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Scaling the Game – How game complexity scales with experience – Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast Episode 102

Scaling the Game – In this week’s Ask The Bellhop segment we discuss how game complexity scales with experience. We get into detailed reviews of Telestrations Upside Drawn, a team-based version of the classic party game, and The Pip System Corebook, a universal roleplaying system great for new players and for gaming with kids. Also initial thoughts on Roll for Lasers and Breakdancing Meeple, as well as a return to Talisman Batman Super-Villains Edition in our week in review.


Episode 102 of the Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast, recorded August 12th 2020. Join us as we stream live every week on Wednesdays at 9:00 PM Eastern on Twitch. If you like some video with your audio, you can also watch/listen to individual segments from this show on YouTube.

Disclosure: Some links below are affiliate links. Using these links costs you nothing extra and helps us offset the cost of producing this show. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Some games mentioned in this podcast were provided by publishers as review copies.


100th Episode Giveaway Winners:

Winner: Eric S
Runner up: Jennifer L

2 Year Anniversary Giveaway:

In celebration of our two year anniversary, we’ve teamed up with Grand Gamers Guild to give away a copy of the Kickstarter Edition of Gorinto. (Enter here, ends Aug.26th: Gorinto Giveaway) 

Reviewapalooza:

We are going to try something new the last Wednesday of the month with a special review filled episode replacing our regular AMA.

Depending on how well this goes, we may make this a more regular occurrence.

—Lobby Check-In—

Join us live at 9 pm Eastern every Wednesday at https://www.twitch.tv/tabletopbellhop and take part in The Lobby our chatroom.

Yokohama Added to Board Game Arena
Teotihuacan on Board Game Arena

—Ask The Bellhop—

Today we have a question from Patron of the show Roger Meloche who asks:

“Hey Moe and Sean, I’ve enjoyed every one of your podcasts and look forward to a new one each week. I have a question regarding Power Creep. Not the kind you find in games, but the power creep experienced by the players.

I always played cards and used to enjoy Risk, many moons ago, but I just recently have started to play “Real” board games. The first modern board game I tried was Jaipur, then later at CG Realm, I was introduced to Carcassonne which really opened my eyes to this new hobby. Somebody then suggested a game called “Great Western Trail”. I had never experienced anything like this, It was all completely new to me. To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement, I managed to muddle my way through the game, but I could smell a few brain cells, still smouldering when we were done. I remember somebody saying the game was easy, before we played it and I am sure they really thought it was, but I wouldn’t call it a gateway game. Of course, now that I’ve played many different games, I would take a game like Great Western Trail in stride and really enjoy it.

This brings me to my first question; How do you determine if a given player’s skill and experience is a good match for a new game they are about to play, given that a player’s skill level is very subjective at best?

As far as power creep goes; As my skill increases and I look for greater and greater challenges, am I going to lose interest in most of the current games in my collection as I pursue this hobby? Is this a common occurrence?”

Links:
Weighing in on Game Complexity
A Heavy Topic – Podcast Ep 38
Board Game Geek
Weight on BGG
Race for the Galaxy
How to pick what board game to play? 
Being Picky – Podcast Ep 53
Great games for introducing a new player to hobby board games
The Hook – Podcast Ep 28
Looking for games with a similar feel to Catan
Life, the Universe, and more than Catan – Podcast Ep 42
Jones’ Theory

Send questions to questions@tabletopbellhop.com

—The Game Room: Telestrations Upside Drawn—

A review of Telestrations Upside Drawn, a team-based version of the classic party game.

Telestrations Upside Drawn Full Review
Telestrations Upside Drawn Unboxing
Buy Telestrations Upside Drawn

—The Game Room: The Pip System Corebook—

A review of the softcover printing of The Pip System Corebook a universal RPG system great for kids and new players.

The Pip System Corebook Full Review
Buy the Pip System Corebook

—The Bellhop’s Tabletop—

A look at what games hit our tabletops over the last week:

Roll for Lasers on Kickstarter
Breakdancing Meeples
Talisman Batman Super-Villains Edition
Patchwork
Codenames Duet
Telestrations Upside Drawn


—Support our efforts—

If you enjoy the content we are producing please consider tipping The Bellhop at:
https://www.patreon.com/tabletopbellhop

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