Episode 160

Length: 1:25:52

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Welcome back to Vox Republica, the Cardboard Republic Podcast!

We post new episodes every other Thursday, with each episode being about 45 minutes long.

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DESCRIPTION: 2018 may only be a month old, but that doesn’t mean the hobby hasn’t found itself stumbling over a couple notable mistakes by the publisher CMON. This week, Erin and Ryan dive into those issues, and gush about Charterstone, before diving into a lengthy discussion about what makes an escape room game challenging and memorable.

GUESTS: None

RECENTLY PLAYED GAMES – (0:27):

• Charterstone by Stonemaier Games (BGG Link)
• Five Seals of Magic by Mayfair Games (BGG Link)

QUICK TOPICS – (16:14):

• Within weeks of each other, noted publisher Cool Mini or Not found itself on the receiving end of two PR messes pertaining to two of their games. The first revolved around the inclusion of some tasteless tiles in their recent HATE campaign, while the second is an embarrassing (and abject) lesson to not rely on Wikipedia for all your research information, as has happened with their Rising Sun game.

FEATURED TOPIC – (32:48):

• It should come as no surprise to anyone at this point…but Erin loves escape room games. We’ve talked about it in passing a couple times already. But with well over a dozen titles in the small but growing genre, we decided to sit down and parse out what makes them so special. Topics include:
  • What makes a fun escape room game (i.e. difficulty, player size, theme, etc.)
  • The limitations of an escape room game as they currently exist
  • What can break the experience
  • How to get started with escape rooms
  • How we’d like to see the genre row

PLUGS – (1:23:56):

• We recently reviewed Charterstone! (Spoiler Free)
• We’re raffling off a copy of Kokoro to a lucky Patreon backer. Consider donating today!
• As always, Cardboard Republic YouTube videos, Instagram pictures, and the BGG Guild are still ongoing. Subscribe to one or two – or all of them if you really love us. You do really love us, right?

We’d love to hear from you! You can send questions or feedback via email at podcast@cardboardrepublic.com. You can also reach us social media, including Twitter, Facebook, and BoardGameGeek.

Audio Credits: Intro music track is “Swing!” by Bargo!, used under Creative Commons license.