Choo Choo Crew #38: Age of Steam Con 2024 w/ Kris
Age of Steam Con 2024 is in the books. James is joined by DoaMer attendee Kris to talk about expectations, con vibes, some of our favorite maps & plays, and the other nonsense we managed to sneak on to the table. Enjoy the show!
Choo Choo Crew #37: Back in a Kansas City State of Mind (DoaMcoN Plays)
Joe, Zach, and James are back together again after spending a week together in Kansas City at DoaMcoN. Come hear about our favorite train game plays from the con including West Riding Revisisted, Stephenson's Rocket, Wooden Shoes & Iron Monsters, Veld Railroads, South African Railroads, Spectactulum, and more!
Choo Choo Crew #36: Her Name is Rio (Grande)
The Choo Choo Crew is back together at last, and we're talking all about Rio Grande Games and their rollercoaster experience publishing Winsome train games. We check out their history, their current catalog, our personal must haves, and upcoming announced titles as well. We'll also talk recent plays of The Old Prince 1871, Stellar Ventures, and 1830, and what we're looking forward to playing at DoaMcoN IV.
Choo Choo Crew #35: Top 5 18xx & Cube Rails (2024)
The Choo Choo Crew is back and new year means new list show! Find out if our Top 5 18xx have shifted (ha!) and how our Cube Rails picks shake out this time around as well. Also recent plays of Locomotive Werks, 1870, Chicago Express, and some hot news roundup on Dutch Intercity, Texas & Pacific, and Winsome ballot box stuffing. Enjoy!
Choo Choo Crew #34: The Crew Stops by Pax Unplugged
Join Joe, Mike, Robin and a bevy of guests and they attend Pax Unplugged. The first half of the episode is a classic Choo Choo Crew plays games they like as Mike and Joe cover 1830, France Rails, GMO and more. The second half of the episode takes Joe and Robin into the expo hall as they talk about plays of Caesar!, Molly House, Klask and more. Enjoy the show!
Choo Choo Crew #33: Trainspotting
The Choo Choo Crew is back in your feed, catching up on some feedback, a whole bunch of train game news, recent plays, and examining the recent DoaM Top 20 and how the train games fared in our rankings. Thanks for listening.
Hittin’ Dits #11: Age of Steam Con 2023
James is back from Age of Steam Con 2023 where he had the mobile recorder on hand to catch some impressions, thoughts, post game reviews, and nonsense from this yearly convention in Kansas City. Thanks to Kevin & Chad for another amazing Age of Steam Con this year!
Choo Choo Crew #32: 1841 Play & Strategy Primer
1841 has finally arrived on .games, and Joe's here to teach you the basics and give you the tools to get started exploring this Northern Italian box of delights. Also all of our recent plays from DoaMcoN including 1830, 1832, 1870, 18??, TOP VIP, and more!
Choo Choo Crew #31: Colovini Rails
The Crew digs into their dusty, brown, euro bag from the early 2000s and takes a long look into Leo Colovini's games & how they compare to the train games we play & love. Featuring Bridges of Shangri-la, Cartagena, Clans, Magna Grecia, Masons, Meridian, & Carolus Magnus!
CCC #30: The Crew Plays Games They Don’t Like 2
Our Summer tradition is back - playing games we don't like. Find out if we changed our minds or got any clarity on Rising Run Railroads, 18VA, Chicago & Northwestern, and Iberian Gauge. Enjoy the show!
Choo Choo Crew #29: Final Destination Runs
Joe, James, Mike, and Zach talk about the who, what, where ,why and WHEN of one of their favorite mechanisms in 18xx- destination runs. They also cover listener feedback from the past month, recent plays and a live auction and investor draft of 1880!
Hittin’ Dits #10: CCC Plans Games They Don’t Like
No, we're not playing them quite yet - but we're planning them. The return of summer means the return of one of our favorite months - the Choo Choo Crew plays games we don't like. Join us as we roundtable discuss to pick our 4 titles to make up our slate this year. And join us all next month as we check them out!
Choo Choo Crew #28: Grand Funk Railroad
Joe, James, Mike, and Zach take a slight detour from our usual heavy strategy talk to instead strategize just how to get out of a Train Game funk. Tired of playing? Can't table anything? Technology overload? Real life intervening? We've all been there. Also a live auction of The Old Prince 1871 and breakdown (literal breakdown) of the new Wabash Cannonball map leak.
Choo Choo Crew #27: 3 is the Magic Number
3P Games! A great player count for train games - and what are the Choo Choo Crew's favorite 18xx and Cube Rails, and why. Also a live reaction to our first look (finally!) at Capstone's long awaited South African Railroads. And a live auction of 1850! And more!
Hittin’ Dits #9: The Perfect Winsome Gameday
The Jersey Tag Team Train Champs, Mike & Joe, sit down to discuss and plan their upcoming All Winsome Gameday. What are the must plays? Best order of play to onboard new players? How many can they squeeze in their window?
Choo Choo Crew #26: 18xx Bootcamp SR1 & OR1
It's back to bootcamp with the Choo Choo Crew. You've made it through the opening auction, and now on to Stock Round 1. What to start, why to start it, what to par at, and so much more. Fall in line!
Choo Choo Crew #25: Top 5 18xx & Cube Rails (2023)
It's a list show! Time to see where the Crew stands as we enter 2023 and our 3rd year with the CCC. We'll count down our Top 5 18xx and Top 5 Cube Rails game, and answer some questions along the way. Thank for listening!
Choo Choo Crew #24: Holiday Buying Guide
Join the Choo Choo Crew as we take a rare spin around the retail shopping options for Train Games this holiday season. Or maybe you'd rather give some game accessories or railroad paraphernalia? We also do a live 3P auction of The Old Prince 1871 and talk recent plays.
Choo Choo Crew #23: Online v In person 18xx
Joe, James, and Zach are back for Episode 23 and want to talk about playing online v playing on the table: 18xx.games v Tabletop Simulator v In Real Life Plays. What are the pros, cons, and lessons to learn and transfer to the other? Also a live opening auction of 1850. Thanks for listening!
Hittin’ Dits #8: 18Philadelphia Convention Talk
Joe recently attended 18Philadelphia, a small 18xx game convention run in conjunction with a Diplomacy convention. Hear about his adventures, the plays he got in on the table, and a quick check in on the 18xx.tools leagues. Enjoy the show!