Episode 368: Night Soil, Mini Express, Tulip Bubble, Ichor

00:00:40 Intro 00:05:50 Movie Talk 00:08:15 Holiday Games (https://www.miniaturemarket.com/Magic...) 00:12:30 Things in Rings (https://www.miniaturemarket.com/thing...) 00:15:30 Blood on the Rails 00:16:45 Ichor (https://www.miniaturemarket.com/Ichor...) 00:19:00 PSA Time 00:23:00 Miniature Market (https://miniature-market.sjv.io/xkNPev) 00:25:00 Night Soil (https://www.grailgames.games/our-game...) 00:41:00 Tulip Bubble (https://www.miniaturemarket.com/tulip...) 00:57:30 Portal Games (https://shopportalgames.com/) 00:58:30 Mini Express (https://www.miniaturemarket.com/mini-...) 01:11:00 Outro Every so often, a set of games lands on the table that feels like a curated journey through time and that is what we got in this episode. First up is Night Soil where we are basically poop pushers through the streets of London in the 15th century. This game cleverly challenges players with a worker placement style of game that can fill both rewarding and frustrating at the same time. Then comes Tulip Bubble, which flips the tone entirely. Gone is the damp, stinky sewers—now you’re in the bustling markets of 17th‑century Holland, chasing fortunes in the most famous economic bubble in history. The game thrives on timing, speculation, and reading your opponents as much as the market itself. Prices rise, collapse, and ricochet with emotional volatility, and every round feels like a miniature psychological standoff. It’s fast, sharp, and deliciously stressful in the best way. Rounding out the games are Mini Express and Ichor, two games that couldn’t be more different yet both deliver rich strategic tension. Mini Express is a lean, elegant rail game built on shared incentives: every track you lay and every share you take strengthens someone else as much as you. It’s a puzzle of timing, tempo, and subtle positioning. Ichor, on the other hand, plunges players into a Greek mythology world where asymmetric power challenges players in an Othello style game. Its resource‑driven push‑and‑pull creates a brooding atmosphere, rewarding ambition while constantly reminding you that brillant flashes of strategy can suddenly disappear before your next turn. Together, these four games form a wonderfully varied journey each offering its own flavor of tension and delight.