Current Plays

This week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas set out on a gentle journey with Creature Caravan by Ryan Laukat and Red Raven Games. It’s a relaxed, mid-weight adventure where clever planning and quiet efficiency guide your caravan across a beautifully illustrated world brought to life by Laukat’s signature artwork. They chat about why this one feels so comfortable at the table: a smooth multiplay...

This week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas touch down on the red planet with On Mars by Vital Lacerda—a monumental design where every system, resource, and decision is shared, intertwined, and fiercely consequential. From the moment boots hit Martian soil, the game demands careful timing, long-term vision, and a deep awareness of what everyone else at the table is building toward. The hosts di...

This week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas step into the opening mission of War Story: Occupied France , a story-driven experience set in a world of uncertainty, difficult choices, and scarce resources. From the very first decisions, the game asks players to act with incomplete information, weighing risk and consequence in ways that feel both tense and meaningful. They discuss how the branchin...

This week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas revisit Architects of the West Kingdom , returning to one of Garphill Games’ most approachable takes on worker placement. With a mitt-full of workers in hand right from the start, the game flips the usual scarcity on its head, encouraging bold plays, clever timing, and plenty of interaction at the table. Revisiting it several years later, the hosts re...

This week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas set the games aside and look back at the year that was in Past Plays: 2025 In-Review . From plays and player counts to favourites, surprises, and patterns they didn’t expect, the hosts dig into the stats behind a year at the table. It’s a reflective, numbers-forward episode with the same honest takes and good-natured banter—celebrating what they playe...

Pray, compose yourselves and adjust your waistcoats; this week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas ascend the grand staircase of society with Obsession , a most refined contest of reputation, refinement, and relentless social manoeuvring in Victorian England. Estates are improved, guests are entertained, and every polite invitation carries quiet ambition beneath its lace-trimmed sleeve. The hosts...

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, to the Grand Stage of Strategic Sorcery! This week, Jordan and Thomas don their sparkling capes and perfectly waxed moustaches as we dive into Trickerion: Legends of Illusion, Mindclash’s masterwork of misdirection, meticulous planning, and marvellously crunchy decision-making. Prepare for an evening of elaborate illusions, last-minute pivots, and more brain-tw...

This week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas take the throne in It’s a Wonderful Kingdom , a clever blend of kingdom-building, resource planning, and fantastic use of the “I cut, you pick” card selection. The duo digs into the game’s standout systems—from its escalating resource production to the tricky mind games of offering cards your opponent might want… or might regret. While not every mecha...

This week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas each venture to ancient Skara Brae - separately, but in spirit together! With Thomas away, the hosts both took this Garphill Games 2025 Ancient Anthology release for a solo spin, exploring how this powerhouse cranks the resource management dial all the way up to eleven. Sixteen resources? Check. Tight decisions? Absolutely. That unmistakable Garphill...

This week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas venture into the Black Forest. Uwe Rosenberg’s 2024 update to Glass Road is a blend of brain-burning euro strategy and pastoral charm. True to form, it’s a game of careful timing, clever planning, and that signature Rosenberg tension that keeps every move deliciously tight. The hosts dig into what makes Black Forest stand out: those brilliant resource...

This week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas descend into the shadowy depths of Warhammer Underworlds: Nethermaze , where blades flash, ghosts wail, and victory is as fleeting as a skaven’s courage. Thomas commands Skittershank’s Clawpack—swift, sneaky, and just a bit stabby—while Jordan leads Lady Harrow’s Mournflight, drifting through walls and dreams alike with eerie elegance. The hosts trade...

Hear ye, hear ye! Gather ‘round the podcast hearth, noble listeners, for this week on Current Plays , Sir Jordan and Sir Thomas taketh up their quests in Tales of the Arthurian Knights . In this most wondrous game of adventure and fortune, our gallant hosts dost wander through the lands of Camelot, meeting maidens fair, dragons foul, and many a fate most strange. Verily, their latest play did brin...

This week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas warp through space-time with Anachrony from Mindclash Games - a sprawling, cerebral sci-fi masterpiece that proved time travel can actually work on the tabletop. Designed by Dávid Turczi and the Mindclash team, this one’s part worker placement, part paradox management, and all brain burn. The hosts dive into how Anachrony nails its impossible theme of...

The mechs are marching once again! Bringing the weird for October, this week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas venture into Expeditions by Stonemaier Games and strap in for the Gears of Corruption expansion. This twist on the Scythe universe adds even more depth, danger, and delightful decision-making. They talk about how the corrupted gears move the tempo of play in a great direction. The chan...

Class is in session on Current Plays ! This week, Jordan and Thomas don their academic robes for Alma Mater from Eggertspiel, a brainy euro where you’re not just running a university, you’re shaping the very curriculum of the Renaissance. Recruiting professors, publishing books, attracting the best students… it’s all here, wrapped in colourful production and crunchy mechanisms. The hosts chat abou...

This week on Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas step through a portal into the elemental realms with Dwellings of Eldervale . Designed by Luke Laurie, this game smashes together two genres you wouldn’t expect to share a table: euro-style worker placement and “dudes-on-a-map” fantasy brawling. The result? A magical mess that somehow makes perfect sense. From carefully managing resources to summoning...

Gather ye ‘round the base of Mount Olympus and get ready to wage war in Ancient Greece! In this episode of Current Plays , we dive into Cyclades: Legendary Edition , where gaining the favour of the Gods is the only way to win. The auction-style bidding system steals the spotlight, forcing players to outwit and outspend each other for divine favour. Jordan and Thomas learned the hard way that a 2-p...

Pack your specimen jars and polish your spectacles because it’s time for an expedition in the Galápagos! In this episode of Current Plays , Jordan and Thomas set sail with Darwin’s Journey and quickly discover it’s survival of the sharpest mind. They gush over the game’s top-notch design, delight in its intricate mechanisms, and admit that every choice feels like a real evolutionary challenge. It’...

This week on Current Plays , we journey into Middle-earth with The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship . The hosts dive into what was done right with this iteration of two large properties, from its thematic immersion to clever systems. But trouble stirs in Mordor as our adventurous hosts also unpack their ongoing frustration with the Pandemic system, dissecting why it drags down the otherwi...

This week your hosts tackled Æterna, by Martin Wallace and published by Ares Games. Vie for power in ancient Rome by conquering distant lands to bring back spoils and build buildings for the people, but too much wealth and power will incur the wrath of those people! Check out our thoughts on this weighty euro.

This week, Jordan and Thomas discuss the 2023 sensation Dune: Imperium - Uprising, by Paul Dennen, and published by Dire Wolf. Dune: Imperium - Uprising is a worker placement and deck-building game based on the Dune IP. Its thematic elements and excellent design make it one of the best games in our collections.

Your intrepid hosts Thomas and Jordan discuss their current play of Tiletum. The European Renaissance game of trading and cathedral building. This time, at 3 players! Wow!

The Current Plays Podcast is back! In this episode, Jordan and Thomas discuss their recent play of Lost Ruins of Arnak with the Lost Expedition expansion - Co-op Campaign style!

The Hosts discuss getting value out of games with repeated plays, solo games vs. games as a social activity, hobby time, and board game expansions. In our Other Plays, Jordan and Thomas focus on Dorfromantik, 7 Wonders Duel, and Rhino Hero. For our Current Plays, we discuss It's a Wonderful Kingdom, The White Castle, Trickerion: Legends of Illusion, and we revisit Near and Far. Please give us...

For May, 2024. Jordan kicks it off with an exclamation of just how good X-Men '97 is (it really is), Dune, and how they relate to crowdfunding of board games. In our Other Plays, Thomas discusses Gloomhaven: Buttons and Bugs, and Jordan discusses Mother of Frankenstein. Our Current Plays includes Grand Austria Hotel (1:03:24), Unmatched (2:05:00), Tiletum (2:50:52), and last, but not least, Ik...