photosynthesis

#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

#58: The 7th Continent

Draft Mechanic Episode #58: The 7th Continent Review & On Tap, Photosynthesis, Lazer Ryderz, Raiders of the North Sea, and how we came to understand yeast in brewing

Kickstarter:
Stellar Leap! from Weird Giraffe Games

Recent Plays:
Photosynthesis
2017, Blue Orange Games
Designer: Hjalmar Hach
Artist: Sabrina Miramon

Lazer Ryderz
2017, Greater Than Games/Fabled Nexus
Designer: Nicole Kline, Anthony Amato
Artists: Blood & Chrome

Raiders of the North Sea
2015/2017, Garp Hill/Renegade Games
Designer: Shem Phillips
Artist: Mihajlo Dimitrievski

Review:
The 7th Continent
2017, Serious Poulp
Designer: Ludovic Roudy, Bruno Sautter
Artist: Ludovic Roudy

On Tap:
The 7th Continent
2017, Serious Poulp
Designer: Ludovic Roudy, Bruno Sautter
Artist: Ludovic Roudy

  • Grand Teton Brewing Company "Lost Continent"; Victor, ID, USA
    8.0% ABV, 117 IBU
    Imperial IPA with Bravo, Chinook, Centennial, Simcoe, & Columbus hops.
  • TRVE Brewing Co. "Cursed"; Denver, CO, USA
    4.5% ABV.
    Mixed culture sour pale ale.
  • The Orkney Brewery "Dark Island"; Stromness, Orkney Islands, Scotland
    4.6% ABV
    Scottish ale with flavors of dark chocolate, dried fruits, figs and nuts.
  • Bell's Brewery "Expedition Stout"; Kalamazoo, MI, USA
    10.5% ABV, 78 IBU
    Russian Imperial Stout brewed with aging in mind.
  • Brew Gentlemen "Exploration & Discovery Series"; Braddock, PA, USA
    "Exploration & Discovery No. 1"
    6.9% ABV
    Saison aged in white wine barrels with Brettanomyces & Lactobacillus.

    "Exploration & Discovery No. 2"
    7.3% ABV
    American wild ale aged in red wine barrels.

Yeast:
Article: A Short History of Yeast
Article: Louis Pasteur Did Not Discover Yeast

Section Timestamps:

Intro

01:00 Show Housekeeping

02:57 Kickstarter: Stellar Leap

05:43 Fantasy Board Game League Update

12:40 Recent Plays: Photosynthesis

23:12 Recent Plays: Lazer Ryder

29:13 Recent Plays: Raiders of the North Sea

38:59 Review: The 7th Continent (Part 1)

40:05 The 7th Continent: Gameplay Run-through

44:29 The 7th Continent: Discussion

84:46 The 7th Continent: Final Thoughts… for now

85:55 On Tap: The 7th Continent

91:49 Understanding Yeast in Beer

96:31 Outro

#55: Gen Con 50 Wrapup!

#55: Gen Con 50 Wrap-up!

Hey all! Episode 55 is going to be a little different! Each day during Gen Con 50, we sat down with our buds (Shane, Tamara, Steven, Dan) and talked about what we saw at the biggest con of the year (and the biggest Gen Con in history). I’ve assembled those recordings chronologically just like last year for over an hour of extra content! We really hope you enjoy our wrap-ups, and we’ll be back next Monday for another episode and a more in-depth look at some of the hottest games of the year, fresh from Gen Con 50!