Arcade Castle: A Gaming Podcast

As the seasons turn and weather phenomenon shake the very foundations of the Arcade Castle, another year passes and Arcade Castle finds itself once again in February, the month of its birth. Per tradition (and the bylaws of the land) Arcade Castle must find a game that is part board game and part video game to play to try and delve into the narrow, yet obfuscated, valley that resides in the twin realms of video game and board game, and glean its secrets.

However, no longer can Arcade Castle rely upon the Master Strategy Series from the Odyssey II, as all three games have been played and that odyssey is, alas, at an end. However, they turn their attention to a device that was released two decades after the Master Strategy Series: The Nintendo E-Reader. This device, scanning 'dot-codes' that are printed on trading cards, can turn the analog into digital, the playing card into a video game. But are the two mediums truly integrated?

In Episode 18, Arcade Castle played the Mario Party e Card Game, a card game that requires (under some game settings) the Nintendo E-Reader to resolve conflicts between players; instead of playing the card game to win or lose a battle, players will find themselves playing video games on a Gameboy Advance to seek victory. In Mario Party e, players will be collecting coins to purchase a Superstar Hat, Superstar Suit, and Superstar Shoes in order to obtain a Superstar and win the game. But how well does this card game capture the multiplayer phenomenon that is Mario Party? Further, does this item truly combine the digital and analog realms into a unified experience?

Episode Outline:

00:-00 - 25:00: Arcade Castle discusses at length the Mario Party Series; talking about history, strategy, gameplay, and expectations, John and Patrick touch upon every aspect of the multiplayer smash hit. Additionally, they discuss the E-Reader and Barcode Reading technology.

25:00 - 40:00: Arcade Castle examines the components, strategy, and gameplay of the Mario Party e Card Game. They look at the initial set of rules that allow play without utilizing the Nintendo E-Reader

40:00-60:00: After playing the game without the Nintendo E-Reader, Arcade Castle played the game using the video game accessory and examines how its integration changes the rules, gameplay, and strategy of the Mario Party e Card Game.

In Episode 16, Arcade Castle takes a look at another giant in the Edutainment industry: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? A facts based learning game at heart, WitWiCS has players tracking V.I.L.E. henchmen across the planet and, later, both time and space, as they attempt to stop these henchmen from stealing iconic cultural icons, items, concepts, buildings, geographic locations, and more by gathering clues, answering questions, and following the trail of the V.I.L.E. henchmen until they are captured and placed behind bars. If you are a good enough A.C.M.E. Detective you may find yourself on the trail of Carmen Sandiego herself and finally answer, once and for all, just Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, issue a warrant for her arrest, and place her in jail and stop her crime syndicate for good.

Additionally, Arcade Castle takes a look at a series of bookends, or sorts, for the Edutaiment franchise, by looking at the earliest and the most recent entries in the Carmen Sandiego board game adaptations library by playing and examining the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Board Game from 1992 and the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Card Game from 2017. Can 25 years make a difference in game design and how a company adapts a video game icon to the tabletop?

In Episode 16, Arcade Castle sits down to discuss the Carmen Sandiego franchise, its time and place in Edutainment history, and their ow connections with it as they play these two games to see how you can adapt an Edutainment video game franchise into cardboard and dice and, if after 25 years, whether all our knowledge paid off in the form of a better game in 2017 than in 2018 or if, as they say, history repeats itself...

Episode Outline:

00:00 - 35:00 - Arcade Castle talks for length about the Carmen Sandiego franchise; from video games and a game show to the numerous board games and animated series, they discuss Carmen Sandiego's impact not only in the video game industry, but culture at large. Arcade Castle also discusses the fate of Carmen Sandiego since the turn of the new millennium and its status as of 2018.

35:00-50:00 - Arcade Castle sits down and plays the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego Board Game from 1992 and looks at how University Games interpreted the Edutainment title, how to play it, what strategies you can bring to the table when playing it, and how well it captures the franchise.

50:00-75:00 - After a quick break, Arcade Castle plays the latest entry in the series via the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Card Game from 2017 by Pressman Games. By playing it and comparing it to the board game from 1992, it is Arcade Castle's hopes that they will see a difference in not only board game design, but how designers approach a video game franchise in 2017 and whether or not it is different than that of designers in the late 80s and early 90s.

In Episode 15 of the podcast, The Arcade Castle finds itself, once again, on a journey through another oregon trail licensed board game by Pressman in the form of The Oregon Trail Board Game: Journey to Willamette Valley. Having played The Oregon Trail Card Game and The Oregon Trail Hunt For Food Card Game in prior years (and on Episode 04 and Episode 08, respectively), The Arcade Castle has mixed expectations when bringing this game to the table.

In The Oregon Trail Board Game, players are uncovering the trail from Independence, MO to Willamette Valley, OR. As they traverse the wilderness of 1800s America, players will find hunting grounds, ford rivers, locate forts and towns, and brave the elements as they attempt to successfully reach Oregon. However, the trail is full of hazards and, as supplies dwindle in their covered wagons, will they best the calamities that befall them, or end their trip in a shallow grave on the roadside?

As players play the Oregon Trail Game they will place trail tiles onto the board as they attempt to get to Willamette Valley, OR. As they proceed along the trail, they will need to hunt, trade, buy, sell, and more as they attempt to ensure their family has the supplies it needs to make the journey, but also survive the calamities they encounter upon it.

Will this latest entry in the Oregon Trail franchise deliver like a delicious pizza? Or end up being only peperony and chease?

Episode Outline:

00:00-20:00: Arcade Castle talks about the Oregon Trail franchise as developed by Pressman over the years and how that can inform the player on how this latest entry was developed and published.

20:00-40:00: Arcade Castle talks about the gameplay of the Oregon Trail, and its contents.

40:00-60:00: Arcade Castle takes an in-depth look at the strategies inherent to the Oregon Trail Board Game, what the players can bring to the table to have a better chance at winning the game.

60:00-72:00: Arcade Castle compares this third entry in the franchise to the first two to see how the success, or failure, of them defined how the third game was developed and how the strategies reflect that development.

Apollo Approved!

Riding the high that was Rollercoaster Tycoon, Arcade Castle gets on board their next ride in the form of the Megaman Board Game by Jasco Games, approved by Capcom, backed by 2,639 backers on Kickstarter to the tune of $415,051, developed for over two years, and released in 2015! (*phew*) But as the ride begins for Arcade Castle, a ride, unbeknownst to them, that last for hours and hours and hours, can Arcade Castle survive until the ride is over?

In Episode 12, Arcade Castle tackles the Megaman Board Game, which attempts to capture the essence of the Megaman series through custom dice, challenge decks, and modular board. However, the centerpiece of the game, and the main selling point via this board game's creator--Jasco Games--is the board game's miniatures. But, as Arcade Castle begins hour 3 of the Megaman Board Game, they begin to question if the miniatures even serve a purpose beyond window dressing and discuss the real question: has anyone ever played an eight player game of the monstrosity and, if so, are they still playing?

With all new music from Louisville, KY artist Tony Robot, Arcade Castle tries to figure out just where Jasco Games went wrong with the Megaman Board Game, and how to fix it, since Jasco Games has stated they will no longer support this game. Well, they may if you give them more money...

Episode Outline:

00:00 - 20:00 - Arcade Castle talks about artificial intelligence, 3D printing, video game board games and board game video games, Nintenhard, flooding bowling alleys, Megaman, 20XX: fact or fiction?

20:00 - 30:00 - Once Upon a Powerup: How Megaman Almost Was Megamain't.

30:00 - 45:00 - Arcade Castle takes an in-depth look at the components and gameplay of the Megaman Board Game from 2015. Arcade Castle examines how Jasco Games' approach to both of these elements directly led to the main issue with this board game: longevity.

45:00 - 60:00 - Both members of the Arcade Castle have different approaches on how to fix a fundamentally broken game, yet also find common ground and overlap that lead to an overarching approach that owners of this game can take to try and make this game that is MEGA on style and mega on substance more playable and more enjoyable.

Arcade Castle's attempt to sacrifice The Oregon Trail Card Game during the solar eclipse was, in a word, unsuccessful. At the height of the astronomical event, Arcade Castle thrust a dagger into the very heart of the card game and set it aflame in the hopes of removing its presence from this planet and send it into the unfathomable void of space.

But Arcade Castle was wrong.

As the embers died down and the solar bodies unaligned, something arose from the ashes, the proverbial phoenix: The Oregon Trail: Hunt For Food Card Game. This event left Arcade Castle defeated for some time...until now.

In Episode 08, Arcade Castle looks at the pseudo-expansion for the original game that no one asked for and no one expected. Nevertheless, setting themselves to the task, Arcade Castle opened up the Hunt For Food Card Game and played the second game in the series of card game adaptations of the legendary computer game that was released by MECC in the early 1970s.

The Hunt For Food Card Game, as the title suggests, is a card game adaptation of the hunting mini-game found in the Oregon Trail Computer Game. As the hunter, players navigate a grid of cards, flipping them over to explore the terrain. As they explore, obstacles, wild game, and hazards present themselves to the players. As a team, players must attempt to overcome these hazards as well as attempt to hunt, kill, and bring 600 pounds of meat back to the wagon to continue on the trail and win the game. But will this card game's aim be true? Or will it prove to far off the mark?

Episode Outline

00:00 - 07:00: Arcade Castle reintroduces the Oregon Trail card game series published by pressman, as well as recapping their opinions about the base game as discussed in Episode 04 of the podcast.

07:00 - 27:00: Arcade Castle explores, in length, The Oregon Trail: Hunt For Food Card Game. They describe the contents of the game, the rules of the game, and examine the strategies present in the game as well as the numerous problems with the game.

27:00 - 53:00: After playing the game as a standalone game, Arcade Castle integrates The Hunt For Food Card Game with the original Oregon Trail Card Game to see whether or not this integration helps either game become more playable and determine if it causes more problems then solutions. They then explore how changing some rules and adjusting gameplay may make both games function better. Do they recommend this game? Or recommend sacrificing it to the astral powers that be?