Every Night Is Game Night

This week Anthony Shares three games he's been playing lately that are sometimes hard to find with Leaving Earth, Helionox (and the upcoming Deluxe edition), and Dungeon Time. Jason has some tips and thoughts on how to make sure you have a chance of finding those hard to find games, and the guys talk about some of the games these ones resemble if you're not able to track down a copy. 

This week, Anthony and Jason sat down to discuss the top apps released thus far in 2017, and who better to join them than one of the gurus of board game apps right now - Suzanne Sheldon.  Suzanne sits in and helps to run through five of the biggest app releases thus far in 2017, including Race for the Galaxy, Tokaido, Terra Mystica, Onirim, and Mysterium. We also discuss the impact of the Asmodee mergers on the board game app market, and find out the answer to the most important question of all: pie, cake, or cookies.  Make sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter (@bgapodcast and @engn_podcast) and on www.boardgamersanonymous.com to join the conversation and share some of your favorite apps of the year thus far. 

Hey everybody! On Episode 32 of Every Night is Game Night, we have three hot solo dice games hitting our tables of late and we're going to let you know which ones are worth buying, which to avoid, and which are rehashes of the same old stuff.  Anthony dives into recent plays of Deep Space D-6 and Dice Stars while Jason digs into the latest Oniverse game, Nautlion, and Roll Player, the RPG character creation dice game (yes, really!)  Enjoy the reviews and the thoughts on this week's four dice games as we delve into chapter two of the podcast's life with the new name!

Jason has a late night chat with Shawn Patterson (Bristol), the admin of the Facebook Solo Boardgamers Group about the group, how it was founded, its recent explosive growth, and the number of ways you can get involved in the group and help out. A great conversation with the guy running one of the better gaming resources for solo players out there. 

(Note: This is the first episode of Every Night is Game Night, the name change being effective as of April 23rd. Stay tuned for all new images!) In the third entry in the Every Night is Game Night Preview Series, Jason sits down with Konstantinos Manos (a.k.a. Kevorque) to discuss Centauri Saga season 1, currently on Kickstarter. The two discuss the current Kickstarter and the expansions it is bringing to the game, the feedback received on the first iteration of the game and future plans for the company, Vesuvius Media.  This is the third entry in our Preview Series of special edition podcasts featuring Kickstarter creators and designers sharing their projects with the solo community. If you have a project you'd like to hear covered on the Preview Series, or as part of the regular podcast, drop us a line and let us know.  You can connect with us on Facebook, Twitter (@bgapodcast and @engn_podcast), on BoardGameGeek (guild 1735), and on our website, BoardGamersAnonymous.com. 

This week, we have Christopher Badell on the show to discuss all things Greater than Games, starting with Jason's favorite, Sentinels of the Multiverse. We'll talk about the state of the game, how it came to be, the future of the IP (and the game system), and a few recent releases around them.  We also dive into some of the other games coming soon from Greater Than Games, including Fate of the Elder Gods and Spirit Island, as well as the state of Sentinel Tactics and recent favorites like New Bedford. 

For episode 30 of Table for One, Anthony and Jason sit down with Matt Leacock to discuss...our favorite children's games! With Matt's newest game, Mole Rats in Space, hitting stores, we wanted to discuss how he approached a game so different from his blockbuster titles, and what that process looks like.  In addition, we take a few minutes to each share our three favorite children's games and what they mean to us and our families.  If you're a subscriber, keep your eyes pealed as well, because in two weeks, Table for One will become Every Night is Game Night. We'll be using the same feed, and you won't have to do anything differently, but keep your eyes out for the new logo!

Anthony is taking over this week with three big, heavy games! In an all-brain-burning, all-puzzle-euro special, Anthony takes a look at three big games he's been playing lately, including the behemoths of Vinhos Deluxe and The Gallerist from Vital Lacerda and Eagle Gryphon Games, and the smaller, yet wonderfully innovative Tramways from Alban Viard.  Anthony will walk through what he likes and doesn't like about each of the three games and their solo variants, while Jason asks questions and wonders at theming, questionable components, and play time.  If you're a fan of big heavy euros and like to play them solo, or have been wondering how the solo modes pan out in some of the biggest games released in the last couple of years, this episode is for you. 

On this week's episode, we sit down with Kevin Riley, the designer of Aeon's End and Aeon's End: War Eternal (the latter now on Kickstarter). Jason and Anthony discuss the game, its origins, the different factors that went into development of the game, and how it has developed over the last few years and several hundred (or thousand) play tests.  Join us for a quick chat and learn more about the upcoming standalone expansion now on Kickstarter for those who may have missed the first run or who are interested in growing their collection of Aeon's End content. 

We have a special bonus episode this week featuring Frank West, new designer of The City of Kings, a fresh new game hitting Kickstarter this week. Jason sits down one on one to discuss the new game, how it plays solo, the inspirations and challenges in building it, and all things gaming and solo gaming with Frank in this special one shot episode. Enjoy!

This week, Anthony and Jason are diving headfirst into all things T.I.M.E Stories. We'll go through the basics of the game, what makes it unique, our impressions and solo experiences, and what we think of each of the currently available modules. We'll also go into some light spoilers in the second half of the episode (don't worry, there's a spoiler wall - courtesy of Jason's sound effects). If you've played T.I.M.E Stories and want to hear others discuss it, or if you've never played and don't plan on it, you can get a sense of what all the hub bub is about in this week's episode. 

Super special episode this week as we welcome Isaac Childres, Owner of Cephalofair Games and Designer of Gloomhaven to the podcast. Isaac joins us for a half hour to discuss the upcoming Gloomhaven Kickstarter second printing, the game and its solo playability, some of the questions people have had about the game the last few months, and his next game, coming to Kickstarter this summer, Founders of Gloomhaven.  It's all things Gloomhaven in this very special episode. Check it out!

This week we're sitting down with Scott Gaeta, the owner and founder of Renegade Games. Scott has a huge background in the tabletop gaming industry, from his roots as a hobby game store owner more than 20 years ago, through time at Decipher, Upper Deck, Cryptozoic, and now Renegade Games.  We sat down with Scott to talk about the state of Renegade Games and how solo games factor into their current and future lineup. From Clank! to Castles of Caladale to an as of yet unannounced solo only game coming out at the end of the year, there are a lot of interesting things happening for Renegade right now - it's a great chat and a fun opportunity to hear a publisher's insights on the hobby and the solo role in it. 

This week we're looking at some of the games we've been playing lately, as Jason and Anthony dive into Gloomhaven and Clank! Learn about how Gloomhaven plays solo, what the experience of unboxing and sorting this beast is like, and whether it's worth keeping on your radar until the end of the year when reprints are due out.  Next up, learn more about Clank! and its brand new solo app. Does this already very good multiplayer deck building adventure work as well solo and is it worth tracking down when it comes back into print later this spring? Jason will give a full rundown of his thoughts and recommendations.  Finally, we read some comments from you, the listeners. We asked the Solo gaming group on Facebook what they think about solo gaming, why they play, and how they answer the question when someone asks "why solo?" We have a wealth of different answers and stories and would love to hear yours as well! Thanks for being so awesome as listeners, and once again, don't forget to check us out on Facebook, Twitte

Anthony had a chance to sit down with Andrew Parks, designer of Core Worlds, Star Trek Frontiers, Star Trek Attack Wing, and Assault of the Giants. Andrew's new game Dungeon Alliance, is on Kickstarter this month, so we talk about the game, the development process, and its solo elements. The campaign wraps up next week, so we're uploading this as an extra bonus episode for this week.  Listen as Andrew discusses the development of Dungeon Alliance, the evolution of solo and co-op rules in the game, and what you can expect in the future, as well as some insights on difficulty levels and upcoming expansions in Star Trek Frontiers. 

One Deck Dungeon is one of the hottest games in the solosphere right now, so we wanted to sit down with its creator, Chris Cieslik and ask him about the process of putting the game together, some of the challenges he faced, and what we can expect in the near future for the brand.  Listen and learn what went into this quick, yet epic solo experience and when you should prepare for your wallets to be tugged on again for its inevitable followup in our full length interview and discussion with Chris.  New to the podcast? Make sure to follow us on BoardGamersAnonymous.com, Facebook, and Twitter. Subscribe and rate us on iTunes and the Google Play store as well. It helps more people find all this solo goodness. 

Last week we sat down with Ignacy Trzewiczek and discussed First Martians, the big new release coming soon from Portal Games. We managed to keep him around a little longer and asked about some of his other games and how the solo variants and modes for those games were created, what that development process looks like, and what it takes for a game fan to get involved in the process of creating these types of variants.  In part two of our interview, we discuss Imperial Settlers, Legacy, Robinson Crusoe a bit further, and some other exciting developments coming up for Portal, including Portal Digital, and a big announcement still pending for the GAMA Trade Show.  Make sure to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter to participate as well! We'll ask for your input and questions before interviews and your question of the day responses are always big helps in building our content calendar. 

This week we have a very special episode featuring the designer of one of the hottest anticipated games of the year, Ignacy Trzewiczek. He joins us to discuss his newest game, which will release in the summer, and everything that went into it. Specifically, we ask him about the process of pulling the game together, the solo considerations in the design, and the differences and similarities between it and Robinson Crusoe.  If you've been wondering about this game, how it will play, how much content comes in the box, and whether it's worth picking up if you already own Robinson Crusoe, definitely check this interview out. And make sure to check back next week as well when we'll have part two of the interview, discussing some of Ignacy's other solo-playable games and the process of developing and implementing solo play in the game.  Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and BoardGameGeek to continue the conversation as well!

In episode 20 of Table for One (the big 2-0!) we sit down to discuss three small deck card games and how they pull of their solo modes. Jason kicks things off with Valley of the Kings, followed by One Deck Dungeon with Anthony, and finally Villages of Valeria with Jason.  Check out what we think about all three of these games, how their solo modes work, what kind of scoring and game mode go into good solo variants and more.  And of course, we'd love your feedback. Leave us a short review on iTunes to help us get the word out about the show, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter, or BoardGameGeek. 

This week we're diving into a pair of Cool Mini or Not releases from the last few months - starting with Masmorra: Dungeons of Arcadia, a dice driven dungeon crawl that just hit US shores for Kickstarter backers. It's one of the few Cool Mini or Not games with a built-in solo variant, so how does it fare?  Next up we look at Eric Lang's most recent CMON release - The Others: 7 Sins - which hit for Kickstarter backers in September and the public at large shortly after. How does the fan-made solo variant for this one stack up?  Finally, we dive into a discussion of Cool Mini or Not's overall practices and where we think they stand after a few years. Does a company this size still need the surge of attention and built-in scarcity that a Kickstarter campaign provides?  If you haven't yet, check us out on Facebook and Twitter where we post every day, including our Question of the Day. You can also catch up on recent episodes on BoardGameGeek and everything is published to BoardGamersAnonymous.com.