Cult of the Old

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. What are we looking at this cast It is easy to forget that the board games world does not stop at the borders of board game geek. Since the dawn of the modern era, that arguably started with Catan, there has been an attitude amongst some that games in the mainstream like Monopoly and Cluedo are mere trifles. Games that are not worth considering when we have such highly crafted artisan experiences to nourish us. But games are old, much older than the modern expression of them. From the egyptian game of Senet to the scratched in the sand boards of Mancala and its many variants, simple but engaging games are woven into the fundamental DNA of the modern expression of tabletop gaming. Today we are covering one of those games, or at least it feels like one of those games. Arriving on the scene via a toy company in the early 80s, this game feels like something much older and elemental. A stacking game defined almost entirely by the imperfections in its production that has sold 95 million copies worldwide. We are going to take a block and put it on top, in Jenga. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Carrom Crokinole Tak Pitchcar Draughts Hnefatafal Latrunucli Ker Plunk Pick up sticks Jacks Knucklebones Twister Junk Art Rhino Hero Nekojima Tetris Tumble Can’t Stop King of Tokyo Men At Work El Grande Villa Paletti Bandu Riff Raff Dread Star Crossed Icarus Team Links Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt BlueSky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Join our Discord Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. Let me take you back dear listeners. Way back. A time before gin joints, and speakeasies, when the saloon was king. The west keened a golden siren call to thousands of prospectors some struck it rich, others did not return, and America was forever changed. Although it was California that most flocked to, a little further east, and a century or two later, another place would become synonymous with the idea of striking it rich. Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas has become a mecca for those looking to make their fortune, but the house always wins. Although it would be interesting to go as far back as the Wild West to look at something like Poker, that is not the aim of my preamble today. Nor is it to look at any of the numerous parlour games become gamblers laments that have taken up residence in the glitzy casinos of Las Vegas. No today we look at a game that asks you to invest in Vegas before it was Vegas. To have the vision to construct strange churches to greed and avarice in the middle of the desert. To truly become Lords of Vegas. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Camden Chinatown Waterfall Park Acquire Catan - Episode Link Monopoly - Episode Link Other Mentions Mike Selinker accusations Cheapass Games tf Fortress Ameritrash Iain’s Lords of Vegas Americana Review Team Links Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt BlueSky Nate Bluesky Instagram Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. Games can be many things. They can be journeys back in time, a window to nostalgia or a new and exciting arrangement of ideas. They can range in tone from light to dark. Climb in complexity from breezy to fiendishly complicated. They can be laden with components, stacked high with plastic, or they can be, like our next game, a deceptively simple set of cards. This game is, by most people’s measure, a bit of an ugly mess of graphic design, but that hasn’t stopped it getting a cult following. Like many games we have covered over our first 3 seasons, it stamped its designer's name on the history of the hobby. Join us as we look at a game where every card makes you do a second take. It’s time for Innovation. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Glory to Rome Mottainai Uchornia Impulse Sidereal Confluence Innovation Ultimate Doomtown 7th Sea Netrunner Magic the Gathering Team Links Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt BlueSky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. It’s the fourth season of Cult of the Old and we have a new 10 episode arc for you covering games, big and small, but all interesting. We begin this season with a game that defined a genre, the point salad. A heady mix of random chance, manipulated fate, and multiple paths to glorious points heaven gave us one of the classics of the 2010s. It may be as dry as the desert, but it carved a path through the next couple of decades with remakes, upgrades, reissues, and spinoffs. Come and sip a glass of fine wine with us as we construct the Castles of Burgundy. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Battlestar Galactica - Episode Link Nexus Ops Cosmic Encounter - Episode Link Puerto Rico - Episode Link Alien Frontiers Kingsburg Lords of Vegas Catan - Episode Link Wingspan In the Year of the Dragon Notre Dame Power Grid - Episode Link Ark Nova Sanctuary Agricola - Episode Link Other Mentions Fortress Ameritrash Branson Board Game Cafe Awaken Realms BGA version Team Links Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt BlueSky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. Dear listeners, it is once again time for us to part ways. As we come to the end of our third season, let us reflect on the games we have covered. From the family friendly Ticket to Ride, to the genre defining titles like El Grande and Dominion, and the brutal chance of Blood Bowl we have covered a wide range of genre, mechanism, and complexity. However, no game this season has the reputation for sheer scale and difficulty of our final title. Not only did our last title this season establish its designer as a powerful voice, but it took a venerable genre and turned it inside out. The civilisation style of board games is almost as old as the hobby, and our final title took this genre, stripped out a lot of the fundamentals and made a game that took the world by storm. Join us for one last time this season as we go Through the Ages. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Pandemic Mage Knight Codenames Francis Tresham Civilisation Mega Civilisation Prophecy Sid Meier’s Civilisation New Leaders Through the Ages App Can’t Stop - Playte Version Flip 7 FFG Civilisation Mare Nostrum Imperium Six Sojourns - Eight Minute Empire Carta Impera Victoria Civilisation: A New Dawn Innovation Ark Nova Other Mentions Matt Leacock Boardgame Arena Digital Antiquarian Team Links Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt BlueSky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. Nate: Well Iain we are almost at the end of the season Iain: That’s right Nate and the teams have all to play for N: Teams? I: Yes Nate, teams. In no other sport do we get to see the sheer physicality and natural brutality brought out in such a glorious manner N: This isn’t a sports podcast Iain, it’s a board game podcast I: Can’t it be both? N: I guess it could. If we covered a board game from at least 10 years ago that happens to be focused on sport I: How about a fantasy sport? N: Tell me more Iain I: Well Nate, let me tell you about a sport that is not only an allegory for the animosity between many fantasy races but also stands as one of the icons of the British gaming scene. N: Is it from a famous British Publisher? I: You took the words right out of my mouth Nate N: Meat Loaf? I: No thanks I’ve eaten. N: Enough of this, let’s get on with the show I: You’re right Nate, let’s tell these fine folks about Blood Bowl. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Warhammer Epic 40k Warhammer 40k Necromunda Warhammer Quest Space Hulk Monsters of the Midway Football Strategy Avalon Games Terror of the Lichemaster (warhammer campaign) Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game Mordheim Gorkamorka Dune Blitz Bowl Dreadball Blood Bowl: Team Manager Kaos Ball Other Mentions Games Workshop Ltd. Tabletop Simulator Mod we used Beastie Boys - License to ill American History X The Producers TSR Team Links Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. Sometimes you hear about games by reputation. The epic length of Twilight Imperium, the complexity of Vita Lacerda designs, the seemingly simple mechanisms behind the games of Reiner Knizia. These reputations can attract or repel in equal measure, and sometimes they are undeserved. The folklore around some games can be a hindrance to their uptake. However some folk tales are firmly based in reality. The game we are covering tonight is one of those games that I knew by reputation alone. Dry, excruciating downtime, with very little in the way of redeeming features. Despite that description this is a game that has always been available, an evergreen in more ways than one. Now that I have played the game, what do I think? We will get to that. As to what my fellow hosts think, well they are in the ring and ready to fight over the classic that is Power Grid. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Ticket to Ride - Episode Link Imperial Railway Rivals McMulti Playboss Age of Steam City of Big Shoulders Chicago Express Bohnanza Puerto Rico - Episode Link Fearsome Floors Plum Island Horror Fish, Flip, and Frikadelen 504 Ark Nova Seti Thebes Red November Patchwork Ra Modern Art - Episode Link Fishing Other Mentions Brettspielwelt The story of Power Grid - https://opinionatedgamers.com/2016/07/11/funkenschlag-at-fifteen-the-story-of-power-grid/ Team Links Websites you can find the cast on There Will Be Games Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. A large part of the culture of the tabletop hobby is tied up with games emulating history. From HG Wells’ Little Wars to the early days of Avalon Hill and the modern expressions of the form in GMT Games, wargames are undoubtedly a large part of tabletop gaming’s history and present. We have covered one of the icons of this genre with Twilight Struggle in Season 1, a game that sat atop the BGG rankings for many years. Our next game this season has never had such an accolade, but has still been a massive presence over the years. Taking the more complicated wargames that were available at the time and distilling them into a fast card driven experience, it crossed the aisle into more mainstream hobby gaming. Soon it was on gamers shelves everywhere and spawned numerous, and we do mean numerous, expansions, campaign books and more. Pull up a chair and reminisce with us as we look back at Memoir 44. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Twilight Struggle Ticket to Ride Battlecry Commands & Colours Ancients Commands & Colours Napoleonic Commands & Colours series We the People Combat Commander Heroscape Star Wars Queen’s Gambit Battlelore Netrunner Samurai Battles Other Mentions Vassal Richard Borg Interview Team Links Websites you can find the cast on There Will Be Games Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. Over the last two and half seasons of Cult of the Old we have covered some absolute classics. From the brutal farming of Agricola that kicked off our very first season to Catan that began our second we have looked at games venerable and revered, and some that are just past their prime Some of those games still hold their place in the hobby, but many have been surpassed as designers take the original ideas and improve on them ten fold. This is not the case for the game we are covering tonight. Hitting the scene in 1995, the same year as Catan, our next title quickly became a watch word for area control. Though many games have followed in this Grand Dames footsteps, none have managed the combination of simple mechanisms, devilish decisions, and twists of fate that this title nailed. Pick up your caballeros and send them into the depths of the Castillo as we explore El Grande . Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Catan - Episode Link Civilisation Risk Go 6 Nimmt Heimlich & Co Torres Tikal Heroquest Villa paletti San Marco Mission Red Planet Race for the Galaxy Dominion - Episode Link Arcs Root Chaos in the Old World Kemet Wallenstein Shogun Other Mentions Rio Grande Games Z-Man Games Team Links Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. The three of us on this cast are purveyors of words. We use them to communicate our thoughts on games in the written or audio form. In doing so we hope to convey the emotions, feeling, and mechanisms behind games we love and loathe. Words have a long history of association with games. From Victorian parlour games to modern expressions of the form in games like Codenames and Paperback Adventures. Of course here on Cult of the Old we are not interested in the modern expressions so much as the origins of word games. We aren’t going to go back as far as the Victorians this episode. We are instead going to go back to the early 20th century. Then a game that was originally called Criss-Cross words was brought to a wider audience. It is then when it took on its modern name which you will already be familiar with. Scrabble. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Codenames Paperback Adventures Kriegspiel Monopoly - Episode Link Tigris & Euphrates - Episode Link Anagrams Go So Clover Upwords Boggle Acquire Letter Jam Other Mentions Words with Friends Rosemary’s Baby Sneakers Team Links Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. Games come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. As consumers and critics of the form we try and categorise, quantify, and contemplate the flaws and virtues of these forms. We have tackled many games over the first two seasons of Cult of The Old from the heavier economic stylings of Brass, the negotiation heavy stylings of Cosmic Encounter, and the gentle , if grim, farming of Agricola. One category we haven’t touched on so far is that of the party game. These games tend to take a large number of players and lie at the lighter end of the mechanical spectrum. Although not the originator of this style of game, the title we are covering today is arguably one of the most influential. Coming in a blockbuster year of titles it was the lightest of that crop to make a mark, and it didn’t really take off properly until a couple of years later. A game that allows the players to express themselves through art, interpretation and surreal imagery. Welcome to the dream world of Dixit. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Stella on BGA Apples to Apples Cards Against Humanity Balderdash Charades Monopoly - Episode Link Telestrations Time’s Up Fictionary Mysterium Dixit Journey Dixit Odyssey Once Upon A Time Old Hellfire Club Scrawl Medium The Chameleon Spyfall Pictionary Codenames So Clover Decrypto Concept Other Mentions Dixit online - Tixid Blankety Blank Catchphrase Call my Bluff Team Links Websites you can find the cast on There Will Be Games Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Twitter Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. Many of the games we have covered over 3 seasons have an important place in the hobby landscape. From Catan at the birth of the modern board game renaissance, to the success of Monopoly, and the influence of Agricola we have covered many big titles. The game we are covering this episode has one of the farthest reaching impacts of anything we have covered so far. Coming out in 2008 this box of cards took the hobby world by storm, spawning numerous expansions and countless imitators. The mechanism it spawned is still everywhere in the hobby, and continues to be innovated upon. Let’s get shuffling and dealing as we dive into the phenomenon that was, and is, Dominion. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Magic: The gathering St. Petersburg Netrunner - Episode Link Pandemic - Episode Link Ascension Star Realms Arctic Scavengers Thunderstone Tanto Cuore Shards of Infinity Race for the Galaxy Star Wars Unlimited Arkham Horror LCG Puzzle Strike Undaunted Series Dune: Imperium Automobiles Tyrants of the Underdark Gloomhaven Arkham Horror: The Card Game Clank Battlestar Galactica Cosmic Encounter Dixit Star Wars: Deckbuilding Game Millennium Blades Ruthless Quacks of Quedlinburg Other Mentions Diana Jones Award Gathering of Friends Fortress Ameritrash Team Links Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. Amongst the thousands of games that are released each year into the tabletop hobby, it can be hard to stand out as a designer. Your name rings out less than the games you make, making it hard to carve a space for yourself, let alone a career. For the designer of our next game, this has not been a problem. Dr Reiner Knizia was designing games before the hobby as we think of it today existed and is regarded as one of the best of all time. How do you know what games are his best though? Which game shows off that particular Knizia magic? When did he come to the attention of the wider community? Well the game we are covering on this episode is considered by some to be his masterpiece. A game that sat at the top of the BGG rankings for several years, has been reprinted numerous times, and is the perfect example of some of Knizia’s most famous design tropes. Let’s dip into the refreshing water of Tigris & Euphrates. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Catan - Episode Link El Grande Risk Axis & Allies Diplomacy Civilization Acquire Go Modern Art - Episode Link Ra Taj Mahal Lord of the Rings Lost Cities Samurai Amun-Re Through the Desert Revenge of the B-Movie Yellow & Yangtze Race for the Galaxy Puerto Rico - Episode Link Dune Gest of Robin Hood Hex Carcassonne Babylonia Quest for El Dorado Blue moon Other Mentions Deutscher Spiele Preis Tigris & Euphrates video part 1 - other parts can be found from there https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRCub6Xxng0 Team Links Websites you can find the cast on Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. The tabletop hobby has many niches within it. Maybe you are a miniatures person, battling over the table with painted models and buckets of dice. Just boardgames for you? No problem. How about being a dedicated card game player? Within these subcultures things get even more niche, but out of these specialisations seismic shifts can emerge. The 18xx genre of games is a complicated, byzantine, and often misunderstood section of the hobby. These games see players buying, selling, and building trains and train companies in a variety of different ways. The fascination with trains in the tabletop hobby doesn’t stop with this particular class of games though. When our first game this season hit the tables, it became a household name, being translated into 33 languages and, as of 2024, selling 18 million copies worldwide. I’ll be checking your travel pass as we get on board with Ticket to Ride. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. We will also link to previous episodes where we have one. Games Mentioned Votes for Women Catan - Episode Link Rummy Elfenland Brass - Episode Link Bagh Chal Hnefatafl Monopoly - Episode Link Age of Steam Memoir 44 Ticket to Ride - Legends of the West Lords of Vegas Spirit Island Gloomhaven Other Mentions Martin Wallace Masters Traditional Games Around the world in 80 games book Team Links Websites you can find the cast on There Will Be Games Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Instagram Support us on Patreon Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. It is the end, dear listeners. As we stare once more into the inky black void of our season break, we contemplate our own mortality and wonder if there is anything out there between the episodes. Such musings can leave us imagining monstrosities that exist in the gaps between seasons. Entities vast and overwhelming that we can barely understand and are wise to not look at directly. Only by coming together in the warm embrace of our listeners can we stand a chance to fight back such Eldritch Horrors. The game we are discussing for our last episode this season similarly tackles the darkness of the unknown. This game took the mythos of HP Lovecraft and turned it into a co-operative game where investigators take on horrors beyond measure to save a small town in Massachusetts. A game that arguably gave rise to the hobby game obsession with Cthulhu and was certainly one of the earliest co-operative games. Join us on a road trip to the end of space and time, in Arkham Horror. The original game was designed by Richard Launius, Charlie Krank, Sandy Petersen, and Lynn Wills. We are mostly covering the second edition version created by Fantasy Flight Games and designed by Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Call of Cthulhu RPG Battlestar Galactica - Episode Link D&D Gold box Games Pool of Radiance Curse of the Azure Bonds Tales of the Arabian Nights Talisman - Episode Link War of the Ring Twilight Imperium Third Edition Arkham Horror: RPG Elder Sign Eldritch Horror Star Wars: Outer Rim Other Mentions Ride the Lightning - Metallica Ramsay Campbell Thomas LeGotti Team Links Websites you can find the cast on There Will Be Games Iain The Giant Brain Twitter Matt Twitter Nate Twitter Instagram Support us on Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/cultoftheold Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/CultoftheOld Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. “The sky above the port was the color of television, turned to a dead channel” The famous opening line of William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer, released in 1984. Only a couple of years before in his short story ‘Burning Chrome’ Gibson had defined the term “Cyberspace”. He used it to refer to a global network of interconnected computers. In publishing Neuromancer Gibson helped solidify the genre of Cyberpunk and the rest is history. Or the future. Depends on how you look at it. Popular culture embraced Cyberpunk. We got films like Blade Runner and tabletop RPGs like Cyberpunk and Shadowrun. These games saw plucky teams of street rebels take on the shadowy corporations that ruled the future of those settings. The title we are covering tonight lets you step into the role of a megacorp, or the hackers that are taking them on. It came from the mind of Richard Garfield, who only 3 years earlier had defined a genre and upset an industry with a little game called Magic: The Gathering. Put on your mirrorshades and jack in as we take a dive into Netrunner. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Magic: The Gathering Disney Lorcana Star Wars Unlimited Austin Powers CCG Sim City CCG V:TES Android Android: Infiltration New Angeles Call of Cthulhu LCG Lord of the Rings LCG Game of Thrones LCG Star Wars LCG Omen: Reign of War Other Mentions jinteki.net Null Signal The Peripheral Snow Crash Bladerunner 2049 Netrunnerdb Hearthstone Team Links Websites you can find the cast on There Will Be Games Iain The Giant Brain Twitter Matt Twitter Nate Twitter Instagram Support us on Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/cultoftheold Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/CultoftheOld Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. What are we looking at this cast? People love board games for all sorts of reasons. The satisfaction of a well executed strategy. Building the perfect engine. Riding the curve of chance to push your luck just enough. We enjoy the finely honed mixing of mechanism, theme, and setting to produce the perfect game. Our next game this season is none of those. It just wants to watch the world burn. Having had 9 different editions over the course of its existence this game sees players donning their robes, picking up a staff, and pouring over their spell books. Not for intense wizardry research. Oh no. Just to make sure that your fellow wizards see the wrong end of a fireball and get fried by your lightning bolt. Welcome to Wiz War. Wiz War was designed by Tom Jolly and has had various artists over the course of its editions. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Dungeons & Dragons Cosmic Encounter - Episode Link Nuclear War Mille Bornes Dungeon Quest Merchant of Venus Fireball Island Dark Tower Slay The Spire Inscryption Tresham Civilization 1830 Mage Wars Summoner Wars Munchkin Bang! Arcane Blaster Casters King of Tokyo - Episode Link Other Mentions Interview with Tom Jolly https://web.archive.org/web/20191031005246/http://controlledareagaming.com/2016/09/09/interview-with-tom-jolly-designer-of-wiz-war/ Reflections on the publishing of Wiz War https://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/a-brief-history-of-wiz-war/ Dragon Magazine Cheapass Games Fantasy Flight Games Restoration Games The Duelist Team Links Websites you can find the cast on There Will Be Games Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Threads Support us on Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/cultoftheold Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/CultoftheOld Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. Themes in games have become a hot topic over the last few years. As the hobby expands, people have begun to ask if we can tackle difficult subject matter in the guise of a boardgame. Designers like Cole Wherle try to answer these questions with their titles Pax Pamir and John Company. Some themes have existed since the dawn of the hobby and the rise and fall of civilisations is one such example. From the original Tresham Civilisation game, many titles have addressed the civ building aspect of this theme. However only one game focuses on the constant wax and wane of history in a very playable time scale. The tense ebb and flow of history condensed down into a tight compact box. It’s a Small World, after all. Small World was designed by Phillippe Keyaerts, with art from Miguel Coimbra and Cyrille Daujean. It was published by Days of Wonder. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Vinci Mare Nostrum History of the World Dominion Age of Steam Power Grid Agricola - Episode Link Worldspanner Factions Civilisation Pirates Cove Ticket to Ride Memoir 44 Colosseum Cleopatra and the society of architects Battlelore Commands and Colours: Ancients Commands and Colours: Napoleonics Lords of Waterdeep - episode link Risk Nexus Ops Power Grid Civilization - New Dawn Tempus Twilight Imperium Third Edition Through The Ages Clash of Cultures Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy Other Mentions Days of Wonder Fantasy Flight Games Team Links Websites you can find the cast on There Will Be Games Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Threads Support us on Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/cultoftheold Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/CultoftheOld Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. Within any sub-culture certain things become the boogeyman. Films so terrible they are just terrible and become the poster child for the worst the form has to offer. Books so ponderous that no-one can make them to the end and everyone wonders why anybody bothers trying. Board games are not immune from this and it is of course those games that a lot of us grew up with that become the target of our ire. That does not mean they are not worthwhile discussing and here on Cult of the Old we want to take a look at the history and impact of one of those pariahs. Yes it's time to choose if you want to be the dog or the hat, to hope you don’t go to Jail, and to see if you can get the best value properties. The game that makes Capitalism fun, Monopoly! Monopoly was designed by Elizabeth Maggie, not Charles Darrow as you will learn in our cast! Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Monopoly: Ultimate Banking Edition Catan - Episode Link Pandemic - Episode Link 7 Wonders - Episode Link Risk Modern Art Acquire Power Grid Lords of Vegas Millennium Blades Contract Bridge Kriegspiel Magnate: The First City Monopoly Deal I’m the Boss Other Mentions Senet Magazine The Monopolists Dollop Episode on The Landlords Game Team Links Team Links Websites you can find the cast on There Will Be Games Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Threads Support us on Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/cultoftheold Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/CultoftheOld Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old! Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. This Episode…. The idea of adventure draws many to different hobbies. Some go scaling mountains, while others hurtle down them. Camping outdoors brings many to the wonders of forests and lakes across the world. Even dry and inhospitable deserts hold wonders to be explored. Much as I don’t mind a bit of outdoors living, a lot of my adventures have been found round the gaming table, exploring strange places and encountering odd folk. Roleplaying games excel at this kind of adventure but sometimes we don’t want the faff of creating a character or lumbering a friend with the responsibilities of the GM. Sometimes we want something to give us that feeling without all the work needed to run a good RPG. The next game we are talking about attempted to do just that. It’s a game that has been around for a long time and still keeps getting reprinted. We will look at why, discuss its influences and legacy, as we climb the wizards tower to the top of Talisman. The game was designed by Robert Harris and published by Games Workshop and Fantasy Flight Games. It has art from Christos Achilleos, Ryszard Anotnoiszczak, Gary Chalk, and Peter Andrew Jones. Show Links Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question. Games Mentioned Dungeons and Dragons Bugs Bunny Adventure Game Magic Realm Dungeon Mystic Wood Dungeon Quest Dungeon Crawl Classics Agon Deathmatch Island Swords & Wizardry Mork Borg Mage Knight Catan Episode Link Runebound Expeditions Vindication Heroquest Star Wars: Outer Rim Eldritch Horror Other Mentions Talisman Island Bob Harris site Team Links Websites you can find the cast on There Will Be Games Iain The Giant Brain Bluesky Matt Bluesky Nate Bluesky Threads Support us on Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/cultoftheold Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/CultoftheOld Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com