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.
12episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Three Moves Ahead 650: Slay the Spire 2
4w ago01:09:37Tap 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
Transcribe →Three Moves Ahead 643: 2025 Catch-Up
Dec 1301:14:36Tap to summarizeLen, Nerium, and Mike kick back to highlight some of our favorite strategy and non-strategy games of 2025 that didn't make it to a full episode. There were how many Roman city-builders this year? And yes, sports management games do count as strategy. Even that one. Games discussed: Nova Roma Look Outside Lisa the Painful Total War Warhammer: Tides of Torment Skin Deep Ambrosia Sky Demonschool Phantom Brigade Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream Crusader Kings 3: All Under Heaven Mount & Blade 2: War Sails Cities Skylines 2 Victoria 3: Iberian Twilight Death Howl Heroes of Might & Magic: The Olden Era The Case of the Golden Idol Enigma Trilogy
Transcribe →Three Moves Ahead 642: Anno 117: Pax Romana
Nov 2201:12:18Tap to summarizeLen and Jon are joined by But Why Tho?'s Kate Sánchez and CGMagazine's Dayna Eileen to build Rome in a day with Anno 117: Pax Romana. We discuss the series history and our jumping-on points with it, what's different about this one, and how it serves as an interesting lens through which to view the height of the Imperial Era.
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