So Very Wrong About Games

Mike Walker & Mark Bigney
So Very Wrong About Games

A podcast about all manner of hobby games by Mike Walker and Mark Bigney. Bad games don't go easy on you, so we don't go easy on them. Thorough analysis via reviews, news, and discussion of topics in gaming. We take context seriously, we value your time, and we're not into hype. Just because games are fun doesn't mean we can't take them seriously, and just because we take them seriously doesn't mean we can't have fun.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    #335: Catching Up

    Thrill to the latest superhero epic, "X-Men: Layover in Dulles." When the Blackbird is grounded due to an unexplained indicator light (meddling from the sinister Magneto? Who can say?!?!), the elite group of heroic mutants must navigate the perils of terminal D. Wolverine is having problems with the metal detectors again, which is troublesome as he is smuggling Cuban cigars. Rogue must battle the temptation of the 15-minute massage station. Panera bread keeps getting Cyclops' order wrong. It's epic, it's exciting, it's eight hours long! 01:42 AYURIS: The Great Wall (Kamil 'Sanex' Cieśla, Robert Plesowicz, & Łukasz Włodarczyk, Awaken Realms, 2021) Games Played Last Week: 04:43 -Don't Rock the Croc (Uncredited, FoxMind, Unknown) 07:52 -War Story: Occupied France (Dave Neale and David Thompson, Osprey Games, 2024) 13:20 -Barcelona: Passeig de Gràcia (Dani Garcia, Board&Dice, 2024) 20:27 -Mass Effect: The Board Game - Priority: Hagalaz (Eric M. Lang and Calvin Wong Tze Loon, Modiphius Entertainment, 2024) 27:04 -Freedom Five: A Sentinel Comics Board Game (Richard Launius, Adam Sadler, and Brady Sadler, Arcane Wonders, 2024) 32:13 Behold: Rome (Joe Klipfel, Mythfield Games, 2024) 36:40 -Rebel Princess (Daniel Byrne, José Gerardo Guerrero, Kevin Peláez, and Tirso Virgós, Zombi Paella, 2023) 39:00 -Seers Catalog (Taylor Reiner, Bézier Games, 2024) 40:35 -The Gang (John Cooper and Kory Heath, KOSMOS, 2024) 45:00 -Flip 7 (Eric Olsen, The Op Games, 2024) 49:31 -Scholars of the South Tigris (S J Macdonald and Shem Phillips, Garphill Games, 2023) 53:10 -Dogs of War (Paolo Mori, CMON, 2014) 57:33 -Crossbows & Catapults: Fortress War (Stephen Baker, Noah Cohen, Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, and Brian Neff, Restoration Games, 2024) 1:03:50 -Catapult Feud (Kristian Fosh, Vesuvius Media, 2021) 1:07:23 -51st State: Ultimate Edition (Ignacy Trzewiczek, Portal Games, 2023) 1:08:54 -Ceres (Gustaf Sundström, Artipia Games, 2023) 1:10:02 -Last Aurora (Mauro Chiabotto, Pendragon Game Studio, 2020) News (and why it doesn't matter): 1:12:32 Barony Royal Edition on Kickstarter 1:13:59 Smurfs Roleplaying Games 1:14:16 Reiner Knizia anthropomorphic animals: Money and Nyakuza 1:15:29 Zeo Genesis scalable miniatures games from OG Games Workshp designers 1:16:25 Planepita: dexterity with magnets! 1:17:01 Keep the Heroes Out! digital version delayed, Russian contract confusion Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 19m
  2. 22 OCT

    #333: Expectations in Crowdfunding

    An auspicious palindrome of an episode number! Granted, in triple digits one encounters a palindrome every ten episodes or so, but I'm sure the numerologists amongst us have special enthusiasm for the mighty TRIP THREE. I mean, primes, and threes, and all that. Anyway, it'll be a minute until we reach episode TRIP FOUR, so lets savour this while we can. 01:10 AYURIS: Mille Fiori (Reiner Knizia, Schmidt Spiele, 2021) Games Played Last Week: 04:06 -Lunar Rush (Steven "Skippy" Brown, Dead Alive Games, 2023) 08:53 -Dragons Down (Scott DeMers, Mr. B Games, 2024) 16:20 -Things in Rings (Peter C. Hayward, Allplay, 2024) 26:00 -EGO (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2025) 33:37 -Keep the Heroes Out!: Boss Battles (Luís Brueh, Brueh Games, 2024) 37:20 -Mexica (Michael Kiesling & Wolfgang Kramer, Rio Grande Games, 2002) 40:22 -Avatar: The Last Airbender--Aang's Destiny (Patrick Marino, The OP Games, 2024) 43:47 -Formula D (Laurent Lavaur & Eric Randall, Asmodee, 2008) 45:18 -Aquatica: Coral Reefs (Ivan Tuzovsky, Arcane Wonders, 2024)   News (and why it doesn't matter): 50:22 Risk 2210 A.D.: Frontline expansion 51:49 New version of Diplomacy: Era of Empire 52:42 Axis & Allies: Battle for the Deep  53:41 Trilogy of Bitewing Knizia games: SILOS, EGO, and ORBIT  55:20 It's time for another Mission: Red Planet reprint 55:49 Join us in celebrating Arkhipov Day on October 27th 56:08 Topic: Expectations in Crowdfunding Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 19m
  3. 8 OCT

    #331: Our Favourite Factions

    It is October, the month of Fat Bear Week, Decorative Gourd Season, Halloween, and Arkhipov Day! Sure, it has less candy than some of those other celebrations, but I'll wager neither a corpulent bear nor a kid dressed as a pirate has ever saved the entire human race.  01:00 AYURIS: IKI (Koota Yamada, Sorry We Are French, 2015) Games Played Last Week: 03:38 -Valka (Brooke Penrose, Terrible Games, 2024) 07:16 -Bus (Jeroen Doumen and Joris Wiersinga, Capstone Games, 2019) 09:47 -Warpgate: Beyond (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2022) 12:33 -Dinosaur World (Brian Lewis, David McGregor, & Marissa Misura, Pandasaurus Games, 2021) 16:02 -SCOUT (Kei Kajino, Oink Games, 2019) 18:18 -Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard (Gaëtan Beaujannot, Olivier Cipière, and Geonil, Mandoo Games, 2023) 20:11 -Cthulhu: Death May Die--Fear of the Unknown (Rob Daviau, Eric M. Lang, and Marco Portugal, CMON, 2024) 22:57 -Set a Watch (Mike Gnade and Todd Walsh, Rock Manor Games, 2019) 25:04 -Hamster Roll (Jacques Zeimet, Zoch Verlag, 2000) 27:02 -Federation (Dimitri Perrier and Matthieu Verdier, Explor8, 2022) 28:22 -R (Seiji Kanai, Kanai Factory, 2011) 31:03 -Lost Cities: The Board Game (Reiner Knizia, Rio Grande, 2008) 35:21 -Vengeance: Roll & Fight (Gordon Calleja, Noralie Lubbers, & Dávid Turczi, Mighty Boards, 2022)   News (and why it doesn't matter): 38:57 Friedemann Friese's Fishing: trick-taking 39:37 Mac Gerdts' 7 Empires 40:40 Reiner Knizia's Cosmolancer: Kingdoms, again 41:48 Burned relaunches on crowdfunding October 23 from Jon Moffat and Stone Circle Games 42:15 Daniele Tascini's Transgalactica 42:29 Chonkers Party: phat animals 42:50 Walker on Boards and Brews 43:14 Join us in celebrating Arkhipov Day on October 27th 44:22 Topic: Our Favourite Factions Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 14m
  4. 24 SEPT

    #330: Andromeda's Edge

    Generally we here at SVWAG prefer sci-fi to fantasy, especially if it is of the general sort. There is something joyous about the weird flights of fancy that sci-fi can enable, such as Andromeda's Edge with its "Jelluloid Technoblorps." That said, there's something particularly odious about importing generic fantasy into your sci-fi, like space dwarves and space dragons--something Andromeda's Edge also does. Call it a wash. Games Played Last Week: 01:01 -Harmonies (Johan Benvenuto, Libellud, 2024) 02:14 -Dro Polter (Paul Schulz, Oink Games, 2023) 05:56 -Rise and Fall (Christophe Boelinger, Ludically, 2024) 11:26 -Planet Unknown (Ryan Lambert & Adam Rehberg, Adam's Apple Games, 2022) 16:27 -Undaunted 2200: Callisto (Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson, Osprey, 2024) 18:18 -Irish Gauge (Amabel Holland, Capstone Games, 2019) 22:25 -Jekyll vs. Hyde (Geonil, Mandoo Games, 2021) 26:42 -Through the Desert (Reiner Knizia, Allplay, 2024) 31:43 -Cthulhu: Death May Die--Fear of the Unknown (Rob Daviau, Eric M. Lang, and Marco Portugal, CMON, 2024)   News (and why it doesn't matter): 37:15 From the Voidfall universe Mindclash brings us Revenant by Allan Kirkeby  39:28 Renegade reprints Acquire 41:03 Please support us on Patreon and take our games! www.patreon.com/svwag 41:53 Feature Game: Andromeda's Edge (Luke Laurie and Maximus Laurie, Cardboard Alchemy, 2024) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 5m
  5. 17 SEPT

    #329: Replayability

    If you replayed all the published SVWAG episodes back-back, it would take over 355 hours, or almost 15 days. This is not necessarily how we would recommend you spend your time. Indeed, for our purposes, we are equally wrong regardless of whether anyone is there to hear it; while we sometimes engage with Western philosophy due to Mark's academic background, the realm of the koan is beyond our purview.  Long story short, feel free to re-download all our episodes to your heart's content. I'm sure it would help us with some algorithm somewhere. 01:41 AYURIS: Autobahn (Fabio Lopiano and Nestore Mangone, Alley Cat Games, 2022) Games Played Last Week: 05:06 -Harmonies (Johan Benvenuto, Libellud, 2024) 11:30 -Valka (Brooke Penrose, Terrible Games, 2024) 17:01 -Keep the Heroes Out!: Boss Battles (Luís Brueh, Brueh Games, 2024) 21:43 -Undaunted 2200: Callisto (Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson, Osprey, 2024) 29:36 -CATAN: Starfarers Duel (Klaus Teuber and Benjamin Teuber, KOSMOS, 2023)  33:38 -Rise and Fall (Christophe Boelinger, Ludically, 2024) 40:54 -Martian Dice (Scott Almes, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2011)   News (and why it doesn't matter): 42:20 International Gamers Awards announce their 2024 winners 43:18 German wooden monstrosity: Drachentreppe 44:59 David Thompson and Trevor Benjamin Line of Fire: Burnt Moon; in the Undaunted 2200 setting 46:12 Topic: Replayability Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 11m
  6. 10 SEPT

    #328: The Vale of Eternity

    I find so many mnemonics to be profoundly disappointing. Unless there's a structural element to tie the components together, a mnemonic will not serve to dispositively disambiguate a dyad.  I assure you, that lamentable bit of alliteration was unintentional. For example, "I before E except after C" also works qua slogan as "I after E except before C." There are the ones about beer and liquor, feeding or starving a cold, colour of the sky and sailors' states of mind... I recall the structure, but not which one goes with which. Relatedly, is there a mnemonic to remember how to spell mnemonic? Games Played Last Week: 02:27 -The Voyages of Marco Polo (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Hans im Gluck, 2015) 04:52 -Pulsar 2849 (Vladimír Suchý, CGE, 2017) 07:29 -Faiyum (Friedemann Friese, 2F-Spiele, 2020) 12:01 -MicroMacro: Crime City--All In (Johannes Sich, Edition Spielwiese, 2022) 14:45 -Who's the Banana? (Chris Cieslik, Asmadi Games, 2009) 17:07 -Rats of Wistar (Simone Luciani and Danilo Sabia, Cranio Creations, 2023) 19:29 -Raccoon Tycoon (Glenn Drover, Forbidden Games, 2018) 22:05 -Yokohama Roll & Write (Hisashi Hayashi, OKAZU Brand, 2021) 24:29 -Gods Love Dinosaurs (Kasper Lapp, Pandasaurus Games, 2020) 27:05 -Harmonies (Johan Benvenuto, Libellud, 2024) 29:49 -Ratyl (Andy Gallagher, Busy Dad Games, 2023)   News (and why it doesn't matter): 33:51 Monopoly goes to Flavortown 34:38 Zheng He by Greg Engelstein and David Thompson on GMT's P500 35:47 Cyberpunk 2077: more promising-looking than CMON's offering 39:46 Beyond the Horizon: Dennis K. Chan, Adam Hill, Ben Pinchback, Matt Riddle 41:20 Studio Ghibli Othello/Reversi sets: https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8405167/othello 43:20 Feature Game: The Vale of Eternity (Eric Hong, Mandoo Games, 2023) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    58 min

About

A podcast about all manner of hobby games by Mike Walker and Mark Bigney. Bad games don't go easy on you, so we don't go easy on them. Thorough analysis via reviews, news, and discussion of topics in gaming. We take context seriously, we value your time, and we're not into hype. Just because games are fun doesn't mean we can't take them seriously, and just because we take them seriously doesn't mean we can't have fun.

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