Review: Battle for Rokugan

reckless and relentless, a mighty interjection, YOU ARE LOOKING AT A SHOWER CURTAIN

Paul: I can’t remember the last time I angered so many people so quickly. The last time I broke so many promises, stepped on so many toes, turned on so many friends. Maybe I never have before. Maybe a board game has brought out the very worst in me. Maybe my ambition has finally overcome my morality.

Was it worth it? Was all the bloodshed, backstabbing and brutality justified in service to my thirst for cardboard conquest? Would I do it all again? I just might, so take a seat and let me tell you all about Battle for Rokugan.

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Games News! 26/02/18

blindfolded bacon, divine dice, the golden bottom

Quinns: Paul, there’s so much Games News to unload off the Games News truck today. We have to get it in before it spoils in the sun.

Paul: Oh NO. These headlines are supposed to be refrigerated, this story isn’t packaged properly, this one has started leaking…

Quinns: Huh, here’s something interesting we don’t usually put on the shelves, a tale of a Kickstarter gone sour and plagiarism accusations. We don’t usually start off the news with high drama, but I’m not sure this is a story we can ignore.

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Podcast #73: The 2017 Pearple’s Choice Awards!

a family show, the award for best quintin, a middle finger to the march of time

Who’s this, arriving fashionably late in a limousine? Why, it’s only a new podcast discussing the winners of the 2017 Pearple’s Choice Awards! Quickly, cinch up your black tie or crawl into the nearest dress before joining us on a discussion of the best games of last year. There’s reflection on Gloomhaven, Sagrada, Inis, Captain Sonar, Fog of Love, Azul, Consulting Detective, Twilight Imperium 4th edition and so, so much more. You also get to hear the team collapse in on themselves like a dying star when exposed to the madness of the Best Expansion category. Just what is an expansion for?! Huge thanks to forum user clg9000 for organising such a fun event. New podcast feeds (if you’re missing episodes 71, 72 and 73 try these): iTunes Google Play RSS for your favourite player

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Review: The Fox in the Forest

pretty foxes, handsome woodcutters, and a psychic slapfight

Quinns: The Fox in the Forest is the best small-box card game I’ve played in two years.

That’s a pretty momentous statement, right? Well, now we’re going to lose all of that momentum as I plunge this review-car up to its axles in mud, because Fox in the Forest is a trick-taking game.

The board gaming scene has a habit of not explaining what “trick-taking” is, probably because it’s a huge pain in the ass to teach. But we’re going to do it, here and now, in SU&SD’s famous spirit of accessibility. We can through this mud together, reader! You get in the driver’s seat, I’ll get out and push. Just stick with me! Now, feather the accelerator! The ACCELERATOR! That’s what we call the gas pedal in England do it oh god the mud is in my shoes

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Games News! 19/02/18

Maggie Smith, Rory's Gory Story, a drowned sheep, a wobbly human

Paul: Welcome to another tub-thumping edition of Games News, the only board games news anywhere that features FIREWORKS and PYROTECHNICS and a ten meter CATHERINE WHEEL-

Quinns: paul you’re on fire

Paul: ON FIRE WITH EXCITEMENT about CASTELL and LOWLANDS and even HARRY POTTER.

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Review – Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant

swapping skittles, being wasps, taking the victory points from both of your legs

Think you’ve seen it all? THINK AGAIN.

Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant might have a silly name, but this hybrid sci-fi/negotiation/economic game is no joke. Whether you’re playing space-wasps, space-squids or space-school teachers, it’s going to demand every ounce of intelligence you can muster.

Have you got what it takes? There’s actually a good chance you don’t.

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The Best Board Gaming Books! (According to us)

chapter candy, the alien gurgey, quinns where did you get those bookmarks

Quinns: Books! They’re like very long board game manuals without a game.

Now I’ve got a good 23 years’ distance from the bullies at my school, I’m freely able to say that I think books are nice, and today on the site I want to recommend the board gaming books that I’ve had the most fun with. There’s fiction and non-fiction, controversy and aliens, a Go master at the end of his life and a 21st century designer at the peak of his powers.

But best of all, each one has helped me to understand this ancient hobby a little better.

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SU&SD Play…. Dungeons & Dragons: The Hangover

Who's clothes am I wearing?, It's been a long day and I've got a mustache

Paul: Are you already missing the madcap misadventures of SU&SDD&D? Then grieve not, because today we’re also sharing our very special (and slightly different) live SHUX roleplaying session. Prepare yourselves for The Hangover!

This rather different D&D module is based around the hugely successful comic Rat Queens and was authored by its creator, the ineffable Kurtis Wiebe, so who better to ask to run this remarkable roleplaying event than the man himself? Yes, that’s right, Kurtis took the helm while Pip, Cynthia, Quinns and Matt went wild with his characters. Don’t worry, no canon interpretations were harmed during the making of this video.

Our huge thanks again to Kurtis for flying in to make this happen, for doing a Q&A after and for being such a terrific convention guest. This is also a personal point of pride for me, as I assembled and organised most of this session, and it was a pleasure to bring some live roleplaying to SHUX. One short word of warning: this is definitely a little more NSFW than many of our other videos. As they say in some parts of the world, viewer discretion is advised.

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Games News! 12/02/18

resin beans, my card wife, the brands

Quinns: We’ve got a whole mess(e) of news for you this week! That’s my very clever way of saying that most of this week’s stories come from BoardGameGeek News’ coverage of Spielwarenmesse, the world’s largest international toy fair. Through that link you can join those guys at the coal face, or you can stick with Shut Up & Sit Down as we collect the shiniest announcements.

And speaking of shiny, Coimbra is a 2018 release that I’m really excited about. That’s not just because this site has yet to try any games from notable Italian designers Flaminia Brasini and Virginio Gigli (perhaps best known for Lorenzo il Magnifico and Grand Austria Hotel). It’s because this is a German-style resource management game that actually looks nice, with striking art by the inimitable Chris Quilliams.

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Podcast #72: Climbing Mount London

IS THIS THE END FOR OUR HEROES?! Matt, Paul and Quinns were last seen launching an expedition to get to the top of the Shut Up & Sit Down review stack. They talked about wanting to scale games like Mountaineers, A Tale of Pirates, The Climbers, the second edition of London and the Munchkin Collectible Card Game (which actually sounded… quite good?). They were also talking about getting to the bottom of a thought-provoking reader mail. It’s rumoured that it questioned whether pirating board games became an ethical grey area in some countries. Today we found this recording. It’s the only evidence we could find that they’re still alive. Come home safe, boys. New feeds (if you’re missing episodes 71 and 72 try these): iTunes Google Play RSS for your favourite player

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