Four Corners Of The Board Podcast

We just flew back from Dice Tower Con 2017, and boy, have we got games to talk about! We do a quick review of a large number of games this episode, then finish with our favourite part of the con. Captain Sonar Plague Inc. Grimm Forest Watch the Skys Cthuhulu Wars Codenames Duet Werewords Unlock Sausage and Squeak Ethnos Gravity Warfare Manhatten Project Energy Empire Gondola Lorenzo il Magnifico Word Slam Kerala Times Up!

We've just got back from Origins, and have we got some games to tell you about! We start off talking about a few games we played before we went. Yokohama Then we get into games we got to play at origins. We tried to play a bit of everything - big publisher games, kickstarter games that will soon be going out to backers, and small publisher games. Unfair Heir to the Throne Psychological Warfare Affliction Salem 1692 Game of Thrones The Card Game 2nd Edition Rabbit Island Quests for Valeria Witches of the revolution Wits and Wagers - Vegas style Doctor Who The Card Game Barenpark Junkyard Art Century Spice Road Lisboa We wrap it all up with our highlights of the con!

We review a light euro game called In the Name of Odin, but first we have a look at some games we've played over the last few weeks : Noir The Colonists Canterbury Perdition’s Mouth Food Chain Magnate Sea of Clouds Mythos Tales Then we get into the heart of the episode with a look at In the Name of Odin, a light euro game that plays in about an hour. We have a look at the components - are minis really needed? What about the main mechanisms - interesting? We also have a look at play length, player count, and does it matter if you go last? We wrap it all up with our final thoughts.

We have a look at a heavy-ish euro this time called Solarius Mission, but first we talk about a few games we've played, and it turns into a mini look back. 7 Wonders Trajan Kreus We then get into the main game. This is a game that we are not impressed with the components, and the rules got in our way of playing the game due to not fully understanding them. When do these things get in the way of enjoying a game? Our group tends to be split on heavy games, does that hold true for this time? It uses an interesting dice mechanism (from Ora & Labora) - how do we feel about it? We then wrap it up with our final thoughts, which may surprise you!

For our first official tri-weekly podcast we are looking at the game The Networks. First we talk about our trip to Snakes and Lattes to meet some of the Gathering of Friends people, and the games we played. Harry Potter Deck Builder Raptor No Siesta Anarchrony Qin Marakech Arcane Academy Sagrada We then go into our main game of the episode The Networks. We all agree the theme is fantastic in this game, but what about the actual game play? Is Graeme really saying he wants more randomness? And B saying it is too short? What is happening to the group?

It's been longer than it should have been for this podcast, and what happened to the intro? This week we look at First Class. But first we look at some games we played including our time at Breakout Con in Toronto. Formula D Fury of Dracula Kilt Castle Santorini Arkham Horror the Card Game The Speicherstadt Mombasa Colosseum We then get into First Class - and it's a game we almost all agree upon. It is another train game, but also a card engine game - so that a good thing? What about the theme? Do the 5 modules mix things up enough? And finally, what do we think of the game over all?

We visited a local con called Play and Pub and we quickly talk about the games we've played there, followed by our regular report of published games we've played. We have a quick look at : Please Drive Through Poisoner's Guild Synx Trap and the Larklamp Camelot 101 Mercenaries of the Right Random Encounter Plains of the Troll king First Class Mission Red Planet Akrotiri Phew! We then look at our review game of the podcast - Great Western Trail. As usual we look at the theme and components, as well as the learning curve and the iconography in the game. We also discuss if this is just a box of euro mechanisms, and is that a bad thing? What about the overall game length, and the limited ability of players to rush the ending? This was on Graeme and Megan's top games for 2016, does it still stand up after repeated plays?

We start off this episode by looking at some games we've played : Solaris Mission Codinca Monarch Food Chain Magnate Electronic Stop Thief! (prototype) We then get into Cry Havoc. We discuss many aspects of the game : are all the races balanced? What about the skills? Is it OK to have a game that is unbalanced? Who is this game for? Would we recommend this game? Does it have a run away leader problem? Are the trogs fun to play? Are they over powered? As usual there are vastly different opinions on this game

We have a look at Inis in this episode, but first we look at some games we've played over the last few weeks, including Secrets of the Lost Tomb Black Orchestra Covert Starfall (quick revisit) We then have a look at Inis. This is a game from Matagot, and their previous game from them that we looked at (Kemet) was not a huge hit with us, so how will this one fare? We have a look at the interesting drafting mechanism, the victory conditions, and the different card types in the game. We then wrap it all up with our final thoughts - is it better than Kemet for us?

Happy New Year! In this episode we do our yearly tradition of looking back at all the 2016 games we've played in 2016 (well, atleast all the ones Graeme owns). Each is presorted into a ok, good, or great pile and then we have a very quick discussion on why (of course there are some disagreements, why wouldn't there be). We then finish off the podcast with our game of the year and a runner up - these are the games that we feel are the ones to have in your collection from 2016. Don't forget to check out our videos on youtube - links for them can be found on our website : http://www.fourcornersoftheboard.com You can also check out other great podcasts on the dice tower network at http://www.dicetowernetwork.com

We review a big box of bling! Otherwise known as Mechs Vs Minions. But first we start off by looking at some games we've played recently : Above and Below 02:00 Oceanos 09:22 Feast of Odin 15:36 Geek Out! 23:20 Inis 29:12 We then look back a year at Lords of Vegas and Vegas Showdown. We then dive into Mechs vs Minions - sure it has fantastic components, but what about the game? How does it play? What about the mechanisms? It's co-op, so how does it handle the alpha player(s)? It's programmed movement, is that OK? It has a simplist minion AI, are we OK with that? It has drafting, does it do that well? Oh, look at the pretty minis.....  

We review Pandemic Legacy Season 1 this time, but don't worry, we will warn you before the review starts so you can avoid any spoilers! First we talk about some games we've played : The Boss 01:00 Elder Sign 06:00 Pandemic : Reign of Cthulhu 12:00 We then do a look back at Powergrid (19:25) And finally, the spoilers start at 22:00 but again, we will warn you before we start the section. Also, since you are listening to the spoilers, we are assuming you know how to play the game so there is no walkthrough in this episode during the review. You can also find other great podcasts at http://dicetowernetwork.com Also check out our website for our latest video uploads http://www.fourcornersoftheboard.com

This episode we look at a new deck building adventure game - we are calling these types of games Deck Builder Plus. But first we look at some games we've played over the last 2 weeks : Rolling Freight 00:30 Costa Rica 14:15 Pandemic The Cure 18:35 We then have a look back at Zombicide (25:50) We then get into Clank (30:05). Is this a new trend of Deck Building plus something else? Do we like the trend? How well does this one do it? What about the Clank mechanism itself? We also look at the card purchasing from a common, random pool of cards, is that a good change? We finally wrap it all up with giving our final thoughts. Check out our website for links to past shows and to our videos on youtube http://www.fourcornersoftheboard.com Don't forget - for more great podcasts on boardgaming, check out the Dice Tower Network at http://www.dicetowernetwork.com

After a brief hiatus the Four Corners is back (unfortunately we are a corner down) with our second most requested review game - Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition! First we talk about some games we have been able to play in the last few weeks: Dice Town 01:35 Onitama 06:44 Blueprints 10:28 Tiny Epic Galaxies 18:04 We then have a look back at Canterbury 25:34 (Lella does eventually remember the game) - since B enjoys this game, why don't we play it more? Finally we get into Mansions of Madness 2nd edition. We talk about the theme and components - Graeme, as the buyer of games, has his say on the cost of the game. We also look at the app and the integration with the game. We look at some of the different aspects in the game including the dice rolling and clue tokens, the different investigators, and the number of actions. We also ask, since this is an Arkham game, is the game winnable? Check out our website for links to past shows and to our videos on youtube (video links coming very shortly) http://www.fourcorner

We just got back from GrandCon in Grand Rapids, MI - so we give a quick review of the Con, but we spend most of the episode giving quick reviews of the games we played : Tash Kalar 09:40 Night at Higsley Manor 14:12 Saloon Tycoon 23:19 Thunder Alley - Crew Chief expansion 31:27 Legends of the American Frontier 36:00 Cleopatra and the Society of Architects 51:00 Mad Science Foundation 57:30 Artemis Ship Simulator 1:01:00 Royals 1:10:00 And don't forget as always, if you want other great podcasts on board gaming, head over to Dice Tower Network http://dicetowernetwork.com

We have a look at Flash Point Fire Rescue this week (one of the games requested during the contest). First though we have a look at a few games we've played in the last few weeks. Railways of the World 01:40 Voyages of Marco Polo 06:24 Thurns and Taxis 13:05 Friday 20:43 We then have a look back (24:55) at a game we all really enjoyed (well, most of us anyway) - Dungeon Petz. We've all played it since right? Right? Why or why not? We then delve into Flash Point - this is an early cooperative game for the group, does it still hold up? With 2 (potential) alpha gamers in the group, how does this game handle that? What do we think about the interesting theme? What about the random fire spread and random points of interest? And we end off as usual with our final thoughts on the game.

We announce the winner of the our contest and they will be entered into the Dice Tower Mega Contest pool to be drawn next week! For the rest of the show we talk about the Proto TO convention we attended - what does it mean to attend a Prototyping convention? Would we recommend it? What did we see and play? Was there anything there that we are especially eager to purchase when it is published? Does it make us want to design our own game(s)? We talk about 3 games we played at the convetion : Campfire Tales Campaign Trail (working title) Hope Inhumanity - Marshal Law expansion  

We have a chat about a hot game from last year, Blood Rage. We also give the details of our first contest (we are participating in the Dice Tower mega contest - $50 gift card to CoolstuffInc with a chance at $1000 gift card at CoolStuffInc). Somewhere in the podcast we give you details on how to enter! First we start off by looking at some recently played games : Imhotep 01:00 Time Stories + Expansions 07:21 Mystic Vale 15:21 We then look back at the two games we reviewed a year ago (22:00) - Machi Koro and Betrayal at House on the Hill. Do these games still hold up? We then get into Blood Rage (27:00) - Theme and components? it's Cool Mini or Not so you know the minis are good, but how is the game? What about the depth of strategy and multiple paths to victory? It's got combat as a main focus, and you know how we feel about that, is it the same for this game? And it's got one of Gray's least favourite mechanisms - drafting... If you want to have more chances of winning the $1000 dollars, listen to the other

We have a chat about a new hotness - Scythe on our 42nd podcast (and there maybe a few Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy jokes thrown in as well). First off we start with some games we've played : Grand Austria Hotel 01:00 Empire Builder 09:55 La Granja 21:03 Favor of the Pharaoh 26:10 We then have a look back at Pandemic - has it been replaced by Pandemic Legacy? Will we go back and play original Pandemic? Any finally on to Scythe (39:00) - We all agree that the components in Graeme's Collector's edition are fantastic, but is there a fantastic game behind the glitz and glamour? We look at player count and play length. We then have a look at combat and discuss if we like that deterministic style. We then end with a discussion on strategy - is this just a game on rails or is there a depth of strategy to match the world the game is set in?

After getting back, we have a look at Dice Tower Con this week. What do we think of the Con, how does it compare to Origins, and are we going back? We then have a look at some of the new games we've played : Burano 18:12 Karuba 24:13 Celestia 29:48 Mombasa 32:45 Animals on Board 40:14 Imhotep 46:44 Bear Valley 51:46 Then we have a quick look at a few older games that we wanted to quickly mention: Trajan (With one of our listeners) 1:00:00 The Game (last years Spiel nominee) 1:02:00 Lewis and Clark (the lowlight of the con?) 1:07:00 We then finish off the podcast looking at this years Spiel des Jahres nominees and winners - since we've played them all, do we agree?