RDTN Episode 123: Lignum’s Long-Term Planning and Downforce’s Race-Day Guessing

The clearest takeaway from RDTN Episode 123 is that a demanding game can be easier to learn than it first appears. The hosts spend substantial time with Lignum, a deep Euro from Capstone Games, and their advice is practical: take a breath, set up the board, and play through a practice round. The rules make sense when you can see the choices in front of you. The bigger challenge comes afterward, when each decision needs to account for plans that reach beyond the current turn.

That distinction matters for players deciding whether to try a heavier game. The episode’s account doesn’t present Lignum’s complexity as a reason to stay away. Instead, it separates learning the rules from learning how to plan well. A guided walk through a “fake” round can make the board’s structure easier to read; the interesting work is then anticipating what you’ll need in later turns. For a group unsure about a dense Euro, that’s a useful way to approach the first play: treat the opening as a chance to understand the system before expecting every decision to be perfectly planned.

Downforce rewards the table’s predictions

Downforce, re-released by Restoration Games, offers a very different kind of table talk. The hosts describe it as a quick, enjoyable racing game where success involves guessing which racer will win. That makes the finish only part of the fun: players are also watching the race develop and considering whether their prediction will hold up.

The episode’s main qualification is player count. The hosts say it matters, and that more players make for a better experience. That’s useful context for groups weighing whether to bring it out: its appeal depends in part on having a lively field of competing predictions. The hosts report that it has yet to disappoint them, while still making clear that the number of people around the table can affect how well it works.

Restoration Games also re-released Indulgence, which gets its own discussion later in the episode. The source doesn’t provide a detailed explanation of its rules, so the episode guide is the best way to find the segment and hear the hosts’ full take. They’re also waiting to see the finished version of Stop Thief, with that release set to show whether the publisher can make it three successful reworks in a row, in their view.

A broad episode, with a useful listening guide

Episode 123 moves well beyond its longer discussions of Lignum, Downforce and Indulgence. The running order includes The Chameleon, a Plan B item linked to an announcement about Eggertspiele, and The Lost Expedition. It also touches on Funagain and Portal, the Broken Token, Game Toppers, Gen Con and Strike!, artist Fernanda Suárez, and the Scott King calendar.

The timestamps make it easy to jump to a topic without listening from the beginning. The Chameleon starts at 13:10, the Plan B item at 17:48, and Downforce at 23:25. Lignum gets the longest listed review segment, beginning at 29:33, followed by Indulgence at 54:18 and The Lost Expedition at 59:41. The contest begins at 1:04:26, while the later segments include Game Toppers at 1:06:56, Gen Con and Strike! at 1:11:25, Fernanda Suárez at 1:14:05, the calendar at 1:17:16, and Funagain at 1:20:37.

For listeners choosing where to start, Lignum is the most substantial stop: it’s the episode’s best discussion of how a game’s first impression can differ from the demands of play. Downforce offers the sharper recommendation, with one clear caveat about player count. And the rest of the schedule gives regular listeners plenty of smaller topics to browse. If Lignum looks intimidating on the table, the hosts’ practice-round suggestion is a good first move; if Downforce is on the shelf, gather a larger group and see how the predictions shape the race.

Listeners interested in the game giveaway can fill out the contest form.

Episode timestamps

Intro, 0:36; Splitter, 2:58; Funagain and Portal Back, 3:55; Apology #1, 5:39; Apology #2, 8:37; Really Again, 10:54; The Chameleon, 13:10; Plan B item, 17:48; It Arrived, 19:53; Downforce, 23:25; The Broken Token, 28:29; Lignum, 29:33; Indulgence, 54:18; Portal, 58:47; The Lost Expedition, 59:41; Contest, 1:04:26; Game Toppers, 1:06:56; Gen Con – Strike!, 1:11:25; Fernanda Suárez, 1:14:05; Outro, 1:15:00; Scott King Calendar, 1:17:16; Funagain, 1:20:37.