Finally, here is the Power Grid: In depth show I have been promising for ages. This show is much longer than any other episode of Boardgame Babylon. In fact, this show is so long that I am going to keep the intro short:

My good friend Matt Grimaldi and I discuss Power Grid for an awfully long time. He explains it, sings its praises and then I fuss and whine about why I don't think the game is fun even though I admire the mechanics a good deal. Matt sensibly shoots down all my attempts to complain about the game's complexity while also trying to make the game more complex by adding thematic elements. Hopefully, I don't lose all credibility with BGB listeners by admitting that I don't like Power Grid (or chase people away with my snarky comments about crayon rail games!). Ah, well. Hope you enjoy it.

Post your comments here or blast me for my opinions in private by e-mailing: sheylon@gmail.com.

Show Notes 

Games Mentioned:

Power Grid

Power Grid: Italy and France

Power Grid: Atolla Modulis

Funkenschlag

Fearsome Floors (Finsture Flure!)

Fresh Fish

Landlord

Funny Friends

Attika (Marcel-Andre Casasola Merkle - sheesh!)

Fluxx

Poker

Man-to-Man

HeroScape

Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Blood Bowl

Outpost (which is out of print, but Snoozefest says that Das Zepter von Zavandor is similar but with a different theme)

Puerto Rico

Caylus

RA

Modern Art

Medici

Traumfabrik

Princes of Florence

Empire Builder

Eurorails

Struggle of Nations

Flat Top

Railroad Tycoon

Ticket to Ride

Age of Steam

TransAmerica

Other links:

Buy an "I'd rather be playing Power Grid" shirt from Meeple People.com!

Friedemann Friese (There are twenty one games listed, so we didn't scratch the surface)

2F Spiele

3M Games

Rio Grande Games

Brettspielwelt - The best way to play Power Grid (I think)

Analysis Paralysis

Elmo (and the shirt)

GURPS

The Hero System

The Electric Company (but wouldn't it have been fun if he called it that)

Smartest Guys In The Room - now on DVD

Green Power

Avalon Hill (and I like plenty of those old games - just not the endless ones)

Boardgame Babylon v8 - Caylus: In depth

Boardgame Babylon v12 - RA: In depth

Finally, here is the Power Grid: In depth show I have been promising for ages. This show is much longer than any other episode of Boardgame Babylon. In fact, this show is so long that I am going to keep the intro short:

My good friend Matt Grimaldi and I discuss Power Grid for an awfully long time. He explains it, sings its praises and then I fuss and whine about why I don't think the game is fun even though I admire the mechanics a good deal. Matt sensibly shoots down all my attempts to complain about the game's complexity while also trying to make the game more complex by adding thematic elements. Hopefully, I don't lose all credibility with BGB listeners by admitting that I don't like Power Grid (or chase people away with my snarky comments about crayon rail games!). Ah, well. Hope you enjoy it.

Post your comments here or blast me for my opinions in private by e-mailing: sheylon@gmail.com.

Show Notes 

Games Mentioned:

Power Grid

Power Grid: Italy and France

Power Grid: Atolla Modulis

Funkenschlag

Fearsome Floors (Finsture Flure!)

Fresh Fish

Landlord

Funny Friends

Attika (Marcel-Andre Casasola Merkle - sheesh!)

Fluxx

Poker

Man-to-Man

HeroScape

Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Blood Bowl

Outpost (which is out of print, but Snoozefest says that Das Zepter von Zavandor is similar but with a different theme)

Puerto Rico

Caylus

RA

Modern Art

Medici

Traumfabrik

Princes of Florence

Empire Builder

Eurorails

Struggle of Nations

Flat Top

Railroad Tycoon

Ticket to Ride

Age of Steam

TransAmerica

Other links:

Buy an "I'd rather be playing Power Grid" shirt from Meeple People.com!

Friedemann Friese (There are twenty one games listed, so we didn't scratch the surface)

2F Spiele

3M Games

Rio Grande Games

Brettspielwelt - The best way to play Power Grid (I think)

Analysis Paralysis

Elmo (and the shirt)

GURPS

The Hero System

The Electric Company (but wouldn't it have been fun if he called it that)

Smartest Guys In The Room - now on DVD

Green Power

Avalon Hill (and I like plenty of those old games - just not the endless ones)

Boardgame Babylon v8 - Caylus: In depth

Boardgame Babylon v12 - RA: In depth

We circle the wagons to play Go West and then head for Sid Sackson's Bazaar. The title, you ask? Dave has a Lactaid moment discussing dice games.

We circle the wagons to play Go West and then head for Sid Sackson's Bazaar. The title, you ask? Dave has a Lactaid moment discussing dice games.

In this edition Moritz has news about the Pfefferkuchl award and the online gaming site Brettspielwelt.

In Ep 5, Jason and Scott discuss their favorite convention, the WBC. They also give an extensive review of Crusader Rex, share some big news about the show's future, and some interesting news at large.

Of course, they also apologize for the delay.

All this and a new gamer rule!

Jonathan Becker recaps the final day at Pro Tour-Prague, where Takuya Osawa took the title.

This edition of Moritz' German Gaming News is a little essay about the German Spiel des Jahres award.

Ben Goodman retells a horrendous beat he applied to Neil Reeves.

Randy Buehler takes you down the home stretch as we cut to the Top 8 at Pro Tour-Prague.

Randy Buehler breaks down the leaderboard, where no one is safe yet.

Jonathan Becker gets the draft lowdown from Fanatic Frank Karsten.

Jonathan Becker takes you on a tour of all the Pro Tour has to offer.

Randy Buehler looks at the three top players starting Day Two as the 140-player field begins to be trimmed.

Joe Crosby gives draft advice -- like watch out for that Carom!

The Top 8 is set for Pro Tour-Prague, with plenty of new names breaking through to Sunday's spotlight.

Thurn and Taxis is a light strategy game about delivering mail to cities in Germany (17:01) This week on Board Games with Scott, I’m taking a look at Thurn and Taxis, which is the newest game by Andreas and Karen Seyfarth. This is a light strategy game that is about delivering the mail! It’s a

Randy Buehler kicks off Pro Tour-Prague by patrolling the crowd looking for draft tidbits.

What's it like to have the lowest DCI number in the event hall? Find out from Michael Donovan, who happened to be 5-0 as well.

Three names topped the standings as the only undefeateds after Day One at Pro Tour-Prague.

Randy Buehler puts a wrap on Day One of Pro Tour-Prague, running down the top players and recapping the return of Jon Finkel.

Pro Tour veteran Justin Gary found himself at 5-0 on Day One.

If it's a Pro Tour, Olivier Ruel must be near the top of the standings.

Magic Online maven Terry Soh didn't get much Pro Tour practice in, but that hasn't stopped him from having a great start.

The Pro Tour saw the return of Jonny Magic in Prague. Jonathan Becker brings you the reactions from players past and present.

Randy Buehler reviews the standings after the first pod of the day has completed, and the Pros start sharing draft strategies.

Let slip the dogs of war. We play a card game that combines an early Renaissance war with poker. Seriously. We're not kidding. We also play Clippers. Be glad it was us and not you!

Let slip the dogs of war. We play a card game that combines an early Renaissance war with poker. Seriously. We're not kidding. We also play Clippers. Be glad it was us and not you!

Episode 10: Star Wars games of the 1980s! In this episode, guest-host and Star Wars game expert Joey joins Adam for a trip down memory lane, discussing all the Star Wars board games we played back in the 80s (and late 70s) after the first three movies came out. Star Wars: Escape From Death Star [...]

This edition of Moritz' German Gaming News has information about the games Antike, John Silver, Settlers and China.

Enhanced Audio - BGG Entry
An auction/negotiation/economic game where players are buying and selling fish.
1. Catch of the Day: show what the fisherman have caught, and which fish are in demand today.
2. Auction Phase: blind auction for each boat's catch.
3. Haggling Phase: lots of fun in a free-form market between players.
4. Selling Phase: sell fish, make money, and don't throw away too many fish!
5. Cleanup: Reset play area, deposit all but $50 into the bank.
After 4 rounds, whoever has the most money (cash + bank) wins!

This is Moritz' essay about the reasons why there are no wargames in Germany.

Crack open that bottle of Cabernet and pass the Camembert! We play and discuss Louis XIV, an influence based, tile-flipping game from Alea/Rio Grande Games. Truckloads of Goober makes its debut with Britannia.

Crack open that bottle of Cabernet and pass the Camembert! We play and discuss Louis XIV, an influence based, tile-flipping game from Alea/Rio Grande Games. Truckloads of Goober makes its debut with Britannia.

I’ve explored Poker Chips as a replacement for money in games, and this week’s episode explores the cheap to the expensive of poker chips. (26:41) Announcement: Board Games with Scott is going Biweekly. When I started it, I had hopes that I would be able to significantly reduce the time to edit an episode. While

Card previews and Pro Tour-Prague info with Randy Buehler, Aaron Forsythe, and Ted Knutson.

Well, until I sort out the Power Grid show, here is a Session Review show that is almost a companion to the Rectangular Table Discussion show about Women and Gaming. It was recorded for our marathon Game Day in March where I played way too many fillers and not enough meaty games. But that is okay - we had a load of fun and it gave me a chance to try out two unplayed games from my collection: King Me! and Mall World.

I actually forgot to mention how incredibly cool the bits are in Diamant, too. They are really nice and I recommend getting this charming game even though it is not available in the US (except through specialty retailers).

Incidentally, this picture is of one of our recent game days where Memoir '44 was played. The fellow in gray is Matt Grimaldi - an old friend of mine who is the co-host on the Power Grid show. In the foreground is my buddy Chad - who has the distinction of being mentioned not only frequently on this show, but he was also namechecked on the Dice Tower last year when he visited the illustrious Tom and Joe while on Korea for business. Why, Tom even complained that Chad kept taking the role he wanted in Puerto Rico. I know what he means - Chad can be annoyingly good at games! Chad will also appear on BGB soon on the upcoming RTD on Games Workshop Games of the 80's, if I should ever get around to buying Total Recorder so I can get our friend Bernie on there, too, via Skype. 

Next up: Power Grid: In depth (once I can edit this whole thing, which is likely going to be released as a two-parter). 

Show Notes

Games Mentioned: 

That's Life! (which I refer to by its German name Verflixxt! occasionally)

Diamant

Wheedle

Taj Mahal

King Me! (BGG even has a Trekkie version for you Trek-geeks)

Coloretto

Mall World

Niagara

King's Breakfast

Shadows Over Camelot

TransEuropa

For Sale

Gulo Gulo

Power Grid (Italy/France Maps)

6 Nimmt! (wow, that's three games that have exclamation points in their titles)

Pit (which sometimes has an exclamation point)

Kremlin

Reef Encounter

Caylus

Railroad Tycoon 

Other links:

St.Patrick's Day

Irish Soda Bread

Shamrocks

Dice

Bruno Faiduitti's Ideal Game Library (in French and English)

Tom Hanks

Attila the Hun

The Vintage Gamer Discusses Pit (which is still a lousy game, but Jim Van Verth somehow still recorded an interesting show on it)

Indiana Jones

Mayfair Games

Da Vinci Games

Well, until I sort out the Power Grid show, here is a Session Review show that is almost a companion to the Rectangular Table Discussion show about Women and Gaming. It was recorded for our marathon Game Day in March where I played way too many fillers and not enough meaty games. But that is okay - we had a load of fun and it gave me a chance to try out two unplayed games from my collection: King Me! and Mall World.

I actually forgot to mention how incredibly cool the bits are in Diamant, too. They are really nice and I recommend getting this charming game even though it is not available in the US (except through specialty retailers).

Incidentally, this picture is of one of our recent game days where Memoir '44 was played. The fellow in gray is Matt Grimaldi - an old friend of mine who is the co-host on the Power Grid show. In the foreground is my buddy Chad - who has the distinction of being mentioned not only frequently on this show, but he was also namechecked on the Dice Tower last year when he visited the illustrious Tom and Joe while on Korea for business. Why, Tom even complained that Chad kept taking the role he wanted in Puerto Rico. I know what he means - Chad can be annoyingly good at games! Chad will also appear on BGB soon on the upcoming RTD on Games Workshop Games of the 80's, if I should ever get around to buying Total Recorder so I can get our friend Bernie on there, too, via Skype. 

Next up: Power Grid: In depth (once I can edit this whole thing, which is likely going to be released as a two-parter). 

Show Notes

Games Mentioned: 

That's Life! (which I refer to by its German name Verflixxt! occasionally)

Diamant

Wheedle

Taj Mahal

King Me! (BGG even has a Trekkie version for you Trek-geeks)

Coloretto

Mall World

Niagara

King's Breakfast

Shadows Over Camelot

TransEuropa

For Sale

Gulo Gulo

Power Grid (Italy/France Maps)

6 Nimmt! (wow, that's three games that have exclamation points in their titles)

Pit (which sometimes has an exclamation point)

Kremlin

Reef Encounter

Caylus

Railroad Tycoon 

Other links:

St.Patrick's Day

Irish Soda Bread

Shamrocks

Dice

Bruno Faiduitti's Ideal Game Library (in French and English)

Tom Hanks

Attila the Hun

The Vintage Gamer Discusses Pit (which is still a lousy game, but Jim Van Verth somehow still recorded an interesting show on it)

Indiana Jones

Mayfair Games

Da Vinci Games

Here is Moritz latest edition about the German gaming scene, resolving some April Fool's Day jokes and some information about the "Games International" magazine.

The original pilot for the Spiel was lost, so this is our fresh start! You'll find out who's behind the Spiel and why we're doing this. We discuss/review Trias & King of the Beasts, the two latest games off The List, our decade old challenge is to play down our ever-growing list of unplayed games. We also discuss new game releases, and introduce several new segments including the Backshelf Spotlight, Truckloads of Goober, and the Game Sommelier.

The original pilot for the Spiel was lost, so this is our fresh start! You'll find out who's behind the Spiel and why we're doing this. We discuss/review Trias & King of the Beasts, the two latest games off The List, our decade old challenge is to play down our ever-growing list of unplayed games. We also discuss new game releases, and introduce several new segments including the Backshelf Spotlight, Truckloads of Goober, and the Game Sommelier.

This is a dice game that is similar to Yahtzee with more strategy and special abilities. (20:07) This week on Board Games with Scott, I’m going to talk about Um Krone und Kragen, which is a 2006 dice game where your goal is to impress royalty by rolling dice well. In the game, you roll

Here is Moritz' April 1st edition about the German gaming scene.

The Fury of Dracula is a deduction/roleplaying game where one player is Dracula attempting to hide and ambush the other players, who form a team. (25:31) This week, Board Games with Scott is an exploration of The Fury of Dracula, a 2006 remake of an 1987 Games Workshop board game (back when they made a

Ever wanted to play Puerto Rico with your preschooler? Keythedral with your kindergartener?

In this show, my children Alaric and Gwyndolyn (ages 6 and 4) join me to discuss some of the variants we play of popular strategy designer games. Why wait any longer to begin your pre-K child's lifelong addiction to the board game hobby?

Show Notes

Games Mentioned:

Caylus

Wallenstein

Can't Stop

Advanced Squad Leader

Die Macher

Reef Encounter

Puerto Rico

Elefun

Railroon Tycoon

Jenga

Ricochet Robot

Yahtzee Jr.

Other Links:

Hard Games Made Harder For Hardcore Gamers

Martin Wallace

Boohbah

Sid Sackson

Skittles

Puerto Rico (the not-a-state, not the game)

M&Ms

Coral

Oompa Loompas

CRTs

Toy Story

Eagle Games (doing something about the board, incidentally)

Temporary Tattoos

Line of Sight

Furbys (my apologies for including a link to Hasbro - darn! Did it again!)

Huh?

Ever wanted to play Puerto Rico with your preschooler? Keythedral with your kindergartener?

In this show, my children Alaric and Gwyndolyn (ages 6 and 4) join me to discuss some of the variants we play of popular strategy designer games. Why wait any longer to begin your pre-K child's lifelong addiction to the board game hobby?

Show Notes

Games Mentioned:

Caylus

Wallenstein

Can't Stop

Advanced Squad Leader

Die Macher

Reef Encounter

Puerto Rico

Elefun

Railroon Tycoon

Jenga

Ricochet Robot

Yahtzee Jr.

Other Links:

Hard Games Made Harder For Hardcore Gamers

Martin Wallace

Boohbah

Sid Sackson

Skittles

Puerto Rico (the not-a-state, not the game)

M&Ms

Coral

Oompa Loompas

CRTs

Toy Story

Eagle Games (doing something about the board, incidentally)

Temporary Tattoos

Line of Sight

Furbys (my apologies for including a link to Hasbro - darn! Did it again!)

Huh?

Here is Moritz' new report about the German gaming scene. Today he he has news about the games "Friedrich" and Dragon Riders" and the publisher "Krimi total".

Enhanced Audio - BGG Listing

• #3 in the Ticket to Ride series.
• The most complicated one yet.
• Based on the original game, with several new additions and a new map.
• A good more strategic version of the game, but I think I still prefer the simplicity and gameplay of TTR: Europe. Also, this seems awfully fiddly in the setup! Still, worth giving a try - especially for jaded gamers.
  

The Big Idea is a party/light strategy game about pitching and investing in ideas. (12:12) This week, I’m going to talk about The Big Idea. This is a game by Cheapass Games that starts like a party game with everyone coming up with a Big Idea, then moves into an investing round where you attempt

In Episode 4, Jason and Scott announce their new website(www.point2pointsource.com), respond to some feedback, and discuss options for playing wargames over the internet. They also answer that eternal question: where WAS Scott during that last episode??? Oh, and, as always, a new Gamer Rule.