Stephen Conway
United States
Indianapolis
Indiana
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Howdy, Spielers.
Episode 87 is shaking out of the digital dice up and headed to a media player near you.
Show notes are here:
http://thespiel.net/?q=node/533
Thanks for listening.
Spiel on!
Stephen
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Andrés F. Pabón L.
Colombia
Bogotá
DC
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What a fun show! I'm not a dice guy myself, but I had a blast listening to the latest episode. Thanks again, guys, for taking the huge effort of bringing us such an entertaining podcast.
Just a quick comment, though. I haven't played Ra: The Dice Game yet, but I've played a lot of Ra, and while your comments on the game not having much relation to the theme does apply, the same is true in Ra. Moreover, the kind of relationship seems to be exactly the same, as all major points of the original game seem to have been "ported" here.
The pharaohs still reward the players with the most, and punish the ones with the least. The Nile still needs to be flooded, and it's still much harder to come by a flood than it is to get Nile parts. The civilization aspect still needs 5 different kinds, and it's still much harder to get many than to get one or two.
The one aspect that seems to have changed the most is the monuments, but they still seem to be somehow similarly difficult to get as in the original game, and I think the way Dr. Knizia modeled the difficulty of getting like monuments in Ra: The Dice Game can be even more exciting than the way it's modeled in Ra.
That said, I'm not as interested in getting Ra: The Dice Game. Contrary to what you guys expressed on the episode, I have a feeling that it will actually play quite similar to the original Ra, which I love and still play quite frequently. Plus, I do love the auction mechanics in the original, and the way the currency is part of the auction.
So, as much as I really want a good dice game with a bit more depth than a Yahtzee variant, I guess I'll have to pass on this one.
Oh, by the way, the index GeekList has been updated, just in case anyone's interested! 
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Stephen Conway
United States
Indianapolis
Indiana
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Hey, Andres
Good point about the four scoring areas being more directly connected to the original. We didn't make that as clear as we should have.
That said, I think my underlying point about the game still stands.
I just posted a response to a similar comment on the site. Rather than cut/paste my response, here's a link:
http://thespiel.net/?q=node/533#comment-2743
Thanks again for keeping the GeekList current. It's a great resource.
Stephen
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Matt Saunders
United States
Gardner
Kansas
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Hey guys,
I thought your comments on Hoo Hey How were very interesting, especially the part about the responses you got when inquiring about the dice in Chinatown. I had a similar experience when I traveled to China back in August. I traveled with a group from our church to teach English classes. While I was there, I was interested in picking up some traditional Chinese games. We spent a week in Macau, which is kind of like Chinese Vegas. When one of our hosts asked if there were any souvenirs I was interested in purchasing, I said I wanted to pick up a Mahjong set. I received the most interesting stare back! (I had no idea at the time that it was a gambling game.) He went ahead and picked one up for me, but he was a little extra secretive about it! Haha!
By the way, I also picked up a copy of Chinese Chess and some Go stones. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough space to bring back the whole boards. Maybe next time...
Great job, as always on the episode.
Peace,
Matt
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Stephen Conway
United States
Indianapolis
Indiana
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Your experience certainly mirrors mine, Matt.
I spent almost a month traveling in Taiwan with my good friend Allen who has family there. I asked several of Allen's relatives in Taipei where I could go to buy a Mah Jongg set and they were scandalized. Why on earth would I want to associate myself with that game? When we went to visit his relatives in the country, they taught me how to play and we had a great time. I am certain there the game is played widely in the cities as well (as I did eventually find a set), but it was fascinating to witness such a visceral reaction to the game by some. I suppose reaction to pool halls or poker/casinos has been similar here in the US.
There's trouble. Right here in River City....
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James Burns
United States
Dupont
Pennsylvania
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Ra: The Dice Game does not sound that exciting to me. I own the board game and there is just something about yelling "RA!" to place your bid for those tiles. Yes, I understand the push your luck is still there in the dice game ,but I feel it is better to draw tiles from the bag. If I wanted to play Yahtzee I would go play that game.
I am not really interested in any of the dice versions of popular board games that came out. I just saw them as a fad to get more money from the brand name.
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Larry Kruger
United States
Germantown
Wisconsin
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Great episode!
There's nothing like the feeling of rolling the dice. The more the better.
I recommend the following for anyone that needs a quick fix:
 Heroscape Marvel: The Conflict Begins Pick the Hulk and bring on the pain
Titan Serpents, Behemoths, Guardians...
Yspahan Don't forget to buy the yellow dice
Kingsburg 
Pizza Box Football Yes, even sports can be fun with dice!
Dice Town Covered nicely during the episode
I could go on, and on, and on...
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