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So many games, so little time... but what should you get excited about? In the new segment "Hype or Tripe" the D6G team examines some of the things on their radar and tries to decide is it worth the hype? Or is it gonna be tripe?

Later, Raef has somehow convinced Russ that it's time to review Agricola. And Russ agrees! They examine Agricola in detail... why does Raef love it? How does it play? Has Russ finally fallen in love with farming? And where was Craig for the second bit?

All that and our other not-too-horrible segments including:

- The Hollywood Minute

- Total Fan Girl

- Do You Ever Notice

- & More

Link to the Episode:
http://www.thed6generation.com/d6g-ep-67-hype-or-tripe-and-agricola-detailed-review

Please let us know what you think!

Awesome, I thought Id never see the day! Already downloading the episode. Should be a fun one!

I haven't made it through the whole episode yet but I have listened to the Hype or Tripe section and I have a couple suggestions. It seemed that the segment struggled when you were talking about full games, people seemed hesitant to call "tripe" on a game but when you started talking about expansions you were all much more engaged and frankly, so was I. My suggestion is to keep "Hype or Tripe?" to basically review a whole bunch of expansions at once (something you don't always get a chance to do) and keep the new game or full games for a detailed "D6G" review (this would also help preserve your "no hate" policy).

Anyway, can't wait to hear the Agricola review. Not because I like Agricola but because the exchange is likely to be pretty entertaining.

One last quick thing, haven't heard "Words from Wales" or "The Score" in what feels like forever. What happened, I really liked both of those segments?

Thanks, Ozy. I think we've got a great segment brewing with 'Hype or Tripe', but I think it's got some growing pains ahead of it. Your suggestion may well be one of them.

As for WfW and the Score . . . I'm afraid we haven't heard from Owen or Ken in as long as you guys have. Ken took over This Week in Wargaming, and had every intention of trying to do both, but I think it proved too much. As for Owen, I think he's moved on to bigger and better things. I know he had several projects brewing.

But believe us, we miss them both too, and we'd love to hear from them again!

~Craig

Hey guys- Nice work- still loving the podcast.
Just a few things:
1- Despite the fact that Raef is slipping back into moron mode this episode, Raef made some great points and was very credible in the Agricola face-off with Russ. I am a big Descent/miniwargames/American-style gamer, but because of Raef's articulate contributions, I will endeavor to try this game. (heaven help me)

2- I think you guys missed an important gaming history fact. We played the Avalon Hill Civilization Boardgame way back in 1984. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/71/civilization. I think the Sid Meier videogame that spawned the new FFG game was in turn influenced by the old AH boardgame above. By the way- lay off of ASL, Russ. I love that game

3- "Hype or Tripe" was a good segment (and a welcome addition) but I couldnt keep from reverting back to other meaning of the word "Hype". I assumed that if something was "Hype" it means "overhyped" or "all hot air". Its probably my own mental deficiency, but it made me think the segment was really about rating new products as "bad" or "worse". To compound this, I'm not sure you guys were all consistent on which meaning of "hype" you were using during the segment. I realize the problem is mine not yours, but it is just something to look out for in future segments.

4- TFG is getting better- interview skills are really solid. Very credible. Well done, and keep it up.

5- I think I heard that Raef is interested in 28mm WW2 gaming. This is probably my favorite miniatures wargaming sub-segment. If Raef is interested, I can proudly recommend 2 excellent rulesets to look into. Iron Ivan's Disposable Heroes http://www.thewarstore.com/IronIvan.html rules and Easy Eights Battleground WW2 ruleset. http://www.syrhobbswargames.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SHWL&Category_Code=EEE Iron Ivan's game is better supported, but I prefer the Easy Eight's game for its quick play and some clever realism elements. As for minis there are lots of options. I learned a lot at The Miniatures Page forums http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/boards.mv?period=ww2land, but am happy to elaborate further- just send me an email or pm.

Anyway, I hope this helps.
Thanks again for a great show & cheers!

Sawtooth (Joe W)

Master-Terraformer wrote:Thanks, Ozy. I think we've got a great segment brewing with 'Hype or Tripe', but I think it's got some growing pains ahead of it. Your suggestion may well be one of them.

As for WfW and the Score . . . I'm afraid we haven't heard from Owen or Ken in as long as you guys have. Ken took over This Week in Wargaming, and had every intention of trying to do both, but I think it proved too much. As for Owen, I think he's moved on to bigger and better things. I know he had several projects brewing.

But believe us, we miss them both too, and we'd love to hear from them again!

~Craig

And to think, I listened to "Did you ever notice..." after I made my post. You guys keep the awesome shows coming and I'll keep the praise and suggestions coming!

Thanks again, Oz! And Sawtooth, as far as Hype or Tripe goes, thanks for the kind words, and your thoughts on the word Hype actually parallel a couple other ongoing conversations. We like the segment a lot, and it seems to be generating a lot of buzz, but there are kinks to work out, and the name is one of them.

Thanks, guys!

~Craig

Hey guys good show. I did want talk to the new segment Hype or Tripe. I didn’t have any issues with most of your discussion. When you referred to Legends of Kalidasia I felt an uneasiness on Craig and Raefs part to give it a tripe rating. I was driving in my car and had some time to process it and think I might have some insight. In all of the games you talked about except one someone in your group had some first hand experience with the game or earlier edition. This put you in a position to speak from a position of experience to the game play and components. Even if I were to disagree with your opinion you could explain your reasons for them. With Legends of Kalidasia you could only speak first hand to the quality of the website. Your opinions were based on the public relations of a small new company. Being in the position to influence listeners with an opinion is one of great responsibility. “with great power comes great responsibility” do I get geek cred for quoting the Spiderman movie? I understand that the idea of the segment is to just give your level of interest in upcoming games, but it felt more like a review. If after hearing the segment someone doesn’t take the opportunity to try the game that is one lost chance of someone who might have enjoyed it. Good luck with this one. I look forward to your upcoming shows.

Hey guys, great show as usual - I had made my mind up to write in a couple of replies, but then Craig's plea for feedback in "Didya Ever Notice" sealed it for me. (BTW, why does Raef always call it "Do you ever notice"?) Oh, and thanks for getting the episode up on Wednesday night, it made my trip down to Blacksburg and back more enjoyable - well that, and sending Georgia Tech and their dirty coach home with a loss. But I digress. A couple of topics:

Jim Butcher's Alera series - I had been reading the Dresden books before I heard him referenced on the D6G, but I didn't pick up the Alera books until I heard Craig's recommendation. I'm a little ways into "Princep's Fury" now. I haven't noticed the "mangled" prose that much, but maybe as Craig suggested it stands out more in the audio books. The one thing that really had me rolling my eyes was in the last book (I think) when one of the Canim insults Tavi, and it translated to being called "Monkey Boy". That was a bit over the top for me. But, I'm enjoying the series very much, and very appreciative of an author that actually puts out books (I'm looking at you, George R.R. Martin). So, thanks Craig for a good book suggestion - I may have to try the Honor Harrington series next. I did read the short story "Out of the Dark" that David Weber wrote for the "Warriors" anthology(he look, something else George R.R. Martin did instead of working on "A Dance with Dragons"), so I may pick that up now that he's making into a series. Anyway, keep up the reading suggestions!

Civilization - Sawtooth linked it above, there was a "Civilization" board game well before Sid Meier got into the act with the computer games. However, I'm doubtful that game inspired Sid Meier's creation all that much. In that board game, you didn't advance from stone age to space faring - you stayed in antiquity building your civilization. As for board game adaptation of the Sid Meier games, I own the Eagle games version of "Sid Meier's Civilization", that I believe Russ mentioned. Played it once, for about 6 hours, and we only made it to about the Industrial Revolution. The mechanics were clumsy I thought, and it was just painfully slow. It's now in my pile to auction off at my next con. Fantasy Flight's version does look intriguing, though, and more true to the idea of slowly revealing the land around you.

Agricola - I thought the review was great, and other than a few jibes, I was very pleased that Russ took it seriously. I own Agricola (it was a gift), and have played it now about 5 or 6 times. The first few times I hated it - it was just Euro Analysis Paralysis gone crazy. But I've played a few games recently, and I think it's growing on me. I think Russ was spot on in his criticism of the components - the clay and wood discs are virtually identical. For my game, I've purchased the animeeples, and meeples for the farmer, wife and kids. They weren't officially labeled for Agricola, but they "coincidentally" had the same number of components for each, painted in the exact same colors - and they were about $10 each. I need to pick up the meeples for the veggies, grain and building materials. That looks to be about $20 - and you get stuff that isn't used in Agricola. Somewhere there's a pack with just Agricola-based stuff in it though, I have a friend who got it somewhere (uses pumpkins for veggies). So, with the base game going for about $60 now, you can pick up all the meeples and have a full game with all "good" meeples for about $100. Kinda steep, but with the "good" meeples, I'd put that in the same amount/quality you get in Descent. On, and I think the expansion, "Farmers of the Moor" does add horses...

I also share Russ's puzzlement about why some game boards are different than others. Looking at my set, there are 5 player boards. On one side, all the boards are identical - the playing portion (for houses, fields, etc), surrounded by trees. On 2 boards, the flip side has the playing board with the trees gone and little holding pens for all your resources. On 2 other board, the flip side contains places for presumably holding all the stockpiles of resources, animals, etc. And on the last board, the flip side contains some rules reminders. Odd. As for the cards, I'm just now getting to the point where I think I need to add the cards (as opposed to the "family game") to get the full experience. That being said, all cards (even in the "basic" card set) are not created equal. But I don't know if I'll play enough to weed out the overpowered cards.

If you think Agricola is just too much, I highly recommend Puerto Rico. Just as popular as Agricola, I would say it's one notch down on the complexity scale. Don't get me wrong - it's certainly not a gateway game, but it doesn't quite have that "oh my god, how can I possibly do everything I need to do" feel that Agricola has. In fact, this game is so well known, I'm a bit surprised I've never heard you guys mention it.

Lastly, given Craig's request for constructive criticism, I'll offer two opinions on when you run contests. I think I posted something to this effect after the episode in which you revealed the Heraldry winner. I was a bit disappointing in that contest for a couple of reasons. First, I think you should clearly define the parameters of the contest. When you announced it, there was some throw-away(I thought) joking about sending in actual shields. Little did I expect that someone would actually do that - and not having the time to make actual shields and send them to you guys, I wouldn't have bothered entering if I thought people would actually do that. But, my main request about the contests is to ask if you guys could just send some kind of reply that acknowledges an entry was sent in. I sent in a heraldry entry, but I have no idea if my submission was ever received. I'd hate to think I missed my chance at Battles of Westeros because my email didn't go through for some reason (after seeing some of others, and the winner, I know I wouldn't have won...but still). And yeah, I realize that's kind of a pain to reply to each and every entry that comes in...but hey, you asked for constructive criticism...

Sorry for the mini-novel here, but maybe that'll teach Craig not to ask for more feedback in the future...

Great show! First feedback.

During Hype or Tripe I had similar problems of thinking of Hype in the negative connotations of the word. I guess hype just means lots of talk without the substance! So while I like you guys talking about upcoming games in a round table format, a new name would make sense to me!

Really enjoyed your review of Agricola even though Russ sometimes frustrated the hell out of me! Reminds me of why I like this show so much though. I always find my gaming tastes falling right between you guys, sometimes drifting to different personalities. I love the game. I don't really have many "euro" games sitting on my shelf, enjoying mostly miniature games (WARMACHINE!), but I love playing this game as a change of pace. I actually play the solo version frequently. Quite relaxing.

One of my favorite episodes! Keep it up. I'm following Dystopian Wars as well and have never played a naval game. I hope I can get my local area into it!

By the way, great Total Fan Girl segment. The interviewing skills are really top notch. Thank you!

Glad you liked the interview and I really appreciate the kind words! I like to talk, so getting to talk to interesting people and then share that with all of you is a lot of fun.

Thanks for the great feedback everyone.

Message received on my Civ board game gaff. Got more than a few e-mails on that as well.

The response to Hype or Tripe has been great, as well as constructive. I think the full meaning of the title I intended was "Worth the hype, or might it be tripe?"

But it seems Tripe may need to be toned down.

Thanks for listening everyone!!

Listened to the review of agricola and I can say I can see where HG is coming from and actually makes me want to check the game out, sort of reminds me of minecraft and why it's so popular in spite of the appearence and goals for the game. I can understand Russ's points about the UI. Having a system that is intuative regarding UI is key for a game and ensuring new people aren't over whelmed by it.

I think this review was a really good segment because you guys had to really go into your motivations and what you do and don't like about Agricola unlike some previous reviews where it is pretty much just a standard review which has gotten a bit repeatative. A bit of conflict over opinions with each side having valid points I think makes reviews a lot more interesting. When everyone agrees there seems to be less analysis of what really makes the game good or bad.

Hype or Tripe is good when you explain why you think it will be hype or tripe rather than the review the game which as someone already mentioned before was obvious with the expansions. because it was a game people were already familiar with less time could be spent in explaining it and able to move on to the rating. Each of the guys has their own unique perspectives and so seeing why each perspective is interested in what games I think is interesting.


Great ep, keep it up.

btw when I hear you guys talk about uncharted seas I keep on hearing this song in my head (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfISlGLNU&p=ED9441CFC963F147&feature=list_related&playnext=1) btw Not Safe for Work.

HokieStone wrote:
Civilization - Sawtooth linked it above, there was a "Civilization" board game well before Sid Meier got into the act with the computer games. However, I'm doubtful that game inspired Sid Meier's creation all that much.

That is one of those answers that will never be answered (at least not after Meier locked in on the answer that he was not inspired by the original). However, I remember playing AH's Civ back in the eighties, thinking that a game with less period complexity and longer time scale would have been interesting...then discovering Sid Meier's computer game. For almost a decade I believed it was a licence version of AH's game - the tech tree system being so similar and the concept being identical, but with the longer scale.

No doubt Meier made his own thing with SM's Civ, though. I just find it sort of strange that the debt is not acknowledged.

Great episode, guys! I was really glad to hear that the Extra Life gaming went so well, that's a really excellent thing you guys did, and I'm going to try and organize a session here next year.

Great to hear about BSG two shows in a row, especially some of the play details. I really enjoy hearing about some of the strategies other people use for hiding their cylon nature or sussing out the bad guys.

I enjoyed the new "Hype or Tripe" segment as a sort of critical expansion of the news, but really think the name is unfortunate. "Hype" generally has bad connotations for me, as it implies to me the efforts of marketing teams to build "hype" versus the actual merits of a product. On the other end of the spectrum, calling a game "tripe" seems pretty harsh for the "No-hate" D6G, as it is such an utterly dismissive term!

Also, several times the question became "Is this overhyped or worthy of the hype?" Which is just confusing when said at warp speed Russ.

Congrats on the Extra Life gaming, and thanks for the tips and reviews. I might just be picking up my first Spartan game! Cheers.
M

Ok I am doomed to post on Dakka.

I just wrote a nice long post, and went to check the spelling, and it navigated away and I lost the post.



Well at least I can use this emote. Well when I am no longer fuming I will try to rewrite it.

Thanks for the feedback! I will be on twitter tonight for the show at 8:30 pm est. 1:30 GMT

HD

Hi guys!

Well, just finished the episode. I'm really thankful for the show, guys (and Nicole!) as it's been a great 4 hrs + of diversion during a very hectic and frustrating time as I've been dealing with both parents being hospitalized one after the other and it's just been crazy around here. Thank you!

Alright, that said...as others pointed out Craig put out the call for more listener feedback, so I figured I'd toss out my two cents.

Despite ZERO interest in Agricola (we live on a small farm and have pigs, goats, chickens - I don't need to play farm), I found myself really enjoying the review of the game by Raef and Russ. You both came at the game from such different viewpoints that it helped to craft a really balanced review. I mean, let's face it...reviews are subjective on most levels as evidenced by even your opposing views on the physical components of Agricola. So, I enjoyed hearing the differing opinions and seeing how those opinions were filtered by your own personalities and makeup. Russ' insistence that most people who enjoy Agricola because it offers them the opportunity to build an engine and see it run was a perfectly expected comment from someone with his IT background, whereas HD's interest in the current farming industry methods and how they're affecting us and his romanticized notions of how it was done way back when seemed to color his opinions at times.

So, yeah, fascinating stuff and more interesting, I think, than when you all agree.

Craig - I usually really enjoy Did You Ever Notice...? but felt the topic this week hit a little too close to last episodes talk about gamers getting angry, etc. But, hey, you're still a new Dad...so, I'll give you a pass....this time! But, I'm watching you, buddy! ;-)

OK, I hate to be negative...but the Nutshell segment is just not working for me. I really hate to say it. The content this episode was fine, but the delivery....it really needs work. On the technical side, it doesn't sound as clean as the rest of the episode. The volume is really low. There seems to be a lot of static or hissing or other ambient sound that really overpowers the speaker (apologies...I can't remember the chap's name). Plus, his speaking voice is very monotone. One of the things that makes the D6G so entertaining is the lively discussion. Sorry, but I can't describe Nutshell as lively.

One last thing about this episode. Language. One of the things I have always appreciated about the D6G is the language is very family friendly. Maybe there's an occasional 'damn' or such every few episodes. But, this one...a few more slipped by than usual. Raef said "shoot the s#!t", Russ mentioned "bitching" about something and there were a few more expletives. Not a huge deal, but I sometimes listen while driving my 6 yr old daughter around and now I feel like I shouldn't do that anymore. Like I said, not a huge deal. I can concentrate more when she's not in the car anyway. But, I thought I'd point it out. Because they were aberrations, they just really stood out to me.

Thanks guys....and here's looking towards the next episode!

Jeff
http://theruralgamer.blogspot.com/

Thanks for answer the call, guys!

Let's see . . .

What Russ said about Hype or Tripe. Look for the segment again in the future, with your suggested tweaks taken into account.

Couldn't agree more about the contests. We really need to formulate the contests ahead of time, rather than on the fly . . . we'll look into that

Civilization: I THOUGHT it was a boardgame first . . . but Russ always sounds so damned SURE of himself!

King Caboose . . . I think I might have to clean that song up a bit and play it via mp3 during games of Uncharted Seas . . .

D'you Ever Notice: I'll admit, finding the time's been a bit difficult with an adapted recording schedule we've had to endure lately (I've got to do it during the week), and so I've felt the last few have been a bit weaker than normal. I'll try to get back on track. If anyone has any pet gamer foibles they'd like to throw out there, I'd appreciate it. It's also making it very hard to write these things, not getting out to game much. Also, having a great store like Myriad means I'm not observing as wide a sampling of gamerdome on a regular basis . . . no pun intended . . .

As for Nutshell, Iain is new to this format, but he's trying really hard, and we think his idea of looking at smaller games we don't get into is a great resource for listeners. He IS planning on getting a new, better mic, and I'm sure he'll get better with experience. I mean, have you listened to Episode 1b in awhile? Ech!

And finally . . . I've got to say, Raef dropping the 'Feces bomb" caught me off guard as well. And Russ usually catches those and edits them. See what happens when I'm not around to keep these guys in line? Never mind the grammar issues and mispronounciations that fly by without a single snarky comment!

Anyway, thanks for all the feedback guys! You've really answered the call, and we really appreciate it!

Now off to record Episode 68!

~Craig

Edited once because I'm an idiot . . .

Master-Terraformer wrote:It's also making it very hard to write these things, not getting out to game much.

Hmmmm....that sounds like a potential topic right there.

(...and, I'm right there with you on that one)

Jeff Cope wrote:OK, I hate to be negative...but the Nutshell segment is just not working for me. I really hate to say it. The content this episode was fine, but the delivery....it really needs work. On the technical side, it doesn't sound as clean as the rest of the episode. The volume is really low. There seems to be a lot of static or hissing or other ambient sound that really overpowers the speaker (apologies...I can't remember the chap's name). Plus, his speaking voice is very monotone. One of the things that makes the D6G so entertaining is the lively discussion. Sorry, but I can't describe Nutshell as lively.

I really do appreciate any and all comments and feedback - because it is always easier to improve given peoples opinion on what needs improving instead of having to analyse myself. So, thank you for the time to let me know. I also tells me that someone is listening, and that makes me want to improve more!

I will be picking up a new mic as general feedback has this is one of the more major issues with the segment. I also do see your point about being a little more lively and letting a bit more of my personality through into the broadcast. I will admit that I am still trying to find my stride with this (its a pretty wierd concept to talk into a laptop and then find that other people can hear you a week later! )

So, thanks again, and I will take your comments on board for future recordings.

Greetings, we have meet a few times in person before. I recently moved back to New-England. D6 Gen is what I fold laundry to, and it’s the best part of my week! It is nice to hear you guys on the internet, again great show.

Alas, I wanted to comment on your Agricola Review. That was a harsh guys… I thought you guys lost continuity a few times there, and I noticed a few areas of the rules that you guys skipped over or did not clearly explain.

A note on the “Changing Graphics” for the boards.

Two of the boards are learner boards to help people out whom are beginning the game and have a more forgiving layout. You will notice that they both flip over to show a normal side and they have little places to pile tokens. It even has a little idiot proof diagram to show you that vegetables have two token placements and wheat has three.

The other board sections have different uses. Some have a tutorial on the reverse side to act as a teaching aid when helping new players learn the basics; the others have sections that aid players in setting up the board or keeping track of counters.

Note- There should be a scoring aid card that is invaluable for reminding new players
This might help you out Russ...

On Animals, Vegetables, and “Pimping my Agricola”

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/73833/agricola-the-goodies-expansion
A new expansion called “The Goodies” has been published that makes these extra features easy to find and collects them in one box.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/43018/agricola-farmers-of-the-moor
Another expansion called Farmers of the Moor has a significant impact on game play introducing additional types of livestock and generally speaking making life more difficult.

On Theme

The Late Renaissance was historically an odd time for the agriculture industry, and it saw breakthroughs but economy encouraged farmers to stay away from mono-cropping. This game does have something to say about modernist agriculture and how it is implemented. I’m not saying become a homesteader, but I was disappointed when Raef’s train of thought was de-railed. There are some interesting points to be made.

Staying away from that, as an early renaissance guy I really enjoy the theme. There is a certain amount of imagination that is welcome, and it can be hard to explain some of the mechanics without that kind of background. I enjoy it as a non-war game that I can play with piers.

At the same time I will admit that its not for everyone. Even if Agricola is a good game newer games have come out with different themes that do the same thing but better.

On the Art


Yea… so what if its line-art. It captures the theme and there are hundreds of illustrations in this set. I agree that the quality of art is less than an oil painting but the simple drawings are fun, easy to interpret and clean. They are also consistent and are not distracting.

One bit that you left out was the incredible number of pop culture references hidden in the cards. There are lots of Easter-Eggs hidden in this set.

I agree that there is something going on here with color, somebody spend a great deal of time working on layout and the visual presentation of the game.

On Cost

Agricola’s msrp has changed a few times in its past, its currently msrp 55 dollars from most distributors. Most distributors are still very confused over its msrp. As a German import it suffered for a while from legal bits, some less honest companies are still charging the full amount trying to "recover losses". (I was told as a “paper good” it was taxed heavily.)

On the Number of Players

The game also modifies itself to different numbers of players. With different players and different numbers of players the board and decks can change. It has a solo version as well allowing you to play… well with yourself.

The changing number of players will force the meta game to change constantly, and the more people on the board the less you are going to have as the game progresses. This also effects the importance of the begging card and making your farm functional.

You guys touched on this… but there where some real gaps…


I was saddened to see one of my favorite games get slaughtered in this review. I think you need to have more than 3 plays to give this one a fair chance, as its flair comes from re-play value.



Throwing something in the box, Dystopian Wars has just been published by Spartan and it is looking swell. I would love you guys to review it.

This game is a BGG top 10 and from my own experience it benifits from a 3+ armor save w/ a 5+ ward. Something with high strength can take it down but the Ward is enough to keep it moving and its general theme and flexibility allows it to be a hit with certain groups.

WallyTWest wrote:
Alas, I wanted to comment on your Agricola Review. That was a harsh guys… I thought you guys lost continuity a few times there, and I noticed a few areas of the rules that you guys skipped over or did not clearly explain.
...
The Late Renaissance was historically an odd time for the agriculture industry, and it saw breakthroughs but economy encouraged farmers to stay away from mono-cropping. This game does have something to say about modernist agriculture and how it is implemented. I’m not saying become a homesteader, but I was disappointed when Raef’s train of thought was de-railed. There are some interesting points to be made.

Well said Wally. I have to say I agree, with you here, I was a bit disappointed to hear Raef's enthusiasm for the idealized, pastoral escapism being shut down under the accusation of politicizing the show. I think that was a little bit hyper-sensitive, and kind of took the wind out of the sails of the review. Craig's comments about the "Tentacles" of the FCC went unchallenged in past episodes, and we've heard a little bit about a new take on the New Deal, but I think it's fine. * Keeping the show free of political punditry is admirable, but I think the D6 guys can continue to let innocent statements slip by without harm, and stopping the flow of game talk to comment on them just draws attention to them and slows down the show.

*(Craig, don't mean to throw you under the bus - those are just some examples that stuck out to me when I heard them, and just used to illustrate the point. )

Raef -

I never had a whole lot of interest in MMORPGs...no desire to play WOW. About a year ago, since it was hard four our group to get together every week in person to game, a couple of us thought we'd try one - it's called Guild Wars, and had no subscription after you bought the initial software. We played it through to the end-game...and...meh. It was OK, we enjoyed getting together online, but nothing special. When LOTRO went free-to-play recently, we thought we'd try that just for giggles. I gotta say, I may be a little hooked. Maybe it's just because it's Lord of the Rings - I still have no desire to try WOW - but I actually feel immersed, to some degree, in the world. It's much more immersive than Guild Wars was, and a lot more...nuanced, as well. I'm not sure I'll get to the point of making pies...but I'm having a blast exploring the lands so far...I've only done a bit, but I got a kick out of running around the Shire.

We'll see how long the fun lasts...it's pulled me away from Total War:Napoleon for the time being...

Hey guys, I just listened to the topic about Dystopian Wars and I'm definitely interested to check it out a bit.

I wandered around Spartan Games for a while and couldn't find very many pictures at all. There was one thread about 28 pages long about Dystopian Wars and I got about halfway through it without seeing more than a single pic.

I know in the podcast you described several pics, so do you have any links where I could find some of those pics?


Thanks!

Yakface, check out this link:

http://www.spartangames.co.uk/dystopian_wars.html when you are on the page click on the pictures of the flags of the four factions to get shots of their armies plus some CGI modelling.

Agricola - I thought the conclusions that were drawn during the Agricola review were spot on. I think Russ really did a great job of explaining why he didn't enjoy playing the game. It's actually nice to see a negative review because it gave me a chance to see Russ playing a role outside of the cheerleader. The path to the conclusion was a little rockier, though. I don't mind listening to Russ and Raef thinking through a review, but I was a little taken aback by the brief dip into politics. I didn't mind Raef's comment because he was attempting to explain the source of his inspiration and enjoyment when playing Agricola, but Russ's response was over-the-top. Russ - Raef was saying why the game worked for him. He wasn't saying you had to adopt that same source of inspiration. You often like to romanticize a game and put yourself in the theme of the Space Marine walking down the corridor or captain of a ship with dragons attacking. Let Raef say what inspires him without interuption or condemnation even if you seem to think it implies a political bias.

I've been listening to your show for about a year now and have enjoyed every minute of it. This is the first time I've been moved to respond to something that caught my attention during a show. When it comes to modern food processing I have a very personal experience that has left me very concerned about the state of our food sources today (my wife becomes very ill when exposed to certain synthesized "foods" and it almost killed her) so, I do have some bias on this topic, but I prefer to think that the bias is more than political.

Books - Craig, thank you thank you thank you for turning me onto the Dresden files. I am currently waiting for Changes to be released in paperback, but my resolve is weakening and I might end up shelling out the $25 for hardback if it fails completely. I have a book title to throw back your way that I was very impressed with. The author is Scott Lynch, and the title is The Lies of Locke Lamora. If you haven't read this I think you will enjoy it greatly.

Hype or Tripe - Love to see a work in progress.

alway have liked the show, Just wanted to let you know about a Demo game we ran and table we built for BFG, I have heard referance to it on the odd occasion.

take a look .

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/327441.page

CyberShadow wrote:
I really do appreciate any and all comments and feedback - because it is always easier to improve given peoples opinion on what needs improving instead of having to analyse myself. So, thank you for the time to let me know. I also tells me that someone is listening, and that makes me want to improve more!

Thanks for taking my comments in the spirit in which they were intended. It was difficult for me to write as the last thing I wanted to do was offend.

I enjoyed your content very much, and think it's fantastic to spotlight these 'smaller' games that may go unnoticed by most gamers such as Armati. So, thank you for bringing such games to listeners attention!

Great episode as always. Helped seal the deal on NOT getting Agricola for Christmas.
I started listening to the show in March or April and started from episode 1...it's been a long haul but worth it.
Thanks again and keep up the great work.
oh and TFG that was a great interview.

sturmkraehe wrote:I have a book title to throw back your way that I was very impressed with. The author is Scott Lynch, and the title is The Lies of Locke Lamora. If you haven't read this I think you will enjoy it greatly.

I will second this recommendation with a caution. There are two books out in the "Gentlemen Bastards" series - "Lies of Locke Lamora" and "Red Seas Under Red Skies". Unfortunately the author is pulling a George R.R. Martin and taking forever to get out the next book (it's a proposed 7 book series, I believe). Well, it may be a bit harsh to say he's "pulling a George R.R. Martin" - on his website, Lynch revealed that he actually started suffering from severe depression which has affected his ability to write. So...who knows if the series will ever be finished, or even continued...

At least he has a medical reason, and he's not just trying to fleece his fans like George R.R. Martin...

Good point Hokie. The primary saving grace is that "Lies" stands on its own as a complete story. I won't say more to avoid spoilers, but most loose ends are tied up by the end of the book. I hadn't heard that about Lynch :-( I hope he is able to overcome it.