Episode 127: Show Me The Monet
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Release Date: May 16, 2011 Running Time: 146 min. Listen Now: Download: Subscribe via iTunes: See sidebar for other subscription options |
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True Colors. Grab your brush, step up to the easel and join us for a review of Pastiche, a game about mixing paints to create famous works of art.
News & Notes: Alien Frontiers translated, Nedderman Custom Dice, Lancaster
The List: Pastiche
Back Shelf Spotlight: Masterpiece
Truckloads of Goober: Back-of-the-board art
Playbill: Munchkin Zombies
Game Sommelier: 5 games to use on a reality TV show for gamers
Mail Bag: Periodic Table dice, Toruro on Pagat, Sommelier feedback
Complete Show Notes continue after the break.
News & Notes
Alien Frontiers in Translation Ystari | LocWorks
Ystari Games will be producing French, German, Spanish, and Italian language versions of Alien Frontiers for distribution in Western Europe and LocWorks will be producing and distributing Polish and Eastern European language versions of Alien Frontiers. Both LocWorks and Ystari expect late 2011 release dates. (for a full review of Alien Frontiers, check out Episode 115: The Stars Our Dicetination)
Say Anything: Family Official Site | BGG
New edition which promises to be even more fun for kids and parents alike.
Lancaster Official Site | BGG
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. Help Henry V unify England and conquer France.
Abraham Nedderman Custom Dice Link
Carbon fiber, aircraft aluminum, machined, laser etched or screen printed, artist Abraham Nedderman makes his living creating dice of every shape and size.
Venture Forth Kickstarter
In Venture Forth, players have a party of adventurers who each have their own personal ambition. Achieving an ambition allows the player to convert that adventurer's "will" into points and to possibly level him up. All ambitions require the player to venture forth, which means moving his party from one site to another along a path. A combination of resource management, path planning, and timing will help you along the way.
Kamakura Kickstarter
Kamakura is a game of feudal Japanese warfare in which you attempt to defeat an opponent by taking their territories before they take yours; this is done by carefully choosing combinations of weapons, soldiers, and arrow barrages to attack with, while defending your own territories with a myriad of defensive techniques.
The List
Pastiche Official Site | BGG | Buy It - Starlit | BG Guy
Play tiles, collect paint cards, use the palette to trade and mix them to create famous works of art!
Back Shelf Spotlight
Masterpiece BGG | Buy It - Amazon.com
The classic auction/bluffing from prolific designer and inventor Marvin Glass.
Truckloads of Goober
Take a moment to celebrate the art that never gtes a chance to be seen while you're playing: the art on the back of the board!
An a
Playbill
Munchkin Zombies Official Site | BGG
The latest incarnation of this crazy card combat game pits players (zombies) against a bevvy of puny human "monsters."
The Game Sommelier
The Challenge: (from listener Eugene Loh - Singapore) 5 games for a reality TV show where 10-20 contestants compete by playing board games each episode.
Around the World in 80 Games
Next Challenge: (submitted by Eric Bussé) 5 games connected to sites on the Unesco World Heritage Monuments.
Pledge Drive 2011
Show your financial support for The Spiel. Help us reach our goal of inspiring 25% of our audience to make a contribution. Click here to contribute.
Mail Bag
Thanks to Scott McColgin for pointing us to Periodic Table dice!
Toruro is listed at Pagat thanks to Andrés Pabon's translation for The Spiel.
Ken Maher submitted a new game for our Games by Spielers for Spielers forum.
Music
Music credits include:
Paint It Black by Hayseed Dixie | Buy It
Mona Lisa by Conway Twitty | Buy It
Vincent by Alma | YouTube
Pictures of Pandas Painting by They Might Be Giants | Buy It
New Coat of Paint by Tom Waits | Buy It
True Colors by Gennaro Cosmo Parlato | Buy It
Errata
I'm sure there are some goofs in there somewhere. Let us know if (when?) you find one!
Sponsored Links: Starlit Citadel
Wolsung Buy It
De Vulgare Eloquentia Buy It
Sponsored Links: Board Game Guy
Iliad Buy It
Secret of Monte Cristo Buy It
Sponsored Links: Fair Game Link
Comments
Lost in Translation
Great show as always. A whole whack of information and laughs guaranteed. And how much is a "whack" of something? So many it hurts! I keep forgetting that speaking English isn't the same as speaking American. ;-)
You hosers are great eh!
a hockey term?
I wonder where the "whack" turn of phrase comes from. I'm guessing hockey, eh?
Paint drying?
Stephen - I really think you should start a history podcast. Anyone who can make the development of paint sound so interesting clearly has a gift.
Actually, in the end, the paint preperation sounded far more engaging than the game itself. While the mixing of colours is a little different thematically, and adds an educational bent to the game, it really boils down to the "same ol same ol" of trading resources for different resources - a path which feels too well trodden for me, right now.
If someone were to break Pastiche out I would happily play, but I'm not sure there is enough there for me to seek it out. Of course, we all have our own preferences and I could well be in the minority.
I loved the Sommelier. I've always liked the idea of doing a world tour playing the right games in the right places. (I once took Canal Grande with me to Venice but could not get the misses to play as she was looking for something called romance).
Hey, I see you snuck Tom Waits in again.
many gates
Maybe if we can get the History Channel to sponsor it, I could find time to add another show to the lineup...The fun of history is seeing it in context with other things, not just a dry subject all on its lonesome. Maybe that's why it works well on the show, since it's always colored by the other topics on the slate. I'm not opposed to the idea, but I think I need a TARDIS to give me enough hours to get everything ready.
As for Pastiche, it may be a game that follows a well worn path mechanically, but the sum of the whole is still a fun experience, I would argue even for those familiar with many of the gaming tropes it uses. As a game that opens a new gate to the hobby, I think it may not press every experienced gamer's buttons as you have indicated, BUT I think the more gates there are, gates of quality, especially, the more people will find a way into the hobby through a game that speaks to them. Pastiche is one amongst several, sure. But I think it does a very nice job of introducing these some gamerly concepts in a way that is very accessible to people. Should we hold it against the game that there are others that do this, too? I would say no. There's room enough for both, even if both don't merit a spot on everyone's shelf.
...and I'm out!
I have now listened to all 127 episodes. If I haven't said it before, thanks for a great podcast! Please start putting out episodes at the rate of 1 every 2 days so I can continue listening at my accustomed pace. ;)
I also recently made my first Spiel-induced purchase: I bought Ubongo, To Court the King, and Loco Motive. I've played To Court the King twice now, and I'm liking it a lot. Looking forward to trying out the other two.
Spiel on!
catching up
Heh, we'll get right on that episode release schedule.... then you can visit me in a different padded cell!
I've had that experience, too. Not just with podcasts but tv shows, too. Catching up with the current shows can be frustrating. On the flip side, when your only complaint is *I want more* I guess that means we're doing something right. :)
Good mix of games for your first Spiel inspired order. Party, puzzle and dice games. Can't go wrong with those!
Excited
Not at all episode related, and a fairly strange thing to get excited about, but I was finally able to support a sponsor! My mix of games has always eliminated all previous sponsors (it takes a pretty big retailer to feed my war game needs as well as the random family or euro game), but I just made an order today where all selections were in stock :)
...helps the Spiel too
Thanks for supporting our Sponsor! More folks that do this, the more likely they are to keep running ads on the show.
Glad they were able to scratch your wargame itch as well as the other categories. In fact, I think a selling point for both our current sponsors is they do a great job of keeping a wide selection in stock.
Paint... Ink...
I have to say, listening to the history segment after having watched this was interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fypi6dAJB8E
amazing process
Such an amazing process. And so vibrant!
Thanks very much for posting the link