The Dice Tower

In this episode, we announce our Dice Tower Awards for the best boardgames of 2009. We discuss the best expansion, best artwork, best production, best new designer, best game from a small publisher, most innovative game, best party game, best war game, and finally - the best game of the year.

In this episode, originally posted November 2, 2005, Joe Steadman and Tom Vasel talk about our contest for Memoir '44 and expansions, and have an audio blog about the Essen fair from a guest reporter. We review Runebound and Combat Soldiers: Battle of the Bulge, and answer a few user and random questions. We mention our websites of the month, and talk about recently played games. Finally, we top t...

In this episode we spend a bit of time talking about Gen Con 2010, and some of the strengths and weaknesses of the convention. Geoff talks about one of the most famous math problems and how it relates to games, and Dexxter and the Chief recount a recently played game. Finally, Tom talks about his top "hot" games from GenCon 2010.

In this show, we talk about several games - Campaign Manager 2008, Mad Zeppelin, Triplica, and Telestrations. We also talk about our top ten game experiences from our lifetimes.

Starting with this episode, the Dice Tower moves to a weekly format! Tom and Eric talk about several new games - including Dominon: Alchemy, Hagoth: Builder of Ships, and Asteroyds. We talk about news, preview some expansions, and review Armorica.

In this special Origins 2010 Episode, we check out the latest releases from Eagle, Queen, Jolly Roger, AEG and Z-Man, as well as some small-press surprises. Plus, Eric tries Descent for the first time, Mark gets stuck in a marathon kids game session, and we sit down with Rio Grande Games to talk about the future of Dominion and Race for the Galaxy.

This is a special (updated!) edition of the Dice Tower, in which we introduce ourselves, our contributors, and talk about different aspects of the show. We also give you ten games every gamer should own.

Dexter and the Chief explore Ubongo, Moritz talks about the history of SPI, and Geoff interviews the artist for his upcoming game. We finish off our recent contests, and compare Castle Panic to Forbidden Island. Our feature of this show is our top ten pick-up and delivery games.

In this show, we give a couple of character stereotypes, talk about the future of game publishing, and the horror of moving games. The Dice Tower gang give info and tips for Origins 2010, and Geoff eulogizes Marvin Gardner. Erik talks about D6 shooters, Giles about Traders of Carthage, and we finish up the show with our top ten games that give 'bang for the buck'.

In this show, we talk about why Eric logs his game plays, why Scrabble is annoying, and why old games can be great. Dexter and the Chief talk about Cartagena, Eric talks about Entdecker, and Tom talks abou You're Bluffing! Moritz talks about the history of Avalon Hill, and we end the show with our top ten Word games. We have a new contest - to enter, fill out the survey at http://spreadsheets.goog...

In this episode, Tom and Eric talk about Vasco da Gama and the "Cult of the New". Tom reveals where he is relocating, we start a new contest for an interesting new game, and we talk about some of the latest gaming news. Brad talks about Winsome reprints, Mortiz talks about 3M, and Mark talks about gaming magazines. Finally, we end the show talking about what we like about game companies, and what...

In this show, we take some time talking about the top ten games that have replaced other games in our collections. Dexter and the Chief talk about Take it Easy, Brad goes over Age of Steam, Tom reviews 10 games in 9 minutes (or something like that), and Moritz talks about the evolution of Lord of the Rings. We review Wits and Wagers: Family, do Conventional wisdom, and talk about some recently pla...

In this episode, Eric reviews a pile of games, Moritz discusses Mozart and games, and Geoff defends High Society. Dexter and the Chief go over Long Shot, Tom rants against publishers' lack of respect for dads, and Adam gives us some Dominion variants. Ryan gives more instructions on how to properly teach a game, and Eric talks about Ra: the Dice Game. Finally, we give our top ten stress-inducing b...

In this episode, Geoff talks about the worries of publishing a new game, we have several reviews from contributors, and we continue our Summoner Wars contest. Dexter and the Chief make an appearance, and Tom talks about 17 games in 17 minutes (or less). Finally, we end the show with a look back fifteen years ago - what are the best games from 1995?

In this episode, we talk about the best games from 2000 - a decade ago! Our contributors talk about the game you would have "to pry form our cold, dead hands", Geoff talks about rulebooks, and Brad mentions a new Martin Wallace game! We talk about our online throwdown, and Tom reviews Mystery Express.

In this show, Geoff talks about rules writing, and Adam tells us a Wits and Wagers variant. We do more player categories, talk about some recently played games, and go over the latest gaming news. The whole gang gets together, and takes a look back five years ago - at the top ten games from 2005!

In this show, Geoff plays games with robots, Adam changes the rules to Risk, and we check in with Dexter and the Chief. We debut a new convention segment, explore the exciting world of dungeon bureaucracy with Dungeon Lords, and present our top ten ways to play games online.

This is the second part of two in which Tom and Eric talk about the best games of 2009. This show is simply our top ten games. Joining us is our regular cast of contributors, including Joe Steadman, Sam Healey, Giles Pritchard, Mary Prasad, Moritz Eggert, Erik Herman, Mark Zielinski, and Melody Vasel. We also have guest contributors such as the D6 Generation, the Spiel, On Board Games, Game On!, M...

In this show, the first part of two, Tom and Eric talk about the best and worst games of 2009. They discuss the worst game, biggest disappointment, biggest surprise, best expansion, best war game, best artwork, coolest components, best party game, and more! Joining us is our regular cast of contributors, including Joe Steadman, Sam Healey, Giles Pritchard, Moritz Eggert, Mary Prasad, Erik Herman,...

In this show, the gang talks about the strangest games they ever played, Geoff talks about giving, and Mark talks about Christmas. We discuss recently played games - Thunderstone, the Adventurers, Castle Panic, the Ares Project, Summoner Wars, and World without End. Giles talks about a game convention, we take a look back at Lord of the Rings, and we give our top ten most unique games.

In this show we talk about the games we want to get for Christmas. We finish up our contest and review Knights of the Realm. Geoff talks about gaming tables, and Moritz reviews a wargame. Finally, we end the show with our top ten Fantasy Flight games.

In this episode, we talk about the future of the Dice Tower, review El Grande, and compare Shadows over Camelot to Battlestar Galactica. We discuss games played over the Thanksgiving holidays, and give our list of games that should be reprinted.

In this show, we talk about what games are good to bring a young gamer into heavier strategy games, and discuss recently played games. We start a new contest, discuss Metro, and discuss our top ten Wolfgang Kramer games.

In this show, Tom answers some questions about the game fair in Essen, and talks about some of the new games he picked up there. Sturm and Geoff talk about game rules, and Moritz ambushes the listeners. Joe and Mark talk about their ASL conference, Sam reviews some new games, and we end the show talking about our top ten gimmicks in board games.

In this episode, Geoff crunches some numbers, Eric and Tom talk about some recently played (or NOT played) games, and Giles goes head to head with Tom about Doom and Descent. We preview a couple of games, and take a look at an older game - Lost Cities. We discuss how much money the show makes us (hint - not much), and end the show with our top ten party games!