Podcast
Three Moves Ahead
Hosted by Idle Thumbs · EN
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.
14episodes
Episodes
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Three Moves Ahead 652: ZeroSpace Early Access Interview
1w ago01:13:56Tap to summarizeLen sits down with Game Director Marv Gouw and Consulting Art Director (and Relic co-founder) J. Aaron Kambeitz to talk about ZeroSpace, a new RTS inspired by the greats of the genre with BioWare-style cutscenes and story decisions. We dig into the odd place RTSes find themselves in the industry right now, how the "Homeworld look" relates to typefaces, and how the changes in the games industry today echo those the film industry went through decades ago.
Transcribe →Three Moves Ahead 651: Age of Empires II in 2026 feat. Hera
Jun 1201:00:39Tap to summarizeLen and DM are joined by the current Age of Empires II world champion, Hera, to discuss the state of the game in 2026. We try to explain its longevity, examine what it takes to be a top-level esports player, and discuss Hera's streamer invitational tournament, The King's Gauntlet.
Transcribe →Three Moves Ahead 650: Slay the Spire 2
May 1001:09:37Tap to summarizeLen and Jon are joined by PC Gamer's Evan Lahti to Slay the Spire once again in the roguelike deckbuilder sequel. We discuss why our intrepid host is so bad at this game, if she can even be helped, and what the wackiest combos we've seen so far look like.
Transcribe →Three Moves Ahead 649: Xenonauts 2
Apr 2301:13:09Tap to summarizeLen, Jon, and Sin gear up and get ready to die on the first turn to some BS in Xenonauts 2, a sequel to a throwback to a classic tactics game. We discuss how it stacks up to the old school UFO Defense, the Firaxis reboots, and the best Noah Wyle show, Falling Skies.
Transcribe →Three Moves Ahead 648: Heart of the Machine
Mar 2801:10:00Tap to summarize3MA is finally embracing AI! Okay, not really. But Len and Jon do have many thoughts about Heart of the Machine, a fascinating, story-driven strategy RPG about becoming the world's first sentient computer.
Transcribe →Three Moves Ahead 647.5: Len and D.M. Join the Yakuza (WtHTI Patreon Preview)
Mar 1401:02:16Tap to summarizeLen is joined by long-time friend and collaborator, real life video game lawyer D.M. Schmeyer, to reconnect over tales of nearly 30 years nerding out together and discuss what we're currently in to and up to. Games Discussed: The Necromancer's Tale Amorantus Esoteric Ebb
Transcribe →Three Moves Ahead 647: Menace Early Access
Feb 2201:10:22Tap to summarizeLen and Jon get tactical with the squad-based space marine (in the classical sense) platoon simulator, Menace. Because war is actually about Family.
Transcribe →Three Moves Ahead 646: Whiskerwood
Feb 601:19:39Tap to summarizeThis week, Rowan and Luke contemplate the inherent class struggle implied by feline-rodent relations in another delightful, furry-adjacent city builder with Whiskerwood. In this world, the cat tax doesn't simply mean posting a pet pic to thank people for reading your wall of text modding tutorial. It's wealth extracted from the whiskered workers by feline overlords in a distant land. The solution, once again, might be trains.
Transcribe →Three Moves Ahead 645: 2026 Look Ahead
Jan 2401:04:06Tap to summarizeLen and Brian "Chef Lu Bu" Smawley are joined by friend of the show Diana to peek into the near distance at the strategy games we're interested in that have announced or probable release dates in 2026. It's going to be another big year for city-builders! Also, is Total War 40K even a good idea? Games discussed: Total War: Warhamer 40,000, Dawn of War 4, Menace, Slay the Spire 2, Nova Roma, Norse: Oath of Blood, DarkSwitch, Battlestar Galactica: Shattered Hopes, Beyond These Stars, SkyRig, SpaceCraft, Game of Thrones: War for Westeros, Star Wars: Zero Company
Transcribe →Three Moves Ahead 644: 2025 Strategy Games of the Year
Jan 101:49:06Tap to summarizeLen, Mike, and Luke pop the champagne and discuss the Strategy Games of the Year for 2025. And we can't really talk about the year in strategy without dwelling on the big theme of Disappointment. But all is not woe, because we played plenty of stuff we loved this year, too! Stay tuned after the main show for a chunky, free preview of this year's final Patreon bonus episode! Games Discussed: Civilization 7, Endless Legend 2, Europa Universalis 5, Crusader Kings 3, Stormgate, Broken Arrow, Two Point Museum, Jurassic World Evolution 3, Burden of Command, Anno 117, Master of Command, Cataclismo, Tempest Rising, Phantom Brigade, 9 Kings, The King is Watching, Drillcore, Pioneers of Pagonia, The Great Villainness: Strategy of Lily, Heretic's Fork, Tavern Keeper
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