geek
Recently Viewed
Hot Games
Agricola
Battlestar Galactica
Race for the Galaxy
Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear! - Russia 1941-1942
A Touch of Evil, The Supernatural Game
Puerto Rico
Arkham Horror
End of the Triumvirate, The
Stone Age
Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition
Settlers of Catan, The
Pandemic
Wabash Cannonball
Dominion
Power Grid
Twilight Struggle
BattleLore
Reiner Knizia's Decathlon
Risk
New World: A Carcassonne Game
Tomb
War of the Ring
StarCraft: The Board Game
Scepter of Zavandor, The
Carcassonne
Tigris & Euphrates
Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization
Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game
Caylus
Race for the Galaxy: The Gathering Storm
Descent: Journeys in the Dark
Age of Conan - The BoardGame
Titan
Agricola Z-Deck
Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition
Brass
Memoir '44
Shogun
Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery
World of Warcraft: the Adventure Game
Galactic Emperor
Ticket to Ride
Scrabble
Kingsburg
Jamaica
El Grande
Descent: Tomb of Ice
Batavia
Arkham Horror - The Black Goat of the Woods Expansion
Witch's Brew
Rules | Subscriptions | Bookmarks | Search | Account | Moderators
Tom Vasel
flag
Avatar
0405060708
The Board Game Podcaster Awards have been announced.

Best Gateway Game - On Board Games
http://onboardgames.net/

Best Game from a New Publisher - Garrett's Games and Geekiness
http://web.mac.com/dwgteach/iWeb/Garrett%27s%20Games%20and%2...

Innovative Concept - Boardgame Babylon
http://www.boardgamebabylon.com/

Best Game from a Small Publisher - The Dice Tower
http://www.funagain.com/control/viewblogpost?contentBlogPost...

Game of the Year - The Metagamers
http://themetagamers.com/

(Note: Some of the podcasts may be posted a little later - but all should be posted this week.)

Donald
flag
Game Designer
Avatar
07
The On Board Games episode is posted here: http://onboardgames.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=248032
E.R. Burgess
flag
Avatar
0405060708
Walsfeo wrote:
The On Board Games episode is posted here: http://onboardgames.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=248032


Four of five so far - we've been assured that The Metagamers show is on the way soon! Only fitting, as they will announce the BPA for Game of the Year.

...Sheylon
www.boardgamebabylon.com
Chapel‽
flag
Avatar
0405060708
Best Gateway Game - On Board Games
thumbsup

Best Game from a New Publisher - Garrett's Games and Geekiness
:what:

Innovative Concept - Boardgame Babylon
thumbsup

Best Game from a Small Publisher - The Dice Tower
thumbsup

So far not bad.


Mark Haberman
flag
Avatar
0405
After clearing up some technical difficulties, we will be posting sometime later today, or tomorrow morning.
Jonas Fowler
flag
Avatar
Where would be a good place to discuss the winners? here?
Tom Vasel
flag
Avatar
0405060708
Sure!
Mark Haberman
flag
Avatar
0405
The Metagamers' episode is posted here:

http://themetagamers.com/index.php?post_id=248714
Jonas Fowler
flag
Avatar
Okay I need to expand on this more later, but since I'm at work I need to cut it a little short for now. It should be noted that I am a big supporter of what you guys were trying to accomplish as can be seen in my posts on the other thread about this subject. I am not bothered so much by the choice of winners, since it would be wrong of me to say that any opinion that does not agree with mine is completly wrong, however that is most of the time the case. :D

My Gripe for now is on the execution. It has been admitted by the podcasters that they have not played all these games, which is not a complete negative since it's probably hard to get everything played, however I was bothered that in what seems most cases they didn't play a lot of the games, which does cast some doubt on the final decisions.
Take the Metagamers for example, all in all they didn't play 3 or sometimes 4 of the 5 games, and was just for the category they were covering, who knows how much of the games they missed playing from the other categories.
I understand that this is first run and all, but remember first impressions are the most important, however overall impressions of what you guys are doing is positive with me.

Now my first winner gripe:
TTR 1910 for Gateway game- I see that the announcers tried to spin it as this means the whole TTR game, but this is not plausible since your award is for 2006 games and TTR is 2004 i believe. Also this is not really a game at all, heck Thurn and Taxis Power and Glory expansion was more of a game then 1910, and I think it made the game even more user friendly for The base game Thurn and Taxis, then anything 1910 does for TTR.

Well got to go, I will continue my critique at later time, however I want to reiterate that I think what you guys are tyring to accomplish is very admirable.
Thanks for the Podcasting, and the time you guys put into it for Us.

Now for my continuation, however not really gripes just my opinions of decisions, that all.

Innovative Concept= Space Dealer, I can't really argue with this one at all and probably if i had a vote would pick it as well, as long as were talking about innovative concept not the game itself. I am really looking forward to other publishers taking the Real Time idea and making games with this mechanic it's really neat and revolutionary. Imagine a Mediteranian Trading Game using this realtime mechanic wow... Tom will love it for sure.

New Publisher = Gift Trap, well I've only played Gift Trap and Mr. Jack, yet read the rules aplenty on Through the ages. I would have to vote for Through the Ages jsut based on the rule reading alone. I think it probably was determined that it would win for small publisher so the award went elsewhere.

Gateway Game = TTR 1910, well I've already commented on this so not much about it. However my vote would probably go to Thurn and Taxis, Qwirkle is a great game however too abstract to be a Gateway Game. Also as I noted earlier Power and Glory really makes Thurn and Taxis a great Gateway game. Yspahan just has too much ways to score and has scared away a few new gamers at our group.

Small Publisher = Through the ages, I can't argue with this and I haven't even played the game. I have played the others and If I had a vote and would only vote for the games I've played it would go to Qwirkle. I really think Qwirkle needs some recognition, it's a great 2-4 player abstract almost on par with ingenious. However like I said i can't argue with the result here.

Game of the Year = Battlelore, well i dont' know how close the votes were, but I pretty much predicted this before the results were known. Through the ages was handicapped because I was sure it had minimal exposure to play. My choice Arkadia I know isn't meaty enough to be a game of the year winner, I am glad that it didn't get last place, that designation was to the game I thought best deserved the 5th spot Yspahan which is not a bad game just not a Very good game. If I had to make a second guess as to what the winner would be it was certainly Pillars of the Earth which I recognize as a very good game, just one that I dont' think is better then Caylus or even other similar games. My one gripe about Battlelore is that it's incomplete and was designed and marketed for only one thing to make gobs of money $$$$.

Well I do hope that this is repeated next year. I think you guys are on the right track. However do consider finding a way to get the games to the table before vote time.

Last edited on 2007-08-25 16:04:48 CST (Total Number of Edits: 1)
Mark Jackson
flag
Avatar
040607
chessduffer wrote:
My one gripe about Battlelore is that it's incomplete and was designed and marketed for only one thing to make gobs of money $$$$.


And shame on the Big Bad Game Company for wanting to make a profit & give their employees a salary & their investors some return on their investment. Bad, bad company... now go back out there & get yourself into bankruptcy like a good, ethical company should.

Turning the sarcasm off, I continue...


Battlelore is an expensive yet very playable medieval/fantasy war game with great figs, excellent customer support, a designer who's been tweaking the system for his own enjoyment for nearly 20 years, and the potential to become a permanent fixture as the miniatures/boardgaming crossover game. If it makes gobs of money, that isn't because Days of Wonder is a bunch of cynical hacks - it's because they've published a design that appeals to a wide variety of gamers.
Jonas Fowler
flag
Avatar
gamemark wrote:
chessduffer wrote:
My one gripe about Battlelore is that it's incomplete and was designed and marketed for only one thing to make gobs of money $$$$.


And shame on the Big Bad Game Company for wanting to make a profit & give their employees a salary & their investors some return on their investment. Bad, bad company... now go back out there & get yourself into bankruptcy like a good, ethical company should.

Turning the sarcasm off, I continue...


Battlelore is an expensive yet very playable medieval/fantasy war game with great figs, excellent customer support, a designer who's been tweaking the system for his own enjoyment for nearly 20 years, and the potential to become a permanent fixture as the miniatures/boardgaming crossover game. If it makes gobs of money, that isn't because Days of Wonder is a bunch of cynical hacks - it's because they've published a design that appeals to a wide variety of gamers.


Hi Mark,
I think I was a little off the mark by making my comment without any details to the comment so it seems that I have some huge issue with Days of Wonder and the game Battlelore. I actually like Battlelore the game, however I do have issue personally in how it's marketed.
I can fully understand a company needs to make money, but they do not market the game in that way. They market the extensions as optional (which in essence they are) while in reality in some of the cases it's actually seems that it's parts that were taken out of the whole, not really extensions. Also they seemed to make it clear that there was no need for a second copy of the game to get full enjoyment, unlike memoir which needed multiple games to do overlord (it should be noted though that I've never played the overlord and may be incorrect in this assumption it's just been explained to me in this way), however to really play the epic battlelore to it's fullest i'm very sorry but you do need a second copy period.
Again I understand making money, but there are right ways and wrong ways to do that. I am not saying DOW is evil, just that they have bought into the idea that it's best to keep people feeling they need more when it really should of been there to begin with. Much like Microsoft and lot's of other companies have adopted.
I can remember a computer game "Command and Conquer Tiberium Sun"?? I think that was it anyway it was the second in the series. This game had in the rule book a certain unit that wasn't in the game. Later someone found this unit and a few others in the code and made a program that allowed access to these units. EA and Westwood sent him a letter to cease distributing this tool. Everyone wondered why, until an expansion came out a little later that low and behold had these same units. Meaning that these units always existed in the game, and one of them was even in the manual, but they took them out of the game so that they could sell them in expansions.
This is how I feel Battlelore was made, it had a whole part such as that you see in Call to Arms, Epic, etc. And decided to take it out and sell as blister packs. Sure it's optional, but they just like Microsoft and EA/Westwood realized that for the mass market it's not optional it's mandatory. Because without some of them the game feels incomplete.
Anyway it wasn't the point about this post. I was just saying why I wouldn't of voted for Battlelore, but I certainly see it as a great game as a whole. So let's say that the Award for Game of the Year goes to Battlelore and it's expansions... :)
This is actually the most fun I've had in a forum post in quite some time. Hope we can keep the discussion up and enjoy eachother's opinions and insight.

edit:
I just wanted to say, that I really wished that more of the reviewers for this award played Through the Ages, I think it would of had a fighting chance maybe. I haven't played it, but it seems like an awesome game.
Last edited on 2007-08-26 01:06:28 CST (Total Number of Edits: 1)