Two Wood for a Wheat

Today on Two Wood for a Wheat it's Renature, the domino laying game by classic duo Kiesling and Kramer. This game may look innocent, but it plays as slimy as a swampbottom. Then it's our most anticipated games of 2021! The games we're most excited to play and review this year. Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a-wheat Or on Google Podcasts tinyurl.com/...

Today on Two wood for a wheat, we say goodbye to 2020 by expressing our favorite games of this magical hobby. But first, we review Praga Caput Regni, the extremely intricate euro puzzle by Underwater Cities designer vladimir suchy. And with this episode, we say goodbye to 2020, a year surprisingly full of amazing games and plays. We detail the best ones of this memorable year. But first, we review...

On this episode of two wood for a wheat, we're reviewing My City, a loving legacy devotion to tile laying games by the Dr. Reiner Knizia. Then, we imagine the games that we would have loved had we played them in 2020. Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a-wheat Or on Google Podcasts tinyurl.com/36gzg2hy Read Tony's blog: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/ma...

While you're waiting for the belated release of Denis Villeneuve $165,000,000 Dune movie, soothe yourself with our review of Dune: Imperium for free! Tony and I also try to rewrite Love in the Time of Cholera for 2020 as gaming in the time of COVID. Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a-wheat Or on Google Podcasts tinyurl.com/36gzg2hy Read Tony's blog: h...

Today we climb a tech tree to travel Beyond the Sun. Dennis K. Chan focuses an entire game around the usually-ancillary tech tree to develop something very unique. Then we discuss where the majority of our attention is during a game. A game board can sprawl across half a dozen areas, and sometimes our focus is across all of them. We explore games that overfocus on one part, overproduce parts that...

On this bonus episode of Two Wood for a Wheat, Tony reviews The Dwellings of Eldervale, a euro worker placement game with a throughline of ameritrash themes and mechanisms. Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a-wheat Or on Google Podcasts tinyurl.com/36gzg2hy Read Tony's blog: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/maxlongstreet/blogs Leave us a review on Apple...

ALL THE CRITIQUES. TIMES 2. CAPSTONE BOARDGAME MAYHEM DOUBLE FEATURE. FIRST BOARD GAME: Curious Cargo, a two player tactical game of tile laying and truck driving adventure. They deliver! And then they Receive! SECOND BOARD GAME: New York Zoo, Uwe's sexed-up time track tile laying game. Whose zookeeper can stuff the most animals into the same space? AND THEN The Greatest Race Games, what makes for...

On today's episode of Two Wood for a Wheat, we review Stefan Feld's the Castles of Tuscany, the semi-sequel to the evergreen game Castles of Burgundy. Will this little brother hold up? Then it's our feature discussion on board game reimplementations -- the successes of our favorite games in the market and among fans. Listen to more episodes on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/two-wood-for-a...

Marco.... Polo.... Marco.... Polo... On today's episode of Two Wood for a Wheat, we wander across the Mongol empire, searching for efficiencies, hidden player powers, and precious jade. How does Simone Luciani and Danielle Tascini's sequel hold up to the original Marco Polo? Find out from a novice and a 50+ play veteran. We then discuss what's the right number of plays -- to understand how a game...

I always liked the number fifty. Imagine five ice cream cones. Then imagine five ice cream cones 10 times. On our fiftieth episode, we review the formidable dice drafting game by Italian designers Danielle Tascini and David Turczi, Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun. To continue in our thread of bad board game titles, this roughly translates to Obelisk: Obelisk of the Sun. We really bring balance in our...

I have never seen such a fantastical theme. Cats that desire order over chaos, patterns over randomness, and who can see in reds and pinks. Today we're reviewing Calico, a powerful tile-laying pattern-matching game in a small box. After that, it's the strength of our favorite and least favorite board game names. Which ones perfectly capture the essence of these games and which junk them up with th...

The leaves are falling, the PSL girls have awoken from their summer chrysalis into their winged-ugg boot form, and it's cold enough that I no longer feel guilty staying inside playing board games all day. By the light of the full moon, we're reviewing the Spiel-nominated Nova Luna, a time track tile-laying game reimplemented by the brilliant Uwe Rosenberg. Then, just in time for spook-tober, we di...

Every spring, the danaus plexippus butterfly, also known as the monarch, migrates north to lay the next generation on milkweed plants. It does this until it makes its way as far from Mexico to Canada. Then a 'super-generation' that lives as long as eight months makes its way back to Mexico to overwinter in oyamel fir trees which create a bubble of temperate air for them to live in. Who says board...

Now's your chance to imbibe in dreams of corruption from the safety of your gaming table. We review Gil Hova's High Rise, a tension-filled time track game punctuated by its point-filled skyscrapers. We also discuss time tracks, and their simple tensions make for some of the roughest decisions in board games. Leave us a review on Apple podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/y2eyvqux Read Tony's blog: https:...

Who needs an intro when you have intro games? Today we review Parks, the gloriously beautiful light strategy game that supports our nation's national park system. Is it anything more than a pretty face? Does it hide a 2 million year old supervolcano inside of it? We'll find out. We also talk the best intro games for the modern era. And for some reason a significant number of them look edible. Leav...

Story time! Gather 'round the fire, children. Today we'll learn of an intrepid adventurer who fights for the villagers of Dragonholt using cunning, strength, or skill. And you're the hero! We review Legacy of Dragonholt, a choose-your-own-adventure story set in a high fantasy world. Does this game save our souls or leave us wanting for choice? We also talk about the story that a great game arc can...

Like, zoinks, Scoob, it's time for another episode of Two Wood for a Wheat! Today we're reviewing the Scooby Doo-themed escape room, Scooby Doo: Escape from the Haunted Mansion. Did we chow down on Usaopoly title like some comically oversized sandwich, or are we running in fear for our lives? We also talk about the lingering effects of first plays of board games, how they change our feeling toward...

I remember my first love. She was always the life of the party, constantly kept me guessing, and had more tuck boxes than you could shake a stick at. Today we return to Gloomhaven with Jaws of the Lion. It's the same beast in a smaller box. We take a very deep look at what makes this game stand out and whether it holds up to its very significant weight. How does it land with players new to Gloomha...

We're reviewing Pangea Games' Tasty Humans, which is essentially Tetris. With monsters. And humans in stomachs. It's a bit like that show on the Discovery Channel with the fella with the scuba tank and the snake. Except in this one they go through with it and there's no scuba tank. And more chits. There's still a snake though. Also, bad mechanisms! Or, well... bad is an overstatement. Our least fa...

On today’s episode of Two Wood for a Wheat, we maintain equanimity while reviewing Mandala, the cut-throat two-player card game with gameplay that’s discordant to its theme. On the other end of the spectrum we discuss our best five player board games and what makes a game shine at this most awkward of numbers. Leave us a review on Apple podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/y2eyvqux Read Tony's blog: http...

We couldn't help ourselves. On this episode, we come back to Underwater Cities because we love it so damn much. The New Discoveries expansion adds a lot. But is it enough? Or is it too much? Or is it just enough? We figure it out. Speaking of expansions, we categorize the different types and what they do to our favorite games. For better or for worse. Leave us a review on Apple podcasts: https://t...

In the words of DiscoverLosAngeles.com, "[w]hen one thinks of Santa Monica, the attraction of the Pier inevitably comes to mind. The Pier offers Pacific Park, a full service amusement park, combined with plenty of restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops, as well as an entertaining arcade with more than 200 games. The Pier is a must-visit Santa Monica attraction that really sets Santa Monica apart as...

We've fully embraced our digital bodies as our souls slowly bleed into 0s and 1s. The only bit of humanity that's left is a binary expression for competitive rage. Today we review Gaia Project, a super deluxe sequel to Terra Mystica. This game probably has every right to exist on its own, like a clone that splits off from its gene donor to live a full life. We also discuss www. BoardGameArena.com...

In the eternal words of Apocalypse Now, "The Horror. The Horror." And, in the immortal words of the Terminator, "I know now why you cry. But it's something I can never do." And of course, in the undying words of Jack Dawson, "Promise me, Rose. And never let go of that promise." Today, we understand Halloween and the Day of the Dead a little bit better as we grow more comfortable with the spirit re...

Ever feel like the system was made to work against you? Like no matter how hard you try, the world conspires to make sure you stay under the heel of a boot? Like every warship of the Victorian era naval powers is out hunting you and your sodium-mercury battery-powered super-submarine before you can ram their imperial trading routes into oblivion? Well then Nemo's War may be the game for you! Drive...