Ayar: Children of the Sun

Ayar: Children of the Sun

Author: Pickaxe September 30, 2025 Duration: 1:05:19
"A quipu usually consists of cotton or camelid fiber cords, and contains categorized information based on dimensions like color, order and number. The Inca, in particular, used knots tied in a decimal positional system to store numbers and other values in quipu cords. Depending on its use and the amount of information it stored, a given quipu may have anywhere from a few to several thousand cords. [...] Inca administration used quipus extensively for a variety of uses: monitoring tax obligations, collecting census records, keeping calendrical information, military organization, and potentially for recording simple and stereotyped historical "annales"." -Wikipedia SVWAG's Pickaxe stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t8XLnJha-E Games Played Last Week: 00:55 -Marvel Dice Throne Missions (Gavan Brown & Nate Chatellier, Roxley, 2025) 05:03 -It's a Wonderful World (Frédéric Guérard, La Boîte de Jeu, 2019) 09:03 -The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game (Bryan Bormueller, Office Dog, 2025) 12:03 -Corporate America (Teale Fristoe, Nothing Sacred Games, 2013) 15:23 -Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders (Tim Eisner and Ben Eisner, Druid City Games, 2024) 18:03 -Captain's Gambit: Kings of Infinite Space (AC Atienza, Alvin Lee, and Mitchell Loewen, Cloudfall Interactive Studios, 2020) 23:51 -Lacuna (Mark Gerrits, CMYK, 2023) 27:12 -Stellar Conflict (James Ernest & Tom Jolly, Artipia Games, 2015) 29:48 -Figment (Wolfgang Warsch, CMYK, 2025) 31:53 -Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester (Changhyun Baek, Flaminia Brasini, Virginio Gigli, Stefano Luperto, and Antonio Tinto, DiceTree Games, 2023) News (and why it doesn't matter): 35:43 Reprint of At the Gates of Loyang 36:09 Fat Bear week comes to its climax! https://explore.org/fat-bear-week 37:19 The Hobbit: There and Back Again roll-and-write by Reiner Knizia 37:42 Dogs of War reprint: controversy over hats 38:38 Wandering Galaxy: A Crossroads Game 39:50 Cross-Bronx Expressway by Non-Breaking Space and GMT Games 41:26 Cranio expansion pack on crowdfunding Oct. 1st: Barrage, Rats of Wistar, Golem 42:09 Feature Game: Ayar: Children of the Sun (Mandela Fernandez-Grandon & Fabio Lopiano, Osprey Games, 2025) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Mike Walker and Mark Bigney, So Very Wrong About Games digs into the world of hobby gaming with a blend of sharp critique and genuine enthusiasm. Each episode feels like pulling up a chair at a table where two knowledgeable friends are deep in conversation, dissecting everything from the latest releases to timeless classics. They believe that a bad game deserves a thorough examination just as much as a great one, applying that same level of detailed analysis to reviews, industry news, and broader gaming topics. This isn't about following trends or generating hype; it's about thoughtful discussion that respects both the listener's time and the context in which games are made and played. The dynamic between Walker and Bigney captures a fundamental truth about the hobby-that taking games seriously and having fun with them are not mutually exclusive. You'll find their approach both refreshing and deeply engaging, whether they're championing an overlooked gem or meticulously explaining why a popular title didn't work for them. Tune in to this Pickaxe-produced podcast for honest, substantive talk that treats the medium with the depth it often deserves, but rarely receives in casual conversation.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

So Very Wrong About Games
Podcast Episodes
#356: Endgame Scoring [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:57
Tiebreakers are arguably a kind of endgame scoring. I respect the fact that they are invariably necessary (I mean, if for no other reason than if they're omitted some smartass like me will complain). That said, clearly i…
#355: Rise & Fall [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:22
When is a thing like another thing? Is Albedo like Core Worlds? Is Cat Blues like Rummy? Is Through the Desert like Go? Is a nudge as good as a wink to blind bat? Are all Roll & Writes inferior to Roll a 6, Win a Cookie?…
#354: 20th Century Games [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:42
People have favourably described our physical appearances as "borderline tolerable" and "just short of hideous", and that was just our mothers. In light of this, we put ourselves forward as candidates for all manner of g…
#353: Rebirth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:40
In logic, conditionals are always true if the antecedent is false. You can't falsify the conditional if the conditions aren't met. For example, if Mark can bench 500 pounds, then vinegar tastes like cotton candy. Rest as…
#352: Ascending Empires: Zenith Edition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:27
I was donating blood while wearing my Transformers Converse shoes, and two different phlebotomists commented positively about them. "We have won the cultural argument," I said, deliberately burying the lede that demograp…
#351: Flexing New Muscles [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:49
As is readily apparent from the show's subject matter and our general presentation, we here at SVWAG are stone-cold jocks who excel at the sports and are thoroughly ripped. We trust the launcher and never ever skip leg d…
#350: Beyond the Horizon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:21
Despite the welcome relative absence of anthropomorphic animals this week--aside from some sundry ducks in Lorcana--we see a lot of animals and various critters this week. We eschew sacrifices to a dodgy snake in Imperiu…
#349: A Plowful of Games [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:58
While we hate to confirm your most reductive of preconceived notions, snow removal in Canadian cities is no joke. The fleet of vehicles required to allow for daily life in even a small Canadian city after major snowfall…
#348: SETI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:45
Colour nouns are essentially arbitrary; how one decides to chop up the visible spectrum of light is a matter of contingent taxonomy. Some languages have one noun for both blue and green, for example. English has a word f…
#347: How Expansions Can Fail [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:26
Our upcoming convention, July 25th-27th 2025, is in its planning stages! We have a venue but nothing much else yet. Not even a name! Suggestions welcome. Mark quite likes So Very Wrong About Games Fun Times Good Vibes On…