Simple, Yet Intriguing

Feast your ears on todays' double-feature-episode, where the lads reveal how little they know about Chess as well as their inability to distinguish the color green from the color magenta. Also featuring a quick discussion of CMYK's Magenta series! Chapters: 00:57 - Tower Chess Discussion 10:38 - Fives Discussion 23:33 - CMYK Magenta collection -- Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lem...

🎪 The usual circus that is this podcast continues with our penultimate Taiki Shinzawa episode! We speak briefly on the 2025 game Tag Team (from Scorpion Masqué, by Gricha German & Corentin Lebrat) before introducing the main act: Big Top (from Allplay, by Taiki Shinzawa), a fantastically clever auction game. Ta-da! 🎉🐘🎩 Hosted & Edited by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced b...

This week, Luke and Chris continue on their Taiki Shinzawa journey with two trick-taking games: 2020 Planet etuC and 2022 Pin Combi Trio. Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist Artwork by: Samm Ruppersberger

Luke and Chris continue their journey through the games of Taiki Shinzawa. This week, join them as they chat through two unique card games: Cowardly Bat and Maskmen ! Chapters: 01:23 - Cowardly Bat discussion 09:44 - Maskmen discussion 19:45 - Aha! moments 23:53 - BGG Trivia! Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist Artwork by: Samm Ruppersber...

It's a trick-taking double feature extravaganza as Chris and Luke kick-off the new Taiki Shinzawa miniseries with Nine Lives and Ghosts of Christmas! Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist Artwork by: Samm Ruppersberger

I! AM!! BEOWULF!!! Join the crew as they check in on Chris’s 2025 board game challenge—playing games based on movies! This week, we’re diving into a reimplementation of Reiner Knizia's Kingdoms: Beowulf: The Movie Board Game . Chapters 00:00 - Spoiler warning 00:46 - Introduction 03:01 - Beowulf (movie) recap 13:27 - Beowulf: The Movie Board Game discussion 31:56 - Aha! moments Hosted by: Luke...

In today's episode (alt title 'How to Master your Dragon') Chris & Luke bandy words about the notoriously rules-light yet compelling game, Dragon Master. 🐉 We also debate whether this is a tile laying game at all! 🤷 Tally ho! Chapters: 00:00 - Hello 00:47 - Intro & what we played this week (Halo Flashpoint) 05:20 - Dragon Master Rules & Basics 11:52 - Game Discussion 27:08 - Aha! Mom...

This week, Pangea is splitting and the crew fight for world dominance as they chat through Knizia's pre-historic dice rolling/tile laying classic: Genesis (2006) . Chapters 00:00 - Intro 02:38 - What did we play this week? 09:06 - Genesis discussion 16:50 - Aha! moments Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist Artwork by: Samm Ruppersberger

This week, Chris and Luke are praying to the gods of Easter Island as they chat through Knizia's blind auction / tile laying (maybe?) game: Orongo (recently re-released as Nyakuza). Chapters 00:00 - Intro 00:55 - What did we play this week? 09:03 - Nyakuza discussion 21:44 - Aha! moments Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist Artwork by: Samm Ru...

What do freelance fantasy space-whale photography and the establishment of profitable medieval realms have in common? That the boys talk about both of those themes in this episode! Chris and Luke bandy words about the classic tile-laying game Cosmolancer (originally released as Kingdoms), as well as the 2025 Spiel des Jahres awards (a very timely discussion), and the warm feeling of harming your f...

In this ✨premier episode✨, the lads continue laying tiles in order to collect gems and/or guide butterflies. Join Chris and Luke as they highlight the classic Knizia game Indigo (re-released & re-themed as Butterfly Garden)! Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 00:49 - Banter: On Rulebooks 08:46 - Butterfly Garden explanation 13:42 - Butterfly Garden discussion 18:08 - Theme & Production 21:49 - Aha!...

We continue our adventures in Tile Laying with The Boys as Luke & Chris chat Mille Fiori - on glassblowing, card drafting, and pattern building in beautiful Venice. Featuring surprise banter topic - going to Deep Space! Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 01:00 - Going to Deep Space (MLEM Banter) 04:48 - Mille Fiori explanation 09:01 - Mille Fiori (boardgame) discussion 19:16 - Theme discussion 22:22 - Mi...

The crew is back with a shiny new Knizia series: Tile Laying with the Boys! Luke & Chris welcome our very own Mechanic Mechanic Matt to chat about the first game in the series: Rebirth . Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 01:02 - Get to know Mechanic Mechanic Matt! 12:50 - How to play Rebirth 19:09 - Rebirth Discussion 36:56 - Aha! moments Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Guest: Matt Wi...

It’s time for a challenge check-in! The crew returns to see how Sophie’s board game resolution is going, diving into the depths of deduction in Sleuth and the wordy wheeling and dealing of BuyWord —both from the prolific designer Sid Sackson. Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist Artwork by: Samm Ruppersberger

This week, the crew present you an offer you can't refuse: Gang of Dice ! Plus, they rank all the games of their Cubes So Nice They Named it Dice: Dice Guys Finish Last series. Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 01:33 - What did we play this week?  08:28 - How to play Gang of Dice 12:00 - Gang of Dice Discussion 17:45 - Aha! moments 27: 02 - Series rankings Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux...

Lace up your sneakers! This week, the crew are diving headfirst into Reiner Knizia's Decathlon — ten dicey events, one questionable champion... Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 01:27 - What did we play this week? 11:53 - How to play Reiner Knizia's Decathlon⁠ 14:56 - Reiner Knizia's Decathlon⁠ Discussion 26:19 - Aha! moments Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Social...

This week, Luke and Chris are joined by our very own Mechanic Mechanic Matt to chat Einfach Genial: Das Würfelspiel , the dice rolling entry part of Knizia's Ingenious Challenges! Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 01:37 - What did we play this week? 08:51 - How to play Einfach Genial: Das Würfelspiel⁠ 12:26 - Einfach Genial: Das Würfelspiel⁠ Discussion 32:10 - Aha! moments Hosted by: Luke O'Grady &am...

This week the crew dives into the simple, chaotic, and sneakily strategic Don't L.L.A.M.A Dice ! 00:00 - Introduction 01:12 - Breakout Con 08:57 - How to play Don’t L.L.A.M.A. Dice 13:17 - Don’t L.L.A.M.A. Dice Discussion 25:38 - Aha moments Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist Artwork by: Samm Ruppersberger

The crew keeps rollin' through their push-your-luck dice series with Knizia's Excape ! Episode Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 01:55 - What have we played this week? 09:27 - Excape discussion  18:04 - Aha moments Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist Artwork by: Samm Ruppersberger

Get your worms fried and hold onto your chickens! The crew kicks off their new series exploring the world of push-your-luck dice games in the Knizia-verse with Pickomino ! Episode Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 01:40 - What have we played this week? 05:39 - Pickomino discussion 20:35 - Aha moments Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist Artwork by...

This week the crew tests out their symbiotic connection to the fungi in our final chapter of the Elizabeth Hargrave series: Undergrove ! Episode Chapters 00:00 - Intro 02:06 - What we played this week 15:00 - Undergrove Discussion 43:24 - Series rankings Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist Artwork by: Samm Ruppersberger

This week we don our lab coats to talk about Elizabeth Hargrave's The Fox Experiment, a game about raising curly-tailed canids who are predisposed to love you. Join us as we discuss this unique game, grounded - as per usual - in fascinating real-world science! Episode Chapters 00:00 - Intro 01:05 - What we played this week (The Gang) 09:44 - Pirate non-sequitur 09:59 - Fox Experiment Discussion Ho...

This week, the crew gift each other flowers and feed some pixies as they play through Hargrave's Button Shy wallet games: Tussie Mussie and Picky Pixie ! Episode Chapters 00:00 - Intro 01:40 - What Luke played this week & challenge update 06:46 - Tussie Mussie discussion 23:54 - Picky Pixie discussion Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist A...

This week, the crew takes a round-trip to Mexico, embracing their inner butterflies as they continue their Elizabeth Hargrave side quest with her Wingspan follow-up: Mariposas ! Episode Chapters 00:00 - Intro 01:50 - Check-in on 2025 game challenges 09:15 - Mariposas discussion 26:30 - Aha! moments Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Chris Lemieux Produced by: Sophie Shin Socials: Matt Winquist Artwork...

We're taking a break from our journey through Knizia's œuvre and are embarking on a side quest! The gang are joined by special guest Maggie Shanahan as they go birdwatching with Elizabeth Hargrave in Wingspan—the first episode of our new mini-series. Episode Chapters 00:00 - Episode intro 01:12 - Maggie Shanahan intro 07:54 - Wingspan discussion 19:28 - Aha moments Hosted by: Luke O'Grady & Ch...