Start the game already!
Start the game already!
Christian Toth
Podcast about all things Age of Empires II: eSport, History, Campaigns, Strategy Talk, Civilizations and much more! This feed contains mainly English epidoses with the occasional german episode inbetween.
[ENG] Magazine Ep. #08 January 2026
Welcome back to another episode of the Age of Empires Magazine! Once again, I am joined by Daniela!We’ve got exciting topics to discuss, starting of course with the sixth edition of King of the Desert and a recent update with balance changes from the 2nd of december. We’ve also got a couple of Franchise News, because the South AmericaDLC has been announced for AoE II and is coming to the game in February 2026. As is the theme with our Franchise, if one game get’s something new, another game probably has something similar in store and that’s true for Age of Mythology and Age of Empires IV. We’ll finish up the episode with some emails and the tournament outlook for January 2026, where we’ll talk about the RB Wololo Ladder Qualifier and TTL Season 5. I’d also like to mention that we recorded this podcast just before the News about GL and their members have dropped, so there is no mentioning of that in this episode.Please check out ⁠⁠Daniela over at Twitch⁠⁠: ⁠⁠https://www.twitch.tv/daniela_aoe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠Timecodes:00:00 Programme02:30 News02:12:54 Franchise News02:26:45 Podcast News & Emails02:39:25 Tournament Outlook January 2026Links:⁠King of the Desert VI⁠Danielas Statement of MMBalance Changes⁠AoE 2025 Review⁠⁠TTL 5RB Wololo Ladder Qualifier
Jan 2
3 hr 3 min
[GER] Tafelrunde #29: Wie soll man da noch spielen?
Macht euch bereit für einen Podcast, bei dem wir uns so richtig alt fühlen. Alles ist neu und unübersichtlich: AoE II verändert sich mit Phosphoru Rushes, Stand Ground Patrols und der Siegetower Meta. World of Warcraft ist überhaupt nicht mehr das, was es einmal war und ist kaum wieder zu erkennen. Und wenn Felix einfach mal ne Runde Hitman spielen will, scheitert er daran, weil er den Überblick über die verschiedenen Spieleversionen nicht bekommt. Christian hat wurde außerdem von Europa Universalis gemobbt. Klingt alles scheiße, aber lass euch nicht beirren, denn in Wahrheit haben wir gerade ziemlich viel Spaß mit unseren Spielen!Viel Spaß beim Hören!Felix & Christian⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠Musik: Joey Jojo vom offiziellen AoE II: DE OST.
Dec 29, 2025
1 hr 1 min
[ENG] Civilizations #05: Celts
Well, this episode is all about the Celts. But who were the Celts, really? If you're asking the Devs, it seems the answer is: whatever was shown in the movie Braveheart! For a game drawing inspiration from history, the Celts do seem like the odds one out. Sloppy research, a lousy tutorial campaign and underwhelming tech tree make it hard for the Celts to really shine amongst the many civilizations in the game, despite looking back to more than 25 years of AoE II history. Of course, being an infantery civilization doesn't make things any easier. If it weren't for Hoang, maybe the Celts would've been completely forgotten. Well, don't shed your tears just yet, I'm here to save the day and tell you everything I could uncover about the Celts, including some fun facts from what the Celts were first invisioned by the Devs, before they became the Civ we know today. I hope you enjoy this episode!ChrisTalk to the community on:⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠Timecodes:00:00 Introduction05:43 Wood bonus14:47 Faster moving infantery18:54 Stealing herdables22:40 Faster firing siege & Team bonus30:15 Furor Celtica 35:58 Strongholds40:28 Woad Raider50:35 Strategies & army compositions01:11:25 CampaignMusic: Celts Intro Music and "Operation Monkey" of the official AoE II SoundtrackLinks:Computer Gaming World MuseumCeltic Life InternationalBraveheart Critique bei Sharon KrossaOriginal Handbook of Age of KingsCattle Raids
Dec 18, 2025
1 hr 24 min
[ENG] Magazine Ep. #07 December 2025
Once again I am joined by Daniela in this Podcast!This month was much more quiet than the last month, but there’s still some interesting topics to discuss. We’ll start off with Thalassocracy Cup 2, which has just concluded last night at the time of this recording. The Bronze League of TTL 5 has also finished up determining who will get into the gold and silver league. We’ll also give a quick outlook on what we’re expecting from King of the Desert VI, which has started as of now. There’s no real Franchise News for a change, so we’ll be skipping that segment today. But I’ve got important news for all patreons and supporters of the podcast in the podcast news and we’ll be answering a couple of your messages, that have been sent in. At last, we’ll finish up the episode with the tournament outlook for december 2025.Please check out ⁠Daniela over at Twitch⁠: ⁠https://www.twitch.tv/daniela_aoe⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠Timecodes:00:00 Intro06:46 News01:42:30 Podcast News & Emails01:59:01 Tournament Outlook December 2025Links:King of the Desert VIThalassocracy Cup 2⁠⁠Master of HyperRandom 3⁠⁠TTL5 Bronze League⁠⁠Naval Rework⁠
Dec 2, 2025
2 hr 6 min
[GER] Tafelrunde #28: Katzen vor Gericht
Willkommen zur 28. Tafelrunde! Felix Fälle vor Gericht werden immer abwechslungsreicher. Neuerdings häufen sich die Fälle, in denen sich Menschen um ihre Katzen streiten. Wie kann man da eine Entscheidung darüber fällen, wer die Katze bekommt? Christian ist indes aus Schottland zurückgekehrt und hat dadurch die William Wallace Kampagne erneut gespielt... wenn man da überhaupt von einer Kampagne sprechen kann. Außerdem verbringt er seine Abendstunden mit Ball x Pit, was mal wieder Anlass dafür ist, die Nostalgiebrille auszugraben und von vorinstallierten Windows 95 Breakout-Spielen zu erzählen. Felix ist da viel mehr am Puls der Zeit und spielt das gerade erschienene Europa Universalis V.Viel Spaß beim Hören!Felix & Christian⁠Discord⁠Musik: Joey Jojo vom offiziellen AoE II: DE OST.
Nov 27, 2025
58 min
[ENG] Civilizations #04: Khmer
If you're looking for a challenge in Age of Empires II, the Khmer are just the civilization for you. At first glance, the Khmer seem like an easy civilization to play because they have the best food economy in the game alongside the Khitan, you are usually one step ahead of your opponent, and thanks to their broad tech tree, they can play almost anything they want. They even have powerful elephants and scorpions! However, they have a few bonuses that can quickly become a trap if you don't master the game perfectly. The particular difficulty arises from the fact that you have to build on your initial advantage with the Khmer so that you don't go down in the late game. On the one hand, their strong economy makes the Khmer a beginner-friendly civilization, but on the other hand, their playstyle makes them a difficult civilization to master. I hope you enjoy this podcast, which, for once, will be all about elephants!ChrisSupport the Podcast on:⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Steady (german)⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠Timecodes:00:00 Introduction08:15 Eco bonus13:18 House bonus16:58 No prerequisites for age-up & buildings21:23 Battle Elephants & Tusk Swords 29:19 Ballista Elephants, Scorpions & Double Crossbow45:39 Strategies & army compositions01:08:22 CampaignMusic: Khmer Intro Music and "Operation Monkey" of the official AoE II Soundtrack
Nov 14, 2025
1 hr 18 min
[ENG] Magazine Ep. #06 November 2025
Welcome to another episode of the monthly magazine, covering all important topics about age of empires. Today is a very special episode, because this podcast will be cohosted by the up and coming talent of our scene: welcome Daniela!We’ve had a lot of tournaments recently, so there are lots of topics to cover. In today’s episode, we’ll be talking about the Ling Yuan Cup, Amigo Wars 3, Masters of Hyperrandom 3, the announcement RB Wololo: Londinium, TTL 5 Bronze League, the Naval Rework, the onimaru bootcamp, the Chronicles DLC featuring Alexander the Great and the betting scandal of aoe 2. There’s a little bit of Franchise News after that and then we’ll pick out a few of the emails that have been sent in to discuss them. As always, we’ll close the show with the tournament outlook for november 2025.Please check out Daniela over at Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/daniela_aoeSupport the Podcast on:⁠Patreon⁠⁠Steady (german)⁠Discord⁠Timecodes:00:00 Intro03:11 News02:35:44 Franchise News02:40:20 Podcast News & Emails02:51:05 Tournament Outlook October 2025Links:⁠Master of HyperRandom 3⁠LingYuan CupTTL5 Bronze LeagueSotL InterviewNaval ReworkT90 about Biry
Nov 7, 2025
3 hr
[GER] Tafelrunde #27: Vergiftete Stimmung
Willkommen zur 27. Tafelrunde! In der heutigen Tafelrunde diskutieren wir das aktuell etwas leidige Thema von Wettanbietern in Age of Empires II. Wir haben diesbezüglich eine klare ablehnende Haltung und führen hier einen eher lockeren Austausch und erzählen euch von unseren eigenen Gefühlen zur Diskussion, statt ein Fachgespräch über die negativen Auswirkungen von Glücksspiel im eSport zu führen, da dieser Zusammenhang längst erwiesen ist. Doch damit die Stimmung etwas aufgebessert ist, empfiehlt Felix eine Gameshow der besonderen Art von einem ihm sehr lieb gewonnenen Streamer. Außerdem hat Felix Death Stranding begonnen und outet sich als großer Freund von Kojimas filmischer Videospielregie.Viel Spaß beim Hören!Felix & ChristianUnterstütze unser Projekt hier und höre deutsche Versionen der englischen Podcasts:⁠SteadyDiscordMusik: Joey Jojo vom offiziellen AoE II: DE OST.
Nov 2, 2025
1 hr
[ENG] How to beat Hera
This episode offers a very different kind of content for you. I analyzed Hera's past 39 defeats on Arabia during his world record attempt and collected some data, which I analyze here in the podcast. My goal: to find out if there's a pattern that tells us how to defeat Hera. In doing so, some truly interesting insights have come to light. It's impossible not to acknowledge that Hera is an exceptional player, almost unmatched in versatility and mechanical skill. Therefore, finding systematic weaknesses in such a complete player as Hera is an ambitious undertaking. Well, decide for yourself whether I've succeeded.ChrisThe Excel sheet⁠Discord⁠⁠Support the Podcast on:⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠Steady (german)⁠Music: "Carne y Helado" of the official AoE II Soundtrack.
Oct 17, 2025
54 min
[ENG] Masterpieces #03: The Best Final of All Times
In this episode of Masterpieces, I'll tell you the story of what I consider to be the best final that we've seen in competitive Age of Empires II to this day: The finals of RB Wololo 3 between Daut and Liereyy. This matchup brings together two generations and two different playstyles. I hope you enjoy reliving one of the best games of Age of Empires II!ChrisThe GameDiscord⁠Support the Podcast on:⁠Patreon⁠⁠Steady (german)Music: "Carne y Helado" of the official AoE II Soundtrack.
Oct 8, 2025
15 min
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