Draft Mechanic

Draft Mechanic Episode 50: The Summer of HOT GAMES begins! Flipships, Fox in the Forest, Rococo on tap, Listener Q&A, Giveaways Episode 50! That’s half of a hundred! I’m not really sure how we made it this far, but nothing left to do but keep going! We’re fresh back from our trip to Dice Tower Con, and boy howdy did we play a big ol’ pile of games. Such a big stack of games, in fact, that we’ve got too many to talk about in this episode… or two, or three, or… well. You see where this is going. So, with the monumental Episode 50 under our belt, we’re launching The Summer of Hot Games with WEEKLY episodes through Gen Con where we look at the latest and greatest and get you ready for the spectacle in Indianapolis. Today we’re talking about Flipships and The Fox in the Forest; we’ve got a kickstarter preview of Star Scrappers: Cave In, we discuss a pair of Felds, put Rococo on tap, answer listener questions and do a giveaway for a fun game from Green Couch Games! And to think, this is only the start of the Su

Draft Mechanic Episode 49: Yamatai v Five Tribes; Five Tribes on tap; The Lost Expedition; TIME Stories: Lumen Fidei To be honest, we planned on doing Yamatai as a six-pack review, but the more we played it the more we realized it would be a perfect candidate for our “Variants” series, where we pit a game up against another that shares enough similarities to warrant the comparison. What’s our comparison point for Yamatai? Well, look no further than designer Bruno Cathala’s prior design for Days of Wonder, Five Tribes! Both fit that highly produced, mid-weight 2-4 player niche, but what are the benefits of each? Find out in today’s feature segment! Also, we’re putting Five Tribes on tap with beer pairings for each of the tribes. We’re also going to discuss recent plays of The Lost Expedition, Parade, and the latest TIME Stories scenario, Lumen Fidei. Don’t worry - there’s no spoilers here! In our beer segment this episode, we’ll take a look at some America-themed beers for the Independence Day holiday. So sit

Draft Mechanic Episode 48: Near and Far six pack review & on tap; Thrash & Roll; Jaipur app; Secret Hitler; Skull Today’s episode of Draft Mechanic comes to you from a great distance! Well, thematically. We’re in the same studio as always, but today’s game is quite the journey: Near and Far from Red Raven games! We give it the full six-pack review, and it’s a doubleheader as well as our game on tap. In recent plays, we talk about Thrash & Roll, Secret Hitler, Jaipur, Skull and more! Also, Jake takes over the beer segment to dig into the controversy surrounding a partial ‘investment’ into the community beer rating website RateBeer. Hope you’ve got comfortable shoes on; let’s go on a journey! Intro 01:00 Show housekeeping 04:16 Kickstarter: GameTek: The Book 06:48 Recent Plays: Terraforming Mars & Scythe 09:42 Recent Plays: Thrash & Roll 18:50 Recent Plays: Secret Hitler 24:16 Recent Plays: Jaipur on iOS 33:42 Recent Plays: Skull 37:25 Six Pack Review: Near and Far 38:24 Near and Far: Gamepl

Draft Mechanic Episode 47: Fields of Green v. Among the Stars; Coldwater Crown on tap; Honshu; Pocket Mars; Shahrazad I’ll be up front about this one - I’m sorely disappointed that Episode 47 doesn’t contain a single Star Trek reference. But now that I’ve got that off my chest, I’m very proud of what we put together here, including the debut of a new segment! In our new feature, Variants, we’re doing the compare and contrast treatment for Fields of Green and Among the Stars - two games with the same foundation that go in different directions, both from designer Vangelis Bagiartakis and published by Artipia/Stronghold Games. We get back on the boat with our on tap featured game Coldwater Crown, and also discuss recent plays of Honshu, Pocket Mars and Shahrazad. Finally, Danielle has put together a beer segment for those headed to Origins Game Fair as she tracks down the best craft beers local to the Columbus area! So sit back, relax, grab a pint and enjoy the show! Intro 01:00 Show housekeeping 03:30 A new pro

Draft Mechanic: Spoiler Episode Epsilon T.I.M.E Stories: Expedition: Endurance, 1914 NT WARNING! This episode contains MAJOR, MASSIVE, COMPLETE SPOILERS for the T.I.M.E Stories scenario “Expedition: Endurance.” After nearly a year, we dive back in to Spoiler Epsiode territory as our debriefings from the fifth T.I.M.E Stories scenario see the light of day. We have half an hour of discussion from Team Alpha, and then Team Beta returns after the break to join us after their run. Things went much differently for the both of us and there was definitely a lot to pick apart. With scenario six, Lumen Fidei, looming on the horizon, it’s time to jump back into the cassions for another round! Intro 01:30 Team Alpha discussion 29:33 Team Beta discussion 57:55 Outro We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at

On today's special episode, we're here to introduce Punchboard Media, a new collaborative network we're launching with a great group of board game media content creators. Visit the new website at punchboardmedia.com, and join us on social media! Twitter: @punchboardmedia Facebook: /punchboardmedia Instagram: @punchboardmedia Punchboard Media - Where we all bring something to the table!

Draft Mechanic Episode 46: Ethnos six-pack review; Blood Rage on tap; CMON Expo games review; The Beer Primer: Pilsner Oh, hello there! We just got back from Atlanta, and boy, are our meeples tired! (laughter) But seriously, last weekend we got to play a ton of games at CMON Expo and we’re here to tell you all about them. It tied in nicely to our featured game for this episode’s six-pack review - Ethnos - the new area control game from CMON that’s got the industry buzzing. And while we’re at it, let’s take a look back at one of CMON’s biggest smash hits as we put Blood Rage on tap with some legendary drinks that you can enjoy while pursuing Valhalla. Danielle wraps up our episode with a Beer Primer on the Pilsner style of beer, and why it’s deserving of your respect. So sit back, relax, grab a pint and enjoy the show! Intro 01:00 Show housekeeping 03:33 Kickstarter: Diceborn Heroes 06:13 Unlock! watch, Spoiler Episodes and a Special Announcement 11:36 Going to CMON Expo 13:19 Recent Plays: Dojo Kun 18:04 Rece

Draft Mechanic Episode 45: Six-Player Six Pack; Las Vegas on tap; Barcelona; Mystic Vale; Betrayal at the Brewery on the Hill Welcome back to another episode of Draft Mechanic, fresh off the tap! Today, we’re sharing a six-pack of games that play six (or more!) but still have some meat on their bones! We’re putting Las Vegas on tap with some lucky brews, and we’re discussing recent plays of Barcelona, Mystic Vale and Orleans. We also look at some exciting titles announced for Origins release this year. And sadly, we’ve got a recurrent topic in our beer segment as we talk about Lagunitas and local favorites, Wicked Weed, selling out to Big Beer. Sit back, relax, grab a pint and enjoy the show! Intro 02:15 CMON Expo this weekend! 03:45 Upcoming: Five Tribes, Whims of the Sultan 05:20 Upcoming: Onitama, Sensei’s Path 06:15 Upcoming: Century: Spice Road 07:47 Upcoming: Flatline 08:36 Upcoming: Fields of Green 10:28 Upcoming: Bohnanza: The Duel 12:43 Kickstarter: Gloomhaven finishes #24 of all time 14:01 Recent Pl

Draft Mechanic Episode 44: Anachrony six-pack and on tap; Fugitive; Valeria: Card Kingdoms & Veggie Garden So, buckle up for a wild temporal ride! Danielle wraps up this episode with a discussion about how beer tastes can change over time! In the news, we’ve got some new app implementations and a video game coming to board games. We’re also going to talk about some recent plays: Fugitive, Valeria: Card Kingdoms and Veggie Garden. Today, we dive in and do double duty with our six-pack review and our on-tap feature. It’s a big hefty euro that features time travel as a major mechanic - quite the headache! Though, that’s what you get when you’re reviewing a game like Anachrony. Bear with me, this is going to be a confusing one. In today’s episode, we’ve got quite the paradox! Intro 01:00 Intro / Housekeeping 02:40 International Tabletop Day 03:45 App Gaming: Terra Mystica 05:27 App Gaming: Race for the Galaxy 09:01 Upcoming: Super Mario Level Up! 11:09 Kickstarter: Brass, Lancashire & Birmingham 14:28 Rec

Draft Mechanic Episode 43: Coldwater Crown six-pack; Sagrada on tap; Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft Welcome back to another episode of Draft Mechanic! Today, it’s all about interesting themes rich with color. Our big feature is a six-pack review of Coldwater Crown, the recent release from designer Brian Suhre and Bellwether Games. On tap today we have Sagrada, an awesome new dice-drafting game that sets a new standard for gorgeous. In recent plays, we talk about receiving mysterious packages, rolling for railways, racing for evidence and real-time dungeon delving! We hope you enjoy today’s episode, drop us a line on BGG or social media to let us know! And now… on with the show! Intro 01:00 Intro / Housekeeping 02:30 Travel: Chicagoland Dice Dojo 03:57 News: Scythe, The Wind Gambit 06:30 Kickstarter: The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast 08:51 Kickstarter: Matryoshka 12:21 Recent Plays: The Mysterious Package Company 17:26 Recent Plays: 30 Rails 22:04 Recent Plays: Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft 31:25 Recent Plays:

Draft Mechanic Episode 42: A Trip to Asheville; Herbaceous on Tap; Well Played board games cafe; beer research resources On this episode of Draft Mechanic, we talk through a massive pile of games we played during the Grand Opening of Asheville NC’s new board game cafe, Well Played! We talk about Dream Home, Celestia, Ice Cool, Fauna, OutLawed, Heroes & Tricks and more in this jam-packed episode. It was so many games that we had to ask for the help of three of our friends for a wide variety of opinions! We’ve also put the recently released and gorgeous Herbaceous on tap with TEN beers paired up with the different herbs in the game. Danielle’s also got a quick rundown of some resources you can use to learn more about craft beer. So sit back, relax, grab a pint and enjoy the show! Intro 01:00 Intro / Housekeeping 02:30 CMoN News: Eric Lang, Adrian Smith & CMoN Play 08:14 Upcoming: Flipships from Kane Klenko 09:34 Upcoming: Dice Forge from Regis Bonnessee 11:32 Well Played Board Game Cafe in Asheville, NC

Draft Mechanic Episode 41: Six Awesome Uses of Dice; Roll Player on tap; Kingdomino & Women in Beer Hello and welcome back to another episode of Draft Mechanic! We’ve got dice for you today - tons of dice - custom dice, color dice, symbol dice, clear dice, dice dice dice DICE DICE. Just roll with it! Our big feature today is a six-pack of games that use dice in awesome ways. A fun mechanic, a fun custom die… all sorts of that. We’re putting the recently re-printed Roll Player on tap for more dice and seven beers with character. Our recent plays include Kingdomino, Among the Stars and Noch Mal! And Danielle’s rounding out the episode with a discussion of women in the brewing world. Sit back, relax, grab a pint and enjoy the show! Intro 01:00 Intro / Housekeeping 03:18 News: BoardGameGeek Golden Geek Awards 05:23 News: BGG Most Played Games Geeklist 08:20 Kickstarter: Rising Sun 13:17 Kickstarter: Antidote: Lab Alliance 16:05 Recent Plays: Kingdomino 22:21 Recent Plays: Among the Stars 27:18 Recent Plays: N

Draft Mechanic Episode 40: A Feast for Odin six-pack; Burger Up on tap; New York Slice; Paris Connection & Star Trek Ascendancy I sure hope you’re hungry, because this episode of Draft Mechanic is super stuffed! We’ve got a big review for you - Uwe Rosenberg’s latest crate of cardboard and wood, A Feast for Odin! We’re both discussing Burger Up and putting it on tap with four great thematic beer pairings. In other recent plays, we look at New York Slice, Star Trek Ascendancy and Paris Connection. There’s a whole cartload of upcoming games news and Kickstarters, and Danielle wraps it all up to go with a collection of news bites from the beer world. Pace yourself, you can always take a second plate! Intro 01:00 Intro / Housekeeping 02:41 News: Golden Geek Awards 05:17 News: Scythe Digital, Expansion, and Iron Harvest 07:37 Kickstarter: Monikers: The SU&SD Nonsense Box 11:24 Kickstarter: Can’t Stop Express 13:32 Kickstarter: Food Truck Champion 15:34 Recent Plays: Paris Connection 19:59 Recent Plays: Sta

Draft Mechanic Episode 39: Two-player games six-pack; Citrus on tap; Isle of Skye & Avenue Welcome back to another episode of Draft Mechanic! Love is in the air… or at least, Hallmark decided to place Valentine’s Day in the second week of February - and that means it’s time for a six-pack of two player games! In addition to that burst of gaming goodness, we’ve also got recent plays of Isle of Skye and Avenue. We’re putting Citrus on tap this week as well with five super juicy beers. And to round it out, we’re going back to the season to talk about beers made with aphrodisiacs. We hope you enjoy today’s show, so let’s get to it! Intro 01:00 Show Housekeeping 02:41 Draft Mechanic on Dukes of Dice Q&A 03:50 News: Gen Con Housing 06:10 News: Portal Games v. PayPal 08:06 Upcoming: Charterstone 11:36 Recent Plays: Isle of Skye 19:09 Recent Plays: Avenue 27:11 Six Pack: Two-Player Games 55:23 On Tap: Citrus 66:19 Aphrodisiac Beers 83:53 Outro We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draf

Draft Mechanic Episode 38: Masmorra six-pack review; SUPERHOT preview; Blood of an Englishman on tap Hello again! Let’s go dungeoning! Today we’re taking a look at the new dungeon diving, treasure collecting, monster bashing game Masmorra: Dungeons of Arcadia from CMON Limited. We’ve also got a preview of a hot new game - SUPER HOT, even - as we take a look at SUPERHOT the Card Game in advance of its Kickstarter, launching this Tuesday (01/31). And just like in the video game, the cards move only when you move! For our on-tap game today we’ve chosen the recent Renegade games release Blood of an Englishman. Complete with the golden goose! To wrap up this episode, Danielle has put together a primer for the Porter style of beer. So sit back, relax, grab a pint and enjoy the show! Intro 01:00 Show Housekeeping 02:32 News: Conventions / PAX Unplugged 06:53 Kickstarter Preview: SUPERHOT Card Game 16:42 Recent Plays: Hanamikoji 23:54 Six Pack Review: Masmorra, Dungeons of Arcadia 24:27 Masmorra: Rules Walkthrough 29

Draft Mechanic Episode 37: Santorini six-pack review; Evolution: Climate on tap; Unlock! Welcome back to another episode! The following events take place between 11:00am and 12:00pm (or at least they did when we recorded). There’s an abnormal amount of real-time games in today’s episode (two) as we talk about the Unlock! demo kit and FUSE. We’ve got a few other neat recent plays to talk about too: Favor of the Pharaoh for rolling fistfuls of dice, and Ascending Empires for flicking discs throughout space. Our big feature today is the just released (or upcoming) Santorini from Roxley games. Abstract strategy, but dripping with theme? Say no more! Well, we’ll say some more - that’s the reason you’re listening to us in the first place! We’re rounding out this episode by putting Evolution Climate on tap with five great thematic craft beer pairings. So sit back, relax, grab a pint and enjoy the show! Intro 01:00 Show Housekeeping 02:58 Upcoming: First Martians 08:54 Kickstarter: Save Crash Games! 11:16 IndieGoGo:

Draft Mechanic Episode 36: 2016, A Year in Review We made it! Welcome to the new year, 2017! As is the tradition, for our first episode of the year we’re going to look back at the year that was with our superlative categories, favorite beers, and favorite games of 2016. Nope, that’s it - no more fluff in the intro paragraph. We’re really excited to do this one! Let’s get to the festivities!!!! Intro 01:00 Show Housekeeping 02:28 Upcoming: SuperHot Card Game 05:10 2016 in review for Draft Mechanic 09:33 The 2016 Superlative Categories 10:09 Top News Stories 15:40 Best Artwork 18:51 Best Components 23:34 Biggest Disappointment 27:15 2016 Game I Wish I’d Played 29:12 Game I Wish I’d Played More in 2016 31:04 Best “New to Me in 2016” Older Game 33:36 Best Party Game 39:25 Best Card Game 41:58 Most Innovative 46:28 Best Dexterity Game 48:36 2016 Six-pack: Our Favorite Beer of 2016 68:00 2016 Six-pack: Our Favorite Games of 2016 73:41 Outro We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic

Draft Mechanic Episode 35: Fabled Fruit on tap; Six Pack: Games to play this holiday season Wow, suddenly, it’s very very cold outside. Must be the holidays on the horizon! We’re a few weeks out for our traditional Christmas trip to visit family and we’re thinking ahead - what games will we take with us this year? That led us to today’s feature, our first Six Pack list of six games to play with the family this holiday season. We’re also talking about recent plays of Fabled Fruit, Raiders of the North Sea and Imhotep. And we loop back around to Fabled Fruit for some fruity and delicious beer pairings! Finally, listener Matt Franz led us towards today’s beer segment: are there any beers that are served hot? Well, no, no, but no, but also… maybe? We found out about something interesting in our rundown of proper beer serving temperatures! Bundle up, let’s talk about some games & beer! Intro 01:00 Show Housekeeping 03:03 iOS Gaming update 05:55 Kickstarter: Quodd Heroes 10:40 Recent Plays: Fabled Fruit 20:00 R

Draft Mechanic Special: Fantasy Board Game League 2016 Championship "The Altercation in Albuquerque" Welcome to the Grand Championship and finale of the 2016 Fantasy Board Game League season! In our Championship, it's the Altercation in Albuquerque as Sean's "Duke a Doodle Doos" face off against Matthew's "First Mention!" Who will take home the gold? And which lucky listener is the winner of the $100 CoolStuffInc gift card? You'll have to listen to find out! If you've enjoyed the Fantasy Board Game League, please check out the podcasts that helped make this a reality this season: Boards Alive The Dukes of Dice Epic Gaming Night What Did You Play This Week? We hope you enjoyed today's episode! Send us some feedback at draftmechanic@gmail.com and visit us on the web at

Draft Mechanic Episode 34: Double Six-Pack Review! Agamemnon & 7 Wonders Duel; 7 Wonders on Tap Are you appropriately stuffed with Turkey? Are you listening from somewhere outside the world, and have eaten a different meal entirely? Either way, I hope you left some room for a heaping helping of Draft Mechanic! In thanksgiving style, we’ve filled the plate with reviews of four app implementations of board games as well as two, yep two! six-pack reviews for your enjoyment - 7 Wonders Duel and Agamemnon. Both are two-player only titles that play in about half an hour, and we’ve given both the six-pack treatment today. Sticking with that seven wonders theme, we’ve got beer pairings for the classic 7 Wonders in the Game On Tap and also a discussion on what may be the seven wonders of the beer world. That’s a lot of podcast - but don’t forget to save room for pie! Intro 01:00 Show Housekeeping 02:20 FBGL Update 04:25 Stonemaier Games “Scythe” charity auction 06:52 Holiday Gaming with family 09:14 App gaming: Qw