What would you like to see us play on Tabletop Season Three?

Posted on By Wil

Anonymous asked:

Second Season of Wil Wheaton Project. Yes or No? I hope SyFy channel has the foresight to keep it going.

So for those of you who don’t know, earlier this summer, I did 12 episodes of a silly comedy show on Syfy called The Wil Wheaton Project. It was basically The Soup for people like me who enjoy sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, as well as jokes about those things. If you’d like to see a bunch of clips from the show, they’re right here on my YouTube thing.

We’re officially on hiatus right now, and we don’t know if the network will order more episodes. I know that they liked us in a creative sense, but the ratings weren’t very good (ratings are generally not very good in summer, and while I don’t believe that ratings are as important as they once were, my opinion on the matter isn’t particularly important to the decision makers), but the people who did watch us really liked us. So I won’t know for a few more weeks, but until then, I’m on hiatus, which means I get to write more, play more games, and prep for season three of Tabletop, which goes into production in October.

Part of that preparation includes finding 20 games to play on the show, and as of today, I have eight (maybe nine) that are strong contenders.

What do you want us to play on the show next year? Would you tell me the game, the publisher, and why you like it?

Keep in mind the criteria for Tabletop game selection:

  1. Plays well with 4 people.

  2. Plays in under 90 minutes.

  3. Can be generally explained in about 5 minutes.

  4. Has a high ration of luck to strategy, so everyone has a chance to win the game.

  5. Looks great, has clear graphical design and photographs well.

  6. Is not something we’ve played before.

I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments.

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Comments (2,070)

  1. I see someone has beaten me to recommending Manifest (Schilmil Games). Very good pick up and deliver game by a relatively new games company, just been released. Lovely design. If you wangt filler games, their Raid the Pantry and Granny Wars games are very good as well.

    Would also recommend Battlestar Galactica (FFG). Possibly breaks the game length rule (especially with new players) but IMO one of the best hidden role implementations.

    Also Blood Bowl: Team Manager (FFG – t sporty fun) Compounded (Dice hate Me Games – fun with SCIENCE!:), Walk the Plank (Mayday? Games – chaotic pirate fun), and Trains (AEG – more fun than it looks or sounds :).

  2. Two games I would recommend:
    – Flash Point. Cooperative firefighting game, strong theme, would photograph well, plays well with up to six players (although I’d generally aim for around 3 or 4), lasts around an hour all up.
    – Bootleggers. Come on, who doesn’t want to be a moonshine running gangster, backstabbing all those around?

  3. Dear Wil,

    You are a permanent member of my household. We have a little shelf (more like a BIG shelf) called WW’s Room. I’t got lots of games on it, as you can imagine. Thank you for a wonderful show too!

    Anyway, here is my list of games that i would like to see on Tabletop!

    Sushi Go!
    No Thanks!
    Dead of Winter
    Splendor
    The Resistance: Avalon (must play with Felicia, of course)
    Hanabi
    Star Realms (4-player variant)
    One Night Ultimate Werewolf
    Love Letter/Coup
    Tokaido
    Madame Ching
    The Phantom Society
    8 Minute Empire
    King of New York
    Risk Legacy (because that sh*t would be comedy GOLD)
    Forbidden Desert
    Survive! Escape From Atlantis!
    Hollywood
    Sheriff of Nottingham

    Note: I’ve left a list of 20 games, and Tabletop has a 20 episode season, AHEM AHEM.

    I’m only kidding, but of all these games the one I’d like to see the most is The Resistance: Avalon. There’s a way you can play online as well, so you could do a Vaginal Fantasy sort of thing for that.

    All the best,

    Billius

  4. • Star Trek Attack Wing: A nice complement to X-Wing, and you might know a bit about this franchise. Like with ST Catan, you could convince someone to join you, maybe? Get Sirtis, she’d be hilarious.

    • Cash n’ Guns: The image of a bunch of people pointing foam guns at each other across the Tabletop table is a fun one to consider.

    • 7 Wonders: Maybe a bit harder to do with the cards n’ all, but a great game. I’d love to see a special 7-player episode for this one.

    • Two Rooms & a Boom: Again, needs more than 4, but would change things up a bit visually — one room at the table, one room at the loser’s couch or something? The Resistance is still my favorite episode, so more hidden role games, please.

    • In the same vein, Bang! or Bang! the Dice Game would be fun.

    • Coup, I guess. I’m not that fond of the game, but people love it.

    • Tokaido: Make everyone act peaceful and nice for a change!

    1. I’d love to see this as well, but I’ve personally never had a game last less than 4 hours.

  8. Qin by Reiner Knizia. Simple rules, goo for two to four players. Fast and fun. Some luck, some strategy. Addicting.

    1. Wasn’t in love with this game, actually. Not enough strategy and the 8-bit graphics seem overused nowadays.

  16. Aside from ‘TableTop after Dark and CAH (with the crabs unofficial expansions)’, Marvel Legendary comes to mind. 4-player variants of dice masters would also be cool.

  19. Rampage, from Repos – plenty of luck, high potential filmed entertainment value from dropping monsters and blowing down buildings, perfect for 4.

    Ghost Stories, also from Repos – Fun coop game that seems easy to pick up on, but the increasing sense of things getting out of hand I think would make for a good episode.

    Ca$h n’ Gun$ from Repos – great party game, also has great visual element of pointing guns at each other that I think would film well. Particularly the new edition with artwork that isn’t blatantly racist.

    Tales of Arabian Nights, from Z-man – Almost entirely luck-based, and heavy on storytelling – would really play well with a group of actors/writers I think.

    Fantasy Flight games don’t usually lend themselves to quick play, but I think a lot of them would make for good viewing and could be edited down to a normal sized episode. I’m thinking stuff like Descent, Eldritch Horror, Battlestar Galactica, and Fury of Dracula in particular.

    I really like worker placement games, but having trouble thinking of one that abides by all your rules. Anyone else think of anything?

    1. Euphoria is pretty simple and an easy-to-look-at worker placement game. I’ve been having a ton of fun with it recently.

  21. I loved the filler games show where you did three games in one show!

    Here’s a list (Not in any particular order, all well within your requirements):

    Tiny Epic Kingdoms (crowdsource appeal)
    Dominion (this is a classic)
    Zombies!!! (game of trolling)
    Escape! (speed game)
    Coup (crowdsource appeal/filler)
    Hex Hex XL (trolly trolly troll game of magical hot potato)
    Miskatonic School for Girls (crowdsource/deck building/Lovecraftian goodness)
    Red Dragon Inn (A drinking and fighting game… sort of. It’s what happens after the D&D campaign is over.)
    Love Letter / The Lost Legacy (Might be good for a mini/filler)
    Boss Monster (Look at all the pixely goodness!)
    Dungeon Roll (Might be good for a mini/filler)

    Maybe you could cover an expansion / spinoff also for something you’ve already done (You did it with Catan and Tsuro):

    Elder Sign: Unseen Forces
    Pandemic: On The Brink
    Munchkin Apocalypse / Munchkin Cthulhu / Munchkin Zombie
    Scoundrels of Skullport (Lords of Waterdeep)

    Good luck with Season 3 and I can’t wait to watch it!!!

  22. I believe Heroclix from Wizkids would be interesting. It has some great strategy and luck elements. You could setup some iconic fights from many comics. Everyone loves seeing superheroes duking it out.

  24. Oh yeah, forgot these:

    • Galaxy Trucker: Hell yes to whomever suggested this earlier. This would be hilarious and amazing.

    • Forbidden Desert: This seems an obvious choice, but I can’t say I’m thrilled with it.

    You need more games like Fiasco in the mix, too. But perhaps you’re saving that for the RPG show now?

    Also, I can’t believe the Rather Dashing games people thought this approach would do anything but annoy everyone on the thread who didn’t already work for Rather Dashing games (a company I’ll go out of my way to avoid from now on).

  25. Ghost Stories – cooperative & very pretty
    RoboRally – robots & collisions & lasers
    Galaxy Trucker – spaceships & collisions & lasers (do I sense a theme here?)

  26. My votes would be for Colosseum by Days of Wonder or Darjeeling by AbacusSpiele.

    Colosseum was picked up pretty easily by my parents who are Gamer adjacent at this point. the objective is to have the most gold at the end by putting on different shows in the Roman Colosseum.

    Darjeeling is an economic game about picking and selling tea in India. It has a really neat mechanic which varies the prices of the different types of tea based on how recently that tea has been to market. If the tea has got to market very recently, the market is saturated, and your crates are worth less.

  27. I’d love to see Mystery Express by Days of Wonder. It’s very similar to Clue but with an increased difficulty. The cards (with suspects, weapons, etc) keep moving, making it more challenging to determine the murder details. I adore it because it is essentially a more difficult version of an old favorite.

    It’s quite colorful and should photograph decently. Works quite well for 4 people, the play time is about right. The one detail that I’m unsure of is whether it can be explained in 5 minutes or less.

    It is a fantastically fun game that I hope you will play on Tabletop.

  28. Quite apropos for one Mr Wil “you may remember me as Wesley Crusher” Wheaton – Redshirts by WeaselPants Productions (http://www.miniaturemarket.com/wpp1002.html?___store=mmonline&gclid=COb_wtHQr8ACFU4F7Aod3yoAcw). This was made by the Skippy of “213 Things Skippy Can’t Do in the Army” fame and it’s pretty funny – instead of making your away team succeed, you’re attempting to destroy your Redshirts while trying to make your opponent’s Redshirts succeed (and therefore live).

    And before anyone asks, yes, there was some IP dispute that came out when the RedShirts Deluxe Edition hit Kickstarter, but that dispute was settled and the game went ahead with production and sales legally. No, really – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1704270231/redshirts-2nd-edition/posts/495386

    1. Discworld:The Witches.

      Played it at gencon. Neat. Fairly simple mechanics, lots of variability due to random placement of “trouble”s the characters must solve. Powers from cards for added randomness.

  30. I think Africana would really go over well on the show. It’s just one tiny notch up from Ticket to Ride in complexity, is easy to teach, and would look really nice on the table. It’s definitely replaced TtR for my go to gateway game to play with new players.

  31. Sentinels of the Multiverse – fun, awesome superhero theme, cool artistic style, works will with 4 people, simple rules with a lot of variety

    7 Wonders – Really quick, lots of luck depending on what cards get passed to you, works with anywhere from 4 to 7 people

    Cards Against Humanity – seriously, why hasn’t this happened yet? This would be hilarious with the right people

    Puerto Rico or Race for the Galaxy – Depending on whether you want a colonization or space theme (and whether you like a board or cards). Works with 4, pretty quick, easy to explain.

  32. I know the game is way too long to be on your show, but honestly “Firefly” is the greatest tabletop game I’ve ever played. It’s perfect ratio luck to skill, it’s strategy and fantasy, it’s just amazing. And it would be cool to try to get Nathon Fillion on the show

  34. Augustus – Super easy to teach, There is luck and strategy involved. The games are fairly short. There isn’t any hidden information. It’s a great gateway game.
    Biblios – Could be good, but I would suspect the hidden information you build might not translate to screen. its easy to teach.
    Blueprints – Very visual with all the stacking dice, easily explained.
    Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards – If you want an attack-y type game. This one is a favorite of our group. Rules are pretty straight forward, most of them are on the cards. Which is also a draw back, as the first couple times you play, you will be reading the cards.
    Fresco – Super easy to teach, There isn’t a lot of luck to the game but there is strategy, and it doesn’t take too long to play.
    Ghost Stories – It’s the meaner brother to pandemic. It is a co-op that will most likely be lost.
    Jamaica – Pirate racing game that has wonderful art, easy to teach and plays quickly.
    Libertalia – Pirate card game, easy to teach, There are hands of cards which could be tough to show on camera except everyone has the same hand of cards to start with. The first time will be a little tricky as everyone will need to read all their cards to decide what to do.
    Splendor – Fun to play, easy to teach, plays quickly.

  35. Roll Through the Ages: Bronze Age would be a really good choice — lots of strategy choices available and it’s easy to teach, but it is different from most games. It’s also visually interesting with the dice, the different symbols, and the peg board for keeping track of resources. Gryphon Games makes it.

  37. Please play BLACK FLEET on Table top. It’s nothing like anything I’ve ever seen you play. We purchased it at GenCon and have played it 3 times in the past 3 days. 3-4 players, 60 minutes and very simple to explain.

    You control your own merchant ship, pirate ship, and 2 communal navy ships and use them to deliver goods across the sea, steal goods, bury the looted treasure, or sink your competitors ships. It’s a very pretty game and the ship figurines are adorable.

    As we were playing it we all agreed that it would be perfect for Tabletop. It fits all the criteria that you mentioned at the panel. Trust me it’s perfect.

  41. Battlestar Galactica, Downfall of Pompeii, Survive – Escape from Atlantis, Samarkand, Thebes or Stone Age!

  42. I’d like to see a game of Junta: Viva Le Presidente from Z-Man Games. I think it fits in all categories. I played the original back in the day, but the new one seems to be faster and work better with fewer people. I think you guys could really go to town on the banana republic theme.

  48. My friend has one named Tokaido that was beautiful, and more fun than I was expecting out if it. Don’t know how it would do on table top but I expect with the right people putting together fun back stories (cough Felicia cough) you guys could make it work.

  49. A lot of good suggestions on here, but why is no one mentioning Red Dragon Inn. Probably a perfect fit.

  50. Ummm, yeah, if you could just some Star Trek alumni together, (bonus points for Patrick Stewart) and play either Space Alert, Galaxy Trucker, Space Cadets, or Space Cadets dice duo, that’d be great.

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