1 Player Podcast

This week we look back at a classic co-op game, Castle Panic. Monsters have decided to attach your castle in a clearing surrounded by dangerous woods.  Waves of monsters charge the castle.  Fortunately, the clever design makes it hard for the monsters to get at your castle and your highly trained warriors (knights, archers and fighters defend the castle), each specializing in combat on a certain type of terrain.  This is a pretty simple and accessible tower defense game that has had a relatively recent art upgrade and continues to be fun, if a bit simple.

* Castle Panic (BGG, Fireside games)

This week tells us about a Monster High-ish game called Mythic Mischief.  In it, you play a group of monster kids in school, trying to cause mischief in the library and get one of the rival cliques in trouble.  It's a head-to-head sportsball type game of out-maneuvering your opponent's team members so they get caught by the library's Tomekeeper.  The game also features a solo mode that sounds pretty fun to me.  You can get one of two different base games, each with a different set of factions as well as stand-alone expansions, each consisting of a new faction.

• Mythic Mischief (BGG, IV Studio)

• 04:20 - Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age (BGG, Eagle-Gryphon)
• 08:55 - Cartographers (BGG, Thunderworks)
• 14:40 - Yahtzee! (BGG)
• 17:40 - Dungeon Dice (BGG)
• 22:45 - Railroad Ink (BGG)
• 27:39 - OctoDice (BGG)
• 31:27 - Clip-Cut Parks (BGG)
• 34:28 - Three Sisters (BGG)
• 36:23 - Catan: The Dice Game (BGG)

This week we talk about the game Aleph Null by Tony Boydell and published by Capstone Games.  The art is by Alex Leigh and music by Nicholas O'Neill.  I did not include music as I mentioned I might do, primarily because I didn't see it available on-line for public consumption.

Anway, this game is about summoning the demon Baphomet, the Sabbat Goat.  It's a bit creepy and would be creepier if not for the excellent and light-hearted art by Alex Leigh.  Either way, it's a really fun game in which you are trying to cast a ritual to summon Baphomet by playing cards from your hand and slowly using them up to do magics with the hope of finally completing the ritual as expected.

• Aleph Null (BGG, Capstone Games)

This week Julius and and daughter join this week to talk about the very lovely Wild Gardens.  This is a game about foraging for natural ingredients to put into your delicious recipes. It's a beautiful game that reminds of Studio Ghibli animations - think Totoro. 

• Wild Gardens (BGG, Rose Gauntlet)

This week I talk about a small solo RPG called Anamnesis.  This is a game about forgetting your past and then rediscovering who you are.  I found it hard to start because you begin with no information and you are making it all up as you go along!  That even goes for the setting!  I found as I played, the story comes together nicely and I have had a really good time every game I've played.

• Anamnesis(RPG Geek, itchi.io)

This game seems to come up again and again and it's for good reason.  Pandemic is a classic games in line with the likes of Monopoly, Clue or Scrabble.  Fight off diseases ravaging the world in an effort to save humanity.  This game has inspired variants, legacy games and made cooperative games popular.  It occurs to me that we didn't credit the game.  It was designed by Matt Leacock and originally published by Z-Man games.

• Pandemic (BGG, Z-Man Games)

While still struggling slightly (very slightly), Julius and family recorded an episode about tragic games.  That's right.  These week we look at games that are overall about sad events.  No tragedy here though, it's a very fun episode!

• 02:00 Endangered (BGG)
• 03:55 Leviathan Wilds (BGG)
• 05:30 Anachrony (BGG)
• 07:45 Pandemic (BGG)
• 11:20 Mysterium ?? (BGG)
• 13:00 Horrified (BGG)
• 14:30 Under Falling Skies (BGG)
• 15:07 Purim (BGG)
• 18:57 The Spill (BGG)
• 20:39 Flatline (BGG)

This week we talk about Deck of Wonders, which currently has an expansion out on Kickstarter.  I'd hope to get this episode out with plenty of time for listeners to decide if they want to back this.  Saddly, Hurricane Helene set back my production schedule and the Kickstarter ends in just a couple of days.

This game is a light deck construction game similar to Magic: The Gathering.  In fact, it draws some inspiration from that game.  However, this one is much lighter and more accessible because of that.  Also, the card pool is a bit smaller :)

• Deck of Wonders (BGG, Kickstarter Expansion)

I am still struggling with outdoor home internet. Julius and family picked up my slack and recorded an episode. This week's game is the sequel to The Search for Planet X.

This week again no episode. I was affected by Hurricane Helene. My family is fine but we are with out power going on four days now. It will be a few weeks before I can get the currently recorded episode out. 

This week Julius tells us all about climbing behemothic monsters, also known as Leviathans.  In this game you are trying to remove crystals from Leviathans all while they fight back.  It's a cooperative game that can be played solo and uses a book with 17 diferrent monsters, each its own board.  It is actually a pretty unique sounding game and I enjoyed learning about it.

• Leviathan Wilds (BGG, Gamefound)

This week I talk about a gamebook from Fervent Workshop called What Lies Beneath.  It was designed by Chris Scaffidi and the art is by Jason Glover, who has also designed quite a few games of his own.

In this gamebook, you wake up in a dungeon with no memory of who you are or what you are here.  What's worse is you seem to have some sort of creepy cancerous growth on your arm.  You need to get out of here and figure out what is going on.  It's an interesting gamebook with some very novel mechanics.

You get to play as one of 6 character classes.  If you die, you can take any earnt experience points and apply them to the next character you make.  Hopefully, this time you are able to survive long enough to get out of this dungeon.

• What Lies Beneath (BGG, Fervent Workshop)

This week Julius and I are back with a Popular Mechanics episode.  The mechanic this time around is "animals".  That is, we are talking about games with animals in them and feature animals.

Oh, we also resolve a contest about 6 minutes in.  If you have entered any recent contests on this show, listen in to see if you won.

Anyway, animals!  These are games that feature animals in the theme!

• 05:21 Arkham Horror: Barkham Horror (BGG, FFG)
• 06:39 Contest resolution
• 10:23 Agricola (BGG)
• 12:20 New York Zoo (BGG)
• 15:22 Food Chain Island (BGG, ButtonShy)
• 19:11 Bullfrogs (BGG)
• 22:18 The Animals of Baker Street (BGG)
• 23:47 Honey Buzz (BGG)
• 26:03 Defenders of the Wild (BGG)
• 27:40 Nekojima (BGG)

This week it's not actually episode 350 but just a filler to let you know things are busy around here.  We'll be back in a few weeks.  In the meantime, don't forget to enter in the Ragemore contest!