The Spiel

In Hadara, you take on an ancient challenge: build a civilization from the ground up. Can you recruit talented people, encourage technology, explore other lands, and inspire great works of art, all to promote your civilization ahead of the rest?

How psychic are you? Medium will put you to the test. Your goal is to create a telepathic bond, a Vulcan mind meld with your partners in the game. From two words selected, can we come up with a word that connects them on the count of 3-2-1.

A review of Masters of Renaissance written by Doug Richardson.

You and your friend set out to visit National Parks across the United States. A game of PARKS is the story of your journeys along the trails throughout the year. This episode also features a big announcement about The Spiel Foundation!

A review of Slide Quest written by Stephen Conway.

Join our party of misfit nerds for fun and games, plus plenty of freewheeling conversation spanning the wide world of geekdom. We hope you'll be in a festive mood for the season after listening to some Grade A goofing around.

A review of Shobu written by Stephen Conway.

The Crew is a cooperative trick-taking card game. 50 increasingly challenging missions tell the story of your crew's journey to Planet 9. How well can you work together when communication is limited as you cross the vast expanse of space?

Panelists: Bruno Cathala, Antoine Bauza, Friedemann Friese, Rikki Tahta, Smoox Chen

Panelists: Ted Alspach, Tiffany Caires, KJ Lee, Beth Heile, Michał Zwierzyński

Panelists: Stella Jahja, Beth Heile

Panelists: Issac Childres, Julie Ahern, Ezra Denney, Błazej Kubacki

Panelists: Martin Wallace, Katie Aidley, David Chircop, Max Michael

Guest: Reiner Knizia

Panelists: Frank DiLorenzo, Darrell Ottery, Thomas Provoost, Vlaada Chvatil, Rikki Tahta

A review of Songbirds written by Doug Richardson.

5211 is a press-your-luck card game with deep roots in casual classics. It's a modern game that can be as thinky as you want it to be, but it is also a bridge for social interaction, inspired by card nights with family and friends from days gone by.

Space Explorers is a richly thematic card game inspired by Soviet-era agitprop art. Driven by a wide range of action and card synergies, the game is simple to learn but packs a compelling amount of depth into a 30 minute experience.

A review of Fantasy Ranch written by Stephen Conway.

A review of Vadoran Gardens written by Doug Richardson.

Dekalko is a drawing game that is not a drawing game. Everyone gets a picture and must get others at the table to guess the picture without seeing the picture itself. How you get there requires a quick hand, a pen, and almost no artistic skill.

Krass Kariert is the free-spirited granddaughter of several beloved classic card games. It combines elements from ladder games like Tichu, trick-taking games like Euchre, shedding games like Uno, and adds a dash of Poker just for fun.

We assemble a group of renowned designers to examine the process and protocol that goes into iterative game design. Panelists: Ted Alspach, Tom Lehmann, Justin Gary, Elizabeth Hargrave, Ben Rosset

How can cardboard, wood, and plastic create such magic? We examine the incredible amount of time and creativity that goes into every bit and how that shapes our experience with a game. Panelists: Beth Heile, Frank Jager, Jean-Francois Gagne, Scott Hill

We sit down with a group of successful publishers for a wide-ranging discussion related to the challenges, lessons, advantages and pitfalls of being an independent publisher today. Panelists: Maggie Clayton, Gil Hova, Julie Ahern, Tim Fowers