So Very Wrong About Games

Invented proper names are fine and all, but come on, give me a context. Is Gunsen a person, place or thing? Is it an event, a state of mind, a code, a vibe? I am meant to believe that Toshi Ranbo is the big fortress in the middle, definitely unlike a factory or Mecatol Rex, but is a Toshi Ranbo truly the best of all Ranbos? I don't know. I asked Louie, and he seemed about to get to the answer, but I kind of lost the plot when he started showing me one of his framed Legend of the Five Rings card sets. I say one of, for there were several.

Games Played Last Week:

01:26 -Ceres (Gustaf Sundström, Artipia Games, 2023)

06:49 -Sidereal Confluence (TauCeti Deichmann, Wizkids, 2017)

14:07 -Deckers (Richard Wilkins, Deep Print Games, 2025)

19:03 -Eternal Decks (Hiroken, tricktakers Games, 2025)

26:03 -Star Wars: Imperial Assault (Justin Kemppainen, Corey Konieczka, and Jonathan Ying, Fantasy Flight, 2014)

28:03 -Guards of Atlantis II (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2022)

34:33 -Mountain Goats: Legacy (Alex Cutler, Michael Mihaelsick, & Stefan Risthaus, Allplay, 2026)

38:45 -Cthulhu: Dark Providence (Travis R. Chance & Martin Wallace, CMON, 2025)

49:00 -Rheinländer (Reiner Knizia, 25th Century Games, 2026)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

56:11 Battlestar Galactica reprint by Ghost Galaxy

57:21 Tag Team: SNK Legends Iori Yagami bonus characer pre-order bonus from Scorpion Masqué

58:34 A Billion Suns 2nd Edition from Mike Hutchinson

59:59 Feature Game: Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo (Matthew O'Malley & Ben Rosset, Office Dog, 2026)
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nothing captures the fundamental duality for which SVWAG strives than our two patron saints, Vasily Arkhipov and Honky Chonk Beardonkadonk. We aspire to be both enlightening and diverting, embracing both the ridiculous and the sublime, while trying to be simultaneously erudite and stupid. It's a daunting endeavour, but then again, both Arkhipov and The Beardonkadonk put in the work.

02:12 AYURIS: Thunder Road: Vendetta--Maximum Chrome (Dave Chalker, Noah Cohen, Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, Brett Myers, and Brian Neff, Restoration Games, 2023)

Games Played Last Week:

04:41 -Star Wars: Imperial Assault (Justin Kemppainen, Corey Konieczka, and Jonathan Ying, Fantasy Flight, 2014)

07:48 -Blood Rage: Valhalla (Eric M. Lang, Tycoon Games, 2026)

15:15 -Falling (Kentaro Yazawa, SUNNY BIRD, 2026)

18:19 -Regicide Inferno (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, and Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2026)

24:06 -Alibis (Yusuke Sato, Allplay, 2025)

28:02 -Starts With Ends With (Uncredited, Relatable)

30:27 -Bookshelf (Caezar Al-Jassar, Alley Cat Games, 2026)

33:08 -Opera Magna (Tommaso Battista & Stefano Castelli, Ludus Magnus Studio, 2026)

39:29 -Feya's Swamp (Helge Ostertag & Anselm Ostertag, Fractal Juegos, 2025)

44:19 -Got Five! (Yoann Levet, Blue Orange, 2026)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

47:06 Creature Caravans expansion--more creatures, longer caravan

47:42 Feya's Swamp does mushrooms, and the ducks would like a word

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walker claims that his grandfather invented Crokinole, just because no one else is given credit. Next he'll be saying someone in his family invented poutine, or calculus even before Leibniz and Newton got to it. Heck, let's say an ancient Walker formalized Linear B and call it a day.

01:44 -Crokinole (Uncredited, Mayday, 2025)

04:40 -Spaggetin (Franco Spardo, Alley Cat Games, 2026)

07:34 -Galileo Galilei (Tomáš Holek, Pink Troubadour, 2024)

10:36 -Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo (Matthew O'Malley & Ben Rosset, Office Dog, 2026)

19:16 -Regicide: Crown Duels (Paul Abrahams & Sketchgoblin, Badgers from Mars, 2026)

25:31 -Into the Machine (Kasper Lapp, AEG, 2026)

28:37 -Grabble (Naoki Fukuda, CMYK, 2026)

31:45 -Railroad Tiles (Hjalmar Hach & Lorenzo Silva, Horrible Guild, 2025)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

35:30 Arkhipov Day! In recognition of Vasily Arkhipov saving the entire world on October 27, 1962, we celebrate Arkhipov Day on October 27th.

35:58 TurnSignal

38:37 Feature Game: The LOOP (Maxime Rambourg and Théo Rivière, Pandasaurus Games, 2020)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In addition to using The Seven Years War quasi-exclusively to refer to that conflict, Canadians have a bevy of unique regionalisms to delight and confound our American neighbours. Our standards and measures are famously opaque, switching between imperial (a person's height and weight, distances less than ~100 meters) and metric (temperature always [except when baking], non-human weights usually, volume always [OUNCES DON'T MAKE SENSE, Y'ALL], most long distances [except when driving, then we use time]).

There are more, trust me.

02:51 AYURIS: Fromage (Matthew O'Malley and Ben Rosset, Road to Infamy Games, 2024)

Games Played Last Week:

06:33 -Deckers (Richard Wilkins, Deep Print Games, 2025)

10:45 -Salton Sea (David Bernal, Devir, 2024)

16:30 -Regicide Inferno (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, and Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2026)

20:41 -Regicide Legacy (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, and Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2025)

23:45 -Dune: Imperium--Uprising (Paul Dennen, Dire Wolf, 2023)

27:49 -Azure (Trevor Benjamin & Brett J. Gilbert, Bitewing Games, 2026)

29:34 -Sky Garden (Totsuca Chuo, uchibacoya, 2026)

35:15 -Ostia (Totsuca Chuo, uchibacoya, 2022)

40:43 -Star Wars: Imperial Assault (Justin Kemppainen, Corey Konieczka, and Jonathan Ying, Fantasy Flight, 2014)

45:02 -Romi Rami (Antoine Lefebvre, Randolph, 2023)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

49:14 Witches of Willowspur by Devious Weasel in distribution, more to follow

50:30 The LOOP correction: expansions will not come bundled, to be purchased separately

51:05 Rebirth 2, featuring Greece and Italy

52:47 Magical Athlete expandalone, Second Wind

53:23 A Feast for Odin pseudo-sequel The Danes hitting crowdfunding soon

54:18 Arkhipov Day! In recognition of Vasily Arkhipov saving the entire world on October 27, 1962, we celebrate Arkhipov Day on October 27th.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Oh, boardgaming's very popular, Ed. The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads — they all adore it. They think it’s a righteous hobby."

-Grace from Ferris Bueller's Day off, correctly observing that the hobby is for everyone

Games Played Last Week:

01:13 -Revenant (Allan Kirkeby, Mindclash Games, 2026)

06:33 -Torres (Michael Kiesling & Richard Kramer, Rio Grande Games, 1999) (TIK< JAV< MEX Kramer & Kiesling

12:13 -Mein Lieber Scholli (Stefan Kloß & Anna Oppolzer, Zoch Verlag, 2024)

15:06 -Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars (Paolo Mori & Alessandro Zucchini, Ingenioso Hidalgo, 2025)

21:02 -Star Wars: Imperial Assault (Justin Kemppainen, Corey Konieczka, and Jonathan Ying, Fantasy Flight, 2014)

25:12 -All In: Predictions (Phil Walker-Harding, Next Move Games, 2026)

29:25 -The Court of Miracles (Vincent Brugeas & Guilhem Gautrand, Lumberjacks Studio, 2019)

34:08 -Pagan: Fate of Roanoke (Kasper Kjær Christiansen & Kåre Storgaard, Wyrmgold GmbH, 2022)

39:59 -Patchistory (Yeon-Min Jung & Jun-Hyup Kim, Deinko Games, 2013)

42:01 -Endeavor: Deep Sea (Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray, Burnt Island Games, 2024)

44:11 -Reef Gardens (Jeffrey D. Allers, dlp games, 2025)

46:48 -Got Five! (Yoann Levet, Blue Orange, 2026)

News (and why it doesn't matter):

47:41 More Keep the Heroes Out: Keep the Villars Out!

48:37 Flintlock!: Global Warfare in 20 Minutes. Blitzkrieg! successor by Paolo Mori, Roger Tankersly, and David Thompson

50:44 The LOOP reprint

51:11 Arkhipov Day! In recognition of Vasily Arkhipov saving the entire world on October 27, 1962, we celebrate Arkhipov Day on October 27th.

51:26 Feature Game: Toy Battle (Paolo Mori & Alessandro Zucchini, Repos Production, 2025)
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices