Podcast Episode 1 – At SHUX19 with Paula Deming!

Yes, that’s right.

I’ve started a podcast!

Well, kind of.

This is going to be fairly irregular, and almost “guerrilla podcasting” quality (I don’t have a fancy microphone or recording studio or anything like that…just my phone). This will be a way for me to perhaps record my thoughts in a different format that might not work as well in a written form (or might just be too long).

But I thought it would be cool, and I wanted to make sure the first episode was awesome.

Thus, it was a no-brainer to see if Paula Deming, boardgamer and Youtube star of Things Get Dicey (along with a bunch of other videos) would help me kick things off.

Graciously, she and her husband Lawson agreed to take some time out of their busy SHUX 2019 schedule to record an interview with me. We did it in the gaming hall, so that’s the background buzz you hear.

I am so grateful to them for that.

We discuss a wide range of subjects, from what got them into boardgaming, how Things Get Dicey came about, and the joys and hazards of streaming video game plays.

Paula also made time to mention a couple of other very cool boardgaming personalities, so I’ve linked to them as well.

The finished audio is below!

(And while I’m trying to figure out why the embed isn’t working, you can listen to it here)

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Paula’s social Media

Twitter: @ThingsGetDicey or @paulademing

Youtube: Paula Deming

Instagram: paolobandita

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/paulademing/videos

Death By Monsters Podcast: Twitter (DeathxMonsters) and Instagram (DeathbyMonstersPodcast)
Ross

@moregamespls (Twitter)

Moregamesplease (Instagram)

https://linktr.ee/moregamesplease (Website)

Christian

Twitter (@takeyourchits)

Instagram (takeyourchits)

Intro and outro music is Tribute to the Kings (Trafic de Blues) through a Creative Commons license

Transition music is Get Jazz (Geoff Harvey) also through a Creative Commons license.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Google Podcasts, Anchor, Spotify, and many others.

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New to Me – September 2019

It had been a quiet September at Dude Central. There was a birthday party that nobody came to (it’s not my fault I accidentally put September 9, 2018 on the invitations. How was I supposed to know that everybody would actually look at the year and think the party had already happened?)

My birthday post did get some traffic, though, so that was nice.

There was almost an insurrection (yet again) because the only three new to me games had been from 2018 and 2019.

The Cult of the New to Me was not happy.

There was a lot of yelling!

But then, just as the month was about to end, I played a 2016 game and a classic from 2009.

Everybody was happy (or at least appeased) and we could all go down to the bar and drink our mineral waters.

Until next month, at least.

So, without further adieu (I had to use all of my adieu to turn the power back on anyway), let’s begin!

App Expansion Review – Talisman: The Clockwork Kingdom

I’ve done a couple of reviews now for Talisman: Origins and one of its expansions, but there’s also a new digital-only expansion out for the base Talisman game as well.

As we all know, Talisman is the roll and move game where you are journeying around the Talisman board trying to eventually get to the Crown of Command to do…whatever the current game’s goal is. With so many expansions out, and with all of them adding more possibilities, who knows what you’re going to be doing this time?

Now, Nomad Games and Asmodee Digital have released a new digital-only expansion for the game called The Clockwork Kingdom.

I know I want a necklace that’s called “toxic”!

In this expansion, technology has come to Talisman and players are trying to restore the kingdom to its former glory by constructing machines and other automata, using them to  further their own goals.

Deciding on Buying a Game – Crystal Palace

One of the things about us gamers are that, yes I know it may sound strange to you, we all like to buy games.

Some much more than others!  But even those who are successful in curbing their game buying (or acquiring them in some other manner) still like to buy them. I’m sure they do get at least a little bit of a thrill when they pick up a new game, undo the shrinkwrap, open it (and sniff that new game freshness!!!!), and start punching counters.

I’ve gone through long periods where I’ve successfully fought that urge, and then some periods like recently where I totally succumbed.

Something I’ve never really thought deeply about, though, is how we make these game-buying decisions. It’s not always just a basic “oh, that game looks cool” or “I’ve played this before and want it in my collection” thought process.

Sometimes it’s back and forth like a point in a Bianca Andreescu tennis match (and welcome to all of you who came here after Googling her name! Stay for the boardgame content, please! We have cookies.)

I recently received a newsletter email from Capstone Games, and in it was mentioned a new game coming out in November called Crystal Palace.

It’s a game designed by Carsten Lauber about the World’s Fair in 1851 London.

App Review – Talisman: Origins – The Legend of Pandora’s Box

Fresh off of my review of Talisman: Origins, the solo Talisman game for Steam and mobile devices, let’s talk about the latest expansion for it (discussion of the previous expansion, Beyond the Veil, will be coming later).

As with the base game, Talisman: Origins – The Legend of Pandora’s Box is a story-based solo version of Talisman developed by Nomad Games. In the game, you are basically playing solo Talisman, but using story-based “quests” that tell tales from the Talisman universe.

For those of you who don’t know (and for some reason didn’t read my original review), Talisman is a roll-and-move adventure where you are moving your character around the board based on dice rolls, drawing and resolving adventure cards, all in pursuit of some goal. In the original, you are trying to get to the Crown of Command, but in Talisman: Origins, you are trying to do whatever the quest is.

The Legend of Pandora’s Box tells the story of a Dwarf and his Leprechaun friend as they are trying to stop an influx of creatures from the Nether Realms.

Review – Welcome to Centerville

If I were ever voted to city council or the urban planning commission for Vancouver, you know what I would hope to see?

All of the people in the meeting rolling dice and making decisions based on that.

I think that would be hilarious fun, and it might even get better results!

Behind the scenes footage of last month’s Vancouver City Council meeting

What made me think of this today (Editor – Other than those strong drugs you took this morning)?

I was thinking about that crazy urban planning dice game from GMT Games called Welcome to Centerville. This 2-4 player game, designed by Chad Jensen with artwork by Chechu Nieto and published in 2017, is a beautiful game where each player is an urban planner trying to establish their mark on the city.

As with most city designs by committee, the results are a mish-mash of colour, but the game itself is great! (Editor – Spoiler alert!).

Birthday Post – 4 Games I’m Looking Forward To

It’s my birthday!

Yes, I’m turning the big 49 today, and in celebration, I’m going to tell you the 49 games I’m really anticipating over the next few months.

Ok, no. I’m not that much of a masochist.

Instead, the number 4 is part of 49, so here are four games that I really can’t wait to get to the table this Fall.

1) Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein (Plaid Hat Games)

Designer: Dan Blanchett

Artists: Mikhail Palamarchuk, Tony Sart