Board Game Barrage

Board game dealbreakers, we all have them, and they're enough to dissuade us from buying or even playing some otherwise great games. This week, we go around the table and talk about two things each that put us off in board games. Before we start looking elsewhere, we talk about Illusion , and Food Chain Magnate . 02:16 - Illusion 04:46 - Food Chain Magnate 18:05 - Too Many Steps for Simple Tasks 1...

How do you meet other board game enthusiasts? Just loving and owning board games isn't enough if you don't have anyone to play them with! It's not always easy to turn your friends into board gamers, so what are your other options? Well, sit back, as we cast our minds far, far back into the past, when the Board Game Barrage trio was just three separate unos . This is where it all began. Before we g...

What's your white whale? The one game you've been itching to get to the table for ages, but for whatever reason, just never have? Well, call me Ishmael, 'cause we're counting down not just one, not five, but  ten games each  that we haven't played, but really want to. Maybe this'll be the kick in the pants we need … but probably not. Before we dust off our shelves of shame, we talk about  CIV: Car...

Asymmetry is a powerful tool for game design, if done right. There's a lot of replayability right out of the box, and finding a playstyle that works for you can be very satisfying. But this dark alchemy has a darker byproduct: imbalance. When so much is different between each player, how do you ensure that things stay fair? Before we nerf plz, we discuss Container , and more  Root . 01:40 - Contai...

Board game rules, unlike other rules, were not made to be broken. They're to be strictly adhered to, trust me, this is going to be totally fun, there's just a few more things to go over and then we can start. Sometimes remembering and teaching rules can feel like a burden, so where's the line? Before we explain the turn structure, we discuss Dairyman , Riff Raff , and Lords of Hellas . 03:30 - Dai...

Look, sometimes we lose games. I know. It's weird. It's hard to talk about, to be frank, but it's important to realize that your heroes can have flaws. So, this week, we're counting down our top five games we're bad at! Before we admit defeat, we also discuss Yogi , Orléans , and Blue Lagoon . 01:38 - Yogi 05:25 - Orléans 11:56 - Blue Lagoon 18:28 - Good games we're bad at 20:26 - Santorini 23:50...

In this week's fun  episode, we talk gaming etiquette, or the unspoken rules that surface when you're playing a board game. They often have nothing to do with the game itself, but what's appropriate? Should you deliberately help and hinder others at the table? Before we let the Wookiee win, we also discuss Let's Make a Bus Route , Sailing Toward Osiris, Fleet,  and Founders of Gloomhaven . 01:45 -...

Just when you thought we couldn't get nerdier, this episode is all about logging plays and collecting statistics on your games. It turns out it's actually a pretty fun way to look back on your gaming history. We also discuss Fast Forward: FORTRESS , The Captain Is Dead , and Schummel Hummel . 02:38 - Fast Forward: FORTRESS 06:57 - The Captain Is Dead 12:57 - Schummel Hummel (Cheating Bumblebee) 16...

We're staying up all night to count down our favourite party games! You know the feeling. Everyone's at your place, no one's talking, it's a little bit awkward ... but then you break out some of these fifteen amazing party games, and suddenly everyone's back in, talking, laughing and shouting until the early hours. We also talk about JamSumo ,  Isle of Trains , and Root . 02:24 - JamSumo 04:05 - I...

Shiny and new! Everyone online is talking about the latest, greatest thing, and you can't help but feel that you're missing out. How important is it to keep up with the cult of the new? We also talk about Cthulhu Wars , World Championship Russian Roulette , Kubb , and Word Slam . 01:38 - Cthulhu Wars 04:56 - World Championship Russian Roulette 07:47 - Kubb 09:35 - Word Slam 14:53 - The Cult of the...

In the wake of Gen Con, we return home invigorated about just how grand and diverse the hobby is. We celebrate the games that we might not otherwise have thought to play, and encourage you to do the same! We also talk about Lift it! , The Estates, and Cat Lady. 01:57 - Gen Con Final Thoughts 09:30 - Lift it! 13:00 - The Estates 20:42 - Cat Lady 22:47 - The Breadth of Gaming 24:27 - Sushi Go 26:45...

Day three of Gen Con is over, and that's a wrap for our coverage from Indianapolis! Enjoy our final thoughts from the show floor (at least for this week), while we trudge back to the west coast with as many games as we can carry. We talk about Istanbul: The Dice Game , Wendake , One Week Ultimate Werewolf , Show & Tile , Coimbra , and Trade on the Tigris .

We're halfway through Gen Con, and we wrap up day two of the show with our thoughts from the floors and tables and beds (?!) of Indianapolis. We talk about Crusader Kings , Scarabya , Petrichor , Zogan , Flotsam Fight , Welcome To... , and Dice Fishing: Roll and Catch!

Gen Con! It's here at last, and we run through our quick impressions of the first day of the show. We talk about Exodus: Paris Nouveau , Reef , Nyctophobia,  and Illusion .

Gen Con 2018 is almost upon us, and we're counting down the games we're most excited to check out! We also talk about Vikings,  and Navegador . 01:43 - Spiel des Jahres 03:10 - Vikings 07:45 - Navegador 10:15 - Gen Con 2018 Preview 13:50 - Piepmatz 16:13 - Welcome To ... 19:01 - Dice Fishing: Roll and Catch 20:26 - Ultimate Werewolf Legacy 23:18 - Coimbra 25:24 - Lost Cities: Rivals 27:19 - Pikoko...

Luck is an element of almost every board game there is, but it's still a major point of contention. Whether it's the roll of dice, or the draw of a card, randomness can make or break a game. We also talk about Lowlands , Bilder , In the Year of the Dragon , and revisit Space Base . 00:54 - Lowlands 07:32 - Bilder 11:03 - In the Year of the Dragon 16:14 - Space Base 20:12 - Luck in Games 23:40 - Ct...

Multiplayer Solitaire doesn't have to be a bad thing! Sometimes we're just not always looking for high interaction, high conflict games, and that's okay . We break down some games with low interaction, and what makes them great. We also talk about Joraku , Impulse , and Wyatt Earp . 01:36 - Joraku 06:25 - Impulse 16:34 - Wyatt Earp 19:29 - BGB on Twitch! 21:18 - Low Interaction Games 28:32 - The G...

World Cup fever sweeps the podcast, as we consider the analogies between board gaming and sport. We also talk about Harvest , Caylus , Exit: The Game , and Trajan . 2:07 - Harvest 4:27 - Caylus 9:45 - Exit: The Game 13:39 - Trajan 14:48 - Board Games and Sport 19:45 - Balderdash 26:52 - Rising Sun 29:24 - Archipelago 33:24 - Care Bear Eurogame 36:22 - Diplomacy

We're counting down games that replace other games in our collections! We also talk about Chimera Station. 01:31 - Chimera Station 05:16 - Games That Replaced Others 06:49 - Queendomino 08:28 - San Juan 09:56 - The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 13:55 - Space Base 16:36 - Cthulhu Wars 17:52 - Android: Netrunner 21:01 - Azul 23:49 - Cockroach Poker 25:56 - Watson & Holmes 29:31 - Pictomania 33:15 -...

What would a board game be without components? Just rules and a box, I guess. Before we pick up our pieces, we talk about Wildcatters , Bärenpark , Chimera , Star Cartel , and Council of 4 . 01:20 - Wildcatters 06:33 - Bärenpark 09:00 - Chimera 11:50 - Star Cartel 14:42 - Council of 4 20:38 - Components and Production 23:55 - Archipelago 27:02 - Splendor 27:52 - El Grande 29:03 - Cthulhu Wars 30:1...

Skill and experience should be important parts of determining the winner of a game, but what about new players? Accessibility is important too, so, where's the balance? We also talk about High Society , Rising 5: Runes of Asteros ,  The Tea Dragon Society Card Game , and Inkognito . 03:42 - High Society 07:16 - For Sale 08:20 - Rising 5: Runes of Asteros 12:17 - The Tea Dragon Society Card Game 14...

What games can you get for $20? Quite a few really good ones, it turns out. We also discuss Scythe , Watson & Holmes , and Mansions of Madness: Second Edition . 01:34 - Scythe 10:44 - Watson & Holmes 13:06 - Mansions of Madness: Second Edition 15:25 - The Best Games Under $20 17:12 - For Sale 19:56 - The Resistance 21:55 - Oink Games 24:29 - The Grizzled 26:41 - Krazy Wordz 28:50 - Time's Up! Titl...

We wrap up the mechanics trilogy with Kalen's pick, area control . We also talk about Herbaceous Sprouts , Fae , Explorers of the North Sea , Wiz-War , and Imperial 2030 . 02:40 - Herbaceous Sprouts 04:53 - Herbaceous 06:08 - Fae 08:54 - Explorers of the North Sea 10:30 - Wiz-War 15:01 - Imperial 2030 19:40 - Area Control 25:32 - Blood Rage, Rising Sun 27:20 - Risk 28:10 - Kemet, Inis 32:10 - Hana...

Week two of our favourite mechanics in board games is Mark's pick, hand management . We also talk about Ascending Empires , Funky Chicken , Felicity: The Cat in the Sack , and New Corp Order . 01:47 - Ascending Empires 05:41 - Funky Chicken 07:14 - Felicity: The Cat in the Sack 08:25 - New Corp Order 11:34 - Hand Management 12:57 - Terraforming Mars 13:44 - Dominion 14:44 - Candyland 15:25 - Scrab...

We kick off three weeks of our favourite mechanics in board games with Neilan's pick, hidden information . We also talk about Omen: Fires in the East , Gaia Project , and Pioneer Days . 01:30 - Omen: Fires in the East 03:39 - Gaia Project 05:43 - Pioneer Days 09:59 - Drop It 11:21 - Hidden Information 13:31 - Archipelago 19:32 - Dead of Winter 23:04 - I'm The Boss 23:48 - El Grande 27:56 - Discwor...