The Spiel

WizKids may want to change the company name to DiceKids. Scott D'Agostino discusses the massive success of Marvel Dice Masters and the many challenges they have faced trying to keep up with demand. We also chat about the dragon battle game DnD Attack Wing

Ludovic Maublanc's resume of great games makes him a rock star in the industry, yet he remains relatively unknown. Ludovic and fellow French designer Charles Chevallier discuss his career, his games and the importance of collaboration in game design.

Stephen Buonocore is joined by designer Geoff Englestein to give us the rundown on four new titles from Stronghold: Space Cadets: Dice Duel - Die Fighter, Diamonds, Panamax, and Among the Stars.

Asterion is a distributor & publisher of games in Italy. Yemaia is an Italian game design company. Luca Cattini & Giovanni Intini chat about their 1st joint venture, Hyperborea, a fantasy civilization building game & the state of gaming culture in Italy.

Publisher Kevin Brusky and designer Kevin G. Nunn discuss a full slate of new releases from APE including Rarrr!!, Island Siege, Spirits of the Rice Paddy and the Great Britain/India expansion to Rolling Freight.

The Hill brothers, Jason & Scott, chat about 2 new story-driven titles from Flying Frog. Dark Gothic is a deck building game of colonial-era monster hunting. Shadows of Brimstone is an old west dungeon crawl board game filled with unspeakable horrors.

Patrick Nickell chats about Pay Dirt - an engine building worker placement game set in Alaska designed by Tory Niemann (Alien Frontiers). Players take a small crew a try to extract as much gold from their modest claim before the ground freezes solid.

Ted Alspach discusses 3 new games. Subdivision is a tile drafting follow up to Suburbia. One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a micro game version of the classic. Castles of Mad King Ludwig asks players to raise the most ornate palace to please his majesty.

Dan Yarrington discusses Kings Forge - a dice based game of crafting weapons and trinkets in order to garner favor with the royal court. We also get a sneak peak at a game in development: Lighthouse Run

Mad genius Christopher Badell chats about 3 new games and his emphasis on storytelling in game development and design: Galactic Strike Force, Sentinel Tactics and Wrath of the Cosmos, an expansion for Sentinels of the Multiverse.

Chris Cieslik discusses 4 new games. Consequential: a co-op about mending holes in time. Impulse: a scifi card game from Carl Chudyk. Heat: a game of heists & avoiding the law. Red: a micro game - be in first place by the end of your turn or you're out!

Matthieu Bonin discusses two new titles from Iello. Zombie '15 is a real time scenario based game of teamwork and survival. King of New York is the follow up to Richard Garfield's hit dice game. This time, giant monsters are trying to take down Manhattan.

Calliope is known for family friendly games like Roll for It and Tsuro. They are launching a new venture - the Titan Series: 9 games from some of the most creative minds in the industry including Richard Garfield, Eric Lang, Mike Selinker and many more.

This year GenCon is really Cathala-Con. Famed French designer Bruno Cathala has 7 new games debuting at the con! We decide to focus our discussion on one: Abyss - a game about undersea Lords competing to control a forgotten realm.

Richard Launius and Sean Brown discuss the inspiration and development of Alien Uprising, a cooperative game that pits the crew of a wrecked spaceship against an overwhelming onslaught of bug-like aliens called Zothren.

Noted Polish designer Ignacy Trezwiczek chats about Imperial Settlers, his first experience as a vendor at GenCon, and his new book: Board Games That Tell Stories.

Blue Orange publishes many games for kids and families. They are expanding their catalog to include games with more strategy. Brandan Parsons and designer Charles Chevallier discuss several new releases: Longhorn, Niya, Battle Sheep, Braverats and Wakanda

In Germany, HABA is a well known publisher of wonderful high quality engaging toys and games. Lea Culliton, President of HABA USA, chats about the history of HABA and the company's plans to bring a wider selection of games to the American market.

Justin Gary chats about the challenges and opportunities when developing across cardboard and digital platforms with Ascension and SolForge Each shows how analog and digital games can enhance each other, building a better game in both worlds.

Francois Valentyne & Josh Rivers chat about new titles from Canadian publisher Flux Capacity: Gone Viking - a trick taker with resource management, Zombie Island - an asymmetrical abstract & Khrysos Hunters - a dice based treasure race on a modular board.

Mark Kaufmann from Days of Wonder discusses Five Tribes: a worker displacement game that draws inspiration from the classic game Mancala, set in the world of the Arabian Nights.

Travis Chance and Nick Little discuss the backstory and inspiration for Heroes Wanted, a game where players build misfit superheroes to gain fame and attention in hope of joining a real super team, the Champions of Zeta City.

I'm Board Puzzle by David Coleson. Guess the game based on a small little snippet of each board. One you have each game title, you'll be able to unscramble the letters and find the answer to the puzzle and maybe even win a prize.

Decision time. We review Istanbul and Rococo, the final nominees for the Kennerspiel des Jahres, and try to predict the winner.

Strategy or catchall? We begin our coverage of the Kennerspiel des Jahres with a look at the recommended games list, a review of nominee Concordia and finish with a rousing debate about the identity crisis the award faces.