Great show - one for the trainspotters :-)

I was a little bemused by the statement that rail games are perceived as complex - I don't see them as any more difficult than your average multiplayer strategy game. I've taught a number of people 18xx from scratch and few of them have struggled with it (well, they struggled with the sheer length of time it can take to get through a game turn but in terms of understanding there was no real problem).

I suspect it is the play length which puts a number of people off, as well as some of the over enthusiastic proponents of the genre (many of whom seem to only play rail games).

I enjoyed the "Age of Steam" coverage but I was a little surprised that you did not mention its recent reprint (available at Essen) "Steam". It's basically the same game but stripped down a little bit. Sorry, Dave, the dice are gone in the new version but it does play more forgivingly than its predecessor.

As you went through the Sommelier list I found myself nodding in fervent agreement to Stephen's comment that there are just boxcar loads of games out there which are 'train games without the trains'.

The most obvious to me would be Canal Mania where you are building canals and then shipping goods - it is a train game with barges.

Our concepts of relative complexity continue to diverge. (There's a sentence for ya...) If you recall, I found Monopoly more complex than Careers while you found Pandemic more accessible than Ghost Stories. Then there was the different perspective on elementary schoolers and Hare and Tortoise. This one though takes the cake; while I've not yet had the privilege of playing Age Of Steam, I'm not sure how the dizzying beast you describe could be easier to get into than crayon rail games, which are to me to as comforting and low impact as fireside soup. Wait for the winter weather to come, pick your favorite soup, your lucky color and your preferred continent (I recommend India Rails myself, but you can go around the world and beyond by this point). You may find that while more involved than Transamerica, it's a cozier experience than Age Of Steam.  Ticket to Ride falls between the stools here so that I usually find myself wanting to either relax completely and play Transamerica or properly gear up for one of the Mayfair games. (Weirdly enough, Power Grid was originally- as Funkenschlag- a crayon game.)

How does the Man in Black fit into that music rights discussion, I wonder?

Oh and "feeling fat and sassy?" Are you a Don Hertzfeldt fan by any chance?