As we approach the end of 2024, it's about time we stop, take stock, and dare I say look back at the year that's been. The highs, the lows, the mids - all the stars are here, and we're going to break them down for you with some of our favourite games, and biggest moments, and general assessment of the year that's been. Before we reflect, we talk about Let's Go! To Japan , Mombasa , and The Gang . 01:52 - Let's Go! To Japan 10:17 - Mombasa 15:05 - The Gang 21:00 - Looking back on 2024 22:01 - Arc...
Dec 12, 2024•41 min
Gobble Bobble, here comes trouble in the form of a pairing we never thought we'd see - Bob and the Ghost Turkey have delivered us another holiday nightmare. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Before we tuck in, we talk about Tapple , Mini Rails , and Naishi . 05:48 - Tapple 11:07 - Mini Rails 17:45 - Naishi 22:56 - BGBBOB Bird Games 24:45 - ICECOOL 24:52 - Root 26:17 - Rook 26:26 - Songbirds 28:05 - Fancy Feathers 28:15 - The Bird Told Me to Do It 29:09 - Piepmatz 32:17 - Wingspan 32:28 - Penguin Par...
Nov 28, 2024•57 min
We've been to Las Vegas and back for the very unofficial recurring gathering we like to call BarrageCon (which is really just all of us hanging out at Mark's place). We had a lot of games lined up to play, and I daresay we did a pretty good job of getting through them. Here's our report back, just a bunch of impressions of a bunch of games - including Rise & Fall , Fractured Sky , and Wilmot's Warehouse ! 02:26 - Harvest 07:18 - Fractured Sky 18:13 - Penguin Party 22:10 - San Marco 27:14 - E...
Nov 14, 2024•1 hr 24 min
I think it's fair to say at this point, that we've pretty firmly established each of our respective tastes when it comes to board games, whether it's for genre, theme, mechanic, whatever. There's always something, though, right? Something that flies in the face of those rules and boldly proclaims, "I like this, even though ..." Before we prove the rule, we talk about Andromeda's Edge , and Karvi . 03:05 - Andromeda's Edge 13:15 - Karvi 23:32 - Exceptions to our Gaming Tastes 24:47 - Through the ...
Oct 31, 2024•40 min
The Fandango Tank returns! The ever wonderful Mike DiLisio joins us again, this time to collectively cast our minds forward to some things we'd like to manifest into the board game future. We've got a mess of ideas, a veritable mixtape of miscellany that we either want to play, or hope to see more of as the hobby progresses. Before we unspool, we talk about Fishing , EGO , The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth , and Key Market (Second Edition) . 02:57 - Fishing 03:03 - I Made You a Mixtap...
Oct 17, 2024•1 hr 9 min
So we've done a lot of these drafts before, but I don't think we've done one quite like this. This time we're each trying to draft a set of five games that we think you might agree are incredibly overrated. What does that mean exactly? Well that's up for debate too. What isn't up for debate is that you could win $100 just by voting! Before we widen our delta, we talk about Undaunted 2200: Callisto , Nature , and Barcelona . 03:37 - Undaunted 2200: Callisto 13:10 - Nature 23:00 - Barcelona 31:22 ...
Oct 03, 2024•1 hr 11 min
I'm in a bit of a quandary here, because Mark told me not to tell you what this episode is even about, but I want this description to be, well, descriptive but he's glaring at me really hard, and making a throat slitting gesture so I daren't risk it. It's about ... board games? Before we get ahead of ourselves, we talk about Binho , Stamp Swa p, and First Rat . 03:33 - Binho 07:24 - Stamp Swap 17:04 - First Rat 30:16 - ??? 34:47 - Agricola 34:47 - Bohnanza 36:28 - Patchwork 37:05 - A Feast for O...
Sep 19, 2024•54 min
We may or may not be going to Germany (who can say), but that's where all the good gaming is gonna be, so that's what we're gonna talk about. It's almost Essen SPIEL! That sure is a lot of games debuting there though, so which ones should you care about? Don't worry, we've done the hard work for you. Before you go back to being eine faule socke, we talk about Nekojima , We're Sinking! , Hues and Cues , and Colorful . 02:46 - Nekojima 09:01 - We're Sinking! 15:31 - Hues and Cues 15:31 - Colorful ...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr 1 min
It's about people, right? Below all the mechanics, after all the rules explanations, beyond every crushing loss and glorious win, what really matters is people we're playing with. Some games make that more apparent than others, and we're here to celebrate that. Before we realize it's about the friends we made along the way, we talk about Arcs , and Luthier . 03:02 - Arcs 19:26 - Luthier 37:11 - Games that make you feel good about people 41:11 - Codenames 42:05 - Decrypto 43:09 - Time's Up! 43:38...
Aug 22, 2024•59 min
The only thing worse than coming away from a first game with a really bad impression, is when it takes a really long time to shake. Imagine all the amazing games you're not playing because of one bad first game! Whether we saw the error of our ways or not, we're reflecting on the times that games left a mark that took a long time to fade. Before we make our impression, we talk about Things in Rings , Yedo: Deluxe Master Set , and Harmonies . 01:51 - Things in Rings 10:29 - Yedo: Deluxe Master Se...
Aug 08, 2024•59 min
It's awards season, which means that Germany's back to tell us what games are popping off over there. And that also means we're back to tell you what we think about what they think. More than that - we're looking through the annals of Spiel des Jahres history to drafting the winningest games of all the winners! Which means you too can be a winner of $100! Just vote! Before everyone's a winner, we talk about Chess , Vabanque , The Mandalorian: Adventures , and Path of Civilization . 04:06 - Chess...
Jul 25, 2024•56 min
We've all been travelling about so much recently (some of us may or may not still be) that we often find ourselves asking, "what games should I pack?" Some games are better suited for playing on the go than others, and we're going to get to the heart of what makes a good travel game. Before our arms get tired, we also talk about Regicide , Golem , In the Shadow of Atlas , and DroPolter . 03:56 - Regicide 11:40 - Travel Games 15:47 - Pit 16:13 - Incan Gold 16:24 - For Sale 16:51 - Azul Mini 18:31...
Jul 11, 2024•56 min
Bob's back from his trip to 2014, and oh the wonders he's seen - games that not only were amazing back then, but somehow we're still talking about today ! The counterpoint to our draft of games to last a decade, we're arguing about the games from ten years ago that are still relevant - BGBBOB style. Before we yearn for our youth, we talk about Cyberion , The Plum Island Horror , and Marabunta . 02:33 - Cyberion 09:18 - The Plum Island Horror 28:01 - Marabunta 38:17 - BGBBOB: Games from 2014 39:4...
Jun 27, 2024•1 hr 17 min
More isn't always better, but that's sometimes a hard lesson to learn in the world of board games - we dig into an intriguing listener suggestion about how games (and gamers) can often fall into this trap. Also ... I guess we've got to plan some games for our funerals? It's a double hit of listener questions! Before we dress in black, we talk about Keydom's Dragons , Sagrada Artisans , and Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory . 01:49 - Keydom's Dragons 11:30 - Sagrada Artisans 18:51 - Hegemony: ...
Jun 13, 2024•50 min
It's back, and it's spicier, more harrowing, and more lucrative than ever before! It's the Fantasy Draft, and this time we're changing things up by asking you not to vote for favourite games, but for the set that you think will still be relevant ten years from now (AKA the far flung future). Vote to stand a chance to win a gift card for one hundred dollars! Before we say things we'll regret in a decade, we also talk about London (Second Edition) , and Spectral. 02:58 - London (Second Edition) 12...
May 30, 2024•51 min
And by guess, I of course mean predict . Okay, you all know whether we're right or not by now, but cast your imagination back to a time where we had only the nominees for the 2023 Golden Geeks, and had to use nothing but our wits to determine the winners. How naïve/prescient we were! Before we divine the future, we talk about Ironwood , Kutná Hora: The City of Silver , and Slay the Spire: The Board Game . 02:41 - Ironwood 10:39 - Kutná Hora: The City of Silver 22:07 - Slay the Spire: The Board G...
May 16, 2024•1 hr 2 min
What? Your podcasters are evolving! While we're certainly steadfast in some of our opinions (ahem, Biblios ) we were curious to reflect on how we've changed - nay, grown - in the years since we started. What do we feel differently about with regards to the games we like, and how we approach the hobby? Before we moult, we also talk about Twinkle Starship , Pirates of Maracaibo , and Skyrise . 01:45 - Twinkle Starship 12:42 - Pirates of Maracaibo 23:16 - Skyrise 35:23 - How we've changed 39:42 - D...
May 02, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Sometimes a game has a conceit so good, that it's the only description you need to sell someone on it. Let's call it the hook. Do all games have them, or is it something that only a certain subcategory of game can get away with - and why don't they all just print that on the box cover? Before we get the hook, we talk about Havalandi , Courtisans , 12 Chip Trick , and Dune Imperium: Uprising . 02:55 - Havalandi 11:25 - Courtisans 18:59 - 12 Chip Trick 26:10 - Dune: Imperium - Uprising 41:09 - Gam...
Apr 18, 2024•58 min
Oh man, oh man, I always love this one. It's the latest edition of the Listener Top 20! We asked you all to submit your lists of your favourite board games, and we collected, collated, and compiled all of that beautiful beautiful data using a magical formula to get THIS: The definitive rankings of your collective taste in board games. Before we throw it to you, we talk about Shuffle and Swing , Mythwind, and Cat Blues: The Big Gig ! 02:17 - Shuffle and Swing 14:11 - Mythwind 27:07 - Cat Blues: T...
Apr 04, 2024•1 hr 4 min
We made it all the way to Dice Tower West in Las Vegas (and some of us made it out), and we're ready to talk about all of the amazing games we played over there, between outings for pinball and sushi. If you were there, thanks for hanging out with us! Stick around for talk about Faraway , MLEM: Space Agency , ito , Cascadero, and more! 01:08 - Faraway 12:20 - Medici 19:33 - MLEM: Space Agency 26:48 - ito 35:24 - Cascadero 44:09 - Mino Dice 49:54 - Unboxed 54:36 - Beowulf 55:55 - Of What's Left 5...
Mar 20, 2024•1 hr 8 min
We're back with the terrible acronym and the branding nightmare that is BGBDOG - I don't even know what it stands for to be honest, but this week we're turning the spotlight on an incredible force in the industry, Vlaada Chvátil, touring his incredible games all the way through to the true modern classic that is Codenames . Before we check in on our favourite Czech, we talk about Wyrmspan , 3 Ring Circus, and La Famiglia: The Great Mafia War . 02:01 - Wyrmspan 12:29 - 3 Ring Circus 23:29 - La Fa...
Feb 29, 2024•1 hr 6 min
We're in the thick of 2024 now, but there's still plenty more to come - and with that vast undiscovered country (as my father called it) ahead of us, we have loads of games to look forward to. But not all hype is made equally, so here are the ones we're most excited about. Before we mark our calendars, we talk about Savage Bowl: Trick Taking Game , Rear Window , and Cuba . 01:44 - Savage Bowl: Trick Taking Game 10:19 - Rear Window 17:42 - Cuba 27:48 - Most Anticipated Games of 2024 28:42 - Citie...
Feb 15, 2024•58 min
Three hundredth episode! But no time to celebrate, we're deep in the new year now, which means it's back to your regularly scheduled podcast, and it's time to reflect on the year past, and contemplate what lays ahead for us in a post-300 world. That's right, we're paying for the crimes of last year's resolutions. Before we look a little back, but mostly forward, we talk about Orichalcum , Mino Dice , and Last Light . 01:46 - Orichalcum 12:42 - Mino Dice 20:08 - Last Light 34:34 - Revisiting Mark...
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr 4 min
We made it! We've arrived at last at the final ten(-ish) games, in fact, our TOP TEN (or so?) favourite games of all time. Thanks for joining us again on this yearly pilgrimage, as always it's the journey that's the important thing - but that's not to say that there isn't some exciting moving and shaking to happen at the destination. That said, it's time to pass out on the couch. 01:34 - Neilan #10 - The Resistance 05:00 - Mark #11 - Caylus 1303 05:51 - Mark #10 - Arboretum 07:39 - Kellen #10 - ...
Jan 18, 2024•1 hr 21 min
We're almost bursting at the seams, but there's room for a little more. It's the penultimate episode of our five part series, the Top 50 games of all-time! We're moving on to our 20th to 11th favourite games, which means it's time for some big risers and dramatic falls. Make yourself a coffee (sugar's over there in the corner), it's not time to sleep just yet. 03:45 - Kellen #20 - Cosmic Encounter 06:25 - Neilan #20 - Ra 08:09 - Mark #20 - Stationfall 11:25 - Kellen #19 - Lords of Vegas 13:18 - ...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 10 min
It's a new year which is an awkward time to be right in the middle of something, but we're doing a thing here . It's part three of our Top 50 games of all-time! This week it's our 30th to 21st favourite games, and this is where things start to get spicy. This is like five chilis next to the menu item hotness we're talking. Grab a bib and join us for another course! 03:45 - Mark #30 - Cuba Libre 04:08 - Kellen #30 - Coloretto 05:58 - Neilan #30 - Watson & Holmes 07:28 - Mark #29 - Stephenson'...
Jan 04, 2024•52 min
It's the second leg of the grand tour that is the top fifty. This week, we're doing our 40th to 31st favourite games ... of all time! It's almost like Christmas just keeps going! Grab a glass of sherry and join us by the fire, we're not about to stop any time soon. 01:21 - Neilan #40 - Bus 03:52 - Mark #40 - Panic on Wall Street! 05:38 - Kellen #40 - Pax Porfiriana 08:56 - Neilan #39 - In the Year of the Dragon 10:33 - Mark #39 - Ark Nova 12:04 - Kellen #39 - Seas of Strife 14:55 - Neilan #38 - ...
Dec 28, 2023•58 min
It's tiiiiiiime ! It's the top fifty! That's right, the much anticipated, much celebrated, much imitated (we definitely did it first) event of the season is here. We're counting down each of our favourite fifty games of all time! Or at least, for right now! It's a beautiful, beautiful thing, and we'd love if you pulled up a chair and joined us for it. 06:36 - Kellen #50 - Santiago 07:59 - Neilan #50 - Jaipur 09:30 - Mark #50 - Findorff 11:22 - Kellen #49 - Genoa 12:37 - Neilan #49 - The Great Zi...
Dec 21, 2023•1 hr
PAX Unplugged was a blast, and we played so much stuff that we're dying to tell you about - many of them with our beloved listeners. We braved the cold and the rain of Philadelphia, on the other side of the country, to bring you this episode jam-packed with games - so there's no room for any dilly dallying. Hits include Forest Shuffle , Arcs , Findorff ... and loads more! 02:14 - 5 Towers 06:57 - Nigoichi 11:01 - Cabanga! 15:00 - Age of Steam 17:33 - Falling 20:36 - Infiltraitors 24:38 - Tangram...
Dec 07, 2023•55 min
In what could be our most grandiose episode yet, we attempt to tame the wild history of all of board games. We traverse the timeline, unpacking what we consider to be the great epochs of the hobby, in an attempt to explain how modern game design evolved into its present form. Before we unpack the deep lore, we talk about General Orders: World War II , Oak , and Big Boss . Timecodes: 02:36 - General Orders: World War II 11:47 - Oak 20:24 - Big Boss 31:20 - The great epochs of board games 31:45 - ...
Nov 23, 2023•48 min
