Draft Mechanic

Draft Mechanic Episode #124: Return of the Randowriters Roll ‘em! It’s time for another round-up of Randowriters, still the hottest craze in lil’ games with pencils, pens, dice and cards. We’ve got four of ‘em (one is an app). Oh, and just in case you don’t want to be random, we’re also talking about the new word deduction game Decipher. Plus a few Kickstarter notes, Danielle talks about some data gathered from the Untappd “At Home” venue, and our community chimes in on games that were a pleasant surprise. Thank you again for listening, we hope you enjoy today’s episode! 00:45 Show Intro, News & Updates 02:20 Kickstarter Updates 02:46 Kickstarter: As You ‘Wich 05:25 Kickstarter: Coven Creatures 06:58 Recent Plays: Decipher 17:50 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 18:53 Randowriters: Cartographers App 26:19 Randowriters: Silver & Gold 35:47 Randowriters: On Tour (Second Edition) 46:48 Randowriters: Corinth 62:28 On Tap: Corinth 66:36 Untappd At Home 76:15 Final Round: Pleasant Surprises 81:28 Next Final R

Draft Mechanic Episode #123: Bargain Quest I sure hope you like value! In this episode of Draft Mechanic, you get not just ONE game in the feature segment, but ONE and a half! An expansion too! That’s such a steal! But don’t steal Bargain Quest. But if you want to steal, your dexterity is probably high? Right? Is that a good segue to three games that have dexterity or physical mechanics? I don’t know. But we talk about CTRL, Megacity Oceania, and Flash 8. And, as an added value, Danielle’s going to tell you about Sorachi Ace hops! WHAT A DEAL. 00:45 Show Intro, News & Updates 02:54 Kickstarter Updates 03:30 Kickstarter: Endangered: New Species 08:07 Recent Plays: CTRL 19:37 Recent Plays: Megacity: Oceania 33:39 Recent Plays: Flash 8 46:22 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 47:05 Six Pack Review: Bargain Quest 48:43 Bargain Quest: Gameplay Overview 55:51 Bargain Quest: Discussion 86:46 Bargain Quest: Final Thoughts 88:21 On Tap: Bargain Quest 93:52 Hop Primer: Sorachi Ace 104:20 Next Final Round & Outro W

Draft Mechanic Episode #122: Hats, Chai, Traintopia, Arkadia, Sabro hops Hope you’re thirsty, because it’s tea time! We’re maneuvering hat cards in teams or individually in Hats, we’re opening our own tea shops in Chai, and… ok, that’s where the tea metaphors run dry. In other recent plays, we go back to 2006 for Arkadia and back current for Traintopia, and Danielle talks about Sabro hops, one of the trendiest hops going in the biz today. Ok, so there’s not really an overarching theme for this episode. Let that one simmer for a bit. 00:45 Show Intro, News & Updates 02:50 Ashes Reborn 05:49 Wolfgang Warsch’s New Expansions 09:17 Kickstarter Updates 10:23 Kickstarter: Lunar Base 15:55 Recent Plays: Arkadia 28:38 Recent Plays: Traintopia 45:27 Recent Plays: Chai 65:13 On Tap: Chai 70:48 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 71:31 Six Pack Review: Hats 72:02 Hats: Gameplay Overview 79:38 Hats: Discussion 95:16 Hop Primer: Sabro 100:38 Closing Remarks & Outro We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some fee

Draft Mechanic Episode #121: High Rise; Roar & Write; Stay Cool; Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune; Black is Beautiful beer initiative Your eyes don’t deceive you, it is for sure a new episode of Draft Mechanic! Thanks so much for sticking with us, and we’re glad to bring you a feature review of High Rise, the latest from Gil Hova’s Formal Ferret Games. In recent plays, we roll, we write, we roar, we stay cool, and we move a wooden pig around a wheel. We hope you’re doing ok out there in podcast land, and thank you for welcoming us back into your ears for another round! 00:45 Show Intro, News & Updates 03:39 Kickstarter: The Fuzzies 11:26 Recent Plays: Roar & Write 24:40 Recent Plays: Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune 34:56 Recent Plays: Stay Cool! 43:55 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 44:41 Six Pack Review: High Rise 45:54 High Rise: Gameplay Overview (and some discussion) 56:10 High Rise: Discussion 88:03 High Rise: Final Thoughts 91:48 On Tap: High Rise 98:07 Black is Beautiful beer initiative 105:02 C

Draft Mechanic Episode #120: Mystery House; CYOA: House of Danger; Captive; Crusoe Crew; Summit Hops #stayhome and play some of these mysterious games about houses! It wasn’t intentional, we swear. Mystery House, CYOA: House of Danger and Captive all take place in houses. And the Crusoe Crew - well, it starts at home, so that qualifies too. Seriously though, we hope you’re doing well out there in podcast listener land. Stay healthy & wash your hands! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 04:06 News: Golden Geek Awards voting is live 06:40 News: tabletop.events needs your help! 09:52 Kickstarter Updates 11:06 Kickstarter: Planet Unknown 17:29 Recent Plays: Graphic Novel Adventures “Captive” 34:57 Recent Plays: The Crusoe Crew 45:22 Recent Plays: CYOA: House of Danger 59:55 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 61:00 Six Pack Review: Mystery House 61:32 Mystery House: Gameplay Overview 67:11 Mystery House: Discussion 89:20 Mystery House: Final Thoughts 91:50 On Tap: Mystery House 96:17 Hop Primer: Summit Hops 103:

Draft Mechanic Episode #119: In the Hall of the Mountain King, Lions of Lydia KS preview, Zoned Out, Felix the Cat in the Sack, Mosaic Hops, House Rules Hello again! In this new era of staying at home, why not make that home in a mountain? We’re excavating a mountain cave in our feature review today with In the Hall of the Mountain King. It’s the formation of economy in Lions of Lydia, building a city in Zoned Out, and Felix the Cat in the Sack is also in this sentence. No pun there, sorry. Danielle discusses Mosaic hops, and Jake asked the slack about House Rules back when we were allowed out of our houses. Wash your hands and stay home. 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 09:21 Kickstarter Updates 10:42 Kickstarter: Lions of Lydia 11:40 Kickstarter Preview: Lions of Lydia 28:50 Recent Plays: Zoned Out! 51:37 Recent Plays: Felix the Cat in the Sack 60:38 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 61:49 Six Pack Review: In the Hall of the Mountain King 62:50 In the Hall of the Mountain King: Gameplay Overview 69:50 In

Draft Mechanic Episode #117: Mechanica; Draw Your Own Conclusions; Ecos; Thunder Alley; Galaxy Hops; Culling It’s episode beep, beep boop! Or rather, 118, in which we talk about Mechanica, and the bots we make along the way. Plus: Drawing in Draw Your Own Conclusions, Continenting in Ecos: First Continent; and racing down Thunder Alley. Danielle’s hop of choice this episode is Galaxy, and listeners chime in on how they cull their collection. Beep boop! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 03:49 News: Plaid Hat leaves Asmodee 08:23 Kickstarter Updates 09:28 Kickstarter: Graphic Novel Adventures Series 3 12:27 Kickstarter: Ludocherry 15:41 Recent Plays: Draw Your Own Conclusions 25:20 Recent Plays: Ecos: First Continent 37:53 Recent Plays: Thunder Alley 49:08 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 50:11 Six Pack Review: Mechanica 50:33 Mehcanica: Gameplay Overview 54:49 Mechanica: Discussion 69:48 Mechanica: Final Thoughts 72:15 On Tap: Mechanica 75:49 Hop Primer: Galaxy 83:15 ProtoATL Sponsorship Spot 84:10 Final Rou

Draft Mechanic Episode #117: Atlantis Rising, Gorinto, Tumble Town, The Isle of Cats, Huell Melon hop primer Do you think you have what it takes to save the people of Atlantis from the wrath of the Gods? No? Well, how about in a co-operative worker placement game? We sure hope so because we’re going to talk about Atlantis Rising from Elf Creek Games. We’ve got a pair of Kickstarter previews: Gorinto and Tumble Town, plus we talk about The Isle of Cats. Danielle’s hop primer is about Huell Melon today, and that’s what you’ll get in jam-packed episode 117! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 04:01 Kickstarter Updates 04:57 Kickstarter: Gorinto 06:09 Kickstarter Preview: Gorinto 18:01 Kickstarter Preview: Tumble Town 32:29 Recent Plays: The Isle of Cats 51:00 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 52:00 Six Pack Review: Atlantis Rising 53:58 Atlantis Rising: Gameplay Overview 63:05 Atlantis Rising: Discussion 83:35 Atlantis Rising: Final Thoughts 85:17 On Tap: Atlantis Rising 89:00 Hop Primer: Huell Melon 95:41 ProtoA

Draft Mechanic Episode #116: The Taverns of Tiefenthal; Azul: Summer Pavilion; Dizzle; Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers; Strata Hop Primer; Convention ‘Must Haves’ It’s an early episode of the year, and that apparently means a Wolfgang Warsch game! Today we sidle up to the Taverns of Tiefenthal and talk about Warsch’s latest big box game from North Star Games. Also we’re playing the new Azul spinoff, the randowriter Dizzle, and then go back into the Carcazone with the Hunters & Gatherers standalone game. Enjoy! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 04:40 Kickstarter Updates 06:03 Kickstarter: The Rival Networks 08:49 Kickstarter: Zine Quest 2 11:12 Recent Plays: Azul Summer Pavilion 23:11 Recent Plays: Dizzle 30:44 Recent Plays: Carcassonne Hunters & Gatherers 46:14 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 47:18 Six Pack Review: The Taverns of Tiefenthal 48:40 The Taverns of Tiefenthal: Gameplay Overview 53:45 The Taverns of Tiefenthal: Discussion 68:42 The Taverns of Tiefenthal: Final Thoughts 73:00 On Tap

Draft Mechanic Episode #115: PAX Unplugged & 2020 Convention Outlook Hey, we promised a PAX episode and here it is! There’s a big ol’ list of games we played, and we just got some of them in this episode. Look for more as we work into some reviews in the next few episodes! Danielle also continues on her hop research trek with Columbus, the workhorse of bitterness. Enjoy and say hi on the internet if you enjoyed today’s episode! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 03:46 Kickstarter: Oath 08:41 PAX Unplugged! 10:25 PAXu Played: Stay Cool 15:52 PAXu Played: Arraial 20:06 PAXu Played: Noch Mal… So Gut! 27:33 PAXu Played: Spy Club 33:53 PAXu Played: Adventure Games: The Dungeon 40:03 PAXu Played: Quirky Circuits 46:49 PAXu Played: Cascadia 52:39 PAXu Played: Newfoundland Jam 56:07 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 57:01 PAX Unplugged & 2020 Conventions 70:57 Hop Series: Columbus 77:21 Final Round: 2019 Gaming Memories 84:55 Next Episode’s Final Round 85:58 Outro We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us

Draft Mechanic Episode #114: 2019 In Review Oh hi there! Good to see you again! We’re back from our 2019 Winter Break and ready to talk about our favorites of the year. We’ve got our usual superlative categories, our favorite beers of 2019, and our six favorite games of last year to serve up for you. Thanks so much for sticking around, we’re excited to be back for the first episode of 2020! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 04:55 What We Did on Winter Break 07:23 Our 2020 Plans for the Podcast 13:27 The 2019 Superlative Categories 51:56 Our Top Beers of 2019 76:40 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 77:32 Our 2019 Six-Pack of Games 110:27 Next Episode’s Final Round 111:14 Outro We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net! Pick up one of four Draft Mechanic shirts today! Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)! We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook

Draft Mechanic Episode #113 and a half: Draft Mechanic’s Winter Break Hey all, just dropping in a quick note to share what we’re up to in December. See you at PAX Unplugged! 00:10 What’s a Winter Break 04:35 “Superpower of Choice” by The Liberation Jumpsuit We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net! Pick up one of three designs for a Draft Mechanic T-Shirt today! Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)! We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook! Draft Mechanic is a proud member of Punchboard Media, where we all bring something to the table. Check out our diverse group of audio, video and written board game content creators! Draft Mechanic is sponsored by Grey Fox Games. Check out their website for information on all their great games, and sign up for the newsletter for updates direct to your inbox! Our theme and bump music is from the album “Superp

Draft Mechanic Spoiler Episode Omega In this spoiler-filled episode of Draft Mechanic, we look back on the final TIME Stories scenario of the “White Cycle,” Madame. If you listened to our review/discussion in Episode 100, you might know how this one turns out. We have mostly everyone from Team Alpha and Team Beta here for this discussion that clocks in just over an hour. Thank you. We’ll be back soon. We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net! Pick up one of three designs for a Draft Mechanic T-Shirt today! Join our Draft Mechanic Slack Channel, or our BGG Guild (#2470)! We’re also on Twitter and Instagram - follow us at @draftmechanic! Also, Like us on Facebook! Draft Mechanic is a proud member of Punchboard Media, where we all bring something to the table. Check out our diverse group of audio, video and written board game content creators! Draft Mechanic is sponsored by Grey Fox Games. Check out their website for inform

Draft Mechanic Episode #113: Fantastic Factories, Haven, Cartographers, Trapwords, Cascade Hops Factories are all about efficiency, and this episode is gonna be an efficient punch of board game info! We’re reviewing Fantastic Factories in the feature segment, we’ve got the beer pairings as we do; plus a pack of others: Haven, Cartographers and Trapwords! Danielle dives in to the Hop Primers with a look at Cascade hops. Let’s go! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 02:38 Beer News: MolsonCoors on the Move 05:06 Kickstarter Updates 07:58 Kickstarter: Classy Dice Buddies Part 2 09:27 Kickstarter: Honey Buzz 12:16 Recent Plays: Haven 24:06 Recent Plays: Cartographers 36:17 Recent Plays: Trapwords 47:08 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 48:02 Six Pack Review: Fantastic Factories 48:40 Fantastic Factories: Gameplay Overview 51:21 Fantastic Factories: Discussion 70:25 Fantastic Factories: Final Thoughts 72:14 On Tap: Fantastic Factories 76:20 Hop Primer: Cascade 81:56 Outro We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send u

Draft Mechanic Episode #112: Tapestry, Escape Tales: Low Memory, Quacks of Quedlinburg expansion We’ve got three heavy hitters in this episode! First, the hottest of the hot with Jamey Stegmaier’s new civilization game Tapestry as our lead feature. Second, the follow-up to our number one game of 2018 with Escape Tales: Low Memory. Third, the highly anticipated expansion to the Quacks of Quedlinburg, last year’s Kennerspiel des Jahres winner! Danielle continues on with her series on hops, specifically what they actually add to beer. And in our final round, we’re talking about game balance! So get in there! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 03:12 Kickstarter Updates 05:39 Kickstarter: Twain 08:24 Kickstarter: Fossilis 11:25 Kickstarter: Cosmic Colonies 13:37 Recent Plays: Quacks of Quedlinburg: The Herb Witches 27:00 Recent Plays: Escape Tales: Low Memory 45:38 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 46:30 Six Pack Review: Tapestry 47:16 Tapestry: Gameplay Overview 51:13 Tapestry: Discussion 78:51 Tapestry: Final Th

Draft Mechanic Episode #111: Welcome to Thematic Neighborhoods; The Search for Planet X; Slyville It’s all about the future on Draft Mechanic 111! We’ve got a Kickstarter preview of The Search for Planet X, plus a look at Slyville coming at Essen from Hexy Studio. Our main feature is five (five!) new neighborhoods for Welcome To! And later in the show, we’re talking with Mark Kale, the organizer of our local board game con, MegaMooseCon about what it’s like to be headed into year four of the event. All this plus more, tune in! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 03:22 Games News: Castles of Burgundy’s New Look 06:24 Kickstarter Updates 08:15 Kickstarter: Dance Card! 10:38 Kickstarter: Camp Pinetop 12:54 Kickstarter: Arch Ravels 15:20 Kickstarter: Calico 16:44 Kickstarter Preview: The Search for Planet X 36:11 Recent Plays: Slyville 47:35 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 48:31 Feature Review: Welcome To Thematic Neighborhoods 55:17 Welcome To… Halloween 61:16 Welcome To… Outbreak 66:54 Welcome To… Doomsday 70:

Draft Mechanic Episode #110: Letter Jam, Las Vegas Royale, Lanterns Dice, Keyforge Blue Happy birthday, us! It’s the start of Season Five and our fourth anniversary, and we’ve decided to be pretty business-as-usual about this one. Especially after that Episode 100 blowout! So we’re reviewing Letter Jam, the delicious, delectable new word game from CGE. We’ve got games with subtitles in the recent plays: Las Vegas Royale, Lanterns Dice: Lights in the Sky, and Keyforge: The Blue Ones. I mean, Age of Ascension. Yep! Danielle’s gonna tell us why we need to keep draft beer lines clean, and our listeners are going to tell us what the lyrics to our theme song are, because even the guy that sung them doesn’t remember them. Let’s go! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 02:15 Thank you for Four Years! 04:05 Games News: BGG’s getting systematic 06:43 Kickstarter Updates 08:13 Kickstarter: Good/Evil DM Challenge Coin 09:44 Kickstarter: Detective: City of Angels / Smoke & Mirrors 12:23 Kickstarter: ROOT Tabletop RPG

Draft Mechanic Episode #109: Sessionable Games Six-Pack; LOTS & Calico We’re dressed to the nines! Episode 109, that is. Releasing on 9-9-19! It’s a coincidence I’m sure. Anyway! On with the show. We’ve got a double six-pack of sessionable games (30 minutes or you’re play’s free!), a double Kickstarter preview with LOTS & Calico, Slide Quest on tap, and a bunch more! Enjoy! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 03:27 Game News: Stonemaier Games’ “Tapestry” sells in a flash 07:05 Kickstarter Updates 10:20 Kickstarter: After the Empire 12:40 Kickstarter: YEDO Deluxe 17:07 KS Preview: LOTS 26:22 KS Preview: Calico 39:10 Recent Plays: Slide Quest 45:49 On Tap: Slide Quest 48:32 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 49:31 Six Pack List: Sessionable Games 79:16 BA Member Diversity 96:32 Final Round: Board Game Burnout 85:06 Outro We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at draftmechanic.net! Pick up one of three designs for a Draft Mechanic T-Shi

Draft Mechanic Episode #108: Imhotep: The Duel Hello there! It’s been a minute, but we’re back and ready to board game podcast. This one has games for all: one player, two player, three and four player, old, young, really that covers everything I think. But yeah! We’re talking about Imhotep: The Duel today - how does it translate to a two-player contest? We’ve got a smattering of new HABA content, some puzzles, and more ring stacking than you’d expect on a typical day with Moon Base. Dig in and enjoy! 01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates 03:20 Beer News: ABInBev is shopping again 05:52 Kickstarter Updates 09:28 Kickstarter: Fiasco in a Box 12:20 Kickstarter: Sleeping Gods 22:06 Recent Plays: Blokus Puzzle 29:45 Recent Plays: Moon Base 38:58 Recent Plays: Wobble King 44:49 Recent Plays: Dragon’s Breath 52:11 On Tap: Dragon’s Breath 58:28 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot 59:22 Six Pack Review: Imhotep The Duel 59:42 Imhotep The Duel: Gameplay Overview 65:26 Imhotep The Duel: Discussion 75:47 Imhotep The Duel: Fi

Draft Mechanic Episode #107: Gen Con 2019 Recaps That was Gen Con - and this is the Gen Con recap! Look, I’m sorry, I’m not getting more specific with the timestamps below because then I’d have 100,000 entries. Wait - you actually look at those? Well. I guess. But you asked for it - we talk about a lot of games. Also, there’s two special guests on this episode! Hooray! 01:00 Thursday Recap Intro w/Shane! 04:11 Thundergryph Games - Hats, Rolling Ranch 06:46 Adam’s Apple Games - Thrive, Truck Off Roll-and-Write 11:24 Fowers Games - Burgle Bros 2 12:54 XYZ labs - Arch Ravelry 16:11 Funforge - Namiji 18:10 Junk Spirit Games - Battle of the Bards 19:35 Brain Games - Iron Forest, Pigasus 23:42 Karen Twelves’ Improv for Roleplayers class 26:17 Storm Chaser / Greater Than Games - Medium 31:05 HABA - Miyabi, Club der Tatzen 37:22 Blue Orange - Detective Club 41:05 Helvetiq - Kawaii 42:36 IDW - Tonari 45:00 RDTN strike tournament 46:15 Elf Creek Games - Honey Buzz 53:20 Friday Recap intro 55:17 Asmadi Games - 1001 Odys