Boardgames To Go

This show was something of a hybrid, an audio session report that had an overall theme: 2-player games. That's because the most recent Santa Clarita Boardgamer session just had two players! Myself and BGTG logo designer Greg Wilzbach. We got in some good ones, and once again it made me think that we ought to play these more even on nights when we've got more turnout. Speaking of those logos, the

Once again I included my son Sam on the podcast. This show is an audio session report for some games played with family over the 4th of July holiday weekend. So it's got some angst about getting family to play the sort of games I like, trying to pick things they like, and then worrying about how well they went over. :)Be sure to vote on the new logos using the webpoll in my right sidebar. Thanks!

I've been wanting to do this for a while, talk for an entire show about one game. And now I've done it, about one of my very favorite games Entdecker. I suppose this kind of show is really something of an audio game review, though I didn't plan it that way when I started talking. Entdecker is a game that's been published in two separate versions, has a well-known variant, another I prefer, and

A quick little show, the shortest I've done in a while. Mostly I just struck while the iron was hot, but with a surge in subscribers due to podcast support in iTunes, it's proven to be timely. Welcome new listeners! As I say in the little audio aside, I encourage the new folks to check out the permanently linked shows at the top of the right sidebar: intro shows about podcasting and also strategy

I wonder how long it will be until I feel like I know what I'm doing?! Seems like every podcast I learn a little something new. This time it's as simple as making the podcast and blog post title with the games listed NOT in the order we played them. Otherwise, Tonga Bonga leads every audio SR this month, and at first glance it looks like I'm podcasting about the same thing. In a way, I guess I am

After a trio of shows sharing the microphone with someone else, I'm back to doing my solo show. That will still be what I do most of the time, I think. It's back to a theme show, too, focusing on the history of Internet communication on our hobby. Mailing lists, newsgroups, websites, that sort of thing. I didn't really get to all of the websites I wanted to cover—guess I'll have to have a part 2

Anyone who's a parent of multiple kids knows this rule: be fair to all of them. So after Sam got a chance to be on my podcast, talking about the games he likes, I knew that Molly deserved a turn. Actually, she had wanted to do it first! Molly just finished third grade, and was my little boardgame player even before her older brother. Although she plays the occasional video game, she's not into

Here's another show where I have someone else recording with me. Only this time it's my son Sam, and he's plugged in locally to the same laptop. (Technical aside: this was incredibly easy, just patching in a second microphone/headset using a five-dollar audio jack splitter! I need to do more of this with local friends.) Besides hearing from the horse's mouth about a 5th/6th grader's attitudes

You asked for a second voice on Boardgames To Go? You got it! Ok, only some of you asked for a second voice. And ok, I won't have someone like Mike Mayer joining me on the podcast regularly. In fact, right now I think I'll still do the majority of the shows solo. But now that I've figured out how to patch in a remote collaborator for the show, I will do more of this in the future. I want to get

Last week I joked that Tonga Bonga would be our Game of the Month. Here we were, playing it again--by request! Maybe it's meant to be. This time was different in that it was a 3-player game, and I won big instead of losing big. Then I got to try Ryan & Erin's new Crokinole board. It's not theirs, really--they bought it as a graduation gift for Erin's cousin. This board is from Crokinole World,

A nice, big session report. Last week's session wasn't any longer than the previous one, but instead of playing one big game (Struggle of Empires), this time we played several shorter games. These are always my favorite game nights, though I can handle a longer game once in a while. I also was able to open with several listener comments, which was fun. Keep 'em coming. Email Mark JohnsonGamesTonga

A show all about me. I hope this is still of interest to everyone--I figure it's important to know where your writer/podcaster is coming from. Once you're calibrated on who I am, you can interpret my reactions to different games a bit better. I start at the games I played as a kid, but then move through the microgames and roleplaying games that dominated high school and college. The boardgaming

This show may not be as interesting to listeners who have been enjoying this hobby for a while. But as I mentioned in a previous show, I think it's important that this podcast have one show intended for newcomers. Though there are at least a couple more boardgame podcasts out there, mine is still the one that pops up when someone does a podcast search specifically for boardgames (only because

I had a few technical challenges with this show--hopefully none of them come through in the recording. (I did the intro on my little Treo phone/PDA thingie, then pasted it into my normal Audacity recording software. I hadn't noticed that this fiddled with my normal sampling rate, which affects some CD burners. I think I fixed it, though.) By all means, let me know if something is amiss. Note the

A theme show I'd mentioned earlier, focusing on the ideas behind game awards. I was consciously trying to avoid just making this a rundown of the various awards, trying to get a little behind the purpose and motivation for game awards. Was I successful? Partially, I think. Email Mark JohnsonLinksBrett & Board's Awards pageInternational Gamers AwardsDeutscher Spiel Preis form (and Mik's explanation

Finishing up the earlier theme show about conventions, this time covering invitational events like The Gathering of Friends and Gulf Games, then wrapping up with some of the smallest but best events, public Games Days. At the end I mention the next theme show will be about the various game awards, and I'm asking for feedback/input about that topic in particular. Links(No website for private events

This audio session report mostly talks about the games I played at two recent Santa Clarita Boardgamer sessions. What do people listen for in an audio session report, anyway? I don't spend any time explaining the mechanics of the games. That's not a good use of anyone's time, especially my own. You can follow the links below to learn all you'll want about rules & mechanics. I'm primarily telling

June 11 update: I've switched over to 32kbps MP3 exporting out of Audacity, rather than the 48 I was originally using. For speech the difference in audio quality ought to be barely detectable, while the filesize savings are nothing to sneeze at (around 25%).This particular podcast has nothing to do with boardgames! It's a special show about podcasting itself. The first third of the program are

Finally did the show about conventions, and I didn't even finish what I wanted to say. But I limited myself to a half-hour, just the same. I'll wrap up in a future show, though that will probably not be my next show. In this one I start at the top, discussing my one day at Essen 2003, other experiences with Origins and Gencon (well, at least Gencon SoCal), talk up some more-than-regional cons

Oof, that's a long title for this post. But I wanted that top line to tell people what's in this podcast, so that can see it in their RSS reader or podcast aggregator. This entire show is an audio session report. As you'll hear in the podcast, I received some good suggestions that I could kill two birds with one stone by keeping the session reports, just separating them out into their own show.

This show is all about playing boardgames with your family. Well, with my family. A family who isn't as blown away by strategy boardgames as I am, they still humor me from time to time. They even enjoy some games now and then. The small audio session report tacked on the end is mostly about a mega Carcassonne game I played before El Grande last week. On the technical front, I changed some of my

Ok, with four of these shows "in the can," it's time to go live with this podcast/blog. Right after I upload this show I'll spread the word online and we'll see what happens. Naturally I hope people like it, but I'd certainly understand some . . . ahem . . . constructive criticism. (Especially after I suggested some Tough Love for Geek Speak once.) Fair's fair. As I mention near the end of this

This first one is a little rough, both because I was working with a poor microphone and mistakenly thought I should keep my voice relatively flat. But at least it's a start! At the end I wrap up with an audio session report from the Santa Clarita Boardgamers (Garden Gnome Society, Rumis, and Doom:The Boardgame).Email Mark Johnson

Second try, and this time I've got a slightly better microphone and less monotone voice. :) I talk about why I'm doing a podcast at all, why I hope there will be more boardgaming podcasts soon, and a session report for games played with my old group, the Left Coast Gamers (Evergreen, What Were You Thinking?, Durch die Wüste, and San Marco.)Email Mark Johnson

In the third show I describe a variety of online boardgames I like to play, using the play-by-web (or email) format, as opposed to a realtime format like Brettspielwelt or the Days of Wonder site. I also rifle through a session report of the Santa Clarita Boardgamers (Karawane, Rome: Circus Maximus, El Grande, Kraut & Rüben).Other linksBoardgamegeek [English] (Euphrat & Tigris, Auf Heller und