G*M*S Magazine Podcast Channel

Yes friends we have another interview with a Kickstarter project, and this one could very well be of interest! Although it looks like a racing game, it’s not a racing game. Even though it looks like a funny and silly game it’s not…. err… sorry, yes, it is a funny game that can get very silly. You see, Thrash Car is the sort of game that, with the right group and if you’re prepared to be mean to your friends, could be really good fun indeed and the creators are making a lot of effort to make sure it turns up really, really fun. But, as usual with Kickstarter, knowing what to expect is a bit of a lottery because you’re paying for a product that doesn’t exist yet. So doing these interviews is the way from G*M*S Magazine to actually try to find out as much as we can and tell you all about it so you can make an informed decision. Hope you do make an informed decision and hope you tell me what it was

And the biggest and best convention of the year is almost under way. Michael Chamberlain and I have been hard at work - well, mostly Michael - finding out what could be interesting and what games we want to take a proper look at this year. Also who we'll be interviewing. We asked a bunch of people to send us some clips as well, describing what their games are all about and why we should be interested in getting them. This episode is a one-off and is a wee-bit longer than usual, but we have *so much* stuff to go through that we, simply, couldn't make it any shorter. Still, hope it'll give you a good idea of what's to come and, if you can't make it to Spiel, head to your shop and start pre-ordering/nagging them to get the games you want. There are many game you want. Trust me...

I got this game because Stephen Buonocore sold it to me. Literally. I was in Spiel last year, went to see the man, saw he had a ton of really cool games and asked him "What should I buy from you that's good?". Almost without hesitation, he reached behind him and said "Get this! The board is gorgeous and is a terrific game!". So I did. Now I sit around a table with Michael Chamberlain and Max Murray to play it for the first time and find out if Stephen gave me something good, of if I should give him a call and piece of my mind. And some of you know I have a dirty mind. A piece of that wouldn't be nice! Hope you enjoy the show!

The first in this series of episodes in which me, Paco and my better co-host, Vickey talk about RPG stuff. Not reviews, not Kickstarter projects and not too much nonsense either (thought, come on... it's me! Some nonsense must be included!). In this episode we talk about how to give feedback to both players, writers and GMs after a game. There is also another installment of Reading to Rob, in which I lend my accent and rather strange diction and read a story. To commemorate the fact that they were awesome beyond belief, scary as hell and tremendous story tellers, I'll read in each RPG room a Brothers Grimm story. Really, really grim. And we also discussed how to improvise. What happens when your group of players decide to do something totally unexpected and leave you wondering what to do? So get your drink, sit back, relax and be comforted by the fluffy cushions on the sofas of the RPG room!

If you're not tired of hearing me to on about it, please let me give you another reason to be. I have *loved* Aventuras en la Marca del Este since I saw it printed for the first time in 2010. I bought two copies of the game and I showed it around to some British companies because I thought that, with the amazing artwork, lovely layout and the perfectly crafted OSR feel of the game, it should be translated into English for a lot more people to enjoy.Recently, a new company called Inter-Dimensional Publishing was created in order to get this game and bring it into English. At last someone saw sense!With a current (current at the time of publishing this podcast, of course) Kickstarter campaign, I thought it'd be a good idea to talk to two of te people behind this project and ask them why they have gone through the efforts of getting this campaign going.Get ready for some serious Spanish accents here. I have to say it was quite strange to interview two Spanish people in English, but I Figured most of you wouldn't be able to understand much, and the point is for you guys and gals to understand so you head to this project and give them some love and money. Ideally money.Hope you enjoy the show.

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Joost Das, the creator of Ortus, an abstract game for two players that’s been funded in Kickstarer at the time of publishing this podcast. Since we were lucky enough to get a copy of the game before the campaign ended, we thought a podcast episode would be a good idea. Michael Chamberlainand Max Murray sat down and played the game for you. If you have some spare money this month, you might want to head to the Kickstarter page for the game and pledge your money. If the Kickstarter campaign has already finished, then you might want to buy the game, because it sounds like it’s a pretty decent one

Hello everyone, todaywe are talking about playing Mice and Mystics for the first time! Please, do come in and make yourself confortable. There are still some seats at the front here. The Boardgame Review Room is open! Today we take a look at Mice and Mystics, a game from Plaid Hat Games that took the world by storm and showed how dungeon crawlers are done. Not just that, it also showed the world that family games can be challenging for adults and children alike while being mega fun. And that they can be gorgeous too! You might think after reading my introduction you don’t need to hear the podcast and must head to the shop to get a copy of this game, but since the podcast is less than 30 minutes and it’s going to take you at least that time to get to your shop, you might as well listen to us talking about the game on your way there. Enjoy the show

Kickstarter has open the door to countless games companies and games (literally countless… I can’t many) and it’s both very good and very interesting to see how some companies have gone over the hurdle of not having a bank account in either the USA or the UK in order to start their projects and see them succeed. Fable Smith is one of those companies. Based in The Netherlands, Joost Das is the brain (and I literally mean brain… wait until you hear in the podcast what he used to do before he went into game design) behind Ortus. Ortus is a two players game with an enormous strategic aspect in which warriors fight, lots. I won’t say much about the game here because Joost does a much better job of it and the point is for you to listen to the podcast. So there. Enjoy the show and below is the video so you can see what Ortus is all about.

It is a well known fact the board game world is full of pretty amazing people. Resilient, creative, clever, friendly… Quite frankly it’s a joy to behold. Of course sometimes you find the odd weirdo who is not pleasant and who you’ll try to avoid for the rest of your life. Stephen Buonocore couldn’t be further from that sort of people. He is one of the most approachable, genuine, clever and shrewd people the gaming world has ever seen. Yes, I’m sure you know people who are just as awesome as Stephen, but what would make Stephen the winner is that he would probably agree with you. He is also humble. But he’s mostly clever. Clever enough to make an incredible success story out of Stronghold Games. The company that started by bringing Survive: Escape from Atlantis back from gaming obscurity to turn it into a game everyone should have on their shelves, continued by getting out quality game after quality game that other companies wouldn’t touch for being too risky. With a plethora of games being launched at Spiel and soon after being sold in the USA, Stephen also has been one of the small companies who realised the potential of the European market and sets sail to Germany every year. A lot of companies should pay attention to him! And so should you! So please step into the Boardgame Interview Room, take a seat and have a good listen. You’ll learn a lot

The first episode of our new podcast show in which some experienced gamers take a look at a game and we tell you our impressions about both the production of the game itself, and what it is like to play the game for the first time. The aim? To find out if the games you’re interested in will be worth playing more than once! In this show we take a look at Jason Tagmire’s Pixel Lincoln. Pixel Lincoln came out a few months ago after a very successful Kickstarter campaign and pays homage to games and consoles from yesteryear where 8bits was still strong and 16bits machines were king and queens. A light deck builder, it aims to be a game for all the family with easy to pick mechanics, terrific art work and a healthy dose of un thrown in. But does it do the trick? You’ll find out in this episode

By Paco Garcia Jaen Welcome back friends to the last episode of the G*M*S Magazine Podcast. Every since the podcast started, and that’s over three years ago now, I’ve been addicted to it. What started as a once a month endeavour quickly became twice a month, then weekly, and then more often than that with various different shows. We’ve had dozens of interviews with amazing people and amazing games. Some terrific Kickstarter projects and some not so great, but all taught us something. Now things have to change. Unfortunately I don’t have time to look after the production of the podcast, the videos and the main site, so need to delegate and, at the same time, take the opportunity to diversify too. So the podcast goes away, but not the podcasting channel. In fact, that is going to grow. From now on, the Podbean account we have, since it’s a lot bigger and has more storage space than I can fill in one month, will become a podcast channel. What does that mean? It means you’re going to get more episodes of more shows about more subjects and topics of gaming interest. We’re going to have as many Rooms as G*M*S Magazine Mansions can host. Starting with The Boardgame Room, The RPG Room, The Boardgame Interviews Room and RPG Interview Room, The Boardgame Review Room… And more rooms to come! In one iTunes or RSS feed, you’ll get all those shows. If they are of no interest to you, then just delete it and the next one will be interesting. Just like a TV or Radio channel, you’ll have a variety of shows and you can listen to those that are interesting to you and ignore those that aren’t. This means there’s space for more rooms and if you want to have your own room and your own show, we should talk. Basically I’d like to give people out there the chance to have their own podcast without having to pay for any hosting. So there you go. The last episode and the last farewell, but not the last goodbye

The thing about Kickstarter and board/role playing games that I like the most if the amount and level of crazy, wicked and terribly original some ideas get to. Stack & Attack is one of those! In this game, from Egra Games, you become a Neanderthal who has to appease the gods by stacking rocks, which the only valuable thing you have. And the only weapon. And since everyone else is also trying to appease the gods, what better way to make sure you are the best at it than to make sure the others are rubbish at it? Exactly! So you throw some of your stones at them. Hard. Although it has a superbly cute artwork, getting an idea like this off the ground is not easy. Also it doesn’t guarantee the game will be any good. So I had to find out so you could find out and, if you feel inclined, back this game. I interviewed Jeremy Burnham, the designer behind the game, and asked him a few questions. Some of them as hard as the rocks you’ll throw at your fellow players when you’re stacking them! Hope you enjoy the interview! As usual, your feedback is most appreciated, so please do feel free to email us on podcast@gmsmagazine.com and let us know what you think! Look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy the show

Codinca is an abstract game in which players compete with each other moving and turning pieces on a four by four grid in order to create patterns with the symbols on the pieces. The first player to get three patterns out of the four allocated, wins the game. Although that’s the gist of the game, that’s not all there is to it. Some rules allow you to do special moves once per game in order to get an advantage. This game is now in Kickstarter, even though it was launched at Spiel last year, trying to get funds to be launched again, this time in a smaller and neater box than the original one. To find out why they’ve gone to Kickstarter and what plans the two creators have for the game, I asked them to come to the podcast and interview them for a few minutes to find out. I found out that, as well as creating a cool looking game, they’re actually helping people in India. One of the pledge levels in this campaign can see you the owner of some gorgeous looking pieces hand made of stone. Those pieces are being carved in India by people who are being paid a decent and honest wage for their work. With their little hammers and their simple tools, they’re achieving an amazing level of crafmanship that deserves support and reward in equal measures. Indeed a lesson some games that go to Kickstarter could mimic to hep other people in the same circumstances. Hope you enjoy the interview!As usual, your feedback is most appreciated, so please do feel free to email us on podcast@gmsmagazine.com and let us know what you think! Look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy the show

In this episode we have a few reviews, since I’ve been rather busy playing games, Mike has been busy reminiscing and Kara has been doing what any parent worthy of their name should do and is introducing a toddler to some gaming goodness! Painting War is a Spanish magazine specialised in articles and tutorials about how to do just that, paint war miniatures. It’s not a cheap one and they do pack a lot in the magazine, but is it worth buying it? Plato is a French magazine that’s been going on for quite some time now. It specialises in board games and now they’re expanding to the international market. In a market where there are few magazines, the publisher has to do very well if it is to survive… so do they? Queen Games won last years’ Spiel des Jhares game with Escape, a cooperative dice game in which the players take the roles of explorers who have to get out of an ancient temple before the doors close and trap them inside. It was truly mental to pop by the company’s stand at Spiel 2012 and I got a taste of the game just a few days ago. Dr Mike Reddy takes a look at his…err…. childhood, and remembers what Pit is all about. Awwww…. And lastly, Kara tells us how, as the chief board game buyer for Leisure Games, she prepares for Spiel and does her research.As usual, your feedback is most appreciated, so please do feel free to email us on podcast@gmsmagazine.com and let us know what you think! Look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy the show

It is quite interesting to see how some people’s names get into the minds of the public and some others don’t. This is even more interesting when we consider that the products from the non-remembered people are really popular and of undeniable quality. This is the case with the guest being interviewed in the podcast for this episode, Mike Elliott. His portfolio of games is impressive to say the least. He’s worked on Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon TCG amongst others, and createdStar Trek Fleet Captains, Thunderstone, Quarriors and more. You’d expect with those games under his belt, it would be easy for him to get publishers to agree to gethis games out in no time. Things are not as simple, though! In his latest game, Sangoku, he’s teamed up with Game Salute to bring his latest creation, Sangoku, into production. Sangoku is a game ofepic battle with roots ina game with thousand ofyears historywith a seriously lovely looking oriental theme and artwork. As usual, your feedback is most appreciated, so please do feel free to email us on podcast@gmsmagazine.com and let us know what you think! Look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy the show