Games from the Cellar Episode 3 -- Azul

And if you don't enjoy the game you can retile...

Read more...

This is one of our baby episodes.

Not totally on topic, but don’t know where else to post. Your latest Thunder Alley and Wings of Glory episodes are the best yet. Alley had great perspective from a variety of viewpoints, and the excitement of Wings gameplay spilled over into the discussion.

I would appreciate more of a gameplay overview to visualize the discussion, and the final ratings don’t seem terribly necessary since I can’t remember what hasn’t scored a 7, but those are my only criticisms.

Our numeric ratings are as much a protest as a rating, because BGG's ratings scale is so oddly defined. Everything kind of becomes a 7 unless you're so excited about a game you're willing to skip your kid's fifth birthday party to get a play in. I think the conversation that preceeds our rating number is the best indicator of how each of us feels about a game, the numeric rating more like a schtick in our routine.

An aside, the rating definitions here at TWBG are much better.

We've been working more discussion of how the game plays into the mix, but our goal is to focus on the experience more than the rules. There's a dozen places to find the rules for every game out there, our conversation is more about our impression of the experience. Perhaps not for everyone, but we're covering games that have been available for years, so there's other resources out there.

The guy running the place (Cappster on TWBG -- I'm sure he'll show up) has really spent some time getting this thing rolling. I think we're all having fun, and adding good content to the broader discussion of gaming. That's the intent.

Glad to hear you're enjoying and thank you very much for the feedback.

it is Cappster_ - the underscore is super important.

Thank you so very much for the great feedback. I couldn't have hoped for a better crew to being doing this type of podcast with - it really comes through, at least I hope it does, that each of us have a very broad range of experiences and preferences when it comes to gaming. I think where we shine is the fact that we can have differing opinions, are able to discuss them frankly, and have a pretty good rapport that hopefully brings everything together into something interesting and entertaining. I look forward to you listening to our episode on Imperial Settlers, which is due to drop in the coming weeks. That one is going to be good.

While we try to give a very brief overview of the game, and we pepper in clarifications as needed throughout, our main focus is and has been the authentic conversation about our experience with the game. While I admit we could spend a little longer on rules, we think that is detracts from us getting into our discussion.

It's funny; we purposefully eschewed many of the fixtures of board gaming podcasts - the "what-did-you-play-this-week" segment, a news segment, new releases, etc. - but we did land on the idea of giving each game a rating. Of course, this rating is a joke. The BoardGameGeek standard for ratings makes it nearly impossible to rate anything other than a 7, and the bell curve of ratings proves it. So we took that idea and ran with it.

I think that our ratings are one of the most important parts of each show. Even though the number always lands on some variation of 7, it gives each panelist the opportunity to really sum up how they feel about the game in a very succinct way. Those few statements that lead up to the eventual 7 in themselves are tiny, concise reviews.

I'm so very happy that you are enjoying the show. I've been a part of a few podcasts in the past, and Games from the Cellar by far excites me more than any of the rest.

Thank you again for the great feedback!
-Stephen

I was on the brink of mentioning the predictable cavalcade of 7s as well. Boy, do I feel dumb, of course it was/is a joke.

Really enjoying the podcast, and I look forward to each episode! Thanks heaps for putting it together.

Go ahead and download the Wings of Glory episode please. I want it to beat out Ark Nova for our first-seven-days top spot!