5 Minute Initiative: Gravwell

Almost four months after Gen Con, Gravwell is finally out for purchase at various outlets. Marty and I have been talking about the game for some time and realized that we have not done a 5 Minute Initiative for this great game. We have corrected that with today's posting. The game was designed by Corey Young and this is his first entry into the gaming world. He has mentioned in his tweets that he is working on other games for 2014 and we look forward to his sophomore offering. Gravwell can be purchased for  $23.99 online with a MSRP of $35.00. In the box you will find:

• 1 Game Board
• 30 Game Cards (26 play cards and 4 ship/emergency stop cards)
• 6 Spaceship Miniatures 
• 1 Round Tracking Token (the white pawn)
• 1 Rulebook

The full rules can be downloaded here.

Give our 5MI a listen on Gravwell and just know that we really like this great filler game. Oh, Corey if you reading this and need playtesters for your next game, let us know :)

Was that to much of a shameless plug...

Download

Episode 29: Looks like we made it!

That is right, one year ago this month, Marty got us to sit down and begin the podcast show Rolling Dice & Taking Names. The plan was to just have fun and really just talk about gaming. Thanks to all who have listened to the show, given us some feedback along the way, and even participated in the show. We look forward to 2014 and hope to keep bringing you game information, news and just thoughts about this great pastime/hobby.

In this episode, Marty tells me all about the game Francis Drake which he got to play at our local game club. We discuss the game Coup and after playing, Marty was right, it isn't another Resistance, thank goodness. I actually like this one even though there is player elimination. We have put some of our favorite highlight clips in the show from past episodes. I am sure there are better ones out there, but these make us smile. Finally, we have a solid At the Table segment on what people are hoping to receive this year from the game club and our BGG forum.

Intro	1:30
Francis Drake Boardgame	5:30
Coup Card Game	28:00
Highlight Segment 1	37:18
At the Table - December	40:10
Outro	54:00
Highlight Segment 2	1:04:00

Download

Episode 28: Money For Nothing

As you all know if you have listened to some older episodes, Marty and I really started getting into the gaming world with Decipher's Lord of the Rings TCG. During that time, we signed up for the online version of the game developed by Worlds Apart in hopes it would give us some more opportunities to play the game that we enjoyed. It really didn't catch on with us, but we tried online card games again by delving into Magic the Gathering Online. I still have an Xbox version, a PC version and even purchased Ascension to add to my collection of card games that I can do online. I play every once in awhile, but not that often.

So where am I going with this? In this episode, we share an interview with Corey Jones, President and CCO of Cryptozoic, and he talks to me at Gen Con about HEX. Some of you might have backed HEX, you know, the Kickstarter that got $2.3 million. Corey gives a high level overview of the game and answers some of my questions about how they plan on maintaining fairness and handle trading of the cards. Because it is a MMO TCG, I might find myself involved in another online card game, at least for a brief amount of time.

Marty and I also got to play Robinson Crusoe and as you know, we have been chomping at the bit to play. Therefore, we share our thoughts on the game and then get on our Soap Box, sorry about that, and we later learn the lack of supply should be somewhat remedied in mid December. One last thing, I sat down with a fellow Dice Tower Network podcaster, Chris Norwood, and we discussed a game he designed that is currently in the hands of Game Salute. 

Robinson Crusoe Discussion	6:00
Soap Box about Zman	19:30
Corey Jones Interview	24:55
Discussion on Hex and iOS games	42:00
Chris Norwood Interview	54:00
More Eldritch Horror Discussion	1:03:30
We are out of here	1:08:30

Enjoy the show and thanks for listening

Download

Episode 27: As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly

So as far as the best comedy TV shows go, Marty and I agree that one of the best was WKRP in Cincinnati and the Thanksgiving episode ranks up there as one of the funniest shows ever done. So in  honor of that show, we use one of the great lines to title our episode. If you have never seen that episode, listen to our show and then go watch that episode, you will thank us.

So what do we have for you in this episode, it goes something like this:
MACE Con discussion - 0:00
Eldritch Horror thoughts - 2:45
War College with Todd and Alex - 21:06
At the Table: Biggest Turkey Game - 46:40

Enjoy the show and be sure to send us your At the Table for December, what game are you looking for under the tree.


Download

Episode 26: Marty's Other Brilliant Idea

This episode is unlike any other episode we have done. Basically, Marty had an idea that we should play a game and then discuss our strategy while recording. I will support any idea that allows me to play a game. So, Todd (who you have heard many times on the show) and Alex (Mr Game Club) came over to Marty's to play Lords of Waterdeep and it only took three months to schedule. We play the game and then record a show on how it went. Man, the birds were very loud that night.

There aren't many segments to this show, so I am going to forgo the usual times for the segments but I do want to point out an important announcement from The Geek All Stars about their Charity event around the 4:15 mark of the show. You can find out more information at the website.

Enjoy the show


Download

Episode 25: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

They're here...

This is our Halloween episode and we have the ladies returning to the show. I am not saying that their return is scary or the segment will give you nightmares, but the episode was released near Halloween thus it is our Halloween show. I am also not hinting that the title of the show is any reflection on marriage, just thought it would fit with the time of year, that is all. Now that those clarifications are out of the way, let's talk about the show.

MACE Convention activities, find out how to play Nothing Personal and Eldritch Horror is discussed. Casey and Vanessa (first appearance in Episode 11) give their thoughts on how to get your significant other involved in gaming and really do give some great advice. Marty and I discuss for our own benefit what is Spiel, Essen and the Spiel des jahres and the games we have looked into that will be at the show. We also have our Halloween 'At The Table' and the results from our request for you to send in your answers. Finally, if you haven't seen the post over at BGG, we got a new contest running, but it ends 10/25 @ 7pm, so act fast if you are interested in the prize.

A bit of whinning	2:20
MACE Convention	10:30
The Ladies	20:00
Back to the us	48:30
At the Table (Halloween)	53:15
Essen	57:30
RDTN Contest	01:13:30

Enjoy the show!



Download

5 Minute Initiative: Warmachine High Command

In this 5 Minute Initiative, Marty and I discuss the new Privateer Press deck building game Warmachine: High Command. The game was designed by David Carl who also did Heap for PP and part the Warmachine MKII team. High Command sales for $29.99 online with a MSRP of $44.99. In the box you will find:

• 89 Cygnar cards
• 89 Khador cards
• 89 Protectorate of Menoth cards
• 89 Cryx cards
• 15 Winds of War cards
• 15 Location cards

Marty does a great job of going over the game and how it is played. The full rules can be downloaded here.

Hordes: High Machine was just released, but it plays the same way and can be played with Warmachine. If you are looking at a different deck building game, give High Command a try. And listen to our 5MI for our personal thoughts on the game.

Download

Episode 24: Stay on Target!

Ever since Origins 2012, Marty and I have been looking at games that involve some type of dog fighting mechanic. At Origins, we tried Leviathans by Catalyst Game Labs and we enjoyed the game, but held off on getting it because, well the cost was just a little much for us. Then came X-Wing and now Star Trek Attack Wing. How do you decide? I even got a chance to play Star Trek at Gen Con 2013, but I am still on the fence, unsure of which game would I enjoy more. So, Marty and I sat down at YLGS and played X-Wing and then had a discussion in the Episode to compare the three systems. And at the end, we still haven't decided which to purchase.

Also in this Episode, Marty discusses his family's adventures in Pathfinder Adventure Card Game and Lords of Waterdeep Expansion. Finally, we close out with our discussion on the upcoming MACE convention in Charlotte, NC on November 15-17.

Intro	3:00
Kickstarter - Bones II	4:20
Lords of Waterdeep Expansion	17:40
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game	22:30
Interview: Scott D'Agostino Wizkid Games	35:25
Star Trek Attack Wing, X-Wing	45:00
Eldritch Horror Announcement	1:07:00

Download

5 Minute Initiative: Rise of Augustus

Marty and I got to play a game that surprised the both of us called Rise of Augustus (Asmodee) or just Augustus (Hurrican) depending on the publisher. The game was designed by Paolo Mori who is also known for Batman: Gotham City Strategy Game (Wizkids), Pocket Battles (Zman), and Libertalia (Asmodee). Augustus sales roughly for $27 online with a MSRP of $39.99. In the box you will find:

• 88 Objective Cards
• 50 Wooden Legions                            
• 23 Mobilisation Tokens
• 12 Reward Tiles
• 1 Cloth Bag
• 1 Scorepad

The objective of the game is to have the most points when a seventh objective is collected by a player. Each player starts with three objectives and as they complete one, they get to pick from five that are laying out on the board.You complete an objective by covering up the icons with your legion meeples. To cover up an icon, it must be drawn from the bag by the town crier. That is the basics of the game and Marty goes into more detail in the show. Overall, Marty and I really did like the simplicity of the game but there is enough strategy that would make even the hard core gamer enjoy it. This is actually one that I am looking to add to my collection because it would work well with my gaming group. There is enough suspense from the drawing of the tokens and enough strategy to keep everyone engaged. And with 88 objective cards, this game offers a considerable amount of replay-ability.

Download the English rules here


Download

Episode 23: Eww that smell

Yes, we promised not to use song titles awhile ago, but this one just fit. In this episode, we do one final batch of Gencon 2013 interviews. We still have a few left, but those will be spread out over the year. One of the big items in this episode is the chance to win $2000 at Square Shooters, the guys that brought you the dice that have the playing card suits on them. Be sure to listen to that as well as head over to their website to find out more details. We are still working out the details for a video and please be sure to send us your response for our At The Table segment. The question for October is: What game do you play to get you in the mood for Halloween? 

Intro - Run for you life Candyman	1:00
Marty's has a Brilliant Idea	2:30
RDTN Podcast Projects	7:30
Augustus Game Overview	10:00
Ted Alspach - Ultimate Werewolf Inquisition	15:00
Dan Yarrington	25:15
Melody - Smirk and Dagger	34:15
Sean Garrity - What's He Doing In There?	39:35
Square Shooters - Win $2000	42:06
In Closing	48:00

Download

Episode 22: Survey says...

The Cool Stuff Inc contest has come to a close and thanks to everyone who took the time to either join our BGG guild, do an iTunes Review, or fill out the survey. If you did each of those, thank you three times.

Congratulations to Traci Weiland, the winner of our drawing. Over in the BGG forum, we got a post going to help Traci figure out on to spend that money, so if you are so inclined, give some helpful advice but she has decided on Memoir '44 but sure the mind can be changed.

Marty and I are still reviewing the comments received and all the feedback is really helping us structure the show in the future. So in this episode we discuss Marty's experience at Dragon Con in Atlanta,  the survey results, and and interview with Patrick Connor of Arcane Wonders.

Dragon Con	.1:15
Survey Says	27:00
Patrick Connor - Mage Wars	49:26
Closeout	01:05:00

Yaya, Marty and the boys

Download

Pretty Graphs from the survey

Episode 21: Gen Con Interviews, Pt. 1

Episode 21 continues the Gen Con coverage with various interviews that designers and producers were kind enough to give me. And let me again say sorry for calling Mr. Buonocore by the incorrect first name. I do not know why that was stuck in my head, but boy did I blow it.

Cool Stuff Inc. $50 Gift Card Contest	2:00
Seth Jaffee - Tasty Minstrel Games	4:00
Stephen Buonocore - Stronghold Games	21:30
Corey Young - Gravwell	33:15
Richard Launius - Legends of the American Frontier	45:10
Closing Remarks	58:00

Download

Episode 20: Post Game Wrap Up - Gen Con 2013

Stick a fork in it, Gen Con 2013 is done. Marty and I talk about a newbie's experience at Gen Con, mine. We discuss some of the games I got to demo, some of the people I talked to, and just the overall experience.

Game: Eldritch Horror Discussion	4:30
Game: What's He Building in There	14:30
Game: Gale Force Nine, Firefly	19:00
Gen Con Tip 1: Decide to go and commit	23:00
Gen Con Tip 2: Take a friend	26:45
Privateer Press: High Command	31:00
Dice Tower Experience	33:00
Gamers and Bikers come together	42:30
Gen Con Tip 3: You can always buy later	45:00
Fantasy Flight In-Flight Report	48:00
Catalyst Game Labs Interview	53:30
Close out	1:07:00

Since we recorded this podcast, Marty and I have had the opportunity to play Shadowrun: Crossfire Demo from Catalyst Game Labs and we are both looking forward to this one. Additional Interviews are in coming in Episode 21 so stay tuned, we will have it out shortly.

Download

5 Minute Initiative: Chaos & Alchemy

Chaos & Alchemy is a game designed by Michael Iachini and published by Game Salute. At this time of this writing, the game is live on Kickstarter

In the game, you play the role of an alchemist who is performing experiments in order to learn how to turn lead into gold. Experiments are in the form of cards that can be drawn during the game and can be played on your turn when you have successfully performed experiments.

Success or failure of an experiment is determined by rolling three dice and comparing the value of each die to the current value of the fortune die. If it is equal to or higher, that counts as a success, if not, it counts as a failure. Successes can be used to draw more cards into your hand or to play cards from your hand. Cards can be experiments that count towards the games goal of 10 points, they could be action cards that give an instant ability or they may be misfortune cards played on other players in order to make it harder for them to reach their endgame goal.

If doubles are ever rolled on the dice, the player will re-roll the fortune die giving a new value that future experiments must meet.

This is light, fast game that involves a lot of player interaction. As with any dice game, a certain amount of luck is involved, but sometimes it takes luck to succeed in a laboratory.

Here is my family's thoughts on the game.


Download

Episode 19: The wait is over - Gen Con

Yes, the year long wait is over and Gen Con is on us. While many of the board gaming faithful will not be able to attend, it is estimated that there will be over 41,000 people in attendance this year. And here at RDTN, I, Tony, will be in attendance for the first time. It is scary, it is daunting, and I am clueless. So Marty spends some time giving me advice and how to prepare for Gen Con in the first part of the show. We then hear from others on what games they are looking forward to and then we smoothly transition into our Top 5 games. As always, our closing thoughts include various nuggets of wisdom and more importantly how to win the $50 CoolStuffInc Gift Card.

Gen Con Food Advice	4:00
Parking at Gen Con	6:10
Bags to take to Gen Con	8:20
At the Table	12:05
Our Gen Con Top Five	18:30
Closing Thoughts	56:00
CoolstuffInc Contest Reminder	01:02:00

Download

5 Minute Initiative: Dungeon Roll by Tasty Minstrel Games

One of our first blogs was on a Kickstarter called Dungeon Roll designed by Chris Darden and brought to market by Tasty Minstrel Games. The game arrived and Marty and I wanted to get a 5 Minute Initiative out quickly on this game after our initial plays. There is a great How To Play video out there and the rules are quick and simple. As I state in the podcast, you roll dice to set your adventurers, the dungeon lord rolls dungeon dice depending on the level of the dungeon you are on, defeat the monsters with your adventurers, and see if you want to go on with that level defeated based on what is left in your party of adventurers. Each player gets to go to the dungeon three times and whoever has the most experience points at the end of the third delve wins. Once again, the How to Play video does a great job of explaining, give it a watch.


Marty and I both enjoy this game as a filler and the theme really is a positive for this push your luck type of game. All dice games have down time, but since the dungeon lord is a different person and they have something to do, there is less in this game than in others in my opinion.

At this price point and the quality of the dice, these bad boys are solid, and with future expansions planned, this could be a good game to add to your shelves if you are looking for a Zombie Dice replacement.


Download

5 Minute Initiative: The Agents Card Game

In this segment, Marty and I review a prototype copy of the card game The Agents, which is currently on Kickstarter. The game is a card game, plus on my side because I love card games, that involves a lot of interaction between players. In the game, you are trying to score 40 victory points before you opponents by playing Agents in a shared area known as the Faction. Factions are shared between the opponent to your left and the opponent to your right. So, you are sharing two sets of cards (factions). This concept is very important to the game for it provides one of the means to score points and causes interaction in the game between players. You also have missions that score points and these missions are only for you. So you must balance between your factions and missions to secure victory.

Marty spends the first part of the episode discussing the rules and you can get them here. One thing we forgot to mention in our discussion is that drawing cards from the draw piles is not automatic, you have to spend victory points in order to draw cards so you are having to judge when to give up points to get cards. Another nice mechanism in this game to make you have to think.

If you aren't sure this game is for you, they have the print and play ready to go along with the rules, so give it a try. This game has been backed by RDTN and we look forward to receiving our copy.


Download

5 Minute Initiative: NanoBot Battle Arena

At Origins, my family had the privilege of previewing a new game from Derpy Games called NanoBot Battle Arena. This is a tile laying game where the goal is to take your set of NanoBots and make the longest chain possible. Meanwhile, your opponents are trying to thwart your plans as they seek to create the longest chain.

Currently the game is in the funding process on Kickstarter with game entry point of $25, but the fine folks at Derpy Games sent us a prototype copy to play and give our thoughts on. Since my family had played it at Origins, I thought it might be good to get their thoughts on the game especially since this can also be viewed as a very family-friendly game. Well, one way to measure how good something is comes down to if you are willing to take the time to tell or teach others about it. That is exactly what my sons did, they taught others how to play.

So what were everyone's thoughts on the game? Listen to this installment of the 5 Minute Initiative and find out!

Download

Episode 18 - No Parking on the Dance Floor

We promise that this will be the last song reference we use for the naming our podcast. Ok, let me restate that to say, we will do our best to refrain from using song references in our episode titles. Who am I kidding, I am sure Marty and I will do it again.

In Episode 18, Marty and I talk on a genre know as Party Games. These games are the ones you bring out to get the party going, keep the party going, end the party, or kill the party, depending on the crowd and the game. These games serve a great purpose of getting people involved and socializing with one another. Party games can't be all bad either or TV networks wouldn't do shows involving games.

We also bring back one of our original segments Casual Corner. Marty talks about Dixit and I give my two cents on my favorite party game Wits and Wagers.

For your listening pleasure:

• GenCon Discussion - 02:00 
• Big Announcement - 05:00
• Video Games...what? - 09:15
• What are you playing - 13:15
• Casual Corner - 18:25
• Party Game Genre - 29:00
• The Party Game Cast - 45:54 (Dice Tower Network Fellow Podcast)
• Hooyah Game Review - 47:10
• Garden Dice Game Review - 50:45
• At the Table - 59:00
• Closeout - 1:02:00

For those that don't know, Minus Garfield (01:00)

Here is a picture of the play mat we walked away with at our Netrunner Tourny

Download

Episode 17: Emily Post - The Lost Chapters

Have you ever been playing a game and wished that they people you were playing with would just get a clue and have better manners? Of course you have, Marty and I discuss some of the things that we believe should be just common knowledge among us gamers when it comes to courtesy. Now we know that we are generally preaching to the choir here, but I know we have all been guilty of this from time to time. I know that I did a major faux pas by leaving a game near the end, but time just ran out and I should have realized that this game would not end by the time I needed to leave. To quote Gomer Pyle "Shame! Shame! Shame!", I should have known better.

We also spend time talking about Marty's adventures at Origins, the games we are playing (Tzolk'in, Pillars Expansion, The Duke), and a brand new segment called At The Table.

Origins Report	3:05
Games we are playing	13:00
Gamer Etiquette	20:48
Ask before touching	25:08
Put things where they belong	28:01
Take time to learn the rules	30:30
Rules Lawyer - I object!!	34:10
Lose the Cell	36:30
Finish what you started	38:10
Analysis Paralysis	39:15
Credit the Player, don't blame dumb luck	42:45
RSVP	45:25
At the Table (New Segment)	47:50
Closeout	52:10

Download