Gameopolis Podcast

Mark and Jeff "point-five" Minion Games' Those Pesky Humans. A mixed experience, but it was mostly a positive play experience, we thought. The big news (for Jeff) is that Jeff racks up another Point-Five show victory!!! (Jeff pauses for applause...). We'll be doing a couple more sessions of this one when the opportunity presents itself...and YOU --our Podcast Nation-- will benefit from our future play experiences in the form of brief field reports. Stay tuned for Show 12.0 -coming real soon! Until then, write into the comments section, or send emails to Mark (mark@gameopolis.org), Jeff (jeff@...), or the Mark/Jeff Metamind (info@...)!!! Thank you for listening! 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.

Mark and Jeff cover almost every aspect of the life of a boardgame in this show, we discuss a dusty old game box...then a game store...then a game...and lastly, a game convention!!! Our Dusty Old Box segment focuses on something we believe few --if any-- of our listeners have encountered --a rare, Trademark game of space warfare potentially worth over $65,000! Or not. From here, we move on to our latest installment of our new segment, As Far As Possible Game Goes Kaupankaynti. Mark tells us about his game store-hunting in Washington DC, and then we strap into the Way-Back machine to revisit Jeff's recent trek to Game Empire in San Diego, CA. After hearing about Game Empire, we dig into our main segment for today's show: the game Those Pesky Humans, by Minion Games. This is primarily a 2-player game of human marauders perpetrating horrible injustices against the innocent monster home-owner who is just minding his own business. Lastly, we go into a brief recount of Jeff's experiences at the Carnage 2010 gaming

  Mark and Jeff do an "old school" session report of Days of Wonder's Small World for the iPad. Also, our Listener Feedback leads us to a discussion of old versus new...paper versus digital...book lights versus backlights. We'd LOVE to hear what our listeners think on this topic, so please send a comment to the blog, or an email to info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:02:35 Listener Feedback 00:14:52 Session Report -Small World on the iPad 00:25:55 Sign-off Stay tuned for Show 11.0 -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.

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.   Arrrgggghh!!!! Those two wharf rats that go by the names-o-Mark and Jeff be runnin out thar cannons ta take on thar olde rival -ye Black Privateer! It's time for our second annual International Talk Like a Pirate Gameopolis Podcast. Mark and Jeff sail from port to port in search of a number of eclectic gaming related topics. After starting with the Dusty Old Box --a dusty olde treasure chest to be more exact-- we address some Listener Feedback and then launch into our first main topic --our Pirate themed Talk-Like-A-Pirate game: Cheapass Games' Captain Treasure Boots. Jeff gives us a brief over view of Capt Treasure Boots and describes his tricked-out copy featuring little teeny tiny pirate ships purchased from an online jewelry supply store. We'll post pictures of these teeny tiny square-riggers on the Gameopolis

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.   Mark and Jeff take the Session Report format back to its roots in show 9.5. This Session Report is true to our original vision: an overview of the feel of the game, our general impressions, the main thoughts and choices we had in a typical game turn. We talk about what we liked and didn't like about it. At 18 minutes 10 seconds, this show is just long enough to listen to while enjoying a couple slices of pizza! Check out some pics of Pizza Box Football on our Gameopolis Flickr Page. 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:53 Session Report: Pizza Box Football 00:17:12 Sign-off Related links: 1 Pizza Box Football on Boardgamegeek 2 Pizza Box Baseball on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 10.0, coming to all premier theaters in Gameopolis City 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. It's a really big show....really...BIG. It's also our First Anniversary Show. And Mark and Jeff cover a lot of ground here -from introducing a new recurring segment --to closing-out the First Gameopolis Challenge --to addressing errata from previous shows --to 2 really fun games (one old and meaty; one new and light). We start you off by opening up a Dusty Old Box...a Dusty, Deteriorating, Deciduous Box with an awesome game inside. Then, we announce the five winners of our First Gameopolis Challenge. If you are one of the winners, be sure to email us at info@gameopolis.org to give us your physical address so we can send you your fantastic Gameopolis Coffee Mug! In the show's main segment, Mark covers the Avalon Hill game History of the World. Mark covers the nuts and bolts of the game as well as some basic strategic

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.   Mark and Jeff go for an extended session report of Gamewright's Forbidden Island. Unlike most podcasts, we spend a bit of time filling in the basics of the game mechanics that we left out of show 8.0. We'll get a couple pictures from our play sessions up onto the Gameopolis Flickr Page very soon. Also, we give our final notice for our Gameopolis Coffee Mug Challenge! We play samples of eight different sounds from the beeping, buzzing, whirring 1980s boardgame Dark Tower. Write into info@gameopolis.org with your guesses on the identities of the eight Dark Tower sounds. Writing in will get your name/email address into our raffle; getting all eight answers correct will get your name entered three times!!! Five lucky listeners will be drawn and will receive an awesome Gameopolis Coffee Mug!!! Stay tuned for Show 9.0 -

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.   You've heard about it since January...You've wondered when it would become a reality...Epic in scale...and now it's HERE!  It's the Podcast of Love. Since this is a "whole-number episode", we start off by investigating a Dusty Old Box. In the show's main segment, it's the Podcast of Love. We talk about what some of you --our beloved listeners, our Podcast Nation-- truly LOVE about the hobby of gaming. We read out several blog postings and emails that we've received on this topic, and comment on each of them. In a second segment (actually a mini-segment), Mark talks about a brand-new release from Gamewright: Forbidden Island, which we'll talk about again in the upcoming session report, Show 8.5. Lastly, we put out another invitation to you all to participate in our Gameopolis Coffee Mug Challenge, which we first ro

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.   Mark and Jeff cut the shenanigans and record the "Real Show 7.5". We start off with a plug for The Print and Play Podcast --a podcast about (mostly) free-to-download games that you can find at BoardgamePodcasts-dot-com. Then, it's onto our Listener Feedback segment, in which we discuss hearing from a couple new game designers --and more. In the show's main segment, we talk about a play session of Jeff's home-brewed expansion to Steve Jackson Games' Car Wars Card Game. We decided to hazard the use of the Way-Back Machine one more time to allow you-the-listener to go back to the setup session and hear each of our car design strategies before we discuss the game and the results. In a short final segment, we unveil our Gameopolis Coffee Mug Challenge! We play samples of eight different sounds from the beeping, buzzing

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.   Your voice has been heard; your vote counted!!!! All hail Gameopolis as a paragon of Democracy!!!! Okay, so we're probably overstating this a bit, but rest-assured your voice WAS HEARD. Our Surveymonkey survey on monaural vs stereo sound was tallied, and due to overwhelming vote, we are switching back to monaural sound (both of your ears will hear the exact same thing). For now, here is a re-release of show 6.5 re-mixed for monaural sound. If you already downloaded 6.5 and are okay with it in its original format, then you need not download this file. But if you downloaded 6.5 and were disappointed by the stereo effect, then this file will fix the problem. Thanks again for your feedback. We'll be talking to you again 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.   Mark and Jeff cover a lot of ground in this special Session Report.  Unlike past Session Reports, the games discussed in this show are NOT those that were described in Show 7.0.  Mark and Jeff cover everything ranging from nostalgic children's games, to licensed boardgames, to games based on episodes of the original Star Trek series.  You will also hear exciting news about the possibility of gameopolis gaining its first official sponsor.  So pull-up your favorite comfy-chair and settle-in with Mark and Jeff for some more Gameopolis.  Thanks for listening! Stay tuned for Show 8, 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.   Mark and Jeff get back to the topic of the Dusty Old Box...this time with Jeff's super-double-secret extra-special dusty old box --which for a change is actually dusty! Afterward, Mark tells us about Rio Grande's Stone Age, a light and colorful game of community-building set in the dawn of human civilization. Next, Jeff's talks about Home-Brewed Boardgame Expansions: home rules sets complete with additional game components added. The point is to add some functionality to an already-great game.  To illustrate, Jeff talks about his home brewed expansions to Steve Jackson Games' Car Wars Card Game, and Avalon Hill's Monsters Menace America. We'll add some pictures of these games to the Gameopolis Flickr Account. 00:00:00 Prelude 00:05:27 Dusty Old Box 00:13:17 Stone Age 00:34:45 Home Expansion for Car Wars Card Gam

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. Mark and Jeff talk about a play session of Games Workshop's Dungeon Quest. Afterwards, they recall their recent daytrip down to the TempleCon gaming convention down in Providence Rhode Island. Each game is reviewed, and the high points of each play experience are discussed... 00:00:00 Prelude 00:02:21 Session Report: GW's Dungeon Quest 00:17:35 After Action Report: TempleCon 2010 00:49:17 Closing comments Stay tuned for Show #7, coming to YOUR part of town real soon! Related links:1,Small World,2,Kill Dr. Lucky,3,Fast Flowing Forest Fellers,4,Puerto Rico,5,The Haunting House,6,Pandemic,7,The Good, The Bad, and The Munchkin,8,Shadows Over Camelot, Stay tuned for Show #7, coming to YOUR part of town 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. Mark and Jeff talk about a totally indispensable part of any game collection: the humble "Filler Game". Filler games --which Mark and Jeff loosely define as games that can be played in less than an hour-- are great for keeping us entertained and/or occupied when we are waiting for the day's main event to start or for when the main event ends a little too soon for everyone's taste. Mark and Jeff cover four filler games in this episode. We will return to this topic in the future, so we are calling this 'Fillers part 1'. Before our discussion of filler games, we ask for Listener ideas for our Podcast of Love, making its premier soon!   00:00 prelude 06:37 Listener Feedback 17:03 Call for ideas for Podcast of Love 18:26 Fillers Part 1 20:04 Dungeon Quest 25:27 Letter of Marque 32:03 Mag Blast 39:37 Car Wars

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 this Session Report, we talk about a play session of Mayfair Games' Domaine. Using an experimental new approach to our session reports, we present our audience with a play session that can only be described with one word: reckless...reckless and avant garde --oh, that's two words...actually three if you know some French. By the end of this podcast, we guarantee that you will have more questions than answers, including:Will Mark recover from his time displacement sickness?Just how wiley IS a Boston Terrier?What is the 'Song and Dance number' and will we ever be forced to endure it? Be sure to check out the related pictures of this play session on the Gameopolis Flickr Page. After our play session, we present our first solicitation for Listener ideas for our Podcast of Love, making its premier soon! 00:00 prelude0

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. We start this show off with a rather atypical opening of a dusty old box. Mark has several different approaches that keep everyone --including himself-- on their toes. We prove that Gameopolis is a better buy than a trip to the movies, and we even supply a picture of an explosion in the show notes so Gameopolis is every bit as exciting! We may add more explosions to the Gameopolis Flickr account for added excitement. After that, Mark covers Days of Wonder's Mystery of the Abbey, a cloistered Who-Done-It.  He covers all of the main game mechanics and strategies. Then, we shift over to Jeff for his segment on Mayfair Games' Domaine --a game of Land, Wealth, Power, and Prestige. Jeff gives the basics of play, and some starter strategy and insights. Time...Topic0:00:00 Dusty Old Box-o-Somethin'0:11:33 Listener Feedbac

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. Mark and Jeff talk about the recent Carnage Gaming Convention in Fairlee, Vermont. Since Mark couldn't attend, we basically talk about all of the games that Jeff played and/or GMed. Each game is reviewed, and the high points of each play experience are discussed. 00:00:00 Prelude00:01:25 Start of After-Action Report00:04:00 Friday 1:00 PM slot: Last Night on Earth00:21:20 Friday 7:00 PM slot: Battle of Gembloux Gap00:27:05 Saturday 8:00 AM slot: Battle of Plum Point Bend00:31:15 Saturday 1:00 PM slot: The Great Space Race00:37:35 Saturday 7:00 PM slot: Autoduel in Akron00:40:36 Digression: SWAG!!!00:44:55 Sunday 10:00 AM slot: Romulan Revenge00:50:10 Closing comments Related links:Last Night on Earth on Board Game GeekStorm of Steel rules on freewargamesrules.co.ukAmerican Civil War Ironclads info on Wide Open West

This show starts off with Mark opening up a dusty old box.  After that, we give you a preview of the upcoming Carnage gaming convention, to be held at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairly Vermont November 6-8.  Jeff describes the Carnage convention based on past experience, and then we both walk through the pre-registration book and describe what we see as a few highlights.  NOTE: The mp3 file for this episode somehow disappeared from our download site.  This posting is to make show 4.0 available once again! 00:00 Prelude2:22 Dusty Old Box13:00 Preview of Carnage 12...13:31 Carnage background...21:14 Highlights of the Carnage pre-reg booklet43:23 Closing comments Related links:Enemy in Sight on Boardgamegeek.comCarnage Gaming ConventionLake Morey ResortDown in Flames on BoardgamegeekShadows Over Camelot on BoardgamegeekBoardgamegeek's Double-blind A&A rules Stay tuned for Show #4, coming VERY soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download locat

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 this Session Report. We talk about a play session of GMT's reimplementation of Avalon Hill's Blackbeard boardgame.  We cover what (for us) were some of the most memorable --or high-impact-- parts of the game, and unavoidably end up drawing a lot of comparisons between this version and AH's original. 00:00 prelude00:38 listener feedback05:26 Session Report26:27 Closing comments Related links:GMT's blackbeard on BoardgamegeekAvalon Hill's original Blackbeard on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show #4, coming 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. Yee be welcome to thee Talk-Like-a-Pirate Episode 'o Gameopolis!! Arrrr!!!! Don't worry --as promised, we do NOT talk like pirates throughout the whole show. This show starts off with our second visit to the topic of the Dusty Old Box. Mark then walks us through the old Avalon Hill boardgame Blackbeard, which inspires several spontaneous (but thankfully, brief) bursts of Pirattitude. Afterwards, we take a step back and wax philosophical about a general phenomenon of gaming: the rare and difficult to explain occurrance of a perfectly good game...suddenly going BAD. So ahoy, maitees, come set a spell with Jeff (a.k.a. Keelhaul Col) and Mark (a.k.a. Captain Stinky Tom) fer a right fine bout 'o Podcastin' 00:00:00 prelude00:00:18 start of show 3.000:02:11 Dusty Old Box00:09:08 listener feedback00:11:50 Avalon Hill's Bl