The Thoughtful Gamer Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Apologies for the sound quality -- Lindsay got a new mic and it... did not work well, to say the least. Anyways, we all went to PAX Unplugged once again and it was the least stressful PAX yet. We found fun in some unexpected games and ate delicious food. What else could you want?

0:35 - General PAX Impressions 4:39 - Tether 8:44 - Fit to Print 12:05 - Block and Key 16:12 - Food. Delicious Food

You've got questions and I've got answers! I cover everything from wargames to babies to cooking to economics.

2:43 - #1: Most impactful game of the last 30 years 9:31 - #2: Best game to play while holding a baby 11:27 - #3: Good wargames for kids 13:45 - #4: How to market a game 20:24 - #5: Favorite color 21:48 - #6: Choose between: Root, Bananagrams, Vast 23:45 - #7: Which is more of a game: Candyland or Snakes and Ladders? 24:38 - #8: Solutions to high cost of shipping 32:37 - #9: Which games model economics best? 39:40 - #10: Unpopular opinions 49:28 - #11: Cooking tips 52:31 - #12: Favorite pasta shape 53:38 - #13: Games I'm uncertain about 59:12 - #14: Board game reviewing vs. other media

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/07/through-the-ages-review/

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

I give the rundown of three digital card games that I've enjoyed quite a bit: Monster Slayers, Slay The Spire, and Age of Rivals. All three have some unique and interesting interactions only logistically feasible in a digital game. I also preview the most significant change to the Thoughtful Gamer patreon that will be happening in a couple of weeks.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

At long last we've reached the conclusion of the 2018 countdown. Marc, Matt, and Orion talk about the best of the best. The cream of the crop. The best games ever made! Seriously, these games are incredible and I get giddy just thinking about them.

SPOILERS BELOW

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3:44 - 7 Wonders 7:16 - Concordia 14:30 - Pulsar 2849 20:21 - War of the Ring 24:38 - Agricola 29:29 - Lisboa 35:53 - Suburbia 43:36 - The Castles of Burgundy 47:33 - Through The Ages 53:28 - Here I Stand 1:00:20 - Dominion 1:04:09 - Dominant Species 1:08:23 - Space Alert 1:12:51 - The Resistance 1:19:01 - Android: Netrunner 1:22:38 - Mage Knight 1:26:08 - Spirit Island 1:31:13 - Twilight Imperium 1:34:18 - Twilight Struggle 1:38:47 - Gloomhaven

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Marc, Orion, and Matt sit down with Eric Reuss, designer of Spirit Island. This is one of our longest podcasts ever, but it might be our best ever. Eric was a delightful conversationalist, and we learned so much about the design and lore of Spirit Island. We were absolutely amazed to hear about all of the thought and work that went into the design. There's so much going on underneath the surface that you only see glimpses of in the game itself. I think you'll be equally enthralled.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Marc's fighting off a cold but that won't stop him! Orion and Matt join to count down some truly excellent games and fail to stay on topic. You know how it is.

SPOILERS BELOW

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7:02 - Terra Mystica

11:37 - Fog of Love

17:45 - Robinson Crusoe

22:40 - 7 Wonders Duel

27:30 - Churchill

33:14 - Power Grid

36:54 - Mombassa

43:05 - Scythe

47:40 - Star Wars Armada

53:52 - Pandemic Legacy Season 1

58:14 - Tzolk'in

1:01:57 - Vinhos

1:07:12 - Triumph And Tragedy

1:14:11 - The Gallerist

1:17:55 - Falling Sky

1:22:16 - Viticulture

1:27:30 - Downforce

1:31:47 - Codenames

1:38:06 - Food Chain Magnate

1:41:43 - Battlestar Galactica

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Marc, Matt, and Orion are joined by Trey Chambers, designer of Argent: The Consortium, Harvest, and Empyreal: Spells and Steam (now on kickstarter!). We hit all of the important topics: whether dogs or cats are better podcast mascots, dreams about Stefan Feld, and how long you can ramble on a tanget after the end of the podcast before you inadvertently begin a second podcst.

Also some stuff about Trey's games.

Empyreal is only on kickstarter for a couple more days. It looks wild. Check it out! Also play Harvest because it's seriously legit and seems to have slipped under the radar. Also check out Trey's podcast, which focuses on important topics in the board game community, called Eternally Board.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Special for our list-aficionado fans out there--another list! The middlest of the best games ever, or something like that. Marc, Matt, and Orion talk about some quality games.

SPOILERS BELOW

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1:53 - Stats

4:47 - El Grande

9:49 - Colonial Twilight

14:48 - Friday

17:55 - Mechs v. Minions

22:49 - Sushi Go Party

25:23 - Secret Hitler

30:12 - Captain Sonar

34:40 - Eclipse

38:50 - Harvest

43:30 - Tokaido

46:29 - Memoir '44

52:48 - Roll For The Galaxy

58:36 - Galaxy Trucker

1:02:42 - Fire In The Lake

1:06:13 - Carcassonne

1:09:31 - Forbidden Desert

1:12:30 - Mysterium

1:15:37 - Keyflower

1:18:21 - Lost Cities

1:20:53 - Nusfjord

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Marc, Orion, and Matt talk about "hindered communication" games, where you're trying to communicate something to another person with an arbitrary barrier in the way. Word association games like Taboo or Codenames are the most well-known types of these games, but we discover that the genre we kind of made up is a lot bigger than that.

Also in this episode, Marc pitches his million dollar invention idea, and everyone marvels over the word "algorithm". 

2:11 - Defining Our Terms

3:58 - The Classics

9:55 - The Apples To Apples Continuum

13:45 - Word Association Games

30:23 - Beyond Word Association

35:55 - Idea Association

46:04 - How These Games Succeed

1:03:08 - Oddities And The Hanabi Problem

1:15:31 - Metagaming

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.