SNR Monthly Round-up: Look Mom, I'm on TV...with Frodo Frengers from Mars?
Published 6 days agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
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Monthly Round-up
My mom came back for another visit this month, which was wonderful. I'm grateful to have such a loving and supportive mother...you know, the type that still visits in spite of getting whooped by her daughter in so many games. It was a highlight for me to introduce her and my close friends to Santiago, which is one of my favorite family-weight games. It has a juicy auction each round and the player who passes first or bids the least becomes the canal overseer that everyone else has to bribe after the auction. So many diplomatic debates for such a simple tile-laying game.
Big thanks to everyone who was able to make it out to The Hobby premiere screening in LA! It was a special evening having so many friends there in a packed theater. My heart still feels warm and tingly from watching The Hobby on the big screen in LA with so many people I love. ...and it's always a blast when Simon (my homie/the director) comes to LA and has time to kick it with us.
As of July 22nd, The Hobby is finally available (worldwide?!?) on streaming platforms such as Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango, Google, Verizon, and Dish. So exciting! I'm extremely proud to be a subject in such an inspiring and heart-warming documentary about the best hidden gem hobby.
I feel like there's been an explosion of Lord of the Rings-themed games in the past few years, and The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game is one of the best. It's a co-operative trick-taking game (in the vein of The Crew) where you play through chapters of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It's challenging, beautiful, and oozing with theme. This Cardboard Creations interview with game designer/LotR aficionado Bryan Bornmueller sheds some serious Sauron-light on why this little card game is such a compelling design.
I love GMT's COIN series, so I enjoyed producing this game overview video for Red Dust Rebellion (volume XII) β the first COIN game set in a fictitious, futuristic setting. Perhaps thematically the most accessible COIN game to date, Red Dust Rebellion sprinkles some serious spice on the series. It reminds me how COIN games are the epitome of asymmetrical awesomeness, and how cool it is that each volume has its own twists on the core system.
Heard Off Mic π€
I usually record podcast episodes a few days before the episode drops so everything is as "fresh" as possible. However, last week I recorded a very special 75th episode, weeks in advance, with two special content creators I've been a fan of since I got into modern board games. It was such a great chat and it made me feel re-energized. I can't wait to share it next month.
Game of the Month π²
Still Primal: The Awakening
ππΎIt's ππΎsuchππΎaππΎbanger! It's impossible to hide how smitten that game makes me, but ok, ok, ok...I won't blast you with more of my Primal enthusiasm (for now). I also recently played a couple of great games of Blood on the Clocktower, which was riveting...as always. I've played it over twenty times and I'm still amazed at the feelings that game makes you feel. It's such a fascinating social experience. I love the stress and adrenaline rush of being on the evil team as I try to convince everyone that I'm cool.
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Now back to Primal. Steven and I somewhat spontaneously started a campaign, so we'll eventually clap eleven different monsters. We're only two chapters deep, but every game has us both loving Primal more and more. Before each new chapter, you get to level up and forge new weapons and equipment, and brew cool potions, which will hopefully help you in future battles. Soon we'll hit level two and unlock even cooler cards and gear. These monsters are TOUGH, but sooo cool! ...and with them painted, it doesn't feel as bad when you lose a game or two.
I played a few games with Shea Parker from RTFM the day we recorded episode 73 of the BGG Podcast together. Shea's a local celebrity in our household because we've watched his TI4 tutorial video so many times to learn/refresh the rules. Anyways...as I was walking Shea out the door, doing that thing where we stand around talking about games because we simply can't stop (SS-pun intended)...probably both thinking, "dang, we could've squeezed in one more game in the amount of time that we're standing here chatting"...and then there was a magical moment...I'm pretty sure a slither of my brain exploded when Shea asked me about a "Mew" poster we have framed in our studio/office. This led us to discover we're both Mew fans. I think this has only happened three other times since I started listening to Mew in 2010. Us Mew fans are rare! We're pretty much in a secret society together, so it's always awesome finding a fellow frenger. Sooo I guess I'm sorta inviting YOU into our club by sharing this track. If you like it, or it gently taps into your curiosity zone, I highly recommend you sit down with your favorite beverage sometime (ideally with headphones) when you have 54 minutes free to listen to the entire album...straight-through...top-to-bottom. It's a (Scandinavian) progressive dream-pop rock opera that still sounds so esoterically awesome and fresh twenty years after it was released. I'm already so excited for anyone who dares to explore this album. It's one of my absolute favs.
Rivals of Rock Status Check πΈ
<<crickets chirping>> No major updates on the RoR front. Art and development are in progress, but moving slow. I did check out some of the Radek's rad art for the venues, which is exciting. Stay tuned for more info next month.
Gen Con is this coming week/end, and I'm skipping it for the first time since I started going in 2021. I'm sure some FOMO'll kick in at some point, but I'm proud of myself for realizing I shouldn't go this year. I have too many unplayed games here that I want to play, and the thought of going there and bringing back a million more games feels overwhelming. Plus, I've already traveled so much this year and can't ever seem to catch up...annnddd I have more trips coming later this year. First world problems, I know. I'm gonna miss seeing a bunch of friends, but at the end of the day, I gotta do what keeps me sane. Don't worry though, I have some new Candice-selected Gen Con releases being shipped to me, so I'll have a small taste of the new "hotness" to hold me over until SPIEL and BGG.CON.
Thanks for reading Squawk 'N' Roll: Monthly Round-up!
