Three Moves Ahead

Soren Johnson kicks off an extended visit to 3MA by joining Rob, Julian, and Bruce to talk about smaller-scale strategy games, and how they compare to their more traditional cousins. Julian thinks they let developers play to their strengths, while Soren worries about their potential to be ephemeral. Bruce suspects that if great games are ephemeral, that says a lot more about gamers than it does about games. Rob wants to like "big" strategy games more than he does, but likes the more contained experience that smaller games, and board games, increasingly offer. Bruce reveals that his gaming habits are stranger than anyone imagined.

Troy takes a victory lap after finishing his National Character series, and together with Rob delves deeper into some of the themes he brought up in the series, and considers some stray ideas that didn't quite make the final cut. Can stereotypes ever really be escaped, and do we even want to escape them when they provide such a reliable shorthand in strategy games? How would national character be portrayed by someone other than Anglo-American game designers, and does national character find a compelling expression in peaceful pursuits?

Irrational Games' Ken Levine join Rob and Troy for a discussion of the Combat Mission series, realism, WEGO turns versus continuous time, and what we'd bring back to the future. Tim Stone on "Ignorance Is Bliss"

Freelance writer Phill Cameron joins Rob and Troy for a discussion of the games they've been playing that haven't quite fit into recent writings or podcasts. New Men of War DLC, Troy and Rob's changing views on Panzer Corps, RTS time-traveler Achron, high-level Blood Bowl, Out of the Park 11, and racing games all come up for discussion in this open-ended discussion.

GWJ's Cory Banks finally dips his toes in the waters of turn-based wargaming with Matrix / Slitherine's new Panzer General remake, Panzer Corps. He joins Julian and Rob to talk about wargaming-lite, whether this really improves on Panzer General, and Panzer Corps' puzzle-based approach to scenario design. Rob realizes a newfound appreciation for daunting complexity.

PC Gamer EIC Logan Decker joins Rob and Julian for a discussion of Christoph Hartmann's comments that strategy is not a contemporary genre. They dig into his interview, and what he meant. They also cover other publishing models, and how they stack up to what game publishers do, and discuss how Hartmann's comments reflect a much broader struggle to figure out what people want in a new media landscape. Does being relegated to a smaller market actually make strategy healthier for those of us who still enjoy it?

Troy and Rob are over the moon about Longbow's Hegemony: Philip of Macedon, and invite programmer and writer Rick Yorgason to the show so they can ask that timeless question: "How awesome is your game?" The three go into detail on the game's simplicity, its superb camera controls and artwork, its integrated and effective tutorial, and the compromises and adjustments Longbow made to the design along the way. Then Rick says there are two copies of the game available to loyal 3MA listeners, and Troy promises to award them randomly to two people who leave comments on this episode. Deadline for comments is Wednesday, July 20th.

Taking a moment from their respective vacations, Rob and Julian pick up the pieces after a couple show ideas fall apart at the last minute. Julian wants to talk about card mechanics and why he likes them so much. Rob wonders if most PC games eschew cards because they tend to symbolize and abstract concepts, and the PC tends to place a premium on the literal. Julian also theorizes that poker's popularity changed games.

Ars Technica's Ben Kuchera visits Three Moves Ahead to continue a discussion he started about reviewing standards and practices. Troy and Rob try to keep up as the panel discusses how writers' relationships with their readers can affect their approach to reviews, what are a reviewer's obligations, and the value of genre expertise.

Mode 7's Paul Taylor visits with Julian, Rob, and PC Gamer's Dan Stapleton to talk about Frozen Synapse. They discuss the game's development, its lengthy beta process and how that has contributed to the game's success, and the decision to sell the game as a 2-for-1 package. Paul gets into the fiction a little bit, and how it has been received. Apologies for any audio issues. Some interference got onto Paul's audio track, and there were nearby lumberjacks chopping down trees with chainsaws.

Paradox France's Philippe Thibaut and GWJ's Erik Hanson colonize 3MA this week to talk about Pride of Nations, Paradox France's new grand-strategy game of imperialism. Erik and Rob are intrigued by Pride's cynical view of colonial competition and its novel mechanics. Philippe explains the game's origins and how it is at once a departure for Paradox France and a natural extension of their work as AGEOD. The Victoria II comparison comes up for discussion, and Erik and Philippe discuss the game design challenges of the Civil War.

Vic Davis rides back into town to talk about Six Gun Saga, his new solitaire card-based strategy game. Julian is mighty fond of it, but wants to play with the rest of his posse. Rob is curious how Vic's Armageddon Empires and Solium Infernum fans have greeted this unusual game, and where Vic is headed next.

An exhausted Julian and Rob welcome Cory Banks back to the show to go over what they played at Julian's board gaming retreat. Could Agricola's position be threatened by young up-and-comer 7 Wonders? Why is Battleship Galaxies the best space game since Sins of a Solar Empire? Is Castle Ravenloft a baby game, or an appropriate introduction to strategy and wargaming for children and novices? On the other hand, why would you play that when Last Night on Earth and Invasion from Outer Space are so much better? All these questions and more will be answered for those who are... Three Moves Ahead.

Ralph Trickey takes a break from updating and improving The Operational Art of War III to talk about the series with Rob, Troy, and Bruce. They discuss how the game is changing through patches, and then debate whether TOAW is a game so much as it is a set of tools. They also talk about how scenario designers have put those tools to use, and what shortcomings afflict the system. Everyone shares his favorite scenario, but Rob cannot contain himself and names three. Ralph mentions plans for The Operational Art of War IV, but it'll be hard to sell that if he keeps making TOAW III better and better.

Elemental and Civilization V come in for a follow-up appointment with Julian, Troy, and Rob. Have the major changes that have been patched into these games translated into major improvements for the player? How much post-release support should players reasonably expect, and what can developers accomplish with it? What flawed games have become great with patching?

Here come the creeps, led by Rob and Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Quintin Smith! Fortunately, they encounter a maze of discussion and towers of topics. Inspired by first-person tower defender Sanctum and tower attacker Anomaly: Warzone Earth, Quinns and Rob explore how these games change the tower defense formula, and what about that formula needed changing? Are we doing a disservice to a neat mechanic by insisting that it is a genre? Why are we continually drawn in by games we often find shallow and unsatisfying? Is tower defense really about destruction, or is there an under-served creative aspect to these games? A lot of games and pieces come up for discussion here, so brace yourself for a link attack. Quinns' Sanctum Wot I Think Troy's reactions to Anomaly: Warzone Earth Rob, two years ago, on tower defense games Quinns on Ace of Spades 3MA on AI War Rob's "excessively positive" Dungeons review The Verdun game Rob couldn't remember is The Trench Kieron Gillen on Warfare: 1917

Rob is pleasantly surprised by Revolution Under Siege and rounds up Troy Goodfellow and Broken Toys' Scott Jennings to talk about it. What is the context for a Russian Revolution game, and how does Revolution Under Siege communicate that? Is the AGE system a good one for this kind of game, and why is it such a turn-off for some people? Most importantly, how the hell does an armored train work? Why wouldn't you just stay away from the tracks? Seriously guys, what the hell?

Gamers With Jobs continues colonizing 3MA, but the natives still welcome Cory Banks because he brings whiskey and podcast topics. Fantasy Flight games is upset about an iOS game that bears a significant resemblance to Richard Borg's Command & Colors system, and Bruce, Cory, and Rob wonder what it all means. Before they reveal themselves as ignoramuses yet again, William Flachsbart, intellectual property expert, arrives to tell them what it all means. How carefully must new products tread around the innovations of old ones? When does borrowing mechanics turn into theft? Is there any way we can send Troy to jail? What about the Vancouver Canucks? Here is Bill Abner's original No High Scores story, and the interview to which Wil is referring in this episode. Big thanks to Michael Hermes for helping us sort out numerous audio problems this week.

Ah, good day, Herr General. The General Staff have prepared this podcast analyzing the strength and dispositions of the Panzer General series. You will have access to some new units for this mission. Bruce will shatter its defenses with an explanation of why he is not very fond of it, and Julian and Rob will go through the gap with an argument for its simplicity and refinement. Troy can provide air cover by placing the series in a wider context of genre and gaming history, but be careful. He consumes alcohol at twice the rate of a normal unit. Brilliant victory: Complete the podcast in 55:39 Victory: Read Rob's love-letter to PG2 in the May issue of PC Gamer Tactical victory: Comment and re-tweet

On the 150th anniversary of the attack on Fort Sumter, Troy and Rob rally around the bonnie blue flag and find Gamers With Jobs' Erik Hanson waiting for them there. Then they march off to discuss the American Civil War and its gaming legacy. They discuss how changes in a game's scale also change how the war is presented, why the war has such a hold on the imagination, and what were its defining features. A Along the way, Rob calls the Shenandoah campaign the Cumberland campaign, incorrectly places Cutler in command of the Iron Brigade at 2nd Manassas, and leaves his window open to let listeners hear the sounds of the Cambridge police. Embarrassing errors, or a subtle homage to Burnside?