Three Moves Ahead

A well-rested Bruce rounds out a full panel of Rob, Troy, and Julian as they discuss Memoir '44 Online, convenience, and the simple pleasures of light board gaming. It's a straightforward episode with the regulars at the top of their game. Federation & Empire Star Fleet Battles Command and Colors System

The Escapist's Greg Tito joins Rob and Troy to talk about A Game of Thrones: Genesis and to tell us about the Escapist's epic Napoleon in Europe match. In the first half of they show they talk about how AGOT's deception and diplomacy mechanics succeed in channeling aspects of Martin's novels, and in the second half they get into the ways that Napoleon in Europe models the cycles of war, peace, and negotiation that marked Napoleonic Europe. Troy then tells Greg that the Escapist should be a wargame site. Then he explains why you should give 3MA money. Rob's AGOT review Greg AGOT review Troy's AGOT impressions BGG's Napoleon in Europe page

Richard Cobbett bravely joins Rob for a conversation with Achron creator Chris Hazard, despite the fact that Richard is weak as a kitten and sick as a dog. They talk about the difficulties indies face in the RTS genre, whether reviewers should make allowances for coarse but inspired games, and how Hazardous software has reacted to weak reviews. They also dig deep on Achron's mechanics and how they developed over the course of the project. Along the way, they prove once again that Achron is one of 2011's most fascinating RTS games. This is kind of a "deep-end of the pool" discussion. You might find these resources helpful: Giant Bomb's "quick look" video Richard's RPS review

Soren Johnson quits in a huff and leaves podcasting so he can try his hand at making games. But first, Soren, Rob, Julian, and Troy talk about franchises and how they develop, or don't. Rob tries to make the case for considering Paradox-developed games as a single franchise, but Troy explains why that doesn't work. Soren talks about the Civilization series, and why it has evolved the way it has. The panel considers franchise exploitation, and the Blizzard model.

Computer and boardgame designer Paul Sottosanti joins up Soren, Julian, and Rob to discuss how board games are evolving, and how their design philosophies differ from computer games. Is the popular success of games like Catan something that will lead to wider acceptance of board games in general? Why do Julian and Paul love drafting mechanics so much? How does the transparency of board games change our relationship to them in comparison to computer games?

Zynga's Brian Reynolds makes Planetfall on Three Moves Ahead and, along with Soren, Troy, and Rob, founds a discussion of Alpha Centauri. He explains what went wrong with the "Civ in space" idea, and the role of the game's fiction. He and Soren talk about how Alpha Centauri changed the Civilization series, and take a look at some of its strange features, like the design workshop and climate change. Brian reveals he used the cast album of Les Miserables for inspiration as he wrote for the game, and Troy immediately proposes marriage.

Tropico 4 gets Rob, Troy, and Julian talking about city-builders and their quirks. Why are their politics so artificial? Troy notices that videogames say the business of cities is business, but at least they give strategy gamers something to look at. Soren joins midway through, because he can't stay away, and Julian wonders where the genre should go. Rob's Tropico 4 Wot I Think

Soren Johnson and Tom Chick join Rob for a discussion of Age of Empires Online. Tom opens by short-listing the game for "worst RTS ever made" and it's rough-sailing from there. Soren marvels at the disastrous interface, while Rob wants to napalm those cutesy Smurf villages. Then the panel talks about how AoEO could be redeemed, and finds there are some simple changes that could make AoEO a very good game. Tom's GameSpy review Rob's GamePro impressions and additional notes

Soren Johnson kicks off an extended visit to 3MA by joining Rob, Julian, and Bruce to talk about smaller-scale strategy games, and how they compare to their more traditional cousins. Julian thinks they let developers play to their strengths, while Soren worries about their potential to be ephemeral. Bruce suspects that if great games are ephemeral, that says a lot more about gamers than it does about games. Rob wants to like "big" strategy games more than he does, but likes the more contained experience that smaller games, and board games, increasingly offer. Bruce reveals that his gaming habits are stranger than anyone imagined.

Troy takes a victory lap after finishing his National Character series, and together with Rob delves deeper into some of the themes he brought up in the series, and considers some stray ideas that didn't quite make the final cut. Can stereotypes ever really be escaped, and do we even want to escape them when they provide such a reliable shorthand in strategy games? How would national character be portrayed by someone other than Anglo-American game designers, and does national character find a compelling expression in peaceful pursuits?

Irrational Games' Ken Levine join Rob and Troy for a discussion of the Combat Mission series, realism, WEGO turns versus continuous time, and what we'd bring back to the future. Tim Stone on "Ignorance Is Bliss"

Freelance writer Phill Cameron joins Rob and Troy for a discussion of the games they've been playing that haven't quite fit into recent writings or podcasts. New Men of War DLC, Troy and Rob's changing views on Panzer Corps, RTS time-traveler Achron, high-level Blood Bowl, Out of the Park 11, and racing games all come up for discussion in this open-ended discussion.

GWJ's Cory Banks finally dips his toes in the waters of turn-based wargaming with Matrix / Slitherine's new Panzer General remake, Panzer Corps. He joins Julian and Rob to talk about wargaming-lite, whether this really improves on Panzer General, and Panzer Corps' puzzle-based approach to scenario design. Rob realizes a newfound appreciation for daunting complexity.

PC Gamer EIC Logan Decker joins Rob and Julian for a discussion of Christoph Hartmann's comments that strategy is not a contemporary genre. They dig into his interview, and what he meant. They also cover other publishing models, and how they stack up to what game publishers do, and discuss how Hartmann's comments reflect a much broader struggle to figure out what people want in a new media landscape. Does being relegated to a smaller market actually make strategy healthier for those of us who still enjoy it?

Troy and Rob are over the moon about Longbow's Hegemony: Philip of Macedon, and invite programmer and writer Rick Yorgason to the show so they can ask that timeless question: "How awesome is your game?" The three go into detail on the game's simplicity, its superb camera controls and artwork, its integrated and effective tutorial, and the compromises and adjustments Longbow made to the design along the way. Then Rick says there are two copies of the game available to loyal 3MA listeners, and Troy promises to award them randomly to two people who leave comments on this episode. Deadline for comments is Wednesday, July 20th.

Taking a moment from their respective vacations, Rob and Julian pick up the pieces after a couple show ideas fall apart at the last minute. Julian wants to talk about card mechanics and why he likes them so much. Rob wonders if most PC games eschew cards because they tend to symbolize and abstract concepts, and the PC tends to place a premium on the literal. Julian also theorizes that poker's popularity changed games.

Ars Technica's Ben Kuchera visits Three Moves Ahead to continue a discussion he started about reviewing standards and practices. Troy and Rob try to keep up as the panel discusses how writers' relationships with their readers can affect their approach to reviews, what are a reviewer's obligations, and the value of genre expertise.

Mode 7's Paul Taylor visits with Julian, Rob, and PC Gamer's Dan Stapleton to talk about Frozen Synapse. They discuss the game's development, its lengthy beta process and how that has contributed to the game's success, and the decision to sell the game as a 2-for-1 package. Paul gets into the fiction a little bit, and how it has been received. Apologies for any audio issues. Some interference got onto Paul's audio track, and there were nearby lumberjacks chopping down trees with chainsaws.

Paradox France's Philippe Thibaut and GWJ's Erik Hanson colonize 3MA this week to talk about Pride of Nations, Paradox France's new grand-strategy game of imperialism. Erik and Rob are intrigued by Pride's cynical view of colonial competition and its novel mechanics. Philippe explains the game's origins and how it is at once a departure for Paradox France and a natural extension of their work as AGEOD. The Victoria II comparison comes up for discussion, and Erik and Philippe discuss the game design challenges of the Civil War.

Vic Davis rides back into town to talk about Six Gun Saga, his new solitaire card-based strategy game. Julian is mighty fond of it, but wants to play with the rest of his posse. Rob is curious how Vic's Armageddon Empires and Solium Infernum fans have greeted this unusual game, and where Vic is headed next.