Every Night Is Game Night

Anthony and Frances from Ant Lab Games return for more solo gaming discussion! This time, we chat about 'games beyond the hotness' - that is, games that are some of our favorites from the last few years, but which have flown under the radar for various reasons.    Afterwards, we chat about the ethics of board game reviewers getting free stuff from publishers. Does it affect our objectivity? What responsibilities do we have to publishers, as well as to the audience? 

Yes, folks, we are posting the regular weekly episode early this week! Ryan Laukat of Red Raven Games dropped by the show to chat about Near and Far as well as it's expansion, Amber Mines, which is in its last week on Kickstarter.    Ryan talks about lots of aspects of Near and Far, including comparisons to Above and Below, the challenge of designing a competitive storytelling game, and how serendipity played a role in the design of the map book. And of course, we talk about solo play!    Special thanks to thebrandt, Brandt Sanderson of the Portal Gaming Podcast, for filling in as guest host. 

Two special guests join us this week to discuss three big heavy games! Anthony is very excited because he gets to talk about the heaviest games he's had at the table for the last few weeks with Anthony and Frances from Antlab Games, who also love the heavier side of the gaming hobby.  Jason steps back (but not out!) as they heavy gamers discuss Manhattan Project: Energy Empire, Anachrony, and Lisboa - both from the general gameplay perspective and how they approach solo play (both successfully and in some cases, less so).  Make sure to check out Antlab games on their YouTube Channel, as well as their website where you can download new episodes of their recently relaunched podcast.  If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous), Twitter (http://twitter.com/engn_podcast), and on our website (www.everynightisgamenight.com). You can support the show as well by donating on Patreon (www.patreon.com/bga), or using our Amazon affiliate link.

Jason and Anthony dig into five new apps that came out between May and September and let you know if you should track them down.  Join the guys as they review Jaipur, Friday, Bottom of the Ninth, Burgle Bros., and Through the Ages - all in digital form. 

Anthony and Jason sit down with AJ Porfirior, owner of Van Ryder Games and designer of Hostage Negotiator to discuss the game and its background. With the newest iteration of Hostage Negotiator, Crime Wave, hitting backer hands last month, we wanted to sit down and discuss the game, where it started, how it is developed, and future plans for the series.  Learn more about how Hostage Negotiator is structured, what the future of the series looks like, and what AJ thinks about luck and the application of game mechanics to mitigate that luck in the game.  If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous), Twitter (http://twitter.com/engn_podcast), and on our website (www.everynightisgamenight.com). You can support the show as well by donating on Patreon (www.patreon.com/bga), or using our Amazon affiliate link.

Jason sits down with Evan Derrick, designer of Detective: City of Angels, and the game's publisher, owner of Van Ryder Games, AJ Porfirio, to discuss the new game, now on Kickstarter. Learn more about this deduction and crime solving game, it's multiple modes of gameplay, and whether it's one worth backing for solo gamers. 

Jason sits down with Danny Lott, designer of Coma Ward to discuss his new Kickstarter project. The game, now on Kickstarter from Everything Epic Games, is a horror adventure board game taking place in a hospital.  Learn how the game came together, what it offers that's unique in the space, and whether you should consider backing it in this week's Preview Series episode. 

We interrupt our regularly scheduled podcast (sorry, AJ!) in order to bring you coverage of one of the hottest kickstarter projects of the year - 7th Continent. Anthony was unable to make it, but Jason was lucky enough to get help from game designer and podcaster Peter Gousis, as well as reviewer Zach Homrighaus.    We go on the deepest of deep dives, analyzing 7th Continent from multiple angles. We talk about theme, player and world-based mechanisms, comparisons to other adventure games, player count, replay-ability and reset-ability, and a whole host of other topics. We hope that, if you are on the fence about this game, this podcast has enough information and analysis so that you can make a final decision about backing.   If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous), Twitter (http://twitter.com/engn_podcast), and on our website (www.everynightisgamenight.com). You can support the show as well by donating on Patreon (www.patreon.com/bga), or using our Am

More fantasy adventure! Jason chats with Tristan Hall, the designer of Gloom of Kilforth, who is currently running a kickstarter for a reprint of the base game and some small expansions. If you like games like Talisman or Runebound, this one might be for you! We also get into some critical questions that players have asked about the game, then talk about some other projects that Tristan has on the hopper.

Anthony and Jason sit down and discuss 7 more games from Gen Con and the summer. We're knocking out a big backlog of the biggest and best games we got to the table this summer, so make sure to check out our run through of the following: Flipships  Triplock Magic Maze Terraforming Mars: Hellas & Elysium Eldritch Horror: Cities of Ruin T.I.M.E Stories: Lumen Fidei Summit: The Board Game If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous), Twitter (http://twitter.com/bgapodcast), and on our website (www.boardgamersanonymous.com). You can support the show as well by donating on Patreon (www.patreon.com/bga), or using our Amazon affiliate link.

This week, Jason has a chat with Viktor Peter and David Turczi about their latest project, Cerebria: The Inside World. Mindclash Games has certainly earned some momentum with Trickerion and Anachrony before it. Now they hope to keep it moving with this complex, faction vs. faction game where different aspects of a person's psyche vie for ultimate control. Viktor and David talk about the game's origin, mechanisms, levels of interaction, and solo play. As of this recording, you have less than 10 days to go in the campaign, so check it out! If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous), Twitter (http://twitter.com/engn_podcast), and on our website (www.everynightisgamenight.com). You can support the show as well by donating on Patreon (www.patreon.com/bga), or using our Amazon affiliate link.

It's been a couple weeks since Anthony and Jason reviewed recent releases, so guess what? It's time for some rapid fire! This week, we're digging into 7 games that have been released in the last two months, featuring some of the big name games that dropped at Gen Con. Join us for reviews of: Paramedics: Clear! Flatline Deckscape Escape from 100 Million B.C. Caverna: Cave vs. Cave Fate of the Elder Gods Spirit Island If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous), Twitter (http://twitter.com/bgapodcast), and on our website (www.boardgamersanonymous.com). You can support the show as well by donating on Patreon (www.patreon.com/bga), or using our Amazon affiliate link.

Secrets of the Lost Station is currently live on Kickstarter! In this episode, Jason sits down with the lead designer, Jim Samartino. They discuss, among other things, how it builds upon and improves Secrets of the Lost Tomb and how it weaves the theme into all aspects of gameplay.

Jason welcomes back the owner and founder of Gamelyn Games, Michael Coe, and designer of Heroes of Land, Air and Sea, Scott Almes to talk about the big new game coming soon.  The three talk about the game itself, the Kickstarter and controversy around its initial attempts to fund, and what they see for the future of both this game and other games in production by Gamelyn.  If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous), Twitter (http://twitter.com/bgapodcast), and on our website (www.boardgamersanonymous.com). You can support the show as well by donating on Patreon (www.patreon.com/bga), or using our Amazon affiliate link.

This week, Jason is joined by Michael Coe, CEO and Founder of Gamelyn Games, and Scott Almes, designer of the Tiny Epic series of games. They talk about the founding of Gamelyn, the background of the tiny epic series, and some pressing questions about the present and future of the game series. 

An extended conversation between Jason and the men's roundtable from Episode 50 including Colin Dengan, Adam Smith, and Hansworth Gruberstein.  The guys talk about life in Minnesota, parenthood, and lots of games. A more relaxed, off the cuff conversation, extra content from our Episode 50 spectacular. 

Jason welcomes Walter Barber back to ENGN with the next episode in our preview series line up. This week, they dig into Champions of Hara, the newest Kickstarter game from Greenbrier Games, and Walter's creation. Find out more about this game, how it plays, and whether you should consider it for backing. 

This week we're celebrating 50 episodes of Every Night is Game Night (and Table for One)! Anthony and Jason discuss what it means to hit 50 episodes and Jason sits down with two roundtables to discuss solo gaming and what it means to them. The roundtables include gamers from the solo board gaming groups both on Facebook and BoardGameGeek, as well as some other content creators:   Women's Roundtable - Sidney Bristol, Leanne Weaver, Marina Freeman   Men's Roundtable - Colin Dengan, Adam Smith, Hansworth Gruberstein   Thank you to everyone out there who has joined us the last year and here's to another year of quality solo gaming content!    If you haven't yet, connect with us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/engn_podcast), on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous) or on the ENGN Channel of the BGA website at www.everynightisgamenight.com. 

While Anthony was at Gen Con last week, Jason sat down with Byron Campbell, aka kittenhoarder! Writer for Miniature Market and entropymag.org from the BGG 1 Player Guild to discuss Sword & Sorcery, the new dungeon crawler from Ares Games that many are comparing to Descent.  Listen to the two discuss the pros and cons of the new game vs. the tried and true dungeon crawling of a game like Descent.  In addition, Anthony arrives to discuss big happenings with ENGN and BGA, including an all new website (www.boardgamersanonymous.com), a new channel on that site for ENGN (www.everynightisgamenight.com) and a big contest that you can enter right now for a chance to win $50 (http://boardgamersanonymous.com/bga-summer-upgrade-contest/).   

Check out some more of our conversation with Brad Tolton from Level 99 games! If you listened Every Night is Game Night, episode 48, you heard that we had more to say than what we were able to fit on the main podcast. Rather than leave that stuff on the cutting room floor, we are delivering it to you as part of our After Hours random conversation series.    Brad gives us the lowdown about his current big design project, Seventh Cross, due on kickstarter... whenever it's done! Brad also asks us a question about what makes a good solo game. We hope you enjoy this extra little bit of conversation.