Generally we here at SVWAG prefer sci-fi to fantasy, especially if it is of the general sort. There is something joyous about the weird flights of fancy that sci-fi can enable, such as Andromeda's Edge with its "Jelluloid Technoblorps." That said, there's something particularly odious about importing generic fantasy into your sci-fi, like space dwarves and space dragons--something Andromeda's Edge also does. Call it a wash.

Games Played Last Week:

01:01 -Harmonies (Johan Benvenuto, Libellud, 2024)

02:14 -Dro Polter (Paul Schulz, Oink Games, 2023)

05:56 -Rise and Fall (Christophe Boelinger, Ludically, 2024)

11:26 -Planet Unknown (Ryan Lambert & Adam Rehberg, Adam's Apple Games, 2022)

16:27 -Undaunted 2200: Callisto (Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson, Osprey, 2024)

18:18 -Irish Gauge (Amabel Holland, Capstone Games, 2019)

22:25 -Jekyll vs. Hyde (Geonil, Mandoo Games, 2021)

26:42 -Through the Desert (Reiner Knizia, Allplay, 2024)

31:43 -Cthulhu: Death May Die--Fear of the Unknown (Rob Daviau, Eric M. Lang, and Marco Portugal, CMON, 2024)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

37:15 From the Voidfall universe Mindclash brings us Revenant by Allan Kirkeby

39:28 Renegade reprints Acquire

41:03 Please support us on Patreon and take our games! www.patreon.com/svwag

41:53 Feature Game: Andromeda's Edge (Luke Laurie and Maximus Laurie, Cardboard Alchemy, 2024)

If you replayed all the published SVWAG episodes back-back, it would take over 355 hours, or almost 15 days. This is not necessarily how we would recommend you spend your time. Indeed, for our purposes, we are equally wrong regardless of whether anyone is there to hear it; while we sometimes engage with Western philosophy due to Mark's academic background, the realm of the koan is beyond our purview.

Long story short, feel free to re-download all our episodes to your heart's content. I'm sure it would help us with some algorithm somewhere.

01:41 AYURIS: Autobahn (Fabio Lopiano and Nestore Mangone, Alley Cat Games, 2022)

Games Played Last Week:

05:06 -Harmonies (Johan Benvenuto, Libellud, 2024)

11:30 -Valka (Brooke Penrose, Terrible Games, 2024)

17:01 -Keep the Heroes Out!: Boss Battles (Luís Brueh, Brueh Games, 2024)

21:43 -Undaunted 2200: Callisto (Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson, Osprey, 2024)

29:36 -CATAN: Starfarers Duel (Klaus Teuber and Benjamin Teuber, KOSMOS, 2023)

33:38 -Rise and Fall (Christophe Boelinger, Ludically, 2024)

40:54 -Martian Dice (Scott Almes, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2011)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

42:20 International Gamers Awards announce their 2024 winners

43:18 German wooden monstrosity: Drachentreppe

44:59 David Thompson and Trevor Benjamin Line of Fire: Burnt Moon; in the Undaunted 2200 setting

46:12 Topic: Replayability

I find so many mnemonics to be profoundly disappointing. Unless there's a structural element to tie the components together, a mnemonic will not serve to dispositively disambiguate a dyad.

I assure you, that lamentable bit of alliteration was unintentional.

For example, "I before E except after C" also works qua slogan as "I after E except before C." There are the ones about beer and liquor, feeding or starving a cold, colour of the sky and sailors' states of mind... I recall the structure, but not which one goes with which. Relatedly, is there a mnemonic to remember how to spell mnemonic?

Games Played Last Week:

02:27 -The Voyages of Marco Polo (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Hans im Gluck, 2015)

04:52 -Pulsar 2849 (Vladimír Suchý, CGE, 2017)

07:29 -Faiyum (Friedemann Friese, 2F-Spiele, 2020)

12:01 -MicroMacro: Crime City--All In (Johannes Sich, Edition Spielwiese, 2022)

14:45 -Who's the Banana? (Chris Cieslik, Asmadi Games, 2009)

17:07 -Rats of Wistar (Simone Luciani and Danilo Sabia, Cranio Creations, 2023)

19:29 -Raccoon Tycoon (Glenn Drover, Forbidden Games, 2018)

22:05 -Yokohama Roll & Write (Hisashi Hayashi, OKAZU Brand, 2021)

24:29 -Gods Love Dinosaurs (Kasper Lapp, Pandasaurus Games, 2020)

27:05 -Harmonies (Johan Benvenuto, Libellud, 2024)

29:49 -Ratyl (Andy Gallagher, Busy Dad Games, 2023)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

33:51 Monopoly goes to Flavortown

34:38 Zheng He by Greg Engelstein and David Thompson on GMT's P500

35:47 Cyberpunk 2077: more promising-looking than CMON's offering

39:46 Beyond the Horizon: Dennis K. Chan, Adam Hill, Ben Pinchback, Matt Riddle

41:20 Studio Ghibli Othello/Reversi sets: https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8405167/othello

43:20 Feature Game: The Vale of Eternity (Eric Hong, Mandoo Games, 2023)