Cult of the Old

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. 
Dear listeners, it is once again time for us to part ways. As we come to the end of our third season, let us reflect on the games we have covered. From the family friendly Ticket to Ride, to the genre defining titles like El Grande and Dominion, and the brutal chance of Blood Bowl we have covered a wide range of genre, mechanism, and complexity. However, no game this season has the reputation for sheer scale and difficulty of our final title. 
Not only did our last title this season establish its designer as a powerful voice, but it took a venerable genre and turned it inside out. The civilisation style of board games is almost as old as the hobby, and our final title took this genre, stripped out a lot of the fundamentals and made a game that took the world by storm. Join us for one last time this season as we go Through the Ages.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast.  We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Pandemic
Mage Knight
Codenames
Francis Tresham Civilisation 
Mega Civilisation 
Prophecy
Sid Meier’s Civilisation
New Leaders
Through the Ages App
Can’t Stop - Playte Version
Flip 7
FFG Civilisation
Mare Nostrum
Imperium
Six Sojourns - Eight Minute Empire
Carta Impera Victoria
Civilisation: A New Dawn
Innovation
Ark Nova
Other Mentions
Matt Leacock
Boardgame Arena
Digital Antiquarian 
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
BlueSky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. 
Nate: Well Iain we are almost at the end of the season
Iain: That’s right Nate and the teams have all to play for
N: Teams?
I: Yes Nate, teams. In no other sport do we get to see the sheer physicality and natural brutality brought out in such a glorious manner
N: This isn’t a sports podcast Iain, it’s a board game podcast
I: Can’t it be both? 
N: I guess it could. If we covered a board game from at least 10 years ago that happens to be focused on sport
I: How about a fantasy sport? 
N: Tell me more Iain
I: Well Nate, let me tell you about a sport that is not only an allegory for the animosity between many fantasy races but also stands as one of the icons of the British gaming scene. 
N: Is it from a famous British Publisher?
I: You took the words right out of my mouth Nate
N: Meat Loaf?
I: No thanks I’ve eaten. 
N: Enough of this, let’s get on with the show
I: You’re right Nate, let’s tell these fine folks about Blood Bowl. 
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast.  We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Warhammer
Epic 40k
Warhammer 40k
Necromunda
Warhammer Quest
Space Hulk   
Monsters of the Midway
Football Strategy Avalon Games
Terror of the Lichemaster (warhammer campaign)
Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game
Mordheim
Gorkamorka
Dune
Blitz Bowl
Dreadball
Blood Bowl: Team Manager
Kaos Ball
Other Mentions
Games Workshop Ltd.
Tabletop Simulator Mod we used 
Beastie Boys - License to ill 
American History X
The Producers
TSR
Team Links

Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Bluesky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. 
Sometimes you hear about games by reputation. The epic length of Twilight Imperium, the complexity of Vita Lacerda designs, the seemingly simple mechanisms behind the games of Reiner Knizia. These reputations can attract or repel in equal measure, and sometimes they are undeserved. The folklore around some games can be a hindrance to their uptake. However some folk tales are firmly based in reality. 
The game we are covering tonight is one of those games that I knew by reputation alone. Dry, excruciating downtime, with very little in the way of redeeming features. Despite that description this is a game that has always been available, an evergreen in more ways than one. Now that I have played the game, what do I think? We will get to that. As to what my fellow hosts think, well they are in the ring and ready to fight over the classic that is Power Grid. 
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast.  We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Ticket to Ride - Episode Link 
Imperial
Railway Rivals
McMulti
Playboss
Age of Steam
City of Big Shoulders
Chicago Express
Bohnanza
Puerto Rico - Episode Link
Fearsome Floors
Plum Island Horror
Fish, Flip, and Frikadelen 
504
Ark Nova 
Seti
Thebes
Red November
Patchwork
Ra
Modern Art - Episode Link
Fishing
Other Mentions
Brettspielwelt
The story of Power Grid - https://opinionatedgamers.com/2016/07/11/funkenschlag-at-fifteen-the-story-of-power-grid/
Team Links
Websites you can find the cast on
There Will Be Games
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Bluesky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. 
A large part of the culture of the tabletop hobby is tied up with games emulating history. From HG Wells’ Little Wars to the early days of Avalon Hill and the modern expressions of the form in GMT Games, wargames are undoubtedly a large part of tabletop gaming’s history and present. We have covered one of the icons of this genre with Twilight Struggle in Season 1, a game that sat atop the BGG rankings for many years.
Our next game this season has never had such an accolade, but has still been a massive presence over the years. Taking the more complicated wargames that were available at the time and distilling them into a fast card driven experience, it crossed the aisle into more  mainstream hobby gaming. Soon it was on gamers shelves everywhere and spawned numerous, and we do mean numerous, expansions, campaign books and more. Pull up a chair and reminisce with us as we look back at Memoir 44. 
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast.  We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Twilight Struggle 
Ticket to Ride
Battlecry
Commands & Colours Ancients
Commands & Colours Napoleonic 
Commands & Colours series 
We the People
Combat Commander
Heroscape
Star Wars Queen’s Gambit
Battlelore
Netrunner
Samurai Battles
Other Mentions
Vassal 
Richard Borg Interview
Team Links
Websites you can find the cast on
There Will Be Games
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Bluesky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape. 
Over the last two and half seasons of Cult of the Old we have covered some absolute classics. From the brutal farming of Agricola that kicked off our very first season to Catan that began our second we have looked at games venerable and revered, and some that are just past their prime Some of those games still hold their place in the hobby, but many have been surpassed as designers take the original ideas and improve on them ten fold. 
This is not the case for the game we are covering tonight. 
Hitting the scene in 1995, the same year as Catan, our next title quickly became a watch word for area control. Though many games have followed in this Grand Dames footsteps, none have managed the combination of simple mechanisms, devilish decisions, and twists of fate that this title nailed. Pick up your caballeros and send them into the depths of the Castillo as we explore El Grande. 
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast.  We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Catan - Episode Link
Civilisation
Risk
Go
6 Nimmt
Heimlich & Co
Torres
Tikal
Heroquest
Villa paletti 
San Marco
Mission Red Planet 
Race for the Galaxy
Dominion - Episode Link
Arcs
Root
Chaos in the Old World
Kemet
Wallenstein
Shogun
Other Mentions
Rio Grande Games
Z-Man Games
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Bluesky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at cultoftheolduk@gmail.com