Hooray for the post arriving! So glad that you liked the 1930s postcards from NY and MA. It was a lot of fun finding them for you. Amy's laughter during the Wicked & Wise prompt kind of answered the question for us. :-) I was very excited to see Meadow on the pile for Small Talk. This one has been calling out to me. Lovely pastoral artwork that looks like it connects to an interesting set of game mechanics. It seems thematic in terms of its overall feel and puzzle connections, even if you don't feel like you are walking through a Meadow and collecting experiences. The theme seems to ground the mechanics, while not replicating a feeling of "It's just like doing ______ in the wider world." As always, thanks for another wonderful video! You gave me a sunny start to the Monday after a big storm in NY.
It was thematic enough for this thinker Steve! lol. Thank you so much again for the wonderful post cards and even more for the letter accompanying it. It was so lovely to read about your experiences in these different areas and get to know you a bit better. Hope the weather has settled down in NY and you're having a lovely week.
@@ThinkerThemer Weather has settled, but the week is crazy. Taking our son and daughter to college and becoming empty nesters. And then starting a new semester of my own on Monday. Busy days with lots of changes. Thanks for checking in!
I always chuckle at IAQs! Our collection has certainly got out of hand this year, but my (Ilya) new passtime is learning games, I love reading rulebooks and discovering how a game works and learning new ways to teach each game. That definitely leads to more games, which may be a problem down the road haha! I enjoy these so much because we get to know you better and better. I need to get into cooking. I think I'm going on a Small Talk marathon this week to ensure I didnt miss any tidbits of information about you two wonderful humans. Lots of love from Edmonton, Canada!
You love reading rulebooks?? Can you both just move here now please and become the resident teacher? Lol. I enjoy the experience of a new game but not really the learning of it. To make matters worse I really struggle with auditory learning but also prefer Maggie to learn the game soooo there's that!! Thank you for your wonderful support as always and hope you're both having a lovely week
Thank you so so so much for spending time with The Gardens :D So flattered to see you chat about it :D Thank you! Love your videos :) So jealous you have been able to spend time with My Farm Shop - can't wait to track down a copy in oz! - David
Thank you very much for letting us try it out David! So thrilled to see all of your KS success! Congratulations 🎊 If we lived closer and weren't in lockdown we would love to play my farm shop with you...! Hoping for some in person gaming and Australian cons soon ❤
It was beautiful to hear you speak about one another, particularly the character traits you love. For the games, I'm very excited about Rolling Realms & The Gardens!
Another lovely, lovely video from two of my favorite content creators. You two are truly charming and chill and wonderful to 'spend time' with. 🙂 Loved hearing your film choices! Since there are so many incredibly intriguing television series available I'd *love* to hear your top choices, again both singly and together. In terms of the games, I love Codenames Duet (tho it can be so challenging!) and I've had Meadow on preorder forever it seems but I can't wait! The art for My Farm Shop is such a turn off for me - looks like those free game apps, eek! - and the game play didn't sound exciting. Which is great because I own WAY too many games so I don't need to buy anything that isn't truly special or amazing. Have a wonderful week and stay safe!!
Thank you for sharing all of your thoughts on the games in this one Virginia! Meadow is a really interesting and beautiful game, look forward to hearing what you think after you've been able to get it to the table. Thanks for the IAQ!! It's going on the list. It feels like there are so many great TV shows at the moment and not enough time! 😊 Thank you for the really lovely words about the channel, it really means a lot 💕
What a lovely chat about life and games. Very nice to share the hour with the two of you. Was great to hear your movie choices, I am also an "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" fan (and this coming from someone who generally does not enjoy Carrey films) and "Waking Life". The movie I can drop into anytime/anywhere in the film is "Groundhog Day", just silly fun with a message hidden underneath. So nice to see "Meadow" finding a forever home, that is such a wonderful game. Happy gaming!
Groundhog day!!! Great film that always seemed to be playing on TV in the 90s.. true to its name I guess 😆 I'm glad you liked this episode and some of the movies we spoke about. Look forward to one day having some small talk with you IRL! 😊
Thank you for another lovely video, you two are a like a breath of fresh air. Even if you forgot to talk about games I feel your content would still be excellent as your compatibility comes across so well on your videos.
Aww thank you Sean! I'm afraid without board gaming we would quickly run out of things to talk about because it takes up so much space in our lives hehehe. Thanks for the lovely comment 🥰
Meadow!!!!!! Such attractive table presence, some clever gameplay, and that book that gives a brief "bio" on every single flora and fauna card. As the game collection is multiplying and mutating, I look back at my accelerated journey into becoming a "gamer": let's try this simple one, let's try one like it, let's find one a little different, let's find one a little harder, Hey! look what I bought! Yes, dear, I did order those 5 games, I'm sure you'll love it, How many haven't we played yet? Let me check(more than one, less than one hundred), Uh, yeah, that was me on Kickstarter, and now graduating to maybe we should sell a few-we do get store credit....Best evolution so far is sharing this fantastic obsession with the Thinker Themer fan club
Another Great Small Talk! Awesome IAQ’s 😁! I loved hearing about what you cook. I go through phases in cooking. Laura and I share cooking but I do have to confess that (in normal times….pre pandemic), we eat out at a lot of different restaurants in Santa Fe. Great food of many cultures here. Sharing your favorite things about each other was so sweet! I smiled the entire time! And you both have adorable faces! A great review on the games! Laura will actually play Code Names Duet with me, so for that reason it is staying in my collection. But I am like you both, regular code names doesn’t do much for me. I do like Duet much better. I heard Pictures was better also, so I bought it but have yet to play it. You have really peaked my interest on Meadows! Well between you and Pascal in Discord! I love when a game has beautiful art! I will definitely take a look at Gardens on Kickstarter too! Now, I am with you Maggie on hearing Rahdo rave about “My Farm Shop” ! I also watched and heard his enthusiasm about! Since I too love Farm Games, it went on my list. However, while I really enjoy Rahdo and watch most of his videos, our tastes do not always align. The art seems just ok to me. Doesn’t pull me in like Meadows. So I am really glad to hear both your thoughts on it. I think It will remain on my maybe list for now. I still have Hallertau to get to the table, which is more the type of farm game I enjoy. I am trying to minimize my buying right now. If BGG stats app is right, I have about 600 games! 😳😳😳 Whoa that has to be wrong! I mean I know have a lot but that can’t be right. Perhaps I have forgot to remove games I have culled! Ok, sounds like a project over the next couple weeks….I need to verify my list! (Edit…did a scrub on my app, I am actually at 422 games! Some I hadn’t removed but it was mostly my error of misreading. That total included expansions! But still a lot! Think I need to do some culling!!) Again I am behind catching up on videos and Discord as we took an impromptu road trip to Grand Canyon this weekend! Was a great time! Thank you again for sharing insights to your life. You both bring light and joy to the hobby and I look forward to these videos! Hope to chat soon! Oh and Congrats on 7000 subscribers! That is amazing!
Sorry I am so late to reply to this Darlene! I am glad to hear you enjoyed this episode and was even more happy that you were able to get away to the canyon. Loved the pics you've been posting as it just makes us even more excited to get back there as soon as we can. 422 GAMES! That is an amazing collection!!! We always keep boxes to send sold games out with but now we just have too many games AND too many boxes 🤣🤣 Looking forward to jumping on a voice chat soon to catch up and play a game (although I'm mostly just excited that everyone has been able to do some in person gaming and enjoy the warmer weather!)
Happy Monday! Great video. I feel the same way about Codenames. I think it runs a bit long and can be a real drag with the wrong group. That said, I've played the online version with work colleagues during these work-from-home months and that has been really enjoyable. So, maybe it just depends on the group. I'm excited about Rolling Realms. I managed to play several times during Jamey's live streams last year and it was a nice diversion during the early days of lockdown. Looking forward to trying Meadow and My Farm Shop at some point.
That's actually a really great idea as a game to play with my work colleagues via zoom. I might give that a go. Which platform? Thanks for watching this episode as always! I think you would find Meadow & My Farm Shop quite interesting from a design perspective!
I adore waking life! That technique of drawing over film is called rotoscoping. I bought My Farm Shop (after Rahdo's loveletter to it) and like it, but it almost seems Dorn wants to dictate the game-flow too much, with the action cards being sorted (first you get level 1 cards in the market, after that level 2, etc). Which gave me the feeling that his main design goal was to prevent any game-breaking combo's, which feels restrictive to me. Like this is a game with the training wheels on. After 3+ games we decided to just shuffle all the cards together, take half and let that be the deck. Also we add a random resource to the card after the one that was chosen, so unpopular cards would get more interesting when you buy them. 2 simple house-rules which made the game feel more 'grown up' for us.
That is such an interesting perspective Ru, thank you so much for sharing that. You're right that there are distinct 'phases' of the game dictated by those cards. I'm intrigued by this and think we will have to try it next time. Sometimes we did have cards that were not selected for the entire game, so I like this added resource idea. Thanks for taking the time to comment to talk about this & for watching!
Another excellent Small Talk! I enjoy this series so much, did we just hear you guys write your vows? Hehe.. speaking of which, my IAP: Why LA?! Ok I do love LA and get the great weather and beaches…but as a New Yorker, whyyyyy? Lol. These were interesting games and I’m glad you talked about them today. Meadow looks so lovely and it’s good to learn that it’s more “table presence” than theme. I found myself very attracted to how it has pieces that fit together. Something satisfying about that. Have you made a vid on games that are oddly satisfying? Like, because it has super tactile pieces or parts that fit together just so or a mechanic that that makes you feel like all is right in the world? Gotta check out that Radho episode…looking forward to another solo vid!
Ooo would love to hear what you think once you've had a chance to play! I (Amy) really enjoyed it but Maggie got a bit frustrated with the puzzle - it's always interesting to me the types of puzzles that are easier for some people to immediately "see" their way through quickly whereas others struggle. Thank you for watching as always and hope you are able to get some games to the table this week
Looking forward to seeing your collection at one point :) Rolling realms looks so good. Regarding postcards: I will try to send one postcard each from my home towns if I don't forget it the next time I go to the two of them I am not currently at.
I related to your comments about the collection being everywhere. Ours are mostly on top of bookcases, or scattered about. We just bought a pair of dedicated Kallax which helped, but not significantly. Talking about TV musicals, did you ever watch Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, about a woman who constantly sees people break out in song around her? It has a definite serious side about serious illness and depression, but we mostly enjoyed it for the fun and the colourful musical numbers. Then again, the actual musical we like are more along the lines of Sweeney Todd or Anna and the Apocalypse. There is a musical theatre in Sydney who do a line in macabre productions like American Psycho, Young Frankenstein or the Razorgang Wars, who put on brilliant productions (sans lockdown, of course). We will check out The Gardens. Looking up the designers, some of their stuff has already piqued my interest, from Chocolate Factory (love me a conveyor belt) or Professor Evil (mostly the theme).
Kallax seem to breed more kallax 😂😂 before you know it David all flat walls in your house will have one! Slippery slope..! 🙃 I'm jealous of your shelving... post lockdown we really need to sort that out. Actually I (Amy) really enjoyed Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist!!! We started watching it together but I don't think Maggie made it through more than one episode. It made me cry more than once! Hope youre keeping well & thanks for taking the time to comment as always 😊
We call those cards lenticular cards... but please Amy get back into the kitchen again. All those accessories are crying for attention. 1 sous-vide salmon + poched egg with baked rice to order please. On the postcard issue: I am afraid something might have happened with mine card. It's been several weeks.Nothing important, just a artsy impression of my hometown. Surprising top 3 movies... Such a gorgeous movie 'eternal sunshine of the spotless mind'. It's in my top 10. Back to the main business: Great stack of games this week.Codenames duet is a classic (if in your genre). Love to play Meadow (high on I'i want to' list) and slightly interested in The Gardens. I think the wicked and wise is a good summary of you two, but if Maggie is the wise I would label it as the Wize. Thanks again for the video and all the best to the two (plus Boston) of you.
Ooo I don't think I've ever heard that word "lenticular" but I like it. I'm sorry to hear about the post card 😔 BUT it has taken over a month for some of them so maybe it is just taking the very scenic route down here. I think you would really love the art of Meadow! It really is beautiful. I laughed at your wicked and 'wize' comment... I do love the musical so maybe I am OK with that... 😄 thanks for taking the time to comment (& sorry for the slow reply! 🐌)
Hahaha I do I do 🙋♀️ but Maggie not so much. Isn't it funny the way different styles of puzzle either click and are fun, or not! Thanks for watching Amanda 😊
Ironically, ive been binge watching all of your small talk videos the last couple days as i currently have 2 games in my cart to buy (Azul 4th version and Meadow ) but wanting ideas for a few filler games to also add as i like to get a few for same postage cost. Unfortunately most that ive seen on your channel are not available at the 2 shops im looking at. I definitely definitely am adding The gardens to my list, which absolutely 💯 % looks stunning. Fortunately ive got a few more episodes to watch to get more ideas.
After playing Meadow recently, we knew we liked it by the amount of time we talked about the game once we finished. Sometimes you play a game and sullenly return the components to the box without much thought. With Meadow, however, everyone was commenting on their favorite aspect of the game and thinking out loud about how they would play differently next time. Meadow might jump in as a replacement for Quadropolis.
P.S. I'm glad you enjoyed the holographic postcard from Everglades National Park. As soon as I saw it I knew it was meant to travel across the globe to you!
I'm finally catching a video Day Of! My wife and I literally just played Codenames Duet yesterday! She's not much of a board gamer, but it was one she didn't mind playing and would be willing to play again (her stamp of approval)! I agree overall it can get a bit slow when each other are thinking - but any game I can get my wife to play is a win for me :) We tend do Co-Op only when playing something together, it makes for a happier marriage for her and I 🤣
Hahahaha totally hear that on the happier marriage!! Our competitiveness together doesn't always yield a romantic experience with games lol... but at least we try not to take it too seriously. I'm so glad that you found a game that you can both enjoy... ultimately the most magical & special games are the ones that can bring us closer together. Thank you for watching (and early!!! :))
@@ThinkerThemer I think that's one of the best things about games... they scale to whomever is sitting at the table, and no matter the game it creates a shared experience! Glad you two are able to be competitive without taking it too serious ^_^ P.s. Never stop gaming! & we will all continue to enjoy your vids for as long as y'all decide to do them :)
@@ThinkerThemer so far so good! it usually takes me 3-4 pauses to finish one on a regular day haha. I got to one question into the iaqs yesterday, saw the rainbow you summoned and once I showed my daughter that was it for the day haha
I'm glad I was able to ask a question to make you feel embarrassed with! :p hahahaha. But overall, another lovely and cozy video! I like the sound of Meadow, but I don't think I would go out of my way to get it. Hopefully I can come across it and try it that day. Amy, you mentioned that you have watched a good number of lgbtq movies, unfortunately that's a blind spot for me. I know you recommended one, but would you have others you suggest? I'm always looking for good queer stories and I know they are out there, I just don't know where to look. I do have a bit of an idea mixed with a suggestion. I know y'all said that you're trying to get your collection more in order, but it would be neat if you did a seasonal cull and keep episode. Or even if it was a one a twice a year episode. It could be good to hear your opinions on said game(s) or if there's too many you can do like a top 5 easiest or 5 hardest games that you came to the consensus to get rid off. Or even the idea of "we are getting rid of X game because Y game tends to scratch the same itch in a better way." In case you are lacking any material for the IAQ, if you both body switched with each other for one day, what do you think you would suddenly become really good at? Thanks for a great video as always and take care!
Hi Amy & Maggie ! Really enjoy all of your content ! I am quite hyped about Meadow now ! Since you mentioned Ru Paul's drag race, some related questions : what are your thoughts on RPDR down under ? And who is your favourite all time RPDR queen ? I really enjoyed Drag race Spain this year did you get a chance to watch it ? Greetings from a French guy living in Germany !
Wow that person who has 20 games is amazing. I could NEVER get it down to 20, but he's right, I always have to go back over rules of games I've already played. HOOOOWWWWWW is Imagine Me & You not on either of your movie lists!!!!! PS Please sell me My Farm Shop.. .been waiting forever!!! thanks lol
I had to laugh when you answered the IAQ about the size of your collection and that it's lying all over the place, because I've been watching this video while building a mini Kallax shelf that I bought today to give me more room for my games!! Something had to be done when all 6 boxes of Ankh showed up last week! Yikes!
Hahaha it's the eternal struggle 😂 but I must admit I like going from room to room and seeing games everywhere I look! It's just not conducive to organisation hahaha. Have you got Ankh to the table yet? 😊
@@ThinkerThemer I was really lucky with Ankh's arrival because my one gaming group had a night scheduled for the next day. It's so frustrating when you are anticipating the arrival of a new game and FINALLY it arrives and you unpack it and then it sits on your shelf for weeks before you get a chance to play it. Why was I so impatient for it to arrive then? 😂 So we've actually played a lot of Ankh in the past two weeks getting 8 games in!! With my group of 3 we all agreed that the merge did not work for us (if you don't know the mechanics of the game, near the end of the game the two gods with the lowest devotion (VP) merge into one god and either win or lose together). It took away all the fun of the lowest positioned god and broke up the rhythm of the game. We tried twice and really disliked it both times. Every game since then has been without the merge and the game works even better in our opinions. I've now played it with 2, 3 and 4 players and it works really well at all player counts, though with more gods you've got to watch your back even more. Much easier to strategise in the 2 player game. What I like most about Ankh (and Rising Sun as well (not sure about Blood Rage because it's been ages since I've played it)) is that during the gameplay, I'm really enjoying myself, even when I've been dead last (by a large gap) I was still having fun being in that world and watching my friends succeed as well. I'm really happy with the game and can tell it will be in my collection for a long time.
My Farm Shop looks cute. I'd think that would be one for my wife but every game we have played lately she's just been saying "that was good but I'd rather just play Obsession" haha.
Thanks for answering my question! I thought my wife was one of the only people in the world who has Drop Dead Gorgeous in her all time faves. She watches it just about once a year, it's so cool Maggie is into it as well! The only one from your lists I haven't watched is Kissing Jessica Stein. Both mine and Susies individual all time favorite is Labyrinth which I guess makes it our mutual fave as well? Can't beat Jim Henson + David Bowie + part of Monty Python in my book. 😁
Meadow looks super cute and interesting! We’ve found Decrypto to be a fun word game for our group and even found a way to play online because of lockdown in Sydney :) Have you guys played board games online via video chat/online during lockdown? If so, what have you played?
Such a great way to stay connected (and sane!) We have been playing a little bit online! If you don't mind I'll add that to our IAQ list for next episode and answer it fully there! Thanks for the great question. ☺
@@ThinkerThemer Yeah doing great. I'm very lucky and my job and income are safe, so this lockdown is just a nice break to play more games. Hope you two are also coping well with your lockdown! Keep up the great work.
There are rice cookers that talk to you and play jingles when it's done. How am I just now hearing about this. My Christmas list just got 1 item longer.
Just bought a 20 pound / 9 kg bag of rice for my Cuckoo rice cooker. Mine's red....what color is yours? (Mine doesn't make all of those fun noises though.) Like all the nature themed games featured this week!
I'd like to make a recommendation of the movie "Portrait of the Young Lady on Fire". You get top-notch film-making, a romance, drama, and some social commentary. It's on the Maggie end of the culture spectrum, but much more accessible than the description implies. It's outside of my typical favorite genres, but I was fortunate to come to it through a Chris Stuckmann youtube review.
Oh that's a connection I didn't think of ! Yes the theming and the wandering is quite similar! Both very light too but probably a slightly bigger decision space with Santa Monica.
Sorry I realised I was vague. It's because in the gardens, you keep saying workers while Maggie keeps correcting you on that (they are visitors not workers)
Hahahahahaha OH!!! Yes sorry 😅 I really struggle with the thematic terms and I still always think of them as workers and not meeples weirdly. Do you call them that?
![โรงเรียนห้ามรัก โดนจับได้ตาย...!! [เอิร์นไดเม่]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4u02Sbr556Q/mqdefault.jpg)
The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup, I say a little prayer for you. ❤️ Now I want to watch it right now!
🎼....and wondering what dress 👈 to 👉 wear 👗now 🎶
Hooray for the post arriving! So glad that you liked the 1930s postcards from NY and MA. It was a lot of fun finding them for you.
Amy's laughter during the Wicked & Wise prompt kind of answered the question for us. :-)
I was very excited to see Meadow on the pile for Small Talk. This one has been calling out to me. Lovely pastoral artwork that looks like it connects to an interesting set of game mechanics. It seems thematic in terms of its overall feel and puzzle connections, even if you don't feel like you are walking through a Meadow and collecting experiences. The theme seems to ground the mechanics, while not replicating a feeling of "It's just like doing ______ in the wider world."
As always, thanks for another wonderful video! You gave me a sunny start to the Monday after a big storm in NY.
It was thematic enough for this thinker Steve! lol. Thank you so much again for the wonderful post cards and even more for the letter accompanying it. It was so lovely to read about your experiences in these different areas and get to know you a bit better. Hope the weather has settled down in NY and you're having a lovely week.
@@ThinkerThemer Weather has settled, but the week is crazy. Taking our son and daughter to college and becoming empty nesters. And then starting a new semester of my own on Monday. Busy days with lots of changes. Thanks for checking in!
I always chuckle at IAQs!
Our collection has certainly got out of hand this year, but my (Ilya) new passtime is learning games, I love reading rulebooks and discovering how a game works and learning new ways to teach each game.
That definitely leads to more games, which may be a problem down the road haha!
I enjoy these so much because we get to know you better and better. I need to get into cooking. I think I'm going on a Small Talk marathon this week to ensure I didnt miss any tidbits of information about you two wonderful humans.
Lots of love from Edmonton, Canada!
You love reading rulebooks?? Can you both just move here now please and become the resident teacher? Lol. I enjoy the experience of a new game but not really the learning of it. To make matters worse I really struggle with auditory learning but also prefer Maggie to learn the game soooo there's that!! Thank you for your wonderful support as always and hope you're both having a lovely week
@@ThinkerThemer We can surely move! We will coordinate ;)
Thank you so so so much for spending time with The Gardens :D So flattered to see you chat about it :D Thank you! Love your videos :)
So jealous you have been able to spend time with My Farm Shop - can't wait to track down a copy in oz!
- David
Thank you very much for letting us try it out David! So thrilled to see all of your KS success! Congratulations 🎊 If we lived closer and weren't in lockdown we would love to play my farm shop with you...! Hoping for some in person gaming and Australian cons soon ❤
It was beautiful to hear you speak about one another, particularly the character traits you love. For the games, I'm very excited about Rolling Realms & The Gardens!
Aww thank you! I was quite embarrassed talking about that haahah 😊 we got there! Thanks for watching this one😁
Another lovely, lovely video from two of my favorite content creators. You two are truly charming and chill and wonderful to 'spend time' with. 🙂 Loved hearing your film choices! Since there are so many incredibly intriguing television series available I'd *love* to hear your top choices, again both singly and together. In terms of the games, I love Codenames Duet (tho it can be so challenging!) and I've had Meadow on preorder forever it seems but I can't wait! The art for My Farm Shop is such a turn off for me - looks like those free game apps, eek! - and the game play didn't sound exciting. Which is great because I own WAY too many games so I don't need to buy anything that isn't truly special or amazing. Have a wonderful week and stay safe!!
Thank you for sharing all of your thoughts on the games in this one Virginia! Meadow is a really interesting and beautiful game, look forward to hearing what you think after you've been able to get it to the table. Thanks for the IAQ!! It's going on the list. It feels like there are so many great TV shows at the moment and not enough time! 😊 Thank you for the really lovely words about the channel, it really means a lot 💕
What a lovely chat about life and games. Very nice to share the hour with the two of you. Was great to hear your movie choices, I am also an "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" fan (and this coming from someone who generally does not enjoy Carrey films) and "Waking Life". The movie I can drop into anytime/anywhere in the film is "Groundhog Day", just silly fun with a message hidden underneath. So nice to see "Meadow" finding a forever home, that is such a wonderful game. Happy gaming!
Groundhog day!!! Great film that always seemed to be playing on TV in the 90s.. true to its name I guess 😆 I'm glad you liked this episode and some of the movies we spoke about. Look forward to one day having some small talk with you IRL! 😊
Thanks for another wonderful video! You two are just so loving and wholesome as persons, such a wonderful presence on internet :-)
Thank you for another lovely video, you two are a like a breath of fresh air. Even if you forgot to talk about games I feel your content would still be excellent as your compatibility comes across so well on your videos.
Aww thank you Sean! I'm afraid without board gaming we would quickly run out of things to talk about because it takes up so much space in our lives hehehe. Thanks for the lovely comment 🥰
Meadow!!!!!! Such attractive table presence, some clever gameplay, and that book that gives a brief "bio" on every single flora and fauna card. As the game collection is multiplying and mutating, I look back at my accelerated journey into becoming a "gamer": let's try this simple one, let's try one like it, let's find one a little different, let's find one a little harder, Hey! look what I bought! Yes, dear, I did order those 5 games, I'm sure you'll love it, How many haven't we played yet? Let me check(more than one, less than one hundred), Uh, yeah, that was me on Kickstarter, and now graduating to maybe we should sell a few-we do get store credit....Best evolution so far is sharing this fantastic obsession with the Thinker Themer fan club
Another Great Small Talk! Awesome IAQ’s 😁! I loved hearing about what you cook. I go through phases in cooking. Laura and I share cooking but I do have to confess that (in normal times….pre pandemic), we eat out at a lot of different restaurants in Santa Fe. Great food of many cultures here. Sharing your favorite things about each other was so sweet! I smiled the entire time! And you both have adorable faces! A great review on the games! Laura will actually play Code Names Duet with me, so for that reason it is staying in my collection. But I am like you both, regular code names doesn’t do much for me. I do like Duet much better. I heard Pictures was better also, so I bought it but have yet to play it. You have really peaked my interest on Meadows! Well between you and Pascal in Discord! I love when a game has beautiful art! I will definitely take a look at Gardens on Kickstarter too! Now, I am with you Maggie on hearing Rahdo rave about “My Farm Shop” ! I also watched and heard his enthusiasm about! Since I too love Farm Games, it went on my list. However, while I really enjoy Rahdo and watch most of his videos, our tastes do not always align. The art seems just ok to me. Doesn’t pull me in like Meadows. So I am really glad to hear both your thoughts on it. I think It will remain on my maybe list for now. I still have Hallertau to get to the table, which is more the type of farm game I enjoy. I am trying to minimize my buying right now. If BGG stats app is right, I have about 600 games! 😳😳😳 Whoa that has to be wrong! I mean I know have a lot but that can’t be right. Perhaps I have forgot to remove games I have culled! Ok, sounds like a project over the next couple weeks….I need to verify my list! (Edit…did a scrub on my app, I am actually at 422 games! Some I hadn’t removed but it was mostly my error of misreading. That total included expansions! But still a lot! Think I need to do some culling!!) Again I am behind catching up on videos and Discord as we took an impromptu road trip to Grand Canyon this weekend! Was a great time! Thank you again for sharing insights to your life. You both bring light and joy to the hobby and I look forward to these videos! Hope to chat soon! Oh and Congrats on 7000 subscribers! That is amazing!
Sorry I am so late to reply to this Darlene! I am glad to hear you enjoyed this episode and was even more happy that you were able to get away to the canyon. Loved the pics you've been posting as it just makes us even more excited to get back there as soon as we can. 422 GAMES! That is an amazing collection!!! We always keep boxes to send sold games out with but now we just have too many games AND too many boxes 🤣🤣 Looking forward to jumping on a voice chat soon to catch up and play a game (although I'm mostly just excited that everyone has been able to do some in person gaming and enjoy the warmer weather!)
Happy Monday! Great video. I feel the same way about Codenames. I think it runs a bit long and can be a real drag with the wrong group. That said, I've played the online version with work colleagues during these work-from-home months and that has been really enjoyable. So, maybe it just depends on the group.
I'm excited about Rolling Realms. I managed to play several times during Jamey's live streams last year and it was a nice diversion during the early days of lockdown. Looking forward to trying Meadow and My Farm Shop at some point.
That's actually a really great idea as a game to play with my work colleagues via zoom. I might give that a go. Which platform? Thanks for watching this episode as always! I think you would find Meadow & My Farm Shop quite interesting from a design perspective!
I adore waking life! That technique of drawing over film is called rotoscoping. I bought My Farm Shop (after Rahdo's loveletter to it) and like it, but it almost seems Dorn wants to dictate the game-flow too much, with the action cards being sorted (first you get level 1 cards in the market, after that level 2, etc). Which gave me the feeling that his main design goal was to prevent any game-breaking combo's, which feels restrictive to me. Like this is a game with the training wheels on.
After 3+ games we decided to just shuffle all the cards together, take half and let that be the deck. Also we add a random resource to the card after the one that was chosen, so unpopular cards would get more interesting when you buy them. 2 simple house-rules which made the game feel more 'grown up' for us.
That is such an interesting perspective Ru, thank you so much for sharing that. You're right that there are distinct 'phases' of the game dictated by those cards. I'm intrigued by this and think we will have to try it next time. Sometimes we did have cards that were not selected for the entire game, so I like this added resource idea. Thanks for taking the time to comment to talk about this & for watching!
Another excellent Small Talk! I enjoy this series so much, did we just hear you guys write your vows? Hehe.. speaking of which, my IAP: Why LA?! Ok I do love LA and get the great weather and beaches…but as a New Yorker, whyyyyy? Lol. These were interesting games and I’m glad you talked about them today. Meadow looks so lovely and it’s good to learn that it’s more “table presence” than theme. I found myself very attracted to how it has pieces that fit together. Something satisfying about that. Have you made a vid on games that are oddly satisfying? Like, because it has super tactile pieces or parts that fit together just so or a mechanic that that makes you feel like all is right in the world? Gotta check out that Radho episode…looking forward to another solo vid!
I just got Meadow a couple weeks ago! Haven’t played it yet. Can’t wait! Love your vid as usual! 💕
Ooo would love to hear what you think once you've had a chance to play! I (Amy) really enjoyed it but Maggie got a bit frustrated with the puzzle - it's always interesting to me the types of puzzles that are easier for some people to immediately "see" their way through quickly whereas others struggle. Thank you for watching as always and hope you are able to get some games to the table this week
Looking forward to seeing your collection at one point :) Rolling realms looks so good. Regarding postcards: I will try to send one postcard each from my home towns if I don't forget it the next time I go to the two of them I am not currently at.
I related to your comments about the collection being everywhere. Ours are mostly on top of bookcases, or scattered about. We just bought a pair of dedicated Kallax which helped, but not significantly.
Talking about TV musicals, did you ever watch Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, about a woman who constantly sees people break out in song around her? It has a definite serious side about serious illness and depression, but we mostly enjoyed it for the fun and the colourful musical numbers. Then again, the actual musical we like are more along the lines of Sweeney Todd or Anna and the Apocalypse. There is a musical theatre in Sydney who do a line in macabre productions like American Psycho, Young Frankenstein or the Razorgang Wars, who put on brilliant productions (sans lockdown, of course).
We will check out The Gardens. Looking up the designers, some of their stuff has already piqued my interest, from Chocolate Factory (love me a conveyor belt) or Professor Evil (mostly the theme).
Kallax seem to breed more kallax 😂😂 before you know it David all flat walls in your house will have one! Slippery slope..! 🙃 I'm jealous of your shelving... post lockdown we really need to sort that out. Actually I (Amy) really enjoyed Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist!!! We started watching it together but I don't think Maggie made it through more than one episode. It made me cry more than once! Hope youre keeping well & thanks for taking the time to comment as always 😊
We call those cards lenticular cards... but please Amy get back into the kitchen again. All those accessories are crying for attention.
1 sous-vide salmon + poched egg with baked rice to order please.
On the postcard issue: I am afraid something might have happened with mine card. It's been several weeks.Nothing important, just a artsy impression of my hometown. Surprising top 3 movies... Such a gorgeous movie 'eternal sunshine of the spotless mind'. It's in my top 10.
Back to the main business: Great stack of games this week.Codenames duet is a classic (if in your genre). Love to play Meadow (high on I'i want to' list) and slightly interested in The Gardens. I think the wicked and wise is a good summary of you two, but if Maggie is the wise I would label it as the Wize. Thanks again for the video and all the best to the two (plus Boston) of you.
Ooo I don't think I've ever heard that word "lenticular" but I like it. I'm sorry to hear about the post card 😔 BUT it has taken over a month for some of them so maybe it is just taking the very scenic route down here. I think you would really love the art of Meadow! It really is beautiful. I laughed at your wicked and 'wize' comment... I do love the musical so maybe I am OK with that... 😄 thanks for taking the time to comment (& sorry for the slow reply! 🐌)
Speaking of musical TV, I really enjoyed the series called Galavant. The musical numbers were so well done and funny.
Loved Galavant! "I super believe in you, Tad Cooper!"
Yes!! So underrated!!
@@CG_Hali so sad there are only 2 seasons
I totally agree with all of your thoughts on Meadow - such a thinky puzzle… I can’t figure out if I like it or not 😂
Hahaha I do I do 🙋♀️ but Maggie not so much. Isn't it funny the way different styles of puzzle either click and are fun, or not! Thanks for watching Amanda 😊
Ok I’m definitely sending a postcard from Walt Disney World! I absolutely love this idea and I’ve always wanted a pen pal! 😍😍😍
Yaaaaaaaayyyy 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
eternal sunshine is one of my fav movies! Sooo good! And I love the ending!
OMG you said my name! I feel famous! Thanks for making my lunchtime viewing extra special today. Enjoy Schmigadoon!
Haha! Thank you for the wonderful suggestion. We just watched the new Cinderella movie (musical)... it was... interesting ! Idina saved it for me 😂
@@ThinkerThemer I’m intrigued. I may check it out just for Idina.
Glad the Beech Mountain card made it your way! All the best!
Thank you so much Graham!! ❤
Ironically, ive been binge watching all of your small talk videos the last couple days as i currently have 2 games in my cart to buy (Azul 4th version and Meadow ) but wanting ideas for a few filler games to also add as i like to get a few for same postage cost. Unfortunately most that ive seen on your channel are not available at the 2 shops im looking at. I definitely definitely am adding The gardens to my list, which absolutely 💯 % looks stunning. Fortunately ive got a few more episodes to watch to get more ideas.
After playing Meadow recently, we knew we liked it by the amount of time we talked about the game once we finished. Sometimes you play a game and sullenly return the components to the box without much thought. With Meadow, however, everyone was commenting on their favorite aspect of the game and thinking out loud about how they would play differently next time. Meadow might jump in as a replacement for Quadropolis.
P.S. I'm glad you enjoyed the holographic postcard from Everglades National Park. As soon as I saw it I knew it was meant to travel across the globe to you!
You guys have got me so excited for meadow
Glad it sounds like something you might like Brandon! Thanks for watching! 😊
Looking forward to more solo game coverage!
I'll keep nudging Maggie for you! 😁 thanks for watching!
Thematic Trojan Horse! LOLOLOLOL!
Excellent episode ladies...
Haha - “it’s tramping not trampling” 🥾🌿 Glad I’m not the only one who wasn’t keen on Code Names Duet. Meadow looks like a cute and interesting game.
Great video! I got to enjoy it while I wait for my flight home at the Minnesota airport.
Yaaaayyyy it's almost like we are travelling !!!!! 😂
I'm finally catching a video Day Of!
My wife and I literally just played Codenames Duet yesterday! She's not much of a board gamer, but it was one she didn't mind playing and would be willing to play again (her stamp of approval)! I agree overall it can get a bit slow when each other are thinking - but any game I can get my wife to play is a win for me :)
We tend do Co-Op only when playing something together, it makes for a happier marriage for her and I 🤣
Hahahaha totally hear that on the happier marriage!! Our competitiveness together doesn't always yield a romantic experience with games lol... but at least we try not to take it too seriously. I'm so glad that you found a game that you can both enjoy... ultimately the most magical & special games are the ones that can bring us closer together. Thank you for watching (and early!!! :))
@@ThinkerThemer I think that's one of the best things about games... they scale to whomever is sitting at the table, and no matter the game it creates a shared experience! Glad you two are able to be competitive without taking it too serious ^_^
P.s. Never stop gaming! & we will all continue to enjoy your vids for as long as y'all decide to do them :)
Great discussion of the games as usual.
Gah gonna have to wait to watch! HVAC installers here. Upside is our house is going to be off all fossil fuels by the end of the week 😁
Hope the transition work isn't too terrible. Good for you for moving to renewable energy!
Thanks! Hoping it's pretty straight forward!
Videos are always ready when you are!! 😊 Hope the install is going well...! ❤
@@ThinkerThemer so far so good! it usually takes me 3-4 pauses to finish one on a regular day haha. I got to one question into the iaqs yesterday, saw the rainbow you summoned and once I showed my daughter that was it for the day haha
Meadow really is a beautiful looking game. I just might have to check that out. 😊
It is stunning! And quite a deep puzzle. Thanks for watching!
I'm glad I was able to ask a question to make you feel embarrassed with! :p hahahaha. But overall, another lovely and cozy video! I like the sound of Meadow, but I don't think I would go out of my way to get it. Hopefully I can come across it and try it that day.
Amy, you mentioned that you have watched a good number of lgbtq movies, unfortunately that's a blind spot for me. I know you recommended one, but would you have others you suggest? I'm always looking for good queer stories and I know they are out there, I just don't know where to look.
I do have a bit of an idea mixed with a suggestion. I know y'all said that you're trying to get your collection more in order, but it would be neat if you did a seasonal cull and keep episode. Or even if it was a one a twice a year episode. It could be good to hear your opinions on said game(s) or if there's too many you can do like a top 5 easiest or 5 hardest games that you came to the consensus to get rid off. Or even the idea of "we are getting rid of X game because Y game tends to scratch the same itch in a better way."
In case you are lacking any material for the IAQ, if you both body switched with each other for one day, what do you think you would suddenly become really good at?
Thanks for a great video as always and take care!
Hi Amy & Maggie ! Really enjoy all of your content ! I am quite hyped about Meadow now ! Since you mentioned Ru Paul's drag race, some related questions : what are your thoughts on RPDR down under ? And who is your favourite all time RPDR queen ? I really enjoyed Drag race Spain this year did you get a chance to watch it ? Greetings from a French guy living in Germany !
Wow that person who has 20 games is amazing. I could NEVER get it down to 20, but he's right, I always have to go back over rules of games I've already played. HOOOOWWWWWW is Imagine Me & You not on either of your movie lists!!!!! PS Please sell me My Farm Shop.. .been waiting forever!!! thanks lol
I had to laugh when you answered the IAQ about the size of your collection and that it's lying all over the place, because I've been watching this video while building a mini Kallax shelf that I bought today to give me more room for my games!! Something had to be done when all 6 boxes of Ankh showed up last week! Yikes!
Hahaha it's the eternal struggle 😂 but I must admit I like going from room to room and seeing games everywhere I look! It's just not conducive to organisation hahaha. Have you got Ankh to the table yet? 😊
@@ThinkerThemer I was really lucky with Ankh's arrival because my one gaming group had a night scheduled for the next day. It's so frustrating when you are anticipating the arrival of a new game and FINALLY it arrives and you unpack it and then it sits on your shelf for weeks before you get a chance to play it. Why was I so impatient for it to arrive then? 😂
So we've actually played a lot of Ankh in the past two weeks getting 8 games in!! With my group of 3 we all agreed that the merge did not work for us (if you don't know the mechanics of the game, near the end of the game the two gods with the lowest devotion (VP) merge into one god and either win or lose together). It took away all the fun of the lowest positioned god and broke up the rhythm of the game. We tried twice and really disliked it both times. Every game since then has been without the merge and the game works even better in our opinions. I've now played it with 2, 3 and 4 players and it works really well at all player counts, though with more gods you've got to watch your back even more. Much easier to strategise in the 2 player game.
What I like most about Ankh (and Rising Sun as well (not sure about Blood Rage because it's been ages since I've played it)) is that during the gameplay, I'm really enjoying myself, even when I've been dead last (by a large gap) I was still having fun being in that world and watching my friends succeed as well. I'm really happy with the game and can tell it will be in my collection for a long time.
“Kissing Jessica Stein”! Yes! The scene where her mom acknowledges Jessica’s girlfriend! I cried out loud!
My Farm Shop looks cute. I'd think that would be one for my wife but every game we have played lately she's just been saying "that was good but I'd rather just play Obsession" haha.
Thanks for answering my question! I thought my wife was one of the only people in the world who has Drop Dead Gorgeous in her all time faves. She watches it just about once a year, it's so cool Maggie is into it as well! The only one from your lists I haven't watched is Kissing Jessica Stein. Both mine and Susies individual all time favorite is Labyrinth which I guess makes it our mutual fave as well? Can't beat Jim Henson + David Bowie + part of Monty Python in my book. 😁
Meadow looks super cute and interesting! We’ve found Decrypto to be a fun word game for our group and even found a way to play online because of lockdown in Sydney :) Have you guys played board games online via video chat/online during lockdown? If so, what have you played?
Such a great way to stay connected (and sane!) We have been playing a little bit online! If you don't mind I'll add that to our IAQ list for next episode and answer it fully there! Thanks for the great question. ☺
I love having a whole cake. :D
Hahahaha so does Maggie even though she blames me for making it 😂
First to comment! Lockdown in NZ does have its up side!
You're also in the future...! Unfair advantage... 🙃🙃🙃
Thanks for watching Ki, hope you're doing OK in lockdown
@@ThinkerThemer Yeah doing great. I'm very lucky and my job and income are safe, so this lockdown is just a nice break to play more games. Hope you two are also coping well with your lockdown! Keep up the great work.
There are rice cookers that talk to you and play jingles when it's done. How am I just now hearing about this. My Christmas list just got 1 item longer.
Hahahahah and an added bonus is they also make amazing rice 😗👌
Just bought a 20 pound / 9 kg bag of rice for my Cuckoo rice cooker. Mine's red....what color is yours? (Mine doesn't make all of those fun noises though.) Like all the nature themed games featured this week!
I'd like to make a recommendation of the movie "Portrait of the Young Lady on Fire". You get top-notch film-making, a romance, drama, and some social commentary. It's on the Maggie end of the culture spectrum, but much more accessible than the description implies. It's outside of my typical favorite genres, but I was fortunate to come to it through a Chris Stuckmann youtube review.
Thank you! I'm not sure if Maggie has seen it or not but I'll put it on our list! Appreciate the recommendation and thank you for watching! 😊
Boston!
Boston video bomb 💣
I am still waiting for Meadow, can't find it in the US!
Just received Meadow this week, and it is fantastic. A great brain cruncher. Love it!
Yay! So glad you were able to find it!!! We (especially me - Amy) really like this one 😊❤
The Gardens sounds like it has a lot of similarities to Santa Monica.
Oh that's a connection I didn't think of ! Yes the theming and the wandering is quite similar! Both very light too but probably a slightly bigger decision space with Santa Monica.
Have you guys tried uwe rosenberg’s Mamma Mia?
Somebody loves working..haha
Sorry I don't quite understand this! Lol, working on the channel? thanks for watching!
Sorry I realised I was vague. It's because in the gardens, you keep saying workers while Maggie keeps correcting you on that (they are visitors not workers)
Hahahahahaha OH!!! Yes sorry 😅 I really struggle with the thematic terms and I still always think of them as workers and not meeples weirdly. Do you call them that?