Okay, here is part 2 of "Agricola: In depth" - a conversation with local SoCal Agricoholics Stephanie Kelleher and Chris Johnson. Both were nice enough to join me for a discussion about the game, the strategies, some favorite cards and whether the game will remain so highly rated as more people get the chance to play it.

This podcast is sponsored by the wonderful folks at Gateplay.com. Check them out for great games at terrific prices and free shipping with a $100 order. A terrific site for gamers new to the hobby as well as the full initiated.

A couple of additional items:

Strategicon is raising their rates for the next convention, Gateway 2008, but you can still get the old convention rate through July 31st - including your BGG Patron or Boardgamenews.com Subscriber discount. Check it out now and join us for this great convention on the Labor Day Weekend.

GameInk.net is a great place to buy gamer shirts that don't look too much like gamer shirts (that's a good thing). They had the good taste to design an utterly wonderful RA shirt but they cannot seem to get enough votes to have it be one of their latest prints. Luckily, they saw my attempts to shamelessly get people to vote for the RA shirt by offering to buy extras to give away at BGG.con and now we're working on trying to get it printed if enough people will contact me and commit to purchasing one. So, if you are interested - please send me an e-mail and let me know.

Thanks again for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

The In depth series is back with a bang...or perhaps I should say with a plow? This is the first part of Agricola: In depth, a couple of shows focusing specifically on the hot new game that we US gamers are anxiously waiting on - Agricola. This Uwe Rosenberg release has been much talked-about (and the Hottest Game on BGG.com) ever since its Essen 2007 debut and German copies haven't been very common in the US due to the difficulty in pasting up a copy for play.

But the game is just about to debut here in the US in an English language version and so I don't feel too badly about releasing a show with more information and details about the history of the game. I'm honored to have the US publisher of Agricola, Zev Shlasinger of Z-Man Games, join me on the mic to talk a little more about the game, the hype and the US release.

Part 2, featuring a conversation with LA-based Agricoholics Stephanie Kelleher and Chris Johnson talking with me about basic gameplay, strategy, a preview of the Z Deck, and the tournament we ran at Gamex 2008, will be out soon.

Please send your feedback to the connect link on the side or post them on the comments section.

This episode is sponsored by Gateplay.com - check them out for your pre-order of Agricola. I certainly recommend pre-ordering Agricola from your favorite retailer if you want to make sure you get a copy of this print run with the Z Deck. 

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Show Notes

Games mentioned

Agricola   Race for the Galaxy   Bohnanza   Mamma Mia

Klunker   Caylus   Scepter of Zavandor   End of the Triumvirate

Stone Age   Pillars of the Earth

Other Links

Z-Man Games   Lookout Games   Uwe Rosenberg   Spiel Des Jahres

Gateplay.com

As has become tradition around here, my lovely wife Christina (my nearly silent co-host on the last BGB) again made me a birthday cake themed to a favorite game of mine. This year, she tackled Pandemic - the hot new game from designer Matt Leacock and Z-Man Games. In one evening, she decorated both this and a heavily detailed seaside-themed cake for my daughter (meaning she stayed up late into the night making sure the red travel lines were accurate...mostly!)

The cake also tasted great. You'll notice that the Scientist is out this round (she ran out of white) and the Researcher was made of Tootsie Roll (and was the first pawn eaten). Despite all the detail, Christina was excited to do this one since Pandemic is one of her favorite games. It was another nice reminder that I am one lucky guy.

Watch next week for the first of two "Agricola: In depth" shows and I'll even be tackling Pandemic soon on a show devoted to co-op and semi-co-op games.

Thanks for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

It's been ages since I did a session review show talking about just a handful of games. Hey, I had to keep doing all those series, right? You'd rather hear from Reiner Knizia, Jay Tummelson, Zev Shlasinger, Steve Jackson, Tom Jolly and good folks like that anyway, right?

Apparently some people miss these shows so here is a new show talking about some great new games that we've enjoyed in recent months. A second show like this will be coming soon about Cutthroat Caverns, Age of Gods and Innsmouth Escape.

But before that, you can expect another game in the "In depth" series. "Agricola: In depth" is coming and quite soon! The first part of this two-parter should be out next week and the second part will follow shortly after that - all just in time to whip up the hype on the eve of the game's (finally!) release in the US.

Lastly, I'll note that my dear wife Christina joined me on this show just because she was sitting nearby when I was going to record. Her comments are light (she made me edit out a section) but I sure enjoyed having her around for the show because it's ages since I recorded a solo show.

Thanks again for downloading and listening to Boardgame Babylon.

Show Notes

Games mentioned

Ticket To Ride: The Card Game   Say Anything   Pizza Box Baseball

Keltis   Lost Cities   Drive (Crazy Chicken)   Wits & Wagers

Apples to Apples   Wer War's

Other Links

Northstar Games