herbaceous

#65: 2017 In Review

Happy New Year! We’re back once again with our first episode of the year and our customary recap of the year that was. We take a look back at the biggest news stories in gaming and beer in 2017, share our favorites in a pile of categories, discuss our six favorite beers of 2017, and of course our top six games of last year as well. We’re tying this episode up with responses from our new DM Slack channel’s “Final Round” topic: What was the biggest surprise in gaming for you in 2017? Enjoy!

2017 Superlatives:
Best Artwork:

Danielle: Near and Far (Red Raven Games)
Jake: Flipships (Renegade Game Studios)

Best Non-mini Components:
Jake: Dice Forge (Libellud)
Danielle: Photosynthesis (Blue Orange Games)

Biggest Disappointment:
Danielle: Photosynthesis (Blue Orange Games)
Jake: Yamatai (Days of Wonder)

Game I Wish I'd Played More from 2017:
Danielle: The 7th Continent (Serious Poulp)
Jake: Dojo Kun (CMON)

Best Older Game I Played for the First Time in 2017:
Danielle: Bora Bora (Ravensburger)
Jake: Rococo (Eagle-Gryphon Games)

Best Party Game:
Vegas Wits & Wagers (North Star Games)

Best Card Game:
Danielle: Herbaceous (Pencil First Games/Dr. Finn Games)
Jake: Matryoshka (White Goblin Games/Terra Nova Games)

Most Innovative Game:
Danielle: The 7th Continent (Serious Poulp)
Jake: Magic Maze (Sit Down!)

Favorite Beers of 2017 Six-Packs:
Jake:

  • Burial Beer Co. “Houtenhamer” Double-Barrel Imperial Stout. Asheville, NC. 10% ABV, 60 IBU.
  • Perennial Artisan AlesMaman” Barrel-aged Imperial Stout. St. Louis, MO. 11.5% ABV.
  • Side Project BrewingSaison du Blé” Imperial Stout. St. Louis, MO. 6% ABV.
  • Bearded Iris Brewing “Chasing Rainbows Three” New England IPA. Nashville, TN. 5.8% ABV.
  • B. Nektar Meadery “#DragonsAreReal” Cherry chipotle mead aged in New Holland Brewing - Dragon's Milk barrels with cacao nibs. Ferndale, MI. 14.0% ABV.
  • Burial & Interboro & Run the Jewels “Stay G-O-L-D” IPA. Asheville, NC. 6.0% ABV, 50 IBU.

Danielle:

  • Boiler BrewingQuintuple Dog Dare” Imperial IPA. Lincoln, NE. 18.4% ABV.
  • Good Road Cider WorksAvogadro's Trail” Semi-sweet Mead. Charlotte, NC. 7.8% ABV.
  • Epic Brewing CompanyBig Bad Baptista” Mexican Coffee inspired Imperial Stout. Salt Lake City, UT. 12% ABV, 65 IBU.
  • B. Nektar Meadery#DragonsAreReal” Cherry chipotle mead aged in New Holland Brewing - Dragon's Milk barrels with cacao nibs. Ferndale, MI. 14.0% ABV.
  • Edmund's OastKvass” Kvass. Charlotte, NC. 2.6% ABV.
  • Founders BrewingFrootwood” Barrel-aged cherry ale. Grand Rapids, MI. 8.0% ABV.

 

Favorite Games of 2017 Six-Packs:

Jake's Picks:

Downforce
Restoration Games
Designer:  Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, Wolfgang Kramer

Matryoshka
Terra Nova Games/White Goblin Games
Designer: Aaron Dill, Sean Sweigart, John Kovaleski

Flipships
Renegade Game Studios
Designer: Kane Klenko

Danielle's Picks:

5-Minute Dungeon
Wiggles 3D
Designer: Connor Reid

Azul
Plan B Games
Designer: Jun Sasaki

Seikatsu
IDW Games
Designer:  Matt Loomis, Isaac Shalev

We Both Picked:

The 7th Continent
Serious Poulp
Designer:  Ludovic Roudy, Bruno Sautter

Sagrada
Floodgate Games
Designer:  Adrian Adamescu, Daryl Andrews

Near and Far
Red Raven Games
Designer:  Ryan Laukat

Section Timestamps:

Intro

01:00 Show Housekeeping

02:32 Announcing the Draft Mechanic Slack Channel!

05:27 Meta Mechanic, 2017 by the numbers

08:27 Preface to the Superlatives

11:43 Biggest News Stories of 2017

25:10 Superlative Categories

55:34 Our Top Six Beers of 2017

71:20 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot

72:08 Our Top Six Games of 2017

96:48 Final Round: Biggest game surprises

103:41 Outro

#42: Herbaceous / Well Played

Draft Mechanic Episode #42: A Group Discussion of Games We Played at Well Played Board Game Cafe, Herbaceous On-Tap, and Craft Beer Information Resources

Well Played Board Game Cafe

Recent Plays:

Dream Home
2016, Rebel.pl
Designer: Klemens Kalicki

Celestia
2015, Quick Simple Fun Games/BLAM!
Designer: Aaron Weissblum

Fauna
2008, HUCH! & Friends/Foxmind
Designer:  Friedemann Friese

Ice Cool
2016, Brain Games
Designer: Brian Gomez

Lanterns: The Harvest Festival
2015, Renegade Game Studios
Designer:  Christopher Chung

No Thanks!
2004, Mayfair Games (Currently)
Designer:  Thorsten Gimmler

OutLawed!
2017, Green Couch Games
Designer: Ryan Cowler

Heroes & Tricks
2016, Pencil First Games, LLC
Designer:  Eduardo Baraf, Jonathan Gilmour 

Noch Mal!
2016, 999 Games/Schmidt Spiele
Designer:  Inka & Markus Brand

On Tap:

Herbaceous
2017,  Dr. Finn's Games, Pencil First Games, LLC
Designer: Eduardo Baraf, Steve Finn, Keith Matejka 

  • Sage: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project "Colorado Wild Sage", Denver, CO, USA
    7.2% ABV. 
    Brett Saison with fresh white sage and lemongrass
  • Rosemary: Boulevard Brewing Co. "Tasting Room - Rosemary IPA", St. Louis, MO, USA
    6% ABV, 59 IBU. 
    American IPA with rosemary, Chinook, Simcoe, Citra, & Cascade hops.
  • Dill: Steel String Brewery "Picklemania", Carrboro, NC, USA
    3.8% ABV, 7 IBU. 
    Dill gose brewed in collaboration with Haw River Farmhouse Ales.
  • Mint: Perennial Artisan Ales "17", St. Louis, MO, USA
    10% ABV.
    Imperial stout  aged on cacao nibs & dried peppermint leaves.
  • Lavender: No Label Brewing Co. "Forbidden Lavender", Katy, TX, USA
    5.3% ABV, 12 IBU. 
    Belgian witbier brewed with honey malt, lavender flowers, and vanilla.
  • Tarragon: Jester King Brewing "Equipoise", Austin, TX, USA
    4.2% ABV, 26 IBU. 
    Saison brewed with ginger salt, dried tarragon, and cantaloupe.
  • Bay: Against the Grain Brewery "Bay & Pepper Your Bretts", Louisville, KY, USA
    6.8% ABV, 27 IBU.
    Farmhouse saison brewed with bay & peppercorns and partially fermented with wild yeast.
  • Saffron: Mantra Artisan Ales "Saffron IPA", Franklin, TN, USA
    7.2% ABV, 55 IBU. 
    Unfiltered IPA with saffron, caradmom, and Citra hops.
  • Thyme: Birdsong Brewing Co "Doin' Thyme", Charlotte, NC, USA
    4.3% ABV, 15 IBU. 
    Witbier brewed with corriander, lemon peel, and fresh thyme.
  • Chive: Look for beers brewed with Summit hops.

Beer Information Resource Links:

Beeradvocate
RateBeer
Untappd

Section Timestamps:

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
18:00 Recent Plays: Dream Home
24:33 Recent Plays: Celestia
29:13 Recent Plays: Noch Mal!
34:16 Recent Plays: Lanterns, The Harvest Festival
40:28 Recent Plays: No Thanks!
44:30 Recent Plays: OutLawed!
50:10 Recent Plays: Heroes & Tricks
59:16 Recent Plays: Fauna
68:05 Recent Plays: Ice Cool
72:19 Reflections on the trip to Asheville
77:58 Recent Plays: Herbaceous
79:36 On Tap: Herbaceous
92:54 Beer Info Resources
96:40 Outro