Vox Republica: Podcast Of The Cardboard Republic

Episode 047: Mythology Length: 29:27 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. How much do you know about Zeus and Loki, Shiva and Quetzalcoatl? What does it mean to undergo the hero's journey, and what can this all teach us about tabletop storytelling? Well, in the first part of this week's episode, we have Dave on to discuss exactly that. Then, in the Historical Precedent segment, Erin regales us with the tale of Sadie the Goat: thief, pirate, and product of her less-than-reputable environment.   For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup.   We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO., used with permission.

Episode 046: Penny Press Length: 29:51 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. Stop the presses! This week we've managed to scoop Matt Golec and Robert Dijkman Dulkes, the two designers behind the upcoming board game Penny Press, currently up on Kickstarter. Penny Press is a Euro game about turn-of-the-century newspapers, and it was one of the 16 finalists on the first Cards Against Humanity run Tabletop Deathmatch contest. They did so well, in fact, that they are one of the co-winners! You can find all of the videos here, or just watch theirs directly. Here, they talk about the experiences of making the game, participating in TTD, and even provide a small exclusive announcement regarding some extras for their Kickstarter! We first saw Penny Press at BostonFIG, and since BFIG is our June focus, it's win-win all around. (Also, Ryan makes no apologies for what

Episode 045: L5RPG Length: 34:48 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. We promised we'd come back to it, and we stuck to it! This week, Dave returns to actually talk about AEG's Legend of the Five Rings tabletop RPG. We go over a lot of the basics about it here, but feel free to also read his review about it here as well. Then, in the Historical Precedent segment, Erin goes over the poorly executed Astor Expedition and its many, many failures, as well as the one woman who pretty much kept the whole thing together.    This is an off-week for weekly gaming news bulletin. Check back next week for a full post-Origins recap!   We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring

Episode 044: A Golden Age of Board Games? Length: 29:37 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. You may have heard some claim that we're currently residing in a Golden Age of Board Gaming. What does that mean? What is a Golden Age? How does it apply to board games, and are we in one or not? We discuss that topic this week with Ryan as well as Rhiannon Ochs of Spooning Meeples fame.   For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup. We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO., used with permission.

Episode 043: GenCon 2014 Events Length: 26:04 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. This week was supposed to be all about one of contributor Dave Gordon's favorite game settings, Legend of the Five Rings. We started with that, but it quickly became all about GenCon events and cultural implications in games instead. (We'll come back to L5R later on.) Then Erin brings you another historical segment on the Fox Sisters. If you plan on attending some of the mentioned GenCon events yourseld, or would like to recommend others to us, be sure to drop us a note!   For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup. We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO

Episode 042: Havok & Hijinks Length: 34:46 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. This week, we continue looking at our May Indie Spotlight game, Havok & Hijinks. We sit down and chat with creator Adam Ferrel about his game (chock full of ridiculously cute dragons), game design, and Kickstarter in general. Speaking of H&H, did you know you can win a copy of it just by entering the contest??   For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup. We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO., used with permission.

Episode 041: Pacing Length: 32:16 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. Are your players pulling out their phones when you're running a tabletop adventure, or are their heads spinning because they can't keep up with what's happening? Then you have an issue of pacing your players. Well, this week, that's what's on the docket. We have Dave Gordon on to discuss pacing  in RPGs and how you can control your game's tempo at just the right level. Then, Erin introduces us to another historical tidbit for your tabletop gaming. This time, she talks about Clingstone mansion.   For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup. We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuri

Episode 040: Gaming Group Politics Length: 34:29 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. First, Erin gives us her thoughts on two recent previews we did, Transylvania: Curses & Traitors, and Evolution. Then, Ryan stops in to talk about the meta-gaming of, well, gaming. He hits on three key areas about the politics of gaming groups: The need to plan events ahead of time. Acknowledging that not everyone in your gaming group will always like the same kinds of game, and how you can address that. Accepting that the preferences of you and your friends very likely may change over time, as well as why that isn't inherently bad.   For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup. We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our social media, on iTunes, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGame

Episode 039: PC Death Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. This week is all about the topic of losing characters in tabletop RPGs. Whether it's a case of self sacrifice, meaningless encounters, or a capricious GM, it's a delicate topic that is fundamental to many game narratives. We look at it from multiple angles, with the help of our resident tabletop maven, Dave Gordon. Then, Erin introduces us to a new segment on real life historical events and how those examples can be incorporated into interesting story arcs for your own tabletop games.   For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup. We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO., used wi

Episode 038: Plot Hooks for RPGs Length: 30:14 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. This week is about hooks, hooks, and more hooks. Plot hooks that is. This week, Dave talks to us about how to go about encouraging player interaction with RPGs. Then, Erin breaks out a new Meta Review segment about how indie board games are lagging behind video games by not breaking into innovative idea territory.   For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup. We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO., used with permission.

Episode 037: Gaming Canon Part II Length: 46:39 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. When we last left our intrepid adventurers, Dave and Ryan were discussing what constitutes the qualifications for a game to become canon. Is there such a thing? Who gets to decide? And so on. If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, you can do so here. In the second half of this conversation, they discuss specific game titles that they feel embody what it means to be a canon game. Which ones are chosen? Let's find out!   We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO., used with permission.

Episode 036: Pleasant Dreams Length: 34:46 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. We're back from hiatus! Go us! Welcome to Season Two of Vox Republica. We've preempted our own podcast this week about Part II of gaming canon to instead share an interview we had at our TableTop Day event with Aerjen Tamminga. Aerjen is a Boston-area game designer, Director of BostonFIG, and he is currently running his first Kickstarter for the game Pleasant Dreams, which is going on right now! In this episode, we talk about his game (naturally), but also about various communities and resources that help when diving into being a first-time designer. Some of the groups mentioned are: Game Maker's Guild Meetup Game Maker's Guild Resource List Board Game Designers Forum BoardGameGeek Forums Kickstarter Best Practices Facebook Group Jamey Stegmaier's Kickstarter Lessons James Mat

Episode 035: Gaming Canon Length: 29:07 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. We're back from hiatus! Go us! Welcome to Season Two of Vox Republica.   Canon is defined as a body of rules or standards accepted across a field of study or art. There's a literary canon (well, there are many) and film canon, but is there gaming canon? Ryan LaFlamme and Dave Gordon discuss just that in this week's podcast. Who gets to decide what becomes canon, and how are those games selected? Do they have to be fun to play, or even good?    Check us out next week to hear their recommendations of canon games.   For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup.   We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit B

Episode 034: TotalCon 2014 Length: 28:52 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. This week marks the official end of Season 1 of Vox Republica. The show will take a short break and return in a few weeks, hopefully better than ever! Topic-wise Ryan is on to recap his day trip to TotalCon 2014 experience where it's explained the allure of this iconic New England convention, along with some of the new things he's seen. Editor's Note: Ryan mentions the Dice Tower presence at Total Con was Ryan Metzler. He mixed Metzler and Eric Summerer mixed up. Although he feels bad, he has been put into the town stocks for a day as a result anyhow.   We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman f

Episode 033: Dave Boostrom Length: 28:58 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. This week, Ryan commandeers the mic once again and sits down with Dave Boostrom of 3Some Games, co-creator of the Heroes of Metro City deckbuilder. We chat about the game, the current expansion, and Kickstarter in general. Feel free to check out our review of the base game, our preview of the expansion, or you can skip right on over to the Kickstarter campaign itself. For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup.   We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO., used with permission.

Episode 032: Crowdfunding RPGs Length: 34:06 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. A few episodes back (Episode 28), we discussed tips for backing games on crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter. Tabletop RPG, though, have different sets of criteria. This week our senior tabletop writer Dave Gordon is on to walk us through his tips and tricks that he uses when selecting games to back.  For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup.   We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO., used with permission.

Episode 031: Deck Builders Length: 23:22 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. This week we introduce the Meta Review segment, where we'll occasionally talk about behind the scenes aspects of what we (and many others like us) go through in order to talk about games open and honestly with you all. After that, a member of our review group, Sean McNamara, stops by to chat about the deck builder and tableau genres of games. For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup.   We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO., used with permission.

Episode 030: Convention RPGs Length: 23:44 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. As many people can attest, playing tabletop RPGs can be a fantastic use of time, not only to bring life to characters, but to socialize with fellow gamers. Conventions prove to be a double edged sword for them though. On the one hand, they're a great resource to try out other games and interact with other gamers, but it isn't always as ideal as many players are used to. This week, Dave Gordon talks about some tricks and tips players and GMs can use for making tabletops more successful at convention settings. For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup.   We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Bra

Episode 029: Diversity in Indie Gaming Length: 30:21 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. Games are known to be a lot of fun, but does that mean that they can't also tackle serious topics? Some indie video games do it. What about tabletop games? This week, Ryan LaFlamme is on to help parse this difficult issue. For the gaming news bulletin, check out our Weekly Roundup.   We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO., used with permission.

Episode 028: Tips for Backing A Game Length: 30:34 Subscribe to Show Link:    Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast! We’re back at posting new episodes every Thursday, and each episode will be about 20 - 30 minutes long. Choosing  a crowdfunding project to donate your money to can be a difficult decision if you have a lot of options. This week, Ryan LaFlamme is on to help discuss some general tips to consider when you're digging through all of your possible choices.   We’d love to hear from you! Please leave feedback in our forums, or via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach me on Twitter or BoardGameGeek.   Audio Credits: Intro music track is "8-Bit Brawl" by DJ Cutman featuring S&CO., used with permission.