Hoi,

Zoals aangegeven in mijn Kahoot quiz 60, nam ik een klein rubriekje op voor de 400ste aflevering van de podcast The Spiel.

Hieronder de Engelse tekst voor de geïnteresseerden.

Hint: de tekst kan ook helpen bij het spelen van de quiz!

Link naar de quiz: https://www.bordspelmania.eu/spellen-en ... 32607.html

Erik
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Dear listeners of The Spiel

Here is Erik, board gamer and quizmaster from Belgium.

Congratulations to the Spiel for 400 episodes full of board game related fun!

I remember that I started listening a long time ago on my way to work. I spent around 2 hours per day in the train, so I had plenty of time to listen to The Spiel podcasts on my ipod (Yes, I am that old).

The segment that I liked most, was called ‘the game sommelier’. Here, every week, Dave or Stephen got a challenge to find five games to fit a situation set by the evil mind of the challenger.
In one of the episodes, for instance, Stephen had to find five non-classic games that he would still enjoy and that he would be able to play when he is 80 years old.
I still remember that I was happy to hear that GIPF, developed by a Belgian designer, was part of his list!
After some time, I even started sending Game Sommelier challenges by mail and I was always very happy to hear my challenge in one of the next podcasts.

When Stephen asked me to send a short segment for Episode 400, it was obvious for me to make my own game sommelier challenge:
Pick 5 Belgian cities of which you think that the Spiel listeners should know them and match these cities with 5 games from your collection.


As a first city, I took a city that is famous all over the world, even though many people will not know it is a Belgian city. You might know the word as a location or resort where mineral-rich spring water is used to give health treatments. The first city I picked is … Spa. Spa is indeed a Belgian city, of which the name dates from the Roman Empire. Spa is a nice example of a so called ‘eponym’. An eponym is a person, place, or thing after whom or which someone or something is named. In fact, in Belgium Spa is a double eponym: it is not only referring to a resort, but it is also a drink. If in a Belgian pub you order a ‘Spa’, you will get a mineral water. ‘Spa Red’ is sparkling water and ‘Spa Blue’ is still water.
The game that I match with Spa, is Formula Dé, a great board game from 1997 that uses custom dice to race on Formula 1 courses. Depending on which gear you are driving in, you will use a different die to decide how far your car goes. One of the expansions is called Spa-Francorchamps. Of all the circuits, this the highest user-rated circuit on Board Game Geek and also in real life, this Formula 1 circuit always offers nice races.


The second Belgian city, is the city Tournai (in French) or Doornik (in Dutch). Tournai is one of the oldest cities in Belgium and has played an important role in the country's cultural history. It was the first capital of the Frankish Empire, with Clovis I being born here. Clovis I was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes. Tournai is considered to be one of the most important cultural sites in Belgium. The cathedral of Notre Dame de Tournai and the belfry are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Tournai/Tournay is not only the name of a Belgian city, but also the name of a nice 2011 board game by Sébastien Dujardin, Xavier Georges, Alain Orban. These are the same developers that created a top 100 game you probably know better, called Troyes, named after the French city. What is very nice to know is that Tournay and Troyes are not only games from the same designers but in real life, it are also twin towns or sister cities! Isn’t this a fun fact!


For the third city, we leave the Southern, French speaking part of Belgium, called Wallonia and we move to the Northern, Dutch speaking part of Belgium, called Flanders. The city I want to tell you about is Ypres, or Ieper in Dutch.
Most people will know Ypres (or "Wipers" as it was commonly known by the British troops) from the First World War. It was the centre of the Battles of Ypres between German and Allied forces. During these battles, the German soldiers used for the first time Mustard gas, also called Yperite. The Third Battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele, resulted in nearly half a million casualties to all sides.
If you would visit Ypres, you certainly need to visit The Menin Gate Memorial. Every evening since 1929, at precisely eight o'clock, traffic around the Menin Gate Memorial has been stopped while the "Last Post" is performed in honour of the memory of British Empire soldiers who fought and died there.
The game I match with Ypres is obviously also linked to this first world war and is called The Grizzled. The Grizzled is a cooperative game about survival in the trenches during the first World War where players win or lose together. I have it in my collection, I have just read the rules and now I am very eager to play it. I also like the artwork, which is completely different compared to most of the board game artwork. Check it out on Board Game Geek!


Up to the next city. This is also a Flemish city, more specifically the city where I was born and where I live today. The city is called Hasselt and is located in the province of Limburg. Hasselt is known for a few things outside of Belgium, apart from the fact that the current Formula 1 world champion, Max Verstappen, was born here. Hasselt is also famous for its Jenever, a juniper-flavored traditional liquor.
In Hasselt, there is also a big Japanese garden, according to some sources even the biggest one in Europe. Its creation symbolised the friendship between the inhabitants of Hasselt and those of their Japanese sister city of Itami.
The game that I link to Hasselt is a nice little card game called Ohanami. It was created in 2019 by Stefann Bendorf and the goal of the game is to build the most Zen Japanese garden by collecting cards of just the right value. I was pleasantly surprised by this little gem and I think it is a nice addition for every game collection.


As fifth city, I have picked Ostend. Ostend is the largest city at the Belgian coast. In the Early Middle Ages, Ostend was a small village built on the east-end of an island in the North Sea and that is how the village got its name: Ostend is Dutch for East-end.
In Ostend you can visit a fort that was built by Napoleon to protect his territory against a British assault. So, in fact Napoleon wanted to protect Ostend against Raiders of the North Sea and that is also the name of the game that I have selected to match with Ostend. It is a game created in 2015 by Shem Phillips that I enjoy a lot. The game is set in the Viking Age. As Viking warriors, players seek to impress the Chieftain by raiding settlements.


Voila, that concludes my Sommelier challenge. I hope that I succeeded to make some of you curious enough to visit the 5 Belgian cities or to check out the 5 games that I match with these cities.

As mentioned at the start of my segment, I am also a quiz master. I post every week a board game inspired quiz on board game geek. These quizzes are appreciated a lot by many board game geeks. Stephen asked me if I could make a quiz for episode 400 and that is what I did. Stephen will inform you on how to find this quiz.

Are there any listeners from the Spiel that have already enjoyed one of my quizzes? That would be really cool! Please let me know by replying to one of my quizzes on Board Game Geek!


Have Fun Quizzing!

Erik

Chapeau Erik! Ook hier heb je weer een knap staaltje afgeleverd...

Leuk!

Intussen is de podcast online beschikbaar:

https://thespiel.net/node/1314