Board Game Barrage

Latest Episodes:

#351: Combined Top 50 Games of All-Time 2025 Draft: 30-11 Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

Happy new year! We're back to continue the very peaceful, collaborative, kind endeavour that is coming together to harmoniously assemble our top 50 games. It's been nothing but chill, friendly vibes, and we expect that to continue into 2026. It's the next twenty games on our definitive top 50 board games... of all-time!

01:20 - #30 - Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar 06:43 - #29 - Dominion 09:36 - #28 - Fuji Flush 11:13 - #27 - Innovation 12:53 - #26 - Blue Lagoon 14:27 - #25 - El Grande 15:11 - #24 - Dune 16:17 - #23 - Inis 19:16 - #22 - Decrypto 21:27 - #21 - The Estates 23:24 - #20 - Yellow & Yangtze 26:08 - #19 - Archipelago 27:34 - #18 - Agricola 30:04 - #17 - Guards of Atlantis II 31:33 - #16 - Taj Mahal 33:03 - #15 - The Voyages of Marco Polo 35:08 - #14 - I'm the Boss! 37:00 - #13 - Lords of Vegas 38:05 - #12 - A Feast for Odin 41:32 - #11 - Telestrations

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#350: Combined Top 50 Games of All-Time 2025 Draft: 50-31 Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

Okay, things are a bit different this year. In honour of our 350th episode (a very important milestone), we're going to combine forces, like ... Voltron. I'm the head, and my left and right feet are here with me to collaboratively (yes, you heard right) compile Board Game Barrage's definitive (definitely definitive) top 50 board games... of all-time!

06:27 - #50 - Zoo Vadis 08:32 - #49 - Splendor 11:45 - #48 - Azul 14:51 - #47 - Imperial 2030 17:13 - #46 - Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant 19:15 - #45 - Pictomania 25:50 - #44 - Stationfall 32:35 - #43 - Ra 34:20 - #42 - Food Chain Magnate 39:31 - #41 - Diplomacy 41:41 - #40 - Dune: Imperium - Uprising 43:33 - #39 - Race for the Galaxy 47:40 - #38 - Caylus 1303 50:59 - #37 - Root 54:34 - #36 - Cosmic Encounter 56:40 - #35 - Blood on the Clocktower 59:03 - #34 - Glory to Rome 1:01:04 - #33 - Fresh Fish 1:05:01 - #32 - Biblios 1:06:23 - #31 - So Clover!

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#349: Anticipation Auction 2025 - And the Winner Is… Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Remember way back at the beginning of the year when we took some bets on what we thought the games of the year were gonna be? Well, all those good and bad decisions are back to help or haunt us, as we tally up where things stand with the end of the year results. Before we find a winner, we talk about Wriggle Roulette, Whale Street, and Scales of Fate.

04:45 - Wriggle Roulette 11:32 - Whale Street 19:12 - Scales of Fate 29:45 - Anticipation auction results

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#348: Got 'Em, Ghost Turkey Nov 27, 2025

Show notes

Somehow Ghost Turkey returned. And you never saw it coming! That might be because we forgot to remind people that it's Thanksgiving, but never mind that, the important thing is you're fools. Not us though, we're back with yet another juicy, cranberry soaked list of bird gaming goodness. Gobble gobble!

00:00 - ???

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#347: Bob's Design Nov 13, 2025

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BGBBOB is back, and it's been long enough that you might need a reminder. Ten game designers enter the ring, and through the arduous process of one vs one battles, we arrive at our (and not just our, but the) definitive ranked list of ... these particular designers. It's science. Before we fight it out, we talk about Iliad, The Old King's Crown, and Franchise.

03:29 - Iliad 13:56 - The Old King's Crown 34:01 - Franchise 42:04 - BGBBOB: Game designers

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#346: It's One Bananagrams, How Much Could It Cost? Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

This episode is not about Bananagrams (at least, I don't think so), but it is about the price of things (though not Bananagrams specifically, shut up about Bananagrams). In a world where everything costs more, we're talking about the value of games, and how far a game has to go to justify its price. Before we decide if the price is right, we talk about The Presence, and River of Gold.

02:08 - The Presence 17:32 - River of Gold 27:03 - Board Game Pricing 27:59 - Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition - Thunder's Edge 33:20 - Biblios 34:15 - Agricola

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#345: Essen SPIEL 2025 Hype List Oct 16, 2025

Show notes

Not perturbed by Kellen's trip to Germany, we're all daydreaming about the motherlode of board game conventions, Essen SPIEL. There's a lot of games coming to the show, and because we're not going, and presumably you aren't either, we'll just tell you what's going to be there instead! The good stuff, anyway. Before we Germinate, we talk about Calimala, Tír na nÓg, and Typewriter.

02:42 - Calimala 09:42 - Tír na nÓg 16:15 - Typewriter 26:15 - Essen SPIEL 2025 Preview 28:49 - Mission: Red Planet (Third Edition) 31:18 - The Other Side of the Hill 33:29 - Severton 36:12 - Harvest Valley 38:11 - Pulitzer 39:26 - Echoes of Time 41:14 - Oopsie 42:55 - Feya's Swamp 43:46 - Baghdad: The City of Peace 45:25 - Ghost Lift 48:07 - Coming of Age 49:33 - The Presence 51:50 - Carnival of Sins 53:37 - The Republic of Rome: Remastered 55:22 - Theocratia Register for this year's Ghost Turkey at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord

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#344: ... But the Second Leaves a Mark Oct 02, 2025

Show notes

Dreaded continuity! We're following up Episode 41 from seven years ago about the games that started our love for board games! After those first loves, what really got our hearts aflutter with the joy that the hobby had to offer? Before we yearn, we talk about Der Fliegende Holländer, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

02:52 - Der Fliegende Holländer 16:03 - The Hobbit: There and Back Again 27:14 - The games that made us 29:11 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 32:54 - Mage Knight Board Game 36:33 - Francis Drake 39:33 - Two Rooms and a Boom 42:44 - Survive: Escape from Atlantis! 46:46 - Grand Austria Hotel 49:53 - Dead Last 55:26 - Rising Sun

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#343: Fantasy Draft: Card Games Sep 18, 2025

Show notes

The draft's back! This time it's card games, and we're picking the bestof what ought to be a staple of any good collection. We love card games, we love drafting games, and you love winning money, so be sure to vote for whoever you think drafted the best set, and you could win a $100 gift card! Before deal everyone in, we talk about Money!, Venture, and Fishing. 03:02 - Money! 12:43 - Venture 20:27 - Fishing 28:39 - Card Games Draft 31:15 - Innovation 32:38 - Race for the Galaxy 34:20 - Hanabi 35:27 - Marvel Champions: The Card Game 36:21 - Dominion 37:47 - SCOUT 39:28 - Glory to Rome 40:58 - The Crew: Mission Deep Sea 41:50 - Arboretum 42:12 - Lost Cities 42:57 - Bohnanza 43:57 - Tichu 45:06 - Skull King 47:00 - Res Arcana 48:07 - That's Not a Hat

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#342: Oops! All Foreplay Sep 04, 2025

Show notes

There's any number of subtle innuendoes we could've gone with, but this is what we're doing I guess. If you haven't got there yet, we're talking about games that aren't just slow rides, but instead leave you gasping for more right as they climax. Before we finish, we talk about No Loose Ends, Eselsbrücke, and The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship. 01:24 - No Loose Ends 09:08 - Eselsbrücke 19:33 - The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship 33:52 - Comings and Goings 37:44 - Games that finish strong 40:17 - Agricola 40:44 - Splendor 41:14 - Voyages of Marco Polo 44:03 - Terraforming Mars 45:28 - Blood on the Clocktower 46:57 - Innovation 47:49 - Rumble Nation 49:50 - Moon Colony Bloodbath 52:12 - Dominion

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