Every Night is Game Night

Latest Episodes:

ENGN 172 - Best in Class and Top Ten: Dungeon Crawlers with Rolling Solo Jan 11, 2020

Show notes

Our Best in Class companion series to the Top 100 Solo Games People's Choice rolls on! Today, Jason is ecstatic to welcome back a friend of the show, Adam Smith from Rolling Solo. This man knows more about recent dungeon crawl games than any other content creator out there.

We get into what we like about dungeon crawl games, as well as what distinguishes them from other thematic adventure games (which we covered last week). After that, we get into Adam's Top Ten, which he has also presented as a video over on his Rolling Solo channel.

The Best in Class for dungeon-crawling games, according to solo gamers, is Gloomhaven. Did it make the top of Adam's list, as well?

In Liz We Trust - Black Sonata: The Fair Youth - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sideroomgames/black-sonata-the-fair-youth?ref=discovery&term=fair%20youth
One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bga

ENGN 171 - Best in Class for Thematic Adventure, and Ten Underrated Thematic Games with Corey Mayo Jan 03, 2020

Show notes

Jason is happy to welcome a long-time listener, first-time caller Corey Mayo to the pod! He is very, very well known among solo gamers who frequent BGG or Facebook, as he always has something to say about the games of the day.

In this episode, we talk about Corey's favorite genre - thematic adventure games. We get into our working definition of thematic adventure and debate whether many people's number one solo game of all time, Mage Knight, falls into that definition. Corey then shows some love to some underrated games, with Jason in the peanut gallery sharing about a few more.

ENGN 170 - PAX Unplugged 2019 recap Dec 28, 2019

Show notes

Jason was lucky enough to visit PAX Unplugged earlier this month, and is eager to share about his experiences! Like the last few PAX recaps, not only does Jason give his own perspective (this time as a demoer for Starling Games teaching Everdell to 36 different groups), but we also hear from a few friends. All of these voices should be very familiar to regular ENGN listeners - Liz Davidon, Michael Kelley, Jeremy Howard, Brenna Noonan, Mike Dilisio, and more!

In additon, we also have previews from some big upcoming projects in 2020 - Frosthaven from Cephalophair Games, Return to Dark Tower from Restoration Games, and Final Girl from Van Ryder Games. Jason also shows Van Ryder double love with a quick review of Bees: The Secret Kingdom.

We at ENGN hope that everyone is having a very happy and healthy holiday season!

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bga

ENGN 169 - Adventures with Nemo and Coraline Dec 20, 2019

Show notes

For our last episode before the holiday season, we are happy to bring to you Jason's patented "headspace" reviews for some fun games, as well as a great idea for a last-minute stocking stuffer.

First up, Jason reviews Coraline: Beware the Other Mother, a quick and quirky solo/ coop card game with some neat integration of the Coraline movie IP (2:42). Second, Jason covers Nemo Rising (11:45), the cooperative adventure game in a steampunk universe (that happens to have nothing, nothing at all to do with Nemo's War!).

Finally, Jason is very happy to welcome Paul Grogan from Gaming Rules back onto the show to discuss the new Adventure Games from Kosmos (19:50). Two modules are released already - Monochrome Inc. and The Dungeon. We get into the story elements, rewarding cleverness, the app companion, and other angles. We also compare the Adventure Games to other escape room games like Exit and Unlock, as well as games like TIME Stories and a few others.

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bga

ENGN 168 - Best in Class and Top Ten - Strategic Card Games Dec 13, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to part two of our mini-series of episodes. Following up on the Top 200 Solo Games People's Choice list that is now live on BGG, we are taking a closer look at different genres represented within that list, and also enjoyed by gamers everywhere.

Anthony and Jason shift over to talk about one of their personal favorites - strategic card games. First, we get into some of the reason why folks love the genre so much. After that, Anthony gets into his Top Ten Strategic Card Games. If you are a regular listener, you know what landed at number one!

Finally, we get into an extended discussion about the Best in Class worker placement game for the Top 200, a new debut this year - Wingspan. We get into why people love it, why others have some difficulty with it, and how it compares to some of our other favorites.

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bgaIn Liz We Trust -
Divinity: Original Sin - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin-the-board-game?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=divinity%20original%20sin4. As an added bonus, Jason demoed this game at PAX and gives some of his extended thought. Campaign ends in one week on 12/20!

ENGN 167 - Best in Class and Top Ten - Worker Placement Games Dec 06, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to a new mini-series of episodes that we are starting here on ENGN. Following up on the Top 200 Solo Games People's Choice list that is now live on BGG, we are taking a closer look at different genres represented within that list, and also enjoyed by gamers everywhere.

To kick things off, Anthony and Jason chat about the worker placement genre of games. First, we get into some of the reason why folks love the genre so much. After that, Anthony gets into his Top Ten Worker Placement games that really bring the strategic thunder, followed up by Jason who provides some lighter fare to round out this group.

Finally, we get into an extended discussion about the Best in Class worker placement game for the Top 200 for every year it's been on the list -Viticulture. We get into why people love it, what makes it stand out, and whether you should seek it out for your collection

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bga
In Liz We Trust - 5 Minute Mystery - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wiggles3d/5-minute-mystery?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=5%20minute%20mystery

ENGN 166 - Top 200 Solo Games People's Choice, part 2 (50-1) Nov 28, 2019

Show notes

The second part of ENGN's biggest episode is here, the fourth annual! Kevin Erskine once again joins Jason and Liz for commentary on the Top 200 Solo Games list, currently unfolding on BGG. For this episode, we chat about the cluster of games that has truly emerged as the canon of solo gaming. Many of the games are the same, but there were also a few surprise debuts as well.

This list is the very best resource for solo gamers to find out which games are actually getting played and which games are great for our community. We are happy to cover it every year. This list is also ENGN’s gift guide for the holidays. Between these last two ENGN episodes and Episode 248 of Board Gamers Anonymous, we have your holiday gaming needs covered!

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bgaTop 200 Solo
Games People's Choice - https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/264253/2019-peoples-choice-top-200-solo-games-200-41/page/1

ENGN 165 - Top 200 Solo Games People's Choice, part 1 (200 - 51) Nov 22, 2019

Show notes

ENGN's biggest episode is here, the fourth annual! Kevin Erskine joins Jason and Liz for commentary to break for the Top 200 Solo Games list, currently unfolding on BGG.

Which games rose and fell, what were big surprises and debuts, we get into all of that and more for the first 150 games on the big list. This list is the very best resource for solo gamers to find out which games are actually getting played and which games are great for our community, so we are happy to do cover it every year.

This list is also ENGN’s gift guide for the holidays. Between this one and the latest episode of Board Gamers Anonymous, we have your holiday gaming needs covered!

We don't spoil the very top of the list, which will be revealed next week. So, please feel free and enjoy!

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bga
Top 200 Solo Games People's Choice - https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/264253/2019-peoples-choice-top-200-solo-games-200-41/page/1

ENGN 164 - Marvel Champions LCG vs. Sentinels of the Multiverse vs. Marvel Legendary, and more! Nov 15, 2019

Show notes

We have a full episode dedicated to the biggest hotness of Fall 2019, Marvel Champions LCG. Jason is joined by theBrandt from the Portal Gaming Podcast as well as Steve from the One Stop Coop Shop to break down Marvel Champions LCG from all angles. We cover Jason's category of the "thematic headspace" that the game wants to put you in (i.e., does it make you feel like a hero?), as well as the hand management, the deckbuilding, the missions... well, everything you could ask for, short of strategy! We also compare Marvel LCG to it's closest gaming competitors, Sentinels of the Multiverse and Marvel Legendary. Hopefully, you get enough from this podcast to get you started... if you haven't started already!

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bga
In Liz We Trust - Hour of Need - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blacklistgames/hour-of-need?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=hour%20of%20need

ENGN 163 - Building a Game Room and a Game Collection with Jason Peacock Nov 08, 2019

Show notes

This one is a VERY different episode than we've done in a while. No game reviews this time, just a very interesting discussion topic. Many thanks to ENGN listener Liz Blake Benson for reaching out and suggesting this episode!

Following up on that, Jason put the call out on Twitter (@engn_podcast) and was happy to get a response from Jason Peacock of the Dice Tower to chat! So much friendliness and interaction in our little gaming community.

Jason and Jason chat about two general topics - building a game room and maintaining a collection. Jason is a professional carpenter and has put a lot of love and care into his gaming space, so he has lots of tips in terms of tables, shelving, painting miniatures, and all sorts of other little bits that can help flesh out a great game room.

In the second part, we get into growing a collection, including some personal stories about how we grew our own collections and how we approach keeping and culling.

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bga
In Liz We Trust - Arkeis - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ankamaboardgames/arkeis-a-cooperative-story-driven-campaign-board-game

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected