BGB Podcast #161 – Mechanically Bullish
Popular mechanics are for kids.
Sometimes all it takes is a good designer (and the right game) to take what would otherwise be a mechanic we don’t like, and utilize it in a way that feels right. We take a look at some mechanics that we usually don’t love, and the games that turned us around on them. Before we see things in a new light, we talk about CloudAge, Mariposas, and Faiyum.
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Timecodes:
03:04 – CloudAge
12:37 – Mariposas
18:01 – Faiyum
28:27 – Games that rescued a mechanism
28:40 – Performative Clues
29:05 – Time’s Up
31:29 – On a Scale of One to T-Rex
32:19 – Action Points
32:52 – Flash Point: Fire Rescue
34:00 – Blood Rage
37:18 – Hidden Movement
37:18 – Nuns on the Run
37:45 – Specter Ops
38:35 – Scotland Yard
42:16 – Card Drafting
42:25 – Agricola
42:46 – 7 Wonders
43:53 – Paper Tales
44:25 – Inis
47:22 – Player Elimination
47:22 – Werewolf
47:40 – Shadow Hunters
48:09 – Secret Hitler
49:15 – Blood on the Clocktower
50:50 – “The Dice Game”
52:00 – For the King (and Me)
52:41 – Ra: The Dice Game
Thank you to Heart Society for generously letting us use What’s On Your Mind, Kid? from their album Wake the Queens.