Board Game Barrage

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#90: Timmy, Jenny, Spike Oct 03, 2019

Show notes

Mark Rosewater, head designer for Magic: The Gathering, defined three player archetypes back in 2002, and we figured it'd be fun to see how we can apply them to, not just board games, but your three beloved hosts. We look into what makes a Timmy, Tammy, Johnny, Jenny, or Spike tick, and try to find some board games each might like. Before we profile ourselves, we talk about FlickFleet, Québec, and Ra.

02:13 - FlickFleet06:19 - Québec09:10 - El Grande10:29 - Tapestry15:00 - Ra21:56 - Magic: the Gathering Player Archetypes31:08 - Gùgōng40:27 - The Voyages of Marco Polo40:55 - Rising Sun41:19 - Crokinole41:47 - Dominion42:47 - Terraforming Mars43:15 - Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar43:50 - Cosmic Encounter44:47 - Dune45:31 - Glory to Rome

#89: Classified Information Sep 26, 2019

Show notes

Inspired by BoardGameGeek's new system for classifying board game mechanisms, we give our thoughts on the changes, as well as talk about classification in general. Somehow it always leads to heated discussions, whether it's arguing what a Civilization game even is, or why we need classification at all. I'm sure we'll all agree in the end. Before we taxi into taxonomy, we talk about Piepmatz, Era: Medieval Age, and Cursed Court. 02:45 - Piepmatz 05:05 - Arboretum 08:42 - Irish Gauge 10:38 - Era: Medieval Age 19:00 - Cursed Court 29:43 - Board Game Classification 36:53 - Codenames 51:35 - Tapestry 52:12 - Civilization 53:10 - Scythe 56:55 - Great Western Trail 58:30 - 18Lilliput

#88: Essen SPIEL 2019 Preview Sep 19, 2019

Show notes

Hello, again, Germany! Well, we don't actually ever go to Essen, but boy do we wish we could. There are always so many games that debut at Essen SPIEL that we wish we could play or buy ... and this year is no exception! We're counting down the games we would most anticipate getting our hands on if it weren't so goshdarn far. Before we cross the Atlantic, we also talk about Irish Gauge, Heroes of Terrinoth, and Tapestry. 01:00 - Irish Gauge 08:33 - Heroes of Terrinoth 16:21 - Tapestry 37:50 - The games we want from Essen SPIEL 2019 38:15 - Trismegistus: The Ultimate Formula 39:27 - The Magnificent 40:22 - Welkin 41:46 - Terramara 43:10 - Rush M.D. 44:09 - Deep Blue 44:54 - Paranormal Detectives 46:04 - Rome & Roll 47:07 - Offshore 48:42 - Glen More II: Chronicles 49:38 - Maracaibo 50:33 - Kakerlaken Sushi 51:52 - Crystal Palace 53:29 - Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles 55:12 - Babylonia

#87: The Game of Life Sep 12, 2019

Show notes

No, not that game. We're talking about the life cycles of games, how we acquire them, how we end up moving on from them. Where do we generally get our games from, and how do we typically get rid of them? Things get a little bit existential before the end. Before we, blinking, step into the sun, we also talk about Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne, 18Lilliput, and Tonari. 01:38 - Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne 10:06 - 18Lilliput 15:25 - City of the Big Shoulders 19:56 - Tonari 28:11 - The life cycle of games 29:05 - Exit: The Game 29:30 - Charterstone 35:06 - Piepmatz 35:50 - Nyctophobia 40:40 - Rising Sun 42:52 - Irish Gauge 44:17 - The Resistance: Avalon 45:07 - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1

#86: Shame! Shame! Shame! Sep 05, 2019

Show notes

Look, there's only so much time in the day, so we don't get to play every game we ought to. But some of those missed games hurt more than others, in fact, some of them are downright shameful. This week we're counting down the top five games we're ashamed that we haven't played. Before we atone, we also talk about Kobayakawa, Taj Mahal, and Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition). 02:07 - Nine Tiles Panic 03:36 - Kobayakawa 07:38 - Taj Mahal 17:47 - Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition) 33:53 - Games we're ashamed we haven't played 34:29 - Modern Art 36:18 - Kremlin 37:44 - Nothing Personal 38:12 - Ra 39:32 - Caverna: The Cave Farmers 40:50 - Macao 41:57 - Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game 43:37 - Terraforming Mars 45:04 - Indonesia 46:26 - Dungeon Lords 46:26 - Dungeon Petz 47:43 - Seafarers of Catan 47:43 - Catan: Cities & Knights 49:16 - Antike II 49:51 - Trickerion: Masters of Illusion 51:48 - Cyclades 53:37 - Amun Re

#85: Episode Too: Attack of the Adjectives Aug 29, 2019

Show notes

Kellen's back, which some might say is too many hosts - apt, because we're an episode of extremes today. We're talking about games that are too simple, too complicated, too short, or too long, that might otherwise have been among our favourites. Before we venture outside the Goldilocks zone, we talk about Q.E., Cartographers, and City of the Big Shoulders. 02:58 - Q.E. 11:52 - Cartographers 19:36 - City of the Big Shoulders 37:25 - Games that are too long 38:36 - Citadels 38:51 - Alien Frontiers 39:04 - Cubist 40:41 - Dead of Winter 41:18 - Robo Rally 41:52 - Skull 43:19 - Mage Knight 43:52 - Forbidden Stars 45:17 - Twilight Imperium 45:51 - Las Vegas 46:17 - Time's Up! Title Recall! 46:55 - Games that are too short 46:59 - Above and Below 47:53 - Clank! 48:15 - Oink Games 49:37 - Agricola 50:15 - The Voyages of Marco Polo 51:05 - Games that are too complicated 51:19 - Burano 53:12 - Keyflower 53:39 - Nemesis 54:03 - Altiplano 54:37 - Escape Plan 55:07 - Skull King 56:36 - Games that are too simple 56:42 - Kingdomino 58:00 - Ethnos 1:02:41 - Bärenpark 1:03:30 - Betrayal at House on the Hill 1:04:56 - 3 Wishes 1:05:30 - Mint Works

#84: Best With Two Aug 22, 2019

Show notes

Kellen graces us with his absence, which means it's time for Mark and Neilan to start talking numbers. Specifically, player numbers. We're talking about optimal player counts for games, whether games ever mean what they recommend on the box, and how well they scale. Before we count to ten, we talk about Vindication, Royal Palace, Throw Throw Burrito, and Pipeline. 05:40 – Vindication 12:05 – Royal Palace 17:28 – Throw Throw Burrito 21:37 – Pipeline 29:48 – Optimal Player Counts 31:51 – Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne 32:50 – Caverna: The Cave Farmers 33:13 – Alien Frontiers 34:19 – Dead of Winter 37:13 – Throw Throw Burrito 38:20 – The Resistance 39:17 – Inis 39:45 – Rising Sun 40:09 – Maria 43:48 – Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant

#83: Dexterous Laboratory Aug 15, 2019

Show notes

We're running components through our fingers this week, because we're ranking our favourite games that require dexterity. Whether it's flicking, stacking, or balancing, dexterity games tend to offer a respite from brain burning crunchiness, and a chance to exercise actual muscles. Before our hands tremble, we talk about The Wizard Always Wins, Genoa, and Paku Paku.

01:29 - The Wizard Always Wins 06:36 - Genoa 13:55 - Paku Paku 17:53 - Listener Mail 21:59 - Our Favourite Dexterity Games 22:53 - Riff Raff 25:14 - Flick 'em Up!: Dead of Winter 27:25 - Bugs in the Kitchen 29:31 - Junk Art 31:46 - KLASK 35:44 - Hamsterrolle 37:28 - Animal Upon Animal 38:56 - Meeple Circus 42:18 - Drop It 44:57 - PitchCar 46:42 - Safranito 51:47 - Puzzle Dungeon Fighter 56:08 - Crokinole

#82: Tales from the Tables Aug 08, 2019

Show notes

We just flew in from Indianapolis, and boy are our arms tired! From carrying all these games. But, more than the games, it's the people you meet that make the memories, so we're recovering from a very long weekend at Gen Con by telling some of our favourite little stories from the floor. Before we revisit our weekend, we talk about Tuki, God of War: The Card Game, and Wits & Wagers Vegas. 01:03 - Tuki 05:41 - God of War: The Card Game 16:34 - Wits & Wagers Vegas 24:08 - Letter Jam 25:09 - Catch the Moon 27:17 - Wooly Whammoth 31:02 - Click Clack Lumberjack 32:14 - Foodies 42:26 - Seasons of Inis 42:48 - City of the Big Shoulders 43:20 - Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne

#81: Gen Con 2019 Day Three Aug 04, 2019

Show notes

Our trilogy of Gen Con podcasts concludes with one final foray between the sheets! Join us on the floor of room [redacted] for the last time, with our thoughts from day three. We talk about Sanctum, Potemkin Empire, MegaCity: Oceania, and Aegean Sea.

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