Rob Zacny

Three Moves Ahead 488: The Decade in Retrospect Rob, T.J., Rowan, and Fraser gather to consider the last ten years in strategy games. There is a stark division about what happened to the RTS, as well as how the concept of a game being "finished" mostly disappeared. Then Rob tries to wrap up the show and it goes for another hour as everyone tries to choose their favorite genre game from the last ten years. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 499: Desperados III USgamer's Mike Williams and Kotaku's Luke Plunkett join Rob to talk about Desperados III, the stealth tactics puzzler from Mimimi. They talk quicksaving versus flow, stealth tactics vs stealth immersive sims, and Desperados vs. Shadow Tactics, the previous game from this developer. Desperados III Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 497: Gears Tactics https://soundcloud.com/idlethumbs/three-moves-ahead-497-gears-tactics Gears Tactics Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 495: Sports With the sports world mostly on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sports games have emerged to take their place in some of the oddest ways. Rob discusses this weird moment for sports sims with Troy, Jenn Cutter, and Kat Bailey. They chat about why sim motorsports seem to be working well, but most console sports sims don't seem to have the same resonance. Rob accuses Troy of being the target audience for beat reporting based on Out of the Park leagues. Troy denies the charge, then describes the travails of his Expos dynasty in detail. Out of the Park Baseball 21, Probably some others Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 496: XCOM: Chimera Squad Rob, Rowan, and Bruno Dias start working the mean streets of City 31 as they discuss XCOM: Chimera Squad. XCOM: Chimera Squad Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 494: Stellaris Federations Rowan, Jon, and T.J. are joined by Waypoint and Friends at the Table's Austin Walker to once again ask the immortal question: Is Stellaris good now? On the heels of a diplomacy rework and four years of expansions, what has become of Paradox's oddball 4X space child? Stellaris Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 411: Total War: WARHAMMER II Are you ready for morehammer? Nah, just kidding, we won't do that bit again. Guest host Rowan Kaiser talks to T.J. Hafer and Kotaku's Luke Plunkett about Total War: WARHAMMER II. The Warhammer train keeps on hammerin' as the dark elves, Skaven, and other grimdark beings storm across the battlefields in the Total War engine once again. This sequel comes hot on the heels of the original game and improves it in many ways, but is it worth picking up? Tune in to find out. Total War: WARHAMMER II Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 493: Animal Crossing New Horizons Fraser is joined by Jon Bolding, Dia Lacina, and Philippa Warr to discuss Animal Crossing: New Horizons, from the ways it connects to the city builder genre to the oddities of the game's premise. Animal Crossing New Horizons Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 492: The Last Autumn (Frostpunk) Rob is joined by Cameron Kunzelman and Ethan Gach to return to the world of Frostpunk before the frost as the panel considers the game's latest DLC, The Last Autumn. In some ways it's an expansion the reveals some of the worst traits of Frostpunk, but in some other ways it reinvents and reimagines the game as a trickier and more credible management game. The Last Autumn (Frostpunk) Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 491: Master of Magic This week we are going all the way back to 1994 to discuss Master of Magic. MoM, though not quite as popular as its bovine counterpart, was a very forward-thinking game. It offered many levels of customization not yet seen in gaming and inspired classic modern series like Dominions and Age of Wonders. Listen in as Rowan Kaiser, Jon Bolding, and Troy "Do you like what I've done with my hobbit hole?" Goodfellow discuss Master of Magic, sci-fi vs fantasy, and why generic magic isn't necessarily a bad thing. Master of Magic, Elemental, Dominions, Age of Wonders Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 490: Micro-RTS Games Not every novel must be Inifinite Jest, not every RTS game must be Starcraft 2. Sure, sometimes you need to hold your copy of Starcraft 2 with the cover facing out so people at the coffee shop KNOW you're playing Starcraft 2, but sometimes you just want to play a quick game of something and get out. This week, Rob and Cameron Kunzelman discuss three RTS games the can be played in less time than it takes to listen to this episode. So once you are done loudly asking if the barista has a second bookmark you can borrow for the footnotes, take a listen to our discussion on Circle Empires, Escape Dead Earth, and Death Crown. Circle Empires, Escape Dead Earth, Death Crown Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 489: Mandate of Heaven Rob, Brian "Chef Lu Bu" Smawley, Rowan, and T.J. discuss the Mandate of Heaven expansion for Total War: Three Kingdoms. Brian has been radicalized the populist vision of the Yellow Turbans and feels like only Zhang Jue has put in the work to lead China to a glorious new age. Rob and T.J., meanwhile, feel that incremental reform is the way to go. Rowan is out for themselves, but is also starting to wonder if that old Total War campaign inertia might not be settling in. Total War: Three Kingdoms, Mandate of Heaven Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead extends a warm welcome to founding member and persistent barista Tom Chick for our 300th episode. Tom, Rob, Bruce and Troy "I Hate Nicknames" Goodfellow discuss Vietnam 65, a PC and iOS game about managing hearts and minds during the Vietnam war. This week, we learn that Rob is unequivocally the tactical and strategic mastermind of counter-insurgency warfare. Bruce reveals what he considers to be the best - best - Vietnam war game ever made, and we all learn a little bit about what a "light" war game is. Listen here.

Three Moves Ahead 485: Phoenix Point Jon and Rob welcome back Paul Dean to discuss Julian Gollop's and Snapshot Games' Phoenix Point, which tries to blend some of the old-school systemic realism of the original X-COM games with the ease of play of newer tactics games. It's all going well until the gang realize the AI plays like a zombie... and this isn't a zombie game. Phoenix Point Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 484: Unity of Command 2 Rob and Troy are joined by Kotaku's Luke Plunkett to discuss Unity of Command 2, the long-awaited sequel to on of Three Moves Ahead's favorite wargames. How does the new setting change the game, and what's with all these new buttons? Unity of Command 2 Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 479: Age of Wonders: Planetfall Rob, TJ, Ian Boudreau, and US Gamer editor Mike Williams discuss the very pleasant surprise that is Age of Wonders: Planetfall. From initial skepticism over the fantasy series' pivot to science fiction, the gang are slowly won over by Planetfall's novel solutions to expansion and city management, diplomacy with minor factions, and glorious tactical combat. Age of Wonders: Planetfall Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 483: Planet Zoo T.J. and Fraser are joined by Bruno Dias (@NotBrunoAgain) to talk about Planet Zoo, Frontier's spiritual successor to zoo tycoon. Animals are great, but is managing everything around keeping them happy? Why are there 30-50 feral hogs on my trade screen? Zoo-ne in to find out! Planet Zoo Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 481: Close Combat: The Bloody First Rob and Troy play the new, 3D Close Combat: The Bloody First and see how it measures up to the series' history. Close Combat: The Bloody First Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 480: 1999 Rob, Rowan, and Sean welcome Jeff Green to discuss what might be the greatest year in gaming. Looking down the release slate for that year, it was obviously stacked with brilliant games like Alpha Centauri, Freespace 2, and Jagged Alliance 2 (to name just a few). But did people know it was special at the time? And did anyone realize how fleeting that moment would prove to be, just before Microsoft entered the console wars and began to bridge the gap between console and PC? Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 476: Pericles Rob, Troy, and Bruce get together to discuss Mark Herman's epic wargame of the Peloponnesian Wars, Pericles. How does it capture the sweep of a vast historical subject that was only sometimes decided through military conquest? Pericles, Hegemony Gold Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 478: Oxygen Not Included Nicole Clark joins Rowan and Rob to talk about Klei's Oxygen Not Included and its punishing model of offworld colonizaiton.Learn how everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and how well the game communicates excruciating detail about why your colony is dying. Oxygen Not Included Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 477: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Rowan, Fraser, and Rob are joined by Kotaku's Gita Jackson to discuss their tenure as teachers at Garreg Mach Monastery. The gang talk about the really thougthful politics and characterizations that define Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Aside from that, is it a good tactics game? And finally, the gang gets into some serious spoilers about the game's shocking reveal midway through. Fire Emblem: Three Houses, XCOM, Persona Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 473: Historical Guardrails Rob, Rowan, TJ, and Sean discuss how "historically" they like their games to play out and whether that wish is incompatibile with player freedom and variety. Imperator, Three Kingdoms, Europa Universalis IV, Crusader Kings II, Victoria II, Civilization, Hearts of Iron, Operational Art of War Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 475: Gerykon 2019: Reiner Knizia Games The Tehran Conference. The meeting at Appomattox. The Council of Elrond. All historical gatherings that pale in comparison to the summit that occurred in late July 2019 as the Three Moves Ahead team gathered in Oregon for several days of gaming. Hosted by Dr. Bruce Geryk, Gerykon 2019 was attended by Michael Hermes, Rob Zacny, and Troy "I hope they let me back into Canada" Goodfellow. Bruce played the part of eccentric board game sommelier, guiding the group through several layers of gaming history. Our first episode about Gerykon 2019 covers several entries from Reiner Knizia, a household name among those in the know. From the dizzying heights of Ra and Modern Art to the baffling lows of Beowulf, we consumed great amounts of scotch and had many discussions about game design and strategy. Also, Rob made up a really gross name for a painting. Modern Art, Ra, Tigris & Euphrates, Lost Cities, Lord of the Rings Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 474: Steel Division 2 Rob and the gang are deeply conflicted over Steel Division 2. A good multiplayer game with some genuinely impressive detail about the armored combat on the Eastern Front, it's also a game that has not grown to match its subject, and then there's the matter of that campaign... Steel Division 2, Steel Division, Achtung Panzer, Graviteam Tactics