Botch Games Podcast

In our first fifth week minisode we take a look at the different learning stlyes of our little group from the mouths of each group member. Each of us talks for a few minutes about how we learn to play new games and how our group can accomodate each learning style to promote an atmosphere of fun and learning.  We hope you enjoy this little episode and we'll be back next week with a full length episode! Show Times: Craig's Spiel: 3:00 Erin's Speech: 5:55 Tyler's Summary: 7:10 Duke's Sales-Pitch: 9:30 B's Story: 11:25 Chuck's Scoop: 12:50 Wrap-up: 13:55

In episode 19, Craig and Duke discuss the social contract of gathering at the table to play games: what is expected as a participant, how to function as part of the group, and the faux pas that ruin game nights. They get in depth with two games they're playing: At the Gates of Loyang from Z-man Games and Last will by Czech Games Edition. In Kickstarter talk, they look at Neon Sanctum and Burgle Bros. and talk about the hits their wallets have taken recently. Lastly, in their What the What segment, they finally define "Botch Games."  Show Times: At the Gates of Loyang (Z-Man Games): 8:00 Last Will (Czech Games Edition): 16:00 Burgle Bros. Kickstarter (Tim Fowers): 30:30 Neon Sanctum Kickstarter (Grenade Punch Games): 35:45 What the What?! "Botch Games": 40:30 Topic: Social Contract: 45:00

In episode 18, Craig and guest co-host Duke discuss the struggle of scaling their four and five player games down to a two player format for spousal gaming: What games do it right? What games do it wrong? How can designers better figure in scalability? They also discuss a number of games including Deus from Pearl Games, XCOM The Board Game from Fantasy Flight, and Star Realms from White Wizard Games. They talk some kickstarter games such as Vault Wars from Floodgate Games, Entropy from Allen Chang, and Valeria Card Kingdoms from Daily Magic. In their What the What?! segment, Craig defines what a 4x game is and what must exist for a game to be called a 4x game. Lastly, they recap some local gaming events with the grand opening Pi day celebration at the Malted Meeple, and the Board Game flea market at Underhills Games before subjecting Duke to a little game of Know Your Podcaster Lightning Round. Show Times: Deus (Pearl Games): 2:15 XCOM The Board Game (Fantasy Flight): 9:15 Star Realms (White Wizard): 19:45 En

In Episode 17, Craig and guest-co-host B discuss a few games they've played this week: Aquasphere from Stefan Feld and Tasty Minstrel Games, and Kingsburg from Fantasy Flight. In Kickstarter news, they talk about Above and Below from Ryan Laukat and Red Raven Games. During the What the What?! segment, Craig defines what a pasted on theme which leads to a discussion on what came first, the Mechanic or the Theme? In the main topic of this episode, Craig and B set up a theme game night with a plethora of Antoine Bauza games, ranging from the simplistic to the complex and everything in between, and their ideas on implementing a Bauza game night, including games like Tokaido, Hanabi, Ghost stories, and 7 Wonders. Finally Craig subjects B to the "know your podcaster lightning round"! Show Times: Kingsburg (Fantasy Flight): 3:45 Aquasphere (Tasty Minstrel): 11:15 Above and Below (Red Raven Games): 23:00 Between Two Cities (Stonemaier Games): 27:00 What the What?! Pasted-On Theme: 28:30 Main Topic: An Evening of Bauz

In Episode 16, Craig and Dave tackle the fringes of the role of art in hobby games, touching on the characterisctics artwork and design adds to the look, play style, and theme of games. They discuss a few games they've played this week including Samurai Spirit from Funforge and Antoine Bauza, Ancient Terrible Things from Pleasant Company Games, and Wizard Dodgeball from Peter Newland and Mind the Gap Studios. They talk some kickstarter hype with Dragoon from Lay Waste Games, Between Two Cities from Jamey Stegmaier, and Project Dreamscape from Ben Haskett. In their What the What segment, they take a few minutes to define and describe the term point salad weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the mechanic. Lastly, in a new segment, you get to learn a little bit about everyone's favorite bearded co-host, Dave, in out "Know Your Podcaster Lightning Round" Show Times: Samurai Spirit (Funforge): 4:00 Ancient Terrible Things (Pleasant Company Games): 11:30 Wizard Dodgeball (Mind The Gap Studios): 16:15 COMING

In our third special episode of Botch Plays, Craig, Erin, Chuck, and Lindsay sit down to play a game of "Bad Medicine" by Gil Hova of Formal Ferret studios. Listen to nearly a full game as Craig sits with three actual nurses while we attempt to cure the world of a myriad of ridiculous maladies in this pharmaceutical party game!

In Episode 15, Craig and guest-host Sound-Editor-Chuck enter into a world of Euros and discuss the games Panamax from Stronghold Games, Viticulture from Stonemaier Games, and Agrocila from Z-Man. They talk about their plays of Titans of Empyrean from 9 Kingdoms and its Kickstarter Campaign. In their What the What? segment, Craig defines ALpha Gamer and the fine line between helping and hindering fellow players. In their main segment, they discuss the recent trend of App integration into board gaming looking at titles like X-Com, Golem Arcana, Alchemists, and World of Yo-Ho. Finally they answer a listener question from Todd Kauk about strategy per minute games, and getting the most strategical bang for your time investment buck!   Show Times: Viticulture (Stonemaier Games): 6:00 Panamax (Stronghold Games): 14:00 Agricola (Z-Man Games): 26:00 Titans of Empyrean (9 Kingdoms): 30:15 Bad Medicine (Formal Ferret): 41:15 Trickerion Kickstarter (Mindclash Games): 45:00 What the What? Alpha Gamer: 48:00 Main Theme: Ap

In Episode 14, Craig and Dave gear up for another midnight recording in an attempt to live like children again. They had an amazing week of games and picked four to discuss this week: Diamonds from Stronghold Games, Yardmaster from Crash Games, Elder Sign from Fantasy Flight, and Scoville from Tasty Minstrel. Craig tracks down the etymological roots of the word Meeple in their "What the What" segment. In their Kickstarter discussion they look at the final numbers of Conan and talk about Epic Dice Tower Defense. They hype up X-men Mutant Revolution from Wizkids and GF9 and Uncharted Seas from Spartan Games. Lastly, they dive into their main topic which is going in depth with a few expansions which completely change the rules of a game, but not in a good way.   Show Times: Diamonds (Stronghold): 5:00 Yardmaster (Crash Games): 12:00 Elder Sign (Fantasy Flight): 22:00 Scoville (Tasty Minstrel Games): 29:45 What the What?! Meeple Etymology: 39:45 Conan Kickstarter: 44:15 Epic Dice Tower Defense Kickstarter: 48:00

In our second special episode of Botch Plays, we bring But Wait, There's More (Toyvault, Bamboozle Bros.) back to the Table, but this time with a different cast of characters. Join Craig, our sound editor Chuck, Craig's 12 year old son, Tyler, and our group staple, Brandon, as we once again try to pitch products that will change the world!

In Episode 13, Craig and Dave discuss the important topic of what criteria, mechanics, or other qualities make a board game a keeper, one they keep going back to. They also take a look at a number of small games, like Spyfall, releasing later this year from Cryptozoic, Lost Legacy: The Starship from Alderac, Bandu from Zoch, and the Bravest Warriors Cooperative Dice Game from Cyptozoic. They also announce their Valentines Day Games for Two Giveaway where they're giving away a copy of Patchwork, designed by Uwe Rosenberg and published by Mayfair and Akrotiri, designed by Jay Cormier and Sen-Foong Lim and published by Z-Man Games. They also discuss upcoming reviews from the Indie Game Alliance line of games, define FLGS in their What the What? segment and talk about a bunch of games on Dave's list. Lastly, they pick up the guantlet thrown down by a fellow podcaster. Ball's in your court now.   Show Times: Spyfall (Cryptozoic): 3:00 Lost Legacy: The Starship (AEG): 10:45 Bandu (Zoch): 16:30 Bravest Warriors Dice

In episode 12, Craig and Dave discuss a few online board gaming platforms such as Vassal, Tabletop Simulator, and Board Game Arena, loking at both the pros and cons of each. They also talk about the games they finally got each other to play: Dead of Winter, Warhammer 40,000 Conquest, and Diamonsters. Lastly they talk some games they're getting to the table soon with Bausack and Dystopian Wars. In their "What the What?" segment, Craig defines Worker Placement games, and they discuss their excitement for the Malted Meeple, a new Board Game Pub in Northeast Ohio.   Show Times:  But Wait There's More Extra Content: 1:30 Dead of Winter (Plaid Hat): 6:30 Diamonsters (IDW): 13:30 Warhammer 40,000 Conquest (Fantasy Flight): 23:30 Bausack (Zoch): 32:00 Dystopian Wars (Spartan Games): 34:45 What the What? Worker Placement Games Defined: 44:30 Show Theme: Digital Board Game Platforms: 49:00 (Tabletop Simulator, Vassal Engine, Board Game Arena) Malted Meeple: 1:08:45 

A special segment from Botch Games where they play social games live in your ears. In this episode, Craig, Dave, Alex, and Erin play a print and play copy of  "But Wait There's More" from the Bamboozle Brothers set for an early February release. 

In Episode 11, Craig and Dave discuss the Uwe Rosenburg 2 Player game, Patchwork, Viticulture from Stonemaier games, and Stone Age from Rio Grande. They dig in depth into Campaign games such as Mordheim, Gorkamorka, Arcadia Quest, and Pathfinder the Card Game. They take time to define the gaming term AP (Analysis Paralysis), talk some kickstarter games, discuss a new gaming pub opening up in their home state of Ohio, and get hyped over hanging with BotchNation at Origins and Gen Con. Lastly they look at two gaming websites: Gameshelf.se and the Humble Card Game Bundle.   Show Times: Malted Meeple: 4:00 Shadows of Brimstone (Flying Frog): 7:00 Gen Con/Origins: 11:00 Exploding Kittens(Elan Lee): 16:00 Patchwork (Mayfair): 17:30 Viticulture (Stonemaier): 24:00 Stone Age (Rio Grande): 27:30 Botch Definitions--AP: 34:00 Campaign Games: 42:30 Humble Card Game Bundle: 1:08:00 Gameshelf: 1:11:00 Conan Kickstarter (Monolith): 1:13:00   Epic PVP Kickstarter (Fun to 11): 1:16:00

In Episode 10 Craig and Dave discuss the two player game, Akrotiri, Imperial Settlers from POrtal Games, and have a heated debate over Kaosball from CoolMiniOrNot. They also talk rarities and reprints of games by looking at Tentacle Bento (ugh). Lastly they discuss a theme presented by a listener which is some tips and tricks to get your significant other to try a board game with you!   Show Times: Akrotiri (Z-Man Games, Bamboozle Brothers): 6:30 Tentacle Bento (Soda Pop Miniatures): 28:30 Imperial Settlers (Portal Games): 33:30 Kaosball (CoolMiniOrNot): 39:00 Tiny Epic Games Kickstarter (Gamelyn Games): 1:00:00 Mordheim?! (Games Workshop): 1:04:00 Getting your Significant Other to Try a Game: 1:09:00

In Episode 9, Craig and Dave discuss lots of games they've been playing such as Crossroads: Dead of Winter from Plaid Hat Games, and Warhammer 40k Conquest from Fantasy Flight. Also they finally played and have a battle report for Robotech Tactics from Palladium using the cityfight terrain from Dropzone Commander. They go in depth talking of ways to reincorporate older games back into your play rotation. Lastly, the both admit their kickstarter spending problem and realize they need to walk away from their computers.   Show Times: Crossroads: Dead of Winter (Plaid Hat Games): 2:30 Warhammer 40,000 Conquest (Fantasy Flight): 11:15 Slap 45 (Gnarwhal Studios): 24:30 Pairs (ChaepAssGames): 27:00 Robotech Tactics (Palladium) and Cityfight Terrain (Hawk Wargames): 32:00 Craig's Definition: Ameritrash: 47:45 In Depth: Getting Older Games Back to Table: 51:30 Pixel Tactics Kickstarter (Lvl 99 Games): 1:08:00 Rum and Bones Kickstarter (CoolMiniorNot): 1:09:45 Spyfall (Cryptozoic): 1:10:15 Spyfall Online: 1:11:15  

In episode 8, Dave and Craig talk about some of the games they've been playing this week, with a focus on gaming with their families. Craig talks Rumble in the House and Loot Letter, and Dave talks some younger games he plays with his 3 year old, including Sneaky Snacky Squirrel. They also hype some games they want to get their hands on including Xia and Wir Sind Das Volk. Lastly, they wrap up with their best bang for your buck, most games possible, $100 list to start a collection for anyone newer to the hobby with three lists, each targetted at a differing preferred play style.  Show Times: Rumble in the House (Flatlined Games):6:00 My Little Pony: Rainbow Magic (Hasbro): 14:30 Sneaky Snacky Squirrel (Educational Insights): 17:30 Munchkin Loot Letter (AEG, SJ Games): 18:30 Red7 (Asmadi): 21:00 Xia: Legends of a Drift System (Far Off Games): 30:00 Wir Sind Das Volk! (Histogame): 34:30 Yo-Kai Watch Model Kits: 36:45 Cards Against Humanity Puzzle Wrap-up: 41:00 $100 Collection Starter Lists: 46:30

In Epidsode 7 of the Botch Games Podcast, Dave and Craig discuss the last two games in the Alderac Black Box: Doomtown Seventh Hero and Trains. They also list their personal New Years gaming resolutions and resolutions for the blog and podcast. Finally, they go in depth on some entry level games to teach non-gaming friends and family, equating each game to a traditional game as a way to introduce new players to the hobby.  Have a Happy New Year!   Show Times: Doomtown Seventh Hero (AEG): 3:00 Trains (AEG): 10:00 Black Box Giveaway Winner: 20:00 New Years Gaming Resolutions: 24:00 Why Don't We Drink?: 48:00 Intro/Entry Level Games: 50:00 Red7 (Asmadi): 53:00 Fluxx (Looney Labs): 55:00 Love Letter (AEG): 56:30 Tsuro (Calliope):59:00 Jungle Speed: 1:10:30 Settlers of Catan (Mayfair): 1:05:15 Zombie Dice/Chupacabra: SUrvive the Night (SJ Games): 1:08:15 Ticket to Ride (Days of Wonder): 1:13:00 Splendor (Space Cowboys): 1:16:30

In Episode 6, Dave and Craig look at some games they've been playing, such as Castlesof Mad King Ludwig from Bezier Games and Chupacabra Dice from Steve Jackson Games. Also they each discuss an impromptu kickstarter campagn they're dying to back (Pixel Tactics Deluxe and Rum and Bones). Finally they go in depth discussing their history with miniature games and a guide on how to find the best miniature game for you and how to edge your way into the hobby! Show Times: Castles of Mad King Ludwig (Bezier): 2:30 Kaosball (CoolMiniOrNot): 9:45 Chupacabra Dice (SJ Games): 13:00 Pixel Tactics Deluxe Edition (Lvl99): 22:00 Rum and Bones (CoolMiniOrNot): 26:30 Grail Games: 27:30 In Depth: Miniature Games: 35:00

Episode 5 is where you get to hear the crinkling of gift wrap as we open our gifts to each other for the frst annual Botch Christmas-Cast! We discuss the games we been playing like Mars Attacks: The Dice Game fro Steve Jackson Games and Pandemic:The Cure from Z-Man Games. Also we talk in depth about Cooperative board games and why we feel that evey gaming group should have a few in their collection. As a special bonus, you get to hear thoughts from and discussion with our always talked about, but never heard from, sound editor Chuck. Lastly as a special year end giveaway, spawned from our love of the collection of games and our love for you, our listeners, we're giving away a copy of AEG's Black Friday Black Box! It's double the love giveaway! Show Times:  AEG Black Box Giveaway!: 2:00 Mars Attacks: The Dice Game (Steve Jackson Games): 5:30 Pandemic: The Cure (Z-Man Games): 13:45 First Annual Botch Christmas-Cast!: 21:00 Doomtown Reloaded (AEG): 22:45 Castles of Mad King Ludwig (Bezier): 25:00 Arcadia Quest K

Episode 4 of the Botch Games podcast where we dig more in depth into the games in AEG's Black Box, take a look at Mantic's Mars Attacks, and talk at length about Dice Mechanics in a wide scope of games.  Show Times:  AEG Black Box: 1:45 Maximum Throwdown Overload: 4:00 Guildhall: Seven Seas: 11:15 Mars Attacks: 18:00  Star Wars Imperial Assault: 36:00 In Depth: Dice Mechanics: 43:30