fox in the forest

#65: 2017 In Review

Happy New Year! We’re back once again with our first episode of the year and our customary recap of the year that was. We take a look back at the biggest news stories in gaming and beer in 2017, share our favorites in a pile of categories, discuss our six favorite beers of 2017, and of course our top six games of last year as well. We’re tying this episode up with responses from our new DM Slack channel’s “Final Round” topic: What was the biggest surprise in gaming for you in 2017? Enjoy!

2017 Superlatives:
Best Artwork:

Danielle: Near and Far (Red Raven Games)
Jake: Flipships (Renegade Game Studios)

Best Non-mini Components:
Jake: Dice Forge (Libellud)
Danielle: Photosynthesis (Blue Orange Games)

Biggest Disappointment:
Danielle: Photosynthesis (Blue Orange Games)
Jake: Yamatai (Days of Wonder)

Game I Wish I'd Played More from 2017:
Danielle: The 7th Continent (Serious Poulp)
Jake: Dojo Kun (CMON)

Best Older Game I Played for the First Time in 2017:
Danielle: Bora Bora (Ravensburger)
Jake: Rococo (Eagle-Gryphon Games)

Best Party Game:
Vegas Wits & Wagers (North Star Games)

Best Card Game:
Danielle: Herbaceous (Pencil First Games/Dr. Finn Games)
Jake: Matryoshka (White Goblin Games/Terra Nova Games)

Most Innovative Game:
Danielle: The 7th Continent (Serious Poulp)
Jake: Magic Maze (Sit Down!)

Favorite Beers of 2017 Six-Packs:
Jake:

  • Burial Beer Co. “Houtenhamer” Double-Barrel Imperial Stout. Asheville, NC. 10% ABV, 60 IBU.
  • Perennial Artisan AlesMaman” Barrel-aged Imperial Stout. St. Louis, MO. 11.5% ABV.
  • Side Project BrewingSaison du Blé” Imperial Stout. St. Louis, MO. 6% ABV.
  • Bearded Iris Brewing “Chasing Rainbows Three” New England IPA. Nashville, TN. 5.8% ABV.
  • B. Nektar Meadery “#DragonsAreReal” Cherry chipotle mead aged in New Holland Brewing - Dragon's Milk barrels with cacao nibs. Ferndale, MI. 14.0% ABV.
  • Burial & Interboro & Run the Jewels “Stay G-O-L-D” IPA. Asheville, NC. 6.0% ABV, 50 IBU.

Danielle:

  • Boiler BrewingQuintuple Dog Dare” Imperial IPA. Lincoln, NE. 18.4% ABV.
  • Good Road Cider WorksAvogadro's Trail” Semi-sweet Mead. Charlotte, NC. 7.8% ABV.
  • Epic Brewing CompanyBig Bad Baptista” Mexican Coffee inspired Imperial Stout. Salt Lake City, UT. 12% ABV, 65 IBU.
  • B. Nektar Meadery#DragonsAreReal” Cherry chipotle mead aged in New Holland Brewing - Dragon's Milk barrels with cacao nibs. Ferndale, MI. 14.0% ABV.
  • Edmund's OastKvass” Kvass. Charlotte, NC. 2.6% ABV.
  • Founders BrewingFrootwood” Barrel-aged cherry ale. Grand Rapids, MI. 8.0% ABV.

 

Favorite Games of 2017 Six-Packs:

Jake's Picks:

Downforce
Restoration Games
Designer:  Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, Wolfgang Kramer

Matryoshka
Terra Nova Games/White Goblin Games
Designer: Aaron Dill, Sean Sweigart, John Kovaleski

Flipships
Renegade Game Studios
Designer: Kane Klenko

Danielle's Picks:

5-Minute Dungeon
Wiggles 3D
Designer: Connor Reid

Azul
Plan B Games
Designer: Jun Sasaki

Seikatsu
IDW Games
Designer:  Matt Loomis, Isaac Shalev

We Both Picked:

The 7th Continent
Serious Poulp
Designer:  Ludovic Roudy, Bruno Sautter

Sagrada
Floodgate Games
Designer:  Adrian Adamescu, Daryl Andrews

Near and Far
Red Raven Games
Designer:  Ryan Laukat

Section Timestamps:

Intro

01:00 Show Housekeeping

02:32 Announcing the Draft Mechanic Slack Channel!

05:27 Meta Mechanic, 2017 by the numbers

08:27 Preface to the Superlatives

11:43 Biggest News Stories of 2017

25:10 Superlative Categories

55:34 Our Top Six Beers of 2017

71:20 Grey Fox Games sponsorship spot

72:08 Our Top Six Games of 2017

96:48 Final Round: Biggest game surprises

103:41 Outro

#50: Summer of Hot Games / Rococo

Draft Mechanic Episode #50: Listener Questions, Rococo On Tap, Flipships, Notre Dame, The Fox in the Forest, Bora Bora, and "Beer" Primer: Kvass

News:
Mega Moose Con
BEST TREEHOUSE EVER GIVEAWAY!

Kickstarter:
Star Scrappers: CAVE-IN
2017, Hexy Studio. 2-4 players. 45-90 minutes. 
Designers:  Filip Miłuński, Jan Zalewski
Artists: Mateusz "Draegg" Stanisławski
Kickstarter: Goes live 7/18/17 $25 base game, $39 base game + token minis

Recent Plays: 

Flipships
2017, Renegade Game Studios
Designer: Kane Klenko
Artist: Kwanchai Moriya 

Notre Dame (10th Anniversary Edition)   
2017, alea/Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH
Designer: Stefan Feld
Artist: Harald Lieske

The Fox in the Forest
2017, Renegade Game Studios/Foxtrot Games
Designer: Joshua Buergel
Artist:Jennifer L. Meyer, Keith Pishnery

Bora Bora
2013, alea/Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH
Designer: Stefan Feld  
Artist: Alexander Jung

On Tap:

Rococo 
2013, Eagle-Gryphon Games/eggertspiele
Designer: Matthias Cramer, Louis Malz, Stefan Malz
Artist: Michael Menzel

"Beer" Primer: Kvass:
-  Beaver Brewing Company "KVASS"; Beaver Falls, PA, USA. Made with rye, lemon, & raisins
-  Fonta Flora Brewery "Underground"; Morganton, NC, USA. Made with pretzels, smoked malt, & sea salt
-  Jester King Brewery "KVASS"; Austin, TX, USA. Brewed in collaboration with Miche Bread
-  Tiny Rebel Brewing Company "AK-47"; Amplified Kvass (get it, AK-) made with strawberries, lemon, and mint
-  Scratch Brewing Company "KVASS"; Ava, IL, USA. Made with house-baked rye bread and wild mixed house culture

Section Timestamps:

Intro
02:13 Con Watch: MegaMooseCon!
03:52 Con Watch: Gen Con 50! 
06:02 The Summer of HOT Games! Double the Draft Mechanic!
08:35 Kickstarter Preview: Star Scrappers: Cave In
18:12 Recent Plays: Flipships
24:58 Recent Plays: Notre Dame, 10th Anniversary Edition
34:02 Recent Plays: Bora Bora
42:07 Recent Plays: The Fox in the Forest
48:09 The First Ever Draft Mechanic Listener Q&A!
76:31 On Tap: Rococo
82:46 The Beer Primer: Kvass
93:10 A Giveaway?!
95:04 Outro