• Designer/self-publisher Bernd Eisenstein of Irongames seems to have his niche — Greek and Roman era games that play with up to five (a number seemingly ignored by larger German publishers) and that start with the letter "P" — and his Panthalos for Spiel 2014 fits that bill to a P.
• One thing that you miss in these game demonstration videos from Spiel 2014 is the name pronunciation practice that comes right before we start the actual demonstration. I believe that I said "Arnaud Ladagnous" a half-dozen times before each of the videos that I recorded with him, including this explanation of his Agents Secrets from Playad Games.
• While editing the game description in the BGG database for Henri Kermarrec's Boom Bokken from Playad Games, I remember wondering how it even worked as a game. I just couldn't imagine the flow of everything and how the game would play out. Then I did this demonstration video in the BGG booth with Playad's Arnaud Ladagnous and it all made sense. Three weeks later, I'm back to wondering how it would work. You need to actually play something to hammer in those memories!
• Ladagnous' New York Kings, the first release from Playad Games in 2012, has a hugely different look and feel from Boom Bokken, but players in both games will find their characters take out of play, despite their best efforts to keep everyone safe. Sometimes you have to put up with a few losses, even though you'd prefer to be dishing them out instead...