Board Game Barrage

We return to BGG's top list, but we're flipping it on its head. That's right, we're talking about much loved games that we don't much love. We're also giving away a copy of Drop It ! 01:05 - Drop It 04:53 - Cosmic Encounter 09:59 - Above and Below 12:56 - T.I.M.E Stories 16:36 - Lewis & Clark 18:29 - Five Tribes 20:12 - Inis 23:56 - 7 Wonders 27:06 - Viticulture 33:07 - Mechs vs. Minions 37:05 - R...

This week, we explain and expound our experiences with expansions. Improvements, tweaks, variability: the benefits are clear, but what does tacking more onto a game mean for all your players? Is it always a good thing? How much is too much? Before we get there, we discuss Altiplano , Omen: A Reign of War , Felicity: The Cat in the Sack , and A Feast for Odin . Timecodes: 01:41 - Omen: A Reign of W...

Why is everything so heavy? Well, we all played Dominant Species together, and so we're in a heavy sort of mood. There's a very vocal subset of the community that'll insist a game isn't worth playing unless it's mechanics are punching above a certain weight. But, surely there's room in a collection for the light games, the easy games, the so-called gateway games? We hash it out, but before we get...

Did you know that sometimes the internet is wrong? Thankfully we're here to tell you what's up , and right the wrongs that BoardGameGeek hath wrought. You see, there are some games in their database that are just ranked way too low for how good they are. So, to fix these injustices, we each count down our top five games that BoardGameGeek got wrong, and we got right . Skip the timecodes if you don...

Legacy. What is a legacy? It's podcasting in a studio you don't get to see. And now that I've drawn in all the Hamilton fans, let's talk about board games! Specifically, board games that have campaigns or legacy components. Is it a gimmicky trend, or does it add something meaningful to an experience? We also talk about Alchemists , Inis , and Through The Desert  ... and on top of all that, we have...

Trapped on a desert island and forced to bring only five board games? We've all been there. And we're going back. To the island. The board game island . It's a question as old as time itself, a favourite philosophical discussion of great minds immemorial; if you had to pare your collection down to just five board games, to play for a very long time , which would they be? Avert your eyes from the t...

Kickstarters. Can't live with 'em, can't rampantly overspend on incomplete unorthodox game designs without 'em. They're clearly a major force in the board game hobby, but are they a force for good, or for evil? Before we wrestle with that, we talk about the games we've been playing, namely, Imperius , A Tale of Pirates, and Heroes of Land, Air & Sea . Timecodes: 01:23 - A Tale of Pirates 07:39 - I...

Our feature topic this week is theme . How important is the theme of a board game to you? Does it affect your enjoyment of a game? What games best utilize their theme to put a neat little bow on their mechanics? We talk about all this (and more!!!) after a quick look at our week in games, which includes Tash Kalar , Krazy Wordz , Kanban, and The Mind . Timecodes: 01:04 - Tash Kalar 02:32 - Krazy W...

Kingmaking is our feature topic this week. If you can't win, what's your responsibility as a good player? It's a complex, divisive topic, but then, we're complex, divisive people. We also talk about Wyatt Earp , Coffee Roaster , and El Grande . Timecodes: 01:24 - Wyatt Earp 08:15 - Coffee Roaster 13:47 - El Grande 19:16 - Kingmaking

How many board games do you need? If you're Mark, you need them all. Before we get there though, we also talk about what we've been playing, namely, John Company , Coffee Roaster , Adrenaline and Innovation . Topics discussed: 01:03 - John Company 08:40 - Coffee Roaster 09:42 - Adrenaline 14:30 - Innovation 22:10 - Collection Size

Rising Sun ! Everyone's talking about it, and so must we. It's our feature topic this week, but first, a brief look at what else we've been playing: Spirit Island , Hardback and Decrypto. We close the show with a look ahead to what we're hoping to play. Games discussed: 00:58 - Spirit Island 07:51 - Hardback 15:45 - Decrypto 20:20 - Rising Sun

We talk about what we've been playing ( 1830 , Archipelago and Gaia Project ), we dive deep into math trading for board games, and close out with what we're looking forward to in the weeks ahead. Games and topics discussed: 01:10 - 1830 07:39 - Archipelago 14:04 - Gaia Project 20:34 - Math Trading 42:09 - Guards of Atlantis

We each talk about a game we liked from 2017, a game that let us down, and what we're looking forward to in 2018, including  When I Dream , Gloomhaven , Charterstone , Battle For Rokugan , and more. Games discussed: 01:55 – When I Dream 04:16 – Charterstone 07:38 – Bob Ross: Art of Chill 09:45 – Battle for Rokugan 14:45 – Gloomhaven 18:01 – The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 21:27 – Tiny Epic Ques...