Paia Groject

ALL RIGHT, THIS EPISODE COMES LATE, BOTH BECAUSE IT HAS COME LATE, AND ALSO BECAUSE WE PROMISED THE FIRAKS GUIDE A LONG TIME AGO BUT NEVER DELIVERED. UNTIL NOW, THAT IS. LOOK AT THIS. AN ALMOST TWO-HOUR EPISODE, SUPER DETAILED, AND WITH MOLFO BACK BEHIND THE MICROPHONES. YOU REALLY COULDN'T ASK FOR MORE. EVERYONE KNOWS WE HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR FIRAKS HERE AT PAIA GROJECT AND THIS EPISODES IS OUR TRIBUTE TO THE OCTOPUSS... THE OCTOPI... THE OCT... THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BESCODS BOARD. ENJOY!

00.00 INTRODUCTION - COULD IT BE TRUE, MOLFO'S ACTUALLY BACK? (ALSO VERY BAD JOKES ABOUT WW2 GERMAN GENERALS, AND THEN AT A CERTAIN POINT WE TALK ABOUT FIRAKS)

08.45 FACTION DESCRIPTION

16.00 FIRAKS & THE MAP

22.35 FIRAKS & FINAL SCORING OBJECTIVES

33.40 FIRAKS & THE TECH TRAKS

43.50 FIRAKS' OPENINGS

53.35 FIRAKS & ROUND SCORING BONUSES

1.03.25 FIRAKS & ADVANCED TECH TILES

1.19.45 FIRAKS & BASIC TECH TILES

1.24.50 FIRAKS & QIC ACTIONS

1.30.20 FIRAKS & ROUND BOOSTERS - WHOOPS WE HAVE A SCORING PROBLEM

1.42.10 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS - YEAH, WE HAVE A SCORING PROBLEM

Molfo is still gone, and this time you'll have to endure Matteo babbling one hour and a half about how to appraise a game setup (or at least, how he does it), how to pick a faction, and then a thorough review of his decisions.

And yes, it's a Bal T'Aks game. Life's weird, huh?

00.00 INTRODUCTION: WE'VE MOMENTARILY LOST MOLFO - BUT YOU'LL BARELY NOTICE: WELCOME BABBUC!

03.35 FACTION DESCRIPTION

06.30 THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE OF GAIA PROJECT: TWO MAIN XENOS STRATEGIES

09.50 XENOS & THE MAP

16.35 XENOS & FINAL SCORING OBJECTIVES

20.40 XENOS & THE TECH TRACKS

24.00 XENOS & ADVANCED TECH TILES

28.10 INTERLUDE: IS IT POSSIBLE TO OPEN WITH AN ACADEMY?

29.50 AAAND WE'RE BACK TO ADVANCED TECH TILES

37.00 AAAAAND NOW WE'RE BACK TO ADVANCED TECH TILES - THE MATRIOSHKA DOLL EPISODE

52.25 XENOS & BASIC TECH TILES

1.00.10 WHICH BRINGS US TO THE QUESTION: HOW MANY FEDERATIONS WITH XENOS?

1.07.35 XENOS & QIC ACTIONS

1.11.40 XENOS & ROUND SCORING BONUSES

1.19.25 XENOS & ROUND BOOSTERS

1.23.25 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS - NOW WE UNDERSTAND XENOS (POSSIBLY)

1.28.10 BUT WHO IS THIS BABBUC AGAIN? TWITCHING GAIA PROJECT, AND SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ONLINE GAIA COMMUNITY

IMPORTANT NOTE: Boardgame Arena has implemented the variable map method Babbuc hopes for! Great job as always, BGA, and thank you to the developers!

Ok, this had to happen: Christmas is just behind us, and since we are still in magic Christmas Land, even Bal T'Aks can find a place here at Paia Groject.

So listen to it if you're planning on playing them (or if you want to hear a lot about QICs), but be careful: outside of the magic of Christmas you... might not get the best results from them?

00.00 INTRODUCTION - THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS (AND HORRIBLE DELAYS IN DELIVERING THIS EPISODE)

05.09 FACTION DESCRIPTION (HOW IS THE FACTION NAME PRONOUNCED?)

06.00 OK, ACTUAL FACTION DESCRIPTION

13.54 BAL T'AKS & THE MAP

21.55 BAL T'AKS & FINAL SCORING OBJECTIVES

31.20 BAL T'AKS & THE GAIA TRACK - GAIAFORMERS AND QICs TIPS

37.00 BAL T'AKS & QIC ACTIONS (SPOILER: HADSCH HALLAS ARE BETTER)

45.45 BAL T'AKS & THE TECH TRACKS (GUESS WHAT? MORE GAIA AND QICs)

52.58 BAL T'AKS & ADVANCED TECH TILES (ON TOP OF THE GAIA TRACK)

1.04.20 BAL T'AKS & BASIC TECH TILES

1.15.05 BAL T'AKS & ROUND SCORING BONUSES

1.22.38 BAL T'AKS & ROUND BOOSTERS - ALSO TIPS FOR FEDERATION FORMING

1.33.50 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS - NOBODY FEARS BAL T'AKS

1.39.00 CHATTING ABOUT THE 2ND EASTERN HEMISPHERE GAIA TOURNAMENT - EURAFRASIAN EDITION

1.43.10 THE 2022 PAIA GROJECT TOURNAMENT(?)

Yes, we promised a Firak guide and instead you get Bescods. But look on the bright side, it's a great Bescods guide. Also, they're both grey, so you'll barely notice the difference.

00.00 INTRODUCTION (STILL ON THE INTERVIEW WITH HELGE, AND GHOSTLY'S INFOGRAPHICS)

04.40 SO, HERE COMES THE FIRAKS GUIDE...

06.40 ...EXCEPT IT'S BESCODS, PLOT TWIST! FACTION DESCRIPTION

24.00 BESCODS & THE MAP

32.15 BESCODS & FINAL SCORING OBJECTIVES

41.50 BESCODS & THE TECH TRACKS AND OPENINGS

1.01.45 BESCODS & ADVANCED TECH TILES

1.11.30 BESCODS & BASIC TECH TILES

1.21.30 BESCODS & ROUND SCORING BONUSES

1.28.25 BESCODS & ROUND BOOSTERS

1.35.20 BESCODS & POWER/QIC ACTIONS

1.40.30 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

1.44.50 CHATTING ABOUT THE 2ND EASTERN EMISPHERE GAIA TOURNAMENT - EURAFRASIAN EDITION

1.47.30 EVEN MORE RUMORS ABOUT THE FORTHCOMING GP EXPANSION

Ghostly's "Paia Groject Strategy Deck": https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2772018/paia-groject-strategy-deck

Simone's Bescods game where you can see some of the strategies discussed in this episode (three steps on the science track round 1; two academies built round 6; 3 points per lab adv tech tile on the top of the navigation track): https://www.boardgamers.space/game/AllaFieraDelBesc

Matteo's Firaks game in the tournament: https://www.boardgamers.space/game/EurAfrAsia-CUP-Group-E-2

We did it! We incredibly, amazingly did it! We managed to bring Helge Ostertag in front of  Paia Groject's microphones, and had a long chat with him about the game, its past, present and future. We dicussed playtest, balancing, and the much-anticipated expansion for the game. So what are you waiting for, dive right in, and as usual, give us you feedbacks here, via email, or on the Boardgamers Gaia discord!

00.00 INTRODUCTION

02.35 WHY GAIA PROJECT? A SEQUEL TO TERRA MYSTICA

06.25 HELGE'S FAVOURITE ELEMENTS OF THE GAME

08.10 HOW WERE THE FACTIONS IN GP BALANCED?

12.10 DISCUSSING SOME OF THE FACTIONS (LANTIDS, ITARS, FIRAKS, BALTAKS)

23.00 HELGE'S & THE META (INCLUDING ARUN'S STATISTICS!)

25.00 HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO DESIGN GP AND TERRA MYSTICA?

27.40 DOES HELGE STILL PLAY GAIA PROJECT?

29.15 SOME UNEXPECTED DIRECTIONS THAT GP TOOK AFTER ITS RELEASE

32.00 IS BALANCING REALLY A THING?

35.15 WHAT IS THE EXPANSION GOING TO DO TO THE OVERALL BALANCE OF THE GAME?

37.40 NEW ELEMENTS IN THE EXPANSION

45.00 THE FOUR NEW FACTIONS

50.25 HOW DOES ONE GET TO BE A PART OF THE PLAYTEST FOR THE EXPANSION?

53.45 HUGE THANKS TO HELGE AND JENS, THE CREATORS OF THE BEST GAME OF ALL TIMES!

You can view the components Helge showed us here:

In this episode we discuss round scoring bonuses, a core component of the game, and one whose importance is often overlooked. Luckily, the Paia Groject podcast is about to change this forever...

We hope you enjoy the episode, please give us you feedback here, via email, or on the Boardgamers Gaia discord!

00.00 INTRODUCTION AND FEEDBACK ON PREVIOUS EPISODES

05.30 REMEMBER THAT THE HELGE EPISODE IS COMING NEXT WEEK!

06.50 MATTEO'S CAT MAKES SOME NOISES, THEN ROUND SCORING BONUSES: AN OVERVIEW

17.20 POINTS-PER-GAIA-PLANET ROUND SCORING BONUSES

29.10 POINTS-PER-MINE ROUND SCORING BONUS

32.20 POINTS-PER-TERRAFORMING-STEP ROUND SCORING BONUS

41.20 POINTS-PER-TRADING-STATION ROUND SCORING BONUSES

53.20 POINTS-PER-LARGE-BUILDING ROUND SCORING BONUSES

1.00.20 POINTS-PER-TECH-ADVANCEMENT

1.06.00 POINTS-PER-FEDERATION-TOKEN ROUND SCORING BONUS

1.22.10 SUMMING UP

1.23.20 UPDATES ON THE ONGOING EURAFRASIAN GAIA TOURNAMENT

Happy belated Halloween everyone! We're back with our spookiest guide yet, here come the Nevlas!

00.00 INTRODUCTION
01.25 FEEDBACK AND ERRATA ON PREVIOUS EPISODES (this is mostly us self-congratulating)
06.00 FACTION DESCRIPTION
11.10 MANAGING THE NEVLAS' POWER CYCLE
25.00 NEVLAS & THE MAP
29.30 NEVLAS & FINAL SCORING OBJECTIVES
41.30 NEVLAS & ROUND SCORING BONUSES
43.55.NEVLAS & BASIC TECH TILES
49.00 NEVLAS & ADVANCED TECH TILES
55.50 NEVLAS & THE TECH TRACKS
1.07.05 NEVLAS & ROUND BOOSTERS
1.13.00 NEVLAS' ROUND1 AND OPENINGS
1.18.50 NEVLAS IN THE MID- AND LATE GAME
1.20.30 NEVLAS & THE QIC ACTIONS
1.22.30 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

1.25.20 CHATTING ABOUT THE 2ND EASTERN EMISPHERE GAIA TOURNAMENT - EURAFRASIAN EDITION

In case you are still craving for some discussion about statistics in Gaia Project, even after all the wonderful threads that Arun (AKA Roadrunner19) has opened on BGG, we decided to directly invite him to Paia Groject, and have a little chat with him about the work he's been doing and what all of this means. So sit down, relax, and enjoy the chat with this episode's guest star!

00.00 - INTRODUCING OUR AMAZING GUEST
03.10 - ERRATA ABOUT THE GEODEN'S EPISODE
08.10 - THEN WE GO OFF TOPIC AND WE ASK ARUN ABOUT HIS GAMING GROUP
11.20 - BACK ON TRACK: INTRODUCING GP STATISTICS
15.30 - OVERALL AIM OF THE STATISTICS PROJECT
20.30 - HOW TO COLLECT A CLEAN DATASET
28.05 - FACTION TIER LIST
39.55 - WHERE DO POINTS COME FROM IN GP?
43.15 - WHAT IS THE RIGHT WAY TO LOOK AT GP STATISTICS AND HOW USEFUL THEY ACTUALLY ARE
1.02.35 - FREE ACCESS TO THE DATASET
1.04.40 - PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
1.09.55 - ENOUGH WITH STATISTICS: AN EXPANSION FOR GP IS (SLOWLY) ON ITS WAY!
1.12.55 - UPDATES ON THE 2ND EASTERN EMISPHERE GAIA TOURNAMENT - EURAFRASIAN EDITION

Arun's massive work:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2720930/navigating-through-statistics-explaining-gaia-proj

Ooops, we did it again! Here comes yet another faction guide. Today we extensively discuss Geodens (and when we say extensively, we mean it: we were in a bit of a chatty mood). Also, feedback & errata are back, and if you live to get to the end of this episode, you will also get some update about the currently ongoing EurAfrAsian Torunament!

00.00 INTRODUCTION
01.35 FEEDBACK AND ERRATA ON PREVIOUS EPISODES (auctions & lantids)

11.50 FACTION DESCRIPTION (ok, first a discussion about cogs, then faction description)
18.40 GEODENS & THE MAP
25.45 GEODENS & ROUND BOOOSTERS
33.35 GEODENS & ROUND SCORING BONUSES
41.45 GEODENS & FINAL SCORING OBJECTIVES
51.10 GEODENS & THE TECH TRACKS
1.08.00 GEODENS & BASIC TECH TILES
1.10.25 GEODENS & ADVANCED TECH TILES
1.21.40 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

1.23.50 CHATTING ABOUT THE 2ND EASTERN EMISPHERE GAIA TOURNAMENT - EURAFRASIAN EDITION

Did you know that the Gaia Project International Tournament just took place?

Since the chance was too good not to catch, we invited the organizer, Marco/ZeroCool, to talk with us about how the tournament went, and where his next big tournaments are going; our chat resulted in a very relaxed and special episode, which we hope you’ll enjoy as well.

Oh, and we also had to opportunity to ask something to the winner of the tournament…

(Sorry for the lack of errata, they will return in the next episode)

02:40 - TOURNAMENT DURATION, PARTICIPANTS, AND TIMING ISSUES

09:14 - TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE: NUMBER OF GAMES, TABLE FORMATION, AND SCORING RATIONALE

13:02 - TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE: GAMES AND FACTION PICKING MECHANISM

14:25 - PROS AND CONS OF AUCTIONS IN TOURNAMENTS (AND NOT)

26:14 - IMPRESSIONS ABOUT FACTION PICKS

31:10 - REPORT FROM THE WINNER OF THE TOURNAMENT

38:45 - INTERESTING DYNAMICS WHICH SHOWED UP IN THIS COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT

45:00 - FUTURE PERSPECTIVES FOR FUTURE TOURNAMENTS

52:42 - A SHOUTOUT TO A FRIEND IN POLAND

We're back with a second faction guide! Dive with us into the depths of the Lantids' ocean, but be careful: that ocean could easily turn into an abyss, a very deep and desperate, cold, unloving abyss from which there is no escape. So make sure to follow our tips to get the best out of your dolphin games!

We hope you enjoy the episode, please give us you feedback here, on the dedicated thread on BoardGamesGeek, or on the Boardgamers Gaia discord!

00.00 INTRODUCTION
01.45 FEEDBACK AND ERRATA ON PREVIOUS EPISODES
09.20 WE'RE NEVER GOING TO SAY "QUICK"
10.30 FACTION DESCRIPTION
16.00 LANTIDS IN ROUND ONE: MANAGING YOUR POWER CYCLE
21.40 LANTIDS & THE MAP
29.50 LANTIDS & FINAL SCORING OBJECTIVES
31.05 LANTIDS IN ROUND ONE: THE PERFECT LANTID OPENING
36.10 LANTIDS & ROUND BOOSTERS
42.45 LANTIDS & THE TECH TRACKS
45.45 LANTIDS & ADVANCED TECH TILES
50.00 LANTIDS'S ROUND TWO AND MID-GAME
56.00 LANTIDS & BASIC TECH TILES
1.01.20 LANTIDS & ROUND SCORING BONUSES
1.07.10 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

While you wait for the next episode, come play with us (Molfo and El Temblo) on BGS: https://www.boardgamers.space.

Feedback and contact: paiagroject@gmail.com

Gaia "Fight Club" Discord server: https://discord.gg/TsNX9epNUp

In this episode we discuss one of the core components of the game: advanced tech tiles. ATT represent one of the main source of victory points in Gaia Project, and as such it is vital for players to learn how to deal with them. Once more, the Paia Groject podcast is here to save the day!

We hope you enjoy the episode, please give us you feedback here, on the dedicated thread on BoardGamesGeek, or on the Boardgamers Gaia discord!

00.00 INTRODUCTION, INVERTED CONSONANTS, AND THE NUMBER FIVETEEN

03.00 INSTANT SCORING ADVANCED TECH TILES

20.20 POINTS PER BUILDING ADVANCED TECH TILES

33.20 RESOURCES ADVANCE TECH TILES

44.20 END OF ROUND SCORING & 2 POINTS PER ADVANCEMENT ADVANCED TECH TILES

The fourth episode of Paia Groject features the first of our amazing faction guides! For this debut, we picked everyone's favourite faction: the Gleens!

[warning: sarcasm detected].

In this episode we will discuss what we think are the two main strategies that players can adopt when using this faction, that is, Gaiforming Gleens and Non-Gaiaforming Gleens (with a focus on the latter).

We hope you enjoy the episode, please give us you feedback here, on the dedicated thread on BoardGamesGeek, or on the Boardgamers Gaia discord!

00.00 INTRODUCTION
03.45 FACTION DESCRIPTION
11.45 TWO POSSIBLE GLEEN STRATEGIES: TO GAIAFORM OR NOT TO GAIAFORM?
15.10 GLEENS & THE MAP
29.50 GLEENS & FINAL SCORING OBJECTIVES
32.40 GLEENS & THE TECH TRACKS
41.30 GLEENS & ADVANCED TECH TILES
46.12 GLEENS & BASIC TECH TILES
56.55 GLEENS & ROUND SCORING BONUSES (AKA: HOW TO WIN WITH GLEENS)
1.09.40 GLEENS & ROUND BOOSTERS
1.20.30 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

And now, for something completely different.

For our third episode, we followed your suggestions and analyzed the map of Gaia Project in its various aspects, sector by sector, color by color, faction by faction. We even added a guide for the "Last Player Rotates Sectors" option, because we're willing to walk that extra mile.
Leave your comments on the episode here, on BGG, or on the discord!

00.00 INTRODUCTION AND ERRATA
06.20 ANALYZING THE MAP AT THE START OF THE GAME
18.40 GRAY PLANETS AND FACTIONS
30.00 BROWN PLANETS AND FACTIONS
37.55 YELLOW PLANETS AND FACTIONS
45.10 ORANGE PLANETS AND FACTIONS
51.45 RED PLANETS AND FACTIONS
1.01.30 BLUE PLANETS AND FACTIONS
1.10.55 WHITE PLANETS AND FACTIONS
1.18.10 ROTATING SECTORS
1.27.20 CONCLUSION

This is the second and final part of our "tier list" episode (which is, in fact, two episodes, because we talk too much). We have finally arrived at tiers 1 and 2, and so this episode is focused on the 5 most powerful factions. But are they really? Hit us with your thoughts and comments here, or via BGG, Discord, and homing pigeon.

00.00 INTRODUCTION
01.05 ERRATA ON FACTION RANKINGS - PART ONE
16.15 TIER 2
17.37 Terrans
24.42 Ambas
31.37 Itars
39.07 TIER ONE
39.37 Ivits
51.37 Taklons
1.06.38 UNTIL NEXT EPISODE...

Rankings! All Gaia Project fans love discussing about factions... and so do we!

For our first episode(s), we divided the factions into 5 tiers: here you'll find what we think are the three "worst" ones (plot twist: Gleens are not among the worst of worst!), along with an overview of their playstyle and potential, and what we think "worse" and "better" mean. Let us know what you think about our ideas, and brace yourself for the next episode, where we will unveil tiers 1 and 2!

00.00 INTRODUCTION
06.56 TIER 5
07.44 Lantids
11.38 Bal T'aks
22.52 TIER 4
24.32 Geodens
27.20 Xenos
29.48 Hadsch Hallas
34.16 Bescods
41.28 TIER 3
42.25 Gleens
51.33 Firaks
57.00 Nevlas
1.05.00 UNTIL NEXT EPISODE...