So Very Wrong About Games

A podcast about all manner of hobby games by Mike Walker and Mark Bigney. Bad games don't go easy on you, so we don't go easy on them. Thorough analysis via reviews, news, and discussion of topics in gaming. We take context seriously, we value your time, and we're not into hype. Just because games are fun doesn't mean we can't take them seriously, and just because we take them seriously doesn't mean we can't have fun.

Leisure
Hobbies
226
#169: Whale Riders
Our inaugural Mark Bigney is a Blithering Idiot Fest has arrived, and we can chronicle a minor subsection of things that make evident Mark is a not a smart man. Although this episode is jam-packed with content, even its confines cannot contain a...
78 min
227
#168: Video Games vs. Board Games Market Differ...
From Wikipedia: "Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and filmmaker. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise....
66 min
228
#167: The Red Cathedral
Fun fact: The Red Cathedral isn't really a cathedral at all, it's a sobor, which isn't really the same thing. Also fun fact: Unsurprisingly, Mark is wrong to say that Fenrir will swallow the moon at the end of the world, as that is patently absurd....
62 min
229
#166: Tempo
Knizia reference, check; Kant reference, check; Shakespeare reference, check (albeit subtle); Scott Pilgrim reference, check (albeit a gimme); Macross reference, check; Letterkenny reference... wait, this must be a mistake. Where's the Letterkenny...
82 min
230
#165: Dominant Species: Marine
The trajectory of spin-offs seems indelibly tied to aquatic environments, so perhaps we ought to accept the inevitable and begin planning for "SVWAG of the Depths" wherein our hosts play games and then talk about them while entirely submerged. Imagine...
62 min
231
#164: Probability
Important Macross news! Mark will ruthlessly exploit any and all chances to mention Macross, and so he shoehorns in a quote from a Macross property so he can talk about Macross. He can then mention his mention of Macross in the episode description, in...
75 min
232
#163: Bullet♥︎
A great man once said that he thought bullets should cost five thousand dollars. As we are not currently playing a game of SHASN, we here at SVWAG will demur on weighing in on hot-button political issues at this time. Suffice to say that while there...
62 min
233
#162: Whining
No, not winning, that is emphatically not on the docket today. Today we inveigh against whining, which is a form of meta-whining; what the Brits call "recursive whinging" or the French language names "le grand boo-hoo." Given that the hosts engage in...
69 min
234
#161: Faiyum
Don't you know who I am Remember my name Faiyum I'm gonna live for ever I'm gonna learn how to fly -clearly some song about ancient Pharaohs Games Played Last Week: 00:51 -Aquatica (Ivan Tuzovsky, Cosmodrome Games, 2019) 05:06 -Dungeon Petz (Vlaada...
64 min
235
#160: Best Foot Forward
CASSIUS: Did SVWAG say any thing? CASCA: Ay, they spoke Geek. CASSIUS: To what effect? CASCA: Nay, an I tell you that, I'll ne'er look you i' the face again: but those that understood them smiled at one another and shook their heads; but, for mine own...
62 min
236
#159: Anachrony: Fractures of Time
Round structure of Anachrony: I. Jump to the left phase. II. Step to the right phase. III. Bring your knees in tight phase. IV. Pelvic thrust phase. V. Drives you insane phase. Let's play Anachrony again! It's just... Games Played Last Week: 01:25...
75 min
237
#158: Video Game Adaptations
The kids these days, what with their pokemons and their video games. The bleeping and the blooping. Personally I think civilization's gone downhill since Pong. It's all the colours! Pong had one too many colours if you ask me. What with the violence...
72 min
238
#157: Trick Shot
Wheel, snipe, celly boys. Crushin' sandos. Superstar power poses? Pfft. I could run a clinic on this, boys. The flow, and the snow. That's it, tarps off boys! You looking for a tilly, buddy? It's time for a donnybrook! Ferda. Games Played Last Week:...
55 min
239
#156: Dead Collectible Games
So. Many. Games. Could two humans play so many games in a mere week? Well, certainly no humans that aren't preternaturally devoted to their dear listeners. But we are devoted, and your mere idlest of wishes is our most sacrosanct of commands; and so,...
83 min
240
#155: Hallertau
One portentious day, Uwe Rosenberg will design a worker-placement game where polyomino sheep breed by being sown into fields that are also special power cards, and the Great Cycle will be complete. No one knows what happens then, and quite frankly we...
64 min
241
#154: Gatekeeping
"My defense, Your Honour, was that I was specifically mandated by the rulebook issued by M. Xavier Georges and Quined Games to violate the lockdown restrictions issued by the Province of Ontario. I would put to you that it is unjust for the government...
67 min
242
#153: Tungaru
Board Game Arena gets more and more of our gaming time, what with its snappy interface and minimal system requirements. The sound effects, though, are controversial. The community seems divided on whether the whooshes are pleasing or distracting, and...
65 min
243
#152: Death of the Rule Book
If you've been following board games social media recently, you might have noticed that it's been a rough couple of weeks. Incidents like these, albeit difficult, allow us a chance to define our community and underscore our values. Silence can imply...
65 min
244
#151: Dogs of War
Too much news! So much news, in fact, that we had to cut some news. Some news, though news-y, will keep until next week. The key is to wrap the roots of the news in damp paper towel, put the news in a plastic bag, and put the bag in the fridge. The...
60 min
245
#150: 2020 Year in Review
In honour of our big, blowout, end-of-year extravaganza spectacular, no expense was spared. Mark put on pants. Walker wore his t-shirt with the fewest holes. The sheep freshly sheared. The palanquin carriers were freshly oiled. Come, thrill to the...
94 min
246
#149: Empyreal: Spells & Steam
All right, sweethearts, what are you waiting for? Breakfast in bed? Another glorious episode of SVWAG! A day with So Very Wrong About Games is like a day on the farm. Every word's a banquet! Every sentence a fortune! Every review a soliloquy! I love...
63 min
247
#148: Combat Systems
"I hit you!" "Nuh-uh, you missed!" "I totally hit you!" "I dodged it!" "I have special homing missiles you can't dodge!" "I have a shield that redirects all your shots back to you!" "I have an invincibility field!" "I can shoot through invincibility!"...
83 min
248
#147: Beyond the Sun
Mark has occasion to quote three different movies in this episode, and miraculously none of them are Pulp Fiction, The Lion in Winter, or even Aliens--despite the latter being related to a game discussed! Perhaps his echolalia is abating, or perhaps...
73 min
249
#146: Dungeon Crawlers
One is reminded of those memes that plot definitions on two axes, asking to what degree the reader is a purist or a rebel--the setting purist and the mechanical purist would say "Descent is a dungeon crawler." Perhaps the setting purist and mechanical...
65 min
250
#145: Tidal Blades
It is the nature of the Walker who cries wolf that if he repeats the claim often and consistently enough, it might come true eventually. Despite the unrelenting constancy of Chinese New Year, some games do actually get produced--just only after they...
67 min