Boardgames To Go

Please join us on the  Boardgames To Go discord server  where you can chat online with other podcast listeners. Openers : Mark :  Kraftwagen  and old podcasts like  CubeLove Jonathan :  Cocktail Games , and what will I do when the "old masters" pass away? Closers : Jonathan : Do we have too many good games?  Here's what Bruno Faidutti says.   scroll down for English Mark : How old is "an old game"...

Opener:  Another online Games Day for podcast listeners Closer:  Games BGG-weighted over 4 are never for me! (Never say never...) The folks on Discord gave me several good ideas for an episode. So good, in fact, that I decided to save them for a time when I could to more prep, have a co-host, or both. That meant I needed something else to feature this time. Since I often talk about the  old  games...

Opener:  I encourage listeners to join me at the OG guild's online game convention,  OG Fest: Maispiele Within the last month I turned 60. Does that make me old? Officially? Whether it does or not, I'm still playing games. Which is what I discuss in this episode--what it's like to turn 60 in this hobby, as well as reflecting on what it was like when I turned 50, 40, 30, 20, 10...and even 0! Those...

My annual Mark Madness contest is over, and co-host Adam Brocker joins me to wrap it up. Adam won the prediction contest last year, and this was his prize...a side job to work with me! Now we have a new winner, Mark363, who I am working to locate. If he's willing, in 2027 he will join me to run the next version of this contest. In 2026 Adam had suggested we take a closer look at games that were de...

For the third year in a row I made it to Dice Tower West. Not only that, I enjoyed that convention with DaveO and other buddies. Not only  that , but once again DaveO was my partner-in-crime for insisting we dedicate one day of our convention to focus on older boardgames. By "old" we mean games that are at least 25 years old. When we started this tradition that mean games published in in the last...

The Sweet 16 is already done and we're on to the Elite Eight. That means just two remaining titles in each of our four divisions, so almost like a mini, division-level championship in each one.  From Germany it's either  Azul or 6 Nimmt , then from America it's Diamant or Ticket to Ride . From France we'll either have 7 Wonders Duel or Sea Salt & Paper, and from "Italy" it's either Grand Austria H...

BGTG 252C - Mark Madness 2026 (2nd Round [of 32])   1st round votes are in, now each successive round moves quickly—just three days. 2nd round voting due March 18 at noon BGG-time in Texas (UTC-5).   How are you voting? For the games you enjoy the most or the ones you predicted to win (based on what you imagined OTHERS would vote for)? I've heard the latter is like how a political primary works.  ...

The first round is underway! Go vote at https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/375187/mark-madness-2026-designer-teams

Please join us on the  Boardgames To Go discord server  where you can chat online with other podcast listeners. Play along and predict the winners at  https://challonge.com/MarkMadness2026 Predictions must be submitted by March 13 to be in the contest Mark Johnson @MarkEJohnson Adam Brocker @abrocker The calendar says March so that means it's time for "Mark Madness" again, my podcast-hosted voting...

Opener:   7 Wonders Dice Closer:  Mark Madness 2026 (with Adam Brocker) preview -  Register for free and make your predictions at  https://challonge.com/MarkMadness2026 ! I've recently come back from a vacation in Germany. Once upon a time in this hobby, that really meant something significant. Germany was the worldwide headquarters and creative generator for boardgaming. Gamers in other countries...

Openers: The Hobbit: There and Back Again , The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game Although it's true that episode #250 is a milestone, this podcast passed that some time ago. Between all of the extra episodes for BGGcons and Mark Madnesses, plus the occasional double-episodes in the old days, I don't know how many podcasts have actually been released. (My podcast ho...

Here we are at another season already. The podcast has now reached it's 22nd season, which is a small miracle. We just keep chugging along. If anything, I think it now has a solid core of listeners and participants that feel like they're going to stick with me. :-)   With BGStats, it's now even easier for me to see my final tallies for the games I played last year. Plus, I can separate out the dig...

Please join us on the  Boardgames To Go discord server  where you can chat online with other podcast listeners.   @Gregarius I know I said  this  episode would be my Feedback (or "mail bag") focused epsiode. And some may remember that previously I'd used the December 1st episode for my grinch-like Curmudgeon Show. In the end, I decided to push the Feedback episode back one month, to start the year...

Opener:  Please send in your comments, questions, or suggestions for next month's Feedback-focused episode Closer:  When do you opt out of game night? Every year I pay special attention to Fairplay magazine's booth at Essen. In recent years, they've been great about sharing their  Scoutaktion  results on social media, too. Fairplay is primarily a German language print magazine for our hobby, but e...

Please join us on the  Boardgames To Go discord server  where you can chat online with other podcast listeners. Opener : The games we played at the second BGTG Online Mini-Con Closer :  Essen is almost here , and I'll still follow it (but not anticipate it) For a long time I've wanted to have a boardgamer's discussion about different sports...as  games.  I don't mean sports boardgames, or season/l...

Please join us on the  Boardgames To Go discord server  where you can chat online with other podcast listeners. Reminder!  Please join other podcast listeners for the next  online  BGTG Mini-Con, scheduled for  September 6 . I plan to be online from 9am-9pm Pacific time, including the  Boardgames To Go discord server  for voice & video. The games will mostly be played on BoardgameArena, but advent...

Announcement! Please join other podcast listeners for the next  online  BGTG Mini-Con, scheduled for  September 6 . I plan to be online from 9am-9pm Pacific time, including Discord for voice & video. The games will mostly be played on BoardgameArena, but adventurous gamers can also use Yucata, Brettspielwelt, Boardgames.io, Steam, apps, or whatever. It's free, and no RSVP or signup is necessary. O...

Opener:   Skara Brae , and again I'm talking about vacation-linked boardgames    Closer:  The Dornücopia we've got planned for EsCon in a couple weeks.    I'm always happy to talk about the Spiel des Jahres. The winners, the nominees, the recommended titles, the jury process, and the award's immense, positive impact on our hobby. That goes for the Kennerspiel and Kinderspiel, too...though I'm woef...

Please join us on the  Boardgames To Go discord server  where you can chat online with other podcast listeners. Openers : Mark :  Space Empires 4X Jonathan : 2005 Flashback & Quiz Closers : Jonathan :  My  top games of 2005 Mark : Hosting my own (small) event  instead  of traveling to a con? Mark Johnson @MarkEJohnson Jonathan Takagi @jtakagi The Wayback Machine is back. One more time, a friend jo...

Please join us on the  Boardgames To Go discord server  where you can chat online with other podcast listeners. Opener:  Join us to play games online together on May 3. We're meeting on the  Discord server , as well as the  Boardgames To Go Listeners group on BGA           I set out to give myself a break this month, just talking about some recent games and fielding a few questions sent to me. In...

The annual voting/predicting competition called Mark Madness is now finished. The results are posted with the rest of the updates for episode 239, and here co-host Eryn Roston returns one last time to share the winners. Unconscious Mind was our collective favorite for game cover art, and Adam Brocker is this year's winner. The plan now is for Adam to help me run  next  year's Mark Madness, in 2026...

The Championship is now set!   https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/354557/mark-madness-2025-game-cover-art-with-eryn-roston

Be sure to go vote at https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/354557/mark-madness-2025-game-cover-art-with-eryn-roston?itemid=11634552#11634552

The round of 32 is finished, leaving us now voting on the Sweet 16 of game cover artworks. The choices are getting more difficult.   And we have a new leader in our prediction contest. #Davecember celebrity loofish is representing his namesakes with a currently-in-first-place position for his guess...but with others on his tail.

Eryn is back to talk with me about the results of the first round voting. Half of our original 64 game cover art entries have now been knocked out of the contest. Now successive voting rounds keep halving the remaining contestants every three days. What have we seen so far? No ties, though a couple matchups were close. A few more were blowouts. Are there common threads? Surprises? Plus...Eryn teac...