Board Game Barrage

We've done deep dives into games before, but really when you get down to it, games are just the medium. The substrate. What it's always been about is people. We hope to pick at the minds of some of the hobby's best with this format - and until then, we have Kellen. Before we unpack the man, the myth, the legend, we talk about Cuba Libre ,  Gang of Dice , and  Time of Empires . Timecodes: 03:44 - C...

If there's one thing I can say for sure about 2023, it's that it will certainly be a period of time. We're casting our eyes forward to the year ahead, and getting excited about some of the board games that (we hope) will actually be coming. Before we look ahead, always ahead, we talk about Make the Difference , German Railways , and  Tiletum . Timecodes: 02:39 - Make the Difference 07:38 - German...

Where would we be without the mailbag? We get such lovely questions from you lot, that we rarely get the chance to answer, so when the opportunity comes, one has to strike. Time to hear what's on your minds, kids. Before we rustle in the cloth, we talk about Dinosaur Gauge , and  Starship Captains . Timecodes: 01:39 - Dinosaur Gauge 10:18 - Starship Captains 21:24 - Holiday games? 21:51 - Fire in...

You know how at the start of the year you make a lot of promises to yourself that you have no chance of holding yourself to? Yeah, this isn't like that, we absolutely, definitely will not see out 2023 without following through on all of these whims. Before we hold ourselves accountable, we talk about Challengers! , Eleven: Football Manager Board Game , nana , and Zoo Vadis . Timecodes: 04:49 - Cha...

Here it is, the one we've all been waiting for, the Board Game Barrage top ten games of all time!  It's been a long road and we'll wrap it up by seeing some old favourites ... and maybe a few new faces? Old or new, these are the thirty games we enjoy the most (at least, right now .)  We loved sharing these lists with you and hope you've enjoyed listening to them! Timecodes: 01:25 - Neilan #10 - Br...

We've reached the penultimate part of our five part series, the great series that is sometimes called our top fifty greatest games of all time ! We're barreling close to the end now, but not without a lot of moving and shaking first. Here's another fine selection of thirty amazing games we love. 01:37 - Kellen #20 - So Clover! 02:50 - Neilan #20 - Blue Lagoon 04:14 - Mark #20 - Blood Rage 06:32 -...

It's a new year, but the list must go on. The list, that is, of our top fifty greatest games of all time ! It's part three, which everyone knows is the dark middle chapter of every pentalogy, so expect some swoops, some turns, some revelations. Brace yourself for another thirty incredible games that we can't wait to tell you all about. 02:03 - Mark #30 - Genoa 03:17 - Kellen #30 - Splendor 04:50 -...

I hope you all had a good holiday break, but it's time to get back to business. The very serious business that is the top fifty greatest games of all time. We return to our heroes in what the enthusiasts call phase two , and boy are things heating up! Thirty more incredible games that we absolutely love are coming right at you. 00:58 - Neilan #40 - In the Year of the Dragon 03:14 - Mark #40 - Sple...

It's top fifty season! That's right, it's the time to reflect on every single game we've ever played, and see how we feel about them in the year of our lord, 2022. We sort through the chaff, and from it we weave a beautiful golden strand we call our top fifty greatest games of all time.  Grab a glass, and join us. 10:18 - Kellen #50 - Smartphone Inc. 12:01 - Neilan #50 - Archipelago 13:22 - Mark #...

Kellen won't stop rubbing in that he went to PAX Unplugged without us, but at least he came back with a lot of cool games to talk about. Join us as he regales us with the latest from Philadelphia. Before we eat our Philly, we talk about Sea Salt & Paper , and Chicago Express . 03:49 - Sea Salt & Paper 10:19 - Chicago Express 21:57 - Dicke Dämonen 26:00 - John Company: Second Edition 34:46 - The Gr...

One of the greatest things about taking part in this hobby, is seeing new and novel ideas bubble to the surface. We're looking at some our favourite recent innovations - stuff that makes us think, "Huh, why haven't we seen that before?" Before we do anything but imitate and iterate, we talk about Paint the Roses , and ISS Vanguard . 02:01 - Paint the Roses 12:33 - ISS Vanguard 29:29 - Mystic Vale...

How do you all keep falling for this? The Ghost Turkey moves in mysterious ways, and this year he's moving us to 2019, to atone for our sins. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 04:48 - ICECOOL 06:24 - Meeple Circus 06:49 - Root 07:57 - Sheriff of Nottingham 08:48 - Piepmatz 09:29 - Fauna 10:13 - Evolution: Flight 11:03 - Zany Penguins 12:26 - Gulo Gulo 13:16 - Funky Chicken 14:02 - Ashes: Rise of the P...

We all saw this coming. The inevitable digital future has come, and suddenly Mark is a book store owner who just discovered Kindles. It'd be sad if it weren't so inevitable. We discuss the rise of digital gaming, and how it can, at least in some ways, replace parts of the hobby. Before we go down to Electric Avenue, we talk about Wormholes , Mogul , and Orichalcum. 02:07 - Wormholes 09:58 - Mogul...

Look, I wasn't there, but my understanding is that Kellen got very mad about certain board game words and decided to change the course of the episode midstream. Which, you know, would be one thing, but I once had to hear about how mad Kellen was about the word "apricot", so it's just like every day with this guy. Before we get etymological, we talk about Splendor Duel , and Seize the Bean . 02:19...

Two hundred and fifty episodes. That's ... a lot of episodes. That's a lot of time! And, boy, things have changed around here. Well some things. We look at what's different in the hobby since we started doing this whole thing. Before we cast our minds back, we talk about Stone Age , Blood on the Clocktower , Hansa Teutonica , and Aegean Sea . 01:58 - Stone Age 12:41 - Blood on the Clocktower 16:56...

Games are getting bigger and more lavish, especially in the age of crowdfunding, but how far is too far? How many luxury bits, giant boxes of minis, and silk-screened wooden meeples until it's all gone a bit far? Before we dress for excess, we talk about Habitats , Blood on the Clocktower , Twilight Inscription , and It's a Wonderful Kingdom . 01:59 - Habitats 13:07 - Blood on the Clocktower 18:44...

The topic of theme has come up intermittently over the course of the podcast, but how important is it? Is it something that makes or breaks a game? Or would we be mostly okay if games were mostly non-thematic? Before we burst at the theme, we talk about Mamma Mia! , Football Highlights 2052 , Kanban , and Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood . 01:46 - Mamma Mia! 08:20 - Football Highlights 2052 18:50 - Ka...

What good would going to a convention be if we didn't play a lot of games? We're back from our trip, and it was filled to the brim of fine games played with fine people, and we're here to tell you about all of them, the good, the bad, and perfunctory. Before we return to Vancouver, we talk about Village Rails , The Guild of Merchant Explorers , and Puzzle Strike 2 . 01:51 - Village Rails 12:43 - T...

We're at SHUX! Well, we were, and while we were there, we tricked Tom Brewster of Shut Up & Sit Down to take time away from his busy schedule to join us on stage. This episode was recorded live, and we talk about games that are in some ways, a little bit weird. Before things get odd, we talk about Dungeons, Dice & Danger , Fun Facts , Turncoats , and Flick Fleck . 03:52 - Dungeons, Dice & Danger 0...

It's convention season, which means we're on the way to one convention, while talking about another. Every year a lot of new games get showed off at Essen SPIEL in Germany, and these are the ones we're most excited to hear more about! Before we start messin' with Essen, we talk about Plutocracy  and Finca . 01:56 - Plutocracy 09:54 - Finca 19:09 - Essen SPIEL 2022 Preview 19:39 - The Great Split 2...

We're in and out quick and breezy, with a h-h-hot question about player counts. All things equally considered, how many people do you want at the table? Before we boot people from the game, we talk about Bitoku , San Francisco , and Caesar's Empire . 01:28 - Bitoku 12:21 - San Francisco 20:11 - Caesar's Empire 28:46 - Favorite Player Counts 36:08 - Star Trek: Ascendancy 37:04 - Churchill We're goi...

The best thing about being part of a team is even when things go wrong, your team is there for you. And boy, did things go wrong this week ... but I'm getting ahead of myself. This week we're talking about team games! Twice! Before we make the dream work, we talk about Art Decko , Feed The Kraken , and War of the Ring: The Card Game . 02:47 - Art Decko 09:03 - Feed The Kraken 20:08 - War of the Ri...

Not every game makes the best first impression, but some stick in your mind enough to warrant a second try. So fittingly, the first and second best hosts are here to tell you about the games that they think deserve a revisit. Before we repeat stuff, repeat stuff, we talk about Mille Fiori , Rise of the Metro , and Turing Machine . 02:05 - Mille Fiori 05:57 - Rise of the Metro 12:48 - Turing Machin...

Okay, this end of the BGG top list starts to get weird. Regardless, we must draft. Who's going to end up with the best selection of five games from this chunk of one hundred? That's up to you - vote and you could win a $50 gift voucher! Before we pick a peck of paper products, we talk about Town 66 , Akropolis , and Pampero . 02:09 - Town 66 08:24 - Akropolis 16:51 - Pampero 27:38 - Drafting BGG's...

The pillars of board gaming are games that are so influential, so ubiquitous, that they're practically the shoulders on which many other board games stand. We talk about what are commonly considered the classic pillars, and try to make a more modern list. Before we get into Greek architecture, we talk about Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon , Trailblazers , Photograph , and Ys . 02:34 - Tainted Gr...