The Spiel - MP3 Version

Unconventional conversations. We dive into GenCon with a dozen interviews with some industry giants (Richard Garfield, Bruno Cathala), some influential newcomers (TableTop, The Game Whisperer) and some great game publishers.

Magic words. We review Sidibaba, a game that pits a team of players against the Leader of the Thieves in a timed race to find treasure and escape. We also look at an innovative dice driven train game, Rolling Freight.

That first step is a doozy! We review Rio d'Oro, a dice game that pits adventurers in a race to collect gold across a rickety 3-D bridge.

Use your grey cells. The Kennerspiel des Jahres recognizes the best strategy game of the year. From a deadly mountain peak to the bandit filled desert to the workshops of a medieval town, we review the 3 nominated games and try to predict the winner.

The big red pawn. From high stakes dice to story telling donkeys, our award season coverage continues with in-depth reviews of Vegas and Eselsbrücke, the final two nominees for the Spiel des Jahres, the most prestigious trophy in the game playing world.

Kids at heart. From dragonknights and toad slime to cheese stealing ghosts, we review the 3 nominees for the Kinderspiel des Jahres, Germany's Children's Game of the Year, and try to predict the winner.

Win-win-win. The Spiel des Jahres is more than Germany's Game of the Year. It's an institution. And home to the 3 most prestigious awards in the industry. We begin our award coverage with a review of Kingdom Builder, 1 of 3 Spiel des Jahres nominees.

Fun from the frozen north. We review 3 titles from Russian publisher Right Games: Evolution, Potion Making Practice and The Enigma of Leonardo.

Find 'em hot and leave 'em wet. Firefighter Captain Brian Strange visits the padded cell to give us an expert's perspective on Flash Point - a board game of teamwork, burning buildings and daring rescues.

Think inside the box. That's exactly what Adlung Spiele does. Their card games redefine the notion of what card games can be. We review 8 titles: choosing roles, flipping carpets & slapping bugs. So many kinds of fun, all from a simple deck of cards.

Canoes and cannonballs. Join us for an in-depth review of A Few Acres of Snow, Martin Wallace's deck building board game. We row through the rivers and forests of the North to settle the fate of the French & Indian War.

The whole pint. We settle a patch of land on the banks of Plum Creek, reviewing Walnut Grove - a fast, fun mash-up game that includes tile laying, worker placement and a rondel.

Gone fission. We review The Manhattan Project, a game where players race to build an atomic bomb, plus we look back at an influential classic: Advanced Civilization.

So nice, they named it twice. Dave reports back from Toy Fair 2012 with 10 interviews, plus a review of a new family card game, Let's Take A Hike.

What's next? We review Airlines: Europe and Fortuna, two middle weight games that can draw new players deeper into the hobby - games that strike a great balance between strategy and fun in under 90 minutes.

Deck building: the next generation. From galactic conquest to warring gods, we review Core Worlds and Ascension: Storm of Souls, two of the newest titles in the genre.

You're the next contestant. We review two more Easy Play titles: Drachen Wurf and Big Points. Then, join us for the virtual Spiel-a-thon, an audio game show with fabulous prizes.

Board games meet technology. Michaela Magin introduces 3 new titles with electronic elements.

Vintage airplanes, new battles, and a daring escape! Guillermo Soria gives a tour of Air Show, a 2 de Mayo Expansion, and Stalag 17.

So many possibilities with a simple deck of cards. Bernhard Naegele gives a tour of four new titles: Flying Carpet, Cock-a-Doodle-Doo- Bah!, Taureg, and Ladybug and So.

3 new games from 3 great designers. Carol Rapp introduces Rapa Nui (Klaus-Jurgen Wrede) , Helvetia (Matthias Cramer) and Ankh Morpork (Martin Wallace).

Adventure, arks, and nuclear bombs. James Mathe discusses Venture Forth and Kingdom of Solomon and previews The Manhattan Project.

Gods, gold, and sandy beaches. Mortiz Brunnhofer introduces three titles: Pantheon, Stone Age: Style is the Goal, and Hawaii.

Designer Sebastian Bleasdale discusses On the Cards, a game which allows players to mix and match rules from a variety of classic card games.

Keith Blume introduces a full lineup of games from Eagle including 1812: The Invasion of Canada, Dragon Rampage, Mirror Mirror and new editions of Can't Stop and Montage.