Online Gaming Podcast

Show #17 - pr-game.com & marquand.net - 1/29/2007

2007-01-26T16:53:00.000-05:00

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Reviews of pr-game.com:
Play-by-Web
Play Puerto Rico online
The best PBW implementation I have seen

marquand.net:
Play-against-the-Computer
No multiplayer here, but three nice solo games versus AI
Clans
Coloretto
Ingenious
The AI is ok, and, in some games, there are difficulty levels to challenge the player.
Great place to brush up your skills on these games.

Next Show: A Review of Flexgames.com (I hope) and possibly another part of the BSW review (I hope to play Finstere Flure and Bohnanza).

Show #16 - Year in Review - 1/16/2007

2007-01-26T16:50:00.000-05:00

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This show is the Year in Review show where I look back at all the sites I reviewed in shows 1-15 and give any updates (such as new games added) for each site.

Look for a couple new reviews in show #17

Next Podcast on Tuesday, January 16th

2007-01-10T13:39:00.000-05:00

Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so the podcast will be delayed a day until Tuesday.

Shows #13 and #14 and #15

2006-12-24T20:48:00.000-05:00

With Blogger switching to Google, I've had some difficulty updating this blog, here are the new podcasts:
Show #15 - You Play It - 12/18/2006

YouPlay.it
PBW Site
FREE
- Blue Max
Tons of Scenarios (over 30)
- Cartegena
- Viva Il Re!
- VampiRing
Original Game
- Wooden Ships and Iron Men!
In testing, but it looks great, many scenarios available.

Highly recommended!

Show #14 - e-Boardgames - 12/7/2006

Show #14 was delayed further due to Audacity and illness. It is up on Wednesday the 13th. Next show is still scheduled for the 18th of December and then a hiatus until January 15th.

e-Boardgames.com
PBEM website
FREE!
Many games, fast turnarounds in some games
I played an Age of Steam game in 8 weeks.
The 18xx games are also varied and interesting (I am playing the 1826 Trinidad game now which I had not seen before)
Highly recommended!

Show #13 - Gamebox Online - 11/22/2006

Full Show Notes at http://onlinegamingpodcast6.blogspot.com

Online Boardgaming News (as of 11/22/2006)

Gamebox Online
http://hilinski.net/games/online/
Java Web Start Interface
Interactive Style

Tycoon
Taj Mahal

Show #12 - ACTS by Warhorsesim

2006-11-08T10:17:00.000-05:00

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News:
News links have been removed so I don't trigger BlogSpot's spam filter...

ACTS Review
Grade: B+

A Fistful of Planets
Age of Renaissance
Blue vs Gray
Empire of the Sun
Epic of the Peloponnesian War
For the People
Generic Game Module
Hammer of the Scots
Hannibal
LOTR: The Confrontation
March Madness
Paths of Glory
Republic of Rome
Successors
Sword of Rome
The Napoleonic Wars
Thirty Years War
Titan
Twilight Struggle
We the People
Wilderness War
WWII: Barbarossa to Berlin

Show #11 - MabiWeb / HexWar

2006-11-08T10:12:00.000-05:00

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News:
News links have been removed so I don't trigger BlogSpot's spam filter...

MabiWeb.com Review
Grade: A

Richelieu
Hansa
Samurai
In the Shadow of the Emperor

HexWar Review
Grade: B+ (If it was free, it would be an A+)
Decision Games - about 20 games with multiple scenarios
Pay site - $12.95 / month or $9.95 / month for an annual subscription

Show #10 - BoiteAJeux.net and OfficeDebo

2006-10-11T14:17:00.000-05:00

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News:
VASSAL – Two new updates
MaBiWeb – Updates to Samurai and Hansa
WargameRoom.com – Multiple game updates
BrainKing – New reward system
Diplomatic Pouch – Spring Retreat magazine released
New game on Super Duper Games (Attangle)
Jamble released
Santiago in beta
Game board posting in forums and a player with 10,000 games played!
Restriction Checkers released and new tournament code
New administrative features on Ludoholic
Allows you to download entire months of Reversi games
Interleague Tournament
Tournament Talk, join the discussion in their forums
Free Game of the Month - Lord of the Fries

BoiteAJeux.net Review
Grade: B+ (for being all in French)

Alahambra
Amazones
Diabolik
Dvonn
GIPF
Droles de Zebres
La Guerre des Moutons
Finstere Flure
Shazamm
Tyrus
Torres (Spiel des Jahres winner)

Office Debo Review
Grade: B (Template game, but nice theme)
Nice skill system.
Skills add to your overall experience
Many skills lead into other options

Show #9 - Online-vinci.de.vu and BSW pt 3

2006-10-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

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News:
HexWar – WW2xx updated
VASSAL – Multiple module updates
MaBiWeb – Shadow of the Emperor in beta testing
WargameRoom.com – Multiple game updates
BrainKing – New reward system

Online Vinci Review
Grade: B
Vinci - Ludagora is better

BSW Review, pt 3
Diamant
Funkenschlag (Power Grid)

Show #8 - Ludagora and High Descent

2006-09-13T12:34:00.000-05:00

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News:
Aide-de-Camp – Defending the Reich released
Flexgames – next game poll, Lord of the Rings: Confrontation, Balloon Cup, Odin’s Ravens, Citadels
HexWar – WW2xx updated
VASSAL – Multiple module updates
MaBiWeb – Shadow of the Emperor in beta testing
WargameRoom.com – Multiple game updates
Dune emulator - updated to v2.34
ZillionsOfGames.com – added Chinese Chess
BrainKing – New reward system
Diplomatic Pouch – Spring magazine released
Zelderex – Round 8 started 9/5
Cyber-Wars – new Wiki and Viruses
Urban Rivals - new Characters
Travian – Server 2 is now v3
Bulfleet – Restarted Universe 2
Monster Bowl – Started a new season

Ludagora.net Review
Grade: A-

Through the Desert

Medina

Crazy Circus

Capharnaum

Vinci - The best online adaptation I have seen.

Hare and Tortoise

High Descent Review
Grade: A
Mercenaries - Lots of options, leveling up, and better mercs as you gain nobility
Nobility Rank - Salary, Number of mercs in your army
Weapons and Armour - Plethora of options, just a great system.

Show 8 on Monday

2006-09-07T18:20:00.000-05:00

I have decided that a weekly show is really too taxing, so I am going to a bi-weekly format and as such, the next show will be out on Monday the 11th. I have recorded all the segments and I just need to edit them for time and put them together. I am reviewing Ludagora.net and High Descent and I have added the new news segment. I also joined the Gaming Podcast Network, so there will be a promo for them in the podcast.

Adding News to the Podcast

2006-09-01T15:46:00.000-05:00

I have decided to add a news segment to the podcast and severely edit myself so that the next podcast is only about 45 minutes long. The news segment will be a 15 minute segment that will cover what is happening in the online boardgaming world (new games in development or available for play, e.g. SpielByWeb added a Maharaja forum, so I can assume that Maharaja is in development and will report this to you). I will also cover some of the online browser-based game news, such as server resets, new UI enhancements, and new features (such as the new characters available in Urban Rivals).

If you run a browser-based online game or an online boardgaming site and wish to send me news, please email me at kdevine@yahoo.com.

Additionally, I have joined the Gaming Podcast Network at PodcastPEN.com, so expect some of their bumpers to show up. I am hoping to have a lot of promos in my episodes to other podcasts that I think you will enjoy and perhaps some promos for other interesting projects.

Show 7 - SpielByWeb and BSW pt 2

2006-08-29T21:20:00.000-05:00

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SpielByWeb
-Amun Re
-Bus
-Hacienda
-Reef Encounter
-Tikal
-Wallenstein
-Hoity Toity

BSW, pt 2
-Carcasonne
-Transamerica
-San Juan

Show 6 - Boardspace.net and BrettspielWelt Part One

2006-08-29T21:19:00.000-05:00

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Review of Boardspace.net

BSW, pt 1
- Ra
- Caylus

Show 5.5 - A new approach

2006-08-17T15:13:00.000-05:00

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I talk about changing the format of the show slightly to focus on online boardgaming sites and to have only sporadic reviews of online browser based multiplayer games.

Show #5 Double Feature

2006-08-01T18:14:00.000-05:00

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Audacity blew up on me so I am posting this in a hurry, I'll have complete show notes later.

Review of Astro Wars:
http://www.astrowars.com
Review of Urban Rivals:
http://www.urban-rivals.com
Review of Yahoo! Games:
http://games.yahoo.com
Review of MSN Games:
http://zone.msn.com

Next week: Boardspace.net, Poker RPG, Tribal Wars, and part 1 of BSW

Show #4 - Imperia Online and Atari Play

2006-07-19T16:56:00.000-05:00

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Review of Imperia Online:
http://www.imperiaonline.org
4 Servers in different Eras (not sure what the difference between Eras is)
Buildings for each Province
Resource Gatherers (Farms, Granary; Quarry, Iron Mine, Lumber mill)
Military Resources (Infantry, Ranged, Stables, Seige)
Fortress
Research
Melee Attack, Ranged Attack, Mounted Attack, Seige Attack, Tactics, Centralization, University, Medicine, Armor, Cartography
Espionage
Attacking
Recruiting
Workers
Trade
Alliances

Review of Atari Play:
http://games.atari.com/playgames/home.jsp
Games Available
Boggle
2 game modes: Master Boggle (5x5), Boggle (4x4)
Battleship
3 game modes: Classic, Volley, Salvo
Scrabble
Monopoly
Options: Auctions, Build Evenly, Collect 2x Salary, Short Game, Collect Fines on Free Parking
Yahtzee
3 game modes: Classic, Colored, Triple
Sorry

Next week: Yahoo! Games and Astro Wars

Show #3 - 7/11/2006

2006-07-11T13:51:00.000-05:00

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Review of Travian:
• 6 servers with different approaches
• 3 races to play
o Romans (all around, cavalry-heavy) Can raise or extend a building and resource field simultaneously, High Defense-bonus by wall, Merchants can carry 500 units of resources (speed: 16 fields/hour), Very powerful infantry, average cavalry, development is expensive and takes a long time.
o Teutons (attackers, aggressive) Plunder bonus: the cranny of enemies only hides 2/3 of its content, The earthwall is almost indestructable, but only gives a minimal defense bonus, Merchants can carry 1000 units of resources (speed: 12 fields/hour), Very cheap and fast trained troops which are excellent plunderers, Weak defense
o Gauls (defensive, passive, but can be powerful) Speed bonus: Fastest troops in the game, average defense-bonus because of palisade, Merchants can carry 750 units of resources (speed: 24 fields/hour), Cranny is twice as big, Expensive siegeweapons, Cheap settlers
• Main screens
o Village Overview (this is where you raise resources)
o Village Center (this is where the buildings are built)
o Surrounding Map (who your neighbors are)
o Messages (alliance, others)
o Statistics
o Reports (who attacks you)
• Resources: Lumber, Clay, Iron, Crop
• Crop is a persistent need, each building and unit requires a constant supply of crop
• Buildings
o Main building to decrease building time
o Barracks for troops, Marketplace for trading, Embassy for alliances
o Cranny is important, it protects resources from attack
o Warehouse for storing resources, Granary for storing crop
o Academy for better units, Blacksmith for better units, Stables for cavalry
o Rally point for attacking, Armory for increasing the defense of your units
o Residence for settling new areas (make new cities)
o City Walls, Resource enhancing buildings, and more
• Alliances
• Forums are good and let you know what you are doing wrong and are good for alliances.
• Plus gives some nice extra options such as queuing, resource look forward (when the resources will be available), better statistics, longer map view, better combat simulator, notebook, sorting function on marketplace.
• $2.99/month; $6.99/3 months; $19.99/10 months; $19.99/1 year

Online experience with Travian:
• Initially, I thought this game was a slow boring game, but as I played it and got into an alliance, I found it to be more engaging.
• I definitely plan on playing more often and will report back in a few months
• Alliances are key
• Cranny is very important
• Different races play differently
• Play often even for a few minutes here and there

Review of BoardGameGeek:
• Three games
o Roads and Boats
o Kingdoms (Auf Heller und Pfennig)
o Tigris and Euphrates
• PHP / mySQL based
• Turn-based, non-interactive

Online experience with BoardGameGeek:
• Could use an email reminder feature and a slightly better interface
• The rules are pretty nice
• Non-interactive (can be days between rounds)

Next week:
• Boardgame site: Atari Play: http://games.atari.com/playgames/home.jsp
• MOBBG: Imperia Online http://www.imperiaonline.org

Show #3 to be posted soon

2006-07-11T12:07:00.000-05:00

I had Audacity crash on me last night right after I finished recording the podcast and I have spent the morning finding and using various recovery tools to get it back. I will post the final today.

Show #3 delayed until July 10th

2006-07-05T17:16:00.000-05:00

Due to the holiday weekend and a severe thunderstorm that seemed to last the entire weekend, I did not have time to get the podcast completed satisfactorily. Look for my reviews of Travian and BBG next week on the 10th.

Show #2 - 6/27/2006

2006-06-28T09:59:00.000-05:00

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Review of Cyber-Wars
Steep Learning Curve
Lots of similar sounding options
Options that are important are hidden amongst options that are superfluous
Rechargable Statistics:
Energy, Capacity, Intent
Combat Stats:
RAM, CPU Speed, BUS Speed, Harddrive
A number of options and a lot of room to advance
Premium Package is $5 to buy more energy or increase the regeneration of energy
Regeneration gets full every 7 hours or so, which is a time commitment for some casual players
Final Grade: C, I found too much of the game to be complicated and not enough advancement

Review of Days of Wonder
Games Available: Ticket to Ride (USA and Europe), Queens Necklace, Gang of Four and Fist of the Dragonstones
Java-based, but I found it to be very stable and easy to use
Ticket to Ride has a lot of players all the time, the others may be more difficult to play at any given time.
Exactly duplicates the boardgame/cardgame (Except with automated scoring and a highlight of destinations in TTR)
Karma system
No tournaments or serious ladder system. There is ranking but it is simply a number (there is no top players list I could find)
AI bots have different flavors: LongBot, DirectBot, DumbBot

2006-06-21T15:38:00.000-05:00

Odeo Link for Feed:
My Odeo Channel (odeo/79fe3a0eeba55592)

Show #1 6/19/2006 - Online Gaming Podcast

2006-06-20T13:07:00.000-05:00

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Review of ZeldereX:
Tick-based game
Every 20 minutes you get more oil, money
Economic and military
Money buys stuff including military
Military is used to attack and gain money
Vast research options
Improve troops
Add offensive weapons, defensive weapons
Improve income
Lower cost of goods
Nice clan structure
Easy to recruit and spot teammates
Needs improvement in the helping others aspect (being part
of a clan doesn't seem to afford any protection or benefit)
Basic military and attack setup
Put your heroes in charge,
put them in a vehicle and hit players close to you in rank.
Building and upgrading
Certain buildings are very important and others are not.
Premium options
Buying cash (which I hate!)
Additional buildings and research options

Review of AsoBrain:
Games available:
Settlers of Catan (Xplorers)
SET! (Match!)
Barricade (Roadblock)
Carcassonne (Toulouse)
Java-based
Simple ranking system
Active forums with Tournament details
Uses ports 1981 - 1998, so firewalls may be an issue
Normal long Java load time

Online experience with AsoBrain:
Carcassonne, I mean, Toulouse
Played against two others
Easy to play and score
I didn't have any problem with setting it up or having fun

Settlers of Catan
A plethora of map setups
Allows for a lot of replayability
Easy to setup
AI is ok at trading
As good or better than the official Settlers of Catan by
Microsoft

Online experience with ZeldereX:
Easy to play
A lot of attacks
Only way to really get ahead seems to be to purchase
money

First Podcast is being edited!

2006-06-15T12:28:00.000-05:00

I have put together an individual effort for this podcast, but I am hoping to have interviews and other guests on this podcast soon.

The first podcast focuses first on telling the listener what this podcast will entail:
- A review of an online board gaming site
- A review of an online multiplayer computer game
- A list of links to interesting sites
- Talking about recent experiences on an online board gaming site
- Interview with someone from the online gaming community
- Outro with final comments

The podcast is slated to be about 30 minutes in length.

Expect the first podcast next week (probably Tuesday 6/20/2006)