Becky: 0:35

Welcome to Whose turn is it anyway podcast about board games. I'm Becky the current first player, but this is my last turn before I pass the first play marker over to my dear husband Kerley. So this will be my final episode. Today I'm joined around the table by JP Hello, Davey. And of course Kerley

Kerley: 0:53

Hello

Becky: 0:56

underwhelmed Hello,

Kerley: 0:58

Feeling well,

JP: 0:58

I was also a boo, I've got to you

Becky: 1:04

We should really explain why I sound like I'm underwater and Kerley. Yeah, is not on his top form. So we came back from holiday to Barcelona, which was really lovely. And I started feeling like I had the lurgy in the airport on the way back. I was very poorly. Yeah, my throat was a little bit scratchy and I kind of felt my head was quite heavy. And then Saturday I felt really bad and Kerley, which is like Oh, nevermind darling, and back to business. I have to go to work on Sunday, which he was absolutely in fits of giggles about which was not kind. And now he's got the lurgy.

JP: 1:36

That's karma. That's karma.

Kerley: 1:37

It's not karma. Is it? Let's face it. I was just me looking after Becky that has given me the lurgy.

Becky: 1:42

He was laughing It was quite, did bring me paracetamol. He was very nice. You imagined.

Davey: 1:49

So are you like did you throw it down? And Becky? Where are you? Laughter like

Kerley: 1:54

I'll tell you the reason why laughter is not because I'm mean is because when she told me she was doing the overtime of anaesthetics about a month or so ago, I said, you're really gonna regret you're gonna regret Yeah, cuz it's two days after we get back from

Becky: 2:08

What I didn't know. But I didn't know we were going at the time. Otherwise, I wouldn't agree to

Davey: 2:15

Laughing on the inside, I suppose.

Kerley: 2:22

Anyway, so the reason I was laughing is because she came home and told me she was doing it. And I told her at the time, you're really going to regret volunteering for that. 12 hours on a Sunday. You've got one of the week after. And yeah, and then it got to Friday on our way back. And yeah, let's just say she was feeling a little bit regretful about previous decisions

Becky: 2:43

It was a nice day at work. And it was lovely, but I my alarm went off at six o'clock. I was not pleased about that. Anyway, our episode today is featuring one of the great board games loved by many Terraforming Mars, published by Fryx games in 2016. But we'll get to that later on. How are we are? We start with Davey because

Davey: 3:01

I'm good. Thank you. Didn't want to be so polite,

JP: 3:04

Any you're supposed to be the bad boy.

Davey: 3:15

But we recently got back from the 24 hour board game event and weirdly, I felt really good afterwards. Like I felt like it reset my body system after staying up those 24 hours. It was strange. That's not how I felt. But yeah, it was it was good fun played a lot of games. But yeah, other than that been keeping busy and looking forward to our next game or for Darwin's journey.

JP: 3:36

Yeah, Wednesday Wednesday. JP same Yeah, same as Davey really is the the obviously get back from the marathon. Absolutely knackered going to work just thinking I just can't seem to catch up with sleep kind of feeling until Thursday, Friday, then I kind of felt happy again. Took me a while. But that was a brilliant event. And yeah, just thought my God what a challenge. I think I underestimated the challenge aspect of it. You think that's fine, easy it it's playing games, 24 hours, whatever. You're like Jesus.

Becky: 4:15

Well, you had a harder job than the rest of us in fairness and you did it magnificently. But I think your task was a lot harder than the rest of ours.

JP: 4:23

Just got back and flaked out I could have slept probably through Sunday, right on Monday but what probably not

Kerley: 4:31

I think the biggest problem I would have with doing what you did is the fact that you're not playing games that you chose

JP: 4:36

Yeah, well I did choose some of them and all of them not all of them so

Kerley: 4:40

Yeah, I think the one thing that keep kept me going on the 24 hour boardgame marathon was playing stuff I really enjoy playing Yeah,

Davey: 4:47

And stuff I wanted to play for a long time never found the time for and so you got 24 hours to do it. Yeah, but don't play a game over and over for like while it actually is the same game for like seven hours. Marcus they're falling asleep but playing a card and

JP: 5:06

Fell asleep mid action.

Davey: 5:08

Oh yeah, it's definitely got to that time where it's just like why are we still doing this?

Becky: 5:14

Kerley, how are you other than a bit lurgyfied

Kerley: 5:17

Yeah. Tired? It was a holiday. Yeah, it was really good.

Becky: 5:25

I wouldn't recommend going to a 24 hour board game marathon then flying the next day. That isn't because yeah, we arrived home on a Sunday morning. I did it and then and then flew on Monday, which was a good time. We had a good time a

JP: 5:37

Good day.

Becky: 5:46

Well, let's jump into our first section. Let's talk about hex. This is where we talk about the games we've been playing recently. So yeah, we've just mentioned that we this is the first episode we've recorded since 24 hour board game marathon. So we've all been playing lots of games recently. So who's gonna pick one particularly?

JP: 6:03

Yeah, I'll start, oh, I'm gonna pick a game I played at the board game marathon. And it was the game I was dreading or, to be honest, because it was Scythe. I love Scythe, Scythe was great. sounds brilliant. Maybe not brilliant to play at 4am. So we have, you might be pulled the shedule together. Me and Dan kind of sat through and looked at what games we're going to play. And we thought it'd be great idea play Scythe about half, three, four. And at the time, it does sound like a great idea. Because you think you're gonna have the same energy levels as you do like when you go to any game night. And I just remember thinking I started the stream at 9am. Obviously, Yeah, whoa, stream marathon. And all that kind of energy. Super, super, super buzzed. Super excited. And then I went for the sheduled. Yeah, there's all this stuff, all this stuff. And then as the morning went on, then the afternoon went on playing games and games are just thinking, right? I'm gonna do this. To the point where we had a Live episode. We did that we played two games of Avalon got absolutely drained. Absolutely killed us. I mean, energy wise. after that. I was I was done. Yeah, I could have gone to bed. And I was thinking I don't want to play this game. I just honestly felt I don't want to do it. And I even said to you, Kerley, said Can you just help me set this up? Because I can't be arsed.

Kerley: 7:26

I think you were hinting that you wanted to cancel it. Because it was getting a bit later, and you're like, Do you really want to play at home do you think

JP: 7:39

So would give me the out, I probably would have took it. You definitely will. But anyway, we we I motivated myself and all the other players to know about six people. And actually, it was great. I'ts actually what I needed. I didn't know I needed it. I needed it. Because it was a game that was crunchy enough to reenergize me brain.

Davey: 8:02

And we're not crunchy that Yeah.

JP: 8:05

Well, I know the game I know what to do. And the fact that it wasn't a team game. But we wasn't a teaching game. And I've kind of stipulated that I said, I'm not I'm not teaching it. I'm just gonna play and be quiet. And yeah,

Davey: 8:23

We did it. One point, they start calling you 1 point JP

Kerley: 8:26

I prefer APJP.

JP: 8:30

True. Perseverance. Last one game is to actually is so one on.

Kerley: 8:38

One I was fine with, two do was to to pray one day,

Becky: 8:41

I had the opposite experience with my Flameraft teach. So I ended up not playing it, and just teaching it. But I was so I don't think I was human. And I couldn't even, I forgotten what a board game was. I'm really glad I had the foresight to write myself a bit of a script. Because if I hadn't I, I would not know what I would have had to literally read the rulebook out to people because I was just so yeah, and get like an out of body experience where like, what am I doing here? What what are these people doing? Why are we moving those little dragons around? Does that mean it was a board game wasn't playing because I don't... Yeah,

JP: 9:20

I think we just sat down. Everyone knew it. So we just kind of, you know, chose the factions and I was Nordics. I was like, didn't want to be nobody. Yeah, I was Nordics. And because we're playing the base map. I know that their starting position is not the best, right?

Davey: 9:35

It's okay. If it's not six player when it's six player. It's hard. I think I was really lucky when I'm sure. I feel like they're good in five players six.

Kerley: 9:44

Yeah, it was six because I wasn't expecting Shell to play.

JP: 9:48

Yeah, yeah.

Davey: 9:49

I think I played it when I won with the Nordics for the last time we played together everything doesn't sound right. Definitely. I thought they were going to be awful but fine when you have that room open they're actually quite good. But when this when you like encased in it seems a lot harder as

JP: 10:05

I enjoy playing them. I think yeah, I really liked about it. What reminds me of Scythe, and one of the great things about that game is its flow. And there's no yeah, there's not that many games that have that, that lovely flow about them at a high player, can I six and even seven and where it just feels like zips around the table. And because you overlap your turns and when people know what to do, and this is the beauty of it is that you have your top action, your bottom action. So the top action, you do whatever it is like produce or move, etc. And this news, you move on to the bottom action, after you announce it, the next player can start because generally, unless you've got a factory car generally doesn't get in the way of the players do its thing. So when you overlapping the term structure, it just kind of flies as a nice flow. It just keeps circling around, you're never kind of going, God, come on, that would have been exactly what I needed. And you know, the time it came out to me is ready, bang, next round, it was just great. And the great Kerlington managed to do his sneaky strategy of hoard all the resources and get loads of workers and move them as little control unit, and basically spat out all the stars at the end of the game, which I did warn everybody that he's gonna do.

Becky: 11:18

Did they pay you any heed?

Davey: 11:20

Oh, no.

Kerley: 11:28

I haven't got that. But that's what I was saying. I wasn't necessarily arguing with you. You were saying I know what he's up to. And I'm saying let me all I'm telling you is I've been last any style. Everyone else has got one.

Becky: 11:43

Not lying at the time. Just

JP: 11:46

look at the stores. Chuck, I don't have any of this off.

Kerley: 11:50

I said to you at the end. It was coming together. I just thought I'm not gonna go yeah, he's absolutely right. I'm

JP: 11:55

Would have gone forever. Your power is too strong. You gonna win in a minute. had your own power. I was behind you. So. But it was good. I see it as a game. I really enjoyed it. I was like one point behind at the end. So I was quite happy with that. For me. I'm not the best side player. So. But yeah, it wasn't a high scoring game, was it?

Kerley: 12:15

No. Well, I had a, I had a choice in that last round is that I could have gotten my last term popularity. Yeah. And something else that was at a spread, which would have meant my my points were a lot higher, but it was like, five, five in the morning. I was like, You know what, I can't be bothered. So I'm just thank you for the early finish. Yeah. So I just decided to get my lifestyle even though I was only in the bottom popularity track which if you don't know Scythe, you don't know what I'm talking about.

Becky: 12:44

I've no idea what you're talking about

JP: 12:45

If you don't, learn?

Kerley: 12:47

Basically, I'll just go into it, not even briefly but your popularity dictates the multiplier for all of the other things that you get all the VPS if you're on the bottom and the popularity, then you only get three times your number of territory two times your number of I forget whatever it is, but yeah, so if you're in the band higher, then the multipliers are way higher. So I decided not to go for a stupid high score. Just try to finish it early. And hope it enough which thankfully I did just about

JP: 13:16

Playing and this made me want to replay the fenders campaign again. Really? Yeah.

Kerley: 13:23

I'd be afraid the legacy version,

JP: 13:25

Not legacy, but it's kind of like it's just he's called an episodic campaign. I mean, when I say legacy, I always think you're ripping up Yeah. But it's, you know, one, one follows the next game kind of thing. And it was just such a great game to play at the time, but I'm tempted to resurrect and have another go for it at some point. Well, anyway, that's Scythe, 4am Scythe baby. Yeah, good.

Davey: 13:54

I played Hegemony. It was very good actually played it at the Expo. But we only got very brief introduction data on the demo. Yeah. And the guy teachers did a great job they kept helping JP was pissing me off he was playing the state as well. So but I think we know I don't think it is now and and I definitely didn't. Capitalist, that's it. Find the evil capitalists so we played it. I played with Taz, Marcus and Joel. I think Joel was the middle class. Taz was the state. Marcus was labour. I was capitalistt. And the Yeah, yeah, pretty much exploit. Yes, yeah, pretty much. But the interactions in that game are really unique. Its theme is to me is the most spot on to any boardgame. We all started arguing with each other depending on who we were as well. And at one point you had the labour shouting at the middle class to like, Why are you pulling Why are you putting the wages down? Why are you putting the wages down? You want the wages up yourself? You want the wages that Marcus is going mental and then we all like now because the wages down we all

Becky: 15:13

It was great to listen to you guys. I could hear you talking like surely everyone just wants health for everybody. I think it was just really, it was like watching some kind of

JP: 15:25

economic,

Becky: 15:27

BBC and right to reply news thing about politicians or something.

Davey: 15:32

It just had a very nice interaction tree. So you basically, if you don't know what it is you will have different agendas. And you'll score really differently. So has a really unique scoring method for each kind of class. Or each political faction, yeah. So you're a capitalist, what you want to do is be able to build a lot of buildings and get a lot and pay your workers not very much to get a lot of revenue, which then can go over into your capital, and you score for that capital. But you've also got like a deck of cards, so you can do his actions, you can do a lot of other things. Like you can put some cubes in a bag, which dictates votes, when you've then vote for policy agendas, which change kind of like will change obviously, the wages will change the the tax bands, it changes, like how much healthcare is worth, you end up building these resources, and then you can sell them to each other as well. Whoever wants them so you can try and like drive the market price up so that you're selling everything for more as well, because I know, it's not as complex in all aspects. And then the state they want to basically kind of please everyone. Yeah, they want to push everything because they only school to their lowest. So they want those two isn't it is that lowest one I was at one from the X. There's only three that you've got. That was fine. But it might be close to maybe we're playing it wrong. It was like, for seven hours, seven hours. Yeah, it usually only takes two and a half hours. We didn't even finish it because we were just we were so tired. And we were having fun with it. But I still really enjoyed it. I didn't want to play again. It's one of the actually might get but um, so yeah, the state wants to please everyone. Labour basically wants to please the people get good health care for everyone and start populating Marcus was like, oh, immigration is not a bad thing. It means get loads of people started with immigration. But then he got so he like flooded so many people out that he couldn't afford to, like get his health care market up and get suppressed prosperity counter up. So it's I'd been like, okay, yeah, I want a little bit of immigration, but not too much. Yeah. Which is kind of a nice little balance that in the game. And then as the middle class you kind of want to be doing what a little bit of what capitalism is doing and a little bit what of what's Labour's doing. So it's very well

Becky: 17:57

It's very well thought through is really well considered and sort of,

JP: 18:01

It's a clever game.

Davey: 18:02

It is a very clever game. And the conversations it forces around the table. Feel very true in his nature, me and Marcus are shouting each other pretty much all game. Because he was obviously he's playing labour on playing capitalism. And we want literally the opposite of everything. So and then times, we'll just slip it in helping people hit here and then you'd like what you're doing while you're helping him. So yeah, it's definitely worth it. Good fun. Don't play at four in the morning. We don't know the rules. I think most of it was just learning the rules as well. So no, I can't. Yeah,

Becky: 18:38

Kerley what have you been playing.

Kerley: 18:40

Well, I've actually got a decent one to go over this time. So I've been playing Ascendancy which is what I managed to get a game with Paul Grogan from gaming rules. Doing a kind of pre Kickstarter game with a designer Matthew meeple, which is the best name in the world is apparently so just double checked. His name is Matthew Meeple. So Matthew meeple got

Becky: 19:11

You've got to be a designer of games.

JP: 19:15

Yes, Evans gave birth to Matthew says We know your destiny. People it is me for by name.

Kerley: 19:21

Yeah, so Matthew Meeple, the designer, Paul Grogan from game rules. And obviously, Mike from Ready Steady play, which is a YouTube channel very much recommend it. Yeah. So we got to play ascendancy which kickstarting on August the eighth for 21 days up until August 29. And it's a well they describe it here very briefly, and it's you know, they they know that advertising business, the ultimate 4X fantasy ball game experience. So yeah, so it's straight from BGG, though. Yeah. But it's, it's a complex game. It's but I would say it's for me, it's more of a work placement than 4X. It has 4X elements. But essentially, the whole interesting part of the game is all about different types of workers that you have. They're all different grades you can only use you've basically got they got different names, but you've got four different types of workers, and they can only be used in their phase or below. So you Every four phases and you can use level one only in level one, you can lose level two in level two or level one. So level three. So if you want to take two actions in the first bit, then it means you're going to dip out later on. Yeah, there are some that gives you bonuses if you use your highest tier one earlier. And it's a really interesting little puzzle. But at its heart, it's it's it's a worker placement with a little bit of engine building, with a little bit of forex thrown in with a little bit of I wouldn't say legacy, but like the RPG levelling up type of thing. And once you win again, you actually get a little reward to go into the next game time that you played. Okay? So it's kind of it's a nice mix of a whole bunch of different ideas, which is cool.

Becky: 21:04

Does sound like the ultimate 4x for me because 4X does not interest me at all. But this kind of might do because it's got these other elements.

Kerley: 21:10

What is interesting about it is he specifically and this was talking to him about he specifically designed it not to be competitive or combative, if you don't want it to be struck me as being something that maybe Becky will be interested in or Chris P and they kind of struck me as people who might be interested because actually you can just

JP: 21:28

opt out of doing PvP. What during the game? At the start, you will just decide we're not okay, so you're setting the mode of the game and saying this is going to be so it

Kerley: 21:37

can be more PvP ie personal V but versus person if you didn't know.

JP: 21:44

I know. Yeah. Thanks

Davey: 21:48

Thought he was talking about his PP.

Becky: 21:51

PP vs. PvP,

Davey: 21:55

Gone back to Mario or some reason.

Kerley: 21:57

But yeah, so you can decide to do that before after depending on who you play with. So I thought that was quite an interesting concept, the whole legacy thing was interesting. The technologies were interesting, which is, you know, you pay a resource, and you have to unlock it by building a building. And, you know, when you unlock other buildings through doing a little bit of combat against the ai, ai, essentially. So yeah, it's got a little bit of everything, which was really interesting. And in addition to that, what really struck home, which was a pet peeve of mine of some of the games that I have, like previously, is that the less variability so you've got your different scenarios. So we were playing a team based scenario that you don't know who's on your team. And there's an action you can take to look at someone else's royalty, a little bit like on a Battlestar Galactica, something, yeah. But you can take an action to find out what, but obviously, if you take that action, and that's one of four that you actually get to take. So it's a big sacrifice to do that. So you're not doing that you end up working on your ending, right? But then you don't know whose team you're on.

Davey: 22:58

So you want to kind of get an inkling that's before you check. Yeah. And then to just to confirm it and lock it down.

JP: 23:05

And you know, I know that where we are with it, let's work together and help each other out.

Kerley: 23:09

Exactly. But But more than that the game mode we were playing and there's loads of different game modes was you add up your VP together? It is but it was turned out, we ended up losing because Mike had like nine points, I had eight points. Paul had four or five points and the computer, the AI had four or five points as well. So it ended up being because I was with Paul. Yeah, we ended up losing. Because, yeah, my eight plus is four equal 12. There's added up to 13. So it's like and there are several times where you could not only help each other. Like there are buildings that you can build that say, when you go here, game one food and give one to someone else. So there's lots of things like that. So I helped out Mike a couple of times, because I thought he was my ally, but it turns out he wasn't. And it's a really interesting dynamic in addition to that, you've got a really good solo mode, you've got a really good, just free for all mode. You've got a adventure mode, which is essentially going through a whole set series of scenarios. Yeah, so it was just I really liked the idea of the different endeavours like boss mode you could do where the mission is different where you've got a beat up this spinster I think it was an

Davey: 24:27

old spinster.

JP: 24:31

Becky gets offended. Yeah.

Becky: 24:35

There's nothing wrong with being a spinster.

Davey: 24:38

There was no but there isn't an evil if they're an evil spinster,

Becky: 24:43

Spinster not to get married doesn't mean that evil. No, I'm just saying connotation. It's got connotation at the top of the game,

Kerley: 24:58

So we beat this and we beat the rubbish out the spinster who deserved Yeah, so anyway, the I thought it was really good for every ability replayability was all there. It looked really pretty obviously. Now you really know you're really tes but the artwork was really good and it looks vibrant and that it does so yeah, so yeah, but I I did have a little look at it. It's really interesting replayability and I would say is one of those games that actually you can make it fit your gaming group perfectly. There's not many games like that. So, you know,

JP: 25:33

Reminds me of Voidfall in that fact that you want to play the game. Co Op, where you want to play the game competitive but not in your face. You can you can pick the scenarios that fit your group. Nice I love that. Yeah, really good. Yeah, so definitely recommend it have a little look it'll be Live On Kickstarter right now. Exactly. Gonna have a little link in the show notes so we're gonna have a little clicker sounds good to checkout? Yeah, definitely. Nice.

Becky: 25:59

I have been playing Dice Forge the other day. In fact JP you were there, we all played together which is we've talked about it before but it's just a sort of simple easy to play. What we were going to play Dice Realm as well. And then we just decided that we hadn't researched it enough so we'll just put that in back in the box because we didn't have all night so yeah, we play dice got cracked out Dice Forge. Yeah, you crafting the dice. You're forging it. Look how they designed it on the title of the game there. And yeah, you just still playing and you're rolling your dice. The good thing is you're rolling dice every time it's someone's turn. So it's not just on your turn so you're not sitting there for ages waiting for someone to you know decide whether they're going to buy a new face the dice or a card. You do it. I really liked that.

JP: 26:41

So it was exciting that yeah, so yeah, one gold. Yeah, sun shard and moon shard.

Becky: 26:48

It's a really good game. I think I'm surprised that I haven't dropped all the faces of the dice yet. They come on a very nice kind of piece of sort like a very thick piece of card isn't it and you slide it back into like an envelope because you and they've really thought about that because if that tipped even a little bit those pieces are going to go everywhere yeah, and they haven't so far i Could you sit it back in the box, which is another good

JP: 27:12

Thing like a really thick rubber band.

Becky: 27:14

They have really thought about it but I'm surprised I haven't tipped it over yet.

JP: 27:18

It's actually a really good insert it's probably one of the best best inserts for a board game see what I really liked about Dice Forge is even the box is a component for the game yeah, we didn't actually play as that I notice you didn't use

Becky: 27:30

The box when you meant just the rest of the pieces and how

JP: 27:34

The box itself and you put the faces of the die you sit it back in the box because then things you need on the edges on the runs at the edge of the box or the things that you need to access during the game and you set the box and even the artwork I suppose you not notice that the artwork of the size of the box runs to the ball oh wait

Becky: 27:53

Oh, I missed out. I get home tonight. Looking

Davey: 27:58

Even like all the components of my game pretty well made in the dicer nice and like you guys Lego dice and they will clip in and they are nice to roll. My only qualm with that game is I feel like I wish there was something you could do a bit more like combo of the dice or have like better powers with the dice a bit. Can you maybe maybe toss or you need this mushroom is that what is that what comes with the expansion and

JP: 28:22

Expansion, the rebellion expansion, it adds two modes that you play either or where you have a labyrinth and one of the faces of the dice allows you to move your golem through a maze so roll that you're moving choosing paths and then getting bonuses of which it's not engine builder. He but it feels like you're getting more decisions. Space from I've rolled and I've got stuff Yeah, it's I've rolled now nav Tuesday on out on that because that's now going to give me this that and

Davey: 28:50

It aims at the lighter weight. So I do. Yeah, big time. Yes, exactly. Yeah, it's good.

JP: 28:55

It's good. Game plays in an hour.

Becky: 28:58

Yeah, that's that's what I've been playing lately. Onto our main event, then where we're going to delve into the game of Terraforming Mars. Like we said earlier, it's first released in 2016. There's been lots of expansions made and then the spin off Ares expedition in 2021. It's one of my favourite games of all time. What's everyone's feelings about it?

Kerley: 29:25

Yeah, one of my favourites to absolutely love Terraforming Mars was on the top spot. You know what I think it probably still is, but I um and ahh between that, and Anachrony the reality is I've just played it loads. So

Davey: 29:37

We can't name a board game we played more? No,

Kerley: 29:40

No. I still remember the time when we finished one game at about 10 o'clock and I went do another one.

JP: 29:49

As well there was no I wasn't able to do it.

Davey: 29:53

Because he played with three in the morning. I didn't regret a thing.

Becky: 29:57

So just a quick overview of the game. For those who don't know what it is, I mean, you must have been living under a rock or something. It's a card based,

Davey: 30:03

or On Mars.

Becky: 30:06

So it's a card based game with sort of a hex map of Mars that you TerraForm with cities, forests and oceans with the aim of getting the best terraforming rating. You do that by increasing the oxygenation, the temperature and the oceans of the red planet. You play as a Major cooperation in the future. And you each have special abilities and you build your empire and basically power up by playing cards into your playing area. It's just the best ever. I think it's probably one of the games that we've spent the most money on, I would say of all the games, if you think about,

Kerley: 30:37

I mean, it doesn't come close to Too Many Bones. But yeah, I mean, well,

Becky: 30:40

I mean, our collection, not nothing compares to JP nothing compares to you JP

JP: 30:44

Rest in peace Sinead

Becky: 30:47

Nothing compares to JP's Too Many Bones. I can't quite say obsession, but I mean obsession. I think it's probably the most expensive gaming.

Kerley: 30:56

I bought the Kickstarter, all in pretty much for like 300. But then we've also 500 quid, or whatever it was.

Becky: 31:11

But it's got the 3d printed tiles which now when I see anybody playing without the 3d Because I've never played it, played it with the basic game pieces. Look at it on the table. I'm just thinking, Oh, no. I don't think that sounds sanctimonious but I just think oh you don't know what you're missing or maybe it's just because it's ridiculous expensive I get it I'm

Davey: 31:30

The components work or for like people people literally thought they'd bought a knockoff I thought I'd bought a knockoff

Kerley: 31:38

But that's how you tell if it's a knockoff? It's the components are good. knockoffs are actually

Becky: 31:45

crazy. But there's so many expansions isn't there? I think would I have had a good as good an experience had I just played with the base game, the base bid no expansions or no swanky pieces?

JP: 31:58

Well for you, because the swank is important. It is it is but

Becky: 32:02

If it's a crap game, it's a crap game. But I think I mean,

Davey: 32:05

I nearly didn't play the game. Look, at the very first time I looked at it, and I just got into like ball gaming again. And JP you know, yeah, look, this game will play this. I'm gonna I'm gonna play that. Look at it. I was not looking as I'll do it, because I'll play any game once. And I was like, Oh, is this gonna be right, sat down with it. And my god, I was like, okay, I can see the appeal. So what is this is what is the appeal the appeal is it's got great replayability the card combos in a really nice and kind of take some of the best aspects aspects of other games and include it in but then also has this really cool little area control that link of the cards and sometimes your engine, you've got loads of different avenues you can do asset loads is probably like two main avenues really where you either want to tear a form or build your engine together ups are kind of two main routes, but you could have lots of different ways of doing variations of those main themes that yes, that's it. Yeah. And maybe from the base game. Now, I think when now I play the base game, because we've played it so much. I missed the rest of it. Because there are set combos and some people like the base game because of that you can see the combos coming out and you know, kind of you can play to that. And it takes away the randomness in some aspects. You still get the randomness card game, you can't You're always gonna get it. But I do think with the expansions it has added a bit more replayability but we paid it loads before anyway.

Becky: 33:39

For me. We played it all day when you were teaching me Yeah, literally all day, we only had a dinner break. Yeah, yeah. But I thoroughly enjoyed it the entire day. It was absolutely brilliant. I mean, just the learning it the kind of seeing Oh, I get how this unfolds. And it's just such a phenomenal game. We don't play with all the expansions. Is it turmoil we don't play with

Kerley: 34:02

We don't play with Turmoil and we don't use a lot of Venus.

Davey: 34:06

And that's another good thing. Is there some fan boards that yes, there are amazing.

Kerley: 34:13

I have left some Venus cards in there still. But there are a couple of now that I live in. But they're not they're not relevant to the board's yeah, I've left them

JP: 34:23

in all the official rules and measures.

Kerley: 34:29

Metropolis is one of them the state in

Davey: 34:32

Yeah, and if you're playing like, fan made boards through us, you're not official rules. Anyway, we'll play the game so much. It's become okay. I think it's what's the point? Yeah, it's got to the point where we've played it so much. If it was like the first couple of plays and people started doing that you think Well, no, you've sallied my game. solid solid my game. Yeah,

Becky: 34:54

Good variability. But with those maps, it really does. It doesn't mix things up massively and change the game so you wouldn't recognise it but because it changes the milestones at the bottom does make you think slightly differently and you can't always go oh, well, I like starting off in here like if you're playing the original Risk like right at all my troops in Australia that's how we went yeah, you can't do that if you if you change the maps around.

Kerley: 35:15

Like I wouldn't say more modern games for different games, and I'm surprising and go for this have different endgame VP multipliers. Terraforming Mars has just never really done that, but it does have the set ones? Well, the map solved really because you do get that variability. And you know, it is a bit different in other ways as well like the placement bonuses of all that it you know, when you put an ocean down you if you cover up something on the board, it can give you a bonus. So you know, and all the bonuses are different on the different family maps and stuff. So there are some one of the fan made maps, I've actually got rid off because I didn't like it. It was overly complicated. For the sake of overly complicated, the iconography wasn't overly clear. So they'll find me at the end of the day. Yeah, it's not you know, it's not played tested properly, probably. All that kind of stuff. But the other ones I think, absolutely, yeah,

Davey: 36:05

They were definitely, I wonder if they could eventually do a thing with like tiles for the VP scoring as well, where you could have tiles, and obviously, some of the tiles you'd have to take out because it wouldn't be on the map or wherever. But you could have tiles that lay over your water milestones, which means you can have different scoring on a different map.

JP: 36:24

Yeah, that's Yeah, I haven't done that.

Davey: 36:26

No, I'm surprised. And

Kerley: 36:28

Maybe maybe that could be a future expansion, because they're pretty much done with the expansions. Right, but something that small they could probably I mean,

Becky: 36:34

What do we think the main draws to the game are? Because it's the game that we've introduced a couple of people to that are gamers to a degree, but it's been the kind of one that we've picked the answer a party games to get a complete sort of new beginner into,

Davey: 36:49

They're not usually Euro gamers, I don't think but it is a Euro game, but it has enough of has enough of a kind of, like deck builder or like engine bill, like your as an engineer has most of that none of the deck builder feel even though it's not a deck builder at all, that a lot of people enjoy a lot more than the normal Euro. Yeah, it's not as it looks the way I used to look bland and dry, but it's not as dry as like a Euro can be.

Becky: 37:20

It's got good theming, hasn't it?

Kerley: 37:21

I think a lot of what we're the reason why it's a good one to teach new people considering the fact that it's quite complex in some ways, actually. Is the lack of competitiveness or combativeness. I don't know what would you call it? Yeah. combative, yes. Because realistically speaking, you have some interaction with each other, but you're not usually directly beating each other.

JP: 37:44

I was gonna go through that. Yeah,

Davey: 37:46

I found your plants. Yeah. That's the that's the thing. Yeah. It can be Yeah, I mean, it will happen probably two, three times a game most everyone, not to everyone, not to one person. Yeah. Usually, the person that's ahead

Kerley: 38:03

Me by default.

Becky: 38:05

Be I like the fact that it's clear, once you understand the kind of the things of tanks when you understand the concept of tanks, that makes total sense. And you understand all your iconographies right, yes, perfect. It's beautifully done. And I think that is a really good, kind of, I don't want to call it a gateway game, because it definitely isn't a gateway game. But the and when you understand the mechanics that are involved in Terraforming Mars, you've got a bit of kind of presence on the board. You've got a bit of engine but well, we've got a lot of engine building, you've got a bit of finding out which cards go together to make little combos and the tag kind of system that informs a lot of your knowledge for other games. I really, really appreciated that. I didn't know I did at the time, because I didn't understand that. But subsequently playing the game just like Oh, I understand what they mean by that, because I'm like Terraforming Mars. Yeah, I think but

JP: 38:56

I think the thing that's gonna answer your question, I think the thing that I think draws people to it, and what I get the most out of the game, and when I kind of teach people or play with the players, and what they say is that engine building is that the fact that you know, your bike, you get a card, you pay its cost, you play it, you get things. And it's like that instant reward of bang, bang, bang, bang, you see your your kind of empire grow over time

Davey: 39:20

And generate a lot of those cards. It's not like a one and done cards were because of because of these tags, and a lot more games users now, because of these tags. Usually you're getting benefit still later on these cards. So unlocking things. Yeah. And I think that is that that cards not now done down to think about it, a lot of times you are thinking about it, and it's playing into the rest of your game, which has a kind of real nice permanence to it.

Kerley: 39:44

And by the way, the game building as well, you know, sometimes they can't just just Yeah,

JP: 39:50

So the end of the game, you gotta look what I've built. It's really satisfying. Even if you don't win, you know.

Davey: 39:59

Going back to the Gateway thing, I suppose it actually kind of is but more for medium heavy games. I'm just gonna say yeah, if your medium light heavy, because it's a medium slash heavy really, isn't it? It's kind of sits in between lower heavier might? Yeah, probably. But it is kind of a gateway into that next step up, because it's not hasn't got too many complicated mechanics to learn. It's all on the cards. So the mechanics you learn how to play the game, and then you play the cards, and then you're learning kind of the game as it's going along. So it kind of propels itself. The actions are

JP: 40:33

Simple, though, aren't like, they're not like, Oh, I do one action. And I've got a combo about sending things off is like, Oh, I do this, I pay it. And it's play. Then it's just learning. Like all games, the iconography of what it is anything else was one of the great things about the game is in the cards, it allowed the icons that tell you what it's doing, and also have it written in text. Yeah, everything's like really accessible. So if you don't know what that icon is, or that you just read it.

Becky: 40:58

Yeah, it tells you what to do understand it, and it makes it makes more sense.

JP: 41:02

Makes sense? Because it's like, the walls are on the card. And it's just clever.

Becky: 41:05

Do we know what weight it is? BGG. Oh, do we know

Kerley: 41:09

3.830? I was gonna say 3.9 3.6 3.26

Davey: 41:18

Is more of a medium.

JP: 41:19

I'd say it's a medium. Personally.

Kerley: 41:22

I wonder what Ark Nova is comparatively, but

Becky: 41:24

I've just literally just 3.73 So that's

Kerley: 41:29

All I got. I just been Terraforming Mars above all over myself. Is that with the base? Actually, my next question because?

Davey: 41:37

Yeah, is is is

JP: 41:40

Yeah, start adding, like, put Turmoil in add colonies, the prelude

Davey: 41:48

To talk about turmoil on a separate like, way to play time all again, we haven't played that enough. It's a very different game. I don't know why you've already

JP: 42:04

Got an opinion on it.

Davey: 42:06

It's quite polarising, some really didn't enjoy it.

Kerley: 42:09

Right. The thing is, for me, I find it really satisfying building up the engine and going and all that game does really is punishing punish your engine. So I'm like, why why you don't like it just takes away from the thing I find most enjoyable? I wouldn't I wouldn't. I did the whole enjoy the whole voting thing. And like, you know, putting your candidates in and getting the resolutions you want. That was all cool. But yeah.

JP: 42:33

You lose a TR rating, every generation

Kerley: 42:37

You start on what 14, 20

Davey: 42:41

You've taken that's kind of a challenge because it is Turmoil and you are fighting to try and get the everything back in order. And it's meant to be that challenge. Every time

JP: 42:51

I won't play all the time, but I do like fancy throwing it in because I like the events. I like these things are coming. You got to prepare. And you just twist the game up a little bit in the game. Someone else

Kerley: 43:02

Threw it in and I was free. I would probably do it. But it's never going to be one that I put up myself.

Becky: 43:07

What? What do we think the best expansion is? Yeah,

JP: 43:13

Prelude

Kerley: 43:17

I like Prelude, but for the exact same reason that I don't like Turmoil. Because it helps you read it makes everything lovely.

Becky: 43:24

It just gives me a bit of direction. And I feel like I need that interruptions again, because I get very kind of, oh, well just go down the microbes track again. Because I'd like a little bit of microbes

JP: 43:33

I think Preude is the most important expansion for that game. I agree. In my opinion, I don't

Becky: 43:38

use colours

Davey: 43:39

added in online as well. Yeah, there's a

JP: 43:41

reason for that, because that is the most well regarded, the one that everyone will recommend. I love Colonies don't get me wrong. I like playing with it. But I think Prelude as you said, Becky, sets you up. And I love that decision at the beginning. You got your Corp, you got your 10 project cards, you've got the prelude cards, how am I gonna make this work? I guess?

Kerley: 44:01

I guess that that is exactly the reason why I'm not. I'm not saying I love it. I wouldn't do without it. But the whole reason why I prefer Colonies is it's the whole game. Whereas Prelude?

Davey: 44:12

Yeah, that's it kind of. Sometimes

Kerley: 44:16

It's for me, and you know, let's face it as well. The only problem in my opinion, the game has is the lack of usefulness of energy, in general, and it fixes that.

JP: 44:27

It's got a bigger problem, but we'll come back to that. I'm sure nobody won't.

Becky: 44:32

Right now clearly. Is it a problem?

Kerley: 44:35

You're not allowed to diss Terraforming Mars, we've said lots of nice things

Becky: 44:38

Go on JP, what's your what's your what's your problem with it?

JP: 44:41

It's not it's not with that game specifically, but it's it's the fact that it's it's a lemon make the best lemonade out of lemons that you have gone again. So it goes into the fact that as you add more expansions in that project deck is how many cards are in that project? Yeah. million

Becky: 44:58

Million, right. I don't know. I should have counted but we need

JP: 45:05

You can have games where it doesn't matter what you do. You've got shit. Yeah, it doesn't matter what sometimes, and I know you can draft and we draft a lot. Yes, for that reason. You have some control of what's coming around. But you know, when you're playing with that sort of players, they're never gonna give you the cards that you're ever gonna need but they've got to give you something. Yeah, true. But sometimes you can look at the draw the gains, you just get shit. And there's nothing you can do about it. And you have to play with the lemons you have

Davey: 45:31

As well a bad start can sometimes and there are there have been from Prelude actually there have been like combos and we said they were busted at the start, but then they'd been screwed by Jay that when the the insane combo the start and we were like, never seen anything like this, which is the livestock cows it was it was like space cows, but I think better. And he got to play a load of the stuff from like how the hell we're going to catch up. And then the rest of the game, he pretty much didn't ever got a card that will kind of work

JP: 46:01

When you're like learning the game and that you don't really care because you're like I'm building an engine, it's fine. But when we play, because we had an amortise we played it and I think Terraforming Mars for us is quite an important game as a gaming group. Because it's probably one that the majority of us we all play one play any day happy to play doesn't like it. He doesn't like it to be fair.

Davey: 46:21

The grumpy gamer

JP: 46:24

I loves areas expedition. Expedition boy, yeah. But yeah, I think as someone who's played their game a lot, and you want to try and be a bit competitive in the game, and you get they'll hand a crap. And there's nothing that you can do like and continuously get dealt a handfull of crap or get drafted. ambigram it's, it can make. Yeah, and and that's the way it is.

Davey: 46:49

I'm guessing. Adrian may have had a game like that, and then that's gonna feel bad would be enough to put you off, wouldn't it?

Becky: 46:54

I think I think that's my

JP: 46:56

negative. I'm not saying it's a bad game. It's got

Davey: 46:58

Randomness involved in it. And that's, that's that is the possibility. But most of the times I found even when I've lost and it's only been a cup and I think one of the times I've I've won or not enjoyed the game because it was a real terraforming kind of game that I had. And I just like, play that. I just wanted to play that get out of TR and it kind of was a bit. It was fine was just very like, what kind of one Yeah, yeah. Whereas you can have games like that, and then you don't win and that probably feel even worse when you just feel like I've just been playing like the centre of a car or game and that's the polarising but I'd take the majority of games. I've been happy building my engine into having doing cool things and then being like, I have no one but you know, it's it's been a fun game.

JP: 47:43

I can I can call out one game. I just didn't really didn't enjoy it at all.

Davey: 47:47

I remember that I'm sitting there you go. No. Davey,

Kerley: 47:58

I'm not sure you can say that after those Twilight Imperium episode.

Davey: 48:03

We've each had one talking about well.

Becky: 48:09

What do we think Ares expedition adds to the party?

JP: 48:14

Nothing. There are

Kerley: 48:16

Some people that just don't like it.

JP: 48:18

I don't know. Like I just bought a place here.

Kerley: 48:22

See, for me is the time. The time it plays. It's much more casual. Because you're all playing together. Simultaneous turns. It's I like the mechanic of everyone choosing one of the actions each round. I find that it's good. And the art works better. And it died tragically. Yeah. True. He does exactly what it says on the tin, which is TM light. Yep. So if you haven't got because let's face it, we always dress up to like it's a three hour game. Yeah. If we were for four or five players, it's a four plus hour game. It is realistically Yeah. And what Ares does is it shorts that down to two, Max, I

Davey: 49:02

I don't know, I think actually, if we play TM with three or four of us that have played the game a lot. We have got it done in about three hours.

JP: 49:11

You've got you've got to be honest, it's not

Davey: 49:14

Even mastering. It's just a lot of time when you play with a bigger player Group A lot of times as we've had like players who hadn't played much or or

Becky: 49:21

Me basically you could say it's

Kerley: 49:24

Genuinely I'm not having a go back in this but like, there are quite a few of us who get that AP. And if you have one or two of you like that, then you know APJP can really hold everything that has been I'm joking, I'm joking. I'll get like that. Sometimes it's just a matter of I personally, I disagree. I don't think we've I've delegated three hours unless it's a three player.

Becky: 49:47

Do you think? Because we've played it so much. Now we know it so well. We've really tried to kind of get that perfect thing.

Kerley: 49:57

Well, I think that's the case but also even if you are experienced, there are some of your some of the viable tactics to win take a long time to take in your turn. I remember Jay who bless him it wasn't his fault. But like his engine was so good that he was like, on his turn. He was like, right game three cars colonised that big game this big game that then do this and it worked out. Although your actions are limited. Every turn it will do Just go on and on and on and on. And that's just the end of the bill. You know, when some engines go right, that'll give you 10, titanium 10 Titanium, there's a really good ending you could spend on cars easy. But other ones are like drove this do that getting the microphone that

Davey: 50:38

You really got was one card card or anything like that, where you discarding drawing cards, discarding drawing cards, and it's like, only got one card.

Kerley: 50:51

So yeah, I do think it's one of those games that can go that way. And I don't really remember one that we've done that quickly. But I might be wrong. It's been a

JP: 50:59

while. But I think we have maybe three and a half hour.

Davey: 51:02

I think when we were playing it a lot. Yeah. We've noticed the time we're playing it probably once a week.

JP: 51:07

We did it on a school night, and we probably wouldn't have them for our games on school nights. Because I wouldn't, personally Yeah, it's like a tie it.

Becky: 51:18

Who do we think is aimed at? Who do we think it's kind of core demographic is

JP: 51:23

Mars enthusiasts, children? I'm joking.

Becky: 51:26

Was it because that's the thing, isn't it? It could really put people off

JP: 51:29

me. You don't like space? Well,

Becky: 51:32

I do in actual unsaved doing real life like Star Trek. Wow.

Davey: 51:38

Yeah, that's real.

Becky: 51:40

Documentary. 100%. It is now we've got Alexa. In real life stuff. I'm very interested in space things. But as a genre, so for example, books, I love fantasy, can't stand sci fi, not interested. Talking about Lightspeed and warping not even bothered Shut up. So I think, yeah, it could put people off. I'd be really sad to think that somebody who didn't somebody didn't play it just because they didn't like space stuff.

JP: 52:08

See for me, I like sci fi stuff. So I was quite kind of attracted to play and because of that, so I was like, Oh, I like maths. I like space. And I heard it's good. And there you go. That's enough for me.

Kerley: 52:24

That's why it's really important. I think as a board gamer to be open to try different things. I didn't want to try Wingspan. Yeah. Because the thing was just like yeah, whatever gonna be a burden to us. Yeah. Not really. paid off. I will. Yeah,

Davey: 52:38

yeah. Yeah, birds, birds. Yeah.

Kerley: 52:48

The point is, anyway, that you should try everything at least once.

Davey: 52:52

Yeah, and for me theme doesn't come into it anymore. I played so many board games where the theme is just an absolute bullshit that it just doesn't matter to me a lot of times. Like if the themes good backing Great, that's gonna add to it. But if the themes ship but the game is really good, doesn't matter to me anymore. I'm just moving cubes powered by but having a good time doing it. So

Kerley: 53:13

I would say a good board game with a good theme is always going to win out over a good board game. Yes. Yeah, it does matter. But I don't think it can take

JP: 53:20

It won't put me off a game. You could play Terraforming Mars, but we'll call it terraforming turnips right. Basically, it's a farm and you're playing cards. And it's the same thing. Still be fun. Still be good. And you put in little fields on rather than the forest.

Davey: 53:36

So many years. Your phone?

Kerley: 53:40

You want to remind me I'll be a kickstart. Ugh. Yeah.

JP: 53:46

How many new attacks have you got?

Becky: 53:51

Where do we think it sits on BGG? Currently, ranking

Davey: 53:56

was dropped a bit. Right now. It's dropped to six or seven.

Becky: 54:04

Drumroll please. I just looked but I forgotten already. It is number six. Oh. And I think it's

Kerley: 54:11

Yet doesn't count because you guessed twice.

JP: 54:13

Why did you have to know six or seven? Oh, I meant for six. Yeah.

Becky: 54:20

I think that's just testament to its

Davey: 54:22

job, though. I remember looking at it. Yeah, sure. But it was

Kerley: 54:26

It wasn't even time for very long time because it was Gloomhaven overtook it almost.

Becky: 54:31

Yeah, but it will probably remain in the top 10.

Davey: 54:34

Hey, Terraforming Mars. What do you love to hear? Yeah,

Kerley: 54:38

There are some people it is a little bit you know,

Davey: 54:41

I think it's it was quite dry theme. Let's face it. I know we're saying that it's a good thing. But when you look at the artwork of the cards and the initial board game, components for crap, your works not the best on the card. They do fit in now. We've played it a lot. You see, you know the cards, quite nostalgic

Becky: 55:00

Me being kind of pernickety about aesthetics of game. I've never thought that those pictures are crap.

JP: 55:08

They've never bothered me. They've never bothered me but they kind of can't remind me of they remind me of like, going to like Microsoft PowerPoint and going into the let's drag some photo like stock photo. Yeah, that's what it reminds me. And it's like all generic scientists looking at a beaker. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's, that's what comes next.

Davey: 55:34

And then yeah, such a big following. I think also people for our WhatsApp kind of some, some fans and saying, yes, so popular into the crates. And but then some people just don't like the game because it's not their game. And that's fair enough.

JP: 55:49

Yeah. Or goes on too long.

Kerley: 55:52

I think it's not fair enough.

Becky: 55:52

We'll always have a soft spot in my heart because of the fact that it was a, I felt like a proper board gamer. And when I played that, yeah, that was one of the first games that I thought this is this is a real one. This is not this is not a bastion toward game light. Yeah, it's got crunchy mechanics that I understand the names of now. And I understand what you're talking about when you say, games have got mechanics. It's not got gears, what are you talking about shut up? So I understand I understand the premise of it. And I can describe it. And I can understand what people

Davey: 56:28

So it's the building blocks upon so many other games now and people build upon over the mechanics only slot them in, and then you get a whole different hybrid of a ball game. Exactly. And then you learn that board game quicker, because you know them again, and

Becky: 56:40

That's exactly why I like it. I think it has done that for me, you know? Yeah, I think the fact that it's got those commonalities with other games, or like Davey just said, other games have kind of copied things, tags, I mean, I don't know who came up with that first, whatever, it doesn't matter. But you understand tags, therefore you understand loads of other games, and that's really helpful. Really helps the first game

Kerley: 56:59

Also tags in, but

Davey: 57:02

It's probably used in a different way. Maybe game before anything, you know, it's one of these things of our original ideas. Is there such a thing as numbers? Yes, it is then but they've implemented in a really well thought out fashion that was original. So you know, kudos, it

JP: 57:18

Feels like it's the first one it probably was.

Becky: 57:21

And we touched on the fact that the iconography is so good, because it's so clear. And the user interface is so obvious, I think, once you get your head around it, that when you understand a couple of the bits, you then instantly understand lots of other bits because Oh, well that's the same as that. So it must mean this and it and it does. And it's it works really cleverly. I think

JP: 57:39

This is a testament to the game because I played it not long back with my brother and played his copy. So this was base, Terraforming Mars. Nothing else. Alright. So we got the player mat out. And I got I forgot the there's no like dual layer boards. Took me right back to like five years, six years ago, when we played in you sneeze and all your cubes go everywhere. And without Prelude, so it was like, God it felt so slow, just to get back into it makes you really appreciate kind of where the game is now. God, yeah, it's like they realised that. Yeah, we probably should have set this up. And they started adding these extra components as at the Kickstarter, so the expansions came out. And yeah, what we've got now as a package, like I said, it is still not the best component game out there. But at least it's levelled up.

Davey: 58:33

That's good. It definitely is. Up there with a bit more of a prestigious kind of component level, especially with those level towers the put in and the 3d aspects. And when you put it all on the board, it's very good to look at now.

Becky: 58:47

Any more to say about Terraforming Mars? Yeah, if you haven't played it, totally play it. And why did we record this episode? We should just play Terraforming Mars just watch.

Davey: 58:57

Be on trend. You know, was it 2023 When the game come up? 2016 16. Yeah.

Becky: 59:04

I guess we need to mention the fact the dice version is coming up.

Kerley: 59:08

Oh, no. Yeah. Version, kick started.

JP: 59:11

I'm looking forward to Prelude 2 coming. Oh, nice. I just remembered. So there is more expansion. So maybe they will do an MVP. There's another one that's coming as well. You probably be less interested in this one. But this is so low bar for solo players, but good for great for solo players, because

Davey: 59:30

The mode was quite good anyway. Really? No, I didn't enjoy it. No, it's kind of like

JP: 59:35

It's hard to race. Yeah. And it was always you got to figure it out. But you're not really playing an opponent. You're just playing playing random bullshit in your hand, and you've got to try and make the best of it. That's true. Whereas the solo The prelude 2that's interesting. Yeah. I'll be careful in my mode, which is adapted from miles bought, I think, which I think David Turczi did might be wrong, but I think he did or he's got heavy involvement in releasing it as a kind of expansion package. No doubt were more cards and bits and bobs. No. But good for those solo players. eyes. Okay.

Becky: 1:00:10

Lot of things on the horizon. So moving on to our Would You Rather which ties in really well with what you guys have been talking about? So would you rather play a game you love such as Terraforming Mars, but a knockoff version where all the bits of dodgy the cards are like misspelt and off centre and the board is like really shonky and

Davey: 1:00:45

version to

Becky: 1:00:47

So would you rather play a game that you loved like that or play a very intricately made incredibly beautiful like the pieces absolute Sterling quality. But it's only an OK game. It's an OK game. The game sort of oky

Kerley: 1:01:02

Shonky cody of the game I like. Yeah, definitely. You think hundreds 100% 100% It's an easy one

Becky: 1:01:09

JP is looking for.

JP: 1:01:12

I mean, how shonky are we talking.

Davey: 1:01:15

Awful. Yeah, well, I suppose it

Becky: 1:01:20

It's Terraforming Mars. Okay, I'm gonna put I'm gonna make it. It's Terraforming Mars.

JP: 1:01:25

It's the base Team Internet.

Becky: 1:01:28

No dual layer boards. The pieces of those plastic ones that they came with really awful like gold silver, written in Russian. You've got misspelt badly translated text and some of it is hanging off the edge of the card because you've got that white. Printed, the pictures are even worse than they already are. On the board. Know It looks worse than the cards you'd made for the Christmas edition. They were brilliant. Yeah, they were brilliant. If you imagine someone else,

Davey: 1:02:01

Those are actually drawn it would be funny. Yeah. Yes. Instead, it's actually selfies of the person who's knocked on them. They're the beacon.

Becky: 1:02:11

And your board is really bad. Like maybe one of the ink colours is worn out halfway to it's it's awful. It's the worst possible copy you could imagine of this game

JP: 1:02:21

But still mechanically, you could still the same day because

Becky: 1:02:24

You know how to play it. Because you know what the cards are meant

JP: 1:02:28

Just because I know how to play Terraforming Mars if that copy was that bad, where I couldn't decipher the cards

Becky: 1:02:35

properly couldn't read it. You know what it says sort of

Davey: 1:02:39

skewed in the cards

JP: 1:02:41

That I'm out if I'm doing that I'm not Oh, you're playing well, you're playing the Lords of Waterdeep. I'll play the knockoff you said what okay game with intricate artwork Did you say incredibly beautiful. Yeah, that's not the components may see components are great, but that's the best thing about your game.

Davey: 1:03:03

That's a that's more of a good game. But yeah, that's really president is a very pretty it's a good game. Yeah,

Becky: 1:03:10

So what is not one of our favourites? You're gonna play JP so Cerebra this okay, beautiful pieces, or shonky knockoff Terraforming Turnips.

JP: 1:03:20

I quite liked it because I came all the time.

Becky: 1:03:25

Which one you pick?

JP: 1:03:27

Turnips?

Davey: 1:03:28

Listen give 10 fertiliser, get a pack of seeds

Becky: 1:03:32

What are you playing the

Davey: 1:03:35

Shonky knockoff? I think we find the game many be quite funny going oh yeah, this is normally like this card. But now it's this dude doing something. Now it's this

Becky: 1:03:48

I was really kind of having difficulty deciding what I would do. But I think I'm gonna join you all and by the shocky knock off and you know that you know how important is to me to have a you know, nice looking game. And

JP: 1:04:01

If the games there. You could play Terraforming Mars. And everything just be text on white cards and a hex board. And it wouldn't matter. But you could be handing handwritten

Kerley: 1:04:15

cards. Yeah, of course. Yeah. So you like

JP: 1:04:18

Martian Rails? I'm hoping that you already know what it does. Anyway, so

Becky: 1:04:24

So substance wins over aesthetics. And we've decided

JP: 1:04:28

What kind of said before we play Terraforming Mars? Yes the original.

Davey: 1:04:38

They say timing is everything JP beautiful.

Becky: 1:04:41

So pretty much rounds out on that, doesn't it? I think Coming up now to our penultimate turn. This is where we talk about what we've got coming up. And we're excited about So Kerley

Kerley: 1:04:59

was torn between a couple honourable mention to Darwin's journey which I'm looking forward to on Wednesday but I'm gonna go ahead and say I've got my birthday all day gaming event with thankfully JP can't make can't make.

JP: 1:05:10

He's purposely arranged. So I can't go see purposely

Becky: 1:05:14

decided when his mom and dad were going to make him. Yeah, yeah. 41 years ago. Yeah.

Kerley: 1:05:18

See I've got next weekend. Which Yeah, I'm really looking forward to happy because eight or nine of my real friends are going to come around. See me?

Davey: 1:05:27

I look forward to giving you your present. I wonder if you're gonna like it or not. We're gonna we'll see

JP: 1:05:33

You beating him at Terraforming Mars. Yeah. Happy birthday.

Kerley: 1:05:42

So yeah, looking forward to that we haven't even decided on games because I wanted to know the numbers. So let's

Becky: 1:05:48

Play too many bones shortly. I think

JP: 1:05:52

You're getting a copy me.

Kerley: 1:05:54

I've got a copy of Yeah, yeah,

Becky: 1:05:56

We just play when you're not around.

Davey: 1:05:59

Otherwise, you just talk about all the time. And we're like, here we go. Again.

Becky: 1:06:04

I do want to play that again, though. Actually, you need to we need to talk about it.

JP: 1:06:09

Requested, play our copy.

Davey: 1:06:10

I'm looking forward to playing Pagan Roanoke. It's a game that me and Marcus played at the 24 hour. I've been messaging him we've been trying to sort out so we will be getting it to table at some point. So it's like a two player card game. But it's kind of like it's kind of a bit of a detective game, because one of you plays a witch and the other plays like the witch finder, the witch hunter. And like my decks all about. So seven penalty and the witch hunters are was my deck is all about getting these clues as the local villagers and the front, getting clues to find out who the witch wants to try and create a ritual around. And then you have like loads of abilities that, like I put clues down and I can draw a card and it'll tell me who one of these people is not. So it's kind of like a guest who, but a lot more.

Becky: 1:07:08

Real, it's always,

Davey: 1:07:10

it's always been a lot more fun, I'll

JP: 1:07:12

see how.

Davey: 1:07:17

But then you get these cool little card combos in your own deck. And apparently, there's lots of different actual like, abilities you can put in there. For my followers, you have these followers and you have the halls that give you permanent stats. And if I go somewhere and do the action, because all the villagers have an action on the card, I do the action and I can then put on my tokens when again enough to get a clue. But that means Marcus then can't go there on his turn. And he puts his down because back to me I can't go on his ones. So it's got this real interesting flow of what actions come down who you're what you're stopping, I'm looking at where Marcus is going a lot because he says go in here and he's putting loads of tokens on the red villages I'm thinking or wanting to start a ritual over here. Maybe I just kill one of these villages over here so you can't do it and we'll meet again, I can kill I think three and then if I killed the third and it's still up them then the witch wins as well. So it's got a nice cat and mouse kind of aspect to it. It's really fun to play. So I'm looking forward to play on that. And then he also said that he's getting Terry Terra Mystica innovation age of innovation age of innovation which looks very good so I'm looking forward to plan that and

JP: 1:08:29

the new the new version but it's supposed to be it's basically like the in between of Gaia project

Davey: 1:08:34

And Terra mystic Yeah, but yeah, like smooth lines alone of the Terra Mystica rules and kind of make the powers a lot better apparently so

Kerley: 1:08:43

I'd be interested to play Yeah, I thought Gaia project was several but

Davey: 1:08:47

It looks better as well. I think this is one of the

Kerley: 1:08:50

Things I've never really bothered me.

Davey: 1:08:52

Yeah, it wasn't

Kerley: 1:08:53

The asymmetric powers of the civilizations in Terra Mystica yes so stupid. Like yeah, it was just some of them were so amazing and some of them are so pan

Davey: 1:09:02

yes frustrated Yeah. Which is what they pick up on but this is what they've kind of smoothed out and it's meant to be the in between where it's still got all the theme of Terra Mystica because a lot of people didn't like the theme of Gaia project but it's got some news added stuff as well as being into having better tracks like

JP: 1:09:20

I've got it now it's

Davey: 1:09:22

Coming out he said it hopefully we'll have it by by the 20th we will have by the time this comes out we probably will

JP: 1:09:30

Be playing it yeah to give us your verdict.

Becky: 1:09:33

I would JP What do you got coming up?

JP: 1:09:35

I got Voidfall, my actual copy of Voidfall is en route. So I've had my address confirmation email which anyone who's ever backed anything knows that's an exciting time. That usually means dispatch emails not far already know it's in the country. I already know dot and it's spiral galaxy. So Where's spiral galaxy? Distribute. Distribute. That's pretty much think where it is I forgotten London, isn't it? Yeah, somewhere somewhere.

Kerley: 1:10:09

I've always on the southeast

Becky: 1:10:11

side of Essex. And that wasn't I was, you know, spurious nonsense.

JP: 1:10:14

But ya know, my copy of Voidfall is hopefully going to

Kerley: 1:10:14

You playing this with JP? arrive very soon. I'm really Really excited to get that? So yeah, it's all about the Mindclash, baby. I just I never talked about it on a previous episode and my experiences of

JP: 1:10:27

yeah. Mr. Grogan? Oh, Mr. Grogan? Yeah. Okay, so yeah, it. And we'll get into play again next week. Nice. fourth player who already got the game trying to get you know by my acceleration to kind of learn in a game is slower than you guys so I'm just trying to get a little so that when I sit down with just a few, yeah, and then I might let you off one, one. Alright. At least one. Yeah, you probably you probably do it in the first game. By the end of it. Oh, you played this so many times. JP look forward to that. And, yeah, bring it on. I think we've got Septima not long behind as well. I really?

Davey: 1:11:12

Yeah. I'm interested in that. Just

Becky: 1:11:13

I've just written down When is Septima coming out. Had you read my little thing?

JP: 1:11:18

No, no, I just thought about MindClash. I actually got an email about it today, but they're still packaging it. And over in China.

Becky: 1:11:25

When Davey was talking about the witches. I thought Yeah, Septima again. That's

Kerley: 1:11:29

a mouthful to your

JP: 1:11:30

Yeah, I reckon six, eight weeks, probably

Davey: 1:11:33

Halloween game. Might be I might be on purpose from them. You know,

JP: 1:11:38

I don't if it's on purpose I started Yeah. Yeah. And I look forward to Septima as well. The card play in that is just fantastic.

Davey: 1:11:48

Does look really good.

JP: 1:11:49

It's just cool. It's just just done really well. The fact that you kind of, weirdly, you're kind of announcing what you're trying to do on your action. But are you? Because you're like, yeah, if we both do it, we get both actions on the cars. But then you raise suspicion and the witch hunters come and give you a kick like the idea of a medium to heavy weight. But it's not.... Yeah, it's not super. It's not like Anachrony. It's not like Voidfall for it's not like to carry on in that heaviness. But it's no, it's midway. It's it's got enough going on. But it's quite cool. And I think it played fairly quick. It was a learning game teaching game. But imagine it's a couple of hours. Yep, looking forward to both of those Mindclash bonanza.

Becky: 1:12:35

I'm looking forward to playing Potion Explosion which I bought from Logan at the 24 hour marathon. I've been looking at for quite a little while. And he's already told me that it can be quite cluttered and noisy. So my brain and I haven't even opened the box yet. And I'm already thinking of right on I'm gonna get felt I can make the liner. I haven't even seen the components yet. But I'm already kind of thinking about what methods I could use to improve that customise to jostle it. Yeah,

JP: 1:13:06

no, I do when I get games. I think I know what soundtrack I'm gonna make on that. Oh, is that your that will go really well with that game. I haven't even got out of the box yet.

Becky: 1:13:19

But I do have a few a few Spotify playlists that are particular board game titles. Maybe I need to make a Potion Explosion one.

Davey: 1:13:28

I like to think what drink might spill over this.

JP: 1:13:33

Set fire to what is Potion Explosion?

Becky: 1:13:39

It's got marbles in it.

JP: 1:13:40

Yeah, I thought it had my column in it. And gizmos. That's a marble game as you don't know do know.

Becky: 1:13:50

When I looked at it, I wrote it I remember writing it on my list of games that I look interested I'm seem interested in six Nimmt was there I bought that Saboteur was on there, Potion Explosion. And another one I can't remember now, I could probably find that list if I looked hard enough on my phone. And I forgot all about it because it wasn't available at the time when I was looking at this list. And I kind of it fell out on my head. And then when my eyes pinged straight in on it on the bring and buy

Davey: 1:14:17

Think of Quacks Yeah. vibe. Marble. Yeah,

Becky: 1:14:21

It's a very it's a very simplistic game, I believe. But it sounded really cool

JP: 1:14:26

I'd be up for it. Yeah. Sounds cool. It's

Davey: 1:14:28

A game which can be played like Quacks, but without the time of Quacks because it is deceivingly long. It would be good.

Becky: 1:14:34

Yeah. I think you get ingredients for things that come that roll down. That's where my knowledge starts and finishes.

JP: 1:14:42

I mean, this is great. We're talking about a game that none of us have played. And we're speculating from that name. And the listeners are like, oh my god now is like this.

Becky: 1:14:50

This would be interesting one we have played it, played it and then we'll be able to we're right or wrong. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, we've got again I've got a game of Unfathomable coming up. And that's

Davey: 1:15:00

Always that's gonna be a new segment is we're gonna get a board game name, and that none of us know we're gonna say it and then we all try and guess what kind of find the game

JP: 1:15:08

Gamers and then we look on BGG and we were way off. We let the listeners

Davey: 1:15:12

Then tell us how we were wrong. Do that anyway.

Becky: 1:15:17

And that is the end of my last episode

JP: 1:15:26

Happy to get rid of you, no. She's gone. Well done, Becky.

Becky: 1:15:29

Thanks mate. So yeah, I'll be handing the baton, infact I'm gonna hand it over right now the baton of the pen to Mr. Kerley.

JP: 1:15:35

Take the baton man.

Becky: 1:15:36

He's taking the baton. This is big news, right?

JP: 1:15:39

Yeah. Clearly you're becoming the first player for the first time. Yeah. How excited? Are you on a scale of one to? I'm excited?

Becky: 1:15:47

Yeah, I don't think he's excited. Anything's

Kerley: 1:15:50

Absolutely rubbish. So ask me tomorrow.

Becky: 1:15:53

Think about it. I know he has because we've chatted about it. And I think I think they're gonna be good.

JP: 1:15:59

I'm looking forward to your run of episodes, mate. Yeah. Should be good.

Davey: 1:16:02

Yeah, looking forward to it.

Becky: 1:16:03

So yeah, we're wrapping up victory points being touted about everywhere. And it's Terraorming Mars, so obviously Kerley wins than it actually though. We've all had a victory at TM. So I think

Kerley: 1:16:18

Yeah, I know that you've you've had at least one back you've had at least two debuts or at least two as well, or at least 2,20.

Becky: 1:16:28

So I just want to say thanks to you all for listening.

Davey: 1:16:31

His ego's getting too big in this room. Space,

JP: 1:16:34

I've got the antidote. Trickerion, move on.

Becky: 1:16:39

We just want to thank you all for listening, and all the subscribing that you do. And we can get you to recommend us to a friend who you think might like to listen, that would be really great. We're available on all the normal podcast platforms and all the normal social media platforms so you can find them all in our episode notes. And with that, I am signing out. Thanks everyone, and whose turn is it?