Rob Zacny

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

Three Moves Ahead 472: We. The Revolution Rob and Troy are bad revolutionary judges in We. The Revolution. But is there such thing as a good judge on a tribunal as compromised as this? It doesn't look like it in Polyslash's grim political adventure. The gang discuss the historical perspective that We. The Revolution adopts as well as its curious feature-creep as it moves from a straightforward legal procedural to something far more ambitious and less coherent. Why are you fighting for control of Paris? Why are you commanding soldiers in battle? Are its systems of political intrigue and persuasion any fun to use? The more you play, the less sense We. The Revolution seems to make, but the more hypnotic it becomes. We. The Revolution, Papers Please Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 471: Anno 1800 Nice island you got here, shame if it wasn't fully industrialized! Fortunately Jon, Troy, and Rob are here to strip mine, clear-cut, and redevelop the hell out everything in sight. Troy puts this latest entry in the broader context of both the series and city builders in generals, Jon has made some mistakes, and Rob is both dazzled by the game's beauty but wishes it more fully captured the impact of heavy industry on nature. Also he is convinced somehow he can make a sensible grid layout out of a game built to confound them. Anno 1800 Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 467: Hard Times or Easy Living Rowan, TJ, and Rob and joined by Jon Bolding to talk about how the difficulty discussion and "designer intent" maps to strategy games... or doesn't. We discuss games that go out of their way to highlight a specific "way it's meant to be played" and whether that actually holds up in reality. We also talk about customization options and, when all else fails, the glorious tradition of house rules and outright cheating to find the way to play that "just right" for you. XCOM, Battle Brothers, Total War, StarCraft, Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 470: Total War: Three Kingdoms This week's show is the alternate universe version of our 2013 episode on Total War: Rome II. It was two hours of non-stop slamming that poor game - a real massacre. But here we find ourselves in 2019 with Total War: Three Kingdoms in front of us, and things are different. It's good. It's very good. The load times are short. The AI seems competent. The vibrant Three Kingdoms setting is brought to life with both a story mode and a gloriously ahistorical mode that lets the characters shine. Rob, Fraser, T.J., Rowan, and special guest Ginny Woo explore this new entry that bridges the gap between the historical Total War games their offshoot fantasy cousin. Total War: Three Kingdoms Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 469: Imperator: Rome Rob, TJ, and Jon are not quite sure what to make of Imperator: Rome, the latest historical grand strategy game from Paradox Development Studio. Should a Hellenistic warlord have such fine control over demographics? Is there much to do beyond empire-building? On the other hand, when the eagles are marching, does there need to be? Imperator: Rome Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 465: Mark Herman's Empire of the Sun Rob and Bruce are here to sing the praises of Mark Herman's Empire of the Sun, a brilliant adaptation of the war in the Pacific. Enjoying the game through the magic of VASSAL, our wargaming duo describe how about Empire of the Sun does a commendable job of conveying the challenges of imperfect information, the plans of the Imperial Japanese fleet, and inter-service rivalry - all through the elegance of card-based play. Empire of the Sun Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 468: Same Thing, Different Place The gang has been playing the Steel Division 2 beta and wow, things are different on the Eastern Front. That leads to a discussion of how familiar series and systems take on new life, or fail to, when adapted to new settings. Imperator, Steel Division 2, Sengoku Jidai, Pike and Shot, Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 416: Dominions 5: Warriors of the Faith This week Michael, Bruce, Jonathan Bolding, and Troy "I've never met a succubus I didn't like" Goodfellow talk about Dominions 5: Warriors of the Faith. Illwinter Games continues their long-running master class in world building and fiction in games with the fifth entry in the series. Dominions combines wargaming with a diverse fantasy setting that has attracted a loyal fanbase over several versions and decades. The panel talks about what is new in the series, whether the graphics really matter, and why it's fun to be a monolith. Dominions 5, Conquest of Elysium Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes