#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

#64: Queendomino

Draft Mechanic Episode #64: Variants: Kingdomino/Queendomino, Queendomino On Tap, Tumblin' Dice, BONK!, Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem, Clank! Sunken Treasures, and Old Ales vs. Barleywines

Recent Plays:
Tumblin' Dice
2004,  Eagle-Gryphon Games/Nash Games
Designer:   Carey Grayson, Randy Nash, Rick Soued

BONK!
2017, Game Factory
Designer:   David Harvey

Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem
2014, Gale Force Nine
Designer:   Aaron Dill, John Kovaleski, Sean Sweigart
Artist:    Katie Dillon, Charles Woods 

Clank!: Sunken Treasures
2017, Dire Wolf Digital/Renegade Game Studios
Designer:   Paul Dennen
Artist:   Rayph Beisner, Rastislav Le, Raul Ramos, Derek Herring,  Levi Parker, Nate Storm

Variants: 
Kingdomino
2016, Blue Orange Games
Designers: Bruno Cathala
Artist: Cyril Bouquet

Queendomino
2017, Blue Orange Games
Designer: Bruno Cathala
Artist: Cyril Bouquet

On Tap:
Kingdomino
2016, Blue Orange Games
Designers: Bruno Cathala
Artist: Cyril Bouquet

Old Ale vs Barleywine:
2015 BJCP Style Guidelines (Page 30 according to the printed page numbers, pdf page 44)
2008 BJCP Style Guidlines: Category 19

Section Timestamps:

Intro

01:00 Show Housekeeping

03:44 News: Downforce expansion!

06:25 Kickstarter Updates

07:35 Recent Plays: Tumblin’ Dice

11:32 Recent Plays: BONK

19:48 Recent Plays: Sons of Anarchy

28:45 Recent Plays: Clank! Sunken Treasures

36:11 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot

37:20 Variants: Queendomino v Kingdomino

63:42 On Tap: Queendomino

68:45 Barleywines v Old Ales

75:20 Final Round

79:26 Outro

#63: Azul

Draft Mechanic Episode #63: 6 Azul Six Pack Review & On Tap, Alien Frontiers, Go Nuts for Donuts!, Harvest Dice, Beer Primer: Barleywines, and a few listener questions

Cult of the News

Kickstarters:
Roll To The Top! (BGG Page)(Kickstarter)

Recent Plays:
Alien Frontiers
2010,  Clever Mojo Games
Designer:  Tory Niemann
Artist:   Piotr Burzykowski, Karim Chakroun, Mark Maxwell

Go Nuts for Donuts!
2017, Gamewright
Designer:  Zachary Eagle
Artists: Claire Donaldson

Harvest Dice
2017, Harvest Dice
Designer:  Danny Devine
Artist:   Danny Devine, Tyler Myatt 

Review:
Azul
2017, Plan B Games
Designer: Michael Kiesling
Artist:  Philippe Guérin, Chris Quilliams 

On Tap:
Azul
2017, Plan B Games
Designer: Michael Kiesling
Artist:  Philippe Guérin, Chris Quilliams

Beer Primer: Barleywines
-J.W. Lees and Co. "Harvest Ale"; Middleton, Greater Manchester, England
-Anchor Brewing Company "Old Foghorn"; San Francisco, CA, USA
-Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. "Bigfoot"; Chico , CA, USA
-English Style: Lost Abbey "Angel's Share", Deschutes "Mirror Mirror", Wild Heaven "Civilization"
-American Style: Dogfish Head "Olde School", Stone "Old Guardian", 3 Floyds "Behemoth"

Section Timestamps:

Intro

01:00 Show Housekeeping

02:30 FBGL Championship & Wrap-up

04:58 Games News

07:42 TIME Stories News

13:24 TIME Stories: A note about Estrella Drive

16:41 Kickstarter Updates & New Projects

21:48 Recent Plays: Alien Frontiers

31:44 Recent Plays: Go Nuts for Donuts!

36:47 Recent Plays: Harvest Dice

46:10 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot

47:20 Six Pack Review: Azul

48:06 Azul: Gameplay Description

53:25 Azul: Discussion

71:50 Azul: Final Thoughts

73:23 On Tap: Azul

79:28 The Beer Primer: Barleywine

88:13 Listener Q&A

96:59 Outro

#62: Six Tasty Games

Draft Mechanic Episode #62: 6 Games About Making Food, Caverna On Tap, Shadows Over Camelot, Cytosis: A Cell Biology Game, Mission: Red Planet (2nd Edition), Problem Picnic: Attack of the Ants, and Cooking with Beer

Vote in the Fantasy Board Game League 2017 Championship Matchup!!

Kickstarters:
Bushido (BGG Page)(Kickstarter)
Book of Dragons (BGG Page)(Kickstarter) - Ends 12/20

Recent Plays:
Shadows Over Camelot
2005,  Days of Wonder
Designer:  Bruno Cathala, Serge Laget
Artist:  Cyrille Daujean, Julien Delval
Shadows Over Camelot: Merlin's Company

Cytosis: A Cell Biology Game
2017, Genius Games
Designer:  John Coveyou
Artists: Tomasz Bogusz

Mission: Red Planet (Second Edition)
2015, Fantasy Flight Games
Designer:  Bruno Cathala, Bruno Faidutti
Artist:  Andrew Bosley, Samuel Shimota, Alyn Spiller 

Problem Picnic: Attack of the Ants
2017, Kids Table BG
Designer:  Scott Almes
Artist:  Josh Cappel

6 Tasty Games for your Thanksgiving Feast:
Sushi Go Party!
2016,  Gamewright
Designer:  Phil Walker-Harding
Artists:  Nan Rangsima 

Burger Up
2016, Rule & Make
Designer: Matthew Parkes
Artist:  Stephen Gibson 

Scoville
2014, Tasty Minstrel Games
Designer:  Ed Marriott
Artists:  Josh Cappel 

Wok on Fire
2015, Green Couch Games.
Designer:  Chen Po-Chiao
Artist:  Adam P. McIver, Chen Po-Chiao 

Pie Factory
2014, Greater Than Games (Dice Hate Me Games)
Designer: Bryan Fischer
Artists: Bryan Fischer

Sundae Split
2017,  Foxtrot Games/Renegade Game Studios
Designer:  Nate Bivins
Artist:  Rehana Khan, Keith Pishnery

On Tap:
Caverna: The Cave Farmers
2013, Lookout Games
Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Artist:  Klemens Franz 

  • Stumptown Ales "Cave Dweller Pale Ale"; Davis, WV, USA
    5.9% ABV
    American Pale Ale brewed with Citra hops.
  • Quaff ON! Brewing Company "Yellow Dwarf Wheat"; Nashville, IN, USA
    4.5% ABV, 15 IBU.
    Dry hopped American Wheat Ale.
  • Adventure Brewing Company "Expedition IPA"; Fredericksburg, VA, USA
    5.9% ABV, 42 IBU
    IPA brewed to avoid strong hop punch.
  • Hitchhiker Brewing Company "A Different Animal"; Pittsburg, PA, USA
    5.4% ABV, 30 IBU
    Dry hopped sour ale.
  • Founders Brewing Com. "Rübæus"; Grand Rapids, MI, USA
    5.7% ABV, 15 IBU.
    Fruit beer fermented on raspberries.
  • Big aLICe Brewing Co. "Fistful of Rubies"; Long Island City, Queens, NY, USA
    6% ABV
    Mixed fermentation sour ale aged in red wine barrels with Montmorency cherries.

Cooking With Beer:
The Beeroness

Section Timestamps:

Intro

01:00 Show Housekeeping

02:45 Games news

08:27 FBGL Championship Update!

12:46 Kickstarter: Bushido

15:15 Kickstarter: Book of Dragons

20:21 Gamers for Cures Marathon

21:15 Recent Plays: Shadows over Camelot

30:33 Recent Plays: Cytosis

39:17 Recent Plays: Mission: Red Planet

49:55 Recent Plays: Problem Picnic: Attack of the Ants!

54:39 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot

55:29 Six Pack: Tasty Games for Thanksgiving

73:52 On Tap: Caverna

82:09 Cooking With Beer

89:54 Outro

#61: Downforce

Draft Mechanic Episode 61: Downforce, Exoplanets On Tap, Hotshots, Camel Up!, Police Precinct, Dragonfire, Mars Open: Tabletop Golf, and Craft Beer Packaging: Bottles and Cans

***Gamers For Cures***

Kickstarter:
Mars Open: Tabletop Golf (BGG Page) - Kickstarter

Recent Plays:
Hotshots
2017, Fireside Games
Designer: Justin De Witt
Artist:  Víctor Pérez Corbella

Camel Up
2014, Z-Man Games
Designer: Steffan Bogen
Artist:  Dennis Lohausen

Police Precinct
2013, Common Man Games
Designer: Ole Steiness
Artist:  Marco Primo, George Patsouras

Dragonfire
2017, Catalyst Game Labs
Designer: Randall Bills, Jay Schneider
(Boards Alive episode we referenced)

Six Pack Review:
Downforce
2017, Restoration Games
Designer:  Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, Wolfgang Kramer
Artist:   Tavis Coburn, Michael Crampton

On Tap:
Exoplanets
2015,  Board&Dice/Greater Than Games
Designer:  Przemysław Świerczyński
Artist:  Nolan Nasser, Przemysław Świerczyński 

Craft Beer Packaging: Bottles and Cans:
***Cans and Bottles: Craft Beer Packaging Trends***
The Beverage Journal: Cans vs. Bottles

Section Timestamps:

Intro

01:00 Show Housekeeping

03:34 Among the Stars app!

10:55 FBGL Update - 3 Weeks left!

14:38 KS Preview: Mars Open

21:26 Extra Life Game Day

23:00 Recent Plays: Hotshots

32:03 Recent Plays: Camel Up!

37:47 Recent Plays: Police Precinct

46:23 Recent Plays: Dragonfire

56:38 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot

57:29 Six Pack Review: Downforce

57:55 Downforce: Rules Overview

62:19 Downforce: Discussion

73:45 Recent Plays: Exoplanets

85:13 On Tap: Exoplanets

88:25 Canning versus Bottling

101:38 Outro