Garrett's Games and Geekiness

Costa (1/2 of the design team of Rola and Costa) and Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro (1/2 of the Paulo Soledade and Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro design team) join Shelley and me on the mics for a discussion of conventions, game design and philosophy, and this hobby and industry we love. The Rola & Costa team have designed such games as Dom Pierre Moesteiro Café Yinzi as well as the forthcoming Lata and Stephens...

Shelley and I took a break from playing games at LeiriaCon to discuss our impressions of three of the titles we had a chance to peruse for at least 1 play. Take these with a grain of salt, but these were our impressions of Beer and Bread by Scott Almes from Deep Print Games, Capstone Games, and Pegasus Spiele Shinkansen: Zero Kei by Isra C. and Shei S. from Ludonova and Tesla Games Garden Nation b...

Paulo Soledade joins us at LeiriaCon on the mics and over a decent bottle of wine as we talk about the convention, Portugal's annual board game award, game design - including Madeira and Nippon, two of his co-designs - and some of his favorite games, including Imperial. We had a great time talking and hope you enjoy the conversation. 

This week Shelley and I report for the first of a number of episodes from LieriaCon in Portugal - a fantastic gaming convention that we attended in March. We will have some interviews with organizers and designers in the coming weeks, but this week it's two of the games we had a chance to play: My Shelfie by Phil Walker-Harding and Matthew Dunstan from Cranio Creations and Mille Fiori by Dr. Reine...

Shelley and I head to Medici-run central Italy and attempt to gain favor with those in power in  Florence by Dean Morris from Braincrack Games, as well as Giant Roc and Maldito Games then we head into deep space where our competing ships attempt to settle a new planet and make use of Alien Tech in Alien Frontiers Edition X by Tory Niemann from Starling Games Remember you can sponsor the podcast at...

I had a week off in February, so while Shelley was at work one day, I spent part of my day on a Google Meet call with the wonderful Tony Boydell - designer of such games as Snowdonia, Lux Aeterna, Alubari: A Nice Cup of Tea, Race the Rails, and - of course - Scandaroon! We discuss his past designs, creating a brand new Museum of Board Games , and some of the games he's playing currently. It's a wi...

Shelley and I decorate our home with plants, working our green thumbs in Verdant by Molly Johnson, Robert Melvin, Aaron Mesburne, Kevin Russ, and Shawn Stankewich from AEG and Flatout Games then we head to Ghana to learn about the forest ecosystem and fruit bats' important contribution in Atiwa by Uwe Rosenberg from Lookout Games Remember that you can sponsor the podcast by becoming a patron at ww...

Shelley and  I get historical in two different games this week, checking out the EXCELLENT middle-weight dice placement game Moesteiro by Rola and Costa from PYTHAGORAS then draft cards and create our journeys through time in Trekking through History by Charlie Bink from Underdog Games Remember that you can help out the podcast by supporting us at www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR you can head over...

This week Shelley and I head to The Desert Planet Arrakis to get in some plays of  Dune: Imperium by Paul Dennen from Direwolf and Legendary with its expansion Rise of Ix and Immortality then we check out another design from two designers we talked about last week The Guild of Merchant Explorers by Matthew Dunstan and Brett J. Gilbert from AEG Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/garrettsgames a...

Shelley and I once again get a small box and big box to the table this week, but both of these were pretty hefty brainpower-wise. We start with by laying train track cards into a 3x4 grid to complete lines and score points from trip cards in Village Rails by Matthew Dunstand and Brett J. Gilbert from Osprey Games then we explore Mozart's life and final Requiem, helping to tell his story and finish...

This week Shelley and I go through some of our disappointments in gaming from 2022, organizing those comments into categories. Remember you can sponsor the podcast by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames or check out our list of games available for purchase at reasonable prices here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharin Games I Kicks...

Shelley and I peruse our list of played games in 2022 and separately choose which ones belong in our personal Top 10 Lists for 2022. We did NOT peek before we sat down to record! Doug's Honorable Mentions: Bitoku Yokohama Roll & Write by Hisashi Hayashi from Okazu Brand Dandelions by Takashi Sakaue from BoardgameTables Exhaust by Hisashi Hayashi from Okazu Brand Maui by Frank Crittin, Gregoire Lar...

Shelley and I get two more fantastic games to the table this week, beginning our discussion with how the Contractors expansion affects the solid small-box game Red Cathedral by Israel Cendrero and Sheila Santos from Devir then the box gets bigger, and the dice manipulation gets even more interesting in Tiletum by Simone Luciani and Daniele Tascini from Board&Dice Thanks again this week to our spon...

Shelley and I check out a game that's right in our wheelhouse (straightforward, medium-weight, Schachtian) in Catherine: The Cities of the Tsarina by Johannes Schmidauer-König from Capstone Games and dlp Games then find ourselves moving into a "try before buy" phase with 2F Spiele Games as we just did not like the fiddly Findorff by Friedemann Friese from 2F Spiele and Rio Grande Games Remember to...

Shelley and I tackle both ends of the gaming weight spectrum this week with a small-box, 2-player-only younger brother to a modern classic Splendor Duel by Marc André and Bruno Cathala from Space Cowboys then we dive into the deep end for the latest heavy title from a designer known for making out brains work Woodcraft by Vladimir Suchy and Ross Arnold from Delicious Games Thanks to our main spons...

Shelley and I tackle a couple of smaller-box, medium weight games that we loved. First we create groves of apple trees in Applejack by Uwe Rosenberg from The Game Builders then we head to the beach in Hawaii and claim the best spots with our multi-colored towels in Maui by Frank Crittin, Gregoire Largey, and Sebastien Pauchon from Next Move Games Thanks to our sponsor this week - LEIRIACON! Taking...

Shelley and I tackle two ends of the complexity spectrum in this week's episode, loving every minute of both experiences. On the less complicated, family-friendly end of the spectrum, we try out Everdell's little sibling My Lil' Everdell by James A. and Clarissa A. Wilson then we get much more complex, but in wonderful ways, as we make champagne in Dom Pierre by Rola and Costa from R&R Games and P...

Shelley and I check out the GORGEOUS Collector's Edition of  Everdell by James A Wilson from Starling Games in preparation for our review of the brand new My Lil Everdell next week. But before that we fix our erroneous ways by doing a re-review of  Dandelions by Takashi Sakaue from BoardgameTables.com (which is now Allplay)

Shelley and I compete as rival dog walkers, trying to increase our reputation and walk the best breeds of dog in Dog Park by Lottie and Jack Hazell from Birdwood Games then we head up to the Sierras and into one of the most beautiful places on the planet to get great photos in Yosemite by Tim Blank from WizKids

Shelley and I research amazing women throughout history in HerStory by Nick Bentley, Danielle Reynolds, and Emerson Matsuuchi from Underdog Games and then get abstract as we fulfill tasks and race to get rid of our markers first in Framework by Uwe Rosenberg from Edition Spielwiese and Pegasus Spiele

This week Shelley and I become restauranteurs in Paris, competing for space for our tables on the square in  Dinner in Paris by The Trolls from Funnyfox (via Lautapelit.fl) then we head to Greece to rebuild our own cities in Akropolis by Jules Messaud from Gigamic  You can sponsor the podcast at  www.patreon.com/garrettsgames  or even help us AND you by purchasing a game from us that no longer fit...

Shelley and I take a trip up the peninsula to "The City By The Bay" for two different San Francisco titles: Ticket to Ride San Francisco by Alan Moon from Days of Wonder as well as San Francisco by Reiner Knizia from Rebel Studio You can sponsor the podcast at www.patreon.com/garrettsgames or even help us AND you by purchasing a game from us that no longer fits on the shelves. Here's the link to t...

Shelley and I check out the co-op expansion for Stonemaier Game's Viticulture and Tuscany - one of our favorite titles - called  Viticulture World by Mihir Shah and Francesco Testini, with original designers Jamey Stegmaier and Alan Stone then we get into the wayback machine an enjoy getting  Showmanager by Dirk Henn from Queen Games back to the table - the original which has been re-released as A...

Shelley and I get some newer games to the table (I promise some Essen releases soon!): First, we head to Australia and take A Walk in the Park by David Harding from Grail Games Then we head back in time to rebuild our cities in Thera by Zach Hoekstra from Mr. B Games and L4 Studios Remember you can support the podcast (especially with the holidays upon us) by buying a game we no longer have room f...

Shelley and I wrap up our Meeplefest episodes and we drop right back in to our discussion of expansions and their effect on the games we play, then discuss some of those perennial facorites that Tom & Joe love getting back on the table. Joining us are Tom Lehmann - Race for the Galaxy, Roll for the Galaxy, Dice Realms, Res Arcana and  Joe Huber - Caravan, Blue Skies, Ice Cream, Scream Machine, Bur...