417Gamer Podcast Episode 40 The One with Crafting the Cosmos
·48 min
1. Hobby Gaming Network episode 40 centers on Crafting the Cosmos, a review of the Office Dog Games release designed by David Gordon and Tam.
2. Rick and Andrew host the show, and their ratings matter because they score presentation, components, gameplay, theme, and it factor.
3. The episode exists to compare four recent plays, a featured review, and seven small-footprint games that the hosts want to recommend or revisit.
4. Rick describes El Gaucho as a simpler cow-selling game after a friend introduced Great Western Trail to him.
5. Andrew explains Silk as a Devir Games title with silkworms, a herder, a sheepdog, and a monster that can eat worms when the board wraps.
6. The hosts describe Abandon All Artichokes as a hand-building game where players start with a deck of artichokes and try to draw five cards with no artichokes.
7. Booby Trap appears as a 1965 Parker Brothers dexterity game with a wood frame, a spring-loaded slat, and red, blue, and yellow pieces.
8. Rick and Andrew say Tremendicon runs May 30th through June 1st at the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center.
9. They also promote Moon City Con at the Hilton Garden Inn in Springfield, Missouri, from June 6th through the 8th.
10. Crafting the Cosmos uses a marble-moving resource system where a player moves a marble once and can move black marbles up to two more times.
11. The game converts those moves into passive and active materials, including time crystals, energy cards, proto-life, and chemical stars such as oxygen, helium, hydrogen, and carbon.
12. The hosts explain that a supernova turns one chemical star upside down and makes it a wild resource.
13. They also describe nebulae that flip for instant points once surrounded by the required elements.
14. Stable green life and hidden advanced-life tokens add another layer of scoring near the end of the game.
15. Rick says the star tokens, nebulae, and box art give Crafting the Cosmos strong table presence.
16. Andrew notes that the proto-life pieces are tiny and easy to drop, which is their main component complaint.
17. The review format is conversational and score-driven, with the hosts comparing their ratings back and forth across each category.
18. The tone stays practical and friendly, with specific rule explanations rather than a scripted summary.
19. Players who like medium-weight, science-themed board games with strong production should fit this episode.
20. Listeners who want fast rules talk without detailed board-game reviews may skip it.
