Pod People

I was down in the L.A. this weekend, spending time with Mark Johnson and the Santa Clarita Boardgamers... which was a lot of fun. I also had the rare privilege of hosting Dave Arnott back here in Fresno, which meant I had an incredible weekend all around:

• took the train down to Newhall on Friday afternoon
• gamed with SCBer's on Friday night (Tsuro, Ark, Jenseit von Thebes, Akaba)
• recorded a podcast with Mark on Saturday morning
• gamed with Mark & Dave on Saturday afternoon (Zahltag, Akaba, Reef Encounter, Trump Tricks Game!, Route 66)
• drove back to Fresno with Dave
• gamed with Dave late Saturday night (Hochst Verdachtig, Rein Damit, Louis XIV, Africa)
• had Dave visit at NewLife Sunday morning
• gamed with Dave Sunday afternoon (Fjords, Kardinal & Konig: Das Duell, Kayanak, Industrial Waste x2)

Of course, the focus of THIS post is the podcast. Mark & I talked about two main topics: the Five & Dime lists and replayability vs longevity in games. If you'd like to listen to our conversation, Mark just posted it this morning. His podcast, Boardgames To Go, is one of the longest running gaming podcasts on the web. (If you enjoy our talk, he has a great conversation with Mike Siggins last fall that's definitely worth your time.)

There's a couple of spin-off topics from the podcast that I need to write some more on:

• once-a-year games (games that aren't great but are quite enjoyable when you play them once a year)
• Son of Apples Project

So, that leaves you with something to look forward to... (grin). Last note: Mark comments on his blog (and on the podcast) about how some folks confuse the two of us in the gaming community. The picture here was taken a couple of years ago, but should prove we're actually two different people. He's the suave looking one... I'm the guy deep in thought.