Short Form: SU&SD Newsletter #84

Tom: I think this is going to be a slightly shorter, sharper newsletter than normal - I’m trying to get us back into a nice steady rhythm after taking a few loopy detours recently - past Wilmot Boulevard, through Arcs Alley - we’re just on the left there, thanks.

It’s a fitting tempo, actually, because I’ve been broadly trying to write pithier pieces at the moment after finding the sprawl of Arcs coverage to be necessary… but ultimately a little knackering. I love working on big videos that feel comprehensive and complete! But I’m also keen to make a selection for the site that’s a touch more sprightly, and to have a more dependable video output that covers the wider world of tabletop games for the folks who support us.

So, this month, I’ve been restraining myself to a sharp 1,000 words per video - with some small tangents permitted if things really need an explanatory kick. I haven’t actually filmed these videos yet, but I’m best pleased with the written product, and I think you’ll enjoy it too. One video is tonally quite serious and sombre, whilst the other is probably the daftest script I’ve written in recent memory. I like doing both! It keeps things fresh!

The second reason, though, is thornier. I’ve occasionally found the ‘product review’ portions of our videos to sometimes be a little jarring when placed next to certain games. Discussions around value for money can sometimes feel unimportant in the face of really superb design or a single, evocative feeling - and yet we rarely make the space to talk about those things without tempering them with quibbles about list price or replayability. I’d like to carve out a small space on the channel for the kinds of reviews that are less concerned with teaching you specific rules or weighing the game up against similar boxes in their weight class so that we’re more free to wander around, and linger on the more important stuff that makes table games affecting and personal. Plus, I think leaning heavily into entertainment value is what brings in new audiences! The site’s humour and approachability was what caught my attention, as a fan, all those years ago - the easy ‘in’ to a hobby that can initially be vast and daunting.

I want to be making just a few more videos that lean out of the product review space and treat board games with the respect that any other art form deserves. Put it this way - weighing up  ‘Blue Velvet’ or ‘Volpone’ or ‘Untitled (Red)’ against their “List Price” seems kind of absurd, in the long run, right? That’s a pretty outrageous and out-there example, but games criticism broadly gets tied up in the idea of owning the art, and I think that ownership  can foundationally pervert the way it’s experienced. I think focusing more on that experience - rather than value proposition or stat-for-stat ‘ranking’ - is what leads to more insightful and honest writing about exactly why we connect with cardboard.

The board game space is packed with product reviews - and we’re still going to make them, of course! But maybe I'll look to dip out of that style if a game necessitates breaking the traditional format. I’d been bashing my head against a script for ‘Defenders of the Wild’ for a week before realising that I was only struggling because I was getting the game to fit the format, and not the other way around! There will still be ample games for which “Hell Yeah Gamer, This Is ‘Just Fun’” will be a perfectly suited tone and structure for a review; but many other games might be better served by a twist in the format, by digging just a little deeper.

That’s kind of it for this newsletter! Thank you so much for your support, and for reading my ramblings. I’ll cap things off with a bit of a bulletin as to what you can expect from the site in the near future - something we’ve been meaning to do for a while but struggled to find the consistency to land. Here’s what the next month or so in SU&SD looks like!
 

• Defenders of the Wild will be a short video review appearing this week (at time of writing!), followed by a similarly pithy slice of coverage for Courtisans to follow just after. I’m going to try and film them together, in one session! Wish me luck!

• Matt has been cooking up our third review of an ‘Undaunted’ game - this time tackling its lunar cousin Undaunted 2200: Callisto.

• Our next episode of The Top 100 is out now. This one is our first double-bill - Roll and Race for the Galaxy; together at last. We’re really aware that this particular series is terribly loose, but that’s… sort of the point? We want to make sure it stays fun, above all, and leans into the fact that a ‘Top 100’ is a slightly absurd idea in the first place.

• I’m gently cooking up a really weird video, likely titled ‘The Games With No Rules’. I’ll keep the contents of that one a secret for the time being, but I think it’ll be a quirky little exploration for those interested.
  

Thanks everyone! See you soon!

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What are we video games!  🎮

Tom: I’ve been absolutely inundated with brilliant video games this month, getting that kid-in-a-sweetshop feeling whenever I look at my Steam library. Rather than write at length about them, I figured I’d make a breathless little video explaining the joys I found in just one of them. Check that out here!

For those who just want the quick recommendations to chuck into their steam wishlist and promptly forget about forever - Shapez 2, Abiotic Factor, and Tactical Breach Wizards have all been competing for my attention; but are being continually bested by Deadlock this past week. Oh dear. It’s something else.

What are we music!  🎵

Tom: I have been utterly obsessed with Frog. Here’s the perfect introductory playlist, in my opinion, if you’re interested in getting into the band that’s about to absolutely dominate my Spotify wrapped this year. I really can’t recommend them enough!

What are we watching? 📺

Tom: I think I should probably start using this space to talk about the YouTube I’ve been watching recently, as I’m very rarely getting into new television shows! Just one, for this week. Alfred Valley’s excellent video ‘Playing To Find Out’ is an all-timer. Being able to translate ‘your niche’ into something engrossing and watchable is a rare skill, and I think this video is a shining example of it. Go watch it, right away, no excuses.

Emily: IT’S ALL ABOUT NEW ZEALAND COMEDY, BABBBYYYYYY. They’re killing it. Those darn kiwis are absolutely nailing my sense of humour right now and I cannot be more grateful. Two shows in particular that are currently airing are Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee and Taskmaster NZ.

Guy Mont-Spelling Bee sounds far more boring on paper than its realisation. A spelling bee that's hard to describe in words, what a beautiful concept! It's essentially a panel show where four comedians are made to spell words for points. A simple premise that is so heavily elevated by its execution. Think along the lines of Dropout’s Game Changer. The rounds are designed so beautifully, playing with the contestant's expectations and creating hilarious moments. I can't recommend it enough. The second season of the NZ version is currently airing and an Australian season has just aired. Both are excellent, you can't go wrong. Search for the Punctuation Round on YouTube and you'll pick up if it's your vibe :)

Taskmaster NZ is in serious competition for my favourite iteration of the show. You all know Taskmaster, I'm sure. You know how it works. It's an unfortunate struggle for the many global iterations of this wonderful show to try and capture the feeling of the original. However, Taskmaster NZ just gets so so much right. It has its flaws. I don't particularly find the Taskmaster, Jeremy Wells, to be as entertaining as Greg and his scoring can be truly horrendous!! Outside of that, though, it's got some of the best tasks out there. The UK version often takes ideas from NZ, that's how good they are. Paul Williams, the Alex equivalent, is downright a star. His commitment and ability to create fun moments out of nowhere are second to none. The second season is an all-timer, but this current season has been incredible so far! Abby Howells is a particular treat this season. I'm a big fan! That's all, byeeee!