Episode 118: Bring Out Your Dead
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Release Date: Dec. 27, 2010 Running Time: 134 min. Listen Now: Download: Subscribe via iTunes: See sidebar for other subscription options |
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Show us your buboes. We get Medieval and play Rattus, trying to save as many people as we can from the Black Plague.
News & Notes: Nightfall, Ubongo Expansion, Boardgame News
The List: Rattus
Table Talk: Castle Panic
Truckloads of Goober: Last Call
Game Sommelier: 5 games for new game designers
Mail Bag: Jaipur in orbit, Dice Sprites
Complete Show Notes continue after the break.
News & Notes
AEG Announces Nightfall Link
A new deck building horro themed card game with a direct-da
Ubongo Expansion Link
5-6 player expansion also includes new puzzles.
Power Grid: Theme Park Promo Card Link
A new expansion card coming to the BGG marketplace. Only a penny!
Sponsor Dave's Half Marathon Run! Email Dave
Dave is taking a trip to Disney World early in 2011 and he's running a half marathon while he's there. Spielers who would like to sponsor Dave's run, can email him with a $/mile rate (minimum $2). Proceeds will be donated to The Spiel Foundation.
The List
Rattus Official Site | BGG | Buy It
Select roles from 6 different medieval classes and try your best to keep them alive while pushing the Black Plague on your opponents.
Table Talk
Castle Panic Official Site | BGG | Buy It
A semi-cooperative game where players must defeat wave after wave of assaulting monsters to keep the castle from ruin.
Truckloads of Goober
Last Call Official Site | BGG | Buy It
Bartenders compete to fill drink orders using mini-bottles and ice cubes.
The Game Sommelier
The Challenge: 5 games for aspiring game designers to learn from
Next Challenge: 5 games to connect Rattus to Last Call
Mail Bag
Claymancer's Dice Sprites Link
Need a companion to keep your dice from getting lonely?
Miscellany
Music credits (courtesy of IODA promonet) include:
Black Death Coming Soon in Full Color by The Leg | buy the track
The Flea by Emma Curtis | buy the track
Whooping Blues by Eddie Boh Paris & The Funky 7 Brass Band | buy the track
Sick of Myself by Marshall Chapman | buy the track
Gwen Et Les Rats by Gwenwed | buy the track
Non-Ioda Music:
Flea Circus by Uiscedwr | buy the track
I'm sure there are some goofs in there somewhere. Let us know if (when?) you find one!
We forgot to mention the maximum number of rat tokens in any region on the board is 3.
Comments
Rats
Rattus is a game that's been on my radar for a while and sounds like a lot of fun.
It seems an interesting twist to have role selection where you can't actually get rid of a role unless someone takes it from you.
It led me to wonder if there is a strategy in the game where you don't take any roles? If you just slowly build up some folks on the board, without appealing to any of the classes, do you have more chance of sticking around?
As I understand it you would only lose cubes on the turn of an "A" and, on some occasions, when the "M" come up. Is this viable and if so would it 'break' the game?
One of my group got this for Christmas so I am looking forward to giving it a whirl.
oh, and I love those Dice Sprites.
going role-less
I'd like to try this strategy but haven't done so yet.
The advantages are really lack of penalties and therein lies the real quandary, I think.
The other roles give you such juicy advantages, you may find it difficult to keep up.
It might be a tortoise and hare thing, though. If you're slow and steady, plodding away without the spiffy rules breaker abilities, you're also less vulnerable to the effects of the plague.
It will be hard to resist taking a role, but I'll give it a whirl.
I'd imagine Dave will have a few dice sprites to add to the collection sometime soon. :)
Pompeii
Just catching up on this episode as I'm doing some monotonous labwork...
Rattus is definitely going on my wishlist now!
Can't believe no one called you guys out on this, but on the Game Sommelier you referred to the game as The Last Days of Pompeii, which is actually a different game (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4473/pompeii-the-last-days)
than the more well-known/renowned one with the volcano that you were actually describing (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13004/the-downfall-of-pompeii)
Just had to give you a hard time on that ;-)