Pick Up and Deliver

Brendan shares his thoughts about three new games he played for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you? Really Loud Librarians That’s Not a Hat Strike  (revisited) Wild: Serengeti Have you played any of these games? What do you think of them? Share your thoughts over on  boardgamegeek in guild #3269 .

Brendan talks about games that have cool, weird scoring conditions. Join us, won’t you? Moxy Früvous, “Lowest Highest Point” Blog Post – “You Gotta Spend Money to Make Money” Just One Loser Cockroach Poker That’s Not a Hat Make Your Own Win Condition Shipyard (variant) Arboretum Coimbra Bottom Loser / Top Winner High Society QE A Study in Emerald Individual / Secret Win Condition ROOT Nanty Narkin...

Brendan talks about some games he’s played by prominent designers Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling. Join us, won’t you? Jointly-designed Games The Princes of Florence (2000) Torres (1999) The Palaces of Carrara (2012) Porta Nigra (2015) The Mask Trilogy:  Tikal ,  Java ,  Mexica Wolfgang Kramer El Grande (1995) Downforce (2017) Vampire Queen (2016) Michael Kiesling Azul (2017) Azul: Summer Pav...

Brendan talks a bit about three games he tried for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you? Habitats Ted Lasso Party Game Alien Artifacts Call of the Wild  (revisited) What games have you been playing recently? Head over to  Boardgamegeek guild #3269  and share!

Brendan talks a bit about which expansions he considers “essential,” whatever that means. Join us, won’t you? Altiplano: The Traveler Barenpark: The Bad News Bears Ark Nova: Marine Worlds Star Wars: Rebellion – Rise of the Empire Obsession: Upstairs, Downstairs Honorable Mentions: Lords of Waterdeep: Scoundrels of Skullport Wingspan: Oceania Expansion What expansions did I miss? Which ones do you ...

Brendan shares the games he played last month. Join us, won’t you? April 2024 Top of the Stack list NEW GAME –  Porta Nigra NOVELTY CHOICE –  Raise the Titanic! SOLO –  Hunted: Wode Ridge TRYING AGAIN CHOICE –  Alien Artifacts ✓ Shelf of Opportunity May 2024 Top of the Stack list NEW GAME –  Ryu NOVELTY CHOICE –  Columbo Detective Game SOLO –  Hadrian’s Wall TRYING AGAIN CHOICE –  Porta Nigra What...

Brendan reflects on the ideas of determinism and randomness in games, in response to a recent The Secret Cabal episode. Join us, won’t you? TSC 295: Aquatica and Randomness vs Determinism Definitions: Input Randomness, Output Randomness Input Randomness Mottainai Innovation Output Randomness Strike Quacks of Quedlinburg Incan Gold Last Night on Earth A Touch of Evil Deterministic Games Small World...

Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried for the first time recently and one he revisited. Join us, won’t you? Titanic Aeon’s End dude more dude Bastion What games have you tried recently? Share your thoughts over on  boardgamegeek in guild #3269 .

Brendan shares his favorite games from 2013. Join us, won’t you? Eliminated from Consideration: A Study in Emerald Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia Top 5 Games: Concordia Castle Dice Sushi Go! Kings of Air and Steam Tash Kalar: The Arena of Legends Honorable Mentions Glass Road Russian Railroads Forbidden Desert Gravwell S.O.S. Titanic Superlative Awards Best Satire:  Ladies & Gentlemen Best...

Brendan talks about six movies he watched in February of this year, and games to go with them. Join us, won’t you? Oppenheimer Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire The Vast of Night Visitor in Blackwood Grove Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes That Time You Killed Me The Lost King Tobago The Lost City The Adventurers: The Temple of Chac BlackBerry Smartphone Inc What movies did you...

Brendan shares his first impressions of FOUR games he tried for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you? Wyrmspan Wingspan Apiary Charty Party Apples to Apples Herd Mentality Green Team Wins SMARTish Wits & Wagers What games have you tried recently? Share your experiences over on  boardgamegeek in guild #3269 .

Brendan suggests some games that have themes related to taxes, and some films that go with them. Join us, won’t you? Games that have taxes in them Monopoly Orléans Power Grid: Taxes Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory Film suggestion:  The Accountant Poverty in Games London (Second Edition) Film suggestion:  The Commitments The Economics of Children Agricola Stone Age Film suggestion:  The VVitch...

Brendan gives a deep-dive review of Lord of Waterdeep. Join us, won’t you? Lords of Waterdeep Previous mentions of Lords of Waterdeep on this podcast Scoundrels of Skullport Limited Workers Lost Ruins of Arnak Everdell Contract Fulfillment Kings of Air and Steam Via Nebula Obsession Pushmi-Pullyu Nanty Narking Ark Nova Secret Objectives Sagrada Ticket to Ride What do you think about Lords of Water...

Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried recently, and revisits an older game. Join us, won’t you? Dream Home Medieval Academy Forest Shuffle Potion Explosion (revisited) Potion Explosion on PU&D previously What games have you tried lately? Share your plays over in our guild on  boardgamegeek, #3269 .

Brendan talks about his favorite house rules and what he thinks about them. Episode inspired by  Cardboard Philosophy episode 10: Are House Rules Good? Ark Nova Gloomhaven Monopoly Shipyard Obsession What house rules do you use? Share your tweaks over on  boardgame geek in guild #3269 .

Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried recently. Join us, won’t you? –  Magic Rabbit –  Dawn of Peacemakers   –  Evacuation –  Weather Machine  (1 Year, 2 Months, 26 Days dusty) Previous discussion of Weather Machine What games have you tried recently? Join the conversation over on  Boardgamegeek in guild #3269 .

Brendan looks back at episode 202, and reflects on his history of doing 10×10 lists. Join us, won’t you? Pick Up & Deliver 202: Twenty by Five –  2018 “Top of the Stack” list –  2019 “Top of the Stack” List –  2020 “Top of the Stack” List –  2021 “Top of the Stack” List –  2022 “Top of the Stack” List –  2023 “Top of the Stack” List What do you do to track your 10×10 plays? Head over to  board...

Brendan shares the games he played last month. Join us, won’t you? March Top of the Stack list NEW GAME –  Forum Trajanum  X CO-OP CHOICE –  Bastion  ✓ SOLO –  Hunted: Wode Ridge  X ONE MORE CHOICE –  Medieval Academy  ✓ Shelf of Opportunity April Top of the Stack list NEW GAME –  Porta Nigra NOVELTY CHOICE –  Raise the Titanic! SOLO –  Hunted: Wode Ridge TRYING AGAIN CHOICE –  Alien Artifacts Wha...

Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he played for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you? Project L ( BGG ) Freelancers: A Crossroads Game ( BGG ) Forgotten Waters  ( BGG ) Kingdom Rush: A Rift in Time ( BGG ) (dusted off) Flipout ( BGG ) What new games have you played recently? Share your news over on  Boardgamegeek in guild #3269 . This episode brings us to the end of season...

Brendan “dives deep” into several small games he’s played a lot. Join us, won’t you? Previous Message from the Deep episodes Previous Duel episodes Anomia  ( BGG ) So Clover!  ( BGG ) Friday  ( BGG ) Dead Man’s Draw  ( BGG ) Incan Gold  ( BGG ) What small games would you include on a must-play list?

Brendan shares his thoughts on teaching games (again). Join us, won’t you? SVWAG #302: RULES EXPLANATIONS Previous episodes on teaching games: Pick Up & Deliver 011: Learning Games Pick Up & Deliver 310: Teaching Complex Games Pick Up & Deliver 406: Preparing Your First Play Other good teaching guide: Shut Up and Sit Down: HOW TO TEACH BOARD GAMES LIKE A PRO Games mentioned: Evacuation...

Brendan talks about three games he tried for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you? Something Wild! Marvel: Holiday Baby Groot Vagrantsong Nucleum Allow Me to Mansplain Have you played these games? What did you think of them? What other new games have you tried recently? Share your games over on  Boardgamegeek in guild #3269 .

Brendan shares his film viewing in December and January of 2023 and 2024. Join us, won’t you? Spotlight She Said The Report Official Secrets Shattered Glass Margin Call Bank of Dave Genie The Hunt for Red October Blood Quantum What did you watch in December and January? Share your viewing over in our  guild on Boardgamegeek, #3269 .

Brendan returns to the conversation about math and stats and the BG Stats app. Join us, won’t you? The Board Game Stats app Pick Up & Deliver 592: Games I am Best At … maybe? Arkham Horror: The Card Game – The Feast of Hemlock Vale What other stats do you enjoy tracking? Share over on Boardgamegeek in guild #3269 .

Brendan shares his month’s play stats and feelings about them from February 2024. Join us, won’t you? Top of the Stack, Feb 2024 NEW GAME – Evacuation ✓ SHAMEFUL CHOICE – Alien: Fate of the Nostromo X SOLO – Hunted: Wode Ridge X ONE MORE CHOICE – Brian Boru ✓ Shelf of Opportunity Top of the Stack, Mar 2024 NEW GAME – Forum Trajanum CO-OP CHOICE – Bastion SOLO – Hunted: Wode Ridge ONE MORE CHOICE –...