Players aren't the only people who make choices, of course. Designers and publishers make decisions about the setting and the theme of their games. Insofar as games can communicate a message--whether purely aesthetic or more ideological--it is beneficial to have a clear vision. Things can get exceptionally problematic when you start playing fast and loose with things of great cultural and historical import. Incidentally, I will note that while our topic and our feature game often have no connection between them, sometimes they do. I don't know why I'm mentioning that this week.

Games Played Last Week:
-Hyperborea: Light and Shadow 1m37s (Andrea Chiarvesio, Maurizio Vergendo, & Pierluca Zizzi, Asterion Press, 2016)
-Between Two Cities 3m15s (Matthew O'Malley, Morten Monrad Pedersen, & Ben Rosset, Stonemaier, 2015)
-Factory Funner 5m03s (Corné van Moorsel, Cwali, 2016)
-Photosynthesis 8m06s (Hjalmar Hach, Blue Orange, 2017)
-Stephenson's Rocket: Eastern USA & China 9m13s (Reiner Knizia, Grail Games, 2018)
-Petrichor 12m12s (David Chircop & Dávid Turczi, APE Games, 2018)
-The Voyages of Marco Polo 12m57s (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Hans im Gluck, 2015)
-Teotihuacan: City of Gods 14m59s (Daniele Tascini, NSKN Games, 2018)
-Dominant Species 15m37s (Chad Jensen, GMT, 2010)
-Res Publica 18m03s (Reiner Knizia, Queen, 1991)


News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Descent into new digital depths 22m05s
-Fards of Inshinity digital 22m20s
-Failed Carnival of Monsters rises again 23m02s
-Die Macher won't die 24m15s


Feature Game: Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done 25m10s (Seth Jaffee, Tasty Minstrel, 2018)


Topic: Thematic Disconnects 48m15s