Every Night is Game Night

Latest Episodes:

ENGN 162 - Games for Halloween, and a personal chat with the Mega Meeple Oct 31, 2019

Show notes

For the first part of this episode, Jason rides solo and brings you some fun for the Halloween holiday. First up is Skulk Hollow (4:10), or Shadow of the Colossus: the board game. Lifeform follows after that (14:59), which is yet another crack at Alien: the board game. Finally, we have the next big, horror-themed expansion for Robinson Crusoe: Mystery Tales (29:09).

After all the gaming fun, Jason is proud to welcome the Mega Meeple, Thomas Grogan, to the pod for the first time. We get into a personal chat about some of the stuff he has struggled with in his life, and how gaming helped him turn things around and find happiness. Like the personal chat before this, if you want to keep things light and fun, please enjoy the gaming-centered content in the first half of the episode. For those who listen on, we hope you find something inspiring in Tom's story.

ENGN 161 - Post GenCon 2019 Wrap-Up, Part 7 - More Hot and Heavy Euros Oct 26, 2019

Show notes

ENGN 161 - Post-GenCon 2019 Wrap-Up, Part 7 - More Hot and Heavy EurosJason was very happy to contribute to the last episode on Hot and Heavy Euros. This week, we have more for you, but Jason has played none of these and has to keep his trap shut! Instead, we invite back Jeremy from Jambalaya Plays Games to help out Anthony and finish off our grand tour of games from GenCon 2019 (finally)!

First up is Escape Plan (3:08), a surprisingly easy to play offering from noted heavy game designer Vital Lacerda about getting loot and escaping the town ahead of the authorities - not your usual Euro theming, for sure. The next one up is Ragusa (12:56), a new economic and worker placement design from the maker of Calimala, Fabio Lopiano.

Getting even crunchier, the guys chat about the latest in the Imperial Settlers line of games, Empires of the North (20:27). We get into how it tries to offer something different from the original Imperial Settlers and whether it's worth a look if you already own or like that one. Finally, we round out this entire run of games with one of the truly hottest games from the show, one that will undoubtedly come back again during the year-end award season, Black Angel (35:47).

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bga
In Liz We Trust - Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowborne-games/oathsworn-into-the-deepwood?ref=discovery&term=oathsworn

ENGN 160 - Post GenCon 2019 Wrap-Up Part 6 - Hot and Heavy Euros Oct 18, 2019

Show notes

Our wrap-up of games from GenCon rolls on! Anthony has returned with a heavy helping of Euro fun.

We begin with an expansion to one of Anthony favorite games from the last few years, Teotihuacan: Late Preclassic Period (4:17). That subtitle is not a typo, that's really the name. Are the contents inside as... well, bad as this name? Jason then hops back into chat about Lockup: A Roll Player Tale (12:06). While this one is not quite a "hot and heavy" Euro, it sneaks in there because it of it's worker placement mechanisms, combined with a healthy dose of Poker-esque tension and reading others at the table. Anthony hops back in to chat about Sierra West (21:47) which, like Teotihuacan, is another offering from Board&DIce, so you know it pays some attention to its solo offering.

We end the episode on two games with civ-building themes. First, Jason talks about Gentes (29:13), a game that manipulates action economy in fun ways. Finally, Anthony hits us with the big hype of the day, Tapestry from Stonemaier Games (40:43).

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bgaIn Liz We Trust -
Vamp on the Batwalk - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/goldnuggetgames/vamp-on-the-batwalk?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=vamp%20on%20the%20

ENGN Preview Series 48: Hour of Need with The Sadlers and Dereck Rodriguez Oct 15, 2019

Show notes

Jason is happy to be joined by the host of Solo BG, Dereck Rodriguez, for a MEGA-length preview pod - our longest one! However, this episode is so much more than a preview.

Yes, we chat with Adam and Brady Sadler about the new KS project launching in November, Hour of Need - how it works, some design choices, and the fact that it is indeed different from the previous Modular Deck System games (think of the MDS like, say, the COIN system - very different games, even within the same system).

However, we talk about so much more. Adam and Brady reveal some of the inner workings at Blacklist Games, getting a small publisher started, and feeding the demands of the Kickstarter content beast. They also answer Jason's critical questions about their previous two MDS games - Street Masters and Brook City.

Finally, all four of us share our Top Three Things in Comic Books - characters, storylines, team-ups, anything. We get into Marvel vs. DC, lots of different Robins, a commentary on the new Joker movie... the dork factor is really, really strong in this episode. We hope you have as much fun listening as we did recording!

ENGN 159 - Post GenCon 2019 Wrap-Up, part 5: More Kickstarter Goodies Oct 11, 2019

Show notes

Liz and Jeremy are back once again to talk about some bigger, meatier projects. Many of these were featured at the big show in Indy this past year, so into the wrap-up they go!

Liz starts us off with Detective: City of Angels (10:16), the highly thematic case-solving game from Van Ryder Games that will unfortunately not hit retail due to scale and cost. Go ahead and check Kickstarter, as well as some conventions, if you want to get hold of this one.

Next, Jeremy gives us some knowledge about Gugong (16:38), a mid-weight economic game set in the Forbidden City in China.

Liz then jumps back in to share about a “dudes on a map”-type game with a slick auction system, Rurik: Dawn of Kiev (22;37).

We wrap up with one of the most buzzed-about games at the whole con, the MOBA-style combat game with competitive, cooperative, and solo modes, Cloudspire from Chip Theory Games (31:36).

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bga
In Liz We Trust - Time of Legends: Destinies - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/destinies/time-of-legends-destinies?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=Destiny%20time%20of%20legends

ENGN 158 - Top Ten Games at a Low Player Count, and 1565: St. Elmo's Pay with Tristan Hall Oct 04, 2019

Show notes

We interrupt our romp through all the hotness from GenCon to bring you a MEGA-sized podcast. You guys know that Jason likes to keep episodes to under an hour in length. However, Tristan Hall from Hall or Nothing Productions is too much fun to talk to, so we decided to keep it all!

Tristan stops by for three reasons. First, he is here to preview a project called 1565: St. Elmo's Pay. This is the follow up to 1066: Tears to Many Mothers, a historical war-themed card game for 1-2 players. This project launches today, October 4th.

Second, at around 15:56 we have a big, fat Top Ten list for you - Top Ten Games for a Low Player Count (1-2 players). This list was originally meant to be Top Ten Card Games for 1-2 players, but Tristan breaks all the rules! So, our individual lists might be a bit lopsided, but that's ok - it's geeks chatting about a top ten. What's not to like?

Finally, at a whooping 1:09:38 or so, Tristan and Jason put on the old amateur historian hats and break down the historical background of 1565: St. Elmo's Pay. The game is soaked in historical flavor which we are very, very excited to share. If you play this game and wonder where the Barrage of Heads card came from, this is the segment for you!

This last past is very different than what you might be used to from ENGN. If you like (or don't like) what you hear, please reach out to us and let us know if you want us to do more historical deep dives behind games.

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

ENGN 157 - Post GenCon 2019 Wrap-Up, part 4: Kickstarter Goodies Sep 27, 2019

Show notes

The Kickstarter Squad is back! Liz from Beyond Solitaire and Jeremy from Jambalaya Plays Games have returned to being you the latest and greatest of delivered Kickstarter projects.

As serendipity would have it, these games were all featured at GenCon 2019 as well (yeah, I know the big show was over a month ago, but... branding!)

First up, Jason shares about Everdell: Pearlbrook (8:30), the first expansion to one of the real surprise hits from last year. Two more expansions for Everdell happen to be live on Kickstarter as we speak, so check out of Jason and Liz think they are worth your time.

Jeremy then jumps in to chat about another worker placement game, Reavers of Midgard (12:54). This one is the follow up (spiritual successor, maybe?) to the very popular Champions of Midgard from Grey Fox Games.

Liz gets the middle spot with the biggest game we review this episode, Pax Pamir (22:31). Jason and Jeremy then follow up with two lighter games that are nevertheless really fun, the real-time cooperative zombie survival game Until Daylight (31:05), and the card dueling game Unmatched (41:11).

After all that fun, we get into a brief but spirited discussion about the rising price of games. Not just KS projects, but seemingly all games. We probably didn't come to any conclusions, but we had fun venting our spleens a bit.

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bgaIn Liz We Trust - Everdell: Belfaire and Everdell: Spirecrest - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/starlinggames/everdell-spirecrest-and-bellfaire?ref=discovery&term=everdell

ENGN Preview Series 47 - Dance Card with Michael Melkonian Sep 23, 2019

Show notes

Jason is happy to welcome Michael Melkonian to the show to talk about Dance Card, a highly thematic card game with a theme of high school students having fun at a dance recital. There's set collection, dice rolling, and maybe most importantly for ENGN fans, solo and coop mode.

Check it out as Michael talks about the development of Dance Card, not only it's mechanisms and thematic integration, but also larger issues of representation as well.

Michael is a super, super excited guy, and it was a joy to talk to him. (The aftershow is completely random basketball talk that I felt like keeping in there for... reasons. For those in the Venn diagram of board gaming and basketball fans, enjoy! If not, the aftershow is very skippable!).

ENGN 156 - Post GenCon 2019 Wrap-Up, Part 3: Many Dice Games Sep 20, 2019

Show notes

Our (belated yet still hopefully valuable) GenCon coverage rolls on, this time with some short games that use dice to make them go.

First up, Jason shares about Unbroken (4:46), a resource management game of survival that is optimized for the one player experience. Jason wanted to review the game independently of some of the controversy surrounding it's Kickstarter fulfillment, so we get into that right at the beginning. If you want to hear further thoughts about the situation, please stay tuned until the end of the episode.

Then, Anthony chats about the newest Matt Leacock dice game, Era: Medieval Age (13:47). This one is a follow up to Roll Through the Ages, one of the grandaddies of the roll n write genre, only this new version has player boards, toy buildings, and a lot more!

Jason then jumps back in with (spoiler alert) one of his favorite dice games that he has played in a very long time, Mageling (24:31).

Finally, we wrap up with Anthony in all of his roll n write glory, providing quick reviews of a pile of them that he got at GenCon, including Brikks, Second Chance, Deadly Doodles, Dizzle, Patchwork Doodle, On Tour and Cartographers.

One Stop Coop Shop Slack - bit.ly/onestopslack
BGA Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/bga
In Liz We Trust - Detective: City of Angels: Smoke and Mirrors - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vanrydergames/detective-city-of-angels-and-new-expansion?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=detective%20city%20of%20angels

ENGN 155 - Post GenCon 2019 Wrap-Up, Part 2: Family Weight Games Sep 13, 2019

Show notes

Today, Anthony is back from his summer hiatus! And we have even more family weight games for your enjoyment, either with your family or as a solo gamer.

We start with two games that take familiar pieces of culture and make fun games out of them - The Fifty Nine Parks Print Series in the game Parks (6:38), and the Periodic Table of Elements in Periodic: A Game of Elements (12:30).

We then turn to two more games that happened to do really well on Kickstarter - a nifty card drafting game called Villagers (19:36), and the next in the very popular Tiny Epic product line, Tiny Epic Mechs (29:31). We end with a dexterity game that has a lot of charm and excitement, Megacity Oceanea (39:19). Well, we really don't end there - there's more after the outro music, but we well let everyone discover that for themselves!

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

In Liz We Trust - Squire for Hire - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonmerchant/squire-for-hire-micro-tile-based-card-game?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=squire%20for%20hire

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