Sun, 12 November 2006
I had a few technical challenges with this show--hopefully none of them come through in the recording. (I did the intro on my little Treo phone/PDA thingie, then pasted it into my normal Audacity recording software. I hadn't noticed that this fiddled with my normal sampling rate, which affects some CD burners. I think I fixed it, though.) By all means, let me know if something is amiss.Note the
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Sun, 12 November 2006
This show may not be as interesting to listeners who have been enjoying this hobby for a while. But as I mentioned in a previous show, I think it's important that this podcast have one show intended for newcomers. Though there are at least a couple more boardgame podcasts out there, mine is still the one that pops up when someone does a podcast search specifically for boardgames (only because
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Sun, 12 November 2006
I haven't talked very much about wargaming on Boardgames To Go (yet...). However, I do still play some of those, and today happens to be the final day for submitting your votes for the Charles S. Roberts awards. Though handed out at Origins (I think), the CSR awards have more dignity and credibility within the now-smaller hobby of board wargaming. Their history stretches all the way back to 1974.
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Sun, 12 November 2006
A theme show I'd mentioned earlier, focusing on the ideas behind game awards. I was consciously trying to avoid just making this a rundown of the various awards, trying to get a little behind the purpose and motivation for game awards. Was I successful? Partially, I think.Email Mark JohnsonLinksBrett & Board's Awards pageInternational Gamers AwardsDeutscher Spiel Preis form (and Mik's explanation
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Sun, 12 November 2006
I did a little tweaking this afternoon, discovering that I had a way to check some more usage statistics than I'd previously known. One of them I can share right here on the sight: a little graphic at the bottom of my sidebar, tracking the number of listeners(?) using my feed. At least, I think that's what it's tracking. The poll (also at sidebar) indicated over half of my listeners are not using
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Sun, 12 November 2006
Finishing up the earlier theme show about conventions, this time covering invitational events like The Gathering of Friends and Gulf Games, then wrapping up with some of the smallest but best events, public Games Days.At the end I mention the next theme show will be about the various game awards, and I'm asking for feedback/input about that topic in particular.Links(No website for private events
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Sun, 12 November 2006
Just as I predicted, the universe returned to normal and I dropped off the Top 40 list at Podnova.com. This morning I found that the listing was based on subscriptions, I imagine ones registered through the Podnova website. Now Adam Curry and Dawn & Drew have resumed their rightful places atop the podcast world. However, I see that Geek Speak has now made the list, and that show might have the
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Sun, 12 November 2006
It can't last--I know it can't--but all day I've been in the listing of Top 40 podcasts at Podnova.com. This site is primarily a new podcatching service, one that works as a web application or downloadable client . . . or both, synchronized together. They've even got an audio player built into the website, allowing you to stream shows like mine. I've got a clickable link to the right that makes
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Sun, 12 November 2006
Last week I purchased my own domain name for this site & podcast. It's now at (what else?)...http://BoardgamesToGo.com (yea!) This also permits me to receive email feedback at Mark@BoardgamesToGo.com. Don't worry, all of previous email and web addresses will continue to work. The RSS/podcast feed is unchanged. This is just cooler. :) Finding that all less expensive than I expected, I decided to
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Sun, 12 November 2006
BGTG - May 2, 2005 (SR: Settlers, Dancing Dice, Basari, Ra, San Marco, Xe Queo!, Ingenious, Star Wars Ep. 2 Card Game, Kapitan Wackelpudding)
Oof, that's a long title for this post. But I wanted that top line to tell people what's in this podcast, so that can see it in their RSS reader or podcast aggregator. This entire show is an audio session report. As you'll hear in the podcast, I received some good suggestions that I could kill two birds with one stone by keeping the session reports, just separating them out into their own show.
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Sun, 12 November 2006
Finally did the show about conventions, and I didn't even finish what I wanted to say. But I limited myself to a half-hour, just the same. I'll wrap up in a future show, though that will probably not be my next show. In this one I start at the top, discussing my one day at Essen 2003, other experiences with Origins and Gencon (well, at least Gencon SoCal), talk up some more-than-regional cons
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Sun, 12 November 2006
June 11 update: I've switched over to 32kbps MP3 exporting out of Audacity, rather than the 48 I was originally using. For speech the difference in audio quality ought to be barely detectable, while the filesize savings are nothing to sneeze at (around 25%).This particular podcast has nothing to do with boardgames! It's a special show about podcasting itself. The first third of the program are
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Sun, 12 November 2006
BGTG - May 14, 2005 (SR: Crokinole, Schrille Stille, Star Wars Attack of the Clones, Puerto Rico, Traumfabrik)
This audio session report mostly talks about the games I played at two recent Santa Clarita Boardgamer sessions. What do people listen for in an audio session report, anyway? I don't spend any time explaining the mechanics of the games. That's not a good use of anyone's time, especially my own. You can follow the links below to learn all you'll want about rules & mechanics.I'm primarily telling
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Sun, 12 November 2006
Ok, with four of these shows "in the can," it's time to go live with this podcast/blog. Right after I upload this show I'll spread the word online and we'll see what happens. Naturally I hope people like it, but I'd certainly understand some . . . ahem . . . constructive criticism. (Especially after I suggested some Tough Love for Geek Speak once.) Fair's fair.As I mention near the end of this
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Sun, 12 November 2006
This show is all about playing boardgames with your family. Well, with my family. A family who isn't as blown away by strategy boardgames as I am, they still humor me from time to time. They even enjoy some games now and then. The small audio session report tacked on the end is mostly about a mega Carcassonne game I played before El Grande last week.On the technical front, I changed some of my
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Sun, 12 November 2006
One comment I received more than once was a desire to have some links for the games or sites I mention during a podcast. I've gone back through the past shows and appended some links that should help. If there's something I've missed, be sure to let me know and I'll get it posted.
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Sun, 12 November 2006
Wouldn't you know, not long after I posted my last show about gaming with my family, I managed to have a new success: 2-player San Marco with my wife. Now, San Marco isn't intended for just two players, but there are a couple variants posted on Boardgamegeek. We tried the one that uses a mostly inert dummy player (some dummy player rules can get too involved--not the case here), and it worked
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Sun, 12 November 2006
Ok, now the podcast has been "live" for a few days, folks have listened to some of the shows, and the feedback is starting to trickle in. Thanks very much. It's generally quite positive, which makes me feel good. But there are also some suggestions for improvements, and a couple instances of technical problems. These are all necessary for me to here if I'm to change anything. While I'm not yet
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Sun, 12 November 2006
In the third show I describe a variety of online boardgames I like to play, using the play-by-web (or email) format, as opposed to a realtime format like Brettspielwelt or the Days of Wonder site. I also rifle through a session report of the Santa Clarita Boardgamers (Karawane, Rome: Circus Maximus, El Grande, Kraut & Rüben).Other linksBoardgamegeek [English] (Euphrat & Tigris, Auf Heller und
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Sun, 12 November 2006
Second try, and this time I've got a slightly better microphone and less monotone voice. :) I talk about why I'm doing a podcast at all, why I hope there will be more boardgaming podcasts soon, and a session report for games played with my old group, the Left Coast Gamers (Evergreen, What Were You Thinking?, Durch die Wüste, and San Marco.)Email Mark Johnson
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Sun, 12 November 2006
This first one is a little rough, both because I was working with a poor microphone and mistakenly thought I should keep my voice relatively flat. But at least it's a start! At the end I wrap up with an audio session report from the Santa Clarita Boardgamers (Garden Gnome Society, Rumis, and Doom:The Boardgame).Email Mark Johnson
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