So Very Wrong About Games

Pickaxe

A podcast about all manner of hobby games by Mike Walker and Mark Bigney. Bad games don't go easy on you, so we don't go easy on them. Thorough analysis via reviews, news, and discussion of topics in gaming. We take context seriously, we value your time, and we're not into hype. Just because games are fun doesn't mean we can't take them seriously, and just because we take them seriously doesn't mean we can't have fun.

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421 episodes
Updated July 21

Episodes421

Newest first

Oct 16, 2018 · 1 hr 17 min
#41: Omega Protocol and Keeping Games Moving
I hope you're planning your Arkhipov Day festivities. Don't get me wrong, I dig Stanislav Petrov as much as the next guy, but for my money Vasili Arkhipov is the man, and he doesn't get nearly enough credit. Because, you know, he either saved your...
Oct 2, 2018 · 1 hr 15 min
#40: Gaslands and The Perils of Collecting
We're always wondering about what comes next, always on the lookout for the next big thing--both in games and broadcasting. That's why we're open to being elevated to the judiciary, so the next time there's a search committee feel free to add Mark and...
Sep 25, 2018 · 1 hr 17 min
#39: BattleCON and Catch-up Mechanics
We would like to apologize for the poorer audio quality of this episode. The editor (Mark) would dearly like to attribute it somehow to Walker's illness-induced stupor, but try as he might he can't seem to blame the victim on this one. The microphone...
Sep 18, 2018 · 1 hr 13 min
#38: Too Many Bones and Difficulty in Co-ops
Sometimes, dear listeners, the news does matter, and in such instances our hosts feel under-equipped to address them properly. Such is the nature of crippling incompetence. I mean, they could have devoted their time to worthwhile pursuits (like...
Sep 11, 2018 · 1 hr 19 min
#37: Sentinels of the Multiverse OblivAeon and Explaining Rules
Oh, hello there. The door's unlocked--just come on in. Please pardon our informal setting, here, we just want you to be comfortable. I suppose, though, that a tone of complete familiarity shouldn't prevent us from doing introductions. I'm the episode...
Sep 4, 2018 · 1 hr 27 min
#36: The Voyages of Marco Polo and Walker's Top 10
Walker, ever truculent, finally succumbs to the inevitable and submits his top ten. Now we can move on, and it is best we do, as there is no shortage of games to be played! Gencon is over and the new releases flow like sweet chocolate milk. Despite...
Aug 21, 2018 · 1 hr 20 min
#35: Root and Mark's Top 10
We are but slaves to your whims here at SVWAG, and when our massed masters demand that we dance for their amusement, we must perforce oblige. We resisted for a time, but clearly that was folly. The people have spoken, and their demands will be met: we...
Aug 7, 2018 · 1 hr 15 min
#34: Tigris & Euphrates and Yellow & Yangtze
Since the dawn of time, predating recorded history, there has been the genius of Reiner Knizia. The Code of Hammurabi taught its readers how to play Tigris & Euphrates. Enkidu had his own custom set fashioned from the bones of his enemies. Gilgamesh...
Jul 24, 2018 · 1 hr 13 min
#33: Thunderstone Quest and Mechanisms We're Tired Of
This episode enters the Fire Swamp, the reputed lair of the R.O.U.S.--the Rodents of Unusual Size. Mark doesn't think they exist. We go in-depth into Thunderstone Quest, a long-serving deckbuilder that is a loyal as a farm boy. Walker announces that...
Jul 10, 2018 · 1 hr 21 min
#32: Street Masters and Etiquette
This week we stumble on the terrible, horrifying fact that there are other hobbies than boardgames, and we take pity on those poor lamented souls who are enslaved in their thrall. Just what is scrapbooking, anyway? Walker has a theory, but no one is...
Jun 26, 2018 · 1 hr 16 min
#31: SEAL Team Flix and Getting Rid of Games
A reminder that there is no necessary connection between our feature game and our topic. We would not divest ourselves of SEAL Team Flix, The Only Game that Matters, if for no other reason than we need it on hand so we can talk about it and only it...
Jun 20, 2018 · 1 hr 7 min
#30: Food Chain Magnate and Game Storage
It is important to stay flexible, and follow the ways of those who practise judo and jiu-jitsu. That is why we choke people as often as we can. Wait, that's not right. Rather, it is important to be supple and adaptable. We had intended to be on time...
Jun 12, 2018 · 1 hr 12 min
#29: Kemet and Turn Order
We here at SVWAG take acronyms very seriously, but sometimes get carried away with such abbreviations. As a public service announcement, allow me to remind all of you that TI:4 stands for Twilight Imperium 4th Edition. It is purely coincidental that I...
Jun 5, 2018 · 1 hr 13 min
#28: Keyflower and Games that Are Too Long
You can have too much of a good thing, which is why Mark always tries to interrupt Walker before he can finish a single sentence. Of course, "too much" is a highly subjective idea, whether applied to game length or pie. This week Keyflower is...
May 29, 2018 · 1 hr 16 min
#27: Hyperborean Bag-Building and Rating Systems
We delve into the culinary arts here at So Very Wrong About Games; having failed at math but excelling in eating, both Mark and Walker eschew conventional rating systems for gastronomical ones. They had considered rating the rating systems themselves,...
May 22, 2018 · 1 hr 25 min
#26: Crisis at Steamfall and Interview with Chris Cieslik
Walker encourages you to tell friends about So Very Wrong About Games, despite his not listening to the podcast. Mark has recommended it to him, but apparently Walker's contempt for his co-host's opinions is not limited to games, but extends also to...
May 15, 2018 · 1 hr 7 min
#25: Lords of Hellas and Problematic Expansions
Mark tries to come to terms with his outright hypocrisy, largely on the basis that he feels it's acceptable for him but not for everyone else. Walker yearns for glory, but learns to his disappointment that glory is not legal tender and cannot be...
May 8, 2018 · 1 hr 21 min
#24: The City of Kings and Interview with Eric Reuss
As it happens, games do not spawn ex nihilo, fully armed and armored from Zeus' forehead. I'm certain that's what most of you believed, but it's not true! To confirm this implausible fact, Mark sat down with Eric Reuss, the designer of Spirit Island,...
May 1, 2018 · 1 hr 10 min
#23: Mage Knight and Player Scaling
This podcast scales seamlessly from 2 to an in finite number of listeners, but we're not nearly that optimistic. Walker sometimes dreams of a solo mode, but sadly Mark insists on speaking. Mark and Walker again turn to Vlaada Chvatil, a designer who...
Apr 24, 2018 · 1 hr 11 min
#22: Feudum and Euro/Ameritrash Hybridization
You wouldn't like Mark when he's angry, but that's probably attributable to his being fundamentally unlikable at the best of times. At any rate, Walker tries to rein him in from ranting too long about obvious component failures, publisher laziness,...