The Dice Pirates

Ep: 32 - Deck-Building Games

This week, Matt, Ian, and Aaron take a deep dive into the card slinging world of deck builders! Tune in to hear us take on silky smooth segues, silly board game rules, and a deliciously spicy take about digital versus physical board games

 

[00:00:00] Intro

[00:01:21] Matt gives us his thoughts on a recent first time play of Robinson Crusoe

[00:07:39] Ian gives us a big run down on some tiny games

[00:10:03] The crew discuss the joys of silly first player rules

[00:16:09] Matt starts off our main topic and the undeniable legacy of Dominion

[00:28:34] Ian talks about a simple but huge addition to the formula with Tyrants of the Underdark

[00:49:14] Aaron makes an argument that digital implementations can be better than the original

[00:59:17] Outro

Other Games Discussed This Episode: SPY, Trash Pandas, Valley of the Kings, FORT, Star Realms, Hero Realms, Shards of Infinity, Ascension

 

-  Intro and Outro Music - "A Robust Crew by Darren Curtis" 

Captain’s Log February 28th: Co-op Catan!

It's a bite-sized news episode this week! Aaron and Ian break down the new Dying Light board game announcement, the As d'Or game awards winners, and a new cooperative Catan expansion!

 

Releases

 

Avalon Hill teases 3rd edition of Betrayal at House on the Hill 

https://mobile.twitter.com/avalonhill/status/1496203722350903302?s=21

 

Glass Cannon Unplugged to release Dying Light: The Game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuR44zkkYLQ

 

Azul designer Michael Kiesling to release “The Border”

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/356996/border

 

Hasbro announces 2022 lineup, including Clue Treachery at Tudor Mansion and Monopoly: Bridgerton 

https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/50499/hasbro-reveals-board-game-plans-2022

Expansions

 

New cooperative expandalone for Carcassonne announced, Fog over Carcassonne

https://www.hans-im-glueck.de/news/NebelueberCC-1.html

 

Ravensburger releases latest Villainous expansion: Bigger and Badder

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/352764/disney-villainous-bigger-and-badder

News

 

Design blog for upcoming Hollandspiele game "Eyelet" by Amabel Holland. A quick and fun look into designing

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/128061/designing-eyelet-or-knot-your-typical-roll-and-mov

 

The 2022 As d’Or winners announced, including 7 Wonders Architects as Game of the Year and Dune Imperium as “Expert” Game of the Year

https://www.facebook.com/FestivalDesJeux.Cannes

 

-  Intro and Outro Music - "A Robust Crew by Darren Curtis" 

Ep: 31- Tiny Epic Dungeons, Tiny Towns & Night Cage

We’re back baby! After a short bout with scurvy, Matt, Ian, and Aaron are gathered around to once again talk about our recent board game obsessions. We talk about the joys of the oft-maligned “multiplayer solitaire” games, art reflecting life, the problems with too many symbols, and more!

 

[00:00:00] Intro

[00:01:02] Ian brings us more hot takes in this week’s Bitter Board Gamers

[00:07:26] The crew ponders how much player interaction effects the fun of a game

[00:13:19] Matt discusses his first time playing the Late War variant for Twilight Struggle

[00:20:45] Ian kicks off the reviews with a discussion of Tiny Towns

[00:30:26] Aaron gives his (mostly good) impressions on Tiny Epic Dungeons

[00:48:02] Matt rounds out the episode with Night Cage

[01:00:05] Outro

 

Other Games Discussed This Episode: Sidereal Confluence, Forbidden Island

 

-  Intro and Outro Music - "A Robust Crew by Darren Curtis" 

Captain’s Log February 7th: 85 Hours of Dune?!

It's another week of news! Ian and Aaron return to discuss the recent Everdell for Everyone, Gale Force 9's partnership with Pathfinder, and the insane 85 hour play session to break the Guinness World Record!

 

Releases

 

Gale Force 9 partners with Paizo Publishing in a multi-year deal to publish multiple card and board games set in the Pathfinder and Starfinder universes

https://www.gf9games.com/pathfinder/pathfinder-level-20/

 

Stonemaier to announce new “revised” edition of 2012 classic, Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest 

https://stonemaiergames.com/games/libertalia/

 

Calliope games announce indulgent Luxury Limited Edition of Tsuro

https://mailchi.mp/calliopegames/tsuro-limited-edition-signup

Expansions

 

Everdell for Everyone 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameaccessory/353226/everdell-everyone

News

 

Four men in Gloucester play 85 hours of Dune to break world record and raise money for Alzheimer's charity 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-60129636

 

French board gaming awards As d'Or announces 2022 nominees 

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/127718/dor-nominees-2022

 

For the first time in almost a decade, Yu-Gi-Oh surpasses Magic the Gathering in Google search traffic 

https://twitter.com/Real_Kilometers/status/1488009128295350277?cxt=HHwWioCqqeOavKYpAAAA

 

Jagex partners with Steamforged to create board and tabletop games set in Runescape universe 

https://steamforged.com/pages/runescape-tabletop-games

-  Intro and Outro Music - "A Robust Crew by Darren Curtis" 

Ep: 30 - Red Rising Review

This week Ian, Matt, and Aaron are joined by special guest TJ to discuss some satanic panic, how to successfully throw a game night, and our main topic Red Rising, from publisher Stonemaier Games! 

 

[00:00:00] Intro

[00:01:24] Aaron rants about bad choices in game upgrades

[00:08:55] TJ rants about the difficulties of having too many friends over for games

[00:21:23] Time again for some poorly reviewed games in Bitter Boardgamers, this week hosted by Aaron!

[00:32:54] The crew discuss our main game this week, Red Rising

[00:41:51] TJ tells us about how well the game shares its themes and story with the books

[00:51:12] Matt ponders if Red Rising is a good “gateway” game

[00:57:35] Everyone gives a quick recommendation for their favorite sci fi book series 

[01:00:10] Outro

Other Games Discussed This Episode: It’s a Wonderful Kingdom, Sushi Go!, Betrayal at House on the Hill, CuBirds

 

-  Intro and Outro Music - "A Robust Crew by Darren Curtis" 

Captain’s Log November 22nd: 1 Million Copies of Wingspan!!!

It is the new year and Aaron and Ian return to bring you more news! There's a lot happening lately, and the crew break down a slew of digital releases, even more minis, and the incredible success of Wingspan!

 

Releases

 

Direwolf has announced a digital version of Everdell

https://www.direwolfdigital.com/news/everdell/

 

Oink Games Deep Sea Adventure and A Fake Artist Goes to New York available on Switch

https://oinkgames.com/en/games/digital/lets-play-oink-games

 

Carcassonne designer announces next game, Fire & Stone

https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/fire-and-stone/news/fire-and-stone-announcement 

 

Expansions

 

Cephalofair Games announces Miniatures of Gloomhaven crowdfunding campaign, will include minis for all 3 games

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3MTmj6LlP0

 

FFG announces four new starter decks for Lord of the Rings LCG , allowing players to get started with ease

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2021/12/9/starting-the-journey/

 

News

 

Asmodee announces they are removing all current digital versions of Pandemic, claiming that they are “[making] way for the digital future of Pandemic”

https://gamerant.com/pandemic-board-game-digital-version-removal/

https://twitter.com/AsmodeeDigital/status/1483846697843408896?s=20

 

Wingspan passes 1 million copies sold!

https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/wingspan/news/wingspan-1-million-copies

 

Exploding kittens announces an NFT sweepstakes

https://www.explodingkittens.com/blogs/sweepstakes/happysalmon-nft

 

Asmodee announces feature film based on The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow

https://www.licenseglobal.com/entertainment/werewolves-millers-hollow-become-feature-film

 

Jamie from the Secret Cabal Podcast announces cancer diagnosis

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2782604/important-message-jamie-and-other-cabal-hosts-plea

 

-  Intro and Outro Music - "A Robust Crew by Darren Curtis" 

Ep: 29 - The Triumphant Return!

It’s the new year and we are back! This week Ian, Matt, and Aaron gather around the table to discuss some holiday highlights, figure out some terrible reviews for fantastic games, and a World Premier Exclusive: Matt Was Wrong!

[00:00:00] Intro

[00:01:28] Matt takes to the soap box to discuss the problems of living in the golden age of boardgames

[00:09:57] Ian brings out the worst of the best in Bitter Board Gamers

[00:20:43] Matt and Ian chat about a rare in person Dice Pirates game day

[00:36:42] Matt cuts himself a slice of humble pie and tells us the game he was completely wrong about, Marvel United

[00:49:26] Ian asks for everyone’s New Year’s gaming resolutions

[00:53:17] Outro

 

Other Games Discussed: Colt Express, Thurn and Taxis, Pokemon TCG, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

 

So, You’ve Been Eaten KS Update with stories about the supply chain crisis

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ludicreations/so-youve-been-eaten/posts/3404927

-  Intro and Outro Music - "A Robust Crew by Darren Curtis" 

Ep: 28 - Legacy Games!

This week, Matt and Ian are joined by long-time Dice Pirate Dennis for a discussion of one of the newest and hottest trends in board games, Legacy games! 

 

[00:00:00] Intro

[00:01:28] Ian kicks off the soapbox talking about some recent board game finds while thrifting

[00:03:14] Matt gives his thoughts on CMON’s newest title, Marvel Zombies and the almost human scale size Galactus

[00:07:02] The crew gambles on what games they could win at the World Series Board Gaming Championship

[00:15:00] We start our main topic with a history lesson on Legacy games

[00:18:20] Dennis breaks down his thoughts on Pandemic Legacy

[00:25:01] Matt shifts gears in the Scythe legacy expansion, and why it didn’t work as well

[00:32:36] Ian talks about his favorite game in this genre, Charterstone

[00:41:15] The crew dive into Gloomhaven and legacy RPG games

[00:52:43] Dennis asks what games we would like to be made Legacy, and the possibilities are endless!

[00:56:01] Outro

 

Other games discussed this episode: Blood Rage, Wingspan, Risk Legacy, Descent, Near and Far

 

-  Intro and Outro Music - "A Robust Crew by Darren Curtis" 

Captain‘s Log November 22nd: Even More Catan!?

It's time for the news once again, as Aaron and Ian break down the new Catan console releases, Wingspan coming to mobile devices, and Trivial Pursuit becoming a TV show yet again!

 

Releases

 

A new version of Catan launching soon for Xbox and Playstation consoles

https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/catan-1/news/catan-digital-xbox-playstation-announced

 

Next Unlock Escape Room games to be based on Pandemic, Ticket to Ride and Mysterium

https://www.boardgameatlas.com/forum/hRL7s9bgG3/next-unlock-escape-room-game-will-be-about-different-board-games

 

Big Potato Games launches Jackbox competitor, Big Screen Games

https://bigpotato.co.uk/products/big-screen-games

 

Expansions

 

Wingspan and Gaia Project arrive on Android & iOS

https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/wingspan/news/wingspan-digital-android-release

https://digidiced.com/gaiaproject/

 

News

 

Games Workshop makes a community post denouncing hate groups after an individual came to a community tournament in Spain wearing Nazi imagery

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/11/19/the-imperium-is-driven-by-hate-warhammer-is-not/

 

A very interesting post on why new games show up in the top 100 more often

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/124590/choice-and-bias-why-new-games-top-bgg-rankings?s=09

 

Hasbro developing a Trivial Pursuit TV show, to be hosted by LeVar Burton, which marks the 5th time this particular game has been adapted into a show

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/levar-burton-trivial-pursuit-game-show-eone-1235113240/

 

-  Intro and Outro Music - "A Robust Crew by Darren Curtis" 

Ep: 27 - App-Driven Board Games

This week, the crew tackle one of the most divisive topics in the hobby: apps in board games! Listen in to hear our thoughts on one of the greatest adventure games ever, some spicy takes, and the surprisingly long and deep history of technology in our board games.

 

[00:00:00] Intro

[00:01:08] Matt talks about his decade long love of Skyrim, and our thoughts on the Skyrim board game

[00:05:04] Ian stumps us with this week’s game, Bitter Boardgamers

[00:11:06] Aaron gives us a history of apps in board games

[00:24:36] Ian moves us to the modern day discussion and where the industry is now

[00:35:17] Aaron talks about one of the positives of this trend: accessibility

[00:41:11] Outro

 

Tsuro, Battlesheep, X-Com: The Board Game, Alchemists, Destinies, Above & Below, Dropmix, Nyctophobia

 

-  Intro and Outro Music - "A Robust Crew by Darren Curtis"