Archive for March, 2007
Inside Track 016: Klaus and Guido Teuber
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Don’s trip to Games Expo in Las Vegas rewarded him to a visit with Klaus and Guido Teuber. After the exhibition hall closed down on Monday we sat in the Mayfair Games booth and talked about their game designing experience and and their quality visit in the U.S.. The strength in their family really shines through in the interview as well as the great games they have developed together. |
Catan has had a significant impact on board games, rivaling the old classics and making its way into homes across the world. It is stretching now into various electronic mediums such as the one mentioned in this show. If you haven’t made your way to playing this game the time is right to catch up with us.
Out of Character 018: Games Exposure
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Don has made it home from Las Vegas and has some stories to tell. We do not delve into it too much because you have offered some great topics for us to discus. We continue with some discussion on healthy gaming and also touch again on a few games we like to call gateway games. |
The highlight of the show is a virtual tour of the miniature extravaganza display at Games Expo narrated by its creator, Duke Seifried. Uncle Duke describes the scene and conveys the stories and passion behind each one.
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As part of our answer to the question about games for non-gamers we first gave you Once Upon a Time. This is a storytelling card game that can be played without a great deal of competition making it light spirited and socially nonthreatening. It does however still require some creativity and is fun to play with kids. |
| We are also going to bring up Ingenious again. When looking for a game that still has some degree of competition you still want something that is easy to learn and has some recognizable features. If you can line up colors and count, you can play this game. There can however be some depth to the strategy. Your family might discover yet they do like to play games. |  |
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A popular game in elementary schools and homes alike is Blokus. This one is also simple and also a real hit. You have few restrictions as you place different shapes on the board and block your opponents from placing theirs. We have a ton of fun with this game with every family we show it to. |
| While waiting to record we played Ghoulash. The creator, Mike, introduced us to his web site and it drew us in from there. Before we knew it we were playing and talking about it on the show. Its very simple and requires only a pencil and the paper to play, making it a great travel game. |  |
Among the feedback is discussion with a couple of other podcasters. Daniel says hello from The Gamer Traveler, a podcast about travel but directed to gamers. We also have been visiting with Ron from The Game’s the Thing, a neighbor of ours that we are likely to see across the table in the future.
Peter Adkinson also gives us an invitation to Gen Con. If you haven’t been, this is an event you cannot miss. We will be at the podcast party and in the exhibition hall waiting for you to stop by and see us.
Inside Track 015: Games Expo 2007
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Don is walking the floor now at Games Expo 2007 gathering more information you will be hearing over the next few weeks. In today’s presentation we will visit with a number of influential members of our industry. |
| We first talked to Mark Simmons. Mark announced this show 18 months ago and been working hard since, not for just this moment but for the investment into the industry. A central purpose of the show was to bring all types of socially interactive games under one roof. |  |
Dr. Toy is a leading expert in the healthy applications of children’s toys and games and author of the book Smart Play Smart Toys: How to Raise a Child with a High PQ. She was very supportive of the initiatives here at the show with her participation and comments.
Klaus Teuber and Guido Teuber spent much of the show in the Mayfair Games booth and were an absolute joy to visit with. We were able to get their impressions and hear their experiences at the show and in Las Vegas.
Peter Adkison shared his thoughts on the show and has given us some special news about this year’s Gen Con you will want to hear. In addition he shared with us a game for our daughters called Bella Sara. It has a fantasy horse theme and will certainly be a hit among the girls.
We want to give a special thanks to Mark and everyone that took the time to visit with us. Every interview was a reminder to why we do our podcasts and are so committed to spreading the good word of gaming.
Kings Court 018: Pillars of the Earth
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Derek reviews Pillars of the Earth, a board game based on the novel by Ken Follett. This one stood out as soon as we opened the box because it is absolutely beautiful. As we started to play we realized the game mechanics were just as masterful. We had a blast playing with it. You have to balance your spending, your resources, and your ability to convert those resources. There are branching strategies and always something to entertain your brain with. The theme is to work together to build a cathedral but it is your personal victory points that will grant you the win. |
| Pillars of the Earth Publisher: Mayfair Games, Kosmos Designed By: Michael Rieneck and Stefan Stadler Players: 2-4 Ages: 12+ Play Time: 90-120 minutes MSRP: $49.00 |
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Out of Character 017: Going Commando
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Today, your feedback drives us through a number of topics before we add a few of our own. Some of the games brought up during the show include Ingenious, Mission Red Planet, Fading Suns, and Jack the Ripper. Also, should you interfere when your neighbors kids are playing Dungeons & Dragons? Our answer would be “Yes, to teach them how to improve their skills!” |
| The latest Mayfair titles we have received are nearing release. The first we discuss is The Pillars of the Earth, designed by Michael Rieneck and Stefan Stadler. This is an absolutely beautiful game where you must balance your wealth, your resources, and your ability to convert those resources into building materials. You are working with your opponents to build a cathedral, but only the best builder will win the game. Pillars of the Earth is based of of a best selling novel by the same name and authored by Ken Follett. | |
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We have also started playing AlchemisT by Carlo A. Rossi. You are competing with your rival adepts to brew potions with exotic and rare ingredients. Bring the most fame to your school to win by creating new potions, duplicating valuable potions, and promoting the use of your most prized reagent. |
| During the course of discussion, The Source is brought up. This game store is one of the most well known game stores in the U.S. with a reputation of building a strong community and having a good supply of games for their patrons to choose from. Jeremiah is a frequent patron of the store. We strongly encourage anyone in the area to stop in. |  |
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Jeremiah is challenged to provide his reference for siege engines and he has delivered just that. Greece and Rome at War provides comprehensive illustrations of the siege weaponry in question as well as a wealth of wonderful information for anybody interested in the topic of ancient warfare. Peter Connolly, having written this and several other books on the subject, is well known for his expertise in the ancient world. As a highly respected artist, this book combines his talents to deliver great value. |
| Derek gives us the second installment of the For Dummies review series by taking a look at Massively Multiplayer Games for Dummies by Scott Jennings. As a new World of Warcraft player, Derek was able to relate to the learning curve the book addresses for players new to this style of game. This does step us outside of the boundaries of paper and table-top games but we are confident you will forgive us for a few minutes. |  |
You will soon be hearing us from Las Vegas, where we will be covering Games Expo 2007. We are already making arrangements to meet up with as many of the top 200 game publishers as humanly possible. Our next engagement will take us to Anizona for quite a change of pace where we will be exhibiting among anime fans.
You will hear the newly released promo for Groovy Gamers Groovecast. They talk about role-playing games online such as in forums and chat rooms. You will also want to make sure to listen to Boardgame Babylon where you will find the recordings of some great Q&A Sessions with Reiner Knizia.
We invite you to participate with your feedback and welcome you to comment right on the web site. That login button is right here. Don’t forget to participate in our survey. It is fun and will help us learn more about you.
Kings Court 017: Elvish Checkers
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Jeremaih reviews Elvish Checkers. Its a an abstract strategy game stylized with a fantasy theme. This fun and simple game is played on a unique cloth playing board and designed with portability in mind. |
| Iliad Publisher: Three Sages Games Designed By: David Wainio Players: 2 Ages: 10+ MSRP: $12.95 |
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Inside Track 014: Reiner Knizia
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Our show today is with Dr. Reiner Knizia. We met Reiner in Los Angles at OrcCon, one of the conventions under the Stratigicon umbrella. We had a great time playing with many Knizia designs at the convention, but the highlight was undoubtedly being able to spend some time with Reiner. |
| Reiner Knizia has hundreds of game titles on the shelf now and is recognized by any board gamer looking for quality. He was born in Germany and now lives in the U.K. where he enlists the aid of his now very experienced game testers to deliver polished product to the entire world. He has developed for many game companies. Those mentioned in today’s show include Fantasy Flight Games, Playroom Entertainment, Z-Man games, Hasbro, Face2Face, and Twilight Creations. |  |
Reiner has a full schedule ahead of him and attends many conventions. His future attendances in the states include Gen Con and GameStorm. In Europe you will find at Essen and Baycon.
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One of the games talked about at length today was a new release under the Ingenious brand. It was just shown for the first time in the states at Toy Fair and then again at OrcCon. He tells us some about the game and how you can work together to solve the puzzles presented in the game using the same hexagonal pieces you played with in Ingenious. If you haven’t yet played Ingenious you need to get a copy. It is a must have for your game shelf. |
| The Lord of the Rings board game is another must-have that gets a lot of attention during today’s show. Together, you and up to four other players work together to take the ring to Mount Doom to win. You really must work together if you expect to even have a chance. It is one of very few cooperative play games and is very successful at entertaining any group of players. |  |
The first promo is for The Vintage Gamer by James Van Verth. We really enjoy listening to Jim talk about some of the older games that we don’t cover. The other promo you heard is for Geek Fu Action Grip by Mur Lafferty. Mur was gracious enough to come onto Pulp Gamer when we were just getting our feet wet. She writes and covers a wide variety of geek matter. As a matter of fact she has written one of the books on my shelf, Tips of the Podcasting Masters.
Inside Track 013: Bill Bridges of White Wolf
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Today we dive into the World of Darkness with Bill Bridges. This was a great opportunity to catch ourselves up with the storyline and gain some insight into the White Wolf products that are to be released this summer. We were just as pleased to be taken on that tour with Bill and learn about his day to day life. |
| Bill Bridges started at White Wolf in 92 to write on Vampire: the Masquerade. He left for a while to work at Holistic Design only to return later. He has worked on a number of projects in the World of Darkness setting. Some is still under the veil for later release, but he does give us some hints. Perhaps we can glean something from the journal of meeting notes he mentions during the interview. |  |
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Bill’s most recently released project is Promethean: The Created. From a variety of means you have been created from dead flesh and reanimated. You walk among the mortals without that which makes you human. It is that search for mortality that drives you. Bill gives us a great overview but you may be able to learn even more by listening to White Wolf’s Promethean podcast. |
The first promos for today’s show includes Gamer: The Podcasting. They have been friends of ours for a long time and have a great show. Their strongest focus is on role-playing and will certainly be of interest for White Wolf fans. The second promo is for The LARP Podcast. They are new on the scene and as their name implies are directing their attention toward live action role playing.