Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast

Rollin’ - We tackle a question about dice trays and towers. We talk about whether we use them or not and deep dive into why you may want them or why not and what to look for if you do choose to buy one. Then I’ve got a review of a fantastic family friendly RPG, Magical Kitties Save The Day. Finally, I’ve got some initial thoughts on the Aventuria Adventure Card Game. Episode 133, recorded May 19th...

We continue our topic of train games, recommending the best next step train games for Ticket to Ride fans. Sticking with the railway theme, we review one of the most unique train games out there: Rail Pass. We’ve got more thoughts on Rail Pass in the Bellhop’s Tabletop segment as well as initial thoughts on Azul Crystal Mosaic and Gorinto. Episode 132, recorded May 12th, 2021. Join us Wednesdays a...

Part one of a two episode series highlighting Train Games. In this first episode we try to help people define what a Train Game is. Sticking with our train theme we’ve got a review of an 18XX upgrade. Then we go off the rails a bit with our review of A Little Wordy, the latest game from Exploding Kittens. We finish off back on track with some initial thoughts on Great Western Trail and Rail Pass a...

Topics include a discussion on playtesting and prototyping games, we go deep with what board games we are, gaming pet peeves, why Moe doesn’t play RPGs online, do people take the time to master games anymore, do you keep playing solved games, and more. Also a review of Robotech Invid Invasion, the best Robotech board game so far. Episode 130, recorded April 28th, 2021. Join us Wednesdays at Eight...

Card Based Filler games and why you should play them. Tonight, we have twenty-five filler card game recommendations. Following that, I’ve got a review of a mostly card-driven game that may be best used for filling your trash bin. Finally in the week in review I’ve gotten some thoughts on Quacks of Quedlinburg and Sean has a review of the book: Winning Streak: Tales and Trivia of the 40 Most Popula...

Gamer Parents - The gaming doesn't have to stop when you have kids. Deanna joins us to talk about the effect having kids can have on gaming with some tips and tricks on how to keep your gaming life alive and well even after kids. I follow with a review of a game I’ve been playing with our not so little ones, Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Begins. We wrap up with our week in review where I’ve got...

Games by Indigenous Designers. We discuss board games and RPGs by Indigenous designers based on a question from one of our Patreon patrons. We also take a look at all of the non-stretch goal coins in the Legendary Metal Coins Season Six Kickstarter (live through April 13th). Finally a couple of very early thoughts on Quacks of Quedlinburg and the new printing of World's Fair 1893. Episode 127, rec...

Sean’s Birthday AMA. We answer questions live from the Lobby (our chatroom on Twitch). Topics include: Favourite Roll & Write games, birthday gaming memories, games that create music, post pandemic gaming, the best pizza in the world, and more. Episode 126, recorded March 24th, 2021. Join us Wednesdays at Nine PM Eastern at https://www.twitch.tv/tabletopbellhop More detailed show notes: https:...

Super, Capes and Metas - We mixed things up this episode with Sean taking the lead during the Ask The Bellhop segment and telling us all about nine superhero themed RPGs he’s discovered and what makes each stand out from the rest. Sticking with the theme of RPGs I’ve got a review of White Star Galaxy Edition a Sci-Fi OSR RPG. Finally in our week in review I’ve been playing a truly classic Sci-Fi b...

The New Hotness - We recap the GenCon Spring Showcase and share what games we are most excited about. This is followed by reviews of a couple of modern classic cooperative card games: Letter Jam from CGE and The Crew from KOSMOS plus our usual week in review. Episode 124, recorded March 10th, 2021. Join us Wednesdays at Eight PM Eastern at https://www.twitch.tv/tabletopbellhop More detailed show n...

This episode we’ve got a Patreon patron chosen question from a fan looking for some great cooperative kids games for family game night. We’ve got a list of twenty one recommendations. After that we review Wonder Woman Challenge of the Amazons, a cooperative board game set in the DC Comics universe. We wrap up with a longer than usual Bellhop’s Tabletop segment where we talk about all of the games...

Active Game Nights - How to maintain your game night group. After discussing ways to keep your game group going with a special look at doing that during the ongoing global pandemic we’ve got reviews of The Creepy Cellar expansion for Ghost Fightin Treasure Hunters and a look at Roguebook a digital deck building roguelike from Richard Garfield of Magic The Gathering Fame. Episode 122, recorded Febr...

Styles and Types of Board Games - In addition to Engine Building, what other types of board games are there? Also reviews of Fairy Season from Good Games Publishing and Harry Potter House Cup Competition from The Op. Finally first thoughts on Junk Orbit and Sean continues to try to learn Masks. Episode 121, recorded February 3rd, 2021. Join us Wednesdays at Nine PM Eastern at https://www.twitch.tv...

What do we mean by engine building and some of the best engine building games. Also a review of Funfair, a lighter, less cutthroat, version of Unfair the engine building game about building a theme park. Finally, in our week in review Moe shares his first thoughts on Wonder Woman Challenge of the Amazons and Sean’s been running some Masks: A New Generation and playing Clank! Episode 120, recorded...

Great board games based on history. We have some game suggestions for a historical miniature wargamer looking to broaden their horizons into hobby board games. Sticking with the theme of history we’ve got two Viking themed reviews, Skora and the Hall of Heroes Expansion for Raiders of the North Sea. Finally in our week in review we’ve got first thoughts on both Letter Jam and The Crew with two pla...

Topics include, time stamps on YouTube, digital board game reviews, podcast plans and tech upgrades, board gaming in Canada and more. Plus reviews of Robotech Force of Arms and Robotech Crisis Point. Finally, we’ve both been playing Hogwarts Battle, some Race for the Galaxy on BGA and Sean gets Clank! to the table. Episode 118, recorded December 30th, 2020. Join us Wednesdays at Nine PM Eastern at...

The best games we discovered for the first time in 2020. Reviews of Knot Dice Squared and Back to the Future Dice Through Time. Also some virtual gaming, more Knot Dice and another book of Hogwarts Battle completed. Episode 117, recorded December 23rd, 2020. Join us Wednesdays at Eight PM Eastern at https://www.twitch.tv/tabletopbellhop More detailed show notes: https://tabletopbellhop.com/podcast...

Non-Game Gifts for Gamers. Holiday shopping suggestions for shopping for a gamer who doesn’t need more games. Reviews of a couple of independently published filler games: Bricks & Brutes from Nanolociy Games and Knot Dice from Black Oak Games. Also a return to Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle. Episode 116, recorded December 16th, 2020. Join us Wednesdays at Nine PM Eastern at https://www.twitch.tv...

It’s in the Cards, Tabletop role playing games that use standard playing cards, and card based adventure board games. Two featured reviews: Tyrants of the Underdark from Gale Force 9 and the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Core Set from Paizo. Also first thoughts on Mission Red Planet and Bricks & Brutes and more in our week in review segment. Episode 115 of the Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast,...

The results of our 2020 Extra Life charity efforts and a discussion of all of the games we played. Includes board games like Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion, first thoughts on Harry Potter House Cup Competition, a new Chronicles of Crime 1400 case, lots of digital gaming and more. Also some talk about Star Wars The Old Republic MMORPG. Episode 114 of the Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast, recorded Novem...

That’s the Trick - Great Trick Taking Games. A discussion on trick-taking games and the declining popularity of traditional playing card games followed by 10 modern trick-taking game suggestions. Two featured reviews: Ratuki from The Op and a preview of Macaron from Sunrise Tornado. Finally some Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion in our week in review. Episode 113 of the Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast,...

Crowdfunding including what games we are excited about and various crowdfunding platforms with a focus on Gamefound, but also talk of Pulse, Itch.io , OneBookShelf, and Indiegogo. Making it in the tabletop industry, who makes more content creators or game designers? Games we most want to get to the table once it’s safe to game in person again. We also have two featured reviews: Chronicles of Crime...

Best Horror Themed Games. A number of great games for playing on or around Halloween including a bunch of suggestions from The Lobby. Sticking to the theme we have reviews of the ALIEN RPG Starter Set and EXIT: The Catacombs of Horror. We diverge a bit in our week in review where we’ve got first thoughts on Chronicles of Crime 1400, Robotech Force of Arms and more. Episode 111 of the Tabletop Bell...

The best newer two player board games. Tying into that we’ve got a review of one of the hottest new two player games out there right now, Watergate from Capstone Games. In our week in review we continue our Jaws of the Lion campaign, discuss some 7 Wonders, Clans of Caledonia, Terra Mystica and Rallyman GT online, and I convince Deanna to try For the Queen, a pass the stick style indie RPG. Episod...

End of Summer AMA, Tabletop Transitions. Discussion topics include going back to earlier editions of D&D for players who really like min/maxing, transitioning from competitive games to cooperative ones, swapping from blogging to podcasting, RPG systems we did not enjoy, the shift to online gaming, and success in content creation. Sticking with the theme we take a looking back at Azul Summer Pa...