Rob, Len, and Rowan are in the pipe, five-by-five, to discuss Aliens: Dark Descent. An unconventional squad-based stealth game that brings James Cameron's sci-fi classic to a new (and dare we say better) perspective, we discuss similarities to the likes of Darkest Dungeon and how clever escalation mechanics can dynamically imitate the structure of a horror movie.

Three Moves Ahead 595: Aliens: Dark Descent

This week, Len is joined by Sin Vega and Dominic Tarason to discuss Jagged Alliance 3, the long-awaited sequel to one of the greatest tactical games of all time. Did they do a good job of recapturing what made the original so memorable? Is this just another XCOM, or is there more to see here?

Three Moves Ahead 594: Jagged Alliance 3

It's the... Summer of Wargaming? When a game comes along that's even too obscure and spreadsheet-y for our normal panel, we light the Grognard Beacon. And this week, first-timers Wesley Livesay and Benjamin Magnus answered the call. The subject? Rule the Waves 3. If you love mid-90s PC productivity software interfaces and big boats of all shapes and sizes, you're in for a treat. We discuss what makes this crunchy Secretary of the Navy simulator so compelling, and why it's worth overcoming the steep barriers to entry.

Three Moves Ahead 593: Rule the Waves 3

Len, Rowan, and Jon step through the portal into Age of Wonders 4, the latest fantasy 4X from Triumph and Paradox. We dig deep into the strategic and tactical pacing and why so much of it hits the spot in a world of ultra marathon strategy campaigns. What is so satisfying about its empire customization and progression? And did we actually manage to make an episode about a game we like that's not 75 percent complaining?

Three Moves Ahead 592: Age of Wonders 4

Rowan, Len, and Nerium hitch their wagon to Darkest Dungeon 2 and set in for the long haul on this epic-length episode. We discuss some of the ways this sequel is an improvement over one of 3MA's consensus favorite games of all time (that we somehow never did a dedicated episode on), and several ways in which it's not. What kind of parties did we like to roll with? How have things changed since early access? And is there a cooler narrator than Wayne June? By the end, you might even get to hear us have a Meltdown!

Three Moves Ahead 591: Darkest Dungeon 2

Rowan, Nerium, and Luke set off into the fantasy landscape of Wartales to give a glimpse at one of the most robust tactical management games we've seen in a while. They discuss how it's a counterpoint to – and possibly even a commentary on – Battle Brothers in a couple of interesting ways. You'll also hear perspectives from both of its world scaling settings, to help you decide if you'd rather have everything automatically scale to your current party, or tackle the more dangerous, "MMO-style" version where each region comes with a set level and may be deadlier than you're ready for.

Three Moves Ahead 590: Wartales

It's an all-star panel as Len and Mike Williams are joined by Mohawk Games' and Idle Thumbs' own Soren Johnson and Paradox Tinto's Johan Andersson to chip away at a tricky target: the different design goals between a more "Board Gamey" strategy game like Civilization and the "Simulationist" breed exemplified by Europa Universalis. We discuss what we like and don't like about each one, who the audiences are for each, and how to navigate the significant overlap in those audiences. In the end, maybe it's not as adversarial after all...

Three Moves Ahead 589: 'Board Game' vs 'Simulation'-style Strategy Games

This week, Len and Ian welcome military historian Brett Devereaux back to the show to talk about The Great War: Western Front. We discuss what it gets right and what it gets wrong about the trenches, artillery bombardments, and innovative tactics that eventually broke the stalemate. But at the end of the day, does the Western Front of World War I just suck as a setting for a strategy game?

Three Moves Ahead 588: The Great War: Western Front

This week, Rowan teams up with Fanbyte's Mike Williams and Kotaku's Luke Plunkett to discuss Terra Nil, a "city builder in reverse" about restoring the natural ecosystem of a devastated planet. We break down what makes this concept so compelling, feelgood, and relaxing, as well as what it could have done differently to fill a more simulationist niche.

Three Moves Ahead 587: Terra Nil

Bret Devereaux

Len and Ian are joined once again by our official unofficial historical consultant, UNC Chapel Hill's Dr. Bret Devereaux, to discuss a couple of interrelated topics: Snowballing in strategy games and the process of industrialization. We take a wide-ranging trek through games and history that touches on different ways developers have tried to put checks on snowballing, what factors prevented real societies from hitting that exponential growth until the 1800s, and which games portray it best. There's also a lot of chat on our exploits in the recent 1.2 patch for Victoria 3, because of course there would be.

Three Moves Ahead 586: Industrialization and Snowballing w/ Bret Devereaux

Three Moves Ahead is the leading strategy game themed podcast on the internet. Every week a panel of knowledgeable gamers with strong opinions meets to talk about the strategy and war games of the day, design issues and games in the wider world.

Top Shelf

Very well done - in-depth &amp; intelligent discussions.

Excellent Listening

Three Moves Ahead

Rowan Kaiser, Gita Jackson, and Jonathan Bolding join Troy "Why do I always have to clean the airlock" Goodfellow to talk about Rimworld. Rimworld joins a prestigious line of games in the relatively new genre of "It's like Dwarf Fortress, BUT - " by adding its own sci-fi survival twist. While still in Early Access, Rimworld has recently made its way to Steam to bring its procedurally-generated madness to the masses.

Three Moves Ahead 365: Rimworld

Troy "I hate that jerk-ass Montezuma" Goodfellow is joined by Rowan Kaiser, Fraser Brown, and David V. Heron to talk about one of the biggest strategy games of the year: Civilization VI. A new Civilization game is always a cause for celebration. But what has changed? What has remained? Is it a revolution or an evolution? In this case, it turns out to be more of the latter. It's a fun game, it has some great ideas, but at its core it remains the same Civilization game it has been for decades. But... is that a bad thing?

Three Moves Ahead 374: Civilization VI

Hey there, friend. How's it going? Have a seat here next to your Uncle Rob. You can have a sip of my brandy old fashioned if you don't tell your mom. Why the long face, ace? 2016 got you down? Yeah, it's been kind of a shit year. But that's okay, I've got good news: regardless of what's happened in the rest of the world, 2016 was one of the best years ever for strategy games. The number of quality releases is enough to keep anyone busy for the next decade. But Uncle Rob, Cousin Fraser, and Wacky Neighbor Rowan are here to guide you through the best games of the year and give their definitive, not hesitant at all lock-in picks for Strategy Game of the Year.

Three Moves Ahead 380: The Best Strategy Games of 2016

Sid Meier

The seas are rising. The air is getting worse. Rock bands are forming. Fraser, Sean Sands, and Troy "The Diplomatic Juggernaut" Goodfellow go for Just One More Turn (tm) with Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. In this, the "second Civ expansion that finally finishes the game", the player fights against other civilizations as well as an increasingly hostile Mother Earth. Gathering Storm is a worthy addition to the series, but where do we go from here? Certainly not beyond earth (cough), but with Civ as a whole?

Three Moves Ahead 462: Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm

Sega's not-really-World-War-II set in kinda-Europe returns in Valkyria Chronicles 4. Valkyria Chronicles marries tactical military gameplay with anime style and story. This extra long episode of 3MA, which features Rob, Heather Alexandra, and Austin Walker, covers a wide range of topics: Austin's definitive thesis on anime, Rob's complex feelings about Cowboy Bebop, problematic butt pats, the first episode of The Shield, and occasionally Valkyria Chronicles 4.

Three Moves Ahead 448: Valkyria Chronicles 4

Slay the Spire, a deckbuilding game that won't require you to take out a second mortgage on your house, has captivated the members of our panel. Its crisp gameplay and tight design has the internet abuzz, and it's quickly becoming the darling of the deckbuilding scene. It's so good it even got Julian back on the show! Listen in as Julian, Sean Sands, Austin Walker, and Troy "The rarest card in my booster was a swamp mana" Goodfellow as they talk about what keeps them coming back to Slay the Spire.

Three Moves Ahead 437: Slay the Spire

Forgive us. The title was Rowan's fault. Rob and Rowan have been playing Ultimate General: Civil War and Gettysburg: The Tide Turns, and those games have got them thinking about what they really, truly want from a Civil War wargame. Rowan talks about how he wants to feel like a commander in the field, dealing with the same uncertainty and dynamics that Civil War generals faced. Rob agrees, but also wants a game that feels roughly true to the historical record, yet also wants the capacity to be surprised. In other words, we want it all. Rowan also proposes that Sid Meier's Gettysburg, at this point, casts too long a shadow and its influence is stifling other approaches to tactical wargame design.

Three Moves Ahead 400: Dream Daddy Civil War

It's been a minute since we've talked about Crusader Kings 2, so why bring it up now? Holy Fury - the latest major DLC - is one of the most significant changes to date, moving CK2 even closer toward RPG than grand strategy game. Is this the expansion that restores Fraser's interest in the game? Is this really the last expansion? What is the future of CK2? Why does T.J. go on and on and on and on about succession laws? Can you really be a duck? T.J. and Fraser answer all these questions and more.

Three Moves Ahead 456: Crusader Kings 2: Holy Fury

Sean Sands from Gamers With Jobs joins Rob to talk about Europa Universalis IV. EUIV has seen several expansions and updates since its launch, and what used to be the undisputed flagship of the studio is fighting for top dog with Crusader Kings II. Sean has played just a few hours of EUIV and offers his insights into what the game has grown to be and why he keeps coming back.

Three Moves Ahead 291: Europa Universalis IV in 2015

Rob, Sean Sands, and Jonathan Bolding get together to talk about Star Wars: Rebellion. No, not that one, the board game one. Fantasy Flight's take on the Star Wars universe offers an asymmetrical experience in which the powerful Empire attempts to search for the scrappy Rebels across the galaxy.

Three Moves Ahead 385: Star Wars: Rebellion Board Game

Civilization VI is a complex game. Not in terms of its rules, or how it plays, but in the reaction it garners from fans and critics. Of course it's a good game. Is it a great game? What parts of it are great and what parts aren't? Does the latest expansion, Rise and Fall, change the things that are holding it back? That's a lot of questions. The good news is that Rob, Rowan, and Fraser take their sweet time answering them in this two hour episode that goes from the fundamental aspects of the game real-life politics. So, settle in for a long one as we go through Civilization VI: Rise and Fall.

Three Moves Ahead 423: Civilization VI: Rise and Fall

Cities: Skylines has continued to grow, adding expansions like so many strip malls to suburban hell. The latest DLC, Industries, shines a light on the utilitarian but necessary underbelly of any city: the industrial zone. But does Industries really capture the economic importance of production and mining? To answer this and other important questions, Rob and T.J. are joined by Justin Roczniak (donoteat01 on Youtube), who offers a comprehensive breakdown of the city building genre from an urban planning perspective.

Three Moves Ahead 451: Cities: Skylines - Industries

Michael Hermes joins Rob, Troy, and Julian to talk about FTL. Why FTL understands why we like space, its lovely simplicity, and why unfairness is cool. Read Troy on FTL, then read Rob on his rendezvous with death.

Michael Hermes joins Rob, Troy, and Julian to talk about FTL. Why FTL understands why we like space, its lovely simplicity, and why unfairness is cool.<br/><br/> <a href="http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2012/09/20/ftl/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read Troy on FTL</a>, then read Rob on his rendezvous with <a href="http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/122/1225788p1.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">death</a>.

Three Moves Ahead 187: Faster Than Light, Slower Than Death

This is, by far, the most drug-filled, corpse-ridden, communism-fueled episode of Three Moves Ahead yet. Cities: Skylines has quickly become the darling of the city management scene and Fraser Brown, Rowan Kaiser, Sean Sands, and Rob Zacny are here to tell you why.

Three Moves Ahead 298: Cities: Skylines

Harebrained Schemes' BATTLETECH is here and it has stomped its way into our hearts. The strategy game based on the PC simulations based on the RPG based on the tabletop game (or something like that) appeals to the more modern tactics fan and the Gen X supernerds that were there at the beginning. Rob, Rowan, Rob Daviau, and Jonathan Bolding discuss the merits of the game and come up with a strong recommendation for it despite some launch-time technical problems.

Three Moves Ahead 432: BATTLETECH

Rob welcomes freelancer Rowan Kaiser and designer Jon Shafer to talk about Crusader Kings 2. They swap stories, discuss the impact of making a family-based strategy game, and question whether there's all that much crusading going on here.

Rob welcomes freelancer <a href="http://renaissancegamer.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rowan Kaiser</a> and designer <a href="http://jonshaferondesign.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jon Shafer</a> to talk about Crusader Kings 2. They swap stories, discuss the impact of making a family-based strategy game, and question whether there's all that much crusading going on here.

Three Moves Ahead 163: Fifty, Alive, and King

Have you ever felt unable to articulate the gnawing doubt that paws at your mind as you play another 4X strategy game? Wondered at the tickle of weariness that plays at your mind as you once again discover Iron and go about the tedious work of upgrading your troops to Swordsman? Have you sighed deeply, closing out yet another Civilization run a mere five hours in, knowing that you'll never come back to it, finding it easier to start again on a vast, unspoiled continent before the crushing weight of despair will once again drive your game to a close?If so, this is the show for you! Rob and Troy are joined by game designer David Heron and freelance writer Austin Walker to talk about 4X games as a whole - what works, what doesn't, and why every damn conversation circles back to people looking for another Masters of Orion game.

Have you ever felt unable to articulate the gnawing doubt that paws at your mind as you play another 4X strategy game? Wondered at the tickle of weariness that plays at your mind as you once again discover Iron and go about the tedious work of upgrading your troops to Swordsman? Have you sighed deeply, closing out yet another Civilization run a mere five hours in, knowing that you'll never come back to it, finding it easier to start again on a vast, unspoiled continent before the crushing weight of despair will once again drive your game to a close?<br><br>If so, this is the show for you! Rob and Troy are joined by game designer David Heron and freelance writer Austin Walker to talk about 4X games as a whole - what works, what doesn't, and why every damn conversation circles back to people looking for another Masters of Orion game.

Three Moves Ahead 302: The 4X Genre

Rowan Kaiser and Fraser Brown fill in for an ailing Rob Zacny and talk about Age of Wonders 3. After a dearth of fantasy strategy games over the years, how does Age of Wonders 3 set alongside the Warlock series and the upcoming Endless Legend? Listen in as the phrase "dire penguin" is said on the show for the first time ever.

Three Moves Ahead 255: Wizard

Rowan, T.J., Jon, and Rob look back at 2019 and the games that most delighted or dismayed them.

Three Moves Ahead 487: Best of 2019

Rob and Troy welcome freelancer John Peter Grant to the show to talk about one of the greatest real-time strategy games ever made - Ensemble's Age of Mythology. The art, the story, the balance, the structure -- everything is examined in a deep and wide-ranging conversation about why this game still stands as a landmark title with a lot to teach the modern RTS developer and player.

Three Moves Ahead 195: Classic Game Analysis: Age of Mythology

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The Best Multi-Part Documentaries, with documentaries on Obama, Federer vs Nadal, the making of Star Wars, Netflix vs Blockbuster and more. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!