Board Game Homies

In Episode 60, we review Carnegie designed by Xavier Georges and published by Quined Games. But, first! We chat about what is bringing us joy: Let’s Go! To France, Dragonarium, Zombie Princess x2, Hanami, The Old King’s Crown, and Senet Magazine. Carnegie is inspired by the writings of Andrew Carnegie, an industrialist and philanthropist. Xavier Georges, the designer, acknowledges the complicated...

In Episode 59, we talk about a number of games we have played recently or are excited about! This episode has a mix of smaller and lighter games that we are unlikely to review on the pod; it’s basically an extended joy game episode. Buckle up, we’ve been busy! Stars are added to the games we’re excited about but haven’t played yet: 02:06 Moon Colony Bloodbath 09:36 Three Sisters 14:42 Becky’s long...

In Episode 58, we review Feya’s Swamp published by Grail Games and designed by Helge Ostertag and Anselm Ostertag. But, first, we chat about what is bringing us joy: Carcassonne, Gillean learning new games every weekend, Sweetlands, and a deck of cards. Feya’s Swamp is a worker placement game for 2-4 players who each lead a clan of swamp dwellers vying to be the most prosperous in the area. Throug...

In Episode 57, we review Luthier published by Paverson Games and designed by Dave Beck and Abe Burson. But, first, we chat about what is bringing us joy: Becky’s new year’s resolution update, Zenith, Angela’s new year’s resolution update (including Unmatched Adventures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and Root.  Luthier takes place in the height of classical music in Western Europe with 1-4 familie...

In Episode 56, we take a break from reviewing games and instead bring in the silliness and the sass with some board game trivia. Play along with us and bonus points to you for catching any of the wrong answers our host boldly asserts. XD Categories include: Name the Game from this Weird Description, Name All the Games in the Series, Old School Games, Components and Rules, Crunchy Factor, Year of R...

In Episode 55, we review Speakeasy by Vital Lacerda! But, first, we chat about what is bringing us joy: 3 Chapters, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, Skull King, and Lisboa. Speakeasy is a game for 1-4 mobsters vying for control across the many districts of Manhattan implemented by Lucky Luciano. Accumulate the most money as you build up your speakeasy empire to maximize payouts from Lucky Luciano...

In Episode 54, we review Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon published by Pandasaurus! But, first, we chat about what is bringing us joy: New Brass tins, Brass: Pittsburgh, Dune Imperium - Uprising 6 player, and Ahoy. Shackleton Base is a worker placement game for 1-4 players. Players each lead a space agency that is contributing to building a base in the Shackleton crater of the Moon. Build st...

Episode 53 is Part 2 of our annual board game weekend vacation! We discuss our planning, the things we ate, and all of the games we played (and didn’t play.) We recommend starting with Episode 52: The Homies Go to the Beach. 22 games with 33 plays over the course of 5 days-PART 2! Games in this episode: Sea Salt & Paper Railroad Tiles The Vale of Eternity The Hobbit: There and Back Again Reviv...

In episode 52, we walk through our annual board game weekend vacation and discuss our planning, the things we ate, and all of the games we played (and didn’t play.) 22 games with 33 plays over the course of 5 days-PART 1! Games in this episode: Castles of Burgundy Brass Birmingham Goblin Vaults Clank! Catacombs with the Underworld expansion Sea Salt & Paper Botswana Shackleton Base PS! Board g...

In episode 51, we review Galileo Galilei published by Pink Troubadour and Captstone Games. But first! We chat about what is bringing us joy: Bottle Imp, Wondrous Creatures, Evacuation, and Board Game Homie weekend at the beach. Galileo Galilei is a Euro-style game for 1-4 players where players take on the role of historical astronomers looking to the night sky for celestial objects while navigatin...

In episode 50, we review Wondrous Creatures by Bad Comet Games. But first! We chat about what is bringing us joy: Eternal Decks, Reed’s new board game shelf, and Irish Gauge. Wondrous Creatures is a whimsical and adorable game for 1-4 players. Each player manages a crew to explore the uncharted island in order to gather resources to attract the many wondrous creatures to their own reserve. This is...

In episode 49, we look back on our 2025 board game resolutions and look forward to the year ahead with new resolutions and 2026 predictions and by reflecting on lessons learned, surprises, and disappointments. In 2025… …we all thought we would play more games with our partners, …most of us planned to spend less money on board games (someone said no purchasing for the whole year!!), …two of us hope...

For episode 48, Angela secretly analyzed, ranked, and combined our individual top 10 lists to create our cumulative TOP 10 New-to-Us Games We Played in 2025. We react to and chat about each game in our top 10, and then we move into rapid-fire questions to share our favorite themes, our biggest game surprises, games we’re ready to toss out the window while on the freeway, and much, much more. This...

In episode 47, we discuss our top new-to-us trick takers played in 2025; we played so many new trick takers this past year, they needed their own episode! We start with a cumulative top 5 (the points are made up, but, don’t worry, Angela created multiple tiebreakers this time), and then we roll into rapid(ish)-fire topics to share our individual opinions on best themes, interesting mechanics, game...

In episode 46, we review two expansions: The White Castle: Matcha published by Devir and Wyrmspan: Dragon Academy published by Stonemaier Games. But, first! We chat about what is bringing us joy: Yokai Septet, 12 Chip Trick, Sausage Sizzle!, and Galileo Galilei.  The White Castle: Matcha introduces the tea ceremony to the game and a new means to influence the court with new members of your clan: G...

Paul Dennen has entered the waiting room. In episode 45, dreams do come true, and we interview Paul Dennen! Join us to hear about Paul’s path to becoming a board game designer at Dire Wolf, his long-standing board game group, and–perhaps most importantly–his preferred board game player color. We chat about his newest games and a few of our older favorites: Lighting Train, Clank!: Catacombs - Under...

In episode 44, we review Ostia by uchibacoya, Crafty Games, and Skellig Games. But, first! We chat about what is bringing us joy: The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth - Allies, Panda Spin, Kutna Hora: The City of Silver, and Bananagrams. Ostia is a game for 1-4 players that takes place in 103 A.D. and is centered around the Ostia Portus in Rome. Each player’s board represents the Portus, a...

In episode 43, we review Emberheart published by Mindclash Games and designed by Rob Fisher and Adam Porter. But, first! We chat about what is bringing us joy: The Hobbit: There and Back Again, LUZ, Bomb Busters, and Speakeasy.  Emberheart is a game for 2-4 players that takes place on an ancient and mystical island full of dragons. As the champions on the island, build up your resources and crew t...

In episode 42, we discuss the games we have on order or have recently received and are very excited to play! First, we chat about what is bringing us joy: Shackleton Base: A journey to the Moon, The White Castle Duel, Emberheart, and Castle Combo: Out of the Oubliette! Do your games magically appear like ours? From Dungeons and Kittens RPG to Speakeasy, we’ve got quite the list of games we’re look...

In episode 41, we discuss Jungo, Trio, and Combo – all three published by Happy Camper. First, we chat about what is bringing us joy: Dungeons & Kittens, Ostia, Sweet Lands, and Skull King. On this episode, Becky, Reed, and Gillean prepared a special joy segment called: Ambush Angela! Jungo, Trio, and Combo are all brightly colored card games that play in 15-20 minutes or less. We love that Ha...

In episode 40, we review Molly House designed by Jo Kelly and Cole Wehrle and published by Wehrlegig Games. First, we chat about what is bringing us joy: Twinkle Starship, Nokosu Dice, Haggis - Grok Edition, and Apiary. Molly House is a 2-5 player game all about creating joy in the queer community in early 18th century London; build your reputation and joy by cruising the streets (eyes), throwing...

In episode 39, we review Weather Machine by Vital Lacerda and published by Eagle-Gryphon Games! First, we chat about what is bringing us joy: Galactic Cruise, Kinfire Council, Lightning Train, and Brightcast. Weather Machine is a crunchy, crunchy game for 2-4 players (a Solo mode is included with the Upgrade Pack). The players are scientists working with Professor Lativ to refine his weather machi...

In episode 38, we create starting collections with various budgets: $100, $250, $350, and $500! Angela’s brother’s experience of diving into a board game collection from scratch inspired this topic. We all approached our lists a bit differently: beginner friendly games, wide representation of mechanics, foundational games, and the games that bring our friends joy and inspire them to purchase for t...

In episode 37, we review Patchwork and A Feast for Odin in Polyominoes Part 1! First, we chat about what is bringing us joy: Sea Salt & Paper: Extra Pepper, Ptolemy, the Board Game Community speaking out, and Brightcast. Patchwork and A Feast for Odin are both Uwe Rosenberg games, and they differ quite a bit in their complexity (1.60/5 and 3.86/5, respectively, on BGG.) Patchwork is a 2-player gam...

In Episode 36, we discuss games published in 2023! We don’t feel like we’ve played enough 2023 games to create a collective top 10 list, however, we do talk about our collective top 3 games, games we still want to play, games that didn’t live up to the hype, and games we played but didn’t love.  This week, we turned last pod’s bonus episode into a full episode as the original recording ran longer...