yamatai

#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

#49: Yamatai v. Five Tribes

  

Draft Mechanic Episode #49: Variants: Yamataï vs Five Tribes, Five Tribes On Tap, Parade, The Lost Expedition, T.I.M.E. Stories: Lumen Fidei, and America beers.

 News: 

Brewers Association Launches New Seal to Designate Independent Beers
Asmodee North America Moves to MAP  

Recent Plays: 

  Parade 

2007, Z-man Games
Designer: Naoki Homma
Artists: Philippe Guérin, Carsten Meil, Chris Quilliams, Yuka Saitoh

  The Lost Expedition   

2017, Osprey Games
Designer: Peer Sylvester
Artist: Garen Ewing

   T.I.M.E. Stories: Lumen Fidei

2017, Space Cowboys
Designer: Ulric Maes  
Artist: Pascal Quidault

 Variants:  

  Yamataï  

2017, Days of Wonder
Designers: Bruno Cathala, Marc Paquien  
Artist: Jérémie Fleury

  Five Tribes  

2014, Days of Wonder
Designer: Bruno Cathala
Artist: Clement Masson

On Tap: 

 Five Tribes

2014, Days of Wonder
Designer: Bruno Cathala
Artist: Clement Masson

  • Elders: Epic Brewing Co. Elder Brett; Salt Lake City, UT, USA
    9.4% ABV.
    Collaboration with Crooked Stave. Golden saison barreled with brettanomyces.
    Builders: Left Field Brewery Bricks + Mortar; Toronto, ON, Canada
    6.0% ABV, 40 IBU.
    Coffee porter brewed with Pilot Coffee Roasters coffee.
  • Assassins: Toppling Goliath Brewing Co.“Assassin”; Decorah, IA, USA
    12.8% ABV.
    Barrel-aged imperial stout.
    •Viziers: Grimm Brothers Brewhouse Sound Advice 4.0; Loveland, CO, USA
    6.0% ABV, 100 IBU.
    Rotating IPA series.
  • Merchants: Platform Beer Co. “Speed Merchant”; Cleveland, OH, USA
    6.6% ABV, 66 IBU.
    White IPA.
     

America Beer (which is not all from America, but that's fine, right, Budweiser): 

-  Prairie Artisan Ales " 'Merica " ; Tulsa, OK, USA. Farmhouse ale conditioned on Brett and wine yeast.

-    Behemoth Brewing Company  " 'Murcia" ; Auckland, New Zealand. American pale ale.

-   Dogfish Head Craft Brewey  " American Beauty" ; Milton, DE, USA. American strong ale with organic granola.

-    Mikkeller  " American Dream" ; Copenhagen, Denmark. Lager with American hops.

-  Rogue Ales & Spirits  " American Amber Ale "; Newport, OR, USA. American amber, duh.

- Stillwater  Artisanal Ales  " Stateside Saison "; Baltimore, MD, USA. Farmhouse ale.

Section Timestamps: 

Intro
01:00 Show housekeeping, upcoming events
04:12 Beer News: “Independent Brewer” seal
08:11 Games News: MAP Policies expand
10:25 Games News: Pandemic Legacy: Season 2
13:06 Recent Plays: Parade
19:43 Recent Plays: The Lost Expedition
26:26 Recent Plays: TIME Stories “Lumen Fidei” and TIME Stories overall discussion
36:20 Variants: Yamatai v Five Tribes
61:43 On Tap: Five Tribes
66:30 America-themed beers for Independence Day
72:18 Outro