Game Brain: A Board Game Podcast About Our Gaming Group

Latest Episodes:

Table Scraps 03: Playing the Pity Card and The Truth About Sushi Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

It's two episodes for the price of one. Come join for a double header of Table Scraps. First, Ben and Paul talk about what pity cards you can and can't play at game night: the "bad day" card, the "I've been out of town" card, and so many more.

Then we get down to the real pressing questions: if games were sushi, what sushi would they be? Be sure to subscribe to Table Scraps on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/@table-scraps

00:00 Intro

01:29 Playing the Pity Card: When Guilt Almost Wins—But Not Quite

42:36 If board games were sushi, what sushi would they be?

#233 SETI Mar 10, 2025

Show notes

Ben, Trey, and special guest Chris dive deep with the rotating space hotness SETI. Plus, talk about a marathon session of 1817.

00:00 Intro

12:10 1817

25:09 Railways of the Lost Atlas

30:50 Whistle Mountain

33:04 SETI

#232: Men-Nefer Feb 17, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of Game Brain, Ben and Paul dive deep into the ancient world with a full review of Men-Nefer, exploring its mechanics, strategy, and whether it’s an classic Egyptian Euro (oxymoron?) in the making. But that’s not all—we also break down Mind MGMT, Serenissima, and DroPolter, dissecting the mind games, economic battles, and dexterity highjinks within these standout titles. Plus, we check in on The Traitors on Peacock—what does this season tell us about our gaming hobby?

02:00 - Guards of Atlantis II

03:32 - Galactic Cruise

07:20 - Stroganov

12:29 - Mind MGMT

20:29 - Traitors

31:56 - Serenissima

42:40 - Landmarks

44:42 - DroPolter

49:43 - We Need To Talk

51:28 - Hooky

56:59 - Men-Nefer Review

Table Scraps 02: What If I'm Late For Game Night? Feb 03, 2025

Show notes

Ben and Paul talk about punctuality and game night: what do you do when you're running late? When is it okay to run late? What do we owe those who are late? And what about showing up too early? It's all about timing and game night.

#230: Best of 2024 Jan 20, 2025

Show notes

Matt, Paul, Trey, Tom, Jordan, and Ben convene to discuss their top games of the year. Plus, awards in categories such as "Best New To Me Game," "Biggest Disappointment," and "Best Expansion."
We had a variety of audio issues in this episode; so apologies in advance for the not amazing sound quality.
Drew Conley Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-drew-dcon-rebuild-after-eaton-fire-loss

#229 2024 Navel-Gazing Jan 13, 2025

Show notes

Ben and Paul discuss their favorite gaming sessions of 2024. Then, in advance of a future Game Brain top 10 episode (or something in that mold), Ben shares his favorite non-top 10 games of last year, specifically #25-#11. This list will make some listeners angry, and Ben apologizes in advance.
Please help our friend Drew recover from the devastating wild fires here in Los Angeles. Find his GoFundMe here: https://gofund.me/bce5bc67 Every little bit helps.
00:00:00 Intro
00:09:46 Best gaming experiences of 2024
00:34:24 Ben's 2024 10x5 challenge
00:38:19 Ben's top games of 2024: #25-#11

Table Scraps 01: How to Get a Famous Lady to Play Games With You Jan 07, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Table Scraps, a new board game chat show here at Game Brain. We'll be posting these eps from time to time, and if the tech gods are kind to us, there will even be a video component.
Today Ben and Paul chat about the sort of games Anna Scott (not a real person), Barack Obama, and Erin Brockovitch would enjoy, and then they explore how to get someone like Jennifer Lawrence to play Catan. Because it could happen!

#227 Living Up To The Hype Dec 30, 2024

Show notes

The new hotness has flooded the marketplace, and Ben and Jordan are here to make sense of it. Which new releases live up to the hype, exceed it, and fall short of it? We cover a lot of ground; so buckle up!
00:00 Introduction

11:22 Kraftwagen: Age of Engineering

13:00 Stress Botics

14:48 Unconscious Mind

16:47 Landmarks

18:08 Shackleton Base

21:00 Gaia Project: The Lost Fleet

25:44 Harmonies

31:19 Age of Rail: South Africa

40:51 The Yellow House

45:07 Pariahs

48:45 Asian Tigers

52:08 Fromage

58:47 Middle Ages

1:03:41 Men-Nefer

1:10:35 Red Dust Rebellion

1:14:48 Saltfjord

1:21:29 Fellowship of the Ring Trick Taking Game

1:27:14 Lord of the Rings Duel

1:29:06 Endeavor Deep Sea

1:36:02 SETI

1:41:14 Civolution

#226 Shackleton Base Dec 16, 2024

Show notes

Ben and Paul deep dive the new area control, tableau-building, moon-exploiting, corporation-pleasing game "Shackleton Base." They also discuss new hotness Civolution as well as Fromage and Men-Nefer. Ben also offers up some family game suggestions for the holidays - all while attempting labored "Wicked" puns.

#225: Sprue'd Up! #2 Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

Matt and Jordan return to the world of miniature wargaming to get you up to speed on all of their recent adventures.

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