Board Game Hot Takes

We discuss a poll on buying games without researching them and then talk about some games that have been on our tables including Modern Art, Toy Battle, and Forest Shuffle.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:22 Poll Time: Have you ever bought a game when you were in a store without knowing anything about it before seeing it on the shelf?

08:37 Moon Colony Bloodbath Description

11:01 Gameplay and Mechanisms

23:53 Production and Theme

31:08 Final Thoughts

36:55 Modern Art

44:57 Toy Battle

48:44 Forest Shuffle

1:00:11 Listener Shoutout

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/boardgamehottakes

Join our Board Game Arena Community: https://boardgamearena.com/group?id=11417205

Join our Discord server at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/vMtAYQWURd

Favorite Board Games of All Time 2025 Edition (1-10) Aug 11, 2025

Show notes

In Episode 261 we wrap up the 2025 countdown of our 40 favorite Board Games of all time with choices 1-10.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

04:26 Chris #10 Terraforming Mars

07:20 Adam #10 Chaosmos

10:42 Tim #10 Grand Austria Hotel

13:44 Chris #9 - Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization

18:45 Adam #9 - Wonderland's War

20:43 Tim #9 - Pulsar 2849

21:53 Chris #8 - Distilled

26:00 Adam #8 - Smartphone, Inc.

28:34 Tim #8 - Everdell

34:16 Chris #7 - Barrage

38:02 Adam #7 - Dune: Imperium

40:38 Tim #7 - Terraforming Mars

41:05 Chris #6 - Gaia Project

43:43 Adam #6 - Dune

47:25 Tim #6 - Lost Ruins of Arnak

48:18 Chris #5 - Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy

49:59 Adam #5 - Baseball Highlights: 2045

53:20 Tim #5 - Dune: Imperium

54:53 Chris #4 - Dune: Imperium

56:04 Adam #4 - Hegemony: Lead Your Class To Victory

58:53 Tim #4 - Castles of Burgundy

1:00:03 Chris #3 - Darwin's Journey

1:03:53 Tim #3 - Lorenzo il Magnifico

1:07:12 Chris #2 - Tapestry

1:10:14 Adam #2 - Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy

1:11:59 Tim #2 - Gaia Project

1:13:03 Chris #1 - Star Realms

1:18:23 Adam #1 - Azul

1:21:04 Tim #1 - Darwin's Journey

1:23:56 - Runners Up

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/boardgamehottakes

Join our Board Game Arena Community: https://boardgamearena.com/group?id=11417205

Join our Discord server at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/vMtAYQWURd⁠

Top 5 Board Games with Dice Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

In Episode 260 Rolling Reggie joins us to talk about some of our favorite board games that use dice and why we love the dice mechanisms in those games.

You can find Reggie's YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@rolling.reggie

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

04:45 Top 5 Board Games with Dice

07:00 Spots

10:28 Dice Miner

13:47 Wroth

17:26 Troyes

22:14 Castles of Burgundy

27:03 Sentient

30:28 Rajas of the Ganges

33:33 The White Castle

37:16 Dice Throne

42:30 Tiletum

46:31 Lords of Vegas

49:57 Arcs

53:40 Crystal Palace

57:27 Sagrada

1:00:53 Dune: War for Arrakis

1:05:40 Honorable Mentions: Gang of Dice, Civolution, Fantastic Factories, Bang: The Dice Game, Sky Team

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/boardgamehottakes

Join our Board Game Arena Community: https://boardgamearena.com/group?id=11417205

Join our Discord server at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/vMtAYQWURd

Confessions of a Casual Board Gamer Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

In Episode 259 our guest host, Danielle, answers our questions about her tastes, preferences, and feelings about the board gaming hobby as a casual board gamer.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:05 Definition of a Casual Board Gamer

05:30 Thinking About Board Games

10:21 Buying/Looking For New Games

17:10 Learning New Games

32:45 Board Game Complexity

33:09 Board Game Conventions

36:00 Board Game Annoyances

47:03 Listener Shoutout

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/boardgamehottakes

Join our Board Game Arena Community: https://boardgamearena.com/group?id=11417205

Join our Discord server at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/vMtAYQWURd

Favorite Board Games of All Time 2025 Edition (11-20) Jul 21, 2025

Show notes

In Episode 258 we continue the 2025 countdown of our 40 favorite Board Games of all time with choices 11-20.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:10 Chris #20 Obsession

04:18 Adam #20 Stockpile

05:42 Tim #20 Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth

06:53 Chris #19 - La Granja

08:44 Adam #19 - Battle for Rokugan

09:58 Tim #19 - Fromage

12:20 Chris #18 - A Feast for Odin

15:33 Adam #18 - Star Wars Rebellion

16:55 #18 - Clank! Catacombs

19:51 Chris #17 - Kanban EV

23:12 Adam #17 - Gaia Project

24:28 Tim #17 - Endeavor: Deep Sea

26:09 Chris #16 - Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar

28:16 Adam #16 - Ankh: Gods of Egypt

29:19 Tim #16 - Blood Rage

33:26 Chris #15 - Pan Am

36:12 Adam #15 - The Expanse Board Game

37:25 Tim #15 - The Voyages of Marco Polo / Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan

39:27 #14 - Blood Rage

40:32 #14 - Fractal

45:07 Tim #14 - Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King

47:41 Chris and Tim #13 - Agricola

1:19:07 Adam #13 - Frozen Frontier

53:58 Chris #12 - 7 Wonders Duel

55:39 Adam #12 - Pan Am

57:15 Tim #12 - Tapestry

1:00:08 Chris #11 - Azul

1:02:20 Adam #11 - Sol: Last Days of a Star

1:03:28 Tim #11 - Arc Nova

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/boardgamehottakes

Join our Board Game Arena Community: https://boardgamearena.com/group?id=11417205

Join our Discord server at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/vMtAYQWURd

Tigris & Euphrates Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

In Episode 257 Mark Johnson from the Boardgames To Go podcast joins us to discuss Tigris & Euphrates covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game.

We discuss a poll on which modern era our favorite games were from and then talk about some games that have been on our tables including Tycoon: India 1981 and Castles of Tuscany.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:45 Poll Time: What Timeframe was your #1 Favorite Board Game Published Within?

03:39 Intro to Mark Johnson and Board Games To Go

06:48 Tigris & Euphrates Description

09:18 Gameplay and Mechanisms

28:21 Production and Theme

32:39 Final Thoughts

28:28 Tycoon: India 1981

50:41 Castles of Tuscany

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/boardgamehottakes

Join our Board Game Arena Community: https://boardgamearena.com/group?id=11417205

Join our Discord server at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/vMtAYQWURd

Favorite Board Games of All Time 2025 Edition (21-30) Jul 07, 2025

Show notes

In Episode 256 we continue the 2025 countdown of our 40 favorite Board Games of all time with choices 21-30.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:54 Chris #30 Outlive

05:09 Adam #30 Brian Boru: High King of Ireland

08:22 Tim #30 Cyclades: Legendary Edition

12:58 Chris #29 - The Guild of Merchant Explorers

16:17 Adam #29 - SpaceCorp: 2025-2300AD

18:29 Tim #29 - Scythe

21:37 Chris #28 - Lost Ruins of Arnak

26:14 Adam #28 - Scout

28:29 #28 - Cthulhu: Death May Die

33:31 Chris #27 - Cascadia

37:27 Adam #27 - Shamans

40:29 Tim #27 - Revive

44:50 Chris #26 - Viticulture Essential Edition

49:19 Adam #26 - Inis

52:56 Tim #26 - Azul

55:20 Chris #25 - Thunder Road: Vendetta

58:21 Adam #25 - Biohack

1:02:34 Tim #25 - Tichu

1:05:29 Chris #24 - Pirates of Maracaibo

1:10:38 Adam #24 - Skull

1:13:19 Tim #24 - Space Base

1:17:01 Chris #23 - Wonderland's War

1:19:07 Adam #23 - Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization

1:21:16 Tim #23 - Rising Sun

1:22:47 Chris #22 - Clank! In! Space!

1:26:15 Adam #22 - Marrakesh

1:31:41 Tim #22 - Woodcraft

1:34:09 Chris #21 - Teotihuacan: City of Gods

1:38:40 Adam #21 - Terraforming Mars

1:40:43 Tim #21 - Sea Salt & Paper

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/boardgamehottakes

Join our Board Game Arena Community: https://boardgamearena.com/group?id=11417205

Join our Discord server at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/vMtAYQWURd

Favorite Board Games of All Time 2025 Edition (31-40) Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

In Episode 255 we start the 2025 countdown of our top 40 Board Games of all time with choices 31-40.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:05 Favorite Games of All Time - How we made our lists

07:25 Chris #40 Rats of Wistar

11:01 Adam #40 Mosaic: A Story of Civilization

13:16 Tim #40 The Castles of Tuscany

14:49 Chris #39 - Wingspan

16:44 Adam #39 - Rebirth

18:18 Tim #39 - Le Havre

19:51 Chris #38 - Smartphone, Inc.

22:03 Adam #38 - On Mars

24:30 Tim #38 - Thunder Road Vendetta

26:23 Chris #37 - Revive

28:56 #37 - Beyond the Sun

30:15 Tim #37 - Boast or Nothing / Best of Neapolitan

32:03 Chris #36 - Keyflower

34:41 Adam #36 - Voidfall

36:47 Tim #36 - Star Realms

38:13 Chris #35 - Cthulhu: Death May Die

41:11 Adam #35 - Tycoon: India 1981

44:54 Tim #35 - Wonderland's War

45:52 Chris #34 - Nemesis

49:30 Adam #34 - Revive

50:54 Tim #34 - Viticulture: Essential Edition

52:00 Chris #33 - Heat: Pedal to the Metal

54:57 Adam #33 - Xenon Profiteer

56:15 Tim #33 - Slay the Spire: The Board Game

58:00 Chris #32 - Scythe

59:24 Adam #32 - Pax Pamir: 2nd Edition

1:01:37 Tim #32 - Clans of Caledonia

1:02:31 Chris #31 - Cthulhu Wars

1:05:08 Adam #31 - Hot Streak

1:09:31 Tim #31 - Anachrony

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/boardgamehottakes

Join our Board Game Arena Community: https://boardgamearena.com/group?id=11417205

Join our Discord server at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/vMtAYQWURd

Top 5 Games That End Too Soon Jun 23, 2025

Show notes

In Episode 254 we discuss games that end a little too quickly.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

03:14 Race for the Galaxy

07:23 Newton

09:57 Pirates of Maracaibo

14:10 Mycelia

19:14 Fantasy Realms / Marvel Remix

22:11 Biohack

24:36 Smartphone, Inc.

27:46 Near and Far

37:17 Distilled

42:01 Robot Quest Arena

44:12 Woodcraft / Pulsar 2849

47:13 Thunder Road: Vendetta

53:26 Sol: Last Day of a Star

56:21 Architects of the West Kingdom

59:26 Gaia Project / Agricola

1:03:37 Honorable Mentions: Anunnaki: Dawn of the Gods, Keyflower

1:05:52 Listener Shoutout

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/boardgamehottakes

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