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PODCAST

Two Wood for a Wheat

Patrick Flannery

Two Wood for Wheat is a board game podcast. We review and criticize board games, diving deep into the strategies and mechanisms that make them great or make them forgettable.

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All Episodes

107:30

24. Paths to Victory and Paladins of the West Kingdom

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/11/04

What are the paths we take? Why do we labor day to day, stuck on the road we chose, with no recourse but to accept our fate? Why, for victory points, of course!Today we talk about games with multiple paths to victory and how that adds to their richness. We also review Architects... Paladins of the West Kingdom. Is this colorful new worker placement game a tactical overload or does the core puzzle pay off? Find out on this episode of Two Wood for a Wheat.02:41 Race for the Galaxy and Board Game

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74:41

23. Overpowered and Clans of Caledonia

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/10/25

Hey folks, sorry for the delay - we had some rough times with editing, but we are back on a regular schedule now.This week we have special guest: Jordan Nach, noted Guild Ball/Warmachine/Clans of Caledonia champion and general misanthrope.We take a deep dive into the popular heavy eurogame Clans of Caledonia and what makes it tick, and segue into the topic of games being overpowered or imbalanced. How often are balance issues in the game or just in the eye of the beholder? (Spoiler: it's often

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70:44

22. Moving Tracks - Essen Preview & Tapestry

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/10/07

Welcome to the new sound and the new home of Two Wood for a Wheat! Tony moved back to New Jersey and we upgraded our audio to celebrate (?). Whoever claimed a divided house cannot stand had no access to an internet connection. First we struggle to narrow down the 1,100 games previewed at Essen to just five without stepping on Kickstarter and 2nd edition landmines. Next we settle down into the fertile valley which is our Tapestry review. Does Tapestry warp the very fabric of space, time, and reality

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61:42

21. Deluge - Barrage Review & New Games

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/09/23

Welcome to Two Wood for a Wheat. Today's episode Deluge features the Dice Tower Retreat and Simone Luciani's new game Barrage. We were unable to hold back the flow of information on games played at the Dice Tower Retreat. Tony talks an unquantifiable number of games (it's nine), including the quick and dirty Q.E., an auction game where the bets are only limited by your understanding of Latin prefixes, and the cult classic Dune, where Tony rode the Fremen clan to victory like some sort of large

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38:41

20. Fallen Angel - Black Angel and Gratitude

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/09/09

Tony fought his way to the front of the GenCon thralls, pushing countless children out of his way (including some he didn't even need to) to get his hands on Black Angel. See if this oversatured dice worker placement is worth the trauma, or if it's just another fallen angel. We also talk about what we're most grateful for in board games. Why is grateful spelled the way that it is? Why is it not spelled greatful? Find out this, and more, on Two Wood for a Wheat.00:55 Barrage (almost)02:00 A

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55:46

19. Pilfering Putrescent Parts - Abomination: The...

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/08/26

Today, Two Wood for a Wheat gets a little nasty when we review Abomination, the Heir of Frankenstein, a game that comes to life on the table. After that, we save your game night from the cold hands of death when we discuss how to pick which game to play. Enjoy, folks.04:36 Ishtar05:17 The Quacks of Quedlinburg06:28 Race for the Galaxy07:13 Barrage08:50 Carnival of Monsters09:55 Black Angel11:20 Tally Ho13:26 Qwirkle14:00 Amul15:07 7 Wonders Duel: Pantheon17:30

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66:43

18. Gen Con Games

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/08/12

Lots o' games from Gen Con. We plow through about a dozen games we played, from fillers as light as the delightful Point Salad, to the galactically heavy Black Angel. See what's coming down the pipeline...03:17 Tiny Towns05:01 Point Salad09:00 Cartographers14:00 Kingdomino: Duel18:27 Curios19:52 Walking in Burano20:52 Amul26:13 Ishtar35:20 Black Angel54:03 Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein01:02:41

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60:32

17. Entitlement and the King's Guild

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/07/29

We were going to name this episode EnTITLEment but thought better of it. We hit hard on the culture that supports that feeling of entitlement on Kickstarter, the culture that rages when their 3mm wood pieces are slimmed down to 2mm or that pushes all others' boxes aside to get their game to the table. We also talk the King's Guild, a 'beer&pretzels' engine builder put out by Matthew Austin through Mirror Box Games. You know where to send the hate mail... http://twowood4awheat.com/07:00 Just

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74:05

16. Worst Plays and Res Arcana

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/07/02

When you play hundreds of games and hundreds of plays of those hundreds of games, you're bound to get some bad ones. Today we look at our worst board game plays and argue about whether Res Arcana, Tom Lehman's clever new card game, makes for good plays or bad.01:28 Underwater Cities05:42 Kingsguild06:08 Tiny Towns08:04 Lorenzo il Magnifico11:03 Just One12:58 Hadara15:22 Die Tavernen im Tiefen Thal18:14 Welcome To20:52 Feature Review - Res

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69:33

15. Why We Play Games & Scorpius Freighter

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/06/18

Why do we play board games? Aren't they just mushed up dead trees with fancy stickers on top? It turns out not and they actually mean a lot to people. We examine what brought us to the strange and wonderful world of hobby board games, and review Scorpius Freighter, a game of many rondels.0:48 Tiny Towns2:44 Just One (not Welcome To)6:27 Men at Work8:17 Dogs of War13:47 Terraforming Mars 20:26 The Voyages of Marco Polo 25:09 Feature Review – Scorpius Freighter35:46 Feature Discussion – Why We Play

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58:15

14. Underwater Cities & Excruciating Decisions

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/06/03

We know it's not an excruciating decision to listen to this episode, especially when we're talking about a game as good as Underwater Cities. Listen to us rave about this card play/worker placement heavy euro, and agonize about the tensest moments in board games, those created by excruciating decisions.00:28 Lords of Hellas00:47 FEATURE REVIEW: Underwater Cities29:08 FEATURE DISCUSSION: Excruciating Decisions31:23 Twilight Struggle35:54 Race for the Galaxy37:35 Blood

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55:47

13. Whiny Towns - Tiny Towns and Downtime

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/05/20

Just like Tiny Towns, here's a small package that's crammed with content.Tiny Towns is a 20 minute spatial planning game that has as many highs and lows as your favorite big box euro. We waste no time and launch into our discussion of Downtime, highlighting mechanics that provoke it and mechanics that save the player from it. Have a great week, everybody!01:11 Welcome To...01:49 Tiny Towns02:31 Hanabi03:12 Underwater Cities05:57 New Frontiers09:20 FEATURE REVIEW: Tiny

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57:16

12. Old Frontiers - Race for the Galaxy, Roll, & New...

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/04/29

We couldn't help ourselves and review just one game. Instead, we looked at Race for the Galaxy, Roll for the Galaxy, and New Frontiers, Tom Lehman's three variations on a theme.Speaking of variations, in our feature discussion, we discuss how designers reuse their core mechanics and core themes from one game to a next, including designers like Tom Lehman, Uwe Rosenberg, Michael Kiesling, Ryan Laukat, Simone Luciani, Vital Lacerda, and Vlaada Chvátil. What we've been playing: 01:26 Men at

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56:12

11. Tiles & Tribulations - A Feast for Odin, the...

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/04/15

In the ancient Norse lands, we pillage the coasts, whale the seas, craft hammers and mail, and play tetris on the front lawn of the meade hall. Wait, what?We're talking about A Feast for Odin, Uwe Rosenberg's magnum opus. We run through the best parts of of this game and where it fails. We played it 10 times in two weeks -- King Hrothgar would be proud. Then we talk the Norwegians expansion, which goes down like a smooth glass of meade after the looser plays of vanilla Feast. Guess what though --

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46:55

10. Chartergroan - Charterstone and Color Blindness

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/03/30

A magical kingdom awaits, full of redundant mechanisms and empty story elements. Meet Charterstone, a legacy game that never figures out what it wants to be. We also talk to our friend John Gortat who is red-green colorblind about how inclusive board games are to the condition, the perils of Stephan Feld's designs, and how German game designers may not have learned their lesson about inclusivity. Finally, we also hit on Lorenzo il Magnifico, Clans of Caledonia and Fantasy Realms.All ShowsTwo Wood

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46:46

9. Positive Feedback - Positive & Negative Feedback...

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/03/13

Ever wonder what it would be like to do something, then do it again but better, and do it again but still better yet? If you answered yes, then you should be listening to our episode about feedback loops. We also talk Tony's new one eyed dog (vote on this dog's name in the comments: Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. or Patches), Tony's thoughts on Fantasy Realms which is a card-drafting filler in desperate need of a sellout theme, and Pat's opinion on Western Legends that he blatantly stole from his

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91:47

8. Board Game Woke - Exploring Our Bias (aka Why Pat...

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/02/26

So. Many. Games. On this episode, we talk about every single game that we played over the last three weeks. If you ever wanted insight into the life of a board gamer, you'll find it here. Hell, you can probably estimate our sleep schedules from this. We also explore the dangers of unconscious bias when looking at boardgames. We find that everyone has some form of bias, and they add up to our unique tastes.00:15 Intro04:45 Three Weeks of Hot Takes05:22 Riverboat13:17

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65:03

7. Birders Anonymous - Wingspan and Obsession

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/02/04

Ever wondered what it feels like to fly? Us too. That's why we played Wingspan 10 times in a row. Find out whether this linear engine builder stays aloft. Unfortunately for Pat, the experience felt more like being tied to a lead weight. We also interview Kelvin Ho, an ardent 18XX player who pretty much plays nothing else. Why does he do it? Why do people get obsessed? Why are trains so cool? Find out, on this week's episode of Two Wood for a Wheat. 00:15 Intro01:21 Gugong04:37

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50:57

6. Grognards and Grandmas - 7th Continent & 10...

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/01/22

We're stuffed. Full of too much turkey, tofurkey, and board games. Inspired by too much family time over break, we talk about games that we play with our families and gamers alike. And guess what: it's a top 10 list.We also talk through the 7th Continent campaign and what it means to bend the rules during solo gaming.00:15 Introductions01:48 Bending the Rules During Solo Gaming - 7th Continent08:04 Top 10 List: Grognards & Grandmas41:53 Honorable Mentions50:43 Easter Egg

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53:59

5. Originality is Overrated - Newton, Originality,...

Two Wood for a Wheat ·

2019/01/07

2018, What a good year. We both played between 200 and 300 games. Pat doubled the size of his collection. Tony began his 5th decade of board gaming. And we played some of the best games released so far. We run through our top 5 games of 2018.We also talk about a new love for apple-eating scientists in our review of Newton. A board game in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted upon by victory conditions. Finally, we fight back against the dark forces of originality in our topic of the week,

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