Boardgame Babylon is back with the first in a two-part series wrapping up the great convention that was Boardgamegeek.CON.

On this show, Aldie - the man behind the 'Geek - joins me for a chat about the show and some highlights for both of us.

The second part of this series will include a series of interviews with some nice folks I met at BGG.CON, including Chad Ellis, Kevin Wilson, Zev Shlasinger, Simon Hunt and many more. Heck, you'll even get to hear from Friedemann Friese had to say when I told him about the Power Grid: In depth show...and my real feelings about Power Grid...

Also - we announce the winners of the Franz-Benno Delonge Chairty Events, both the TransAmerica Tournament winners and those who won in the "Play At Home" drawings.

A special shout out to all the great listeners and new friends I got to meet at BGG.CON. It was an honor and pleasure to meet you all - thanks for all the kind words about the show.

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Boardgame Babylon is finally back with the next in the series on the Ascent and Dissent of the FOGS (Friendly Online Game Store). Sorry for the delay but I've been busy with organization for the ACS Fund Raiser in honor of Franz-Benno Delonge (among other things).

(that link: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/boardgamebabylon)

But now, we're back with a new show featuring an interview with Jeremy Young, the man behind Tanga.com, Simply Fun, Uberplay and Inspiration Games. While I mainly wanted to ask Jeremy about Tanga.com and get his unique perspective as both a publisher and an e-tailer, I couldn't help but ask about his other exciting ventures, too. I think you'll enjoy his comments and details about how his businesses were developed.

If you have comments, I welcome your feedback - please post it here on the Boardgame Babylon Guild on BGG.com.

Also, if you are on BGG.com, you can now purchase the new Boardgame Babylon Listener microbadge. You can find it here:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/browse/microbadge/3519

By the way, if you will be at BGG.CON this week, please look for me and say 'hi'. I'll be there from Thursday through Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

We hit $2,500 tonight, with two days to go until BGG.CON.

We've got plans in place for 72 participants in the TransAmerica tournament. We'll have room for some walk-ins but I'm not sure how many. Donate now if you want to make sure you are pre-registered for the tournament.

We'll also draw for the "Play At Home" winners at that time, except for Shire Games for UK donors - you have until 11/30 for that one.

You can still donate here: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/boardgamebabylon

Oh, and there should be a new Boardgame Babylon tomorrow. See some of you at BGG.CON. Look for me in the black BGB shirt, shamelessly promoting the podcast.

...ERB

In just the last few days, we've added three new sponsors for the Franz-Benno Delonge Fund Raiser. Your Move Games, Shire Games, and Sunriver Games are adding some cool prizes that you can win if you are generous enough to donate to the American Cancer Society during this fund raiser.

Your Move and Sunriver are donating prizes that you can win at BGG.CON by playing in the TransAmerica Memorial Tournament. Shire Games - a fine retailer in the UK - has offered to help boost our donations from Great Britain by offering a game to one lucky donor who cannot attend BGG.CON but still wants to help support the fight against cancer.

We thank these terrific sponsors for their help in supporting the cause. We're at 38% of our goal now. Won't you please support the effort with a donation? The ACS Web Site will take a donation as small as $10 (or any size - and some board gamers have indeed been very generous!) and every little bit helps.

That link again: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/boardgamebabylon

Thanks in advance to all who help with the cause and honor Benno in this way!

...ERB

In honor of the great Franz-Benno Delonge, designer of eurogame classics like TransAmerica, Big City, Dos Rios, Manila and the new classic, Container, Boardgame Babylon is encouraging listeners to join us in donating to the American Cancer Society to help fight the disease that claimed FBD's life at only fifty years of age.

As a tribute, Boardgame Babylon is hosting a TransAmerica tournament for donors at Boardgamegeek.CON on November 16th from 5 to 8 PM. The tournament will be a single elimination event, with Rio Grande Games kindly providing copies of the game for play. The finalists will win prizes provided by supporting game companies, retailers, and others helping with the drive. These wonderful companies include:

* Boardgamegeek.com (uh, that place where you are reading this)
* Meeple People.com
* Rio Grande Games
* Strategicon
* Thoughthammer Games
* Time Well Spent
* Valley Games

If you would like to help as a sponsor, please contact us at: sheylon@gmail.com. We are raising donations for a great cause but prizes are a nice extra thank you for donors who are supporting the drive.

Just make your donation here and you will be included in the tournament: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/boardgamebabylon

Further details are on the donation page.

You do not need to be at Boardgamegeek.CON to participate!

We welcome contributions from friends and fans of Judge Delonge's even if you are not attending the event but you would just like to honor his memory with a donation. We will even have a drawing after the tournament for some prizes to go out to donors that are 'playing at home' if they cannot join us at BGG.CON. This is open to gamers in all countries! If you win a prize and the supporting company won't pay to ship it to you, I will!

Of course, the REAL reason to support this effort is to fight this terrible disease - the prizes are just a nice thank you for supporting the cause. Your contribution goes directly and entirely to the American Cancer Society - the costs of setting up the event and prizes are being paid for by the terrific companies and individuals involved. Please donate what you can - it is all appreciated!

Once again, here is the link: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/boardgamebabylon

Thanks in advance to those who support of this event and this cause. I certainly believe this is a good way to honor Benno for all the great games he gave to us while also working towards the goal of a cancer-free world.

E.R. Burgess
www.boardgamebabylon.com

(photo courtesy of John Bohrer)

Yes, it's been a bit quiet around here. To be honest, I have multiple shows waiting - it's just that my capacity on Libsyn is limited and it looks like the system balked at me posting another show.

So, once November rolls around, I'm expecting to post the next BGB. I'm also expecting to announce a special event for BGG.con shortly, too - and I'm hopeful that it will be something that will encourage a lot of people to get involved.

Stay tuned.

Thanks for downloading and listening to (and waiting for) Boardgame Babylon.

Wow - two Boardgame Babylon shows in one week? It's never been done before and don't expect it again... ;)

As promised, this is the Q&A session recorded at Gateway 2007 with Guest of Honor Tom Jolly. Tom is, of course, well-known in the board game community as the designer of the classic game, Wiz-War (one of my few games rated a '10'), as well as more recent favorites like Drakon, Cave Troll, and Camelot. He was kind enough to entertain attendees with all kinds of interesting anecdotes about his history in game design and self-publishing, his experiences with various publishers and about how the industry has changed in the nearly twenty-five years since he entered it with 100 bagged copies of Wiz-War in hand.

I've decided to add this to the Stories of Self-Publishing series for the simple reason that a whole lot of the questions were about his days running Jolly Games, the shingle under which he published many of his older games, including G.O.O.T.M.U., Knots, Programmer's Nightmare, and Villages. But this doesn't mean I am wanting for more in the series - one more is already recorded and another is scheduled soon.

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Show Notes

Games Mentioned

Wiz-War   Villages   Drakon   Cave Troll   RA

Cosmic Encounter   Magic: The Gathering   Knots

Disk Wars   Camelot   Cargo   G.O.O.T.M.U.

Other Links

Tom Jolly   Strategicon   Jolly Games

Okay, here's the wrap-up show for Gateway 2007 - and less than a month later! Not bad for things around here.

I took a very different tack with this show from previous con wrap-up shows. This time, I interviewed some folks at the show. About a half-dozen extra interviews were tossed due to sound quality and, I'll admit, even some of these are rough when I took my little iRiver recorder into the dealer room to chat with these guys. But I think you'll still enjoy many of them.

Please send me your feedback on this format and any comments you might have to: sheylon@gmail.com or, preferably, post them on the Boardgame Babylon Guild on boardgamegeek.com: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/guild/138

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Show Notes

Games Mentioned

Wiz-War   Lost Worlds   Nuclear War   Imperialism   Duel in the Dark

R-Eco   Leaping Lemmings   Conquest of Paradise   Roads of Rome

Other Links

Protospiel West   Sorvent   GMT Games   Flying Buffalo   Strategicon

Okay, the first Boardgame Babble-on is now available on Talkshoe.com. It's a pretty freewheelin' discussion between Aldie, Dave Gullett (Davebo), and Sourwyrm about games, play styles, and things you can do on the 'Geek. I promise the next one will link to a specific subject and I will invite guests to speak on specific subject. Even so, I hope it's fun to hear. You can find it here...

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=52245&cmd=tc

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babble-on...

I've now scheduled a volume of Boardgame Babble-on, the interactive companion podcast for Boardgame Babylon. I'm hopeful that I can get some listeners and friends to join the show for a chat.

Okay, for the first volume of Boardgame Babble-on, I'm hoping for a very general talk about some subjects from recent shows: Demise and Rise/Ascent and Dissent, latest games and disappointments, recents conventions and my excitement about finally attending BGG.con this year - and anything else the callers would like to discuss, really. Let's see how it goes. Hopefully this isn't so late that we lose the East Coasters.

Here is the link for the show: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=52245&cmd=tc

Like many on BGG.com right now, I have tried out the interesting web site called Talkshoe.com and I would like to give it a try for a companion podcast with Boardgame Babylon called Boardgame Babble-on, where I will host a show with participants calling in to talk about a recent BGB show.

While we do not need to directly tie to only one BGB show, I was hoping to somewhat do so and have this be a chance for people to talk back on subjects we discuss on the regular show.

Would this be of interest to people? Please respond in this space and if it seems like a few people will show up, I'll schedule the show one night PDT. I'd love the chance to connect with BGB listeners.

Thanks for downloading and talking about Boardgame Babylon.

P.S. Some have asked what cake my wife made for my birthday this year. Feast your eyes on this one!

As I've hinted about for quite some time, here is the first in the follow-up series to the award-winning Demise and Rise of the Friendly Local Game Store series, where I interviewed a group of former and current game store owners in an attempt to understand the challenges faced by those that provide a place to buy and play games that is accessible to locals.

Now, I've reached out to many of the Friendly Online Game Store owners to get a chance to hear their side of the story. They continue to be successful and expand (thus the Ascent) and also be controversial from the perspective of some gamers (the Dissent) who feel they are ruining the chances for FLGSs to survive in a world of narrowing margins, high rents, and fractured interest in things non-digital.

But at the same time, FOGS provide an opportunity for gamers to have access to thousands of older or obscure games that FLGSs can't carry, a chance for those in remote areas to get games, and - the controversial part - to get games at a huge discount with free shipping on large order. Does this help the industry as a whole since more games get out there? Or are the FOGS lowering the perceived value of games and making it harder for gamers to stomach paying retail prices for games at a FLGS?

On this volume, I speak with Tom Powers - the owner and operator of Boards and Bits, one of my favorite online retailers and one of the most vocal FOGS owners on Boardgamegeek.com, whenever someone brings up the FLGS vs. FOGS subject. Tom was kind enough to answer some questions about his business, how he got into it, what he thinks about the recent 'price-fixing' Supreme Court decision, and the whole FLGS vs FOGS conflict. I think you'll find his responses candid and interesting.

More are on the way, too, although I will be posting a couple of shows from the Gateway 2007 before I get around to the next one.

We welcome your comments and feedbackIf you have not done so, please join us in the Boardgame Babylon Guild on Boardgamegeek.com and add your comments to the discussion there. Joining will also make you eligible for Boardgame Babylon contests in the future and you can also find a nice image gallery of pictures of Boardgame Babylonia there, too!

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Show Notes

Boards and Bits - a great selection of domestic and int'l games at great prices.

Boardgamegeek.con - I will finally be there this year ;)

Strategicon - Two shows from Gateway 2007 are on the way

As I returned from Gateway 2007 this Labor Day weekend, I received the terrible news: Franz-Benno Delonge of TransAmerica, Big City, Dos Rios, and Hellas fame has died at only fifty years of age. Cancer was the reason and as one who has lost a close loved one to the same disease, I feel for the Delonge family and the good Judge's friends. Remember that you can always make a contribution to great organizations like the City of Hope to honor someone who has passed away in hopes that others in the future will have a stronger chance against this horrible disease.

While news of Delonge's passing has tempered the weekend a bit, I did spend most of it away at Gateway 2007 and it was a terrific event. The Live Action Wiz-War event was a smashing success with excellent attendance and although a couple of our props didn't make it down to the event, people had a great time. Our qualifying round lasted quite a while but the final game was over quickly due to a critical risk taken by one of the wizards and the fact that another player had the right card to take advantage of it. Classic Wiz-War, people kept saying.

I had a great time showing off new Z-Man titles like R-Eco and Duel in the Dark. Owner's Choice was also a big hit and I keep liking it more the more often I play it. Even had a chance to play it with Tom Jolly, who was disappointed that he couldn't find it in the dealer room and was trying to get mine from me in trade. Nothing doing, Jolly (I was able to saying that cavalierly since he'd already recorded a podcast for me).

Played great games like Shogun, Yspahan, R-Eco, Poker, tons of prototypes and, yes, even a game of Star Wars: Epic Duels. Sigh. At least I had a couple of glasses of Guinness in me to dull the pain.

Tons of shows are on the way. I have at least two show's worth from Gateway 2007, including the Q&A session with Tom Jolly (which I'm calling Stories of Self-Publishing, Part 2 since he talks a whole lot about it) and snippets from Protospiel West's event at Gateway - a chance for designers and playtesters to come together (and a very well-attended event!) This is in addition to a couple more shows I have in the can in a new series I meant to announce last week. Alas, I got too busy with work and life leading up to Gateway so you'll just get a whole lot of Boardgame Babylon over the next couple of months.

Thanks for downl...er...reading Boardgame Babylon.

If you are in SoCal (or can make it down here), come on down to say 'hi' at Strategicon's Labor Day Weekend convention, Gateway 2007.

In addition to the normal mix of great open gaming, tournaments, and demonstrations, there are a few notable special events:

*  Play with the Creator sessions with Tom Jolly and other designers
*  Fermat Challenge - Beat Tom Jolly at his own game and you can win dealer dollars to be spent at the con
*  Live Action Wiz-War with a full-sized map, giant props and a quick-play qualifying round that will allow dozens to play
*  Q&A session with Tom Jolly on 9/2 at 1 PM - We'll get Tom to answer everyone's questions about his long career in game design, publishing and where the heck the new Wiz-War is! This session will be recorded for Boardgame Babylon
*  Protospiel West has a series of sessions to bring designers and playtesters together to try out the next generation of designer games.
*  Many seminars in the Strategicon War College.

In addition, I'll be running tournaments of Owner's Choice, Saboteur, Midgard, Stack Market, and Colosseum (maybe more that I am forgetting).

For more information, please see www.strategicon.net.

Come on down and say 'hi' - just look for me in the Boardgame Babylon t-shirt. I'll be there for most of the weekend.

 

On this session review show, I talk a bit about the new Days of Wonder offering, Wolfgang Kramer and Markus Lübke's Colosseum, and a new game from Z-Man called Owner's Choice from a designer to watch, Yasutaka Ikeda. Both are recommended titles that have been hitting tables around here quite a bit.

Also on this volume, you will find the nominees for the Boardgame Podcast Award for Innovative Concept discussed and the winner of said award officially announced. The nominees are:

BattleLore

Khet: Eye of Horus Beam Splitter

Pieces of Eight

Space Dealer

Yspahan

Don't forget that Gateway 2007 is just under two weeks away. Check out Strategicon's web site for more information about this great SoCal Game Con. I'll be running tournaments for a number of Z-Man games plus the aforementioned Colosseum. The special guest is Tom Jolly and we'll be running a variety of events with him, including Live Action Wiz-War - which will be run in a way to allow for lots of players so come on down and join the fun.

A sharp-eyed Boardgame Babylon listener recently pointed out that he found a picture of me on BGG.com so the jig is up - I'll stop posting joke photos and just show off my favorite picture of myself in the last couple of years. Here is a shot of yours truly - a big fan of Reiner Knizia's Taj Mahal - at the actual Taj Mahal. I carted one of my special oh-so-exclusive white palaces that were given out as promotional items all the way from Los Angeles to Agra, India to take this picture. The story of the journey there is something else, too, and I may find a way to work that anecdote into a show at some point.

Besides, I was heavily photographed at fellow podcaster Doug Garrett's West Coast MeepleFest this weekend (which was a blast), too, so I figured the image is out so I might as well embrace it. It was amusing (to me) while it lasted. I will post some comments on games played there (see the sidebar for some of them), although most will end up on a podcast.

Sorry for the dearth of podcasts this Summer. My walking pnuemonia seems to be back and my voice is a shade of its former strength. That and Skype/Total Recorder problems have kept me from a couple of projects. But a new series, another episode of a previous series and at least two session review shows are on the horizon.

...Sheylon

With Gateway 2007 starting at the end of next month, we look back on Gamex 2007 and the terrific experience we had there. Matt joins me on the microphone to chat about If Wishes Were Fishes, Vexation, Burg Appenzell and Midgard. Edited from the show are our long discussions about Notre Dame and Guatemala Cafe (which may just end up as another podcast later).

Remember that Gateway 2007 runs on Labor Day Weekend and the Special Guest is Tom Jolly. More details will be noted in BGB v39, which is right around the corner. I'll be running tournaments of Colosseum, Stack Market, Owner's Choice, Saboteur, Midgard and an extra special event that will take a heck of a lot of work this next month...

Also - I will be at Gameology in Claremont, CA this Saturday to show off Stack Market and Owner's Choice in the morning and again in the afternoon. Come on out and say 'hi' and learn these two new cool games!

Show Notes:

Strategicon (Gateway Pre-Reg opens at the beginning of August)

Games mentioned:

If Wishes Were Fishes   Burg Appenzell   Midgard

Silverton   Vexation   Stay Alive

I'm happy to report that my cousin Steve managed to recover my crashed hard drive, which contained at least four recorded Boardgame Babylon episodes. I'll be getting around to editing them soon, but at the moment, I'm focusing on a couple of new shows so I'm not sure how soon they will be out.

One is a Rectangular Table Discussion about Kid's Games, another is the RTD on the Games Workshop board game line in the 80's and I think there are two additional session review shows.

If you ever need a great hand in data recovery, check out my cousin's business at: http://www.burgessforensics.com/

...Sheylon
www.boardgamebabylon.com

Just a quick note for game publishers out there that are interested in sending review copies of games for discussion on Boardgame Babylon: I really appreciate the honor of getting a review copy of your games but I'd respectfully ask that you please contact me ahead of time to see if it is a game I'd like to play and talk about. My taste is pretty heavy on euro/designer games and doesn't really stray in the realm of war or role-playing games (excepting some fantasy miniature games) so I'm less inclined to review this type of game.

I realize I've gotten myself into this by putting the mailing address on my business cards but if you just send me a quick inquiry ahead of time, I can make sure you don't waste your money sending me a game I might not want to play and I won't feel guilty if I take a long time to review it. If you confirm with me ahead of time, I'll be happy to review the game and ask you to be on the show - although I always want to find an interesting angle for including you (and not just a straight advert), like my recent show about High School Drama, which was also about game design and self-publishing. Thanks in advance for your consideration!

Thanks...ERB

Boardgame Babylon is back with a show recorded at Orccon 2007 with Origins award-nominated game designer Bo Radakovich and noted art director jim pinto. Bo is the man behind the riotous new game High School Drama, which is nominated for an Origins award in the card game category this year. jim has hundreds of credits in the game industry and is also just a funny guy.

The subject of our conversation is game design and self-publishing, as Bo started up his own company in order to put out the game, and we hear about some of the trials and tribulations of striking out on your own in the crazy hobby game business. Along the way Bo tells us a bit about High School Drama, including some interesting design and production notes. And we just have some good laughs since both Bo and jim are terrific guys.

This is the start of a new series called "Stories of Self-Publishing" and I have at least two more lined up but - as to when they will come out - we'll have to see. There is still the Demise and Rise to finish up and one more series on the way.

I should also note that this is the first volume of Boardgame Babylon supported by our new sponsor, Tanga.com. I'm a big fan of the site and its wacky retail model so I encourage you all to check it out via the link on the side if you are new to the site or by clicking www.tanga.com.

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Show Notes

Games mentioned:

High School Drama   Illuminati   Lunch Money

Ingenious   Escalation!   Wiz-War  

Other links:

Shifting Skies Games  (buy HSD there or at your FLGS)

Knightime Studios (jim pinto - yes, he's capital-challenged, like e.e. cummings or k.d. lang)

Boardgame Babylon is proud to bring you another great Q&A session with a game industry icon. Recorded at Gamex 2007 over the Memorial Day weekend, this Question and Answer session features the convention's Special Guest, Rio Grande Games founder Jay Tummelson.  On the show, you'll hear Jay talk about how he got into this crazy business, his experience with Mayfair Games and bringing Settlers of Catan to the States, many fun stories about acquiring the English licenses to various games and, of course, a huge list of upcoming games - some of which are being revealed here for the first time. Start your next shopping list for the game store now...

NEXT UP: The Gamex 2007 Wrap-Up Show. My friend and frequent Boardgame Babylon contributor Matt Grimaldi will join me to chat about our experiences at the convention and the many games we played including Wikinger (Vikings), Caylus Magna Carta, Notre Dame, Guatemala Cafe, If Wishes Were Fishes and many more.

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Show Notes

Games mentioned (a selection of them, as they are too numerous to list completely)

If Wishes Were Fishes      Mystery Rummy: Bonnie and Clyde      Where's Bob's Hat?

Notre Dame      Race For the Galaxy      Thurn and Taxis (Wells Fargo?)

Other links

Strategicon      Rio Grande Games 

The last game I played at Gamex was Super Yahtzee, I mean, To Court The King. No, I shouldn't be so mean (and that joke is old). I don't want to criticize this Tom Lehmann game since there are a ton of dice games out there now that are all using the Yahtzee mechanic of 'roll the dice and pull at least one out at a time'.

In fact, To Court the King is closer to a pure Yahtzee game than most others but with a whole host of cards you can acquire with various combos so you can get more dice or more ways to manipulate them to complete better combos.

While Jay was teaching Heather and me, Devi came up and said that he liked it because "you get more control as you go along". Indeed, TCTK gets better as you gain cards which give you special abilities - each named for some person or noble (maids, barons, laborers, all the way up to the King and Queen).

Some cards add dice set to a particular number (you can re-roll them after the first turn) to your rolling set, while others allow for pip manipulation (move them between dice to turn, say, a four and a two into two threes), while others allow for re-rolls.

And, yes, this is all dependent on the rolls you make. Luckily for those who dice hate (like yours truly), there is also the Fool card which you get if you are unable to roll a good combo (which are sets, higher totals, and the like). The Fool lets you do a free re-roll and if you get a second Fool, he turns into the Charlatan card, which mercifully gives you an extra die. All of this builds towards the winner combo - seven of a kind. This courts the King and then everyone gets one turn to beat that roll (i.e., roll seven 'fives' if the King-holder has seven 'fours'). If no one can unseat him, he wins. If someone manages, the King is handed over but the Queen stays and helps the original finisher gain the King back.

One potential issue for some is that large number of different cards that do different things. There is a cheat sheet but it is long and also double-sided. This is kind of a pain but I'd rather have them than not.

The game plays in about a 1/2 hour once you know how to play it. For those that cannot manipulate numbers (and, hey, they are small - it didn't intimidate this Literature major) and think quickly about how to reorder things with a whole bunch of factors, this one will seem harder than it should be. But as a casual activity for those who enjoy rolling the bones, it is fun. We played with three (including Jay) and it moved along nicely (despite the quirky choice to have the Start Player rotate counter-clockwise, giving everyone consecutive turns each round).

I plan to pick it up because I think it will play well with two and because I would like to use it to encourage good math skills with my kids. The numbers are small but the concept of moving the pips around to make other numbers sounds like something good to drill into elementary school kids.

One most post with a wrap-up will follow. I will also do a podcast wrap-up with more opinions later on.

...Sheylon
www.boardgamebabylon.com

The Q&A session with Jay was a lot of fun. I'm going through it now and it should be out soon. He told some great stories about Settlers first being published, the way he got Rio Grande going, his upcoming schedule and whole lot more. I expect it will be up in a week (after I give Jay a chance to hear it).

Here's a nice shot after the crowd left with Devi and Heather Hughes (from the Orange County Board Gamers), my sister Isabel (in the Invoke Ra shirt from www.meeplepeople.com), Mason hiding behind Jay and our gaming buddy Burt on the right.

...Sheylon
www.boardgamebabylon.com

Travis Ball, the winner of Orccon's Kniziathon and the man behind Protospiel West, took the crown for the Rio Grande tournament this weekend. I'm thinking that someone better knock Travis off his throne at Gateway in whatever special event ends up being the board game highlight or he will be impossible to be around!

Congratulations, Travis! He was awarded the nicest of three cool trophies - and the runners-up were Chris Johnson and Michael Nickeloff.

(photo: courtesy of Patrick Havert)

Before heading off to the Q&A session with Jay, we managed to squeak in one more game and my request was Guatemala Café. Jay had a copy of the German version and followers of this game (and Eggertspiele) will know that they packed some coffee beans into the game's draw bag so that while you are playing the game, you get the aroma of fresh coffee beans. A cute idea (although not appealing to me since I am both not a coffee drinker and I dislike the smell of it), but one that Jay isn't following through on for the US version. He noted that he'd rather not run afoul of the FDA by selling something that could be consumed, even though his counterparts at Eggertspiele insist that they are inedible. I can appreciate Jay's concern and, honestly, I'm fine with the lack of real beans.

But forget the Smell-O-Rama aspect of the game, how does it play? Very nicely, I'd say. GC is a rare game in that there are two boards. However, only one is really a play-board - the other is the staging area where you can draw play pieces from the column that the master pawn is on. On your turn, you must move the MP from 1 to 3 spaces and then you select up to three items you want to buy - be they roasting houses, workers, ships, roads or scoring markers. When you first look at this massive board plus the second one full of fields where you will place them, it may seem daunting and complex.

In actuality, the play of the game is pretty easy. You are trying to place similarly-colored roasters and adjacent workers to score in one of five colors when someone takes a scoring marker. If you can use roads (which come into play when the other pieces are taken - a nice touch) to connect to the docks through one of the roads, you can get bonus multipliers by placing similarly-colored boats down there. The roads are specific lines with multiple slabs for roasters placed by different players so you can either piggyback on someone else's work (and connect to the same docks) or compete with them directly and try to limit their ability to score big by placing your own boats down there. Workers add on to roasters and depending on how close to the docks your setup is, you pay more or less. The balancing act here, including the fact that you can specialize in one of five types of coffee, is where you find the fun. I managed to pull a solid victory by using only three types, including piggybacking on someone else's efforts with the white coffee, doing a solid job of the same for less money with black and then winning when Bernie managed a huge score at the end with the natural coffee type. He almost caught up but I shot straight over the line created by nearly constant scoring.

Ah, the scoring. So, you can select scoring tiles to get more points in the color of your choice - that is, for everyone with a roaster of that color with a corresponding worker connected to it. However, this is also how you can refill your coffers with eight more pesos - in face, this the only way! So, scoring is encouraged a lot and each time you score, you put the scoring tile on the score track. Since the winner is the one that reaches the end of the scoring track first, this accelerates the game as it goes. I love this mechanic since it means you can affect the length of the game, too.

Guatemala Cafe is a nice game that I enjoyed. It comes with a whole lot of wood and although the basic game provides a standard set up for new players, you can also randomly set up the pieces for a more varied game. Of course, this option could allow for a player to get too much on a line for a single turn.

After staying up way too late on Saturday, I still managed to get up early so I could play more of the great games Jay brought along. When I got down to the demo area, I wanted to play Caylus Magna Carta. However, Bernie and Devi were already playing the game with another guy. So, I settled for the chance to play Wikinger - or, as Jay will soon call it, Vikings. Can you believe that that name wasn't already taken?

Vikings has one 'exciting' mechanic - a wheel built into the board which sets the price for recruiting vikings and their respective island piece to your group. You buy vikings of different colors (farmers, nobles, goldsmiths, scouts, warriors, boatmen) and each comes with an island piece (a beginning, middle or end) that you can build out on your play space. Red gives you points, Yellow gives you Gold to buy things, Blue feed your vikings at the end of the game - and on and on. You need them all but can only buy so many. As Jay said, "a game where you can't do everything you want each turn. What a concept!"

Now, I have to say - the theme of this game makes no sense at all and has nothing to do with the admittedly enjoyable mechanics. In an upcoming (although actually recorded back at Orccon) Boardgame Babylon episode, art director jim pinto points out how 'phony' the mechanics of many designer games appear to be when you think about it with regard to the theme. Vikings is a particularly good example of this but the truth of the matter is that I don't care. Indeed, it is all artificial but it is also an enjoyable game that, again, plays through in about forty-five to sixty minutes (depending on your DPF - Deliberative Player Factor).

Jay explained the basics but didn't overwhelm us with the sometimes quirky scoring. In the end, we all found many things we would do differently but the first time is always a learning game. Indeed, nearly everything gets a chance to add victory points at the end, in addition to the incidental scoring and money payouts which happen throughout the game. All in all, I was very fond of Vikings and may very well get it. The Viking meeples are certainly neat ("Vikeeples?")

Check out Jay looking at me disapprovingly! "Did he ask permission to take this photo?" ;)

After the Escalation! tournament, I ran one for Blue Moon City. This is fast becoming one of my favorite light games. In fact, I think three copies are now owned in our regular group. Anyway, the tournament was a big success, with lots of players but I had to step in to fill out one of the tables with four players.

In BMC (which has nothing to do with Blue Moon except the artwork and dragon components), players complete the rebuilding of sections of the city by playing cards and placing tokens on spaces. There are bonuses to be awarded for using your cards to move one or more of three dragons to the space on which you are building and bonuses galore for building near other completed cities. The game rewards some level of cooperative play and although the artwork is wild and perhaps a trifle goofy, it is an utterly approachable game that plays very quickly and enjoyably in forty-five minutes. Further, it is one of those games that picks up speed as it goes since the building rewards are better as time goes on. A delightful gateway game and one that I look forward to playing even more this year. I came in second in our game but primarily due to an error on the part of one of the other players. That new player had some challenges playing but most don't.

After BMC, I ran a tournament for Midgard and this is another enjoyable game that I have been showing off at various SoCal stores and events for a while. Think of it as El Grande in forty-five minutes, with a touch of Fairy Tale thrown in plus a couple more fun mechanics that work nicely with the theme. It is an area control game where you want to get majorities in various areas. You start with a Fairy Tale-style draft, so you get to see a good portion of the cards people have and then you use them to deploy your vikings out from the ships and on to the three regions, each of which have three or four provinces. Like El Grande, you have your vikings in your ship and more in a general supply that you need to bring into play. There are three categories of card (Bronze, Silver and Gold) which vary in value but you need a selection of all three. In a fine nod to the theme, vikings that are killed give you victory points and so do those that are deployed into the half of the provinces that are 'doomed' each turn. And heck, the doomed guys are worth another two points! There are also heavens that offer additional bonuses and a set collection mechanic to encourage even-handed placement. Midgard snuck up on me. At first, I thought it was just a fair game but the more I play it, the more I think it is a solid game and good fun.

Later that evening, I had a chance to play Notre Dame again. This time, I played it with three (the previous play had been with five), with all of us on our second play. Bernie, Seth and I powered through the game in under forty-five minutes and had a blast. This time, I managed to pull a victory through a combination of getting the carriage around and help from Notre Dame. The second time around was even better and I'm so happy to say that at least two copies have entered our regular game group's collection. I know Notre Dame will get a lot of play. It was THE hot game of Gamex 2007 and it's a good thing Jay brought a lot of them to sell.

Unfortunately, he forgot to bring Vexation - the TransAmerica/TransEuropa expansion! He did bring a sample but forgot to bring those for sale. Ah, but it and many other great games like Caylus Magna Carta, Jenseits von Theben, and Zooloretto will be in stores very shortly.

After that, I threatened to make everyone play a game of Rocketville! I was going to drop it into the convention's auction but I really had to see if was truly that bad first. While I went through the rules, we played a game of Ticket to Ride with the full complement of cards from the Ticket to Ride: USA 1910 expansion. Our friends Seth and Chris had never played the game before but the lineup of players also included experiences Ticketers Bernie and Mark (the convention's co-owner). Despite my being distracted by reading through the rules of Rocketville (it sounds bad...), I managed to pull a sizable victory because everyone else was fighting for the Northeast and I was lazily building across from Los Angeles to Miami. I managed to get all the way across, with one minor side trip to Chicago, completing three tickets - and then drew two completed tickets.

I pulled out a huge victory, made all the more disturbing for the others since I casually took my turns in the midst of reading about this Richard Garfield monstrosity. No one was willing to play Rocketville at 2 AM. We're getting old, I guess. To bed, then.

Egad - Jay actually brought the "Maxi Chicken Cha Cha Cha". Yes, you can dress up like the chickens and play the game full size! This was nicely paired with a full size Settlers of Catan game, too. Only at a convention, as they say. These are available through Rio Grande but they are pretty expensive. He brings them over at cost but, well, they are about $200 at cost. You don't see them too often...

After a whirlwind morning of errands, I finally made it down to Gamex before noon. I dropped off my sizable contribution to the Rio Grande library and checked out the nice dealer room. We've got a great crowd here and I'm thrilled to see such a big turnout.

Just after that, I got a chance to meet Jay Tummelson. As always described, Jay was a nice fellow and was cheerfully asking everyone, "Want to play a game?" Some of the games Jay Brought to show off include:

Caylus Magna Carta
Notre Dame
Guatemala Cafe
Master Thieves
Ponte De Marchio
Fiji

Jay brought a lot of terrific games to the convention to try out but the crown jewel for the simple reason of exclusivity is If Wishes Were Fishes, the Peter Sarrett game that was just published in Germany this Wednesday. Good guy that Jay is, he paid a hefty fee to have a copy shipped out so he could show it off at Gamex. Naturally, this story was good enough to get me to sit down right away. Jay showed the game to me and my buddy Bernie, who flew in from NYC for the con.

If Wishes Were Fishes is undeniably cute. I mean, you get little fish meeples ("fisheeples?") and a half-dozen rubber worms in addition to a single card representing two boats where you can store your fish. This card is cleverly divided to show two halves of two boats so you can put a fish on each side. The rainforest thanks them. You also get a colorful board with a fish stand for each fish type where some 'buyer' meeples hang out randomly to increase the amount you can get if you sell fish you caught and keep.

On your turn, you can sell a fish you have in your boat or 'fish' for a new fish card (well, draft them) and decide if you are going to keep the fish to sell at the appropriate stand or toss the fish back and receive the 'wish' the fish has on the top of his card. The wishes vary from allowing you to sell more than the limit of one fish per turn, increase the value of fish by manipulating the buyers, sell you fish as a more valuable one, get money for all your worms, get extra boats, and that kind of thing. The fish are set up in a line of four and you can only take the one to the far right free (shallow sea). If you want to take one further over, you need to use your worms - one for each card you want to skip past. Later, if there is a worm on a card you take, you get to claim it. Also, you can't take fish if you have no room in your boats.

There are also bonus cards that show up when a certain number of a type of fish (betwen 4 and 7) are sold and cycling through them will draw the game to the end. When this comes up, the two people with the largest number of fish sold for that market gain extra money (points). The market for that kind of fish is then closed - well, sort of. You can still sell these fish for their current price but now any sold fish go into the garbage and the person with the most fish in the garbage loses 10 points at the end of the game. There are some wishes that will let you pull your fish out of (or put your opponents fish into) the garbage so you can affect this later.

Unfortunately, Bernie and I played a two-player game. Like many games, it seemed fiddly at first but once we got the hang of it, we were fine and churned through quickly (it says it plays in 40 mins). Although I think the game is fine, I don't think it is suited to head-to-head play. The markets filled slowly since we could often make a lot more money with worm bonuses and other choices. I think it will shine with four, although you will have less chance of the fish you want being there by the time your turn comes around. All in all, a nice game that I will play again. I could see Puerto Rico, Mall World, Parts Unknown - sheesh - a lot of games in this one. But that's okay, it worked well.

After that, Jay taught me Notre Dame and since this one has been described extensively online, I will make my comments brief. This is another victory point builder with multiple angles you can use. It has parts of Fairy Tale, El Grande, Industrial Waste, Thurn and Taxis, Castle Merchants - egad! But, you know what? I thought it was delighftul. I'm sure much of the muted praise coming out about it is the fact that the influences are so visible. But tossed in with an intriguing board makeup, nice bits, and quick gameplay, this game is quite enjoyable! Jay has brought a bunch of pre-release copies to the convention to sell and if I hadn't already pre-ordered it, I'd already own it. As it is, I'm just going to get in some additional games of it this weekend on the two copies available in the Rio Grande Tournament.

Okay, I'm off to run the Escalation! tournament so I'll sign off until this evening.

Okay, I'm now heading down to the convention on Saturday morning. Plans for a late night arrival on Friday were scrapped after the BBQ party I attended Friday evening had deceptively powerful "Hawaiian Punch" drinks. The haze formed quickly and yet I was still able to explain Klunker and Diamant to players and enjoy two good games.

Despite being "Punched", I managed to win Klunker handily (which is a game that seems like Bohnanza's Martian cousin - not surprising since it is the same designer). You get gem cards and have to place some out for sale (the ones you don't need for a set), some into your safe (which you do want for your sets) and then there is a buying round when you can grab up your opponent's wares. Money is rewarded for sets of four in your safe, but you get more if the sets match. Necklace cards are bonuses, making it easier to get full value for your sets - but in our game, nearly all the necklaces were at the end. Final scores: Lisa 12, Bernie 14, Chad 17, and Eric 22. A fun, but unmemorable game.

I was in fourth out of five in the wonderful press-your-luck game Diamant. Simply, over five caverns of play, each player must decide how long to stick it out and try to get a share of the gems that come up on most cards while avoiding one of five disaster card types. If two cards from the same disaster show up, everyone left in the cavern loses - you all face the cards together and split the gems that come up. But, if you manage to get out before (you get a chance after each card), you can add your spoils to your ore cart and have them as points for the end of the game. Leaving early can also be profitable sometimes because you get to grab the gems leftover from uneven splits (gem cards range from 1 to 17).

After doing fine throughout the first three rounds, I bailed on cave four with only one disaster out (admittedly, one of the disasters with three remaining cards) because the take for early departure looked too good! Unfortunately, Lisa felt the same way and we split the booty. Then, the remaining three players went on to form the longest cavern route I've ever seen - and they all got out with their gems! They loaded up so heavily (Chad gaining the most) that Lisa and I had no chance but to press our luck fully and we were rewarded with an untimely demise. Final scores: Matt 44, Bernie 43 (so close!), Chad 25, Eric 18, Lisa 12.

Now I'm off to Gamex to enjoy a weekend of great gaming. I'm doing Z-Man demos today, plus running an Escalation tournament at 3pm. Our Math Trade is also happening today at 6pm at Boardgame HQ. If you are in town, please stop by and say hello!

I was already looking forward to next week's Gamex convention but now I've just been informed that Gamex 2007 Guest of Honor Jay Tummelson will debut the new Rio Grande titles Notre Dame and Vexation: TransAmerica and TransEuropa expansion at the convention. He will have some number of them both available for sale to convention attendees. Both are sure to be hot titles and Notre Dame was unquestionably the big hit of the Gathering of Friends and Nuremberg this year. US fans will get the first crack at them only at Gamex 2007.

I will be moderating a Q&A session with Jay on Sunday at 1 PM in the Theater so please bring in your questions for the man who broke designer games in the US. If you cannot be at the show, you can also send me questions at: sheylon@gmail.com. If you send one in, I will be sure to attribute your question to you on the podcast.

For more information on the convention, check out: www.strategicon.net. See you there!

The Demise and Rise of the FLGS is back with an interview featuring Rocky Johnston, owner of The Last Grenadier - one of the oldest and greatest game stores in Los Angeles. Rocky has owned the store for twenty years, through expansions (and reductions), the Collectible Card Craze, the Rise of the FOGS (Friendly Online Game Store), and through numerous changes of venue - and is still going strong as both a brick and mortar institution and also through Ebay sales for rare items. His veteran's perspective is a welcome addition to the series.

Don't forget to join us here in Los Angeles for Gamex 2007 over the Memorial Day Weekend. For more information, check out www.strategicon.net.

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Show Notes

Last Grenadier on Ebay   Weekend Warrior on Ebay   Weekend Warrior   Where is The Last Grenadier?   The Black Watch

With Gamex 2007 on the horizon, we look back on Orccon 2007 and the great time we had there. You'll hear about our playtesting with Reiner Knizia and Tom Jolly, comments about the many games we played and my notes about my Day with Knizia prior to the convention. Chad, Mason and Matt all join me for this Rectangular Table Discussion about the fun we had at Strategicon's first game convention of the year.

Plus - the winners of the Ingenious Puzzle contest are announced! No, seriously, it's on there this time...

Show Notes:

Strategicon (Gamex Pre-Reg is open!)

Games mentioned:

Die Saulen der Erde   Blue Moon City   Descent: Journeys Into the Dark

On the Underground   25 Words or Less   Shadows Over Camelot

Earlier than any other board game podcast, Boardgame Babylon is very proud to bring you this Pre-Pre-Pre-Pre-Pre-Essen 2007 show, highlighting some of the exciting titles you can expect to see at the Spiel this October in Essen, Germany.

It wasn't easy - I had to use all of my awesome power as a board game podcaster to muscle secrets out of the game publishing world, including bribing disgruntled developers who keep missing their chance for an on-box credit, wining and dining unscrupulous pawn production companies, pressuring disreputable playtesters, blackmailing the proofreader at Rio Grande and the translator at AdlungSpiele, strong-arming actual board game media types and also just searching the internet to bring you this very special, extra-early look at the best of Essen this year.

So, listen with a pen and paper because you'll want to make your checklist for pre-orders now (and start entering those game entries on BGG because there's geekgold a-plenty to be had...)

Also, listen carefully for the winners of the Ingenious Puzzles contest!

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Just a reminder that you need to send in your feedback (really, an e-mail with anything is fine) if you want to be entered in the contest to win one of two Ingenious Puzzles signed by Reiner Knizia himself. It boggles my mind but there are a relatively small number of entries for this item compared to the contests I previously had for a Boardgame Babylon t-shirt and for the Thrillville stuff (admittedly, the Thrillville stuff included a PSP...) Regardless, if you enter to win one of the two puzzles, your chances are better than ever before (despite this being a very heavily downloaded show).

The cutoff was officially today but I'll take your entries through tomorrow (3/18) in case you are caught up drinking too much for St. Patrick's Day or the snowstorm is slowing you down. Sorry to hear about that, those of you in the Northeast. As a native and nearly lifelong Southern Californian, for me, a blizzard is something you buy at the Dairy Queen. ;)

I've included another picture here of Reiner and me - this is while I was doing his introduction. Unfortunately, my sister Isabel (a previous guest on Boardgame Babylon) appears to be a pretty bad photographer and so the shot is imperfect. It's annoying because you can't see my lovely Boardgame Babylon t-shirt. Well, at least Reiner looks happy!

As for the upcoming shows, I have a few already recorded and I'm doing another one in the next day or so - meaning that Boardgame Babylon will have a reasonably regular release schedule for a while. Upcoming volumes include:

*  Self-publishing and design talk with Bo Radakovich - the designer and publisher of the game High School Drama - and jim pinto (yes, he likes the lower case), an art director and game designer in his own right.

*  Rectangular Table Discussion: Orccon wrap-up show, including notes about my day out sightseeing with Reiner Knizia, with guests Chad Smith, Matt Grimaldi and Mason Rourman.

* The Demise and Rise of the FLGS, Part 4 - The almost-award-winning series is back in the form of a quick interview with one of the longest-tenured and most well-respected game store owners in Los Angeles, Rocky Johnston, the owner of The Last Grenadier in Burbank, California. This is a store much-loved by locals and followed through many changes in location and it is a pleasure to add a real veteran's perspective to the series.

I haven't numbered these yet because the ordering (along with one other special show) hasn't been worked out yet. But they should all be hitting the podosphere soon.

But not today - I'm heading out to a St. Patrick's Game Day with the Orange County Boardgamers, who've asked us all to bring green games. I'll be bringing my gorgeous new green accented Eagle tournament-quality Crokinole board, a Friedmann Friese game, and Money!

Here's wishing you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day - one of my favorite Irish blessings is:

"May you always have courage to take a chance and never find frogs in your underpants."

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Okay, here is the second promised Knizia podcast from Orccon 2007. This show includes Reiner's seminar where he introduced the world debut of Ingenious Puzzles, a new product "NOT A GAME" in the Ingenious line that delighted fans at the convention.

Since that recording is shorter, I've added a session review of my buddy Mason Rourman and me talking about three recent and upcoming Knizia games we enjoyed recently. All three were popular at the Kniziathon event at Orccon 2007 and we've enjoyed them as light additions to Knizia's ludography.

Escalation: The Suburban Wars (Z-Man Games)
Mmm...Brains! (Twilight Creations)
Dragon Parade (Z-Man Games)

Two more shows are still to come from the Orccon experience and I even have another Demise and Rise show coming. Wow - regular releases of Boardgame Babylon? Don't get used to it...;)

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Many have inquired about the glorious Boardgame Babylon theme music and here it is - your chance to buy a CD of the band's only EP, "Unfurl" and even a sticker or bumper sticker. What is cooler than advertising your appreciation for an excellent and also incredibily obscure band? The album includes four tracks:

1. Dreamery

2. Cowboys, Pirates, Supermen (the BGB theme music!)

3. (1-2-3)

4. The Day The Earth Changed (BGB outro music!)

You can order a CD for only $7.00 and if you order a CD, you can add an oval sticker for $.50 or bumper sticker for only $1.00. All the money goes to the lovely ladies of Cucoloris and I pay your shipping! (if you just want a sticker, add a buck to the order) I don't make any money on this - I just want to support the band so they will make more beautiful music.

While you are at it, please consider supporting Boardgamenews.com. There is a great contest this month for cool prizes if you are a member and frankly, you know this excellent source for board game information is on your regular read list, so why not support them? Do the hobby a favor and help keep the great house that Rick Thornquist built and Eric Martin is keeping up the faith on alive for all of us to enjoy. Go to www.boardgamenews.com and click "Subscribe". I just did so myself (after realizing recently that I hadn't done it last year as I thought I had...) Hypocrite no more!

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon (even when we try to get you to pay other people for the great work they do).

A listener recently let me know that the podcast had won this nice award for The Demise and Rise of the FLGS series. I wish I'd known the show was up for it - I would have tried to convince listeners to vote BGB ;) - assuming there is voting. Thanks to the folks at the Gone Gaming site for the honor.

Thanks for downloading and listening (and, apparently, voting for) Boardgame Babylon.

I'll just say it - this isn't a standard episode of Boardgame Babylon and it makes little sense for me to advertise it as such. But since I passed on my chance for an official interview with Reiner Knizia for Boardgame Babylon because I knew some other podcasters where hanging about, I thought I would instead just go ahead and broadcast this and a couple of other shows about the new Ingenious Puzzles that Reiner introduced and a wrap-up show done with some of my buddies who also had an amazing time at Orccon 2007. This is the first of, count 'em, four shows I've got in the bag (makes up for the two rejected shows from my trip to India) that just need a little TLC to get them out.

Anyway, this is the man himself, Dr. Reiner Knizia, in the Question and Answer session he held at Orccon 2007, the President's Day Weekend show of Southern California's Strategicon game conventions. Reiner talks about his process, some exciting upcoming events and products and shows the wonderful good humor we've all heard about.

There is also a contest to win a very cool little item Reiner gave me to hand out to a couple of Boardgame Babylon listeners and also some exciting news about Gamex 2007 and a special guest that will grace us with his presence here in Los Angeles over the Memorial Day weekend.

There are also details about ordering a Cucoloris CD, which you can now get directly from me. The lovely ladies of Cucoloris sent me CDs and stickers to sell at Orccon 2007...and then I forgot them at home for most of the convention. Help me save face and order a Cucoloris CD now! Drop me an e-mail if you are interested in supporting this wonderful band responsible for the coolest music in board game podcasting.

NEXT UP: Another Knizia show with Reiner explaining the new Ingenious Puzzles and some talk about three new Knizia games that were popular at the Kniziathon: Dragon Parade and Escalation from Z-Man Games, plus Mmm...Brains from Twilight Creations (yes, Reiner did a zombie game!)

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Show Notes

Games mentioned:

Mmm...Brains   King of the Beasts   Amun-Re
Ra   Taj Mahal   Escalation
Blue Moon   Blue Moon City   Tigris and Euphrates
Ingenious  Beowulf   Lord of the Rings: Battlefields

Other Links:

Strategicon   Journal of Boardgame Design

Cucoloris on MySpace (BGB's theme music composers!)

For the first time in about 15 years, I actually attended a complete game convention and I really picked a great one for my return to this part of the hobby. The new owners of Strategicon, our Los Angeles-based convention series, have really shown their commitment to the hobby and to the huge, diverse group of gamers we have here in Southern California. After purchasing the company only three months before their first convention, they revitalized the board gaming, RPG and nearly every other aspect of the convention experience. Amazingly, they managed to secure not just the great Reiner Knizia but also the fantastic Tom Jolly as special guests in such a short time! The best news, of course, is that both of them were really friendly and extremely witty. Listen for a podcast talking about my experiences at the convention and the day I spent showing Reiner Knizia around Los Angeles before the convention. There are some things I can't reveal about prototypes played and details shared, but I will try to give you some good impressions of the great experience I've had over the last five days.

Even better, the new Strategicon is just getting started and I'm hoping that the high level of quality the new owners are bringing to the conventions will draw more and more people to these great shows. I know that attendance was huge, numbers of participants were up big-time and that I spoke to people from all over the country and even quite a few international visitors, too. And if this is what the new owners can accomplish in a few months, I can hardly wait to see the cons later this year and next, when they have more time to plan. They have an amazing mix of the best of the old staff and some incredibly sharp newcomers helping them out (including my multi-talented fellow podcasting buddy, Paul Tevis, who leads up the RPG efforts now). Between this development and the great game stores I now have near my home (Gameology) and my work (Game Empire), I'm certainly more optimistic about the board gaming hobby in SoCal than I was a year ago when I was inspired to do the Demise and Rise of the FLGS series (although there are at least two additional installments planned there).

Watch for many shows to come out of the con this weekend, including a broadcast of the Q&A session with Dr. Knizia, a short bit about the Ingenious Puzzles demo he gave (with prizes including signed copies of the puzzles!), a show about self-publishing and entering the game business, and a general wrap-up show with Matt Grimaldi joining me for some additional commentary. The dry spell is officially over.

I also have Cucoloris CDs that I was supposed to put out to sell at the show but never did! If you would like to order a copy of their magnificent EP, please e-mail me and if you are local, I can probably deliver it to you at one of the upcoming game events.

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Boardgame Babylon is back after taking off the month of January due to excessive travel. In fact, this show was recorded while I was on a layover in the airport in Singapore on my way to India for a couple of weeks. That is both some back story and a warning - this one is a little long for only talking about three games (and one in brief) but I thought I would preserve it anyway (unlike a second show I recorded while in Nagpur, India - which I have decided to deep-six).

There is also a reminder to join me at Orccon 2007 here in Los Angeles later this week and your chance to buy Cucoloris music there! Listen for more details or check out www.strategicon.net.

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

...Sheylon

Links

Games mentioned:

Space Dealer

On The Underground

Die Baumeister von Arkadia

Yspahan

Other links:

Strategicon!

Listeners of the Demise and Rise series may enjoy reading a local article about the store Gameology, which was featured on Part 2 of the series (which will continue soon). Check out the following link:

http://www.claremont-courier.com/pages/Topstory010607.4.html

The store link is: www.gameologyshop.com and it's definitely one to visit if you find yourself on the East end of Los Angeles county.

Still shopping for that game exchange at your local group? Need to buy a $15 gift for your friend's stocking? This show has a host of capsule reviews of some smaller games that would make great gifts for hobby gamers. Plus, I announce the winner of the Boardgame Babylon t-shirt and also one more Thrillville Xbox winner!

Finally, there is some REALLY BIG NEWS for gamers in SoCal and for those that wouldn't mind coming out to visit us in the Sunny and Mild capital for a great weekend this Winter. You will want to hear about this so you can set your flight plans now...and you're going to want to go to www.strategicon.net.

This is likely the last BGB for the year so I wish all listeners a wonderful holiday season and a very joyous and prosperous new year! May you find a bunch of games from this list in your stocking and a load of big-box games under your tree.

Oh yeah - and, no, that's not me either! This is just a character you can play in High School Drama!

Show Notes

Games mentioned:

Sudoku: The Card Game   High School Drama   Space Station Assault   Battleground: Fantasy Warfare   Saboteur   Frank's Zoo  Coloretto   No Thanks

Mystery Rummy Series:   #1   #2   #3   #4   #5   Wyatt Earp (#3.5?)

Other links:

Strategicon: Orccon 2007   Reiner Knizia   Your Move Games   Shifting Skies Games   Z-Man Games   Rio Grande Games   Mike Fitzgerald

Meeple People is having a series of exceptional sales on their cool merchandise over the next 12 days to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas. Remember that you can shop from the Meeple People link on the left bar here on Boardgame Babylon to support my Meeple People habit. ;) Still need a couple of Meeple pillows to brighten up the couch (and must speak to Cynthia about doing a "RA" pillow...) so shop away.

You can also head over to the Garrett's Games podcast to hear a nice interview with Cynthia from Meeple People.

There still is time to enter the t-shirt contest (which is a Meeple People product) so don't forget to send in your e-mail address.

Played the last item for the Stocking Stuffer podcast so I should be writing up some notes and recording it this weekend, in time for your last minute shopping.

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Remember to send in your e-mail address to me at: sheylon@gmail.com if you want your chance to win a free Boardgame Babylon t-shirt. You can include feedback in your e-mail if you like, but really all you need to do is forward your e-mail address to me. Good luck to all - there are far less entries for this one than the last contest (for obvious reasons...) so your chances are good! Get it in by the end of the day on 12/14 (that is - tomorrow!) for your chance to win.

Sorry for the delay in new shows - I expected a new Demise and Rise show, with my guests the proud owners of Game Empire in Pasadena (on the site of the former "Game Zone", featured in BGB v23) which represents a huge new gathering place for SoCal gamers that is chock full of amazing games and tons of game space. Check them out at www.gameempirepasadena.com and listen for an interview with the owners soon.

I will also be posting a new podcast shortly that gives you some great last minute Stocking Stuffer suggestions that you can find at your Friendly Local Game Store in case you can't piece together a $150 free shipping order from one of the online retailers.

Hope you are all having a good holiday season and thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.