Good news, we're on holiday. Better news, we're not leaving you without podcast. It's a smaller episode, yes, but it is Talk Cardboard delivered right to your door, for free! Mmmmm, free podcast, what could be more delicious? Oh, I know, human suffering! If you feel like what you need more in your life is a cardboard simulation of robots slaughtering endless amounts of flesh bags on the moon, Moon Colony Bloodbath has got you sorted. Not doing timestamps cause we're on holiday. Also, it's just o...
Jul 11, 2025•19 min•Ep. 41
Sharpen your papercuts because it's time to put cards face down in front of you and simultaneously flip them face up! The Old King's Crown is maybe the year's most exciting game and we've got an exciting early scoop! If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded SHIRTS! Find them on https://no-pun-included-shop.fourthwall.com/ On to the time stamps: 0:00 Cold Open 1:40 Intro Work In Progress 2:08 Emberleaf 11:19 Hot Streak 22:00 P...
Jun 13, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 40
Efka opens our review of Eternal Decks with "This is the main candidate for Game of the Year 2025" and if you need a better endorsement to learn about a cool new board game, I can't think of one. And I'm Efka. This and more in this week's Talk Cardboard. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on http://patreon.com/nopunincluded SHIRTS! Find them on http://no-pun-included-shop.fourthwall.com/ On to the time stamps: 0:00 Cold Open 1:30 Intro Work In Progress 1:5...
Jun 06, 2025•49 min•Ep. 39
You want me to do what now? Play a board game on the TV? Using my phone? Never! *shakes fist at cloud* *shakes more fist at cloud* *picks up phone and starts playing* Wait this thing is good! Like, real good. Okay, I guess today we're talking about a board game that's also a video game that's also a phone game. And you're going to listen and you're going to enjoy it. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestam...
May 23, 2025•53 min•Ep. 38
Why duel with silly weapons when you can duel with whole cities? In Rival Cities, Hamburg and Altona go head to head to see who will be the city anyone's ever heard of. I think you probably know who pulled that off IRL. But if you'd rather fight with fruit or sausages, fear not because we have those for you too - in our Work in Progress. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a Patreon supporter on patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 00:00 Cold open 01:41 Intro 05:18 ...
May 09, 2025•51 min•Ep. 37
Get ready to flick your way to victory, or get the flick out of here because it's time to play Ascending Empires: Zenith Edition - a 4X game - but iiiin flicking spaaaaace! We also have the games we've been playing this week in our new segment: 'Work in Progress', where Elaine compares Eternal Decks to being back at school, and Efka tells us about under-salted negotiations in Moonrakers. Bonus Episodes on patreon.com/nopunincluded Eternal Decks tutorials mentioned in the episode: https://www.you...
May 02, 2025•52 min•Ep. 36
Have you ever wanted to be a poorly paid miner? What about on an Alien Planet? Whilst being bothered by swarms of beasties? If you answered yes, yes, and yes, then get your drills and ziplines ready for our deep dive into Deep Rock Galactic: The Board Game, If you answered no, then luckily we also have a whole host of other games we're talking about in our new segment "Work in Progress", where we give a quick look to the games we've been playing this week. If you'd like to support us, head over ...
Apr 25, 2025•52 min•Ep. 35
Talk Cardboard returns tomorrow! Meanwhile, enjoy a mini psa on the format change and why the hiatus happened.
Apr 24, 2025•8 min•Ep. 34
Get your engines warmed up, your fishing rod at the ready, and your knee-pads on as we delve into a crash, bash racing game in Thunder Road: Vendetta, freeze our fingers building a village in Saltfjord, and co-operatively fight for the freedom of Kaan in Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the time stamps: 00:00 Cold open 02:31 Intro 03:39 Correspondance regarding board game libraries 04:56 T...
Dec 05, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 33
One thousand five hundred plus games released over four days is a HOT WEEKEND in board games and the Elaines and Efkas of this world were in attendance. Did we play all 1500 games? No. Did we play the hot ones? Yes. Did we play the weird ones? Yes. Did we play the good ones? Oh my yes yes yes. So grab a warm beverage, plonk yourself into a comfy chair and write off the next hour and a half because we bring you informed coverage of all the games that we played and what you should be on the lookou...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 32
Folks, folks and folks, please come join us for a marvelous carboard celebration through time, energy and cities. Gaze your eyes to Paris in 1920 and marvel at the deductive action of Kronologic. Now turn those eyeballs further east towards Germany and amaze yourself with the fantabulous power of Nucleum and finally, fly up and up and up and then look down for a birds eye view of cities in Cities. It’s a show like no other and that show is called Talk Cardboard. For more NPI please visit https:/...
Sep 30, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Vroom vroom it’s time to kaboom! Or something along those lines because today’s feature game is all about smashing cars into other cars. It feels like we’ve seen this type of game over and over through time, from Rock’n’Roll Racing to Mario Kart to Twisted Metal to Carmaggedon - the world is full of games that let you cause car accidents on purpose. But let me tell you, it’s never been done like that in cardboard. Joyride is a delight! And there’s other games too! We take a look at the somewhat ...
Sep 03, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Cute, but deadly! We used to dance under that name but you could also use those three words to describe today’s selection of games. Harvest is a farming worker placement game so cloyingly sweet you could squeeze condensed milk out of it. Is it good? Jury’s still out. War Stories: Occupied France is the unlikely combination of Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective and Undaunted - how does that even work? We’ve got the scoop. And finally… Dorfromantik: The Duel. Last year’s adaptation of Dorfroman...
Aug 05, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Hello boardgamers and boardgamees, how are your MEEPLES? Do they need feeding? Watering? Some TLC? Or do they just need a good dose of the Talk Cardboard podcast to refresh that wooden noggin? Well worry not young meeple trainer, we’ve got a new episode digitally bumbling its way to you right now. A real smorgasboard of delights this week as we take a look at three very different games to suit very different needs. Spectral is a strange melange of deduction and Keyflower style bidding? Does that...
Jun 17, 2024•1 hr 35 min
I don’t know about you, but I think there’s something special about the momentum of two player games. The tension, the back and forth. The sensation of making a clever move is so much more palpable than in any other player count. Today we’ll take a look at three two player games, each interesting in its own way, and also two more on our bonus episode. Our friend Jon from JonGetsGames has designed a game called Spring Cleaning, which we mention in the episode, you can pre-order it here: https://w...
May 27, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Dear listeners, it’s never been clearer to us that board games have entered into a new era - the era of the size race. Each month publishers are competing to release a bigger campaign game than the one before and in terms of scope, Agemonia is definitely in the running for the lead. In terms of box size it’s no slouch either, looking eerily similar to that 32 pound Frosthaven box. To provide some contrast and levity, the second game on this episode is Terra Nova, a sleeker, slimmer, smaller and ...
May 06, 2024•1 hr 14 min
There is a duality in first time plays, at least when you’re playing with a mind to reviewing. One path leads to potential, the other to the bin. A first time play can reveal quirks and kinks that promise an interesting second or third or fourth and beyond plays; exploration and indulgence. It can equally reveal a design you never wish to revisit. On today’s episode - two board games. Arcs and Salton Sea. A remix of space board games and a trudge through the bleak world of mining lithium. Each a...
Apr 15, 2024•1 hr 17 min
This episode we only cover two games, but we had so much to say it ended up being a full length episode anyway. Which isn’t a surprise really when you end up with two follow ups for two massively succesful games. It’s the follow-up episode! And if you strain your thinking really hard, you could even argue that this very episode is a follow up to previous episodes, and thus thematically represents the games themselves. It’s nice when things like that line up perfectly. Please enjoy our chatter on...
Mar 11, 2024•1 hr 7 min
“What’s good?” you might ask me. Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Just board games. Three specific board games that are, in fact, good and COINCIDENTALLY are all featured on this episode of Talk Cardboard. What a treat! A threefer. A co-op boss battler that’s good, a solo deck-builder that’s good and, wait for it, a EUROGAME that is very good! It’s good games vibes only. Enjoy! If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded 0:00 Cold O...
Feb 19, 2024•59 min
A remake, a new take and an expansion walk into a bar. The barman says, “what’ll it be?” They all reply “something fresh.” Was that too mean? I think that was too mean, especially since at least (and also at most) two of the games discussed in this episode are pretty great. And one of them is okay. We revisit the classic Terra Mystica in it’s new more thematically demure incarnation, we explore how Raising Robots riffs on Wingspan and Efka finally gets to play the expansion to his favourite game...
Feb 05, 2024•1 hr 17 min
More and more board games are adopting eco themes! Whether it’s Daybreak and it’s simulation of climate change or Dune: War for Arrakis and Dune’s enviromental themes and… uh… one or two plastic miniatures or Ticket to Ride Legacy and… um… all the railroad constru…. You know what nevermind, welcome to board games! It’s board games everyone, aren’t they good? So good those board games. Are they good? It depends on which one it is. And thus enters the board game reviews. They’re here. Enjoy it. If...
Jan 22, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Can you believe it’s been a whole year of Talk Cardboard? Incredible! What’s a better way to celebrate the end of the year than by revisiting where we began? On the very first episode Efka talked about his most anticipated games for 2023, so today we’ll take a look at how those panned out and also take a peek at his most anticipated games for 2024. Plus we’ll talk about Dune: Imperium - Uprising, Efka’s game of the year and share some of Elaine’s impressions of it. Finally, we saved something a ...
Dec 25, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Winter months are here and a deep chill is setting over the world. A chill that can represent only one thing - Elaine and Efka’s disappointing week of board games. That’s right, it’s one of those episodes - where no one game is a standout and all of them feel like they’re missing just a little warmth. So grab a cup of hot cocoa and settle in for a grumpy cast of some grumpy cardboard talk. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincl...
Dec 04, 2023•1 hr 26 min
It’s a new episode of the Talk Cardboard podcast and I feel great! Rejuvenated even because today’s games are light, breezy, quirky and fun. And what’s a breezier topic than the collapse of an empire? Just the thought of that warmed something inside of me, like a cozy blanket gently touching the fireplace and setting aflame. If you too would like to partake in some famine, pestilence, war, etc. you might want to give Empire’s End a spin. And if that wasn’t cozy enough, how about some real time h...
Nov 13, 2023•59 min
Every year in board games there’s a new fad. Legacy, polyominoes, roll and writes and trick takers. This year’s fad seems to be less genre based and more societally concious. Here at NPI every week we encounter more and more board games that reduce their use of wasteful material such as plastics. On this episode alone two of the three games discussed are 100% recyclable (if you ignore the stickers that hold the lid on the box). And the third one is themed around enviromental issues. How amazing ...
Oct 30, 2023•1 hr 51 min
What’s the biggest event of the year? That’s right, it’s the DFS Winter Mega Sale! But right after that comes Essen Spiel, or as it is now known: Spiel Essen. Every year, just under two hundred thousand board gamers flock to an industrial city in Germany to partake in a mass consumption event where over a thousand board game titles are released over the course of one weekend and this year we have played ALL OF THEM. Or at least tried to. We played twenty five, ate a kebab and fell asleep. But no...
Oct 16, 2023•1 hr 24 min
Tell me something, which other board game podcast episode can claim to contain the entire gamut of board games in one episode? Antropomorphic animals? Check. Weirdly themed euro? Check. Fantasy campaign game? Check. Real time? Check. Randomness? Check. Strategy, tactics, abstractification? Check check and check. In this episode we’ll take a long overdue look at Vindication, a game where you gather cubes to kill monsters, Fit to Print, a cutesy real time newspaper assembly simulator and Kinfire C...
Sep 25, 2023•1 hr 38 min
Are games even real? According to Kieron Gillen, they certainly bleed into reality and reality bleeds into them. According to Great Western Trail, New Zealand isn’t even real. So who’s to say? On this episode of Talk Cardboard we review Schadenfreude, the little trick taking game that could, chat about the absurd comedy that is Freelancers, take an early peak at Great Western Trail: New Zealand and chat to Kieron Gillen about his comic book and role-playing game DIE. For more on DIE, here’s the ...
Sep 11, 2023•1 hr 40 min
From Earth to Space to the abstract void in between, this episode has a little bit of everything, including a game that made Efka feel like he had to give a rating. That’s right, a bona fide numerical value asigned to the perceived quality of a game. What will they think of next? Verdicts? Comparisons? In the future, anything will be possible. On this episode of Talk Cardboard we review the many many card game Earth, the impossibly adorable abstract two player only game Lacuna and share our firs...
Aug 25, 2023•1 hr 36 min
What if we don’t make games that last forever is the question Andrew Navaro, head of Earthborne Games is asking us. His answer is Earthborne Rangers, a game that will perish, but not before it lands on our doorsteps. On this episode of Talk Cardboard we interview Andrew about Earthborne Rangers and his vision for a more eco-responsible board game scene. We’ve also got reviews for Spiel des Jahres winner Dorfromantik: The Board game that’s all about a chill time laying tiles, Ancient Realms - a l...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr 52 min
