Gameopolis Podcast

In this Session Report show, we "Point-5" one of the games we talked about in 20.0. The Candidates are: Avalon Hill's Merchant of Venus and DVG's Phantom Leader...and the envelope please...the Point-5 episode goes to...Phantom Leader! This Session Report is based on a short campaign of Phantom Leader that Jeff played. Jeff's goes over most of the decision points throughout the campaign, and then summarizes what he likes about this game in the context of actual play. We end with a brief discussion of DVG's announced intent to release a Deluxe Edition of Phantom Leader. We always love to hear from you our listeners, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 21.0, coming at you faster than a sidewinder missile! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded

Here in Show 20.0, we discuss a couple games that we are very excited about --one fairly new, and one a true classic! But since this is a whole-number episode, we start things off properly with a Dusty Old Box segment. To be more accurate, though, this is not a Box but rather is a Dusty Old THING...three things, in fact. After the Dusty Old Box segment, Jeff launches us into the show's first main topic: a solitaire strategy game called Phantom Leader. Jeff covers the basics of the game elements and mechanics, and then describes why he loves this game so much. After Jeff's main segment, Mark takes us for a stroll down Memory Lane in the show's second main segment, talking about his all-time favorite game, Merchant of Venus. You might consider this a primer or a "warm-up" for the pending re-release of MoV! Mark covers all of the main rules and the subtleties of this game --the things that separate it from other "pick-up and drop-off" games, and that make MoV his all-time favorite. As always, we love to hear fro

In this Session Report show, we "Point-5" one of the games we discussed during our Lord of the Rings Extravaganza of Show 19.0. This Session Report is based on a friendly game of ICE's Lonely Mountain: The Lair of Smaug the Dragon, that we shared with our good friend Bill. This is a light discussion of some of the strategies each of the three of us employed, and also of some of the unforeseen events that threw a wrench into most of our strategies. While this play example was quite atypical for a couple reasons, we still got some fun insights into this game, and so we hope you enjoy hearing about some of the surprises that awaited us deep in Smaug's Lair. We always love to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 20.0, on its way to you very soon. NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and

It is HERE! Our much-anticipated Lord of the Rings Extravaganza episode! Well...much-anticipated by US, anyway. As always, we start things off right on this "whole-number episode"...by opening up a Dusty Old Box, although in this case it is more accurately described as a Dusty Old THING. After the Dusty Old Box segment, we launch into our LOTR Extravaganza, starting with a couple games from the early 1980s, then one from the mid-90s, and finishing off with a couple more recent releases. Our angle on this comparison is focused on how well we think each game embodies the LOTR theme. Our opinions range from one extreme to the other, so we hope you enjoy listening to what we think of them. We end this episode with a return of our segment "Mark's Personal Gaming Trivia", in which Mark describes an old gaming-group slang term that sounds so much more violent than it actually is. We'd love to hear how your experiences compare with our opinions of these LOTR games, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.

This is the second episode in the Gameopolis CarCast spin-off series. As is our intention, the Gameopolis CarCast is brought to you totally unplanned, and virtually unedited. We'll be back with the next regular installment of Gameopolis --Show 19.0-- very soon. Until then, we hope you enjoy the random musings of the Gameopolis CarCast! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

In Show 18.5 of Gameopolis, Mark and Jeff do a double-header Session Report. First they talk about a play session of Pizza Box Baseball, ending with a couple comparisons between this game and the On The Line Game Company's other publication Pizza Box Football, which Mark and Jeff discussed in Shows 9 and 9.5. Mark and Jeff then move onto a second Session Report on Cargo Noir with some light analysis of the three different approaches employed by the players in this play session. As always, we'd LOVE to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:02:30 Session Report, Pizza Box Baseball 00:11:00 Session Report, Cargo Noir 00:21:02 Preview of Show 19.0, and Signoff Stay tuned for Show 19.0, coming to you faster than a flying Nazgul! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After savin

Too much time has passed, and therefore Mark and Jeff feel the need to sit down and talk about games once again. Since this is a "whole-number episode", they start things off right...by opening up a Dusty Old Box! This Dusty Old Box takes us to places we haven't been before, and then brings us back again. After the Dusty Old Box, Jeff talks a bit about Pizza Box Baseball, published by the On The Line Game Company. Jeff goes through the rules for all four complexity levels of the game, starting with the most basic ("A-league") and then building through Double-A, Triple-A, and finally "Pro-Ball" level. After Jeff's discussion of Pizza Box Baseball, Marks tells us about Days of Wonder's Cargo Noir. Mark describes the game rules, and then discusses some of the common arguments surrounding the theme of this game, and how the theme contributes to the play experience. As always, we'd LOVE to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an ema

In this session report, Mark and Jeff talk about a play session of Fantasy Flight Games' re-issue of DungeonQuest. They give an overview of the session's events, and focus a bit on some of the updates to this 3rd edition of the game: the combat system and the player character characteristics and abilities. Mark and Jeff give their opinions of these updates, and decide whether this edition might still be able to fill the role of a filler game, even with all its embellishments. As always, we'd LOVE to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 18.0, coming to you faster than a DungeonQuest sunset! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

This is the first of a spin-off series that we are calling the Gameopolis CarCast. The idea behind the CarCast is that whenever Mark and Jeff are commuting in the car together (talking about games and related topics, as always) we'll record the conversation --AND, if it sounds like a discussion we think our listeners would be interested in, we'll post it up here as a CarCast. Our CarCasts are completely independent of the regular Gameopolis podcasts, and are brought to you totally unplanned, and largely unedited (we only cut out the part where we argued about whether to go straight here and circle around the park, OR hang a left at this intersection and then turn right at the Gas Station). Also, there won't be any schedule for releasing the CarCasts, so you may detect some anachronisms in dates we refer to in the CarCasts relative to the shows' release dates. We'll be back with the next regular installment of Gameopolis --Show 17.5-- very soon. Until then, we hope you enjoy the random musings of the Gameopoli

Mark and Jeff challenge tradition in what would --normally-- have been the Dusty Old Box segment of the show.  Then, Jeff kicks us off with a deeper treatment of a PREVIOUS Dusty Old Box: Avalon Hill's Freedom In The Galaxy. Jeff takes a high level look at this game to answer his months-long question: is this game truly "ridiculous", as was once asserted? After Jeff's analysis of FitG, Marks tells us about the re-release of DungeonQuest by Fantasy Flight Games, with plenty of comparisons and contrasts with the previous edition of the game. As always, we LOVE to hear from our listeners, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:51 Freedom in the Galaxy 00:23:36 Fantasy Flight's vesion of DungeonQuest 00:51:02 Signoff Related links: 1 Freedom in the Galaxy on Boardgamegeek 2 FFG's DungeonQuest on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 17.5 --our session report on one of these fine games-- coming

In this session report, Marks talks about a three-game evening of Kill Doctor Lucky (and His Little Dog Too) with his daughter and her friend. This turns out to be a clash of three very different strategies and play styles, with balanced and yet unexpected results. As always, we'd LOVE to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 17.0, on its way very soon. NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

Our Halloween Episode! Since it's a whole number episode, we start off as always by opening up a Dusty Old Box. This Dusty Old Box turns out to be a blast from BOTH Mark's Past AND Jeff's Past. After the Dusty Old Box, Mark and Jeff dig into their main topics. Marks starts us off with a humorously scary Halloweeny treat: Kill Doctor Lucky (and His Little Dog Too): a lighthearted game of murderous intent. Afterwards, Jeff provides some Halloween-free fun with his coverage of Commands and Colors Ancients --which he miraculously does WITHOUT making a single "Borg assimilation" joke! As always, we LOVE to hear from our listeners, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:02:35 Dusty Old Box 00:13:37 Kill Doctor Lucky 00:33:35 Commands and Colors Ancients 01:09:35 Signoff Related links: 1 Kill Doctor Lucky on Boardgamegeek 2 Commands and Colors Ancients on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 16.5

In this belated Talk-Like-A-Pirate-Day tribute show, Mark and Jeff (AKA Capt Stinky Tom and Keelhaul Col) do a session report on a game we briefly discussed in show 15: Cheapass Games' Cube Farm! We briefly expand on some rules that we didn't take the time to cover in show 15, and then go over our impressions and general strategies. This is a quick, easy game with one or two layers of strategy that you don't necessarily see on the first pass. As always, we LOVE to hear from our listeners --our beloved podcast nation-- so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:54 Session Report: Cube Farm 00:10:21 Signoff Stay tuned for Show 16.0 -our Halloween show- coming real soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy. 

It's finally here! Our long awaited Podcast of Hate! In this show, Mark and Jeff field listener comments about the things they hate, dislike, or otherwise do not savor in the gaming world. Before we dive into the cauldron of embitterment, our Dusty Old Box segment features an unusual --a VERY unusual game that is "kinda-sorta" like some other games but is really unique in many ways. In actuality, today's Dusty Old Box is not a box, but...a Dusty Old Thing. Once Mark and Jeff dive into the hate, they cover discussion topics ranging from poor sportsmanship to game company publishing practices, to game group dynamics. Before signing off, Jeff does a quick segment to describe the game Cube Fame, published by Cheapass Games. This is a very high-level description of the game, and gives us something to "Point-Five" next time, and so we'll dig into Cube Farm a bit more deeply the next time we plug-in our headset mics! Lastly, Mark surprises everyone --including Jeff-- by spontaneously introducing a new show segment:

At long last, Mark and Jeff shake-off those summertime blues to don the ole headset mics, for a double-header session report. We start off with Rio Grande's Race for the Galaxy. We have some high level discussion of which civilizations -and which overall strategies- we played, and our overall impressions of the game. From there, we move onto a session report of Kosmos' and Rio Grande's Dracula. Once again, we stick to the overall flow and feel of the game. Additionally, we discuss a couple aspects of game play that surprised us upon our first play. Lastly, we send out one last reminder for our listeners to send-in discussion topics for the upcoming Podcast of Hate (companion podcast to last year's Podcast of Love). You can post your thoughts to this show's comments or email to info@gameopolis.org. Even if you don't have any suggestions for the Podcast of Hate, we'd still LOVE to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry, or send an email to info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:02:17 Sess

Our Dusty Old Box segment features a blast from the past --Mark catapults Jeff back to junior high school days with this one. Mark then polishes-off the Dusty segment --not with a box, but with a...thing...a...Dusty Old Thing. Once Jeff recovers from his temporal shift, we dig into our main topics. Unlike our typical main segments, in which one of us presents a game we know well and love, we thought it would be a fun change of pace to present two games that were totally brand-new to BOTH of us. Jeff starts us off by covering the game Dracula, a two-player game that is part of the Kosmos "Games For Two" series. Afterwards, Mark covers his most recently-acquired card game: Rio Grande's Race For the Galaxy. Before signing off, Jeff brings up a "did ya ever notice?" observation about games involving a lot of dice rolling, and after some brief banter, Mark and Jeff ask for some assistance and/or guidance for YOU, our beloved Podcast Nation. You can post your contributions to this show's comments on the blog page,

In this show, Mark and Jeff "Point-Five" Altas Games' Gloom. We start with a brief overview of the game, then onto our session report coverage. We keep our coverage pretty high-level, focusing on our overall strategies and impressions of the game. 00:00:00 Prelude 00:00:40 Session Report: Gloom Stay tuned for Show 14.0 -rocketing in your direction at an extreme and totally unsafe speed! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

Our Dusty Old Box segment features a real treat that Jeff has been holding-off for a special occasion. Since this is our 25th episode --our "Silver Anniversary Episode"-- Jeff decided now was the time to break it out! After the Dusty Old Box, Mark and Jeff dig into a full docket crammed with gaming goodness. Jeff starts us off by covering not one game, but a gaming genre: Historical naval miniatures in the American Civil War era. Jeff's M.O. is a side-by-side comparison of three of his favorite rules sets: one very simple set, one quite complex, and a third rules set somewhere in between. Jeff compares and contrasts the game mechanics used in each of these three rules sets. After Jeff brings us back from the 19th century, Mark covers one of his family's new favorite card games: Gloom. Before signing off, we listen-in on our interview with Niko White: the designer of the newest expansion card set for the Battleground Fantasy Warfare game, The Dark Elves. Niko tells us about some of his design rationale and his

In this show, Mark and Jeff "Point-Five" Your Move Games' Battleground Fantasy Warfare. We have some high level discussion of our selections of which armies to play, and which units to field for our 2000-point limits. From there, we discuss our overall tactics, which tactics worked well, and which ones clearly didn't. We'll also try to get some pics up on the Gameopolis Flickr Page some time soon! Lastly, we send out a reminder for our listeners to send-in discussion topics for the upcoming Podcast of Hate (companion podcast to last year's Podcast of Love). This doesn't have to be "hatred" in the true sense of the word, feel free to write us about dislikes, pet peaves, disappointments, and things in the Gaming hobby that generally get under your skin. So dust-off that soapbox and tell us what is on your mind!!! You can post your thoughts to this show's comments or email to info@gameopolis.org. Even if you don't have any suggestions for the Podcast of Hate, we'd still LOVE to hear from you --our beloved podcas

 Happy New Year from your friends at Gameopolis! We start off this episode with our Dusty Old Box segment, which features a game in a 5-sided box. Inside the strange box is a very old game from a very old game company. After the Dusty Old Box, Mark and Jeff get down to business with an efficient, back-to-basics show. Mark starts us off with coverage of Samurai Swords (originally known as Shogun), which was part of Milton Bradley's GameMaster series. Then, Jeff describes Your Move Games' Battleground Fantasy Warfare. We'll put some pics up on the Gameopolis Flickr Page! Lastly, Mark and Jeff roll out our first call for discussion topics for the Podcast of Hate (companion podcast to last year's Podcast of Love). Come on!!! We all have pet peaves and things that otherwise get under our skin. Here's your chance to get up on your soapbox and put us all back onto the straight-and-narrow!!! You can post your thoughts to this show's comments, or email them to us at info@gameopolis.org. Even if you don't have any feed