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PODCAST

So Very Wrong About Games

A podcast about all manner of hobby games by Mike Walker and Mark Bigney. Bad games don"t go easy on you, so we don"t go easy on them. Thorough analysis via reviews, news, and discussion of topics in gaming. We take context seriously, we value your time, and we"re not into hype. Just because games are fun doesn"t mean we can"t take them seriously, and just because we take them seriously doesn"t mean we can"t have fun.

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All Episodes

75:29

Why Is This Game So Long?

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/09/23

We are staunchly body positive here at SVWAG, but we do prefer our bears fat. "Let me have about me bears that are fat," said Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, or he would have, had he known about the glory that is Fat Bear Week. I guess Caesar wouldn't have been totally down with the democratic aspect of the whole voting thing, but whatever! Exercise your franchise and vote for the moist chonkers bears.https://explore.org/fat-bear-week 01:38 AYURIS: Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester (Changhyun

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71:44

Star Wars: Battle of Hoth

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/09/16

We tempt fate and refer to a number of third rails in the hobby community. For one, we acknowledge a loss in Regicide Legacy, which reliably summons the chattering mobs. Further, we mention both Star Trek and Star Wars, so undoubtedly we get a detail "wrong" that will "justify" a detailed response. Look, we're experts here. We completed the Kobayashi Maru in under 12 parsecs. We're regular callers to Car Talk with Martok. Don't test us. Games Played Last Week: 01:06 -Galactic Cruise (T.K

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77:17

Nostalgia

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/09/09

"Well, that was your motherAnd that was your father Before you was born dude When life was great You are the burden of my generation I sure do love you But let’s get that straight" -Paul Simon, "That Was Your Mother" 01:34 AYURIS: Nucleum (Simone Luciani & Dávid Turczi, Board&Dice, 2023) Games Played Last Week: 04:04 -SILOS (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2025) 09:34 -Ayar: Children of the Sun (Mandela Fernandez-Grandon & Fabio Lopiano, Osprey Games, 2025) 17:46 -Ichor (Reiner

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65:29

Light Speed: Arena

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/09/02

On this day of Labour, we offer our solidarity to you. We also offer our labour, because we don't take many days off. No union for us in the opinion mines! I'd complain to my manager, but since that's me, I guess I'd be inclined to ignore it. Classic conflict on interest. The gibbons only complicate the org chart in unhelpful ways. Games Played Last Week: 01:01 -Hot Streak (Jon Perry, CMYK, 2025) 04:13 -High Tide (Marceline Leiman, Underdog Games, 2024) 09:23 -Hyperborea (Andrea Chiarvesio &

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68:56

Trick-Taking Games Redux

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/08/26

I've always chafed at the conventional wisdom that young goats are good at trick-taking games. Or, at least, ones where you are not incentivized to go null. Do they hold their cards in their cloven hooves? Do their dead eyes come to life when contemplating the vagaries of trump suits?It must be true, though, because I have it on good authority from a cartoon rabbit that tricks are for kids. 01:23 AYURIS: Envelopes of Cash (Andy Schwarz, Envelopes of Cash LLC, 2023) Games Played Last

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67:25

The Lord of the Rings: The Fate of the Fellowship

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/08/19

Losing a component is rough. Knowing that one of your games is incomplete is like having a permanent absence in your soul. It's one thing to eschew that one added expansion--that's a triumph of restraint. But that missing block in Viking See-Saw will taunt you forever, a blight on your consciousness that can never be healed. Maybe I'm exaggerating.Games Played Last Week: 00:52 -Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor (Cornelius Cremin, Pawel Mazur, & Dirk Sommer, Nemesis.Games, 2021) 04:37

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78:57

Starting Over Your Collection

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/08/12

Inigo: I am waiting for you, Vizzini. You told me to go back to the beginning. So I have. This is where I am, and this is where I’ll stay. I will not be moved.Brute: But the Prince gave orders — Inigo: — So did Vizzini — when a job went wrong, you went back to the beginning. And this is where we got the job. So it’s the beginning, and I’m staying till Vizzini comes. -The Princess Bride (who knew Inigo was a Black Sabbath fan?) 02:39 AYURIS: Federation (Dimitri Perrier and Matthieu Verdier,

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71:40

Vantage

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/08/05

"We don’t ask that you stop loving your fantasy world. We ask you stop paying money for the privilege to dream of it. If you want to read the [Harry Potter] books or watch the movies, consider buying second-hand or renting them from a library. Small changes can make sure you never put your hard-earned money into JKR’s hands." -Blacklist CGE zine Games Played Last Week: 01:01 -Through the Desert (Reiner Knizia, KOSMOS, 1998) 05:49 -Tiletum: Prospect for Silver (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini,

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68:04

SVWAG Con Report

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/07/29

A chief misgiving Mark has about the con is that he is a terrible playtester. He was able to play two unpublished games, and while the designers were gracious he is seldom able to offer anything of much substance. "This game," he might say, "has cards. And other things." Past that, for some reason, when confronted with a prototype his faculties often fail him. 01:48 AYURIS: Arborea (Dani Garcia, Alley Cat Games, 2023) Games Played Last Week: 05:00 -Phantom Division (Pete Ruth & Mark Thomas,

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72:55

#369: Take That

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/07/22

The purest juxtaposition that reveals the absurdity of "take that" effects can be found in many of your heavier games and some consims with cards. You gather the resources, marshal your forces, laboriously haul those troops hither and yon, and then sometimes have to manage some activation tokens or whatnot to finally get it on. And then your opponent plays the "nuh uh" card. Fun!01:19 AYURIS: Daybreak (Matt Leacock & Matteo Menapace, CMYK, 2023)Games Played Last Week:04:35 -Star

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77:25

#368: Shackleton Base

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/07/14

"Dear friend, if you wanna feel betterDon't let the devil make you toss this letterIf you've been crossed up by hoodoo voodooA wizard or the lizardYou got family trouble, man trouble, woman troubleNo light through the tunnelIf you're lookin' for a true friend, or a true loverOr if you've been livin' undercoverWell, I'm comin' to your town to break it all downAnd help you with all of thisI'm lookin' to help you find bliss one dayOr one way, can't

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82:24

#367: Set Up and Tear Down

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/07/07

It is remarkable to reflect on how much hobbies can demand of us, and certainly board gaming is no different. Setting aside the administrative, economic, and social burdens; we then have to spend so much time teaching, setting up, and tearing down. Alas! 23-step processes for general set up prior to the 12-step individual player board set up. It was not always thus, but here we are.01:42 AYURIS: Voidfall (Nigel Buckle & Dávid Turczi, Mindclash Games, 2023)Games Played Last Week:07:15 -Shackleton

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70:53

#366: 7 Empires

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/07/01

Apparently the American custom of the "push present" can trace its roots to the Anglo-Indian tradition of the "baby bauble", although in the latter case jewellery is the more standard gift (instead of, say, boardgames). Can we acknowledge that baby bauble is a much less crude term? Let's try to be classy here, people. There is already enough about childbirth that is fraught.Games Played Last Week:2:07 -Galactic Cruise (T.K. King, Dennis Northcott, and Koltin Thompson, Kinson Key

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71:25

#365: Small Box, Big Game

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/06/24

Walker's approach to parenting eschews what he sees as the coddling endemic in other families. He believes in competition above all else, where newbs must be pwned and even babies must git gud. "L2P" is his family motto. Some appalled anthropologists tried making a documentary about the Walker household, but they were forced to tone it down and release it as Squid Game.01:21 AYURIS: Through the Desert (Reiner Knizia, KOSMOS, 1998)Games Played Last Week:02:56 -Pocket Paladin (Joe Klipfel,

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70:42

#364: Pulling Levers

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/06/17

"Because of the long-standing mutual enmity between Meany and Brown, Meany was named among the suspects in The Case Of Encyclopedia Brown’s Mangled Corpse. Meany denied the allegations.'It’s true that Detective Brown and I didn’t see eye to eye, but I would never do something so downright dirty rotten as murder him,' Meany said. 'Besides, it’s a matter of public record that, at the time the crime was committed, I was at the North Pole watching the penguins.'"-"Idaville

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73:05

#363: The Social Contract

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/06/10

We generally frown on ad hominem here at SVWAG, ensconced as we are in our glass houses. In the case of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (known affectionately as "Ja-Jay" by no one), though, who wrote extensively about proper methods of childhood education, we shall report that he confessed to rather callously sandbagging his lover into abandoning their children (Rousseau claimed there were five of them, though records are tricky). Way to be a douchebag, Jay-Jay.01:47 AYURIS: City of the Great Machine

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66:29

#362: Rumble Nation

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/06/03

I've read several different accounts of the battle of Sekigahara, and I swear there's no mention of Kevin Bacon or anyone bleaching their hair. How am I to know if Pony Boy stayed golden? Games Played Last Week:01:42 -MicroMacro: Kids--Crazy City Park (Johannes Sich, Edition Spielwiese, 2025)04:20 -Good Puppers (Chris Cieslik, Asmadi Games, 2021)07:38 -23 Knives (Tyler J. Brown, Play to Z, 2025)15:13 -TEAM3 GREEN (Alex Cutler & Matt Fantastic, Brain Games, 2019)20:04 -Marabunta (Reiner

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57:03

#361: What Makes Longer Games Worth It

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/05/27

Walker and Mark almost come to blows over Flip 7 this week. Their disagreements over the merits of the product (Game? Experience? Way of Life? Sub "Roll a 6, Win a Cookie" distraction?) have long simmered, but the fundamental schism can no longer be ignored or papered over. They finally have it out. 02:27 AYURIS: Knarr (Thomas Dupont, Bombyx, 2023)Games Played Last Week:03:36 -Autobahn (Fabio Lopiano and Nestore Mangone, Alley Cat Games, 2022)06:39 -Scythe (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games,

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72:06

#360: Hot Streak

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/05/20

"Observers brought attention to [Gritty's] appearance, which could be construed as frightening, while The Guardian described him as an "acid trip of a mascot." Response to Gritty's introduction was immediate and sharply mixed, with many fans on social media expressing bewilderment and some fright at his appearance. Public perception of Gritty became increasingly positive as Gritty's antics, which subverted the cuddly, family-friendly appearance and demeanor of other NHL

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72:00

#359: Gibberers

So Very Wrong About Games ·

2025/05/13

"gibber--intransitive verb:to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and often foolishly"-Merriam-Webster"gibberer--noun:the hosts of SVWAG"Games Played Last Week:01:17 -Sausage Sizzle (Inka and Marcus Brand, 25th Century Games, 2012)05:22 -Landmarks (Rodrigo Rego & Danilo Valente, Floodgate Games, 2024)09:11 -Skara Brae (Shem Phillips, Garphill Games, 2025)14:20 -Moving Company (Guo Jiahui & Wu Ying, Whales Entertainment, 2025)16:49 -First Rat (Gabriele Ausiello & Virginio

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