite game for quite a while there. I don't if it still is.
01:31:40
Speaker
But um ah he said, no, no, you just need to play with us. Just play with us. you'll You'll enjoy it. And yes, was he was right. I enjoyed it. And I've enjoyed every single game I've played since then.
01:31:54
Speaker
um I'm not that great at that. I don't win and win every game. And I don't score like ridiculously high scores. um But I love the challenge of, you know, taking a company that might not be producing so much goods or you know you're not going to score lots of dollars for, but then you building its share price up, buying another company and buying another company. So that is City of the Big Shoulders is my number one board game ah since 2017.
Cherishing 'City of the Big Shoulders'
01:32:23
Speaker
It is fantastic.
01:32:24
Speaker
um I love it. I love playing it live. BGA is the best way to play it though because it takes the math out of it. there it is there There it is again, that word.
01:32:36
Speaker
um And it does because it's very heavy heavy on the maths. um So the BGA takes all that away. It's all done automatically. um But you do need to learn this live before you jump into BGA because it's it's it's a very hard game to to to play on BGA and try and learn it at the same time versus if you're playing it live, I would love to be to be able to help people, you know do this move, do this move.
01:33:04
Speaker
So on BGA, it potentially could work if you're playing it real time. because at least that way you're chatting to the other person and you can help them that way. um But the best way to play this game is definitely live with people when they're first learning.
01:33:18
Speaker
Once they've grokked they know what they're doing, jump on BGA. And it is brilliant. I think I've got three games of that going at the moment as well. I don't know you do that.
01:33:29
Speaker
This is a game where I can only have one going at a time and they also need to be spaced out a bit. ah But yes, you are right. It is excellent on the BGA. Actually, funny story. I'm part of this group that are friends that I made in America when I was over on the, um, um,
01:33:45
Speaker
retreat and um they started this like BGA group and you get to suggest games. And I suggested city, the big shoulders for that hour. Like there's easy, medium, hard. I suggested for the hard section and we've just started game.
01:34:01
Speaker
Like it's finally come around to big shoulders. And um they obviously don't know what they're doing. and Well, i shouldn' I shouldn't say that. Maybe they just know the game better than we do.
01:34:13
Speaker
But I was the third person to choose my faction and BBC was still there. Oh, wow. And I'm like, okay, then. All right. It's on. I've been beaten by BBC enough to know how to play them.
01:34:28
Speaker
And yeah if i'm playing if I'm playing or teaching someone new, I'm playing someone that hasn't played it that much, I always leave bb BBC yeah pretty much you know to the, it's never my first company I buy.
01:34:40
Speaker
um However, i comply if I'm playing, you know for example, you or Dave or or Grant, and now you know if by any chance I get to pick up BBC first, I'm jumping all over it before anyone else does.
01:34:53
Speaker
Because if we don't, we know it's gone. We're not going to chance get a chance to get it. Yeah. Yeah. I do love and when we play this game, the meta, that because we played this game so many times, specifically me, you, Dave, and G-Money.
01:35:05
Speaker
The amount of times we played it that you know how what people think of how you play the game because whenever Dave buys into a company, everyone buys shares in that company. Yeah.
01:35:19
Speaker
And you're sitting there going, can someone please buy a share in my company? but No one is like, i I understand what this means. I understand it. You think I'm inferior and that's fine. yeah ah So true.
01:35:34
Speaker
So true. That's it. Yes. so That's why this game's not for everyone though. right It's, you know, you need to be into, into a really heavy economic game.
01:35:45
Speaker
Um, but and also worker placement. Uh, when you think about it's a great worker placement game. Um, But ah once you once you get it going and you've really got your company humming along, which you can generally get your company humming along by round three, and then you just start buying all these other companies and get them humming as well.
01:36:04
Speaker
in the last couple of rounds. But you've got to do... ah I've played the game so many times that I've tried to not run up the the experience track. So you're getting all those little additional things along the way.
01:36:16
Speaker
ah I've sat down the bottom of whole game and not even not even worried about it. And then I realised, hang on, you you really need to do that if you own BBC. You've got to be running all the way up that track to maximise everything you've got coming at you. So...
01:36:30
Speaker
um Yep, number one, favorite game since 2017, City of Big Shoulders, which I own my own copy of.
01:36:39
Speaker
And now I've got mine back too. You've got yours back. And I've played it. I've played it since I got it back off you, which is even more bizarre. Yeah. Because I happily lent it to you because I hadn't played it in forever.
01:36:51
Speaker
And then you gave it back to me and I played it on that holiday. Yeah, brilliant. Yeah. And how cool was it that you know you were there at that game day or that game sale day when I'm sitting there, I physically had the copy in my hand. I said, you can have yours back.
01:37:07
Speaker
And you went, yeah i was actually about, I was working out how I could ask you for that back. What's funny is I had, as I've previously mentioned, I came down to that. that whole six week experience in Brisbane with the intention of going back to Bemiga with a 20 kilo bag.
01:37:24
Speaker
And then I went to that game day and I bought 12 games and ruined that plan. And I've just bought my 12 games. And then you've gone, I can give you back a copy of Big Shoulders. I'm like, where am I going to put that?
01:37:36
Speaker
ah but i found a way. That's good. ah Well, well done, mate. Great top 20 list. and What a list. Some awesome games in there and only two crossovers. but Yeah. Which is amazing, right?
01:37:48
Speaker
That is amazing. Yeah. Because we both like very similar games. and But it just goes to show you that there's obviously games out there that you know I'd love to jump on and play a little bit more, like Heat, like um Thunder Road Vendetta.
01:38:02
Speaker
And you're probably probably the same with This War of Mine. Yeah. For sure, yeah, yeah. And um I'd love to play Ark Morpok again. That was really good really cool. So, yeah. But, yeah, there's – I mean, How Good's Castle's a Burgundy, that's such a good choice at two as well because it's like – it was – what was it, 19, I think, for me?
01:38:21
Speaker
Yeah. And on any other given day, it could have been in my top 10 quite easily because it is just – it's like comfort food, that game. You just get it out and it's just a good time. It's not too aggressive. you can play it, you know, as a chill game if you want. Yeah.
01:38:35
Speaker
it's yeah well it's it's It took the Awakened Realms though to really launch it for me. um i agree. yeah I was never into it as it as it was because I had the 10th anniversary or whatever that special edition was. I had that, but I never played it.
01:38:51
Speaker
um But then getting the Awakened Realms edition, it just took it to that next level. But, mate, awesome show. Mate, thank you for your time. And I promise you that I will play a game over the next week.
01:39:04
Speaker
um It'll be a solo game, so I will either look at playing some Final Girl or even i might even get Castle of Burgundy going for a solo play.
01:39:18
Speaker
Well, i'm goingnna i'm goingnna make a I'm going to try and play one of the games that you mentioned in your top ten. I don't know which one yet. It's probably going to be the Power power Grid or maybe even Big Shoulders. I'm going to try and look through your list and go, all right, I'm going to try and play one those this week.
01:39:32
Speaker
So there we Nice. Awesome, mate. Great show. Thanks very much, everyone, for listening. Yeah.