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In Episode 75 Russ takes the lead in a new "Green Eggs and Ham" style segment trying to convince Craig and Raef that Wrath of Ashardalon, the new D&D Adventure System board game, is worth a try by highlighting what's different from Ravenloft.

But first another new segment: "Dominant Species" or "Survival of the Funnest" or, well, we're still working on a name. In the this segment we spend quite a bit of time covering which games we play the most, and which new style games have replaced old favorites.

Plus don't miss Total Fan Girl this time around as she get's the details on "Geek Girl Con." Yep, another mega-sode.

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



- The Hollywood Minute

- What's in the News

- Do You Ever Notice

- & More



Link to the episode:
http://www.thed6generation.com/d6g-ep-75-wrath-of-ashardalon-dominant-funnest-games

Please let us know what you think!

"Wrong! Leeeeaaadd Faaaarrrmming! is a 10!"

Would that game be named "Agriplumbum"? Hmm... that sounds dirty...

Ash·ard·a·lon
ASH-AHRD-A-LAWN.
–noun
1.
a mythical monster personality generally represented as a huge, winged reptile with crested head and enormous claws and teeth, and often spouting fire. Featured in Wizards of the Coast's most recent horrible board game whose travesty is only a slightly less than Castle Ravenloft was.

Phonics is your friend, Russ.

Wrath of Ashardalon is Mama Bear's Porridge. 'Nuff said.

"Survival of the Funnest" is the bestest. Just slap him, Craig.
(Good lord, my face hurt from laughing so hard at this segment )
I bet the Germans have a word for the idea of the Jones Theory. I say that in jest but thinking about it more, I wouldn't actually be surprised if they did.

Russ: "The first rule of Survival of the Funnest is that you don't talk about Survival of the Funnest?"

Craig: "Well, I gotta tell you: I'd be very, very careful who you talk to about that, because the person who made that term... is dangerous."

Raef: "And that button-down, Oxford-cloth psycho might just snap, and then stalk from podcast to podcast with an Armalite AR-10 carbine gas-powered semi-automatic weapon, pumping round after round into colleagues and gamers. This might be someone you've known for years. Someone very, very close to you."

Craig: "And I used to be such a nice guy..."

Glad to hear Craig and Raef will be at Adepticon. I hope you guys have been practicing staying up late.

Cheers.

Since the lost episode I have been jazzed up about Wrath of Ashardalon. Bought it the other day and slowly I am painting up the minis.

Played the first mission solo to get the hang of it. Then have been playing with my 7 yr old son, he loves it.

Took it to the game shop and had a 3 player game, again high praise from the players.

Thanks for the recommendation D6G, now off to listen to episode 75!

OK, here is my definition of what I consider a go to mini game.

What game would I consider going to a tournament to play?

And for me its Warmachine for skirmish and Epic A for army scale.

DragonKnight31: Glad you're having success with Ashardalon!

Hellfury: Well, there's no accounting for taste. People seem to really enjoy the game or not. It's kinda like 4e when you think about it.

My theory is it works like this:

"There is no role playing in 4e"

"Did you try and role play?"

"Well, no"

"There ya go."

Ashardalon is the same way with story/fluff/Role playing.

Russ,

Can you turn off the OTT blood effects in Dragon Age 2? I'd consider buying if so, but if you can't turn off the blood showers I'll pass.

RussWakelin wrote:Hellfury: Well, there's no accounting for taste. People seem to really enjoy the game or not. It's kinda like 4e when you think about it.

My theory is it works like this:

"There is no role playing in 4e"

"Did you try and role play?"

"Well, no"

"There ya go."

Ashardalon is the same way with story/fluff/Role playing.

Yeah, it is an "either or" type of game. Not much middle ground there.
Thats a very good point about the comparison, Russ. As a roleplaying aide, it's great. As a board game, well, not so much as I would have liked personally (Perhaps my expectations were far too high). I guess if it was considered to be a really good board game by the vast consensus, it would have competed too much with their 4th ed D&D and that certainly would not fly from a fiscal standpoint at Hasbro.

Talarius wrote:Russ,

Can you turn off the OTT blood effects in Dragon Age 2? I'd consider buying if so, but if you can't turn off the blood showers I'll pass.

Turn off the blood in DA2? Heresy man!

Actually I've no idea, I've never tried. I'm fairly sure you can. I'll check tonight and report back.

I kinda like the OTT splatter. This time around I'm a mage and I"m generally in the back while the fighters run up. I can't help but giggle at the end of most battles as I'm still all clean and sparkely chatting away with NPC's whilst the fighters behind me are all covered in gore.

You know its been a tough fight when everyone, including the mage, is covered in blood at the end.

Russ, I gotta say it ...





Wait for it .....



That episode was so "Wizard"!

- Joel

DragonKnight31 wrote:Russ, I gotta say it ...





Wait for it .....



That episode was so "Wizard"!

- Joel

We're bringing it back!!

I find it hilarious that you guys are arguing over whether 'Survival of the Funnest' or 'Dominant Species' is the better concept, when Survival of the Fittest is a term for determining a dominant species. It's the same concept! They're both good names for it though.

This is Adam by the way.

Loved the debate over the, well let's just call it the games you still play. Not sure you ever reached a destination but the journey was everything, which is really the whole point of your podcast I think.

The "Green Eggs and Ham" announcer/A.I. was total win (the segement was fun as well). She/it needs to be a regular.

Adam: Good point!!

SpookyVeez wrote:The "Green Eggs and Ham" announcer/A.I. was total win (the segement was fun as well). She/it needs to be a regular.

Trivia Challenge: The kernel of this idea comes from a sci-fi character who creates a 'female' AI whose voice is based on sampling his own voice and talking like a girl.

Name that character!

(A little Dakka only contest... first one to get it right gets a Black Library book!)

Thanks for coming up with something that's impossible to google. I took ten minutes looking it up before I realized that I could just buy a black library book for $8 and save myself the trouble of sorting through results about forums for love doll owners (do not google "female ai voice").

That said, you were dead on with your Merchants and Marauders review. That game is fantastic. Wrath of Ashardalon, I'm not so sure. Ravenloft is fairly dull and I just picked up Mansions of Madness, so I don't see myself getting Wrath anytime soon.

Thanks for another great episode. I really enjoy the podcast and have been listening for quite a while now (since episode 9 or so). I need to hit that donate button!

I reckon I've successfully googled it but I don't reckon that should allow me to win it.

Great show as always. Thanks.

Hey, guys, thanks again for all the kind words.

I'm not sure, Adam. That's like saying Super Bowl XLV and Green Bay Packers is the same thing . . . isn't it?

I'm not sure if I'd say the Adventure System is a love/hate system so much as slightly less of a love/meh system as Ravenloft, which from everything I've read and heard and experienced myself is REALLY a love/meh system. Although I've found a few blogs that were GUNG-HO "if you don't like this game you're an idiot!" and heard a few folks who've said "I'd rather be buried in the box than play it!"

As for the trivia . . . I'm not sure that's entirely fair, Russ! If the answer is what I think it is (and I'm pretty sure it is), I'm not sure it's never been 'confirmed' in the 'canon' . . . as the character in question constantly diverts the conversation whenever anyone asks him if its his voice . . . ?

That being said, probably because I knew what I was looking for, I DID manage to confirm it on Google . . . but it took longer than I'd want to admit, especially considering I'm not 'eligible for the cash and prizes'

~Craig

RussWakelin wrote:Trivia Challenge: The kernel of this idea comes from a sci-fi character who creates a 'female' AI whose voice is based on sampling his own voice and talking like a girl.

Name that character!

Hmm. I am torn.

My first instinct is to say Arnold Rimmer's Hologram character in Red Dwarf...

...but that brings me to think of Holly on the same show...

My geek-fu is weak. But I am going with Arnold Rimmer.

Hellfury wrote:
My geek-fu is weak. But I am going with Arnold Rimmer.

Rimmer is incorrect. Although not a bad guess.

This is totally a fair question, as it clearly IS the voice of the actor his is also the actor of the creator doing a girl voice in the show. (There, that's a big hint)


Note: Someone already got it right via PM, but they didn't want to win because they had to use Google.

RussWakelin wrote:Adam: Good point!!

SpookyVeez wrote:The "Green Eggs and Ham" announcer/A.I. was total win (the segement was fun as well). She/it needs to be a regular.

Trivia Challenge: The kernel of this idea comes from a sci-fi character who creates a 'female' AI whose voice is based on sampling his own voice and talking like a girl.

Name that character!

(A little Dakka only contest... first one to get it right gets a Black Library book!)

It was ...

Great Show as always and I literally laughed out loud during the "Survival of the Funnest" segment (and that's my pick for the name, btw). One thing that Craig sort of touched on but I didn't hear was simply burnout on a game. My group played BSG to death, to the point where we knew every combo of card and character (which actually made it fairly easy for the humans to win). We stopped playing that game not because we didn't like it, but that we played it too much!

I was also somewhat surprised to not hear Arkham Horror in your list of co-op games. That game, along with Betrayal at House on the Hill, gets the most play around here. Is that a game you guys just don't enjoy or haven't gotten in to yet? It's probably my wife's most favorite game (along with Betrayal).

As for Ravenloft, I played it once, and the whole time I was just thinking to myself that I'd just rather play 4e and explore a dungeon than play Ravenloft. But my last real dungeon crawl game was Warhammer Quest so it may just be a genre I don't care for.

Craig, after your last "DYEN" I was surprised to hear you say you liked the Social Network. Who did you feel was the good guy in that movie?

skrulnik wrote:
It was ...

Spoiler:

Fargo from Eureka. He has an unhealthy obsession with Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy fame, and did the voice for the AI of his living house, also named Sarah if I remember correctly.

WINNER!! PM me via Dakka your name and address and I'll send out a Black Library book to ya.

Let me know if you prefer WHFB or 40k stories.

I am enjoying the episode as always, but one thing really surprised me: Russ was commenting that he will pick the new Civilization game whenever there is 2, 3 or 4 players, but for more it's a tie between Runewars and StarCraft.

Huh?

Isn't Runewars 4 player max also, same as Civ?

RobertDD wrote:I am enjoying the episode as always, but one thing really surprised me: Russ was commenting that he will pick the new Civilization game whenever there is 2, 3 or 4 players, but for more it's a tie between Runewars and StarCraft.

Huh?

Isn't Runewars 4 player max also, same as Civ?

Good catch Robert. Yeah I was thinking of Starcraft when I said that as it handles 6. I guess I'd go to Runewars when I want more 'bling' in my game... i.e. Lots of crazy plastic and fancy mountains, etc.

Civ's my fav of the bunch for rules and mechanics.

(Although I have an 'All Pro' session of Runewars scheduled for tomorrow night.. will let you know how it goes.)

RussWakelin wrote:

RobertDD wrote:I am enjoying the episode as always, but one thing really surprised me: Russ was commenting that he will pick the new Civilization game whenever there is 2, 3 or 4 players, but for more it's a tie between Runewars and StarCraft.

Huh?

Isn't Runewars 4 player max also, same as Civ?

Good catch Robert. Yeah I was thinking of Starcraft when I said that as it handles 6. I guess I'd go to Runewars when I want more 'bling' in my game... i.e. Lots of crazy plastic and fancy mountains, etc.

Civ's my fav of the bunch for rules and mechanics.

(Although I have an 'All Pro' session of Runewars scheduled for tomorrow night.. will let you know how it goes.)

Nice! I fully agree on the new Civ, by the way. Fantastic game!

We will be starting our "Ameritrash Sundays" pretty soon here at the game store in West Lebanon, NH. It's a bunch of us getting together for some larger games that we do not get to play on Wednesday night (our regular board game night) It's a once a month thing. Civ is up to be played in two weeks, but I want to get an "all veteran" game of StarCraft in. Maybe some of you down there in Salem/Manchester are interested in driving up?

I can't help but think that the "Go-to" game will always be the argument about how you three define anything. If only you guys could box it with rules and wooden cubes...


Good show so far, not even halfway in.

I'm right at the start of the Green Eggs & Ham segment, but figured I'd weigh in with some thoughts on the show thus far.

As always, really enjoyed Achievements. Y'know, overall...Achievements may be my favorite segment of the show. It's like a couple of friends sitting around chatting about what they've played...and since I rarely get to do that in person any more, it's nice to be able to hear it from the D6.

My my the Survival of the Funnest Dominant Game segment was quite the raucous one! But, it was an interesting topic. I've recently begun thinking along the same lines (even before I started listening to Cody & John and got exposed to the The Jones Theory). For me, I had picked up Battles of Westeros last year. Even though I'd never read any of the Martin novels, I thought the game looked fantastic and I was a huge fan of Battlelore. But, after I got it...I found I never wanted to play it. I'd rather just play Battlelore. So, I'll be selling off my copy of Westeros and sticking with Battlelore.

Similarily, I was intrigued by a game from Nexus at Gen Con last summer called Magestorm. But, dang, if it doesn't look a lot like Battlelore. I haven't determined yet if it has enough distinctives to set it apart from Battlelore, or if it's too similiar and an easy pass.

I didn't need Memoir '44 and Tide of Iron....so, Tide of Iron went away. Same with Zombies!!! and Last Night on Earth (LNoE won, despite Zombies!!! portability factor)....

Regarding those games that you don't play but really want to play - for me, it'd be Tannhauser. I think it's such a cool game, especially after the revised rulebook. I just haven't gotten it to the table in a long time. The theme's a little much for my wife to play (thankfully, she loves Battlelore)...so it doesn't get played at home. But, one of these days. It's one of those games I want to hold onto. And, the nice thing is...there really isn't another game like it (that I know of).

One brief criticism...be careful when making off-hand remarks about games that you don't play. Like it or not, the D6 team is perceived as experts and off-hand comments could be taken as gospel by some listeners. Specifically, I'm referring to a point in the discussion where Russ or Craig mentioned a few games, and Raef said, "Oh, yeah, well those games are dead." One of those games was Heroclix and it's far from a dead game. It was dead, when Topps had canned the Wizkids division but then NECA bought it and brought it back in Nov 09 and it's been doing great. The latest expansion, Giant-Sized X-Men sold out at the manufacturing level before it even hit the street..and it's growing.

Just sayin'

Jeff Cope wrote:One brief criticism...be careful when making off-hand remarks about games that you don't play. Like it or not, the D6 team is perceived as experts and off-hand comments could be taken as gospel by some listeners. Specifically, I'm referring to a point in the discussion where Russ or Craig mentioned a few games, and Raef said, "Oh, yeah, well those games are dead." One of those games was Heroclix and it's far from a dead game. It was dead, when Topps had canned the Wizkids division but then NECA bought it and brought it back in Nov 09 and it's been doing great. The latest expansion, Giant-Sized X-Men sold out at the manufacturing level before it even hit the street..and it's growing.

Jeff, when Raef was saying those games were dead, I think he was refering to just their group, not to all of the gaming world.

Also, from Adam's request I thought the segment would be more about games that you liked, but that got eclipsed by newer games. Not necessarily what was your top game in a genre, but what was a game you loved, untill something better came along. That being said I thought a good name for the segement that would be riff on a popular meme would be, "At first I was like...But now I'm like..."

great episode . i loved the whats dead and hot section ! i side with russ for minatures games . if i wanna pull out a minatures game thats old . i pull it out and play it . the reason is i dont get into any minatures game unless im willing to buy and paint two opposing armies and have terrain to play over for the game . i know what most people say thats expensive and crazy ... well im crazy ! i have this hobby disorder were i have to have toy soldiers , guys to fight them and the battle space to fight over . i do this for sci fi , fantasy and historicals . Russ also mentioned how he liked the starship trooper game he liked . i love this game as well boght everything up and painted it all know i have a self contained game mi vs bugs . then when im in the mood . i run a big game . i understand most don't gamers could have the funds and time to do this . so thats why alot of games die . the average gamer invests money in to a game an army and needs a constant alive community to supply him with games to play . to me i like setting up big games and running them for an audience . so to me games never die . thats just a Rendar ramble , but great episode it always interests me to hear what you guys are playing and hobbying . keep up the great work . i respect all the time and work that goes into the show. cheers ...

Excellent show again!

I'm with Craig- "Survival of the Funnest" is the better name. Charles Darwin himself coined the term in his less well known book On the Origin of Spaces (in my games closet). This was a thought provoking and enjoyable section to which you should definitely return every six to twelve months.

There's probably a related topic in looking at what constitutes value for money in a board or miniatures game. How many times should you get a game to the table for your purchase to be worthwhile? What should you expect from components at each price point? When should you trade a game and re-invest? Which games represent the greatest value? It occurred to me that, even with the large combined price of all the sets, if Russ never plays Decent again, and moves on to the D&D games, he has still had phenomenal value from that game.