Welcome to Meeple to Meeple, uniting players around the world. A 30 minute exploration of TJ and Gareth 4 game experiences from across both sides of the Atlantic. Each episode they share their thoughts and opinions on the world of board games, including their favorite themes, games, hot topics, and much, much more. Hey, guys, and welcome to Episode 94. Today we're going to talk about board games on vacation. And why are we going to do that? Because Gareth.
I'm. Back. Come back, I've got a watch tan. Look at that watch tan. Really. PJ can see that, but. Right. But guys, he got, he got a lot of sun because I can tell that he was wearing a watch. A watch, which is a foolish mistake, but after I kind of realized that it was too late. So yes, 2. Two weeks off 2. Weeks, boy, it feels. It feels longer, doesn't it? I think, I think, yeah, yeah, it's 1-2. Yeah, it's three weeks. So in your absence, we've had Hannah and Alex on the show.
We had things. We had Danielle Reynolds and Kristen Mott filled in for you. That was an interesting conversation. Like game store now it's not not available. Still still waiting for it. So we've had a lot of, we've had a lot of people on the show. But yeah, it's been 2 weeks because the Gen. Con recap, You were with us for that. And I think we recorded that, you see, slightly earlier we did because of we were flying around. So that's right. But yes, I'm back.
I am. I completely switched off of work for two weeks. I didn't have any contact with anyone. I sat on the sun bed and I think my earliest beer was 10:30 in the morning. Decided that 10:30 half past seven was OK. That's great. And I had ice creams and, and yeah, I didn't. Well, we planned to do nothing apart from just chill. So we had 10 days in Greece. I think the average temperature was about 34. The hottest, it felt like was 51, which I'm always that day
was rather uncomfortable. But the rest of the time there was a nice breeze, Played games, hang out with the family, you know, holiday stuff. And so you're on vacation and I'm, like, hustling to promote the podcasts and Gen. Con and Gen. Con made a bunch of contacts, sending out emails, lining up interviews. In fact, it's like I felt really bad because I was, like, sending you emails and like, OK, the next 10 episodes, it's like, we have a schedule. We actually have a schedule.
Like the next time, too busy, too busy to even read this right now. I haven't even had my diary open. So I was like, I can't even see what's in. I'd spend all of my Diaries off. I was not being brought into the world. But but yeah, games on vacation. I mean, so because we have two adult, well, practically adult children, everyone had a suitcase. But when it came to packing, the kids didn't need much. So in the Kira suitcase was half empty and I went, well, half empty space.
We might as well fill it with ball games. So I think we took about 20. At one point I even thought about taking a full size, you know, as as the full size box game. Not just, you know, small game, but the largest game we took, which we didn't end up playing was Targi, which is a kind of probably, what, a 10/10 by 10/8 by 10 box. Something like that. So, yeah, so we took about 20 games, everything from those lot tin tin games that we've talked about before to some of the Oink
classics. I will go through some of the ones who played to Yeah, I mean, they're all generally small box. We had some of those, I don't know if you've seen, but people condense their travel games and into those plastic photo to boxes. We do the same thing. We do the. Same thing worth checking out.
So you just, I mean, Google it, you'll find it board game travel case on on Amazon. You can buy like a box that holds, I'm going to say 16 or so plastic photo boxes, which are perfect for compacting down a ball game. And there's even a website that's got all of the covers for the board games to print in. So we took a few of those with us. Not the whole, not the whole box so. Let me ask, can I let me ask you a question before you get into like your actual vacation?
So you're packing, you're going to be gone for two weeks. So you, you, you, when you decide to pack games, like what? What are your priorities? What are you going through your mind? Like are you, you know what I mean? Like, why do you choose one game over another? Because you know, you're on vacation. Why are you playing games, right? I mean, that's what. Evenings, some people would ask evenings, evenings was when we
play games. And then of course it's me, it's Carrie. So who I guess are the gamers. So I think I thought through what happens if the kids don't want to play games, right and and Dylan doesn't play games really. I hate it so and that's why so so that's why Targhee came in the box because I was like, what's a small game that's really good two player that's not a massive table hog and he's small packed. So I think we thought through we've got 2-3 or four players.
But then I was like what happens if we make some make some friends, we'll get ball game friends. So I was like, we'd better take a couple of games that maybe play to 8. Wow, you know, never know. Do you? Yeah, you know, so so then it was like, OK, we we better take a for for a larger group just in case we find some ball game friends, which we didn't. Then I will yes, I'm going to write something down to buy myself to come back to a point about an observation I made.
And then I asked, I asked everybody what games they wanted to play. So Kira went through and said some games that she obviously likes to take with her. Although I thought what happens if nobody wants to play games and I'm just me and I'm just chilling out. So then I thought I'd better take some solo games. So you can see if you see suddenly when the the thought of a suitcase is half empty. Yep. And we're talking a large suitcase, not like a you know, it's one the check in. I know.
So yeah, we had a mixture of solo games, two player, three player, four player, but mostly around the probably 4 player mark was what what I aimed for because I thought it is in evenings. The kids probably because they're older now, they probably aren't just going to make random
friends and go off. So they probably will be more likely to hang out with us when whereas when we travelled and the kids were small, they'd be, you know, we'd have dinner and the kids would be playing with other kids at that age, OK. And me and Carrie would just play games.
So. Yeah. So when Katie, when Katie and I travel for like a work conference or I mean gaming convention, even when we go to Gen. Con, right, it's like we usually just bring one game because we know we're going to meet gamers, we're going to buy games, we're going to get free games, we're going to play games with our friends.
So we don't bring a lot of them. But when we're traveling, vacation, work conferences, we usually bring one to two, two player games, something that's can fit in our pocket. And then inevitably what happens? We never, we never play anything at all. The only game we've ever had any success with traveling is Love Letter. Yeah. We'll play love letter, the two of us at a bar at the at the
table. The other thing too, is we've got all their games on our on our phones, you know, to get there really terrifying Mars, stuff like that. So so that's why I was interested that he's travelling with his family. And then you started posting pictures of game Joe we're playing. And I think you commented to me in a message that Dylan only plays games on vacation. And I'm like, that's awesome. And and like, so we had obviously not that we're competitive, but Dylan and Kira up up.
I think Kira won the most games, then Dylan, then me, then Carrie. Oh, so and Dylan. Dylan really enjoyed particularly trio, if you played trio. Have not. So that that was played 23 times on holiday. Wow, so that was the. Most played game, which is a I think it's two to six player, I think where you've got a set of cards split out and then some cards go in the middle depending how many players they are and you need to basically find sets
of three. But you can only ever say what's your highest or lowest card in someone's hands and then use a memory game of actually I saw three right did Peach ever three? Have you got three? Yeah, OK found the next three if I could find all three threes. So it became really competitive and that was played probably every nearly every night when we were playing playing games. I think because it's such an easy game.
I think Dylan noise sinks looks like it comes into the games room and there's some, you know, table hog with many pieces. But this was I mean, I taught, you know, the rules are I pretty much taught the rules to you. Then it's quick to play and the the round lasts maybe 5 minutes, Max 10 minutes. So you win and it's go again and go again and go again. So yeah, trio. So Nick from board game review found recommend that to me at their house a while ago and that
does travel to work. That's another one that it's a small box. It's only like I'm going to say, well, it's got a box of cards. So it's like maybe 4 by 4 inches. So that was that was played by all of us. We did have a couple of three player games when Dylan wasn't with us, but generally trio and then the next most played game was Azul. Really. Azul Travel, Yeah. That's a good one. Which it? Just it just does pack down really nice.
So we played that usually once an evening towards the back end of the holiday. But again, that's that's probably a box. I wouldn't back to your point around you didn't take one or two games. If we were just going away normally and we didn't have so much luggage space, that would probably not have got in the box or might be the only thing we would take down with us the did. You did you bring the canvas bag for a Zool Travel or did you just bring it in the box we bought?
In the in the normal box, in its cardboard box. OK, we did. Yeah, we did. When we sat there, Carrie goes, Oh yeah, maybe we should put it in it's canvas bag. But we had, again, we had ample space. OK. So yeah, that got thrown in. We did see when we went from our apartment down to dinner on the complex. Yeah. Because carrying games is like, I mean, I don't really want to carry games around, right. So I was like, what have we got? Damn. I haven't bought a game bag with me.
I haven't bought, you know, didn't have any carrier bags. Like, so it's like, what have you got? And Dylan's got like a over the shoulder. Messenger bag or. Half of that, like the ones that have slung over their shoulders and they're sure. So it's like, right, OK, Dylan, need your bag. No, you don't need my bag. So anyway, so that bag became the board, the board game bag. So apart from a zoo, actually you get three or four games in there.
So there's another top tip travelling, obviously, if you're going to dinner or you're not going to come back to your room, which it was only like probably a 5 minute walk, but I didn't really want to go back to to the room to get right to get stuff. So yeah, so we so every night the character games around in that and that allowed us to pack in that copy trio.
Some of the little tin games. I think actually trio we even took out-of-the-box and just left inside the bag because it's just a pack of cards and they're all sleeved. So need. Yeah, particularly, you know, with drinks flowing and cocktails and sticky tables. One of the games that has been on every holiday has been Mint Works, which I think I've talked about before on the show, which is one of those tin tin games. Mint.
Works, so it's. If you really want a small tin, I mean, again, it's it's a, you know, mint tin box size, like a placement game that plays really well at two or three or four. Check out Mintworks. I assume it's still available. It was a kickstart years ago, but that game got to play and everyone enjoyed that. Obviously Love letter came out. What else do we play? Sunny Day, Sardines. Yeah. I don't know that one but I saw
you post about that. Yes. That, that back in the early Instagram days, there's the account called board game Renegade and they they're not so busy on Instagram now sometimes, but they went off and produced a game on. I'm going to say that two or three maybe just after lockdown. I'm going to get the account details. And anyways, it's a game about catching sardines in a tin. So it's got a set of cards. You put the card at the table and it's basically set
collection. But it's it's a really nice intro to mechanic of set collection. So it's been, yeah, it's been, that's been in a few trips with us. So that's a nice little one. So earlier in the conversation you had mentioned that you had an observation that you made. Yeah, yeah, Uno. I, I mean, so obviously she was, everyone plays games on holiday. So I know I've noticed that. I've seen that before that this holiday, if I sat out after dinner, every table I looked at
was playing a game. But it was always Uno. It. Will be 80% Uno and then there'll be people playing cards and there'll be variations of Uno. And then we did see a group of people playing Whits and Wages, which was the closest I think we saw. No, we saw a couple of people playing some. Is it cat cafe? It's a, it's a rolling right Cat cafe. Oh, do you remember it a couple of years ago? OK, sort of. I don't you.
Know we saw some people but yeah, I was like man, if you could create one game you find a way to to kill Uno or not kill Uno but take some of that market share what about. What are your thoughts on multiple questions? What are your thoughts on? Do you have a copy? Did you bring it with you is Scout? So we took Scout with us. You did, yeah. And we played that. That was our third most played
game. OK. And I that's that's probably what I thought Dylan would possibly not enjoy because it is a bit more, you know, you've got cards you got. Anyway, he loved it as well. So so it was say it was good is that we all had time with the family and everyone played games. So you're sitting out on this balcony or this patio or wherever this is where people are playing Uno and whatnot. Did any strangers see you playing games and come up and ask you a couple questions? What do you plan?
Can you did you make did you make any new friends? No, no, no, which I thought so. So I'd say the complex was 40% English, 4% German, and then 20% mix of probably Spanish and French. But I thought because it was heavily German English, I thought that's maybe why there's some more people playing things like Wits and wages and some more more popular games just because of how strong ball gaming is in Germany. But yeah, I thought in the UK you people would come up and ask questions, right?
But I don't know whether it's a language thing or people would just were doing their own business. That's fair. So yeah, so we did have to. So we did take what's the horse racing, rolling right dice. Oh my. Honestly. There's a couple of rolling horse racing games. Anyway, that's the one I took. It plays up to 8. OK. But we did. We didn't need it. Didn't. Need it had. Skull King. So Skull King we played a couple of times. That was the one that was like, that's relatively easy.
Yeah, trick taking game. I think it plays up to six or does it play eight? I can't remember now, but that was in the box. But you know, I I thought we we we people did look over and see that we were playing, you know, not Uno, right, but people just love Uno and like love Uno and we'll play it for hours and hours less to care is like, man, if I could just find. I mean it's I do domination in that market must be at ninety 9598%.
Every shop I went to there's a copy of Uno that is a big brand. I I guess people have tried to, you know, break in, you know, exploding kittens, anything where there's cards, but it's. True it. Was. I hadn't realized how many variants of Uno there are. Every IP that you can think of. Yeah. Yeah, I know We have a we have Star Trek Uno. Yeah, Yeah, it's the, it's the only Uno that we have. And it's only because it's Star Trek, you know? But yeah, no, I hear you. So, so yeah.
So everyone, I guess in evenings, in hotels, I guess what you do. So yeah, yeah, play games. So it was lovely to see so many people enjoying playing games. But everyone plays Uno, so maybe I need to stand up and teach some lessons on, you know, come and play these different games or we need to need to set up a you need to set up a stand. There's an idea in hotels. With a selection. Of games on it I feel like. Trio and Scout kind of people who only know Uno or gravitate towards Uno.
Scout and trio would be games that they would naturally I. Think Trio. Trio's the one that I thought that's the one where people did look over because it's just a hand of cards and it's it's done, it's quick. We played slide to the news did. You play slide. I cannot find. I can't find slide. Yeah. Isn't it? Yeah, but it's Hachette as well, so I know. I. Know. So oh, see. Salt and paper was the other one. Oh. That's a good game. Yeah.
Oh, that's so good. We take that with us every time because it it's so small and compact, but then we never play. So all all I mean, another game was out of the wallet series Tootsie Moosie, which is we played just played two player, me and Harry played it when the kids went off somewhere. So yeah. So I think, yeah, I think, I think what? What didn't we play? So I didn't play any solo games. That's a win.
So I took some wallet games. We didn't play Targhee, which would I say, say the biggest box. And then there was a couple of rolling rights we didn't play again, that maybe it's just too much admin. It did get really windy over about four days of the holiday in the evenings. So we actually didn't play as much because we wanted to sit outside because it's so warm. Right. And you weren't, you were on an an island in the Aegean. You weren't on the great
mainland. Yeah, in Coast. Yeah, in Coast. So, so naturally there was a, you know, breeze off the sea. Yeah, I mean, but only it's like 4 days recently it was always still, but for four days. We we then went inside and played inside because we wanted to play some car games. But yeah, you can take your board game collection with you pretty much just take kids who don't need many clothes. What would you need? Shorts, T-shirt, flip flops. I guess, yeah. That's it I guess. I guess so, yeah.
Was there a laundry facility where you were staying? Like, yeah. Yeah, I did have to again. I mean, I just took enough T-shirts. We're only there for 10 days, so. Because that, that, that's some really warm temperatures. Yeah, yeah, I mean mostly though in like in the pool, in the sea. So, yeah, but we were very much in the daytime, did wander into a local town. Yeah. To see whether I could find any. You know, you never know what you find so much stiff out a ball game or two, but true.
No, no, I just found packets of Uno. Oh, and chess of course, you know, chess made out of, you know, sets of chess you find in all shops. So yeah, no, no game shop. I did find there was a there was a game shop in Cos, but it was in Cos town. We didn't do any like excursions. We were having a chill out time so we didn't end up there because you. Didn't leave the island, did you? No. No, no, we went out on boats but didn't leave.
We didn't go to anywhere else. This holiday was supposed to be no stress, literally just get up, chill out because if you have excursions, you've got to get somewhere. Then you've got coaches everywhere. So we just like, we're just going to go and chill. So yeah, most days, you know, what was really, what was really nice was there was no sunbed wars. You know, I mean by sunbed, Sunbed wars. People get up early sunbed. Sunbed. Sunbed Wars. Sunbed Wars?
I don't. I'm not familiar with that term. Some holiday holiday destinations, obviously there's X amount of sunbeds around the pool, so people get up at 5:30 or even earlier to go and claim their sun beds. And it's one of the things that really puts me off holidays is like, I don't want to have to get up at 5:30 right to to then not have anywhere. I have to get up 5:30 to have somewhere to sit. Because if I get up at normal time and rock up at, you know, 8:30, nine o'clock.
Oh, look, nowhere to sit. This is really fun, isn't it? So it's those things I was like, Oh, please don't be some bed wars. So first day we didn't arrive to 1:00 in the morning, so we went to bed to go up about 7:30, wandered down and went look at all this space. This is how my life should be. So even at 10:00 the sun beds were available. I. Agree that. Is how life so there was no stress at all. It's likely to put the towels down, have some food, chill out, have a beer.
Yeah. 10:00 AM Yeah. Play 10:30, 10/30, 10:10 AM is a little bit early, but 1030, OK. 1030, yeah. That was only one day when I was feeling particularly thirsty because it was quite warm and I was like that. It's fine. So yeah. And then yeah, just play games. So how about? How about local beers? Were there any local SO? We were drinking Mythos OK, like the Greek beer, which is very, very nice. I will get some. I was wondering if there was a local brew on the island of
course. I don't know, OK, I don't know. There might have been. They're the only things really available unless you're buying bottles. But that became branded, right, you know, by Wiser and. Sure. San Miguel, those kind of things, so. You were so relaxed, the one because I I try to not bother you much. You're on your vacation, right? And but I'd like to check in, see how things were going. And you were so relaxed you didn't want to come home. Oh yeah, I'd worked at my
retirement plan. You. Did Yeah. You were going to open up a board game cafe? Yeah. And then you were going to hire me so I could quit my job and move over. And we were. Just going to hang out. And yeah, so I was just looking. So we went to in the town, but we went there twice over the 10 days. And then we just went to like a Tavern, you know, the bar. Yeah. And it was owned by an English lady who'd been out there for I think kids are grown up now. So I think maybe 10-15 years.
But it's, it is the seasons like from early May right through to sort of end of September. So it's six months on. But when it's on, it's you're up at 5-6 and you're going to bed probably at midnight. So you are working and then you've got six months of, you know, nicer weather, as in not to hot weather, right? But, you know, very little business. I think the planes actually stop arriving as in the tourist planes.
And then I spoke to another, like a really nice olive wood souvenir shop, and that was owned by English and who'd been there 14 years. And OK, that's a pretty nice life, you know, she said. You know, it gets busy, but weather's lovely. It's lovely when everyone goes away and it got six months of it being cooler with a bit of rain. I was like, well, maybe, But is is Cos does Cos need a board game? Cafe somewhere does.
Yes, I'm trying to. Work out a board game cafe or just a bar that happens to have board games. But would people want to play in the heat? Probably not, but maybe locals. Maybe locals, I don't know. By the way, I decided that I quite liked the temperature. Sure. I mean, who doesn't the?
The only danger was fire. So we had there was a fire on the island about 3 before we got there and then we went out for an hour or two with the local like speedboat who just took us this us out as a family and I was chatting to him and he showed me photographs of just behind the hotel was all on fire only six weeks ago. So we talked about how devastating that has been and how quickly it spreads.
And then actually when I went back to hotel and looked actually what I thought was just mounting, actually you could start. You could see the char, the char marks from, from, from, but it without realising there being fire there. It just looked like it was scrub. So that was yeah. So they do get do get fires. Obviously it is so hot now. It's a real thing, I. Mean and obviously our friends George from boundary Stow games he's Greek so they were out there that's. Right.
Not just. No, because like they were on the mainlands or I think the mainlands, but they, they commented how hot it was, like how much climate change or, you know, this, it's so much hotter now than when he grew up. So yeah, it was it. Yeah. Yeah, I guess that's one of the problems. It's the fire fireside of things. But it was lovely time and we've got 10, we've got 10 episodes lined up, haven't you? I think you've worked. Is it 10/8? So. This is 100 though. This is episode 94.
I've got us for the next 5 episodes and then we'll do. Something got us to 100. That's good, so. That's that's kind of the plan there. So unfortunately, I'm sitting, I'm sitting here while you're talking and I'm trying to find a game to do my voice over, but I didn't prepare one. But I would like to tell our listeners, our guests, Hannah and Alex were in fact correct.
Last week's episode of the voice over was in fact deadly Dowagers. So, So that is the game that I read from and I don't have one in arms reach. I. Was trying to find find one from. I would love to. If I would have. Yeah, I was actually thinking about from the games you played on vacation, which would have been really cool. But I also like the mystery of trying to trying to stump Gareth. So, you know, that's a thing I'm trying to. Find one out of my list and there's none that they're so
obvious. Yeah, they are. They're obvious. Well, it's interesting that Alex got it right away only because she had recently did a review that was an interesting conversation where we talked about the review circle in the UK. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I was really interested in that. There's a really nice post from Jamie Stegmer in his blog about that group. I think it's about 50 plus of
them. Now. I'm not part of the circle because I haven't got the time to commit to it, but quite a few of the Southampton Ball Game group are in it. It works really well because you can just choose what you want and you pass it on, you play it and it gives publishers that ability to know they've got a circle of up to let's say 50 people where you're not.
You haven't got the cost of shipping, you know, You're shipping it once and then it flows and Torah organises, you know, ball game, ball game fo favorite fo, favorite fo Yep, organises that. So if you are in the UK, do reach out. You find Tor on Instagram or her website OK? Or going. Or only Jamie's interview? Oh. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, so. I've got a I've got a voice over real quick and we'll see if you can guess it. So here we go.
The beautiful pieces of glass that can be found along the river here have attracted the most entrepreneurial woodland creatures to set up shop. In this game, you play as one of these pioneers, drafting glass from the market of river tiles. To do so, you have to play a piece from your inventory into the river. Each river tile can take only a specific shape, and you must play into a space adjacent to
where you want to draft. After you pick up your glass, the river shifts forward, revealing new pieces and new opportunities. Store the glass you pick up strategically in your shop. Depending on how the glass are placed, your score will change drastically. Fill in rows and columns for more points and come to victory. Any idea? I know what. That is because you showed me the box.
Yeah, about an hour ago it did. I was like, this is only the game that I had to go back and look at my feed thinking, I'm sure this is a game that you only showed me a picture of. I did. So let's see whether our listeners can guess. Can. Guess what it. Is so. Here's what I'm going to here's what I'm going to say to our listeners because we I have never gotten a message with someone giving us their guests either on Instagram, my page or
the meeple to meeple page. If you wait to binge these episodes, you're just going to get the answer. The what? You're going to get is people who binge it, but they binge it like in about 3 months time you're going to get a random game, total game. What's this person on about? Makes no sense again. They've just listened to episode 94. Yeah. So there you go. So those are board games on vacation. Gareth, I'm glad you're back. Excuse. Me back back to work tomorrow boom our.
Our bank holiday is next Monday. Oh, is. It for. Labor Day. OK. Because I know you've got a bank holiday this week. That's. Today, yes, yeah, which is convenient and like uni's got to work, don't you? Because like, this is really early for you for a Monday, yes. So we've done things a little bit differently today in recording. It is 6:30 in the morning. I've been up since 5:00 AM It's lunchtime there in the UK That's just kind of how it worked out. So yeah. Yeah, usually I I take the hit
and do the lake show. So you've got the air doors. So you guys enjoy work. Oh yeah. I hope guys has enjoyed our a a a discussion on games on holiday. And if you haven't got, you know, then you're missing out. Uno, bye, bye. Have a good, have a good one. Thanks everyone for listening.
Thanks everyone for listening, please subscribe and as always, we'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas, so make sure to leave those in the comments and don't forget you can also chat with us both on Instagram at Meeple the Meeple.