Draft Mechanic Episode 11: 2015, A Year in Review
Happy new year! As is tradition, starting off a new year requires an introspective look back at the year that was. We have eight superlative categories to discuss, and then each of us has assembled a ‘mixer-sixer’ of six great new beers from 2015 as well as a mixer of top games of 2015! Yes, you heard that right - that’s FORTY overall selections! What a deal! 2015 was definitely a big year and there’s a lot to talk about, let’s get to it!
Best art, design, or components:
Jake: Mysterium. Asmodee. Oleksandr Nevskiy & Oleg Sidorenko.
Danielle: The Bloody Inn. Pearl Games/ REBEL.pl. Nicholas Robert.
Most innovative game:
Jake & Danielle: 504. 2F-Spiele / Stronghold Games. Friedmann Friese.
Best party game:
Jake: Two Rooms and a Boom. Tuesday Knight Games. Alan Gerdin & Sean McCoy.
Danielle: Codenames. Czech Games Edition. Vlaada Chvatil.
Biggest game disappointment:
Jake: World of SMOG: On Her Majesty's Service. Cool Mini or Not. Yohann Lemonier.
Danielle: Penny Press. Asmadi Games. Robert Dulkes & Matt Golec.
Game I wish I'd gotten to play:
Jake: Elysium. Space Cowboys/Asmodee. Matthew Dunstan & Brett J Gilbert.
Danielle: 7 Wonders: Duel. Repos Productions. Antoine Bauza & Bruno Cathala.
Game I wish I'd played more of in 2015:
Jake: La Granja. Spielworxx/Stronghold Games. Michael Keller & Andreas Odendahl.
Danielle: Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn. Plaid Hat Games. Isaac Vega.
Bonus Categories:
Best Gaming Environment: Empire Board Game Library in Albuquerque, NM
Best "Fast Food" Game: Dead Man's Draw. Mayday Games/Stardock Entertainment. Derek Paxton, Leo Li, & Chris Bray.
Best Beer Visual Presentation: Burial Beer Co. Moon Series. Asheville, NC.
Favorite Beers of 2015: Mix-a-Sixpack
Jake:
- Burial Beer Co. “Shadowclock” pilsner. Asheville, NC. 5.9% ABV.
- Taft’s Ale House “Nellie’s Keylime” cream ale. Cincinatti, OH. 4.8% ABV, 19 IBU.
- Revolution Brewing Company “Fist City” Pale ale. Chicago, IL. 5.5% ABV, 40 IBU.
- NoDa Brewing Company “Par 4” session IPA. Charlotte, NC. 4.0% ABV, 65 IBU.
- Night Shift Brewing “Awake” coffee porter. Everett, MA. 6.7% ABV.
- Wicked Weed Brewing “Dark Arts (Espresso)” sour imperial stout. Asheville, NC. 15% ABV.
Danielle:
- Night Shift Brewing “Maracuya” sour ale w/passionfruit. Everett, MA. 5.6% ABV.
- Grimm Artisanal Ales “Rainbow in Curved Air” Tart saison. Brooklyn, NY. 5% ABV.
- Burial Beer Co. “ The Keeper’s Veil” honey saison. Asheville, NC. 5.4% ABV, 12 IBU.
- Canteen Brewhouse “Cherry Blossom Wheat” hefe. Albuquerque, NM. 4.0% ABV.
- Wooden Robot Brewery “Good Morning Vietnam” coffee blonde. Charlotte, NC. 6.0% ABV.
- Kane Brewing Company “Mexican Brunch” spiced imp. milk porter. Ocean, NJ. 9.2% ABV.
Favorite Games of 2015: Mix-a-Sixpack
Jake: Specter Ops. Plaid Hat Games/Nazca games. Emerson Matsuuchi.
Danielle: Mottainai. Asmadi Games. Carl Chudyk.
Jake: New Dawn. Artipia Games/ Stronghold Games. Konstantinos Kokkinis & Sotirios Tsantilas.
Danielle: Discoveries. Ludonaute. Cédrick Chaboussit.
Jake: Roll for the Galaxy. Rio Grande Games. Wei-Hwa Huang & Thomas Lehmann.
Danielle: Among the Stars: Revival. Artipia Games/Stronghold Games. Vangelis Bagiartakis & Panagiotis Zinoviadis.
Mysterium. Asmodee. Oleksandr Nevskiy & Oleg Sidorenko.
Codenames. Czech Games Edition. Vlaada Chvatil.
T.I.M.E. Stories. Space Cowboys/Asmodee. Manuel Rozoy.
Intro
01:28 A year in review for Draft Mechanic, and plans for 2016
04:45 2015 Superlative categories
06:26 Top news stories of 2015
10:50 Best Art Design & Components
14:01 Most Innovative Game Design
16:36 Best Party Game
20:34 Biggest Game Disappointment
23:48 Game I wish I’d played in 2015
25:38 Games we wish we’d played more
30:10 Our own personal superlatives
35:53 Mixer-sixer: Favorite Beers of 2015
56:50 Mixer-sixer: Favorite Games of 2015
86:35 Transmission Interrupted
