Board Game Barrage

Latest Episodes:

#281: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 901-1000 Jun 15, 2023

Show notes

We've reached the end of our fantasy draft series, the last in this increasingly dire list of games from which we pluck five gems each, and then get you to vote on your favourites. There's a (potential) $50 gift card in it for you! Before the last dance, we talk about Seas of Havoc, Whale to Look, and Dorfromantik: The Board Game.

Timecodes:

03:12 - Seas of Havoc 10:42 - Whale to Look 19:50 - Dorfromantik: The Board Game 29:10 - Drafting BGG's #901-1000 32:17 - Caylus 1303 33:43 - Ready Set Bet 36:03 - Mosaic: A Story of Civilization 37:12 - Clever Cubed 38:51 - Condottiere 40:20 - Adrenaline 42:54 - Meeple Circus 45:13 - Automobiles 47:54 - Unmatched: Battle of Legends, Volume Two 49:12 - Lowlands 50:04 - Genoa 52:46 - Santa Monica 54:41 - Feed the Kraken 58:02 - Homesteaders 1:01:25 - First Rat

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#280: Equal and Opposite Interactions Jun 08, 2023

Show notes

We're veering into the dark roads of board game classification, but this time with a goal in mind - how to best highlight games that feature strong interaction. Shouldn't BoardGameGeek have a scale for that somewhere? And while we're at it, BGG ... Before we put our thoughts in the suggestion box, we talk about Guatemala Café, and Ride the Rails.

Timecodes:

01:56 - Guatemala Café 12:43 - Ride the Rails 23:09 - Quantifying interactivity 25:43 - A Feast for Odin 32:13 - Yucatan 34:31 - What else should be on a BGG page? 37:15 - Stationfall 44:20 - Biblios

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#279: Let the Golden Age Begin Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

Are we living in a golden age of board games? It's a simple question, but there's a lot to unpack - what even qualifies as a golden age, have we already had one, and if we are living in one, when does it end? Before we go for gold, we talk about That's Not a Hat, Pulsar 2849, and Barrage.

Timecodes:

01:39 - That's Not a Hat 02:19 - Cockroach Poker 10:52 - Pulsar 2849 19:58 - Barrage 33:30 - Are we in a golden age? 48:32 - Scythe 57:31 - Ark Nova

The BGG thread Kellen referenced: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2556595/number-games-published-year Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/topics

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#278: Check Check Check May 25, 2023

Show notes

We're lucky to have covered wide swathes of the board game world, but there was a time when some of those things were aspirational. Like achievements to cross off on the great board game check list ... or like that Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson movie. You know they invented that phrase? Wild. Before we make our list, we talk about Municipium, and Yucatan.

Timecodes:

02:27 - Municipium 12:47 - Yucatan 29:38 - Board game checklist/bucket list 31:17 - Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition 35:15 - Diplomacy 35:57 - Playing landmark games 38:39 - Blood on the Clocktower 41:05 - Board game conventions 45:24 - Board game meetups 48:10 - You don't need everything for a game 48:29 - Dominion 49:52 - Guards of Atlantis II 50:38 - Two player and abstract games 52:26 - Designing a board game

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#277: Definitely Not a Mailbag Episode May 18, 2023

Show notes

It's just two of us, so we turn our attention to the burning questions that you've been asking us, in a feature we're calling Topic Talk Back. This is not to be confused with the format we've used before, mailbags are old news now, and we'd appreciate it if you'd stop bringing it up. Before we do anything but rustle in the cloth sack, we talk about By Stealth and Sea, and Undaunted: Stalingrad.

Timecodes:

02:38 - By Stealth and Sea 12:11 - Undaunted: Stalingrad 25:41 - Topic Talk Back 26:37 - Favorite Campaign Games 27:20 - Gloomhaven 27:44 - Frosthaven 30:56 - Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon 33:31 - Games that are too short? 34:03 - The Voyages of Marco Polo 34:17 - Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan 35:38 - Woodcraft 37:47 - Designer Mount Rushmore

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#276: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 801-900 May 11, 2023

Show notes

It's the penultimate draft of the BGG Top 1000 series, and all of these games are garbage ... but it's up to us to sift through that garbage, and each find a collection of five games that's worthy of you. Vote for your favourite, and you could win a $50 gift voucher! Before we find diamonds in the rough, we also talk about Paperback Adventures, and Woodcraft.

Timecodes:

02:31 - Paperback Adventures 13:29 - Woodcraft 23:51 - Drafting BGG's #801-900 26:27 - Babylonia 28:37 - Blue Lagoon 30:57 - A War of Whispers 32:22 - Signorie 33:19 - The Mind 34:52 - Pictomania 36:04 - Brian Boru: High King of Ireland 36:57 - Santiago 38:45 - Werewords 39:49 - Battle for Rokugan 41:19 - Vasco da Gama 43:20 - Cerebria: The Inside World 44:21 - Bullet♥︎ 46:10 - Incan Gold 49:00 - Railroad Ink Challenge: Lush Green Edition

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#275: Building and Breaking Conventions May 04, 2023

Show notes

Any creative work is built on a lot of conventions - things that we take as granted, the unspoken rules that must be followed. We get a lot of really great games by following design conventions, but some times, in order to innovate we have to break them. Before we try to find the balance between convention and innovation, we talk about Darwin's Journey, Aleph Null, and Rome in a Day.

Timecodes:

02:00 - Darwin's Journey 13:44 - Aleph Null 21:07 - Rome in a Day 30:09 - Innovation vs. Convention 33:14 - Root 36:02 - Teotihuacan: City of Gods 36:02 - Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun 36:17 - Tiletum 38:17 - Tower of Babel 42:04 - Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile 42:31 - Horseless Carriage 42:49 - Atiwa 44:04 - Inis 45:14 - The Castles of Burgundy

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#274: Guessing Golden Geeks Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

We can all agree the Golden Geeks peaked last year, but I suppose we can continue the facade if we must. Nominees are out for BoardGameGeek's annual awards, and as the presiding champions of taste, we're declaring our favourites. Before we prognosticate, we talk about Big City, Spots, and Horseless Carriage.

Timecodes:

02:10 - Big City 09:33 - Spots 16:02 - Horseless Carriage 28:53 - Golden Geek 2022 Predictions 29:29 - Best 2-Player Game 30:33 - Wingspan Asia 31:20 - Beer & Bread 32:01 - Mindbug: First Contact 33:16 - Caesar!: Seize Rome in 20 Minutes! 33:30 - Splendor: Duel 33:37 - Undaunted: Stalingrad 34:02 - Marvel Dice Throne 34:18 - Best Artwork and Presentation 35:11 - CoraQuest 35:31 - Blood on the Clocktower 36:05 - Best Cooperative Game 36:26 - Kites 37:20 - Dorfromantik: The Board Game 38:17 - Best Board Game Expansion 38:58 - Most Innovative Board Games 39:36 - Heat: Pedal to the Medal 39:54 - Turing Machine 40:07 - Deal with the Devil 40:25 - My Father's Work 40:57 - Light Game of the Year 42:14 - Long Shot: The Dice Game 43:27 - Medium Game of the Year 46:01 - Heavy Game of the Year 46:58 - Carnegie 47:13 - John Company: Second Edition 48:19 - Best Party Game 48:39 - Penguin Airlines 50:31 - Best Solo Game 52:04 - Best Thematic Game 52:33 - Nemesis: Lockdown 52:51 - Dead Reckoning 54:00 - Wonderland's War 54:51 - Best Wargame 55:38 - Best Podcast (which we already won) 58:53 - Best Board Game App

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#273: Bob Chat Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

Board games are a social medium, which is a big part of their appeal for us. It's not just about being heads down solving a puzzle, they facilitate conversation. Some games are better at this than others, so we put BGBBOB on the case to find our favourites! Before we natter away, we talk about Big Top, Autobahn, and Pollen.

Timecodes:

03:04 - Big Top 12:21 - Autobahn 23:25 - Pollen 34:51 - Dealt! / Krass Kariert 37:02 - Boast or Nothing 39:37 - Codenames 40:30 - Twice as Clever! 42:47 - Concept 43:45 - Biblios 45:25 - Dixit 46:07 - Coloretto 48:43 - Sushi Go! 51:46 - The Mind 54:25 - Qwirkle 57:09 - Dominion

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#272: Cool Story, Bro Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

Good storytelling isn't easy, and board games seem to struggle with it especially - which makes the ones that do pull it off, all the more memorable. We delve into the ways that games can engage us and create lasting experiences through stories. Before we spin a yarn, we talk about Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Artisans of Splendent Vale.

Timecodes:

01:36 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars 18:13 - Artisans of Splendent Vale 29:51 - Storytelling in games 30:40 - Gloomhaven 34:44 - The King's Dilemma 36:59 - Mansions of Madness: Second Edition 37:40 - Eldritch Horror 37:49 - Dead of Winter 38:44 - Phantom Leader 40:31 - Undaunted: Normandy 41:00 - Freedom: The Underground Railroad 43:34 - This War of Mine: The Board Game 47:23 - Return to Dark Tower 47:34 - Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective 47:59 - Sleeping Gods

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