I really enjoyed the conversations on new vs older euro games. It’s a topic that’s been on the top of my mind lately as I find myself not enjoying a lot of the more recent releases.
On the subject of Napoleon's Triumph, I think there's now a reasonable entry into that system with Triomphe à Marengo, which does a lot more than a board and rulebook revamp and rebalancing. I love the way morale now works in that game - where you place morale markers on the battlefield as a visual representation of the places on the board that matter, because that's where your men fought. It's still a faster, smaller, more closed-in version of the system you'll encounter in Napoleon's Triumph, but it really played out as its own game.
Couldn't agree more with Martin about "too many ways to score points" and one of the beauties of Brass being that you get points for so few categories of things (indutries and links). The one thing I want to add to that is I think there might be a bit of a fallacy with many boardgamers seemingly equating "many paths to victory" with "point salad", or in other words that a point salad is a prerequisite for a "multiple paths to victory" situation. Well, Brass is a game as good as any in showing that a cohesive scoring has nothing to do with "there's only one way to victory".
I actually used to try to visualize the game state of what Martin describes a as "diffused" game with "too many ways to score points" versus a game with a more focused scoring. I want to visualize that type of game with a lack of direction as a starting center point with lines taking off in all directions, lines along which you "progress" by getting points for going up tracks A, B and C and unlocking houses D, E and F from your personal player board, but you haven't really "gotten" anywhere, just scraped the surface on a bunch of mini-games... (vs the more focused game with a cohesive scoring that like Martin says has multiple paths to victory even though there is a clear direction to the same target point).
Haha, and I was just about to mention Castles of Burgundy as a game which I have zero problem with being a point salad, just because everything is beautifully centered about the sole thing of filling out your board with tiles. While you get points for various things, those things are VERY far from disconnected mini-games like they are in so many modern Euros.
Watching the begging of this and relating to the nerves on lives. All my stuff is heavily edited and am really want to do live stuff including podcasts but am still currently terrified. Appreciate the honest talk here. Great show!
I have only watched the first 15 minutes and I just gotta say it: I wish media creators were free to enjoy a con like the rest of us can enjoy a con. Edward, I saw you and Jess at Origins last in 2019 (I believe) and I didn't make a peep because I can appreciate your work AND give you the freedom to enjoy the thing THAT I'M ALSO ENJOYING!!! I hate 'live shows' during cons and all that because I know the 'cost' to make it. If I could make one slight plea: if you are a media creator: go to the cons and DO what you want. Fans, let THEM do what they want without all the weird pressure of interaction. I'd love to just hear a show or two AFTER the con that you share your experiences and hopefully with a refreshed tone because you got the same enjoyment that I did and are ready to get back to it when you get back! That is all! :D :D
An introvert charges their batteries by being alone. Being around people drains their batteries (the more introverted, the quicker the drain). An extrovert charges their batteries by being around people. Being alone drains their batteries (the more extroverted, the quicker the drain).
Another thing that is interesting to point out is the distinction between introversion and shyness. I think they're often terribly conflated because they" look the same" to an onlooker. Shyness is a emotional state while introversion is a personality trait. A typical example is a social setting with a room full of 20 new faces. A shy person will feel more at ease as time goes by (only accounting the shyness) while an introvert will just feel *less* at ease as time goes by because of the drainage of mental energy.
Two grumpy old men... I like Brass, Barrage, and Nucleum. I don't really want to play Nucleum at 4, but I don't mind the diversity of scoring. You guys ARE too similar, get Trey or someone for a little debate. All that being said, glad to hear the podcast, even in disagreement I enjoyed the listen.
