Samurai

Samurai

Author: Pickaxe October 14, 2025 Duration: 1:14:37
"Wiarton Willie is the name given to a Canadian groundhog who lives in the community of Wiarton in Bruce County, Ontario. Every February 2, on Groundhog Day, Willie takes part in the local Wiarton Willie Festival. His role is to predict whether there will be an early spring. Although the original Wiarton Willie died in 1999, the Wiarton Groundhog Day celebrations continue each year with a successor of the original Willie (except in 1999 and 2021 where, due to the previous Willies' deaths, no groundhog was used), and each successor is also referred to as Wiarton Willie. Groundhog Day, featuring Wiarton Willie, is a popular annual festival in Wiarton and is similar to events in other locations in North America. A midwinter celebration involving an animal with predictive powers was an element of Celtic culture. The link between weather prediction and the day is said to have been inspired by an old Scottish couplet: "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear/ There'll be two winters in the year."" -Wikipedia Games Played Last Week: 01:40 -Etherstone (Virginio Gigli & Simone Luciani, ThunderGryph Games, 2025) 12:38 -Dogs of War Second Edition (Paolo Mori, Play to Z, 2026) 26:39 -Vantage (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games, 2025) 34:06 -Monikers (Alex Hague & Justin Vickers, CMYK, 2015) 41:06 -My Very First Games: Let's Be Veterinarians (Kristin Mückel, HABA, 2024) 42:55 -Riff Raff (Christoph Cantzler, Zoch Verlag, 2012) News (and why it doesn't matter): 46:30 Kristian Amundsen Østby and Kjetil Svendsen take tricks with Tax the Rich 47:10 Elder Scrolls expansion, Heroes of Tamriel, on Gamefound 48:00 Berserk on Gamefound 50:54 Battlecrest: Overlord on Kickstarter 51:36 Feature Game: Samurai (Reiner Knizia, Hans im Glück, 1998) 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: 50

So Very Wrong About Games
Podcast Episodes
Canon Update [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:59
The SVWAG Canon (https://www.sowronggames.com/svwag-canon) is an elite list of games that Walker and Mark both very much enjoy. Walker is nervous around recommendations, per se, and the imitations on an ideal game librar…
Robo Rally Dice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:16
It's hard to go wrong with cats. Even most people who don't like cats are wise enough to keep relatively quiet about it, lest they suffer the consequences. What consequences? Oh, I don't know, maybe the fury of needle-ar…
Games that Build Cred [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:35
[EDIT] In this episode, Mark falsely attributes the co-authorship of Ayar to Nestore Mangone, when in fact it was designed by Mandela Fernandez-Grandon and Fabio Lopiano. We regret the error. Have you heard of the Walker…
Notebook Nations [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:13
The world is changing, what with everything being cozy and (some) crowdfunding projects fulfilling in weeks rather than years. This dizzying pace of evolution can be disorienting, which is why Notebook Nations seeks to c…
Mid-Year Tag Questions [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:03
We have recovered from SVWAG Con II: Electric Boogaloo, and to the best of our knowledge there was no "con crud" or equivalent contagion. We make no claims that the con possesses curative powers, though we haven't had an…
SVWAGCon Beckons [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:43
Just in time for SVWAGCon, Mark's car has fallen prey to Princeton's unforgiving roads and local practitioners of the mechanical arts. Which ones are trustworthy? Which are inept mountebanks? As far as mountebanks are co…
Falling in Love with Your Collection [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:34
"If you're down and confused And you don't remember who you're talking to Concentration slips away Because your baby is so far away Well there's a rose in a fisted glove And the eagle flies with the dove And if you can't…
Recall [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:13
I was three actions deep into my tenth turn of Recall when I achieved total mastery. I was beyond the Schwarzenegger and the Farrell, deep with Koato and triple-mammaried subversives. A newb at the table interrupted my r…
Teaching vs. Discovery [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:28:54
It is Inadvertent Surprise Railway Week (ISRW, pronounced "is raw") here at SVWAG, and we take a look at some train games without directly addressing the raging controversy of what, exactly, constitutes a train game. 02:…
Goa [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:59
Acronyms and initialisms are a tricky thing. In SVWAG circles, one must be careful to use proper punctuation, lest GOA imply 2022's Game of the Year (GotY, not Gotye) Guards of Atlantis. Mark remains enraged that the SC2…