Board Gamers Anonymous

It's time again for March Gamer Madness! Our annual bracket face off challenge pitting 64 board games against each other to find the very best of a very particular set of requirements. This year, we're looking at the most popular non-IP based themes, meaning the best games featuring: Cats Zombies Aliens Robots Samurai Knights Vikings Cowboys === If you’re attending Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo...

We're going digital this week with a look at some of the best all-digital deck builders, card flippers, and more.  === If you're attending Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo, be sure to stop by and say hi, or attend one of our two panels over the weekend: Long Island Tabletop: Level Up Your Teach & Your Mental Health === CONTEST!  Our annual March Gamer Madness bracket is now live. Enter your picks...

This week, we give ChatGPT a series of prompts and pitches board games based on those prompts. Chris guesses what input led to the description written by the AI. Can we guess the direction of the generative AI or will it outsmart us with clever designs?  * Question of the Week: What's the best thing you've ever purchased for your board game collection? * Acquisition Disorders: Mage Knight: The Apo...

We're looking at games that spin off from and are often better than the board game they are based on (dice games, card games, and everything in between). What are some of your favorites that fit this? Acquisition Disorders: Puerto Rico Special Edition, Star Trek Ascendancy on Game Found, Castles of Burgundy: Special Edition Reprint, Cascadia Rolling At the Table Reviews: Rats of Wistar, Cats and Q...

This week, Anthony and Chris are looking at some of the many games to hit big box stores as exclusives or limited time releases (or streamlined versions of long time classics), in particular, Target and its long run of hobby games.  Question of the Week: What's the best designer/publisher combo? Acquisition Disorders: King of Tokyo: Origins, Fled, Feudum At the Table Reviews: Federation, Imperial...

We're looking at the best of the best from Vladimir Suchy this week, running down our top 10 of his very diverse ludography.  Question of the Week: What's a game you think should be in the upper pantheon of board games that everyone stopped talking about? Acquisition Disorders: Inferno Deluxe Edition, Dante: Inferno At the Table Reviews: Flamecraft, Canvas: Finishing Touches – Deluxe Edition, Domi...

Anthony and Chris run through the catalog of Stonemaier Games and put them on a tier list using our review rating scale. Plus: Question of the Week: What do you do in support of tabletop gaming? Organize? Design? Publish? Media? Events? DM? Teach games?  Acquisition Disorders: Speakeasy, Stefan Feld City Collection Nassau & Kathmandu, Kemet Blood and Sand expansions At the Table Reviews: Sankoré:...

It's that time again; we take a deep dive into the best games currently listed on BoardGameGeek's hotness list, plus we have fresh new reviews and previews:  Question of the Week: Let's talk expansions: what new elements added to a game have the best chance to wow you and enter rotation? (e.g. asymmetry, new cards, the dreaded 5th player)  Acquisition Disorders: A Song of Ice & Fire Tactics, TOKYO...

This week, we're looking at the top 100 thematic games as listed on BoardGameGeek.com. Which ones deserve to be ranked so high and which would we drop lower? Find out in a full rundown of the top 100 listing on BGG.  Question of the Week: What's your favorite thematic game and why? Acquisition Disorder: Steam Power, EVE: War for New Eden, Conan by Monolith: Red Nails Expansion and Versus Mode At t...

Over the last 10+ years, we've reviewed a lot of games. Hundreds of experiences, many of which we really enjoyed. But every now and then, a game hits just wrong, and we can't help but give it our dreaded "burn" rating.  This week, we're taking a look back at some of these duds, and discussing why they fell flat for us. For those eager to hear more negative reviews, this is for you!  Acquisition Di...

We run through our favorite games of 2023, with our top 10 games of the year and awards for: Best Digital Implementation Best Family Game Best Strategic Gameplay Overlooked Gem Best Kickstarter Best 2.0 Release Best Solo Game Best Expansion If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous), Twitter (http://twitter.com/bgapodcast), and our website (w...

The new year is here and we have a list of the 50 (give or take) most anticipated games of the upcoming year. It's our supersized, mega-acquisition disorder! If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous), Twitter (http://twitter.com/bgapodcast), and our website (www.www.boardgamersanonymous.com). You can support the show as well by donating on P...

This week, we're taking a look back at the year that was 2023, with a rundown of the games we played, the ones that didn't come out (and some that will never come out), and our overall thoughts of the year as a whole.  If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous), Twitter (http://twitter.com/bgapodcast), and our website (www.www.boardgamersanon...

We're back with another episode of hot takes, looking at the games that people may not be as generally positive on but that we love. Plus reviews of Horrified: Greek Monsters and Hexarchy.  Acquisition Disorders: Fief England - Alliances, Treachery, And Power, Stormgate At the Table Reviews: Horrified: Greek Monsters, Hexarchy If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.faceboo...

This week we're looking at some of the truly great games out there that just don't click for us and discuss what about them doesn't work (and if either of us disagrees).  Question of the Week: What's a game that completely upended your expectations (good or bad)? How so? Acquisition Disorders: Nucleum: Australia, Star Realms Deluxe Colonial Collection, Adventure Time Card Wars 10th Anniversary At...

Another PAX Unplugged has come and gone, and we're discussing all the cool things we saw, did, and played over the three-day gaming weekend in Philadelphia.  Games discussed: - Defenders of the Realm 2.0 - Dune Imperium: Uprising - Undergrove - Cascadia Flip and Roll and Write Games - Evacuation - Nucleum - Star Wars Unlimited - Evil Corp. - Nautilus Island - In the Footsteps of Darwin - CATastrop...

We asked and you answered! This week we've constructed the top 10 games of 2023 according to the listeners. Thank you to everyone who filled out the survey and congratulations to Omar, who won a game as part of that contest.  Join us for a rundown of these ten, plus a bit of a rant from Anthony on the spiraling of crowdfunding for classic games, and reviews of some recent (and not-so-recent) games...

It's that time of year again. Games and gifts and gifts that are games!  Check out our 2023 holiday gift guide, complete with 20 different games, accessories, and apps that you can gift to yourself or a gamer friend for the holiday season.  Additionally, we chat about the direction of crowdfunded upgrades to classic games and what it will take to make us back Food Chain Magnate on Gamefound, plus...

This week, we're looking at another collection of mechanics based on a single component: the meeple! Check out 15+ unique uses of meeples and how they represent the hobby as a whole. * Acquisition Disorders: Cargo Empire, Calimala * At the Table Reviews: Raiders of the North Sea, Evolution If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous), Twitter (...

Thanks to Ryan for the suggestion on this week's topic! We're looking at different ways dice have been used as a mechanic in board games with 15 different takes (and representative games) from the hobby.  * Question of the Week: Ouija is a _______ game * Acquisition Disorders: Cities, Star Trek: Into the Unknown * At the Table: Tichu, Terraforming Mars The Dice Game, Herstory, Pop in the Box If yo...

This week, we're looking at the best trick (not treat) taking games for the Halloween season. Which small box, quick fun games should you bring to the table (or hand out) on Halloween this year?  Question of the Week: What game is sneaky in its complexity, offering a lot more depth (or barriers) than you'd expect based on the artwork, presentation, or publisher? Acquisition disorder - Through the...

This week, we take a look at the sequel games that have launched their way up the BoardGameGeek Top 100 list, becoming, at least numerically, better versions. It's not a top 10, because there are 11. Find out how they iterated and changed their own formula and became more popular games.  Question of the Week: What's your favorite board game production? Not necessarily best artwork or miniatures (t...

This week, Chris welcomes special guests Chris from Board Games for the Better and Game Master Dave to talk games, the upcoming Tabletop Charity Game Day on November 4, and much more! Acquisition Disorders: Metal Gear Solid The Board Game, Twilight Imperium 4th Edition (BGA), The Night Cage: Shrieking Hollow At the Table Reviews: Tokaido Duo, Advance Civilization (Avalon Hill), Endless Winter: Pal...

This week, we look from afar at the hotness from Essen Spiel 2023, talking about the games that sold out, the games that hit the BGG hotness, and all the things we're interested in tracking down for ourselves in a few months when they reach the US.  Question of the Week: What should be a mandatory addition to the side of game boxes (along with player count and length)?  Acquisition Disorders: Rats...

We take a look back at the last 10 years and the games we named "best of the year" in each of those years, then discuss if those selections have changed since then. Some years remain strong, others change substantially. Find out which games we're still playing.  Acquisition disorders: Haggis, Mycelia | The Strategic Mushroom Game At the Table reviews: Voidfall impressions, Masters of the Universe:...