Guns, Dice, Butter

Just got the all the material completed for episode XXI: Greenwood (WBC 2014 preview), Raicer (Paths of Glory, Dark Valley and other topics), John Alsen (Consimworld Expo 2014 AAR). Hope to post in a week or so.

Who doesn’t love a good slave revolt? All hail Spartacus. War by other means; addressing the other 7 M’s of waging war...

Was watching the most recent two episodes of Game of Thrones (DAMM good, almost as good as The Wire …and has the potential to equal The Wire, it if it (GoT) doesn’t go stupid - which, is always a possibility for a series) and I think the fog finally began to clear.

Khaleesi {Daenerys Targaryen}  (waring: spoiler alert) is on the move. She frees the most recent slave city by launching barrels of slave chains over the city walls. That, gets the slaves inside to a thinkin. And, puts into the city a fifth column. The rest is predictable – masters heads on pikes and what not. Khaleesi utilizes war by other means to take the city.

Back to war by other means. Why the three guests on GDB Episode XX? The combo of the three guests answers the question:

Herman: because he has the best ever strategic will model our hobby has produced with For the People

Train: he knows something about modeling unconventional conflict

Doughan: knows gaming, knows history, knows arbitraging risk.

Strategic will, unconventional conflict and arbritraging risk (and uncertainty) are at the heart of war by other means - and hybrid wars.

Something Mr.Herman and I discussed this week: winning the peace - something most of our games do not cover (other than the "They make a desert and call it peace approach" of our friends the Roman vis a vis Carthage) . Mark has a new game coming out sooner than later called Churchill which begins in 1943 (when Doughan said most WWII ETO games are already decided – the Germans only trying to manage the date when the bunker will fall … maybe push it by a month or two). Mark’s game is only about that – winning the peace; the combat is highly abstracted (similar to how the other 7 M’s of waging war is usually abstracted in our wargames). Churchill focusses more on the other 7 M's of combat (messge, media, mercs, money, mayhem, Mi5/Mi6 and Metterich (in this case). 

It will be interesting to see if other designers pick up on this – more war by other means, less emphasis on combat. I do think it is a way to make wargames more accessible and broaden the audience. Time will tell.

Of course, I still love playing the pure combat beasts (very recent example: It Never Snows), but always would rather play a one part  war by other means/one part combat (ex: Empires in Arms) beast. Many of Berg's designs come to mind. We'll continue to dive into this topic over the next few Guns, Dice, Butter episodes.

Related, I would also recommend Hybrid Warfare (by Williamson Murray and Peter Manoor). I've read two sections of the book so far - one on Rome's conquest of Germania (which caused me to pick up an old S&T game by the same name) and one on the American Revolutionary War. Very interesting coverage of each topic and a great peak into the other components of conflict that should be reflected in our strategic level wargames.

Currently, I'm working on getting GDB Episode XXI put together. Have the three segments sorted. Will preview the episode when I've recorded each segment. Shooting for mid May publish date. And, even have a great designer lined up for episode XXII.

So much for taking a break. 

Welcome to Guns, Dice, Butter: Episode XX April 16, 2014

On this episode of GDB:

0:00 Episode Intro and Preview

0:13 Eklund: Conversation with Phil Eklund, designer of High Frontier, Pax Porfiriana , Greenland ,  Luftschiff (Zeppelins!) and 26 other games covering the human (and pre-human) experience.

1:22 War by Other Means: Panel discussion with Jim Doughan, Mark Herman and Brian Train regarding the other “7 M’s”  of warcraft {besides the 3 traditional "M's" of combat - machetes (irregular), machine guns (conventional) and missles(strategic)} that support the BIG “M” (morale) in making and waging war: message (casus belli – manufacturing it and maintaining it) , media, money, mercenaries (mercs/brownshirts/proxies/little green men), mayhem (attacks on opponents fabric of society), Mi5/Mi6 (spycraft) and Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich (Clausewitz's “have a good pen” – diplomacy – internal/external).

2:12 Conversation with Brian Train, regarding his recent DTP design  Ukrainian Crisis game and other bits and bobs

2:36 Wrap up: What’s on my wargaming plate (using wargames in school), Eklund’s “Nature bats last”, B.H.Liddell Hart’s “Lenin had a vision of fundamental truth when he said the soundest strategy in war is to postpone operations until the moral disintegration of the enemy renders the delivery of the mortal blow both possible and easy.”, shout-outs and what not.

Guns, Dice, Butter available on iTunes, Boardgamegeek (guild 1293), Consimworld (Consim Café folder), the GDB website and elsewhere on the web.

GDB has approximately 10k listeners and well over 40k downloads.

Thank you for your continued support!

Episode XX of Guns, Dice, Butter will be published this week.

On Episode XX:

1) Conversation with Phil Eklund, designer of High Frontier, Pax Porfiriana, Lufschiff among many others.

2) Panel discussion: War by Other Means: Mark Herman, Brian Train and Jim Doughan

3) Conversation with Brian Train regarding his DTP game regarding the Ukrainian Crisis

...and more.

Passed the 40,000 download mark for Guns, Dice, Butter yesterday. Thank you for your strong support!

Recorded and mixed half of episode XX yesterday - hope to have the other segment completed this weekend. If so, should be able to post the next episode in the next two weeks.

Welcome to Episode XIX: APR 4, 2014 of Guns, Dice, Butter: a series of conversations with members of the wargaming tribe

0:00 Introduction: Episode Preview

0:05 Discussion with Ben Hull, designer of the incredible Musket & Pike Series. Additionally, we talk about his series Fields of Fire and his soon to be published operational series titled Won by the Sword

1:35 Discussion First Minnesota Historical Wargaming Society (BGG guild 875) sparkplugs Lt. Jason and Gordo. We discuss the club and expanding the hobby.

2:43 Wrap up: On our wargaming desk,  shout outs and Guns, Dice, Butter news.

Have a long conversation with Ben Hull of Musket & Pike fame recorded; just have to mix it. And, need to get one other shorter segment. Won't be too long (real life work permitting). 

Hope to publish a new episode soon; have a couple of great game designers lined up. Thoughts and prayers with friends and family in Ukraine. Related, I've been blogging on the situation in Ukraine on my Triumph of Chaos board (in the between the wars folder) on Consimworld.

My podcast hosting service provided a link for a survey of demographic stats related to GDB:

http://survey.libsyn.com/gunsdicebutter

Of course, if you are interested, complete. If not, no prob. I'll post the results when they are made available. Also, I assume it will generate an email list for the show, which I can send out updates/files/etc to listeners.

Checked out a few stats for downloads of Guns, Dice, Butter (now near 40k). Image here shows the number of downloads for each episode in the first three days of episode being posted. Looks like GDB continuing to build a following. Thank you for your continued support! I'll post a survey on BGG (Boardgamegeek.com) in a few days for listeners to complete.

Welcome to Episode XVIII: JAN 13, 2014 of Guns, Dice, Butter: a series of conversations with members of the wargaming tribe

0:00 Introduction: Episode Preview

0:05 Discussion with Harry Rowland, designer of Empires in Arms and World in Flames, grand poobah of Australian Design Group

1:20 Discussion with J.R.Tracy and Jim Doughan regarding games published in 2013, wargaming experiences and various multi-player wargames

2:28 Wrap up: On our wargaming desk,  shout outs and Guns, Dice, Butter news.

Been swamped with real life work. Just back in the States for holidays. Will post next episode soon. Thanks for the emails/posts inquiring to my status.

Spent the day reading The Third Reich by Roberto Bolano. Had heard about the book - and given that I played the game in my mispent youth, I decided to read it.

Selve description here:

On vacation with his girlfriend, Ingeborg, the German war-game champion Udo Berger returns to a small town on the Costa Brava where he spent his summers as a child. There, they meet another vacationing German couple, who introduce them to the darker side of the resort town’s life. Soon Udo is enmeshed in a round of the Third Reich, his favorite World War II strategy game, with a shadowy local called El Quemado. As the game draws to its conclusion, Udo discovers that the outcome may be all too real.

Link to NYT review here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/books/review/the-third-reich-by-roberto-bolano-book-review.html?_r=0 

I should get episode XVIII of Guns, Dice, Butter published in the next week or so.

Just passed 30k downloads; actually 33k. Thank you for your support! Will be posting next episode (already recorded - just have to mix it) soon.

Welcome to Episode XVII: SEP 11, 2013 of Guns, Dice, Butter: a series of conversations with members of the wargaming tribe

0:00 Introduction: Episode Preview

0:06 Panel discussion with Mark Herman, Eric Lee Smith, Ed Beach and Ed Wimble (and his parrot) regarding the American Civil War and Wargames

1:05 Discussion with Eric Lee Smith (Shenandoah Studio) and Ed Wimble (Clash of Arms regarding their collaboration on a new game on Gettysburg

1:42 Wrap up: On our wargaming desk,  shout outs and Guns, Dice, Butter news.

Record amount of downloads for Guns, Dice, Butter today.

Must be the references to Red Dawn. Hats off to our two panels.

Also, interesting story on BBC site today:

AUG 1: 2013: BBC: WWIII Queen's speech' script revealedIn a Whitehall-written script, the Queen speaks of the "madness" of warThe Queen was expected to urge Britons to pray and remain united and resolute in the event of the "madness" of nuclear war, papers from 1983 showThe script for a hypothetical broadcast has the monarch describing the threat to the "brave country" as "greater" than any other in history.

Link to survey of Third World War wargames and media survey:

games

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1731928/herr-dr

media

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1731927/herr-dr

...and the website Brian referenced:

http://gamethenews.net/

...and a link to AARs of monster wargames:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/52996/i-want-the-beast-session-reports-reviews-of-heavy

Welcome to Episode XVI: July 31, 2013 of Guns, Dice, Butter: a series of conversations with members of the wargaming tribe

0:02 Introduction: Episode Preview

0:07 Panel discussion with Maymi Hayakawa (FushigiTerebi youtube channel) and Gesine Staniend (kallisto73 youtube channel) on their journey as new and relatively new wargamers; very interesting perspectives.

1:05 Panel discussion with Mark Herman, Brian Train and Volko Ruhnke regarding Games of the WWIII: The Cold War Goes Hot. We survey 3WW and discuss our favorites (Third World War {GDW}, The Next War {SPI} and a few others). We also examine how the subject was covered in media (movies, tv, etc), why WWIII didn't happen (yet!) and WWIII games today.

2:56 Wrap up: On our wargaming desk,  shout outs and Guns, Dice, Butter news.

Survey of third world war games and media available on http://gunsdicebutter.libsyn.com/

Will pass the 25,000 download mark today; 444 days since starting Guns, Dice, Butter.

15 Episodes

32 GREAT guests on the show so far.

38 Hours of programming.

Thanks to Mr. LaDue and Mr. Sample for pushing me into this lark. 

And, the incredible technical skill of the Applenista. 

Been a blast.

Summary stats from various GDB listener surveys on Boardgamegeek (BGG). Some very interesting stats:

> The percentage of listeners that have been in the wargame hobby less than 5 years is now 43% - vs about 20% that we had in 2012. I wonder if GDB is just attracting a higher percentage of rookies within in the hobby, or, if the hobby is actually beginning to add significant new users.

> The average GDB listener buys about 1 game a month...$838/yr...33% indicating that they are purchasing more games in 2013 (vs 2012), 51% staying about the same and only 17% cutting back on game purchases; so, on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 indicating more purchases in 2013 and a 1 indicating less) the net is 3.2 - moderate growth in 2013.

> 53% of listeners have more than 5 preorders currently and 70% have utilized Kickstarter to purchase games

> 97% of listeneers indicate they plan to continue to listen to GDB...with 46% describing themselves as nutcase fans ... and over 2/3rds have listened to all GDB episodes :-)

> 50% indicate they've purchased games after hearing them discussed on GDB, while another 35% indicating GDB has had an impact on their game purchases

> Number one choice for the next panel discussion is one focussing on wargames to be published in 2013. Episode VI July 2012 - we did a panel on games published in 2011 and 2012. Episode VIII Sept 2012 we did a panel on "games in the pipeline". So, maybe after the summer con's, that would be a good subject to tackle. So far in 2013, a list of wargames that have caught my eye include: Iron and Oak (ACW naval), Rebel Raiders on the High Seas (ACW naval), Guns of Gettysburg, War of the Suns, In Country: Vietnam 1965-75 S&T), Norway 1940 (World at War zine) and Democracy Under Siege (DTP)

> Second choice? American Civil War panel (we've been planning that one for awhile - hope to have sooner than later).

THANK YOU for the great feedback!

Welcome to Episode XV: June 14, 2013 of Guns, Dice, Butter: a series of conversations with members of the wargaming tribe

O:00 Intro; overview of the episode 

0:07 Al Nofi discusses SPI and S&T, researching games with Dunnigan & gang, wargaming connection to sci-fi, John Boardman, Issac Assinov, Sprague de Camp..Friday nite follies, bouncing checks to an Israeli general, West Point and a pretty face at SPI.

0:45 Al Nofi discusses his design Imperium Romanum and seven centuries of associated Roman history.

1:11 John Alsen reviews Consimworld Expo (Monster Con) 2013, It Never Snows, Racier’s new design Dark Valley, Herman’s Churchill, War of the Suns, new designs in the pipe from Decision Games (a 3rd world war beast, a BIG ACW game...and, hold on to your hats, an update of Campaign for North Africa), The War from Compass Games

1: 53 John Alsen taunts me and all with his brand new game, War of the Suns; discusses what’s in the  HUGE box.

2:17 Wrap up…a gift from Chris Bailey, playing Carthage, a new listener poll, Swampcon, upcoming WBC

Posted a listener survey on boardgamegeek. If you have a few minutes, please complete it:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/991274/guns-dice-butter-gsb-listener-poll-episodes-x-xiv 

Welcome to Episode XIV of Guns, Dice, Butter: (Season 2: #4)

0:00 Intro: Back podcasting after 5 months of real life, work and gaming.

0:10 Shenandoah Studio: Eric Lee Smith, CEO and Brad Cummings, Marketing Director. Eric and Brad give us an update of what's in the pipe at Shenandoah, following on the tremendous success of their iPad game, Battle of the Bulge. Additionally, Eric shares with us his plan to create a guild - a creative studio in Philly - to bring us high quality games.

0.45  Survey of WW2 Tactical Wargames: Dan Dolan Sr, J R Tracy. JR and Dan take us thru a whirlwind tour of WW2 Tactical (and the beloved Grand Tactical scale) wargames. Some great stories and insight regarding these games. Also see website for link to analysis of 43 WW2 Tactical Wargames. 

1:54  Wrap up & Shout Outs

Been totally swamped with work lately. Back soon (when spring finally arrives). Have some great guest lined up. Great to see continued strong interest (emails, posts and downloads) in Guns, Dice, Butter.

Been quite busy with real life work lately and likely to be for the next month. Do have a couple of great guests lined up that I hope to squeeze in soon.

Also, had a great time at Swampcon; Thanks Jimbo! AAR link below:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/929982/why-we-game/new

Thanks for your support; just passed 20,000 downloads for GDB (Guns, Dice, Butter). Planning to take a break for a month or so.

Welcome to Episode XIII of Guns, Dice, Butter: (Season 2: #3)

Episode XIII will feature a conversation with Don Greenwood; convention director WBC, Avalon Hill chief of staff, designer/developer of many great wargames (ASL! , 3rd Reich, Breakout Normandy, etc) and consummate gamer.

Hope to post in early Feb 2013.

Welcome to Episode XII of Guns, Dice, Butter: (Season 2: #2)

0:01 Intro

0:11 Jim Dunnigan, a co-founder of modern wargaming and SPI

1:20 Wrap up

1:25 SPI Commercial (the first ever commercial on Guns, Dice, Butter)

Survey of Dunnigan games ("top" 100) available on www.gunsdicebutter.com, www.consimworld.com GDB discussion board or GDB Guild on www.boardgamegeek.com 

Jim Dunnigan's website www.strategypage.com 

Episode XII will be a conversation with one of the founders of wargaming and SPI, Jim Dunnigan. Hope to have it posted in a few days.

Link to survey of Dunnigan games on the GDB consimworld website:

http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?233@@.1dd6d36f/258!enclosure=.1dd81bcc

Link to BGG thread when Mr.Dunnigan featured as a wargame designer:

http://rpggeek.com/thread/602022/bgg-wargame-designer-of-the-month-jim-dunnigan/page/1 

Also, a discussion of Dunnigan games here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/912147/dunnigan-designs-...

Welcome to Episode XI of Guns, Dice, Butter: (Season 2: #1)

0:01 Intro: Wargamer recruitment, mini wargame cons in Jan/Feb and other odds and ends.

0:07 Conversation with Fred Schachter, designer of Siege of Jerusalem (SoJ). Fred tells about his early days in the hobby at SPI, designer SoJ, his work on The Napoleonic Wars series of games and few games in development (Rebel Raiders, Mussolini.

1:07 Conversation with Enrico Viglino (game reviewer {video BGG} extraordinaire) regarding wargames covering the ancients period: Rome and Greece. We discuss 30+ games in this space. See website for two data files regarding these games.

2:37  Wrap up, shout outs, more industry news, a bit on Triumph of Fascism, next episode previews and other bits and bobs.

For more info:

www.gunsdicebutter.com , discussion board on consimworld.com and a guild on boardgamegeek.com

Happy Holidays 2012, tribe! Again, thank you for your listening support during our first year of Guns, Dice, Butter. 

Hope to have the first episode on 2013 posted just after the new year. It will cover ancients wargames: Greece & Rome. Already have it 1/2 finished; a great conversation with a designer of one of these games. Just need to get the panel discussion with the gamers finished.

And, a link to the data file: 

http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?233@@.1dd6d36f/235!enclosure=.1dd80d53  

...associated with the chart below. Many great ancients games to be played in 2013. 

Have been on binge of ancients gaming lately; session reports of PAX, Siege of Jerusalem, Caesar at Alesia and The Siege of Alesia posted on BGG (boardgamegeek.com) for each of these titles.

Mentioned this on the podcast: an excellent list on BGG (boardgamegeek.com) by Tom Grant (host of the podcast I've Been Diced) regarding insurgencies and wargames that inspired episode X of Guns, Dice, Butter:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/6478/insurgency-and-terrorism 

Many of us have been using BGG for years. For those of you new to BGG, just scroll down the list, click on the game that interests you and away you go (you'll be dumped to the game page that has a ton of resources: files, lists, forums, ratings, comments, etc related to the game.

BGG is an incredible resource for the gaming hobby: EVERY board game ever published has its own "page".

Also, stumbled across this article on the Roman model we briefly discussed on Episode X:

http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/they-make-a-solitude-and-call-it-peace-counterinsurgency-the-roman-model

Passed the 15k downloads of Guns, Dice, Butter today. Thank you for listening!

I was thinking about a question Volko asked on Episode X: "Why don't you like to game modern conflicts?".

Basically, I answered on the podcast that it was due to story; that somehow the stories from the past are "richer". It may be that we've had A LOT longer to develop the narrative with stories of yore that stories from present times. 

I also remembered that I had conducted a poll on BGG a few years ago regarding what are gamers' favorite armies/least favorite armies to game out: image below. Something about pushing around roman legions in a rich political game context (a Pax Romana, Carthage: The First Punic War or even a grand tactical like Siege of Jerusalem). Maybe it is that the game designers bake in more political dimensions with those conflicts than with a WW2 (exceptions: Empire of the Sun, World in Flames, etc) or modern design. Maybe it is that the more recent conflicts grab more attention on the toys (ex: panzer tanks). Of course, Volko's COIN series and Train's variety of modern conflict games (ex: Algeria) aren't guilty of that (of ignoring the political dimension - or a focus on "the toys"), but I think so many of the games we began with were (ex: The Avalon Hill Classics).

Of course, there other issues with modern conflict games: too raw, too messy, etc.

Anyways, I'll take a non WW2 era game over a modern or WW2 game anytime when it comes to wargaming: I'd play Empires in Arms over any WW2/modern game. Or, any number of ancients games for that matter.

Results from a poll on BGG in early December 2012: about 200 wargamers responded in the first day of the poll...initial results regarding what podcasts they listen to:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/895791/wargamer-activities-in-2012

A good way to celebrate the 15,000th download of Guns, Dice, Butter today. Thank you to the listeners for your support. 

Listener Ratings from Boardgamegeek.com polls during 2012. Sample size averaged between 37 and 75. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Mr.Berg captured has captured the gold ring so far in 2012 with a 4.7 rating (5=great, 1=poor) for the highest listener rated episode.

Welcome to Episode X of Guns, Dice, Butter.

0:01 Intro

0:06 Conversation with Mercury Games: Richard Diosi (Doc Stryder) and Kevin Nesbitt

0:32 Panel discussion with Mark Herman, Brian Train and Volko Ruhnke regarding insurgencies and wargames: Wide ranging discussion examining wargames that model insurgencies (see website for link to games on insurgencies and national/strategic will games), political dynamics of insurgencies and insurgency games in the pipeline from this group of designers (A Distant Plan {Afghanistan}, Fire on the Lake {Vietnam}, etc).

2:18 Wrap up

Linked the Herr Dr twitter account to this website. It should now provide notification of website posts, episodes being published, etc. My handle is Herr Dr.

I am still holding out vs. Facebook; will get the newest/best social media/networking from the Applenista and post the link when we pick one.

Planning to post Episode X later this evening; was able to get conversation with Mercury Games, a brand spanking new wargame co, today. Best of luck to them and their first game to published - which we discuss on the Episode X - plus the LONG panel discussion with Herman, Train and Ruhnke regarding insurgencies and wargames.

Episode X of Guns, Dice, Butter will feature a panel discussion including Mark Herman, Brian Train, Volko Ruhnke regarding politics and war; specifically insurgencies. We'll discuss how they insurgencies are modeled in wargames, what works/doesn't and a wide variety of games published and those in the pipeline.

In preperation for that episode, see this link for a few data files: 203

Episode X will also include, hopefully, an interview with the lead(s) for a new wargaming company and the usual GDB odds and ends.

Hope to publish in mid December.

Link to a couple of files regarding Berg's catalogue of games:

182

...and a link to history of Rome podcast: 179 episodes of incredible story telling:

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/ 

Mr.Duncan tells the story of Rome, from its beginning to its demise. Each episode is about 15-20 minutes. If you love Roman history, this is your podcast.

Welcome to episode IX of Guns, Dice, Butter

0:01 Guns, Dice, Butter Intro

0:11 Conversation with Richard Berg: Entry into world of gaming

0:34 Berg: CNA, Kingmaker, Geronimo

0:59 Berg: Blackbeard, Gamer types, Game development, Schilling, War is Hell

1:20 Berg: Games as stories, Berg Pipeline, Evocation

1:37 Berg: Rome, wrap up

1:46 Guns, Dice, Butter wrap up

Additionally, will upload a couple of files on Berg's IMPRESSIVE volume of work.

Took a break from podcasting for a couple of months: life, work and gaming.

Back very soon with a conversation with game designer extraordinaire Richard Berg. I'll upload a 1 page summary of some his titles/BGG related stats and a comprehensive list of his games.

Richard shares some great stories, discusses a few of his designs and reveals the Berg pipeline. Hope to post by the end of November.

A few links to items disussed in Episode VIII

The epic WWI Op/Europa type game...

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/111/der-weltkrieg-simulation-series

Enrico's recommendations...

The Thomas Jefferson/A.Burr game...

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/100169/hero-of-weehawken

Bustin heads with/against the brownshirts...

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5024/der-fuhrer

Marty's Afghan game by Volko and Brian Train:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/127518/a-distant-plain 

Ballons! ....

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/34117/winds-of-war  

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1417838/herr-dr

Thanks for taking time to respond to the listener surveys!

Posted a listener survey on boardgamegeek. If you have a few minutes, please complete it.    

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/10007177

Guns, Dice, Butter has passed 10k downloads (about 60/day since we started); thank you for your strong support, feedback, donations and listening to the show. Some related stats:

Average episode is downloaded 170/day during the first 7 days of its release. After that, 6 times a day/episode. 1, 2 and 6th episodes most listened to...but 7th episode is on a good path to displace on of those.

A BIG thank you to all our guests so far: Herman (2x), Doughan (2x), Wimble (2x), Heinzmann, Mulholland, Bother Paull, Karp, Thompson, Rowland, Team Flip Attack (Bob, Casey, Jason, D), Tucker, Engleman (2x), Marty {the man that suggested I go off on this lark), Enrico (video reviewer extraordinaire), Alsen and McPartland...19 guests so far.

I have some great ideas for upcoming episodes; hopefully, I will have time this fall to record and publish them sooner than later.

0:05: Conversation with Kaarin Engleman, Assistant Convention Director, World Boardgaming Championships (WBC). Kaarin recaps WBC 2012 and previews WBC 2013

http://www.boardgamers.org/ 

0:22: Conversation with friend of the show Jim Doughan. Jimbo discusses his 2012 WBC experience, Virgin Queen vs Here I Stand and Napoleonic Wars, Card Irony and Kickstarter/P500.

1:12: Conversation with John Alsen. John tells us about how he got into gaming, the First Minnesota Wargaming Society, Monstercon/Consimworld Expo 2012 in Tempe, his leadership of the 82nd Airborne in the game Devil's Cauldron/Where Eagles Dare and developing games for our wonderful hobby. We conclude with a discussion of playing the game, Amateurs to Arms: War of 1812

2:23 Kevin McPartland joins to discuss his game Amateurs to Arms (co-designed with Jerry Shilies) and his previous efforts (Tahiti and Conquest of Paridise).

3:10  Wrap up by Herr Dr; hobby news and shout-outs.

In episode VII of Guns, Dice, Butter we will get Kaarin Engleman's report from WBC 2012. Friend of the show, Jim Doughan, will tell us about his WBC 2012 experience, Virgin Queen, card irony and kickstarter/P500. John Alsen joins us after that to talk First Minnesota Wargaming Club good times, Consimworld/Monster Con 2012, developing wargames and our recent experience playing a lot of Amateurs to Arms (AtA), War of 1812, from Clash of Arms. We'll conclude with a conversation with Kevin McPartland, one of the designers of AtA.

The episode should be posted by the end of August.

0:08: Conversation with Kaarin Engleman, Assistant Convention Director, World Boardgaming Championships (WBC). Kaarin tells us why WBC is the best game con in the hobby. We also discuss how Kaarin got into gaming and women in gaming.

http://www.boardgamers.org/ 

0:55: Conversation with Stuart Tucker. We disucss a wide range of topics including his days at Avalon Hill (Classic!), his role in the development of Napoleonic Wars, the WBC Pre-cons, WAM (Winter Activation Meeting - a con in Baltimore right before the Superbowl where the card driven wargame tribe gather to play games and eat BBQ). Stuart finishes up with his handicapping of teams competing at WBC 2012 for the gold ring.

1:53: Panel discussion with Marty Sample and Enrico Viglino. Marty is actually the guy that gave me the idea to do Guns, Dice, Butter and a wargaming friend that knows his wargames. Enrico is of Boardgamegeek fame; one of the two guys who we all love to watch do video reviews of wargames. Together, the three of us discussed wargames published in 2011, our favorites and our less than favorites. We also examine the games that have already been published in 2012.

3:10  Wrap up by Herr Dr; listener poll, hobby news and shout-outs.

Been taking a break; busy with life and playing a few wargames. Planning to get the next episode up before WBC  http://www.boardgamers.org/

Posted a listener survey on boardgamegeek. If you have a few minutes, please complete it.    

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/808351/guns-dice-butter-gdb-podcast-episode-iv-v-listene

0:0 Introduction with Herr Dr: Feedback, review of listener emails/posts, discussion of Kickstarter project for Guns, Dice, Butter Season ONE and a preview of this episode

0:10: Conversation with Harry Rowland, designer of Empires in Arms, World in Flames and head cheese at Austrialian Design Group. Harry tells us how he got into gaming, how EiA and WiF came about, discusses the games in detail and what is in the pipeline at ADG. Also, Harry tells us how World in Flames saved a life.

1:40 Converstaion with Team Flip Attack (Casey, Bob, Jason and D); a wargaming group in Minneapolis that has been playing EiA and WiF over twenty years.

2:15  Wrap up by Herr Dr; hobby news, shout-outs and preview of Episode VI (hopefully mid june) which will have another panel discussion covering games published in 2011, 2012 and what games we desperately want that are stuck in the pipeline.

Please support our Kickstarter project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/523543153/guns-dice-butter-season-1 

Preview of Guns,Dice,Butter Episode V: 

Conversation with Harry Rowland, designer of Empire in Arms, World in Flames, Days of Decision, among others. Harry discusses EiA, WiF, what's in the ADG pipeline and a number of other topics.

Conversation with the Team Flip Attack (Casey, Bob, Jason and D) which have relentlessly played World in Flames and Empire in Arms for over 20 years.

I expect to post the episode in the next week. 

Additionally, please support the Guns,Dice,Butter Kickstarter project to help us expand our voice to the general gaming community and help us grow our hobby: 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/523543153/guns-dice-butter-season-1

...and big thank you those of you that have backed our KS project so far!

Just passed the 5,000 mark for the number of Guns, Dice and Butter Podcast downloads.

Very encouraging to see this lark has some legs in the hobby. A BIG THANK YOU to all our guests so far (Herman, Doughan, Wimble, Heinzmann, Mulholland, Bother Paull, Karp and Thompson) for giving us great content.

Would cool to have our Kickstarter project for Guns suceed, so that we can enlist more wargamers for our great hobby. KS link here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/523543153/guns-dice-butter-season-1 

...and a BIG THANK YOU to those of you that have already supported it.

Episode IV

0:0 Introduction with Herr Dr: Feedback, review of listener survey on Boardgamegeek.com, announcement of Kickstarter project for Guns, Dice, Butter Season ONE and a preview of this episode

0:17: Intro & conversation with Nick Karp, designer of Victory Games' Vietnam and CFO of Shenandoah Studio, the new gameco that is bringing wargames (among others) to new devices like the iPad. Nick discusses early days at SPI and Victory Games, his design Vietnam, Shenandoah Studio, and their upcoming iPad title Battle of the Bulge.

1:30 Intro & conversation with Nels Thompson, Breakout Normandy shark, who is now off on a lark to conquer the game Vietnam. Nels discusses why this 30 year title has great game play.

2:46  Wrap up by Herr Dr; hobby news, shout-outs and preview of Episode V (late may) which will cover Empire in Arms and World in Flames.

Please support our Kickstarter project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/523543153/guns-dice-butter-season-1 

Thank you for the feedback I've been receiving. 

I've posted a short survey for listeners to complete regarding Episode III that will help us better tailor content to what you want to hear on Guns, Dice, Butter.

If you have a few minutes, please take time to complete at:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/9025556

In the next episode of Guns,Dice, Butter, Episode IV, we will focus on the epic Victory Games title Vietnam 1965 - 1975 and Shenadoah Studio.

Conversations with Nick Karp, designer of Vietnam, and now CFO of Shenandoah Studio http://www.shenandoah-studio.com/ , the gameco that will be bringing us wargames (among other games) to the iPad, and gamer Nels Thompson, who is on a lark to conquer Vietnam. Nick will also discuss Shenandoah's first game, Battle of the Bulge, which also currently has a Kickstarter project underway.Nick has a story regarding the playtesting of The Campaign for North Africa which alone makes the episode worth the price of admission. 

I expect to post the episode by mid May.

I mentioned a number of items on Episode 3; thought I would provide the links to those items below.

Additionally, I've just posted a listener poll on episode 3; would be great if you could take a few minutes to answer the ten questions to help guide our dialogue with members of the wargamer tribe.

We'll pass 3,500 downloads today; THANK YOU for your support.

Links to items mentioned on the podcast:

Episode 3 listener poll:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/9025556

Wargamer’s Guide to Wargaming Geeklists:

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/140571

Jeff Davis as a Strategist thread…outstanding!

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/793327

Card Driven Wargame (CDW) evolution:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/793080

Favorite/Least favorite wargamers’ armies:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/536620

Strategic level wargames of the American Revolutionary War:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/140347

Mark vR's cool card replacements for the chits for The American Revolution: Decision in North America

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/69732

The wargame that pulled me into the hobby:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/410706

New to wargaming? One wargamers journey:

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/28480

The company bringing wargames (and other games) to the iPad and other new devices:

http://www.shenandoah-studio.com

...and last, but not least, Jeff Paull's JerkCon! information:

http://www.daysofwonder.com/en/event/details/?id=1374

...and an ad for JerkCon!

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1297363

Third Episode of Guns, Dice, Butter.

0:0 Introduction with Herr Dr: Feedback, review of listener survey on Boardgamegeek.com, preview of episode

0:31 Conversation with Andrew Mulholland, author of “Keeping the Colonies Royal”, a review of strategic level boardgames on the American Revolutionary War, 2008, ATO, issue 23.

0:50  Panel discussion with Ed Wimble, game designer and owner of Clash of Arms, Mark Herman, game designer extraordinaire  and Andrew Mulholland.

2:08 Conversation with renowned gamer and host of Jerkcon, Jeff Paull

2:33 Wrap up with Herr Dr: news, preview of episode 4 and shout outs.

For background information on games of the ARW and links to information provided in the podcast, see www.gunsdicebutter.com

Provide feedback by participating in Episode 3 survey on Boardgamegeek.com (to be posted soon)

 Next episode will be posted in May 2012

I've kept a chart of Card Driven Wargames (CDWs) up to date the last few years. By CDWs, I mean those games that trace lineage to either We the People or Parths of Glory. I updated that chart today. The link to it is at the bottom of this post.

Paths of Glory brought me back into the hobby. Shortly after that, while attending WBC, I stumbled across Mark Herman and his game For the People...and I was firmly hooked on wargaming and WBC again. During WBC 2002, I met a few players that had a similar strong interest in CDWs. Three of us (Rob Hassard, Keith Wixson and myself) lamented over some BBQ and beer that WBC was only held once a year (August) and wondered whether or not we could have a mini-WBC in dead middle of winter  just for the play of CDWs and consumption of BBQ (Andy Nelson's, of course).

I then discussed with Stuart Tucker; long time GM of the game Hannibal and board member of WBC at the time (Stuart is blueblood Avalon Hill). Soon, Stuart and I approached Don Greenwood, who tossed his support behind the idea and Winter Activation Meeting (WAM) was born (Jan 2003). Stuart and I also were able to enlist Don's support for the pre-cons at WBC that permitted play of the longer wargame tourneys, begining with Paths of Glory and Hannibal, while allowing wargamers to still get their entire fill of WBC during the week.

So, our bar talk eventually paid off: an expanded venue for the games we love to play within the big tent called WBC:  http://www.boardgamers.org/

Since then, we've held 10 WAMs and quite a few pre-cons. Great times, always. Keith Wixson and Teri Coleman now lead that mini-con and tribe. We are all looking forward to WAM XI in Jan 2013. The most recent WAM report is here:

http://www.boardgamers.org/specific/wam12.htm

... and there is a WAM discussion board on consimworld.com (in the Conventions folder).

We'll be discussing CDWs often on Guns, Dice, Butter and having Mark Herman on that Episode 1 was a great way to kickoff the podcast.

One other point regarding CDWs: they would be great on the iPad and similar devices. One reason for the Second Golden Age of Wargaming are CDWs; in that they get played A LOT on line using tools like Vassal and Cyberboard (among others) and the online site ACTS and Wargameroom.com 

The play of cards on a iPad is a natural and would be a great way to pull in new gamers to the hobby. Think about it: we spend most of our time looking at our "hand of cards" (easily viewed on a iPad). And, the art on the cards helps the immersion experience.  I can't think of a better way to expand the hobby; hopefully, someone or some company will get our CDWs (and new ones developed to maximize those devices) on the new devices sooner than later.

Anyways, the link to the CDW Evolution chart:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1292931

On our next episode of Guns, Dice, Butter, we'll have a panel discussion with Mark Herman, Ed Wimble and Andrew Mulholland regarding strategic level wargames of the American Revolutionary War (ARW). In 2008, Mr.Mulholand wrote an excellent article for ATO vol VI Nr 3 (issue 23: Guerra a Muerte) analyzing these games. We thought it would be productive to discuss the main dynamics of the ARW, how these games model these dynamics and offer some conclusions...and, of course, the call for more titles on the conflict.

In preperation for that episode, we utilized a couple of spreadsheets (building on work Andrew had completed in 2008):

http://traffic.libsyn.com/gunsdicebutter/ARW_Strategic_Game_Comparison_part_1p.pdf

Passed 2,500 downloads of the show this Easter weekend: Thank you for your support.

Have about 50 responses for the survey I placed on BGG this weekend.

Here are some of the results:

100%!: 100% of listeners reported that they plan to listen to future episodes; this feedback was the type of good news needed to lift my spirits after the horrendous 0-3 start the Beloved Minnesota Twins had to kick off the 2012 baseball season.

Episode Quality: Scale: 1=poor, 5=great

Episode 1: Audio 2.2, Interviews 4.1 and Other Content 3.9. Episode 2: Audio 2.9, Interviews 4.1 and Other Content 4.0 

Comment: Well, we improved the audio quality of the show after better understanding the Garage Band software. We will continue to strive to improve the audio quality. Very happy that the listeners rated the quality of content high in both episodes.

Time in Hobby: About a 1/3 of listeners have been in the hobby less than 10 years;

Comment: I think that is probably reflective of the hobby in general. Will try work something into each episode for newer members of the hobby.

Scale: Favorite scale for listeners: About 1/3 tactical hex, 1/5 Op/Strategic hex and 1/5 CDWs (Card Driven Wargames)...with the rest falling into other/no favorite.

Comment: I play a mix of CDWs and Op/Strategic hex. Will see if I can round up a tactical hex gamer from time to time.

Purchasing Power: About 1/5 of listeners purchase 1 to 4 wargames a year, 1/2 five to nine and 1/4 more than 10 games.

Podcast impact on play and $: About 2/3 of listeners report that GDB had some or significant impact on what wargames they will play or purchase.

Comment: Will try to always work in a segment of Uncontrollable Urge: those games that must be purchased or played NOW!

Top Content Requests: game reviews, Designer interviews, game strategy/tactics, panels, developer interviews, hobby news and game recommendations.

Where? About 2/3 of listeners heard about Guns, Dice, Butter on BGG; 1/3 on Consim.

Comment: Would be good to expand the audience to reach wargamers that hang out in other online spaces. Drop me a line to identify other online places where wargamers hang.

Favorite period: WWII (1/3), followed by ACW (1/10)

Favorite armies: Top 3: Rome, WWII USA and WWII Germans. Also receiving high mention: WWII Russians, WWII Brits, ACW blue bellies, NAP Brits, the Crusaders, Ancient Greece and Macedon. Least favorite: ZULUs! Followed by NAP Prussians (Blucher is not pleased).

Comment: I did some analysis on this subject on BGG a few years ago – link to it here:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/536620

Regular fans of other podcasts: Point2point 2/3, Noise before Defeat ½, Contact with the Enemy – Half Squads (ASL) – Hex Encounter – Dice Tower – Rusted Dice and I’ve Been Diced all listened to by about 1/3 of listeners

Comment: Great to see other podcasts serving the wargaming tribe; three sprouted up in the last month.

One item I discussed on the Episode 2 was a series of posts on BGG with designer Harry Rowland. They occurred in December 2011 when Mr.Rowland was selected as the featured wargame designer of the month. I've always been a BIG fan of Mr.Rowland's work: Empire in Arms, World in Flames, Days of Decision, etc.

I posed the following question to Mr.Rowland:

That brings up a question; How you [Mr.Rowland] would rate the relative chances (from favored to win vs didn't have a snowball's chance of winning) of the losing side to have actually won the conflict - both the relative order and a categorization of that chance:1) Brits American Revolutionary War2) CSA in American Civil War3) Germany and friends WWI4) Germany and friends WWII5) USA in Vietnam6) Carthage and the Punic Wars7) Pompey and the Roman Civ War8) Napoleon in 18159) The Whites in the Russian Civ War10) The Republicans in the Spanish Civ War

Link to Mr.Rowland's response:

http://gunsdicebutter.libsyn.com/rowland-on-historys-losing-sides-pdf

And a link to forum where Mr.Rowland entertained and responded to a long series of questions from wargamers on BGG:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/694008/bgg-wargame-designer-of-the-month-harry-rowland/page/1

Ed Wimble and I refered to a number of books on Episode 2. Following is that list:

Logistics and the Failure of the British Army in America by R. Arthur Bowler

The Southern Strategy by David Wilson

The War for America by Piers Mackesy

The Long Fuse: How England Lost the American Colonies 1760-1785 by Don Cook

The Frontier War for American Independence by William R. Nester

I've read all but Mr.Wilson's book and would highly recommend the whole lot: they really gave me a different perspective on the conflict. I will be getting a copy of Mr.Wilson's book very shortly. 

I also referred to a forum that where Wilson and Wimble hold court that I think is about the best thing on the net regarding the American Revolutionary War (Art of War: David K. Wilson - in the Blog Central section of consimworld.com). A link here:

http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX/.1dd09579/3206

Those of you that know me from BGG (Boardgamegeek.com), know that I periodically conduct analysis of the BGG data regarding wargames. Consequently, I've now uploaded (or linked to) some of that work to this website.

The first file contains my analysis of wargames from 1958-2008. This work was initated when I began to wonder how wargames had evolved: by subject type, mechanic, etc.

BGG is a GREAT resource for the hobby, so, I utilized the data there to compile a short analytical piece. It is located on a few places on the net (grognard and wargamer), but, thought I would also place it on this website.

The link is here:

http://gunsdicebutter.libsyn.com/gamedata-pdf

Finally, I've upload one chart as a sample of many contained in my gallery on BGG. The chart is of wargames by complexity (game weight) vs historical plausibility (BGG survey response) and sized by the reported number of owners (as reported on BGG).

http://gunsdicebutter.libsyn.com/game-weight-vs-historically-plausibility-sized-by-number-of-owners-pdf

Thank you for the feedback I've been receiving. 

I've posted a short survey for listeners to complete that will help us better tailor content to what you want to hear on Guns, Dice, Butter.

If you have a few minutes, please take time to complete at:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/787515/podcast-poll-guns-dice-butter

Guns, Dice, Butter (GDB) odds and ends:

1) Will shoot to have the next episode out by the end of April; still not sure what the format will be - either another designer & gamer conversation (like episodes 1 & 2) or something completely different.

2) Will post a poll on Boardgamegeek.com this weekend for listeners to answer; to help guide format of next shows.

3) 750+ downloads now of GDB. Even made the top downloaded podcast in its section within iTunes today Thank you for your support!

4) Geeklist of wargame podcasts: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/139997

5) Guild established on BGG: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/guild/1293

6) Discussion board established on consimworld (in the Confim Cafe section): http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?14@@.1dd6d36f/0

Good luck to the Beloved Minnesota Twins as they begin their Campaign 2012.

Second episode of Guns, Dice, Butter: a podcast of a series of conversations with members of the wargaming tribe. Herr Dr opens with a review of feedback from Episode 1 and preview of this show. Conversation with game designer and game co owner, Ed Wimble, regarding Ed's early days in the hobby, a few Clash of Arms titles, the Clash pipeline, the American Revolutionary War and what Ed currently has in the design plate. Final major segment is with Bob Heinzmann regarding those wargames on his table that you should get immediately. Herr Dr wraps up the show with news and a preview of the next episode of Guns, Dice, Butter.

Feedback encouraged: discussion board on Consimworld.com and boardgamegeek.com related to Guns, Dice, Butter.

A friend just indicated that he just downloaded Guns, Dice, Butter on iTunes; so you can also download it there.

Thank you to the 125 listeners that have so far downloaded on the first day. I encourage your feedback and suggestions: either leave here in the comments, on boardgamegeek or consimworld in the revelant forums.

First episode of Guns, Dice, Butter: a podcast of a series of conversations with members of the wargaming tribe. In this first episode, Herr Dr discusses how he thinks the podcast may (or may not!) contribute to the dialogue in the hobby. Secondly, he has a long conversation with game designer Mark Herman regarding Mark's early days in the hobby at SPI, a few of his published wargames and what Mark currently has in the pipeline. Final major segment is with Jim Doughan regarding those games out recently, and those in the pipeline, that we must score a copy of...soon! Herr Dr wraps up the show with News, Analysis and What Not - and a preview of the next episode of Guns, Butter, Dice.

Feedback encouraged: discussion board on Consimworld.com and boardgamegeek.com related to Guns, Dice, Butter.

This is the same as the Episode 1; only in a MP3 format and low quality (60 megs vs 180 megs)

Received some early feedback from the first 50 listeners...(via BGG, consimworld and email)

Will summarize here:

Really enjoyed the conversation with Mr.Herman (We'll get Mark back on the show sooner than later)

Would like to see some segment(s) on strategy & tactics tips for a variety of games (ex: Paths of Glory)  (What other games would listeners like to see segments on? I'll try to rope some sharks on to the show for Paths of Glory, Washington's War, Breakout Normandy, etc)

Jimbo knows his stuff (Yes, he does - and he is a blast to play games with)

Please save future episodes in MP3 (Note: Just learned how to do that; will try to remember with next episode. Also, will be uploading a MP3 ver of Episode 1 sooner than later) 

Your voice in the intro section sounded like it was recorded on a cassette tape in the 80s - quality of audio in interviews was fine - just the intro audio quality not so good (Note: I'll work on that - this was my first podcast, and first time using garage band ever. The intro was recorder the first day I was monkeying around with garage band, the mic & settings. Interviews later - when I knew a little more about using the technology. Will strive to improve.)

Thank you all for the constructive feedback.

So, how to podcast?

Bought a mic: Blue Snowball $80. Got a plug in for Skype that records conversations - $20. Created episode in garageband (get one of your kids to show you how to use - or go to applestore). Additional handy program is Soundflower: allows you to record any sound that plays thru your computer. Placed in itunes (on my desktop - just watch any podcast on youtube telling you how). Purchased a domain www.gunsdicebutter.com $6/yr, which will point to this site. Got an account here on libsyn ($15/month for 250 megs - the first episode was about a 180 megs) to host the podcast. Uploaded the first episode using a ftp server (filezilla - downloaded free). Had to hunt around here to make my website. Also, had to hunt around to adjust the settings that feed itune store. Then, submitted podcast to iiTune store - should take a couple days to post.

Will be interested in feedback on the episode - post it on consimworld and BGG when I get a discussion board there up and working in the next day or two.

----------------------

Update....I've also discovered how to save as a MP3 in garage band and at some reduced quality. So, I'll upload the MP3 version (same exact episdoe, just save in MP3 format) and 1/3 the size - 60 megs vs 180 megs - in a day or two. Now that I know how to save my podcast in MP3, I'll probably try that if the quality doesn't significantly suffer for friends still stuck with a PC: we haven't all become Applenistas....yet!

First episode of Guns, Dice, Butter: a podcast of a series of conversations with members of the wargaming tribe. In this first episode, Herr Dr discusses how he thinks the podcast may (or may not!) contribute to the dialogue in the hobby. Secondly, he has a long conversation with game designer Mark Herman regarding Mark's early days in the hobby at SPI, a few of his published wargames and what Mark currently has in the pipeline. Final major segment is with Jim Doughan regarding those games out recently, and those in the pipeline, that we must score a copy of...soon! Herr Dr wraps up the show with News, Analysis and What Not - and a preview of the next episode of Guns, Butter, Dice.

Feedback encouraged: discussion board on Consimworld.com and boardgamegeek.com related to Guns, Dice, Butter.