Rob Zacny

Three Moves Ahead 630: Two Point Museum Len, Mike, and Luke dust off their Indy hats and take a close look at Two Point Museum. We discuss how it's such a great fit for the formula Two Point Studios built over their previous two games, how you make a museum game without presenting a tacit endorsement of grave robbing, and why crime never pays. Two Point Museum, Two Point Hospital, Two Point Campus, Planet Coaster 2 Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 629: RTS Shoutcasting and Stormgate 0.3.0 with BeoMulf This week, Len sits down with Philip "BeoMulf" Mulford, a professional RTS esports caster. We discuss how you get that gig, how you develop the skills for it, and how it compares to traditional sportscasting. We also dig in a bit to the recent 0.3.0 patch for Stormgate and how the first big graphical refresh, automated control groups, and fully rebindable hotkeys change the experience. NOTE: We found out after the show was recorded that Philip will be on the main stream for the CHOC tournament on Sunday. You can find out more at https://playstormgate.com/news/stormgate-for-choc-charity-tournament Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 628: Sid Meier's Civilization 7 Len, Fraser, and Sin gather to try and figure out what the heck happened with Civilization 7. We discuss why it's such a let-down for the legendary series, and whether or not it's just time for civilization to end. Civilization 7, Civ 7 Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 627: Look Ahead to 2025 Len, Mike, and Nerium gaze down the road ahead at the most interesting and promising strategy games coming out (we hope) in 2025, from the heavy-hitters to some indie oddities. Civilization 7, Kaiserpunk, Two Point Museum, Tempest Rising, Alliance of the Sacred Suns, Europa Universalis 5, Beyond These Stars, City Tales - Medieval Era, Demonschool, Falling Frontier, Dino Lords, Kingmakers, Menace, Slay the Spire 2 Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Idle Weekend July 2, 2017: Bleacher Bums Rob and Danielle meet for an overdue weekend after a Rob's cross-country move. Rob's been getting re-acclimated by playing a lot of MLB The Show 17 and discovers it's like watching baseball with a cool, knowledgeable friend. But a discussion of sports leads to a discussion of Boston sports and their deserved reputation for racism. But somehow, Xander Cage makes it all okay. MLB The Show 17, Animal Crossing, Boston sports Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 623: Frostpunk 2 Len is joined by Father Lorris and Sin Vega to discuss Frostpunk 2, the long-awaited sequel to the quintessential survival city-builder. We discuss where it hits and where it misses, with a particular focus on the strengths of the original that it fails to recapture by zooming out further. Frostpunk, Frostpunk 2, Against the Storm Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 603: Against the Storm 1.0 Len, Rowan, and Luke have gathered around the hearth to revisit Against the Storm for its 1.0 launch. With one veteran and two greenhorns in tow, we discuss how this survival city-builder has changed since Early Access and why it's still so satisfying and refreshing to play. Against the Storm Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 606: 2024 Look Ahead Len, Mike Williams, and Nerium Strom take a look at the strategy and strategy-adjacent games coming in 2024, discuss which ones we're most interested in, make some predictions, and discuss the awful state of the industry for workers this year so far. A Series of Unfortunate Events: 40,000 Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 607: The Strategy Games of Steam Next Fest 2024 Len, Jon, and Mike Williams sit down to discuss the strategy and strategy-adjacent demos that caught our eyes in Steam Next Fest. Jon played 50 (!) of them, and several were actually good! Also like, where are all the aliens, for real though? Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 626: 2024 Wrap-Up Len, Mike, and Sin gather 'round to sing the praises of our favorite strategy and tactics games of the year, as well as trying to identify the ever-elusive narrative throughline. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 625: Caves of Qud Len, Jon, and Mike are joined by Freehold Games' Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat to discuss Caves of Qud. In a world where rogue"lites" and rogue-adjacents have blown up, what is the niche of a true, traditional roguelike? We also dig into the procedural generation of its post-multiple-apocalypses world and dreamlike writing style. Caves of Qud Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 624: What Else Are We Playing: November 2024 Len is joined by Nerium Strom, Mike Williams, and Sin Vega for a round-table of What Else Are We Playing? From weird surreal horror to Factorio and Cities: Skylines 2, it's a chill chat for a chilly month on our production calendar. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 622: Tactical Breach Wizards Len and Rowan are joined by games writer Kris Lorischild to discuss Tactical Breach Wizards. We discuss how rare it is for a game to be this funny on purposes, as opposed to from the chaotic intersection of procedural systems, how it creates rewarding tactical puzzles with simple ingredients, and... Metal Gear?! Tactical Breach Wizards, XCOM: Chimera Squad, Disco Elysium Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 621: The Return of MicroProse Len is joined this week by David Lagettie, CEO of the resurrected MicroProse. We share some of our own MicropProse memories, and discuss what makes a MicroProse game, as well as why David chose this brand to bring back from oblivion. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 620: Fined by the Pope (EU5 Megacast 5 Preview) This is a free preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma! Len, Lambert, and FatherLorris continue their ongoing beef with the Holy See while discussing Europa Universalis 5 dev diaries primarily focused on warfare. We're not even doing jokes about how long these are anymore. That's so early 2024. It's just expected at this point. This is our lives now. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 619: Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties Len is joined by Aftermath's Luke Plunkett and Dr. Bret Devereaux to discuss Total War: Pharaoh's expansive Dynasties glow-up. We dig into the sources that are and aren't available for Bronze Age warfare, how the latest historical Total War feels now with all the bells and whistles, and whether or not Creative Assembly's grand apology tour might be a sign of things to come, or just a one-off PR move. Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 618: Workers & Resources 1.0 Len and Jon are joined by Sin Vega and Well There's Your Problem's Justin Roczniak (donoteat01) to revisit Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic for its 1.0 release. We discuss what's changed and been added since we last checked it out in Early Access, why it's so captivating, and who it's actually for. Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 610: Millennia It's a full house this week, as Len is joined by Ian Boudreau, Luke Plunkett, Mike Williams, and Ruth Cassidy to perform a bit of an autopsy on Millennia, C Prompt and Paradox's take at a Civ-like historical 4X. We all came away with a bit of a bad taste in our mouths about it, to varying degrees, and we spend a fair bit of time trying to explain why – and set aside some time to talk about what we did like. Millennia Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 604: Mega-Sized 2023 Recap! Len, Rowan, and Ian gather 'round the Yule Log for an extended discussion on the year that was 2023 in strategy games. There was a lot of good and a lot of bad. There were a lot of people talking about "Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year" that didn't really know what they were talking about. We share our personal picks and tease out a theme to encapsulate an eventful stretch of time. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 597: Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew This week, Jon is joined by RPS Editor in Chief Katherine Castle and freelance writer Dominic Tarason to discuss Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew. Mimimi's swan song, as we sadly learned after recording, is a follow-up and an evolution to Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and Desperados 3, both games that we loved. What makes this one even better? Why is Len using dashes instead of colons to separate the show number from the game title now? I don't know if I like this. Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, Desperados 3, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

EU IV lead Thomas Johansson and freelance writer Joe Robinson join Rob to talk about their recent adventures with a massive EU IV multiplayer session.EU IV lead Thomas Johansson and freelance writer Joe Robinson join Rob to talk about their recent adventures with a massive EU IV multiplayer session.EU IV lead Thomas Johansson and freelance writer Joe Robinson join Rob to talk about their recent adventures with a massive EU IV multiplayer session. Listen

Three Moves Ahead 617: Down the Well (EU5 Megacast 4 Preview) This is a free preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma! Len, Lambert, and Lorris get in and out of this month's deluge of dev diaries in a downright snappy three hours, despite nitpicking EU5's depiction of the British Isles for long enough to kill a non-map gamer. Please be cautious when listening to our nonsense around partners, small children, and the psychologically healthy. They may be unprepared for exposure to our level of pedantry and hyperfixation. Europa Universalis V Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 570: Grand Tactician: The Civil War The promise of the Civil War game that does everything is enticing but elusive. Now that it's out of early access, is Grand Tactician: The Civil War that game? Is it even close? Rowan and Rob get into the weeds on its officer promotion system, AI, brilliant little touches, and missed opportunities. Grand Tactician: The Civil War Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 616: The Future of Anbennar and EU5 Len, Lorris, and Lambert sat down with JayBean, the creator of the popular Anbennar fantasy total conversion mods for Europa Universalis 4, Crusader Kings 3, and Victoria 3. We asked him what he's most excited about from what we've seen of EU5 so far, what changes he might make to the mod with these new systems, and how Paradox Tinto can better support the modding community. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Three Moves Ahead 615: Homeworld 3 Len, Luke, and Ian warp in to discuss Homeworld 3, a space strategy sequel more than two decades in the making. We discuss its use of space terrain, the more intimate storytelling in the campaign, the co-op Wargames mode, and what it has and hasn't preserved from its pantheonic predecessors. Homeworld 3 Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes