In the 14th Century B.C.E., the pharaoh Akhenaten attempted to shift Egypt into monotheism centered on the cult of the god Aten. Apparently there's some who argue it was possibly instead henotheism, whereby many gods are acknowledged but one is elevated above the others--a claim advanced about many ostensibly mono- or polytheistic religions, even some practised today--but at any rate is was exceptionally controversial. By the time his son Tutankhaten became pharaoh, the cult of Aten was supp...
Dec 28, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Some things, of course, from Josie and the Pussycats have aged poorly. The idea of "record stores" and CDs (that could, in turn sell out like they were PS5s or something) is downright quaint--especially given the format of this show. I'm pretty confident that the cultural moment of Moviefone Guy has well and truly passed, despite the continued use of both movies and phones. Do people still know who Carson Daly is? I confess I never really did. Mostly I know him from that totally jerk...
Dec 21, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The hosts are, briefly, back in the same room again, and this has had the unfortunate effect of bringing out the very worst in Mark. Don't worry, he doesn't spend ten minutes complaining about the implied political claims of kids' shows, but his mind naturally went to the gutter of abominable puns. You have been warned. Games Played Last Week: 01:16 -On Mars (Vital Lacerda, Eagle-Gryphon Games, 2020) 04:24 -Pulsar 2849 (Vladimír Suchý, CGE, 2017) 06:37 -Hibachi (Marco Teubner, Grail ...
Dec 14, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast We skip over substantial portions of our hosts' stories, of course. No mention is made of Walker's extensive experience with Gilbert & Sullivan. Mark's stint as the Official Pokémon Master of Canada is glossed over. The deep tribal conflict of Jocks versus Geeks, of which Walker is destined to be the bridge (think Dune but even more messianic), is only alluded to. Someday, the whole story might be told, but you wouldn't believe us. 01:43 AYURIS: Nemesis (Adam Kwapiński, Awake...
Dec 07, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast We have become feature-hungry here at SVWAG. We debut Walker's Language Corner which, let us be frank, is not apt to be repeated, especially given Walker's aversion to dead languages. We finally name a recurring segment that has been airing unaccredited for years, and we have dubbed in Mark's Rage Theatre. It is Festivus every day of the year, and Mark has some grievances to air. Games Played Last Week: 01:18 -Paper Dungeons (Leandro Pires, MeepleBR, 2020) 04:40 -Sheepy Time (Neil Ki...
Nov 30, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast One of the great tragic modern misapprehensions of history is the blanching of fascism. It seems that people can watch Attack on Titan and play with their space marines, and simply because there are no swastikas to be found they assume that there are no connections to fascistic ideology contained therein. This is one of the reasons why we so appreciate the humble cucumber sandwich--we would assert that its very fragility and delicacy evoke anti-fascism. Whether one ought to use butter or cream c...
Nov 23, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sometimes your devotion and enthusiasm doesn't translate into research or comprehensiveness. Case in point, dear listeners--The Legend of Korra, a franchise Walker introduced to Mark, is one that Walker loves but--shocker!--is one he has only seen but half of. It is revealed during Mark's unhinged ramblings about he would have "fixed" season 3 that Walker is utterly unfamiliar with what he's talking about, and not for the usual reasons. Masterpiece Theatre will never be the s...
Nov 09, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Transcript available on Metacast "Planned obsolescence" is not just an economic term, it is a way of life for some companies. It is the practice of deliberately making a sold item frail or of limited use until it is unfashionable; this forces the consumer to replace it sooner than they would otherwise. Analysts tell us that it is best deployed by oligopolies to increase their sales volume. Completely unrelatedly, we talk about Games Workshop in the news. Games Played Last Week: 01:26 -Mindbug (Skaff Elias, Richard Garfi...
Nov 02, 2021•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast This topic was suggested by Penn State law professor Jacob Schuman, although let us be perfectly clear that he does not necessarily endorse any of the views expressed. I mean, if Justices Breyer and/or Alito heard us impugn their oracular insights, no doubt we would be put on blast; much like those terrible journalists for having the sheer gall to posit that judges are, well, human and all. Perish the thought! We also apologize for suggesting that textualism does not ineffably guide one to the T...
Oct 26, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast We are dangerously approaching peak culture here on SVWAG. In addition to Masterpiece Theatre, we have the return of the pie ranking system, plus now music tie-ins for Arkhipov Day. Could a wine section be far behind? Well, actually, Mark labels most of Walker's in-game comments the wine section. You see?! Yet more culture! Games Played Last Week: 01:53 -Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef (Tim Eisner & Ben Eisner, Druid City Games, 2020) 02:41 -ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo (Scott Rogers, Ra...
Oct 19, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Transcript available on Metacast It was a thrill to have a pan-Anglo alliance together to raise money for Food Banks Canada, with many current or prior Commonwealth countries represented either on the stream or in the donations. That is globalism we can get behind here at SVWAG. That said, let us make our next planned fundraising endeavour yet more international: a Kickstarter campaign to fund Mark's acquisition of a Ferrari Portofino. Equally altruistic, yes? 02:56 -Posthuman Saga (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2019) Game...
Oct 05, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast In case you missed it, we have now offered to the series of tubes the definitive website for all your non-porn non-cat needs. Sowronggames.com is your official repository for all things SVWAG, including all of our episodes, editorial policies, the full Swagoo, and definitions of all the arcane cant of the show (such as Swagoo). Excellent for neophytes and long-time Svwaggers alike. Unlike other websites, we don't discriminate against bots! We believe sapient bots deserve full moral recogniti...
Sep 28, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast All right, we need to talk about Sokka. Another staple of kid's shows is often The Annoying One. I don't know why, but they're often there. Steven Universe had Ronaldo, but they knew to use him sparingly. Sokka is so aggressively obnoxious in the first two episodes it is a miracle anyone makes it to episode three. He could have just been the complainer, but additionally his monumental and gratuitous misogyny is so bad that one wonders what Suki (an awesome character) ever saw in him....
Sep 21, 2021•2 hr 30 min•Transcript available on Metacast We have seen the future, and it is now. We have fired up our Netscape Navigator, and interfaced the hypertext protocol over at Geocities, and made us our very own webzone. Maybe soon we'll be able to set up an FTP server for our episodes. We will register on every web ring we can find, whether it's about Sailor Moon or Tamagotchi or Neopets. So go tell your Usenet groups to head on over to sowronggames.com! Games Played Last Week: 01:14 -Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef (Tim Eisner &...
Sep 14, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast MARCUS BIGNEY Here comes Fantasy Flight's body, mourned by Michael Walker: who, though he had no hand in its death, shall receive the benefit of its dying, a place in the hobby; as which of you shall not? WALKER Friends, gamers, hobbyists, lend me your ears; I come to bury Fantasy Flight, not to praise it. The evil that publishers do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Fantasy Flight. The noble Bigney Hath told you FFG was ambitious: If it were so, ...
Sep 07, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cultural gaps can be quite tragic, to say nothing of socially debilitating. Mark discovers to his horror that Walker is unfamiliar both with a key game and a crucial character in film history. Thank goodness that this faux pas does not sully Masterpiece Theatre, as that would bring shame to both the Warrior of the Wasteland and Vin Diesel. Games Played Last Week: 01:02 -Regicide (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, & Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2020) 03:19 -Onitama (Shimpei Sato, conception, 2...
Aug 31, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Transcript available on Metacast I used to tell a joke about Heimdall, but it was pretty horny. I used to tell a joke about Osiris, but it fell to pieces. I used to tell a joke about Venus, but it was masturbatory. I used to tell a joke about Sleipnir, but it didn't have legs. I used to tell a joke about Prometheus, but it needed a spark. I used to tell a joke about Draupnir, but it just didn't ever end. I used to tell a joke about Marathon, but it was a bit of a long walk. I used to tell a joke about the Hecatoncheires...
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast We delve deep into knowledge and doubt this week on SVWAG. How do we know what we know? How can we know what we don't know? Why did Mark think Vienna Connection was a train game? Who or what is Wormy Plums, and is it a euphemism for some kind of sex act? Why is there no Masterpiece Theatre? Thankfully, we can at least answer that last question--it is because The F8 of the Furious took such a toll on the hosts' psyches that they needed a break to recuperate. Games Played Last Week: 01:16 ...
Aug 17, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast The crushing burden of Masterpiece Theatre is having a toll. I had an attitude problem, but then I took a timeout, and I thought about what I did. The success of the Fast and/or Furious movies is undeniable--business-wise, this all seems like appropriate business--but at what cost? I went to the stock market today. I did a business. SVWAG is most emphatically not children stacked together wearing a trenchcoat. Would you like a alcohol? 02:39 AYURIS: Catan: Starfarers (Klaus Teuber, KOSMOS, 2019)...
Aug 10, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast NB: "Language independent" can be a loaded term, and we confess we used it a tad sloppily in our discussion of Tribune. Latin is used throughout the game, and ain't nobody speaks Latin as their first language anymore, but nonetheless in hindsight we could have been more sensitive to those more familiar with non-Latin alphabets. Thus, we should say that the original Primus Inter Pares expansion and the new Spielworxx Tribune are language-independent but not alphabet-independent. I dar...
Aug 03, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Absence, as they say, makes the heart grow fonder, which I believe was an aphorism coined about a gamer's relationship with their prized game collection. Mark finds himself separated against his will from his many many boxes, which makes Walker's occasional reminders of games he left behind all the more painful. Fortunately, Mark has his stable of insect rikishi to keep him company. 01:18 AYURIS: Last Bastion (Antoine Bauza, Repos Production, 2019) Games Played Last Week: 03:19 -Spire...
Jul 27, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast With Mark out of town, we peek behind the curtain here at SVWAG, offering you insights from the seldom-heard support staff that make this show possible. Walker seems liberated from his overbearing colleague, while others are coping with loss in their own way. Games Played Last Week: 00:40 -Shards of Infinity (Gary Arant & Justin Gary, Stone Blade Entertainment, 2018) 01:11 -Spire's End (Greg Favro, Self-Published, 2019) 02:39 -Lords of Hellas (Awam Kwapinski, Awaken Realms, 2018) 04:04 -...
Jul 20, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark has not yet finished his Cain-like eternal wanderings throughout Canada (though he didn't even murder any siblings), but we nonetheless conspired in advance to make this episode possible. Sporadic though our output may be until such time as SVWAG West gets established, we will take care of you as best we can. Games Played Last Week: 02:03 -Regicide (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, & Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2020) 05:41 -Pax Viking (Jon Mankr, Ion Game Design, 2021) 09:46 -Dinos...
Jul 13, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's a card game that spans over four thousand years, but Walker would insist that it only feels like you're playing for three thousand, tops. The great thing about reviewing games by Dávid Turczi is that if you don't enjoy the latest game he's published, wait five minutes and he'll have another one for you. Please remember to tip your server. Games Played Last Week: 01:16 -Dice Miner (Joshua DeBonis & Nikola Risteski, Atlas Games, 2021) 02:55 -Inlfuentia (Miguel Bruque, ...
Jun 29, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast As far as Walker is concerned, when he says that Mark is a jerk and he smells funny, that's a prime example of a combo. Mark counters that a perfectly sensible combo is a podcast about board games issuing random observations of silly blockbuster movies. In either case, if you want your mind to break and your conception of reality to weaken, we encourage you to investigate short scale vs. long scale. Numbers are meaningless and all is illusion. Another combo! 01:45 AYURIS: Cloudspire (Josh J....
Jun 22, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Titles, as Herr Doktor Doktor Vincent Diesel, esq. O.B.E. could tell you, are important things. They must be recorded for posterity, quite literally in the case of Dogberry: "But masters, remember that I am an ass, though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass." Mark and Walker are bereft of such honorifics; "Gilded Ones" apparently only applies if you go the full gilt route, which sounds way too painful to endorse. Whether philosophers get any titles past "l...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast If Walker doesn't want Mark to speak to excess, he really shouldn't be teeing him up by asking about Macross. Or Robotech either, because the difference thereto is a whole discussion unto itself. Of course, Walker is an accomplished troll, willing to return to any subject once raised. Mark has repeatedly been exhorted to not feed trolls, but really, that's just blaming the victim. At this point it's mostly just mutual trolling, like an ouroboros of nonsense. I think SVWAG might h...
Jun 08, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Get our your cucumber sandwiches and your doilies, you precious little petunias, because we're about to get all cultured on you. Some serious sophistication is going down, and we are not entirely certain our hosts are prepared--mentally, spiritually, let alone hygienically. Games Played Last Week: 01:14 -Endless Winter: Paleoamericans (Stan Kordonskiy, Fantasia Games, 2021) 03:54 -Altar Quest (Adam Sadler & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2020) 04:12 -Street Masters: Aftershock (Adam Sadl...
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Walker's got this friend with a problem--not Walker, no not at all, a friend, you see, his name is... Bike Docker... and Bike has this problem that he judges a game by its cover art. Mike I mean Bike is so blinded by his prejudice that it causes him to rag on games like El Grande or GMT's entire catalog just because the cover doesn't appeal to his sensibilities. Luckily, there are enlightened people like Mike Walker to guide those like Bike Docker. 01:33 AYURIS: Tapestry (Jamey Stegm...
May 25, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our inaugural Mark Bigney is a Blithering Idiot Fest has arrived, and we can chronicle a minor subsection of things that make evident Mark is a not a smart man. Although this episode is jam-packed with content, even its confines cannot contain a comprehensive accounting; rest assured we will return to this topic in future instalments. Games Played Last Week: 01:42 -Kemet: Blood and Sand (Jacques Bariot & Guillaume Montiage, Matagot, 2021) 09:24 -Scythe (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games, 201...
May 18, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
