Every Night Is Game Night

We're starting a bit late this year, but that's ok! We are here for you to provide reviews of a TON of games from GenCon 2019. Get buckled in for a series of episodes to cover it all. Helping Jason for Part One of our Wrapup coverage are Colin and Steve from the One Stop Coop Shop podcast and YouTube channel. Before we get into the games, we announced the creation of a new fan group for Every Night is Game Night over at the One Stop Coop Shop Slack channel. We go over how it works in the show. If you are interested in joining a small, engaged part of the ENGN fandom and have direct access to me and my content, please join us! Just click this link: bit.ly/onestopslack We cram 6 games into an hour of fun for this episode. We got: Roll for Adventure (7:01) Legendary: A James Bond Deckbuilding Game (15:15) Horrified (21:20) Pandemic: Rapid Response (32:53) Arkham Horror: Final Hour (43:22) Quirky Circuits (51:27)

Jason welcomes Jordan Shoenberger, host of the Second Chance Shelf segment from Board Game Breakfast, to the show for the first time. Before we get swept up in the madness of all the new releases of 2019 (believe me, people, there are MANY episodes of new hotness coming), we slow things down and talk about what we love about finding rare gems and pulling old, beloved games off of the shelf. We then get into some reviews of some older games for lots of different tastes. Jason begins with Citadel of Blood (14:18), a relic of an earlier generation of dice-based dungeon crawling games that nevertheless holds some charm and also some design ideas for a newer generation. Jordan then shares about a hidden favorite among solo gamers, Walnut Grove (20:47). Thanks so much to Jordan for being someone who actually has that game and wanted to talk about it! Next up, Jason talks about Bethel Woods, a simple game with a Mancala-esque mechanism that's fairly unique in the cooperative space (29:45). Finally, Jordan takes us h

Jason welcomes good friend Gary Pope from the Dice Tower to talk about... uh, talking! Games first, though. Jason shares about World Shapers, a rare drafting game with a solo variant from Board&Dice that attempts to put its own spin and advance upon games like 7 Wonders and Tides of Time. Then, Gary sings the praises of one of his favorite games over the past few years, Heroes of Land, Air, and Sea. For our discussion, Jason and Gary pull from their experiences as a marriage counselor and forum moderator, respectively, to chat about how we help people who disagree talk to one another. Is it possible to strike a balance between keeping forum spaces safe, but also allowing critical conversation? What can we do when people start to take conversations personally? We get into these and many other questions. In Liz We Trust - Burgle Bros 2 - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fowers/burgle-bros-2-the-casino-capers

We have two separate segments for you this week. First, Brandt from the Portal Gaming Podcast joins Jason to chat about SpaceCorp 2025-2300 AD, a card driven space exploration game that plays more like a Euro than what we're used to from GMT. Second, Jason and Liz are joined by a listener, Tommy Ray, to chat about how they have recently gotten into wargaming. There's a lot of barriers to overcome - where to start, how to get used to the massive time investment, becoming a part of that community, etc. We break it all down, including some game talk about favorites like GMT's Falling Sky and DVG's Thunderbolt Apache Leader. We hope this helps you open up another avenue of gaming in your life. In Liz we Trust - Cosmic Run: Express - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/337407318/cosmic-run-express-promo-packs?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=cosmic%20run

We made it to Episode 150! To mark the occasion, Jason is going to try a whole new style of reviewing games, which will hopefully stick moving forward. Jason is very interested in the psychological experience of a board game, whether its the thematic, imaginative immersion it generates or the strategic, logical challenge it presents. That distinction folds nicely in with the concept in pop psychology of the "right brain" (creative, "big picture') and "left brain" (analytical, detail-oriented). So, when Jason reviews games moving forward, the critical questions will be about game experience from these two perspectives. Unless, of course, you all think this is a terrible idea. If so, please let me know! The first game for review is Waters of Nereus (19:17), a simple economic, convert-stuff-into-more-stuff-into-points game with a touch of exploration and spatial movement to complement. Next up is Crisis at Steamfall (26:51), a tactical game with a significant Euro feel, especially in the way you build the action

There's a lot going on in Jason's life nowadays! We're slowing down the content train once again so we could catch up a bit. No new ENGN content this week. In the meantime, please enjoy this conversation that happened last week on Board Gamers Anonymous. Chris and his friend Jen discuss women in gaming - feeling comfortable in gaming spaces, different ways in which women and men interact at the table, little ways to make things better, and a ton more. Jason was a huge fan of the convo and will follow up with some thoughts or a guest discussion... uh, eventually :slightly_smiling_face:. BGA blog post from Jen - https://boardgamersanonymous.com/bras-and-boardgames/

Jason welcomes Rob Daviau to the pod for the first time to chat storytelling in gaming, joined also by ENGN veterans Peter and Mike from the One-Stop Coop Shop podcast. We get into some of the essential differences between old school and new school game design, and whether the different approaches and philosophies generate different stories (better? worse? basically the same?) at the table. As far as game commentary, we get into the original Dark Tower and some of the modernization challenges that Restoration Games has faced. We also chat about some of the differences between Pandemic Legacy Season One vs. Season Two, and whether the different approaches to the overall story were equally effective across the two games. We certainly cover lots of ground in this one.

We're back! ENGN listeners know that Jason loves his big, honking adventure games. A really clever and unique one from Letzring Games will launch on Kickstarter this Monday, July 29th. We're chatting Adventure Tactics: Domianne's Tower from three different perspectives - the deck construction and tactical planning on the hero side, the set-piece, cinematic nature of combat in the system, and a whimsical fantasy story. If you've ever wanted to play Final Fantasy Tactics on a big board, this one might be for you.

A few episodes ago, Jason shared about his personal journey with depression in a personal chat segment. The response was very heartening - folks seemed to resonate with it and expressed their appreciation in a few private messages. Thank you! We all have a journey, or a personal story with some pain in it. Jeremy from Jambalaya Plays Games stops by and shares some of his own experiences, struggles, and successes. That will happen in the back half of the episode (38:52). For the first part of the episode, please enjoy some game reviews! We have two very opposite games for you this week - the abstract, family weight, city building game Tiny Towns (6:50) and the thematic, adventure card game experience Legends Untold (20:09). If you listen to ENGN just to have fun, please enjoy the first half! However, if you want to hear about the personal journey of a good friend and his efforts to stay happy and creating content for himself and for all of you, then I invite you to listen to his story. Please reach out to him

We have more game reviews this week, as well as something of a follow-up on last week's conversation about the psychology of cheating in board games. We welcome Anthony back to the show to discuss Aerion, the latest in the Oniverse series (3:55), then Jason talks about a unique, push-your-luck take on deckbuilding, Heroes of Tenefyr (14:01). Finally, Jason revisits the topic of the psychology of cheating, but in a different way. The board gaming community became wrapped up in some controversy this past week - a creator was noted for committing plagiarism on their blog. A lot of "naming and shaming" happened, as well as people wondering why anyone would be driven to plagiarize. Jason shares about some of the pit traps that creators can face - they're much more common than you might think. In Liz we Trust - Roll Player: Fiends and Familiars - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1152516291/roll-player-fiends-and-familiars-expansion?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=roll%20player

Shout out to Marcus Brissman over in the Sporadically Board Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/510403706050913/ - who put up an excellent, interesting thread on cheating in board games a few weeks ago. In response, Jason reached out to a blogger on BGG who wrote about cheating in board games a few years ago, Dr. Corey Butler, professor of social psychology at Southwest Minnesota State University. What drives people to cheat? Who cheats? How often does it occur? For those who have cheated, how do they justify their behavior? If you cheat at a solo game and no one sees, does it count as cheating? We attempt to answer these and more questions about the psychological aspects of cheating. In Liz we Trust: Legends of Novus - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fundamentalgames/legends-of-novus?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=legends%20of%20novus

Whenever the Kickstarter Roundup crew gets together, we always have more games to talk about than we can manage in one episode. So, Liz from Beyond Solitaire, Jeremy from Jambalaya Plays Games, and Jason have four more games for your listening pleasure. We begin by leaning in to the roll and write craze that's hitting our hobby. Jeremy shares about Cartographers (2:20), the new one from Thunderworks Games which adds spacial and mapping elements to the formula. Then, the entire crew gushes about Fleet: The Dice Game (10:47), one of the most complex and combo-licious roll and write games on the market today. For our last two games, we get into some much more niche and out-of-left-field offerings. Liz tells us about Wars of Marcus Aurelius (21:35), a tower defense-style wargame with strong historical flavor for a Latin fangirl like Liz to enjoy. Finally, Jason shared about the very interesting grid-based puzzle game meets Jenga experience, Sarah's Vision (27:37). Finally, with all of these games, we inevitably h

The Kickstarter roundup crew is back! Liz from Beyond Solitaire and Jeremy from Jambalaya Plays Games rejoin Jason as we take a tour through all of the amazing projects we have been playing lately. This week, all of our games share the fact that they have fantasy-based themes. First, Jeremy and Liz insisted that ENGN re-visit our review of Aeon's End: Legacy (2:44). Jason was up and down with his thoughts, so Liz and Jeremy want to set him straight! Next up, Liz shares about Call to Adventure (9:30), the very, very light dice chucking game of making a fantasy character and living out an adventure story. We'll let you know if it's worth it for "real' gamers. After that, Jason and Jeremy get into two games that both put new school design chrome on old school, dice driven, epic games engines. Jason chats about Gloom of Kilforth (21:20) and Jeremy shares about Folklore: The Affliction (36:50). Finally, we get into a little chat about folks who consistently ask for fantasy game recommendations on different online

Jason is moving this month, so we're slowing down the content train just a bit this week. Jason did two guest spots on other podcasts, which you may have already heard. If you have, then please enjoy some other podcasts and come back next week for all new stuff. If you haven't heard, then please enjoy some snippets from other shows that you should be listening to! The first part is a review of U-Boot: The Board game that Jason did with Steve and Elijah from the One Stop Coop Shop podcast. This is a cooperative WWII simulation game that's dripping with theme and immersion. Check out a bit of the conversation here. If you want to hear the full version, check out the longer pod here: https://soundcloud.com/user-318456537/87-u-boot For the second half of this episode, Jason stopped by the flagship show, Board Gamers Anonymous, to chat about games based on the Game of Thrones IP: A Song of Ice and Fire miniatures game, Game of Thrones LCG, and Game of Thrones: The Board Game. You can listen to the full episode, wi

Although the ENGN crew won't make it to the big show in Ohio this year, we're still interested in all of the new games that will be demoed and played this year. First we review the games we previewed last year, letting you know if they ended up worth checking out (hint: one of us has a great record, and one falls on his face). After that, we chat about a bunch of games we are really looking forward to, including Jason's usual gaggle of adventure games and Anthony's pile of roll 'n' writes. If you plan to attend origins, let us know what you played and what you liked! In Liz We Trust - Battlestations: Dirtside https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gorillagames/battlestations-dirtside?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=battlestations

We are tacking a very critical subject this week - board game reviewers who receive payment for their reviews. A lot of folks in the various forums and social medias have been discussing the topic, which was inspired by a video posted by Rodney Smith on paid reviews - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7LSY6HOX5c&t=1s. I invited a couple of content creators on to talk about the issue - Liz Davidson from Beyond Solitaire, as well as first time ENGN guest Lance Myxter, the Undead Viking. We engage in a long, critical discussion about the topic from two very different perspectives (if you know the Undead Viking, you know the conversation would stretch a bit!). Some of the questions we consider: Should reviewers be paid for their work? Who should pay, the publisher or the consumer? How do paid reviews impact consumer trust? What are the ethical implications? How do review copies or sponsorships play into the issue? And more! It's a topic that stirs up a lot of emotions, which can be a real drag. However, we sin

If you heard our last episode with the Top Ten Fantasy Games, you’ll know that the Sadlers will soon hit Kickstarter again with Alter Quest. This is a huge, new fantasy adventure game, combined with the same Modular Deck System as Street Masters and Brook City. The Sadlers elaborate on influences like Hero Quest and Descent, then talk about how their game tries to capture the magic of old school, wondrous adventure with new school mechanisms. And, oh yeah, furniture! Mike also provides insights as a playtester.

We welcome back Adam and Brady Sadler to talk about another big, honking project of theirs from Blacklist Games, Altar Quest! However, instead of a straight-up preview, Jason figured it would be fun to invite the guys on to share their main influences for crafting their newest fantasy Kickstarter project. So, along with Mike Dilisio from Solomode Games, we put together a list of Top Ten Fantasy Tabletop Games. We all made our personal Top Tens, then smushed them together to make an uber list. Spoiler alert: Adam and Brady have a LOT to say about two games that seem like no brainers for a list like this - Mage Knight and Gloomhaven. Come check out what they have to say about these and a host of other fantasy games. Also, we will have a full preview of Altar Quest coming out for you next week.

We go card game crazy once again in this episode. Jason begins with Tiny Ninjas (5:48), a very small, single deck, card dueling game with chibi ninjas, dice, and an interesting wrinkle on attacking and defending. Anthony then shares about Oh My Goods with the Longsdale expansion that adds a more robust solo mode and a campaign (11:32). Jason then welcomes Nettersplays, Annette Villa, on to the podcast to talk about a personal favorite for both of us, Race for the Galaxy (24:58). It's easy to walk into that game and get completely smoked by a decent opponent, so we have some tips and strategies for you to avoid that fate. Can you name the four basic RftG strategies that will lead you to victory (or, less embarrassing defeat)?

We welcome Anthony back to the pod after a short, child-inspired excursion, just in time for some cooperative games! Anthony's favorite type of game, for sure. First, we get into Fuji (5:05), a unique game from the designer of The Mind. Fuji returns to the concept of limited communication between players, only with dice and a race game feel. We get into reviewing Fuji as well as consider the general question of whether The Mind can truly be considered a "game". Then, we get into Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle Earth (17:55). If you want to hear more about mechanisms here, please check out Anthony's main podcast, Board Gamers Anonymous, episode 219. Here, we get into more nitty-gritty issues such as the presence (and possible intrusiveness) of the app, as well as how well this game integrates the Lord of the Rings theme.