Res Arcana, Robinson Crusoe: Mystery Tales and Space Base Saga Lead RDTN Episode 170

Episode 170 puts five games on the table, with conversation ranging from resource conversion and cooperative adventure to cartoon nostalgia. The standout design contrast is between Res Arcana’s tactical resource play and Robinson Crusoe: Mystery Tales, where a team’s earlier successes and failures carry into later adventures. The episode also looks at The Emergence of Shy Pluto, the first story-based Saga Expansion for Space Base.

Resource choices in Res Arcana

Res Arcana is recommended for players who enjoy the resource-conversion mechanics found in Century Spice Road. The basic loop is easy to follow: gather resources, use them to acquire cards, and put those cards to work producing or changing resources until you can earn victory points.

The difference, as the hosts describe it, is that Res Arcana gives players more ways to alter their plans as the game develops. Distinct player powers and cards can shape a strategy, while some mechanics let players affect one another. That gives the resource puzzle a more interactive edge than a simple chain of collecting and converting. Players who like planning an efficient route to points may find that the other players’ options make flexibility just as valuable as efficiency.

The episode’s segment list places Res Arcana at 32:07. It follows discussion of Robinson Crusoe: Mystery Tales and Portal, and comes before the conversation about Wacky Races.

Robinson Crusoe carries the story forward

Robinson Crusoe: Mystery Tales brings the group back to a cooperative survival adventure, with a key difference from the base game: results carry forward from one adventure to the next. The hosts say that makes careful planning and cooperation even more important. A decision’s impact can extend beyond the current challenge, so the group has to think about what it can manage now and what it may need later.

The episode describes the expansion as having a legacy feel, though the hosts note that it doesn’t use that label. Their point is about continuity: the team’s earlier successes and failures matter as the adventures progress. That structure can change the way a group weighs risk. A setback isn’t just something to recover from in the moment; it becomes part of the run the players are carrying forward.

The hosts give the adventure a suitably ominous send-off, hoping the group avoids going insane and being hunted by its own returning characters. For players considering the expansion, the practical takeaway is to bring a cooperative mindset and treat planning as a shared responsibility. The segment begins at 26:53.

Cartoon memories and racing

Wacky Races and Challenge of the Superfriends prompt a detour into Saturday morning cartoon memories. The hosts acknowledge that nostalgia takes up room in this part of the episode before they get down to discussing the games. Wacky Races appears at 38:05, followed by a separate cartoon nostalgia segment at 46:00; Challenge of the Superfriends arrives at 56:09.

That gives the episode a lighter stretch between its more involved conversations about resource planning, cooperative play and an expansion with a narrative structure. The show’s framing is personal: these titles bring the hosts back to the cartoons they watched as children. For listeners, the appeal may be as much in hearing the group revisit those memories as in the game discussion itself.

A story-based addition for Space Base

Marty is joined by Vanessa and Adam to discuss the new expansion for Space Base, a title the hosts count among their favorite games from the previous year. The expansion, The Emergence of Shy Pluto, is described by AEG as the first installment in the game’s “Saga Expansions.” It adds a collection of story-based scenarios, bringing new content into play through a narrative structure.

New ships and scenarios are part of the package. After completing the story, players can replay it or add the contents to the Space Base base set. That gives groups two ways to approach the material: follow the scenarios as a connected experience, then decide whether the new components fit into their regular games. The episode flags Vanessa’s enthusiasm with a spoiler alert: she really likes it. The discussion starts at 1:03:51.

For players who enjoy a familiar game gaining new options, the useful detail is that the story doesn’t have to be a one-time visit. The expansion’s contents can return to the base set after the story is complete, so groups can keep using what they’ve encountered. The episode doesn’t provide further details about the ships or scenario rules, leaving those specifics for the table.

What else is on the episode

The full rundown begins with an introduction at 00:42 and a Podpledge announcement at 08:00. At 20:37, the hosts discuss the Raccoon Tycoon expansion. After the main game segments, the schedule includes contest results at 58:36 and a discussion of The Broken Token at 1:02:42.

Later, the episode turns to Vorpal at 1:13:00, Homage to Ashes at 1:16:10 and a Play By Forum update at 1:18:19, before a Miniature Market segment at 1:21:52. The show closes by inviting listeners back in two weeks for the two-player game Nagaraja and Star Wars Outer Rim. For this episode, the most useful thread to follow is how different kinds of continuity shape play: resources that build toward points, decisions that carry between adventures and a story that can feed new pieces back into a game.