Player One | Player Two: The Board Gaming Duo

We’ve evolved a lot as gamers over the past few years, moving decisively away from games with heavily random elements and towards games that are more straight-forwardly strategic or puzzly. But what happens when random elements meet a puzzly, strategic game head on?

Can a reasonably light game manage to balance randomness and crunchy strategy in a small, satisfying package?

Watergate (2019) on Board Game Geek: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/274364/watergate

Theme & End Credit Music by Javier Suárez (Jahzzar)
http://www.betterwithmusic.com/

Don't let preconceptions stand between you and an outstanding gaming experience. Solo gaming? Solo war gaming? "Hah, you jest!" I can hear you saying it now. But hold on. If you give it a chance, maybe you'll find something far richer and more rewarding than you expected. Join Player One on a solo variant, appropriately exploring solo gaming in its many forms, and one gem, in particular.
Comanchería on Board Game Geek:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/159692/comancheria-rise-and-fall-comanche-empire
Theme & End Credit Music by Javier Suárez (Jahzzar)
http://www.betterwithmusic.com/

Hobby gaming is, at its heart, a social hobby. We have lamented before that playing as two players makes it seem like you are living in a bubble–which is why we started this podcast, after all. That being said, we were very excited to get out of our little bubble by finally partaking in our first convention experience when we visited the locally hosted PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia.
We demoed games, we learned the importance of reading schedules, we ate delicious Indian food, and we left with a hot dice drafting game in our complimentary reusable Cool Stuff Inc tote.
So how was it? How was PAX as a convention? Perhaps more importantly for us: How was PAX as a first convention?
https://unplugged.paxsite.com/
Theme & End Credit Music by Javier Suárez (Jahzzar)
http://www.betterwithmusic.com/
Check out our blog!
http://playeroneplayertwo.tumblr.com

Kathleen and I are both very happy to go to bat for escape room games. The idea of one-off games rubs some people the wrong way. Is it a good value? Is it a good way to spend an evening? Is it a good analogue for the actual social experience? Well, we’re actually not going to discuss the merits of an escape room game on this episode–we already know it’s good for us. Instead we talk about what the eventizing of a game ultimately means.

And even though we are ride or die fans of escape room games, it doesn’t mean we can’t be let down by a design, even if it’s by some of our favorite designers out there.
*PLEASE NOTE: IN THIS EPISODE THERE BE SPOILERS!*
Exit: The Catacombs of Horror (2018) on Board Game Geek:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/255675/exit-game-catacombs-horror
Theme & End Credit Music by Javier Suárez (Jahzzar)
http://www.betterwithmusic.com/
Check out our blog!
http://playeroneplayertwo.tumblr.com

Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game is a new take on the idea of an escape room game. Puzzles + campaign? We're not always great about actually finishing campaigns, but what about Detective? Is Detective strong enough as a narrative to carry us through the campaign? We (and be we, I mean Player One only) aren't always keen on campaigns. So how does Detective fare? And what about its brother from another mother, Chronicles of Crime?
Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game on Board Game Geek:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/223321/detective-modern-crime-board-game
Chronicles of Crime on Board Game Geek:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/239188/chronicles-crime
Theme & End Credit Music by Javier Suárez (Jahzzar)
http://www.betterwithmusic.com/