#100: Top 10 Games

Draft Mechanic Episode #100: Jake & Danielle’s Top 10 Games, Belgian Trappist Beers, Hex Roller, Fae, Just One, Twixt, Bargain Quest, My Little Scythe, and Listener Q & A

Kickstarters: 
Cleopatra & The Society of Architects: Deluxe Edition (BGG) (Kickstarter)
Crystallo (BGG) (Kickstarter) (What’s Eric Playing Preview)

Recent Plays:
Hex Roller
2019, Pegasus Spiele/Renegade Game Studios
Designer: Rustan Håkansson
Artist: Christian Fiore

Fae
2018, Z-Man Games
Designer: Leo Colovini
Artist: Atha Kanaani, Bree Lindsoe, Samuel R. Shimota, Dan Gerlach, Paul Kluka

Just One
2018, Repos Productions
Designer: Ludovic Roudy, Bruno Sautter
Artist: Éric Azagury

TWIXT
1962, 3M
Designer: Alex Randolph

Bargain Quest
2017, Self Published / 2019, Renegade Game Studios
Designer: Jonathan Ying
Artist: Victoria Ying

My Little Scythe
2018, Stonemaier Games
Designer: Hoby & Vienna Chou
Artist: Katie Khau & Noah Adelman

Top 10 Games Lists:
Jake:
10. Near and Far
2017, Red Raven Games
Designer: Ryan Laukat
Artist: Ryan Laukat

9. Star Trek: Ascendancy
2016, Gale Force Nine, LLC
Designer: Aaron Dill, John Kovaleski, Sean Sweigart
Artist: Katie Dillon, Charles Woods

8. Carcassonne: The City
2004, Hans im Glück
Designer: Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
Artist: Oliver Freudenreich, Marco Primo

7. Matryoshka
2016, White Goblin Games
Designer: Sérgio Halaban
Artist: Eduardo Bera

6. Escape Tales: The Awakening
2018, Board&Dice
Designer: Jakub Caban, Matt Dembek, Bartosz Idzikowski
Artist: Magdalena Klepacz, Paweł Niziołek

5. Agra
2017, Quined Games
Designer: Michael Keller
Artist: Michael Menzel

4. Terraforming Mars
2016, Stronghold Games
Designer: Jacob Fryxelius
Artist: Isaac Fryxelius

3. Scythe
2016, Stonemaier Games
Designer: Jamey Stegmaier
Artist: Jakub Rozalski

2. Among The Stars
2012, Artipia Games
Designer: Vangelis Bagiartakis
Artist: Antonis Papantoniou, Odysseas Stamoglou

1. T.I.M.E. Stories: Lumen Fidei
2017, Space Cowboys
Designer: Ulric Maes
Artist: Pascal Quidault

Danielle:
10. Bohnanza
1997, AMIGO
Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Artist: Björn Pertoft

9. Race For The Galaxy
2007, Rio Grande Games
Designer: Thomas Lehmann
Artist: Martin Hoffmann, Claus Stephan, Mirko Suzuki

8. Citrus
2013, dlp games/2018, Tasty Minstrel Games
Designer: Jeffrey D. Allers
Artist: Klemens Franz, Scott Hartman

7. Codenames
2015, Czech Games Edition
Designer: Vlaada Chvátil
Artist: Stéphane Gantiez, Tomáš Kučerovský, Filip Murmak

6. Escape Tales: The Awakening
2018, Board&Dice
Designer: Jakub Caban, Matt Dembek, Bartosz Idzikowski
Artist: Magdalena Klepacz, Paweł Niziołek

5. Altiplano
2017, dlp games, Renegade Game Studios
Designer: Reiner Stockhausen
Artist: Klemens Franz, Andrea Kattnig, Jeff Oglesby

4. Sagrada
2017, Floodgate Games
Designer: Adrian Adamescu, Daryl Andrews
Artist: Adrian Adamescu, Daryl Andrews, Peter Wocken

3. Patchwork
2014, Mayfair Games
Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Artist: Klemens Franz

2. T.I.M.E. Stories
2015, Space Cowboys
Designer: Peggy Chassenet, Manuel Rozoy
Artist: Ben Carre, David Lecossu, Pascal Quidault

1. Terraforming Mars
2016, Stronghold Games
Designer: Jacob Fryxelius
Artist: Isaac Fryxelius

Beer (Mini) Traveler: Hubbard’s Cave/Une Annee:
(Website)
Fresh IIPA v30
El Zacaton
Chocolate & Cinnamon Pot de Creme
Le Grand Monde 2019-2
Le Grand Monde 2019-3
Le Grand Monde 2019-1

Beer Primer - Trappist Beers:
BLCP 2015 Guidelines - Section 26. Trappist Ales
American Homebrewers Association - A Brief History of the Trappists
International Trappist Association
Beer Advocate - Belgian Dubbel
All About Beer Magazine - Belgian Tripel
Kegerator.com - Belgian Tripel: Style Characteristics, Brewing Tips & History
All About Beer Magazine - Belgian Quadrupel and Strong Dark

Section Timestamps:

01:00 Show Intro, News & Updates

03:27 Geekway to the West!

04:16 New Draft Mechanic pins!

05:12 Kickstarter Updates

06:47 Kickstarter: Cleopatra & The Society of Architects

09:29 Kickstarter: Crystallo

12:24 Recent Plays: Hex Roller

20:03 Recent Plays: Fae

25:21 Recent Plays: Just One

30:12 Jake at the Gaming Hoopla

31:55 Hoopla: TWIXT

35:35 Hoopla: Bargain Quest

42:48 Hoopla: My Little Scythe

45:49 Hoopla Wrap-up

47:40 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot

48:45 Our Top Ten Games of All Time (Honorable mentions)

52:00 Our Top Ten Games of All Time

103:55 Beer Traveler: Une Année / Hubbard’s Cave

110:55 The Beer Primer: Trappist Beer

122:03 Listener Q&A!

154:07 Outro

#69: Gaming on the Go

Draft Mechanic Episode #69: Gaming on the Go, Island Hopper On Tap, Ponzi Scheme, The Palace of Mad King Ludwig, and Tips for Traveling With or To Beer

Kickstarter:
The Big Score (Kickstarter) (BGG)
Edge of Darkness (Kickstarter) (BGG)
City of Gears (Kickstarter) (BGG)
Tantrum House Season 5 (Kickstarter)

Recent Plays:
Ponzi Scheme
2016, Tasty Minstrel Games
Designer: Jesse Li
Artist: Chih-Fan Chen

The Palace of Mad King Ludwig
2017, Bézier Games
Designer: Ted Alspach
Artists:  Jason Boles, Stephanie Gustafsson  

On Tap:
Island Hopper
2017, Eagle-Gryphon Games
Designer: Scott Almes
Artist: Kwanchai Moriya

    •Shenanigans Brewing Co. "Flight Path"; Enmore, Sydney, Australia
    6% ABV, 25 IBU
    Dunkel lager with American hops and local coffee beans.

    •Propeller Bier "Turbo Prop"; Bad Laasphe, Germany
    6.5% ABV, 35 IBU.
    Imperial Pilsner with late addition Citra hops.

    •101 Cider House "Island Hopper"; Westlake Village, CA, USA
    6.5% ABV.
    Sour cider with guava, passionfruit, and Citra hops .

    •Cairn Brewing "Seaplane IPA"; Kenmore, WA, USA
    6% ABV, 65 IBU
    Northwest style IPA.

    •Thimble Island Brewing Company "Island Hopper"Series; Branford, CT, USA
    "Reel" - IPA, 8% ABV, 62 IBU
    "Money" - IPA, 8% ABV, 79 IBU
    "Cut In Two" - IPA, 8% ABV, 40 IBU

Gaming travel accessories:
Quiver Card Case
Gamefolio Board Game travel cases

Six Pack of Our Favorite Board Game Apps:
Patchwork (iOS) (Google Play)
Race for the Galaxy (iOS) (Google Play)
Lanterns: The Harvest Festival (iOS) (Google Play)
Potion Explosion (iOS) (Google Play)
Jaipur (iOS) (Google Play)
Star Realms (iOS) (Google Play)

Traveling With/To Beer:
Southwest Airlines
Wine Check (Amazon)
Bottle Bubble (1 bottle) (2 bottles)
Beer Advocate: Places
Cash

Section Timestamps:

01:00 Show Intro

03:00 News Bits: Expansions!

10:29 Tantrum House & TantrumCon

12:37 Kickstarter Updates

13:09 Kickstarter: The Big Score

14:29 Kickstarter: Edge of Darkness

20:46 Recent Plays: Ponzi Scheme

33:14 Recent Plays: The Palace of Mad King Ludwig

43:32 Recent Plays: Island Hopper

55:06 On Tap: Island Hopper

58:44 Grey Fox Games Sponsorship Spot

59:42 Gaming on the Go!

70:40 Our Six Favorite Board Game Apps

84:36 Traveling with Beer

91:45 The Final Round: Gaming on the Go

98:24 Outro

#54: The Hype List 2017

Draft Mechanic Episode #54: The Hype List 2017: Gen Con 50; Vegas Wits & Wagers preview & on-tap

The Hype List is here! The Summer of Hot Games wouldn’t be complete without our exhaustive look at a big pile of games we’re excited to learn more about at Gen Con 50 this week in Indianapolis. In addition to that big feature, we’re also busting out our Kickstarter preview of the upcoming Vegas Wits & Wagers from North Star Games! But one feature isn’t enough for an episode this big - we’re also putting Vegas Wits & Wagers on tap, we’ve got a special guest popping in to talk about Fantasy Flight Games’ big announcement, and we’ve got a discussion with two of our game group about their plans for their first trip to Gen Con. I hope you’ve got a long drive, because this super-stuffed episode is just brimming with HYPE!

Vegas Wits & Wagers
North Star Games, 2017. 5-21 players. Hits Kickstarter on August 19th, 2017!

On Tap:

• Pipeworks Brewing Co., Chicago, IL.
  "Sure Bet" Imperial IPA. 9.5% ABV, and some IBUs.
  Imperial IPA with Mango and honey.
• Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing Co., Cherry Hill, NJ. 
  "What the Butler Saw." Undressed Wit. 5% ABV, 18 IBU.
  Witbier with ginger, chamomile, coriander, lemon & orange peels
• Grain Station Brew Works, McMinnville, OR.
  "Bet the Farm" IPA. 6.5% ABV, 65 IBU.
  Dry hopped IPA available year round in bottles and draft (the big cans).
• Marble Brewery, Aaaaaaaaaaaaaalbuquerque, NM.
  "Double White" Witbier. 7.0% ABV, 8 IBU.
  Coriander & grains of paradise. 2 GABF medals: 2012 Bronze, 2014 Gold.

Gen Con Events

Sun King Brewing Kickoff Party (Facebook Event Page)
Wednesday, 5pm, Georgia Street Beer Garden

Punchboard Media meet & greet event with prizes! (Facebook Event Page)
Friday, 5-7pm, Georgia Street Beer Garden

Games Announcements & Hype

Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition - Fantasy Flight Games

Renegade Games teases... something?

And of course, here's the complete Hype List that we worked off for this show. Using the Gen Con 50 Geek Preview on Board Game Geek, we ranked all items as Must Have / Interested / Undecided / Not Interested and then ranked it accordingly. Enjoy!

Section Timestamps:

00:00 Show Housekeeping
03:20 Corrections from Episode 53
05:19 Kickstarter Preview: Vegas Wits & Wagers!
16:48 Gen Con events roundup! Punchboard Media meet up!
18:47 Sun King Brewery events at Gen Con
20:09 The mystery of HYPE
21:12 Twilight Imperiul, 4th Ed. (special guest Chris Kirkman)
37:48 Getting into the hype list!
1:00:54 Checking in with Tamara and Steven
1:23:32 Back to the hype list!
2:13:22 On Tap: Vegas Wits & Wagers
2:17:37 Wrap-up

#40: A Feast for Odin / Burger Up

Draft Mechanic Episode #40: A Feast for Odin, Burger Up, Paris Connection, Star Trek Ascendancy, New York Slice, and a buffet of beer news

Kickstarters:

Monikers: The Shut Up & Sit Down Nonsense Box
Can't Stop Express
Food Truck Champion

Recent Plays:

Paris Connection
2010, Queen Games
Designer: David V. H. Peters

Star Trek Ascendancy
2016, Gale Force Nine
Designer: Aaron Dill, John Kovaleski, Sean Sweigart

New York Slice
2017, Bezier Games
Designer:  Jeffrey D. Allers

Six Pack Review:

A Feast for Odin
2016, Z-Man Games
Designer:  Uwe Rosenberg

On Tap Beer Pairings:

Burger Up
2016, Rule & Make
Designer: Matthew Parkes

• Ratsherrn Brauerei "BEEF!", Hamburg, Germany
  4.9% ABV. 
  Dry-hopped pilsner.
• The Devil's Trumpet Brewing Co. "Make It a Cheeseburger", Merrillville, IN
  6.6% ABV, 69 IBU. 
  Citrusy American IPA.
• Pale Fire Brewing Co. "Salad Days", Harrisonburg, VA
  7.0% ABV, 40 IBU. 
  Saison with Amarillo, Simcoe, & Cascade hops.
• Mikerphone Brewing "Special Sauce", Elk Grove, IL
  8.5% ABV, 45+ IBU.
  New England style IPA with a rotating hop profile.

Beer News:

-Georgia Beer Laws Could Be Changing
-'Let's Open the Tap': Montana House Supports Expansion of Craft Beer Production
-Customer Sues Walmart Alleging 'Fraudulent' Marketing of Its 'Craft" Beer
-Cathay Pacific Introduces Betsy Beer - The First Hand-Crafted Bottled Beer Brewed to Be Enjoyed at 35,000 Feet

Section Timestamps:

Intro

01:00 Intro / Housekeeping
02:41 News: Golden Geek Awards
05:17 News: Scythe Digital, Expansion, and Iron Harvest
07:37 Kickstarter: Monikers: The SU&SD Nonsense Box
11:24 Kickstarter: Can’t Stop Express
13:32 Kickstarter: Food Truck Champion
15:34 Recent Plays: Paris Connection
19:59 Recent Plays: Star Trek Ascendancy
25:39 Recent Plays: New York Slice
33:15 Six Pack Review: A Feast for Odin
33:52 A Feast for Odin: Rules Walkthrough
38:45 A Feast for Odin: Discussion
69:17 A Feast for Odin: Final Thoughts
71:05 Recent Plays: Burger Up
79:02 On Tap: Burger Up
83:18 Beer News Bites
92:08 Outro

#36: 2016, a Year in Review

We made it! Welcome to the new year, 2017! As is the tradition, for our first episode of the year we’re going to look back at the year that was with our superlative categories, favorite beers, and favorite games of 2016. Nope, that’s it - no more fluff in the intro paragraph. We’re really excited to do this one! Let’s get to the festivities!!!!

Upcoming: SuperHot Card Game [BGG] [Website]

2016 Superlatives:

Best Artwork:
Scythe (Stonemaier Games)
Paradox (Split Second Games)
Islebound (Red Raven Games)
The Blood of an Englishman (Renegade Game Studios)

Best Non-mini Components:
Santorini (Roxley Games)
Junk Art (Pretzel Games)

Biggest Disappointment:
Danielle: SeaFall (IronWall Games/Plaid Hat Games)
Jake: Knit Wit (Z-Man Games)

Game I Wish I'd Played from 2016:
Danielle: Roll Player (Thunderworks Games)
Jake: Millennium Blades (Level 99 Games)

Game I Wish I'd Played More from 2016:
Danielle: Star Trek Ascendancy (Gale Force Nine)
Jake: Star Trek Frontiers (WizKids)

Best Older Game I Played for the First Time in 2016:
Danielle: Dungeons & Dragons (Wizards of the Coast)
Jake: Lost Cities (Kosmos)

Best Party Game:
Insider (Oink Games)
Brick Party (Renegade Games)
Fuji Flush (Stronghold Games)

Best Card Game:
51st State: Master Set (Portal Games)
Fabled Fruit (Stronghold Games)

Most Innovative Game:
Vast: The Crystal Caverns (Leder Games)
World of Yo-Ho (IELLO)
Captain Sonar (Matagot)

Best Dexterity Game:
Ice Cool (Brain Games)
Junk Art (Pretzel Games)
Brick Party (Renegade Games)

Favorite Beers of 2016 Six-Packs:

Jake:

• Burial Beer Co. “Gang of Blades” Double IPA. Asheville, NC. 8.3% ABV, 80 IBU.
• Marz Community Brewing “Jungle Boogie” Pale Wheat Ale. Chicago, IL. 5.4% ABV, 44 IBU.
• Hubbard's Cave “Vanilla Imperial Stout” Imperial Stout. Chicago, IL. 9.7% ABV, 78 IBU.
• Legion Brewing “Juicy Jay” IPA. Charlotte, NC. 6.3% ABV, 68 IBU.
• Destihl Brewery “Synchopathic” Dry-hopped Sour. Bloomington, IL. 6.0% ABV, 8 IBU.
• Holy Mountain Brewing “Witchfinder” Brett Saison. Seattle, WA. 6.1% ABV.

Danielle:

• Omnipolla/Tired Hands Brewing “Shilkmake/Milkshake IPA” IPA. Stockholm, Sweden/Ardmore, PA. 7.0% ABV.
• Wooden Robot Brewery “A Sour Darkly” Sour Brown. Charlotte, NC. 6.4% ABV.
• Hardywood Park Craft Brewery “Kentucky Christmas Morning” Bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Milk Stout. Richmond, VA. 10.6% ABV, 55 IBU.
• Noble Cider “Spice Merchant” Spiced Cider. Asheville, NC. 6.0% ABV.
• Free Range Brewing “Don't Dill-E-Dally” Gruit. Charlotte, NC. 5.8% ABV.
• Wild Heaven Craft Beers “Funkenrauch” Smoked Wild Ale. Decatur, GA. 7.0% ABV, 7 IBU.

Favorite Games of 2016 Six-Packs:

Jake's Picks:

Santorini
Roxley Games
Designer: Dr. Gordon Hamilton

Star Trek Ascendancy
Gale Force Nine
Designer: Aaron Dill, Sean Sweigart, John Kovaleski

Junk Art
Pretzel Games
Designer: Jay Cormier, Sen-Foong Lim

Danielle's Picks:

A Feast for Odin
Z-Man Games
Designer: Uwe Rosenberg

Insider
Oink Games
Designer: Jun Sasaki

The Networks
Formal Ferret Games
Designer: Gil Hova

We Both Picked:

Paradox
Split Second Games
Designer: Brian Suhre

Terraforming Mars
Stronghold Games/Fryxgames
Designer: Jacob Fryxelius

Scythe
Stonemaier Games
Designer: Jamey Stegmaier

Section Timestamps:

Intro
01:00 Show Housekeeping
02:28 Advance warning: SuperHot Card Game
05:10 2016 in review for Draft Mechanic
09:33 The 2016 Superlative Categories
10:09 Top News Stories
15:40 Best Artwork
18:51 Best Components
23:34 Biggest Disappointment
27:15 2016 Game I Wish I’d Played
29:12 Game I Wish I’d Played More in 2016
31:04 Best “New to Me in 2016” Older Game
33:36 Best Party Game
39:25 Best Card Game
41:58 Most Innovative
46:28 Best Dexterity Game
48:36 2016 Six-pack: Our Favorite Beer of 2016
68:00 2016 Six-pack: Our Favorite Games of 2016
101:35 Outro