Table Talk

Various mechanisms have been used across retail in all sectors to better align prices and create a more even playing field for sellers. Magic dropped MSRP and then brought it back. Flesh and Blood just dropped their MAP policy. Games like Sorcery have an MSRP but no MAP. What's the point of it all, and is it ultimately just a relic of the past?

Advancements in articifical intelligence have made developing web-based "digital clients" for card games progressively easier. Expecting an increasing number of unofficial clients, we discuss the impact they will have on indie tabletop games.

In our ongonig discussions about the problems experienced with LCGs (living card games) in the past, we're starting to feel like the overall approach to organized play has become too complicated. Join us to discuss the inherent challenges faced - and possible solutions - when supporting non-collectible, expandable card games like Hubworld: Aidalon and Ashes Reborn.

The Sorcery TCG Dust launch illustrates a number of lessons in the pursuit of perfection and the reality of the world. Join us as we wrestle with them.

After a morning filled with drafting, former Android: Netrunner Designer Michael Boggs joins us to talk about Hubworld: Aidalon!

People often optimize for efficiency and fairness, which is often times counter to optimizing for fun. Alpha Clash has pivoted to maximizing fun at their tournaments and now Sorcery with their Avatar prizes. Zach is hot off rebuilding his Earthborne Rangers decks to make them harder to play and Steven has a long history of making weak characters in D&D for greater roleplaying opportunity. With players, to some extent, seemingly going down this road themselves, we ask how companies can support fun over fairness.

The best and hardest part of tabletop games is that they require other people to play. It's what leads to such amazing communities, but also a lot of frustration for those who just want to play their favorite games. Today, we talk about the lessons we've learned from over a decade of bringing people together.

• 00:06:37 Earthborne Games News
• 00:16:58 Sorcery TCG News
• 00:17:56 Flesh and Blood TCG News
• 00:23:27 Alpha Clash TCG News
• 00:23:41 Warlord TCG News
• 00:28:02 Covenant News
• 00:31:53 Main Topic: How to Start a Community

• 00:09:03 "Let's Cover the News"
• 00:09:35 Earthborne Games News
• 00:18:39 Sorcery TCG News
• 00:40:40 Warlord TCG News
• 00:41:45 Covenant News
• 00:50:49 Main Topic: Say Less

A great game can happen anywhere two people want to gather. With breweries, libraries, and community centers opening their doors to tabletop, what can an LGS do to become that preferred third space?

We ask ourselves if, in our current moment, it is enough to make the best game possible, or if there is now an even more competitive meta game that designers need to understand to ensure success.

• 00:11:21 Flesh and Blood TCG News
• 00:11:53 Warlord TCG News
• 00:15:17 Arkham Horror LCG and Marvel Champions LCG News
• 00:19:27 Alpha Clash TCG News
• 00:39:46 Sorcery TCG News
• 00:57:46 Can Sorcery be Successful as Simply a Great Game?
• 01:00:22 Earthborne Games News
• 01:06:50 Covenant News
• 01:07:14 Social Segment
• 01:25:28 Main Topic: Is a Great Game Good Enough?

In this episode, we share highlights from our recent travels to the Flesh and Blood TCG Pro Tour in Las Vegas and to the Erik's Curiosa offices in New Zealand (Sorcery TCG). The filming and conversations at each were enlightening.

• 00:06:12 Here Be Monsters TCG News
• 00:08:57 Hubworld: Aidalon News
• 00:25:26 Alpha Clash TCG News
• 00:32:07 Flesh and Blood TCG News
• 00:37:35 Warlord TCG News
• 00:42:07 Marvel Champions LCG and Arkham Horror LCG News
• 00:45:46 Main Topic: There and Back Again - New Zealand & Vegas

We can all feel it. So many new TCGs on the market, so many new products from the old games, digital repacks, exclusives, stretch goals, and a seemingly endless supply of gimmicks. Perhaps we've lost our way. Perhaps it's time to return to the fundamentals.

• 00:02:36 Here Be Monsters TCG News
• 00:09:05 Alpha Clash TCG News
• 00:20:48 TCGs in the Internet Age
• 00:22:03 FAB TCG News
• 00:25:37 Sorcery TCG News
• 00:43:53 Ashes Ascendancy News
• 00:44:19 Warlord TCG News
• 00:44:27 Earthborne Games News
• 00:47:39 Arkham Horror and Marvel Champions News
• 00:48:14 Covenant News
• 00:51:34 Social Segment
• 01:13:59 Main Topic: The TCG Fatigue Is Real

This week, Here Be Monsters TCG launched their Kickstarter campaign with a game-changing business model. Are they the first to solve the problem of TCGs without jettisoning all the upsides? We think that just might be the case!

• 00:00:00 Intro
• 00:08:32 Here Be Monsters TCG News
• 00:12:02 Zattic News
• 00:13:39 Alpha Clash TCG News
• 00:14:56 Flesh and Blood TCG News
• 00:19:07 Sorcery TCG News
• 00:19:31 Subjective Assessment of Art
• 00:24:34 Earthborne Games News
• 00:31:22 Viewer Question 1
• 00:32:28 Viewer Question 2
• 00:38:31 Ashes Ascendency News
• 00:43:13 Covenant News
• 00:48:35 Canadian News
• 00:54:16 Lightning Round!
• 01:04:13 Main Topic: Is Here Be Monsters the Perfect Indie TCG?

Get your own demo deck: https://www.teamcovenant.com/games/here-be-monsters-tcg

Learn more: http://cov.link/here-be-monsters

It's time we addressed the perennial question.

• 00:36:38 Main Topic: Are TCGs Gambling?

On a fateful Monday, BradW shared an ad for Rush of Ikorr, the TCG from Upper Deck, coming to their ePack platform. What's the ePack platform, you ask? An abomination. It's not what tabletop is, and it misses the point completely. Digital integration? We don't want it, and it's ruining the hobby. Join us for a direct message to publishers thinking this is the future—it isn't.

• 40:30 Main Topic

Our current crowdfunding and tcg-heavy tabletop gaming era necessitates a question: is there nobility in removing overtly FOMO-creating elements from your campaigns and product design, or are you just losing sales?

• 00:00:00 Intro
• 00:04:42 Sorcery TCG News
• 00:07:23 Warlord TCG News
• 00:07:44 Alpha Clash TCG News
• 00:08:03 Arkham Horror The Card Game & Marvel Champions News
• 00:21:42 FAB TCG News
• 00:22:04 Covenant News
• 00:23:24 Main Topic: FOMO

A few weeks ago, the Earthborne team came to our office to share a vertical slice of their new game, Earthborne Trailblazer, with us, our team, and three fans of Rangers. Now, with the launch of the Earthborne Trailblazer Kickstarter, we are excited to share our thoughts with the world!

Earthborne Trailblazer Kickstarter: cov.link/earthborne-trailblazer

• 00:50:49 Main Topic: Earthborne Trailblazer First Impressions

Traditional distribution serves a critical function for tabletop gaming, but for many publishers it is often a hindrance to success—that's why we launched Covenant Fulfilled earlier this year. With the platform receiving a number of updates this week, including the addition of Earthborne Games, we're diving into exactly how our approach to distribution was a necessary improvement for indie publishers.

• 27:51 Steven Rafts the Valley
• 41:07 Main Topic: Why Distribution Had to Change

All last week we stared at the beautiful Earthborne Trailblazer board, created by Evan Simonet and inspired by Jaro Hess's "The Land of Make Believe". This week we wake up to a fresh controversy involving long time Magic: The Gathering artist Dan Frazier. There is clearly a line somewhere between the kind of artistic inspiration that both grounds and elevates a project and sticking so close to your reference that whatever you create lacks soul. Join us as we dive into the murky but refreshing waters of references, inspiration, and the act of creation in a post-modern world.

Fresh off of their Earthborne Trailblazer announcement, Andrew Navaro joins us to answer your questions and ours!