Episodes
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Ep 104: PAX Unplugged 2022
Apologies for the sound quality -- Lindsay got a new mic and it... did not work well, to say the least. Anyways, we all went to PAX Unplugged once again and it was the least stressful PAX yet. We found fun in some unexpected games and ate delicious food. What else could you want? 0:35 - General…
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Ep 103: Q’s and A’s
You've got questions and I've got answers! I cover everything from wargames to babies to cooking to economics. 2:43 - #1: Most impactful game of the last 30 years 9:31 - #2: Best game to play while holding a baby 11:27 - #3: Good wargames for kids 13:45 - #4: How to market a game 20:24 - #5:...
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Review - Catch the Moon
Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/07/18/catch-the-moon-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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Review - Can’t Stop
Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/07/11/cant-stop-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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Review From The Archives - Mysterium
Because of the holiday, here's a fresh recording of an old review. Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2017/09/27/mysterium-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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Review - Spades and the Appeal of Trick-Takers
Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/27/spades-and-the-appeal-of-trick-takers/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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Review - Anno 1800
Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/21/anno-1800-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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Ep 102: A Conversation With Jackson Pope and Paul Willcox about FlickFleet
I sit down with Jackson Pope and Paul Willcox from Eurydice games to talk about their gaming journey and the design and (handmade!) production of FlickFleet, which is about to launch on Gamefound with its fourth expansion. Links: Website: www.eurydicegames.co.uk Gamefound:...
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Review - Shobu
Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/14/shobu-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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I Need Your Help For The Thoughtful Gamer to Continue
See more details here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/08/i-need-your-help-for-the-thoughtful-gamer-to-continue/ Support The Thoughtful Gamer on Patreon
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Review - Through the Ages
Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/07/through-the-ages-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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Ep 101: Sports as Game Design
Sports are games too, you know. In this episode, Marc, Matt, and Bubba sit down to talk about various sports rules and controversies and analyze them as game design. What are they optimizing for? Whose interests do they serve? What's the role of randomness or human judgement in making a sport...
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Review - EXIT: The Forgotten Island and The House of Riddles
Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/31/two-final-exit-games-forgotten-island-and-house-of-riddles/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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Review: Babylonia
Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/25/babylonia-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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Review: Pan Am
Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/17/pan-am-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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Review: Blackbrim 1878
Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/10/review-blackbrim-1876/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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Ep 100: Pax East 2022
We're back where it all started for episode 100: Pax East. Marc and Orion discuss a number of heavy euro games they played at the convention (including one surprise hit), and get excited about NISEI. 4:26 - Ark Nova 13:22 - Space Lion 18:22 - Video Games 28:06 - Zapotec 36:48 - Pavlov's Dogs…
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Review: That Time You KIlled Me
Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/04/27/that-time-you-killed-me-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.
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Bonus Episode: ”The Mind” Liveplay
Here at The Thoughtful Gamer we're no strangers to innovation. We look risk and uncertainty in their faces and say "what, that's all you've got? I am unimpressed." Some may argue that audio is not the medium for board gaming, and to those people I counter with this podcast: a state of the art...
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Review: Codenames Duet
An audio version of my written Codenames Duet review. I heard from some people that they would appreciate my reviews in audio form, so this is going to become a regular thing. Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/03/28/codenames-duet-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch…
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Ep 99: Top 100 Games Of All Time 2022 Edition (Part 4)
It's finally here, and bigger than ever! Marc, Lindsay, and Orion count down their respective top 25 games of all time for triple the list. Plus there are puns. So, so many puns. I've marked each of them in the show notes. I'm sorry/you're welcome. SPOILERS BELOW. . . . . . . . . . . 1:45 - Marc...
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Ep 98: Top 100 Games Of All Time 2022 Edition (Part 3)
Marc, Orion, and Lindsay sit down to go over Marc's top games list, numbers 50-26. There are some big movers on this section of the list, even this high up, and a wide variety of games. Lindsay continues with the puns. Marc acknowledges them less. SPOILERS BELOW. . . . . . . . . . . 1:30 - #50: 7...
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Ep 97: Top 100 Games Of All Time 2022 Edition (Part 2)
The countdown continues, with Marc, Marc, Lindsay, and Orion! SPOILERS BELOW . . . . . . . . . . 0:42 - A peek behind the curtain 2:10 - #75: London 2e 3:32 - #74: Union Station 5:21 - #73: Empyreal Spells and Steam 8:03 - #72: Battle for Biternia 9:49 - #71: Harvest 11:40 - #70: Great Western...
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Ep 96: Top 100 Games Of All Time 2022 Edition (Part 1)
We're back! Marc, Marc, (that's not a typo) Lindsay, and Orion discuss the first quarter of Marc's top 100 games of all time. This segment contains both the newest and the oldest games on the entire list. SPOILERS BELOW. . . . . . . . . . . 0:58 - Lindsay starts us off with a pun. More to come......
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Ep 95: Best Games of 2020 (and more!)
Amber and Marc talk about the best games of 2020. The pandemic slowed down game playing so we've delayed this episode a year to allow for more gaming before we declare what is the "best". We also look at the best games of 5, 10, and 20 years ago, because over-focusing on the new is detrimental…
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Some Changes To The Podcast For 2022
Just a quick announcement about some changes that'll be happening to the podcast and The Thoughtful Gamer generally going forward. In short, I'm going to stop trying to force a new episode every 2 weeks and instead record episodes when I have a good topic or a good interview. First impressions...
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Ep 94: PAX Unplugged 2021
Conventions are sort of back! Marc, Amber, Lindsay, and Orion drove down to Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago to go to one of the best board game conventions around, and they played tons of games! Marc's on the verge of a cold so his voice dropped half an octave and got real nasally. Some might...
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Ep 93: Chillcast 4: Chill Again
It's another chillcast, this time with Marc and Amber. It...well, it gets a bit silly. I'm sorry. 1:09 - Literally we talk about the weather 3:52 - Oceans 13:41 - Boardgames: The Board Game (The Card Game) 18:24 - The City 20:52 - Marc explains why Munchkin is no good 22:10 - Pulsar 2849 26:37 -...
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Ep 92: A Conversation with Austin Smokowicz about Robotech Reconstruction
Austin's enthusiasm for Robotech Reconstruction is plain to see (hear?) in this podcast. As one half of the Dr. Wictz design team, he's gone deep into the lore of this classic anime to create a fascinating game exploring its political and military settings. What emerges is a tense 90-120 minute...
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Ep 91: A Conversation With Jason Perez On Colonialism In Board Games
Marc sits down with Jason Perez from Shelf Stories to talk about colonialism in board games. Along the way they also touch on social media, moral philosophy, and a couple of tangential rants, as is tradition. 0:30 - Jason's projects 9:25 - Critique of Puerto Rico 25:40 - Endeavor: Age of Sail and...
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Ep 90: Card and Dice Poll Discussion
Marc sits down with Erik Twice, Ryan LaFlamme, and Andrew Holmes to ask each of them about their approaching to selecting their 10 greatest board games of all time. 3:21 - Erik Twice's approach to selecting his top 10 7:41 - Why Netrunner? 12:27 - Why Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective? 17:57 -...
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Ep 89: Dice, Fights, and Dividends: Some First Impressions
Marc and Ben talk about a few of the new games they've been playing. They're...all good? It feels weird to have an episode this positive, but there you go. 0:58 - Dice Command 11:55 - Battle for Biternia 31:37 - Boardgames: The Board Game (The Card Game) 43:03 - Union Station 54:19 - The part…
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Ep 88: Tile-Laying Games
Amber and Marc discuss tile-laying games since they've been playing a number of them lately. What makes tile-laying so compelling? Why is it a feature in so many of our favorite games? 1:29 -- Carpe Diem 3:46 -- Is Carpe Diem simpler than Castles of Burgundy? 9:35 -- Tile laying: what is it?…
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Ep 87: A Conversation with James Naylor
I sit down with James to talk about his excellent debut game, Magnate: The First City, as well as his next project, cleverly titled Boardgames: The Board Game (The Card Game), and his podcast called Producing Fun. Magnate is such a bold and interesting first design and I'm completely on board for...
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Ep 86: Chillcast 3: Revenge of Chill
Marc and Ben have been playing a lot of new games, and you're going to hear about it! Come chill with us. 0:59 -- My City 5:13 -- Coldwater Crown 11:06 -- For Science! 19:51 -- Legends of Andor 27:11 -- Downfall 33:31 -- Exodus Fleet 38:29 -- San Juan 40:57 -- Antike Duellum 45:07 -- The Alpha...
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Ep 85: A Conversation with Dan Thurot on Board Game Criticism
Dan Thurot has been reviewing board games for a number of years now, and for my money he's the best in the business. I had the pleasure of sitting down with him to talk about games criticism, and in the course of the discussion we touched on history, economics, literature, and more. Also, lots of...
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Ep 84: Golf, Disc Golf, and Course Design
Marc and Bubba sit down to discuss two different forms of golf. They're still games, just on a larger scale. What makes them compelling as games, and what kinds of lessons can we learn about board games by looking at the history and development of course design? 1:18 -- Difference between a sport...
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Ep 83: Pain
Straight from the mind of Amber, this is an episode where she and Marc discuss games that are "painful". Marc prefers the word "tense". Regardless of what you call it, there's a reason Agricola is both known as "Misery Farm" and beloved by thousands. What makes a game painful rather than…
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Ep 82: Reiner Knizia
Amber and Marc are here to talk about perhaps the most prolific board game designer of all time: Reiner Knizia. Going strong since the early 90's, Knizia is a master of making a game no more complex than needed. His games are straightforward and clear--something we see less and less of. Weirdly,...
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Ep 81: A Conversation with Dan Kazmaier about Chai: Tea For 2
Dan and I chat about game design, his experience as a top-tier chess player, and, of course, tea! Check out Steeped Games and the Chai Tea For 2 Kickstarter, live now. 0:00 -- Creation of both Chai games 10:16 -- Dan's history with board games 12:25 -- Dan's experience as a Chess Master 35:39 --...
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Ep 80: Solo
I'm by myself talking about solo games. I got a bit experimental with this one. I hope you enjoy. 0:32 -- A note on silence 3:43 -- Solo games 6:10 -- Arraial 7:35 -- My thoughts on the Fantasy Flight Arkham games 15:37 -- Arkham LCG 24:30 -- Unbroken 32:40 -- Nemo's War 44:26 -- Spring emerges,...
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Ep 79: A Conversation With Cole Wehrle
I was delighted to sit down with one of our most interesting historical and conflict game designers, Cole Wehrle. The discussion starts with talking about the second edition of John Company (on Kickstarter right now) before wandering to the the rest of his designs as we talk about the ways games...
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Ep 78: 18xx Revisited
Marc, Orion, and Ben have been playing all sorts of 18xx games over the past year, and they're here to compare and contrast the five they've played the most. How much variation is there within this sub-sub-genre of game? What kind of dynamics do different rule variations create? Which is the best...
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Ep 77: A Conversation With Sean Chappell About Hivernation
I sat with Sean Chappell from Ramstar Games to talk about their first release: Hivernation. We discuss the design process for this abstract game as well as the challenges of being a first-time designer and publisher. Hivernation will be on Kickstarter April 13th. 1:01 -- A little about…
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Ep 76: Conventions in the Time of COVID -- With Kimberly Revia
I sit down with Kimberly, one of the co-organizers of the excellent Granite Game Summit, to talk about how to run a great board game convention. And, now that everything is necessarily virtual, how do you continue to keep that community alive? 1:01 - Origins of the Granite Game Summit 9:10 -...
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Ep 75: Adventure
We're getting in touch with our feelings with this one. What can board games do to evoke a sense of adventure? Can board games do this, or is it a poor medium for the concept? How is adventure distinct from narrative? Marc, Matt, Ben, and Amber discuss these questions and more. 3:01 - Introducing...
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Ep 74: Top 100 Games of All Time 2020 Edition (part 3)
This is it, the best of the best! Will Gloomhaven retain its top spot? What new entries have catapulted their way into the top 33? Marc and Orion discuss, with only occasional interruptions from the new (very talkative!) kitten. His name is Mouse. Spoilers below. . . . . . . . . . . 2:28 - #33:...
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Ep 73: Top 100 Games of All Time 2020 Edition (part 2)
Marc and Orion are back with the second of three installments discussing Marc's top 100 games of all time! This episode brings the most contention and disagreement yet as Marc and Orion's tastes diverge and become more clear. Plus, we get an account of an old Jenga-related trauma, emerging from...
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Ep 72: Top 100 Games of All Time 2020 Edition (Part 1)
WE'RE BACK! After an unplanned hiatus during the chaos times we're back with a new iteration of the top 100 games of all time! 44 of the games are brand new to the list, so there's lots of movement and surprises. Here's the first third of the list. Spoilers below! . . . . . . . . . . 0:08 - We're...
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Bonus! Ikoria MtG Set Analysis for Limited
Matt and Marc are back at it with wild speculation about the new Magic set. Since we rambled on forever, making this a very difficult podcast to edit, the set has released already and we're already regretting some of the things we said (black and simic seem much stronger than we gave them credit...
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