Kingdaddy's Blog (34)
I've Been Diced! episode 73: Mitchell Land and the Next War series
Mitchell Land, designer of the Next War series of wargames from GMT, discusses the interesting design challenges behind those games, and we get a sneak peek at the next title, Next War: Poland. Plus, a few words about a departed friend.
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Added by Kingdaddy on February 16, 2016 at 1:49pm — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 72: Sam Mustafa and miniatures gaming galore
Sam Mustafa, designer of Blücher and other miniatures wargame rules, stops by to discuss his designs and the miniatures side of the hobby in general. Sam and Tom describe the path for boardgamers who might want to give miniatures a try. (Blücher might be a good start.) Plus, Tom shares lessons learned from his recent experiments with miniature wargaming on the cheap.
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Added by Kingdaddy on February 3, 2016 at 9:34pm — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 70: John Kranz of Consimworld
John Kranz, the founder of the Consimworld wargame community site, joins me for a discussion of the past, present, and future of Consimworld. Our Game Off The Beaten Path is right in time for football season. We also have news about a new serious game, and I talk about Le Vol de l'Aigle, a multi-player, umpired Napoleonic operational game with a lot of friction and fog of war. …
Added by Kingdaddy on September 16, 2015 at 1:30pm — 1 Comment
I've Been Diced! episode 69: Troy Goodfellow on computer and board games
Troy Goodfellow, founder of the Three Moves Ahead podcast, joins me for a discussion of computer strategy games versus boardgames. What do computer games do well that boardgames don't, and vice-versa? What can the two genres learn from each other? Plus, this episode's Game Off The Beaten Path is W1815, a brilliant little game about the Battle of Waterloo.
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Added by Kingdaddy on July 15, 2015 at 10:02am — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 68: Randy Lein (Legion Wargames) and Roger Miller (Revolution Games)
Not just one guest, but two! Roger Miller of Revolution Games and Randy Lein of Legion Wargames take time away from Consimworld Expo to talk about life as wargame publishers, muse about the state of the hobby, give us some previews into upcoming games, and give sage advice to anyone interested in submitting a new design to a company like theirs. Plus, I'm not done talking about space empire games, particularly since there are more stories they could be telling than just another cardboard…
Added by Kingdaddy on July 2, 2015 at 9:50pm — 6 Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 67: Mark Herman
Mark Herman stops by to talk about his new grand strategic WWII game, Churchill, plus oh so many other games he has designed over the years. During our whirlwind tour of Mark's career as a wargame designer, we make brief stops at SPI and Victory Games, and even get a peek into professional Pentagon wargaming. And if you're wondering what comes next after Churchill...Well, it's more than just Empire Of The Sun, 2nd edition (though that's pretty interesting, too). Plus, be sure to listen…
Added by Kingdaddy on June 25, 2015 at 11:08pm — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 66: Combat systems
Our panel discusses combat systems in games — many of which we like, and a few that we don't like. Air battles that are genuinely exciting, deck-building games that lead to interesting results, the genius of Dune's commitment mechanic, a defense of hex-and-CRT wargames — all these topics, and many more, in the course of our discussion. Plus, a recently-published game off the beaten path that takes traditional wargame mechanics in an interesting direction.…
Added by Kingdaddy on April 23, 2015 at 11:41am — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 65: Andy Loakes, designer of Toulon 1793
Andy Loakes, designer of Toulon 1793, takes us behind the scenes of his first published wargame. Why hasn't someone done a game on this topic before? Andy and Tom ponder that issue, along with other questions about Napoleonic history and wargaming. Plus, this episode's Game Off The Beaten Path is a little wargame on a major event in military history, previously thought to be ungameable. (c) 2015 Tom Grant…
Added by Kingdaddy on March 2, 2015 at 7:28pm — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 64: Richard Borg
Richard Borg talks about everything from the Command & Colour wargames to the X-Men games from Pressman (with a cameo from Stan Lee). We also discuss the Kickstarter for his new World War I game, Mutant Chronicles: Siege Of The Citadel, and much more. Plus, a game off the beaten path that should have an electronic version, but doesn't, really. © 2015 Tom Grant
I've Been Diced! episode 62: Our 2014 in review
Our regular panel looks back on 2014 in gaming — the ups, the downs, the pleasant surprises, the grave disappointments. Where do games like Dead Of Winter, Fire In The Lake, Nations, and The Hunters fit into this picture? Plus, the recent arrival of Cthulhu Wars inspires Tom to muse on the value of our games, and why recent developments in the game market is making it even harder to figure out the relationship between the real value to the owner and the price it costs to buy a…
Added by Kingdaddy on February 1, 2015 at 11:48pm — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 61: Worthington Games
I drop by the HQ for Worthington Games to talk about their wargames, past, present, and future. Forged In Fire, Band Of Brothers, Cowboys, Hold The Line, and others -- what kind of games does Worthington choose to publish? And how does a small publisher find its niche in today's market? Plus, this episode's "Game Off The Beaten Path" is a world-famous fantasy writer's design.
Added by Kingdaddy on November 25, 2014 at 10:55pm — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 59: Jon Compton, modern wargames, and gaming taboos
Jon Compton of One Small Step and the MCS Group tells a gripping story of the trials and tribulations of being a small wargame publisher. We also muse about the popularity of modern wargames. Plus, our regular panel discusses gaming taboos: What behavior elicits gasps of horror from fellow hobbyists?
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Added by Kingdaddy on September 17, 2014 at 2:10pm — 5 Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 58: Mike Nagel on Flying Colors and more
Mike Nagel talks about his Flying Colors series of Age of Sail wargames, his new "captaincy" game covering the same era, Sun of York, and what drew him to design a game about the battle of Attu. Plus, Tom lunges headfirst into the subject of what is a wargame. Actually, he talks about when the question is worth asking, and when it isn't.
Added by Kingdaddy on August 25, 2014 at 9:30pm — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 57: Greg Smith on The Hunters and computer wargames
Greg Smith, the designer of The Hunters and the upcoming Silent Victory, talks about his games, solitaire wargames in general, his work on computer wargames at HPS Simulations, and why boardgame design can be more challenging than computer wargame design. Plus, Tom gives advice to wargamers visiting Paris, and he proves beyond a doubt that he cannot do impressions.
Added by Kingdaddy on August 18, 2014 at 9:46am — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 56: John Poniske
John Poniske, designer of Hearts & Minds, King Philip's War, and Lincoln's War, discusses the reasons why he developed a different game system for each of these games. Plus, John tells us about some upcoming designs, including games about the Plains Indians Wars and the Haitian rebellion. (Note: Apologies for the poor sound quality during the interview. Skype was not our friend that night.) Plus, a quick shout-out to some other wargame/boardgame podcasts.…
Added by Kingdaddy on May 20, 2014 at 8:20pm — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 55: Jim Day
Jim Day, designer of Iron & Oak and Panzer, talks about these two recently-released games, cross-pollination between miniature and board wargaming, and possible new versions of MBT and IDF. Plus, we look at a key requirement for the success of any tactical wargame. What is it? I'll lay out the scenario for you.
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Added by Kingdaddy on April 8, 2014 at 8:32pm — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 54: Kim Kanger
Kim Kanger, designer of Ici, C'Est La France! and Tonkin, discusses France's counterinsurgency wars, and how differences between these wars led to different game designs. We also discuss Kim's upcoming game on the siege of Dien Bien Phu. Strap in for another deep discussion of insurgencies and insurgency-related games.
The typhoon of wargame designer interviews continues! Coming up in future episodes: Jim Day (Panzer, Iron & Oak) and John Poniske (Lincoln's…
I've Been Diced! episode 53: John Gorkowski on WWI wargames and a future WWI-like scenario
John Gorkowski, designer of WWI-based games like Guns Of August, Guns Of Galicia, Red Poppies, and In The Trenches, as well as the upcoming The Great Game. We talk about what fascinates us about WWI, the need to take a fresh look at a conflict before dropping game mechanics on them, and why a future conflict in the South China Sea might look a lot more like WWI than WWII. (That future scenario is the subject of John's Game, Breaking The Chains). Plus, your host's recent eBay purchase…
I've Been Diced! episode 52: Steve Kendall of Ragnar Brothers
Steve Kendall gives us a brief history of the Ragnar Brothers and the games they've produced. Ponder why Angola may have had more successful innovations than any other single game. Hear about the playtest of a new epoch for A Brief History Of The World. Learn why Viking Fury / Fire & Axe is a more accurate depiction of the Vikings than that History Channel series with Gabriel Byrne. Find out about the careful word choices and interesting design decisions behind Promised Land. Get the…
Added by Kingdaddy on March 31, 2014 at 11:00am — No Comments
I've Been Diced! episode 51: The PrezCon 2014 edition
We're at Prezcon 2014, where we talk about the games we played, such as A Distant Plain, Theseus: The Dark Orbit, Coup, Cosmic Encounter, Napoleonic Wars, and the recent favorite A Study In Emerald. Plus, wargames that give a little extra historical something.
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The I've Been Diced! podcast and blog…
Added by Kingdaddy on March 8, 2014 at 3:22pm — 3 Comments
Podcast interview with Ben Hull
I've Been Diced! episode 42: Volko Ruhnke