Explore every episode of the podcast Lens and Veil Podcast

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this first episode they discuss Daybreak by Matt Leacock and Matteo Menapace. Daybreak is a co-operative game about climate action. Each player controls a world power, deploying policies and technologies to both dismantle the engine of global heating and to build resilient societies that protect people from life-threatening crises.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:02:36 - Intro
0:02:53 - Overview of Daybreak
0:05:44 - Discussion of Daybreak
0:41:30 - Questions for audience
0:41:55 - If you could change the victory condition for any board game, which one would it be and why?

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from Jessy Ribordy Studios

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this second episode they discuss Path of Civilization by Fabien Gridel. Path of Civilization is a competitive civilization game with simultaneous play. Each player takes the reins of a civilization, striving to make it the most prosperous over the 9 rounds of the game through researching new technologies to improve your nation's Science, Military strength, Spirituality, Culture and Industrialization.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:02:15 - Intro
0:02:35 - Overview of Path of Civilization
0:05:05 - Discussion of Path of Civilization
0:32:54 - Questions for audience
0:33:21 - If you could choose any game to have a legacy version which would you choose and why?
0:38:22 - If you had to work on the legacy version of a Garphill Game, which would it be and why?

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from Jessy Ribordy Studios

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Skara Brae by Shem Phillips. Skara Brae is a unique resource management game based on the neolithic settlement of Skara Brae in modern day Scotland. Players take turns drafting Village Cards and using their Workers to Furnish, Cook, Craft, Clean, and Trade. At the end of each Round, players need to provide for their Settlers and will likely create more Midden that needs to be cleaned up.

Skara Brae is currently live on Kickstarter here until 9 October 2024.

📜Chapters: 0:00:00 - Which would you prefer? 0:03:20 - Intro 0:03:41 - Overview of Skara Brae 0:04:20 - Discussion of Skara Brae 0:48:25 - Questions for audience 0:48:50 - Which board game would you prefer as a video game, and why?

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Darwin's Journey by Simone Luciani and Nestore Mangone. Darwin's Journey is a worker-placement Eurogame in which players recall Charles Darwin's memories of his adventure through the Galapagos islands, which contributed to the development of his theory of evolution.

📜Chapters:

0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?

0:05:03 - Intro

0:05:20 - Overview of Darwin's Journey

0:07:03 - Discussion of Darwin's Journey

1:11:32 - Questions for audience

1:11:59 - If you could give a modern board game to your teenage self, which one would you choose and why?

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In episode they discuss Nippon by Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro and Paulo Soledade. Nippon is a an area majority eurogame in which players control Zaibatsu (Japanese Conglomerates) and try to develop their web of power by investing in new industries, improving their technological knowledge, shipping goods to foreign countries or using them to satisfy local needs, and growing their influence and power as they oversee the era of rapid industrialisation of Japan.

📜Chapters:

• 0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
• 0:03:22 - Intro
• 0:03:38 - Overview of Nippon
• 0:06:15 - Discussion of Nippon
• 0:58:04 - Questions for audience
• 0:58:25 - If you redesign any board game that exists, which one would you choose?

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In episode they discuss Unconscious Mind by Laskas, Jonny Pac, Yoma, Antonio Zax. Unconscious Mind is a euro-style game featuring worker placement, engine building, multiple rondels, and cascading effects. Players take the role of contemporaries and colleagues of Sigmund Freud, renowned psychoanalyst, and aim to formulate new therapeutic techniques, establish a practice, grow your clientele, and become Freud’s most distinguished contemporary.

📜Chapters:

• 0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
• 0:05:12 - Intro
• 0:05:29 - Overview of Unconscious Mind
• 0:06:49 - Discussion of Unconscious Mind
• 1:08:15 - Questions for audience
• 1:08:41 - If you had one chance to convince someone that modern board games are fun, which game would you play with them?

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements. In this episode they discuss Scythe by Jamey Stegmaier. Scythe is an engine-building game set in a 1920s era, alternate-history. Players take turns performing 1-2 actions in the race to build up their faction and earn the most coins by the end of the game. 📜Chapters: 0:00:00 - Which would you prefer? 0:04:17 - Intro 0:04:31 - Overview of Scythe 0:09:03 - Discussion of Scythe 1:08:19 - Questions for audience 1:08:37 - If you could only play one board game genre for the rest of your life, which would it be? ⭐About the Cast Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023). Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG. Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development. 🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements. In this episode they discuss Tides of Trade by Shem Phillips and S J Macdonald. Tides of Trade is an expansion to Wayfarers of the South Tigris which gives players the means to upgrade their workers, recruit traders, and compete for influence over the new red guild. The expansion also includes a flurry of additional cards for each draw pile. 📜Chapters: 0:00:00 - Which would you prefer? 0:06:33 - Intro 0:06:49 - Overview of Tides of Trade 0:09:31 - Discussion of Tides of Trade 0:46:40 - Questions for audience 0:46:57 - If you could design a game for any IP (intellectual property), which IP would it be and what would the game be like? ⭐About the Cast Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023). Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG. Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development. 🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements. In this episode they discuss Body of Books by Shem Phillips and S J Macdonald. Body of Books is an expansion to Scholars of the South Tigris which introduces a new black Medicine Research Track, black Dice, and the concept of publishing books. The expansion brings in more of a focus towards engine building and creating interesting combinations of retired translators and published works. 📜Chapters: 0:00:00 - Which would you prefer? 0:06:41 - Intro 0:06:57 - Overview of Body of Books 0:07:35 - Discussion of Body of Books 0:45:16 - Questions for audience 0:45:34 - What is your favourite expansion to any game? ⭐About the Cast Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023). Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG. Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development. 🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements. In this episode they discuss Era of Experts by Shem Phillips and S J Macdonald. Era of Experts is an expansion to Inventors of the South Tigris which provides 12 unique playable characters to the game. Each character comes with its own special abilities, starting bonuses, and motivations. 📜Chapters: 0:00:00 - Which would you prefer? 0:09:15 - Intro 0:09:32 - Overview of Era of Experts 0:09:42 - Discussion of Era of Experts 0:53:11 - Questions for audience 0:53:30 - For which game would you like to either see an expansion or another expansion? ⭐About the Cast Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023). Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG. Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development. 🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Cooper Island by Andreas Odendahl. Cooper Island is a worker placement game with a unique resource system based on the height of tiles on your personal island.

📜Chapters:

0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?

0:04:08 - Intro0:04:23 - Overview of Cooper Island

0:07:06 - Discussion of Cooper Island

0:49:55 - Questions for audience

0:50:16 - What is your favourite overlooked or underrated game?

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence by Tomáš Holek. SETI is a card driven eurogame where you lead a scientific institution tasked with searching for traces of life beyond planet Earth. Players will explore nearby planets and their moons by launching probes from Earth while taking advantage of ever-shifting planetary positions, direct their telescopes to gaze into distant star systems and collect promising data to examine and study back home.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:07:55 - Intro
0:08:11 - Overview of SETI
0:12:13 - Discussion of SETI
1:11:40 - Questions for audience
1:11:59 - NEW SEGMENT: Weekly Board Game Dilemma

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Golem by Flaminia Brasini, Virginio Gigli, and Simone Luciani. Golem is an engine building game based on the 16th-century legend of the Golem of Prague, an anthropomorphic creature that Rabbi Loew animated from a clay statue to protect his people. Using a hybrid worker placement and marble selection action system, players will attempt to score the most victory points through three main areas of the game, golems, books, and artifacts.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:06:52 - Intro
0:07:12 - Overview of Golem
0:12:03 - Discussion of Golem
1:08:33 - Questions for audience
1:08:50 - Weekly Board Game Dilemma

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this special episode they perform a snake draft of board game designers into their 5-a-side team. They each need to choose at least 1 attacker, 1 midfielder, 1 defender and 1 new recruit.

Attackers: Designers who have the ability to make real hits, even if they're not always consistent.

Midfielders: Designers who have a wide variety and are prolific.

Defenders: Designers who mostly stay in their lane, but don't have many duds.

New Recruit: A new designer, or someone who hasn't designed many games.

📜Chapters:

• 0:00:00 - Intro
• 0:04:30 - Draft
• 0:40:49 - Captains
• 0:42:34 - Honourable Mentions
• 0:47:40 - A Dilemma!!

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Lost Ruins of Arnak by Elwen and Mín. Lost Ruins of Arnak combines deck-building and worker placement in a game of exploration, resource management, and discovery. In addition to traditional deck-builder effects, cards can also be used to place workers, and new worker actions become available as players explore the island.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:06:03 - Intro
0:06:22 - Overview of Lost Ruins of Arnak
0:11:30 - Discussion of Lost Ruins of Arnak
1:03:38 - Questions for audience
1:04:01 - Weekly Board Game Dilemma

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Assyria Second Edition by Emanuele Ornella, Shem Phillips, and S J Macdonald. In Assyria Second Edition, each round players bid for turn order, expand on the map, and take various actions. After the third and sixth rounds, a flood will occur, wiping away everything along the two rivers. After the final flood, the player with the most points wins. You gain points primarily by building huts and ziggurats, making offerings, and increasing your influence.

Visit the Kickstarter

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:07:55 - Intro
0:08:15 - Discussion of Assyria Second Edition
1:11:55 - Questions for audience
1:12:19 - Kickstarter Overview

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Civolution by Stefan Feld. Civolution is a heavy euro-style sandbox game that uses a dice selection mechanism to trigger actions on a tech tree-like structure. The game has many strategies and paths to victory. Each time you play, you will only explore a fraction of the possibilities that the game’s system and many cards provide.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:10:37 - Intro
0:10:55 - Overview of Civolution
0:20:10 - Discussion of Civolution
0:59:39 - Questions for audience
0:59:58 - Top 200 Draft: 1-10

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this special episode they discuss the nominees for the Kennerspiel Des Jahres 2025: Looot by Charles Chevallier and Laurent Escoffier, Endeavor: Deep Sea by Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray, and Faraway by Johannes Goupy and Corentin Lebrat. They each talk about some things they loved or liked and one thing they disliked about each game, then they each answer the questions: "Which do you think will win?", "Which do you think deserves to win?", and "Which would you like to win?".

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:05:29 - Intro
0:06:06 - Discussion of Looot
0:27:57 - Discussion of Endeavor: Deep Sea
0:56:45 - Discussion of Faraway
1:11:23 - Predictions Introduction
1:11:46 - Which game will win?
1:15:11 - Which game deserves to win?
1:17:56 - Which game would we like to win?

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss A Feast for Odin by Uwe Rosenberg. In A Feast for Odin, players Viking civilisations. In this game, you will raid and explore new territories. You will also engage in the day-to-day activity of collecting goods with which to achieve a financially secure position in society. In the end, the player whose possessions bear the greatest value will be declared the winner.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:04:41 - Intro
0:04:57 - Overview of A Feast for Odin
0:09:09 - Discussion of A Feast for Odin
1:05:03 - Questions for audience
1:05:23 - Top 200 Draft: 41-50

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this anniversary episode marking one year of Lens and Veil, they answer a variety of questions provided by fans in the Garphill Discord.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Intro
0:00:55 - Which would you prefer?
0:05:36 - Quick Fire with Shem
0:08:48 - Q&A and Discussion
1:11:17 - Top 200 Draft: 31-40

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Underwater Cities by Vladimír Suchý. In Underwater Cities, players represent the most powerful brains in the world, brains nominated due to the overpopulation of Earth to establish the best and most livable underwater areas possible. Players take worker placement actions, trying to combine the action with correctly coloured cards in order to gain both bonuses. The game is made up of 10 rounds but with production only occurring 3 times during the game.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:06:12 - Intro
0:06:29 - Overview of Underwater Cities
0:10:12 - Discussion of Underwater Cities
0:54:43 - Questions for audience
0:55:11 - Top 200 Draft: 21-30

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss The Anarchy, and are joined by the game's designer Bobby Hill. In The Anarchy, players take on the role of English nobles loyal to King Stephen during the civil war. Over five rounds, players must build their domain, defend their castle from attacks by the approaching Angevin armies, and storm strongholds loyal to Matilda with their own crafted siege weapons.

You can purchase The Anarchy at garphill.com.

You can find out more about about Bobby's upcoming games on his website here.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Intro
0:00:28 - Which would you prefer?
0:05:06 - Overview of The Anarchy
0:07:06 - Discussion of The Anarchy
0:53:00 - Questions for audience
0:53:25 - Top 200 Draft: 11-20

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Secret Societies by S J Macdonald. This is Sam's second ever solo design after Circadians: First Light. The aim of Secret Societies is to gain the most Power by outbidding and outsmarting your opponents to establish your institute as the one most deserving of total governance. Players step into the role of a highly unique Secret Society, equipped with various tools and abilities to help give them the edge over the competition. Over 7 Rounds you will gain Income, Bid for Deeds, deploy Agents, start Projects, make Investments, and seek to control the all-important Conferences. Secret Societies is currently live on Kickstarter here.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:06:16 - Intro
0:06:31 - Overview of Secret Societies
0:07:56 - Discussion of Secret Societies
1:05:03 - Questions for audience
1:13:35 - Top 200 Draft: 51-60

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship by Matt Leacock. Fate of the Fellowship is a co-operative game in which each player controls two characters, lending their unique abilities to protect Frodo, battle enemies in pivotal locations, and evade the menacing Nazgûl and Sauron's searching Eye.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:07:34 - Intro
0:07:51 - Overview of Fate of the Fellowship
0:10:40 - Discussion of Fate of the Fellowship
0:55:05 - Questions for audience
0:55:28 - Top 200 Draft: 81-90

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Through the Ages by Vlaada Chvátil. Through the Ages is a civilisation building game. Each player attempts to build the best civilisation through careful resource management, and by: discovering new technologies, electing competent leaders, building wonders and maintaining a strong military. Weakness in any area can be exploited by your opponents. The game takes place throughout the ages, beginning in the age of antiquity and ending in the modern age.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:04:35 - Intro
0:04:52 - Overview of Through the Ages
0:09:33 - Discussion of Through the Ages
1:07:05 - Questions for audience
1:07:25 - Top 200 Draft: 71-80

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Slay the Spire by Gary Dworetsky, Anthony Giovannetti and Casey Yano. Slay the Spire: The Board Game is a co-operative deck-building, dungeon-crawling adventure based on the video game of the same name. Each player starts with a character with unique abilities and a simple deck of cards that they can improve by adding and removing cards during the game. Slay the Spire is also a rogue-like. That means that when you die you start over from the beginning. The game is divided into Acts. At the end of an Act you can continue, stop and end the adventure there, or save and continue another time! If players defeat the final Boss, they win the game!

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:05:17 - Intro
0:05:34 - Overview of Slay the Spire
0:09:56 - Discussion of Slay the Spire
1:04:45 - Questions for audience
1:05:04 - Top 200 Draft: 61-70

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they count down their top ten games, starting with games 10-6.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:05:16 - Intro
0:05:31 - Preamble, Criteria and Crossover Predictions
0:12:57 - Games 10-6
0:48:14 - Questions for audience
0:48:30 - Top 200 Draft: 91-100

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this second part of the countdown of their top 10 games, they cover games 5-1.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:04:06 - Intro
0:04:21 - Preamble
0:04:37 - Games 5-1
0:41:28 - Questions for audience
0:41:45 - Top 200 Draft: 101-110

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss First Rat by Gabriele Ausiello and Virginio Gigli. In First Rat, players take on the role of rats trying to build a rocket and take over the cheese moon. They do this by moving their rat meeples up the board (junkyard) and collecting junk which they can turn into rocket parts.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:04:27 - Intro
0:04:43 - Overview of First Rat
0:11:33 - Discussion of First Rat
1:02:53 - Questions for audience
1:03:15 - Top 200 Draft: 121-130

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Spirited, their first co-design all together. Spirited is a fast card driven game with push your luck elements where players must build wonders or forge allegiances with the numerous clans of the world. Featuring real historic civilisations interpreted by anthropomorphic animal characters.

Spirited is live on Kickstarter now 👉🏽 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shem/spirited?ref=apmko7

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:07:08 - Intro
0:07:24 - Overview of Spirited
0:10:53 - Discussion of Spirited
1:07:26 - Questions for audience
1:07:44 - Top 200 Draft: 111-120

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Towers of Sifnos by Shem Phillips and S J Macdonald. In Towers of Sifnos players step into the role of an ancient Greek military commander! Prepare your people against raiding pirates by constructing towers, mustering soldiers, and investing into the future of Sifnos. The game ends immediately once the third allied ship is drawn from the bag and the player with the most victory points wins.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:08:16 - Intro
0:08:31 - Overview of Towers of Sifnos
0:13:11 - Discussion of Towers of Sifnos
0:54:51 - Questions for audience
0:55:09 - Top 200 Draft: 171-180

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss The Great Sea by S J Macdonald and Zachary Smith. In The Great Sea players take on the role of Phoenician city states vying for military and commercial control of the Mediterranean Sea. Players must construct and mobilize their ships, fortify their trade routes, and research new technologies for land and sea. Key to their success will be controlling the various ancient temple sites across the map. The game ends immediately once a player's temple marker reaches the same space as either their combat or trade marker.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:07:45 - Intro
0:08:01 - Overview of The Great Sea
0:11:11 - Discussion of The Great Sea
1:00:16 - Questions for audience
1:00:33 - Top 200 Draft: 161-170

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Moon Colony Bloodbath by Donald X. Vaccarino. Moon Colony Bloodbath is an engine-building, engine-losing tableau game, with a shared deck the players build that makes things happen, many of them bad things that kill people in your moon colony, but some positive, and some that let you build up.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:10:01 - Intro
0:10:18 - Overview of Moon Colony Bloodbath
0:13:51 - Discussion of Moon Colony Bloodbath
0:51:28 - Questions for audience
0:51:46 - Top 200 Draft: 151-160

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they each count down the ten games that made them the gamers and designers they are today, starting with games 5-1.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:05:45 - Intro
0:06:03 - Preamble & Criteria
0:07:10 - Games 5-1
0:58:39 - Questions for audience
0:58:57 - Top 200 Draft: 141-150

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they each count down the ten games that made them the gamers and designers they are today, starting with games 10-6.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:05:24 - Intro
0:05:45 - Preamble & Criteria
0:07:24 - Games 10-6
0:52:15 - Questions for audience
0:52:31 - Top 200 Draft: 131-140

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Men-Nefer by Germán P. Millán. In Men-Nefer you relive one of the greatest periods of ancient Egypt, carrying out tasks typical to Egyptian culture: acquiring knowledge in the houses of life, navigating and trading on the Nile River, making offerings to the revered God, embalming the corpses of the nobles to send them off to a better life, erecting beautiful sphinxes, and contributing to the construction of the Great Pyramids.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:8:05 - Intro
0:8:18 - Overview of Men-Nefer
0:13:35 - Discussion of Men-Nefer
0:58:00 - Questions for audience
0:58:17 - Top 200 Draft: 181-190

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this special episode they discuss three Japanese card games: Disney Villains by Jun Sasaki and Taiki Shinzawa, Nanatoridori by Toshiki Arao, and Robotrick by Domi.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:06:58 - Intro
0:07:17 - Discussion of Disney Villains
0:21:06 - Discussion of Nanatoridori
0:32:11 - Discussion of Robotrick
0:46:29 - Questions for the audience
0:46:47 - Discussion about designing card games

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this special episode they discuss the nominees for the Kennerspiel Des Jahres 2026: Rebirth by Reiner Knizia, Boss Fighters QR by Michael Palm and Lukas Zach, and Moon Colony Bloodbath by Donald X. Vaccarino.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:07:24 - Intro
0:07:42 - Discussion of Rebirth
0:33:26 - Discussion of the Kennerspiel
0:42:29 - Discussion of Boss Fighters QR
0:57:42 - Discussion of Moon Colony Bloodbath
1:00:13 - Questions for the audience
1:00:29 - Prediction and our winners

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam. They also have another game together under development.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.

In this episode they discuss Eternal Decks by Hiroken. Eternal Decks is a limited communication co-operative game in which players try to complete the stage objectives before any one player cannot take an action.

📜Chapters:
0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
0:6:45 - Intro
0:7:02 - Overview of Eternal Decks
0:15:41 - Discussion of Eternal Decks
0:47:43 - Questions for audience
0:48:01 - Top 200 Draft: 191-200

⭐About the Cast

Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).

Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.

Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.

🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠