Board Game Barrage

And we're back! The holiday extravaganza is over, and it's back to business as usual around here. And what better way to get back into the swing of things than with some h-h-hot questions! Before that, we catch up on our holidays apart, with tales about the games that we played with our loved ones, including The Siege of Runedar, Snakesss, and Time Bomb Evolution. 02:18 - The Siege of Runedar 08:02 - Snakesss 14:49 - Time Bomb Evolution 19:04 - Sacred Rites 24:09 - Hearts of AttrAction 30:03 - Wits & Wagers Vegas 32:18 - Colorful 35:14 - Paperback 37:33 - Ten plays of one game, or one play of ten? 40:17 - The Great Zimbabwe 44:47 - Abandoning games halfway through? 48:56 - Time's Up! 51:36 - Blood Rage 52:10 - Heroes of Land, Air & Sea Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

It's the grand finale of the event of events that is the BGB Top 50 Games of All-time! These are our ten absolute favourite games, and, fittingly, it's a bumper episode with more than one surprise. Joining us in the peanut gallery this week, it's none other than the manic imp of Shut Up & Sit Down himself, the absolute mad genius that is Tom Brewster. Buckle in, it's going to get weird. 02:36 - Kellen #10 - El Grande 04:08 - Mark #10 - 1830: Railways & Robber Barons 07:44 - Neilan #10 - Exit: The Game 11:08 - Christina #10 - I'm the Boss! 14:53 - Kellen #9 - Inis 18:05 - Mark #9 - The Estates 20:13 - Neilan #9 - Guards of Atlantis II 23:20 - Christina #9 - Lost Cities 28:28 - Kellen #8 - Diplomacy 31:18 - Mark #8 - Hansa Teutonica 34:02 - Neilan #8 - Pictomania 37:20 - Christina #8 - Twice as Clever! 41:07 - Kellen #7 - Dune 43:43 - Mark #7 - Time's Up! Title Recall! 45:33 - Neilan #7 - Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar 48:14 - Christina #7 - Blood Rage 53:03 - Kellen #6 - Cosmic Encounter 55:03 - Mark #6 - Brass: Lancashire 56:56 - Neilan #6 - Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant 1:00:06 - Christina #6 - Babylonia 1:05:31 - Kellen #5 - Troyes 1:05:31 - Christina #5 - Troyes 1:10:06 - Mark #5 - Arboretum 1:12:11 - Neilan #5 - Time's Up! Title Recall! 1:14:15 - Kellen #4 - I'm the Boss! 1:16:57 - Mark #4 - Fresh Fish 1:19:56 - Neilan #4 - Gloomhaven 1:22:25 - Christina #4 - El Grande 1:25:26 - Kellen #3 - Cthulhu Wars 1:25:26 - Christina #3 - Cthulhu Wars 1:29:37 - Mark #3 - Caylus 1303 1:31:38 - Neilan #3 - The Resistance 1:35:24 - Kellen #2 - Archipelago 1:38:02 - Mark #2 - Race for the Galaxy 1:41:12 - Neilan #2 - Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization 1:45:45 - Christina #2 - Time's Up! Title Recall! 1:51:46 - Christina #1 - Innovation 1:51:46 - Kellen #1 - Innovation 1:57:28 - Mark #1 - Biblios 1:59:34 - Neilan #1 - A Feast for Odin Check out Shut Up & Sit Down: https://www.shutupandsitdown.com Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

The penultimate episode of the grand series is here, it's the BGB Top 50! As the journey approaches its end, we're venturing into our 20th to 11th favourite games, with some support from the peanut gallery. And with thirty more board games to blitz through, who better to help us than Ambie Valdés of Board Game Blitz! 01:27 - Mark #20 - Imperial 2030 03:02 - Neilan #20 - Decrypto 04:11 - Kellen #20 - The Resistance 06:19 - Mark #19 - Ra 07:35 - Neilan #19 - Patchwork 09:15 - Kellen #19 - Ingenious 11:32 - Mark #18 - Barrage 13:41 - Neilan #18 - Rising Sun 15:24 - Kellen #18 - Time's Up! 18:01 - Mark #17 - Pax Renaissance 19:32 - Neilan #17 - Taj Mahal 20:34 - Kellen #17 - 6 nimmt! 22:55 - Mark #16 - Archipelago 26:03 - Neilan #16 - Brass: Birmingham 28:00 - Kellen #16 - Telestrations 30:20 - Mark #15 - 1846: The Race for the Midwest 32:07 - Neilan #15 - Watson & Holmes 33:44 - Kellen #15 - Decrypto 35:53 - Mark #14 - Bus 38:01 - Neilan #14 - Codenames 39:05 - Kellen #14 - Omen: A Reign of War 41:29 - Mark #13 - Tigris & Euphrates 42:59 - Neilan #13 - Alchemists 45:00 - Kellen #13 - Glory to Rome 47:52 - Mark #12 - El Grande 50:05 - Neilan #12 - Scythe 51:41 - Kellen #12 - Hansa Teutonica 54:31 - Mark #11 - Age of Steam 56:53 - Neilan #11 - Cthulhu Wars 58:29 - Kellen #11 - Coloretto Check out Board Game Blitz: https://www.boardgameblitz.com Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

What better way to send off the year than part three of the party to end all parties, the BGB Top 50! We're adding thirty more incredible games to the list, with our 30th to 21st favourite picks. This week, we have the Black Tank, Mike Walker of So Very Wrong About Games tearing apart our choices from the peanut gallery! 01:57 - Kellen #30 - Taj Mahal 03:32 - Mark #30 - Modern Art 05:48 - Neilan #30 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 09:11 - Kellen #29 - Race for the Galaxy 11:27 - Mark #29 - Francis Drake 13:02 - Neilan #29 - Gaia Project 16:33 - Kellen #28 - Krass Kariert / Dealt! / SCOUT 18:33 - Mark #28 - The Gallerist 20:37 - Neilan #28 - Twice as Clever! 22:33 - Kellen #27 - Rumble Nation 25:12 - Mark #27 - Panic on Wall Street! 27:30 - Neilan #27 - Azul 30:00 - Kellen #26 - Startups 32:49 - Mark #26 - A Question of Scruples 34:34 - Neilan #26 - Werewords 37:44 - Kellen #25 - Keyflower 40:09 - Mark #25 - Lancaster 43:23 - Neilan #25 - Spirit Island 46:33 - Kellen #24 - Smartphone Inc. 48:42 - Mark #24 - Pax Pamir: Second Edition 50:41 - Neilan #24 - The Quest for El Dorado 53:01 - Kellen #23 - Codenames 55:34 - Mark #23 - Container 57:13 - Neilan #23 - Blue Lagoon 59:24 - Kellen #22 - Babylonia 1:01:52 - Mark #22 - Pictomania 1:03:05 - Neilan #22 - Inis 1:06:11 - Kellen #21 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 1:07:57 - Mark #21 - City of the Big Shoulders 1:09:51 - Neilan #21 - The Oracle of Delphi Check out So Very Wrong About Games: https://www.sowronggames.com Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We're back for the second part of the year's greatest celebration, it's the top fifty! We've got thirty more incredible games to talk about this week, as we get into our games ranked 40th to 31st. This week in the peanut gallery, critiquing our picks, we're thrilled to have Monique (the Lavender tank herself) and Naveen of Before You Play! 01:29 - Neilan #40 - Coloretto 03:15 - Kellen #40 - Zendo 05:28 - Mark #40 - Ginkgopolis 07:46 - Neilan #39 - Aeon's End 10:06 - Kellen #39 - Stephenson's Rocket 12:47 - Mark #39 - Reef Encounter 16:09 - Neilan #38 - Dominion 17:49 - Kellen #38 - Genoa 19:46 - Mark #38 - Smartphone Inc. 23:22 - Neilan #37 - Archipelago 25:08 - Kellen #37 - Beyond the Sun 27:21 - Mark #37 - Maracaibo 29:54 - Neilan #36 - Innovation 32:33 - Kellen #36 - Dogs of War 34:45 - Mark #36 - Blue Lagoon 38:05 - Neilan #35 - Hansa Teutonica 39:58 - Kellen #35 - Pax Porfiriana 42:37 - Mark #35 - Genoa 44:57 - Neilan #34 - In the Year of the Dragon 47:10 - Kellen #34 - Agricola 49:42 - Mark #34 - True Colors 54:50 - Neilan #33 - The Search for Planet X 57:48 - Kellen #33 - Wizard 59:37 - Mark #33 - Glen More II: Chronicles 1:04:10 - Neilan #32 - Kemet 1:06:01 - Kellen #32 - Imperial 2030 1:08:07 - Mark #32 - Cthulhu Wars 1:11:03 - Neilan #31 - Yellow & Yangtze 1:13:41 - Kellen #31 - Fuji Flush 1:15:33 - Mark #31 - Dominant Species Check out Before You Play: https://www.youtube.com/c/BeforeYouPlay Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

It's time. The event of the year is upon us, as we begin counting down our FIFTY. FAVOURITE. GAMES. OF. ALL. TIME. We're kicking it off where you kick off all good top 50s, with our games ranked 50th to 41st favourite games. And we've also invited Mr Delicious himself, Mike DiLisio of The Dice Tower, to pick apart our choices from his lofty perch in the peanut gallery. Let's go! 03:15 - Kellen #50 - So Clover! 07:10 - Neilan #50 - Taluva 10:18 - Mark #50 - Glory to Rome 14:30 - Kellen #49 - Throne and the Grail 16:43 - Neilan #49 - Sagani 19:07 - Mark #49 - Stephenson's Rocket 22:13 - Kellen #48 - Root 25:23 - Neilan #48 - Troyes 27:35 - Mark #48 - Marvel Champions 31:14 - Kellen #47 - Splendor 33:25 - Neilan #47 - Letter Jam 35:44 - Mark #47 - Dungeon Fighter 39:05 - Kellen #46 - Brass: Lancashire 41:38 - Neilan #46 - Gùgōng 43:33 - Mark #46 - Babylonia 46:47 - Kellen #45 - Nusfjord 49:34 - Neilan #45 - Pipeline 50:49 - Mark #45 - Ricochet Robots 54:46 - Kellen #44 - A Study in Emerald (Second Edition) 56:51 - Neilan #44 - The Great Zimbabwe 58:52 - Mark #44 - Lisboa 1:02:12 - Kellen #43 - The Game 1:04:31 - Neilan #43 - So Clover! 1:05:36 - Mark #43 - Cuba Libre 1:08:34 - Kellen #42 - Bruges 1:11:16 - Neilan #42 - Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne 1:13:31 - Mark #42 - Rising Sun 1:16:22 - Kellen #41 - Lords of Vegas 1:18:52 - Neilan #41 - Orléans 1:20:36 - Mark #41 - Innovation Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

It'd be great if we could only ever play our favourites. But sometimes, perhaps more often than not, we have to put up with playing games not because we want to, but because it's the polite or kind thing to do depending on the company. This week, we're talking about games that we don't necessarily love, but for whatever reason we end up playing a lot of. Before we're held against our will, we talk about Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden, Sacred Rites, and Great Plains. 02:09 - Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden 11:53 - Sprawlopolis 14:01 - Sacred Rites 20:34 - Great Plains 25:46 - PAX Unplugged! 28:02 - Games we don't love but play a lot 29:13 - Zombicide 30:34 - Betrayal at House on the Hill 31:45 - 7 Wonders Duel 32:48 - Railroad Ink 33:24 - Karuba 34:22 - Hive 35:59 - The Mind 36:48 - Wavelength 37:44 - One Night Ultimate Werewolf 38:20 - The Quacks of Quedlinburg 41:51 - Space Base 42:57 - Crokinole Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Looking back on the past made us all reflective. For instance, remember 166 episodes ago when we promised to play all those games on our shelves of shame? I thought you might. We're revisiting our crimes of yesteryear, and checking in on how guilty we are. Before we audit our past selves, we talk about Warp's Edge, Carolus Magnus, and Unfathomable. 02:32 - Warp's Edge 08:09 - Carolus Magnus 16:20 - Unfathomable 27:00 - A Look Back at Our Unfulfilled Potential 27:18 - Fog of Love 28:56 - Spirit Island 30:10 - Dungeon Petz 31:55 - Mini Rails 33:19 - Pax Porfiriana 35:45 - Keyflower 36:41 - Dogs of War 37:13 - Clockwork Wars 38:38 - Anachrony 39:40 - Lisboa 40:19 - Three Kingdoms Redux 41:59 - Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game 42:51 - The Gallerist 43:40 - The Voyages of Marco Polo 44:35 - Diplomacy 45:40 - For-Ex 46:35 - Project: ELITE 47:31 - War of the Ring 49:50 - Roads & Boats 51:15 - Tammany Hall 51:28 - Fury of Dracula 51:50 - 1880: China 52:19 - Spartacus: A Game of Blood & Treachery 52:45 - Arkham Horror: The Card Game 53:07 - Crokinole 53:48 - An Infamous Traffic 54:15 - Chaos in the Old World 55:07 - Great Western Trail 55:52 - Dune 56:48 - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Gobble gobble, gotcha again. What better way to follow up one of our biggest episodes yet, than with one of our stupidest? Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 02:35 - Cursed Court: Pokémon Edition 04:30 - Unfathomable 05:36 - Wings of War: Deluxe Set 06:22 - Gods Loves Dinosaurs 07:12 - Wings of Glory 08:16 - Seikatsu 12:59 - Bandada 14:22 - Concordia Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We did it! Two hundred episodes later and we're still here. We're so grateful to every single listener, so we wanted to turn the mics back on all of you for your favourite voicemail memories from the show. Here's to another two hundred. Before we celebrate good times, we talk about Llamaland, Mansions of Madness: Second Edition, and Clash of Cultures: Monumental Edition. 02:59 - Llamaland 12:03 - Mansions of Madness: Second Edition 18:26 - Cthulhu: Death May Die 19:36 - Clash of Cultures: Monumental Edition 34:05 - BGB and SUSD at PAX Unplugged! 34:32 - Voicemail Memory Lane 34:44 - Jordan: Kingmaking 34:44 - Rising Sun 41:41 - Zeth4: The iconic duo 42:07 - Food Chain Magnate 44:26 - Donnie: Lacerda games 48:04 - Alex: Kinder Kellen 51:29 - Kevin & Camden: 139 55:00 - Sahara: Killing Concordia 55:00 - Concordia 55:47 - Curtis: Tank love 1:00:55 - Saroule: Mark's grand entrance 1:04:39 - Brent & Kirsten: Booty 1:04:39 - Don't Get Got! 1:13:26 - Nate: Summing it up Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

The split between Eurogame and Ameritrash gamers is as old as it it is silly, but in the last ten years it's also become a lot more nebulous. It's less clear than ever which side of the fence games fall on, so why still use these archaic labels at all? Maybe it's time for a change. Before we heal the divide, we talk about Hostage Negotiator, Juicy Fruits, Sleeping Gods, and Witchstone. 04:25 - Hostage Negotiator 12:38 - Juicy Fruits 17:34 - Sleeping Gods 28:38 - Witchstone 35:10 - Ingenious 39:57 - PAX Unplugged & BGB Official Math Trade 40:37 - Eurogames and Ameritrash labels 45:33 - Forbidden Stars 46:35 - Kemet 46:35 - Scythe 47:44 - Eclipse 48:05 - Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition 49:15 - Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire 49:40 - Blood Rage 50:17 - Gloomhaven 54:30 - El Grande 1:00:28 - Dune Send us a voicemail for Episode 200: https://boardgamebarrage.com/voicemail The PAX Unplugged & BGB official math trade: https://boardgamebarrage.com/paxtrade Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

If you've ever been a board game host, then you know it's not always just about playing games, it's about creating lasting memories for everyone playing. We'd never leave that to chance though, so of course we're often going out of our way to make a board game experience memorable. Before we do the unforgettable, we talk about Khôra: Rise of an Empire, Dune: Betrayal, and Santa Maria. 02:08 - Khôra: Rise of an Empire 13:02 - Dune: Betrayal 21:17 - Santa Maria 29:17 - Official PAX Unplugged Math Trade by BGB! 31:17 - Making board game memories 32:30 - Dune 37:36 - Divinity Derby 38:10 - Ra: The Dice Game 38:39 - Warhammer 40,000: Fireteam 39:16 - Cthulhu Wars 39:37 - Coyote 41:19 - For Sale 42:20 - Codenames 43:26 - Gloomhaven 49:50 - The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 The PAX Unplugged & BGB official math trade: https://boardgamebarrage.com/paxtrade Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

It's part five of our venerable draft series, a series so loved that it's now in syndication! We're moving on to the tail end of the BGB Top 500, but the format stays the same: draft five games to build a standalone collection that's better than the others. Vote for your favourite, and you can win $50! Before we collect royalties, we talk about PARKS, Fairy Trails, Abandon All Artichokes, and So Clover! 03:39 - PARKS 11:04 - Tokaido 12:40 - Fairy Trails 16:37 - Abandon All Artichokes 20:48 - So Clover! 26:36 - BGB and SUSD at AwShux 26:58 - PAX Unplugged Math Trade 28:53 - Drafting BGG's #401-500 31:18 - Smartphone Inc. 32:09 - Pipeline 33:32 - Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant 34:23 - Archipelago 35:37 - Time's Up! Title Recall! 36:21 - Pax Porfiriana 38:18 - Libertalia 40:29 - 1846: The Race for the Midwest 41:22 - Wavelength 42:30 - The King's Dilemma 43:50 - Hanabi 45:33 - No Thanks! 47:18 - Ingenious 48:12 - Chess 49:49 - Taj Mahal Check out our draft with Shut Up & Sit Down at AwSHUX: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1185759979?t=04h09m50s Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We love all of the emails we get from you, our lovely listeners, but without a regular mail segment, we can't often give them the attention they deserve. Well that ends right now, as we delve into the long neglected pile of mail, and answer some choice questions that have been waiting patiently for answers. Before we rustle in the mailbag, we talk about Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done, and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. 01:42 - Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done 12:44 - World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King 22:48 - Ghost Turkey 2021 23:45 - Boards Alive Podcast 26:15 - Thoughts on some Gen Con Games? 26:34 - Furnace 28:23 - The Loop 29:14 - Witchstone 30:05 - Oltréé 30:39 - Origins: First Builders 31:55 - Overhyped games? 32:26 - Terraforming Mars 33:45 - Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition 34:15 - Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective 35:05 - Lorenzo il Magnifico 36:54 - Great Western Trail 38:25 - Race for the Galaxy 40:41 - Convention plans? 41:01 - AwSHUX: BGB & Shut Up & Sit Down draft! 45:47 - Mark's Vegas gaming? 46:30 - Marvel Champions: The Card Game 51:44 - Squid Game? Check out Neilan on the Boards Alive podcast: https://boardsalivepodcast.com/2021/10/17 Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We're always excited for a new Eric Lang game, which makes him an obvious candidate for the absolutely-not-called BGB DOG - our series where we deep dive into a designer's .... designography. He's made a lot of our favourite area control games, and had his hand in some games we might not have even realized. Before we bang on about this Lang mang, we talk about What's Missing?, Polynesia, and TEN. 02:41 - What's Missing? 07:50 - Polynesia 17:47 - Ten 25:10 - PAX Unplugged 25:45 - Ghost Turkey 2021 28:45 - Eric Lang 31:30 - Mystick 32:05 - Dragon Ball Z: Majin Buu Saga 33:04 - Midgard 34:54 - Chaos in the Old World 39:58 - Quarriors! 41:48 - Dice Masters 42:20 - Blood Rage 45:47 - XCOM: The Board Game 48:13 - Duelyst 49:40 - Rising Sun 50:39 - Cthulhu: Death May Die 52:19 - Ankh: Gods of Egypt 54:32 - Marvel United Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Convention season in the new world continues, and this time it's Germany's turn, with Essen SPIEL just days away from kicking off. But tanks, you say, I don't sprechen Deutsch. We've got you. We're going to highlight all the games that we think you ought to be paying attention to, no German necessary. Before we spend our Euros, we talk about Praga Caput Regni, Skulk Hollow, and Beez. 01:40 - Praga Caput Regni 11:51 - Skulk Hollow 18:17 - Beez 25:51 - Fantasy Draft Winner! 27:58 - Essen SPIEL 2021 Preview 28:32 - Dreadful Circus 30:17 - Star Fighters: Rapid Fire 32:16 - 1923 Cotton Club 34:52 - Catapult Kingdoms 36:21 - The Siege of Runedar 37:57 - Magellan: Elcano 39:59 - Squaring Circleville 41:37 - Bitoku 43:33 - What's Missing: Purple Version 47:00 - Imperial Steam 48:38 - Heuschrecken Poker 52:02 - Eriantys 53:20 - Hippocrates 54:46 - Mobile Markets: A Smartphone Inc. Game Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

There is one unenviable truth of board game ownership that we're forced to contend with - they occupy space. We've each had to wrestle with this reality in different ways recently, so we offer our thoughts on the awkwardness of sharing a physical world with our board games. Before we merely exist, we talk about Riftforce, Kabuto Sumo, and Whirling Witchcraft. 02:23 - Riftforce 11:38 - Kabuto Sumo 19:41 - Whirling Witchcraft 23:25 - Bullet♥︎ 23:45 - Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne 29:37 - So Very Wrong About Games charity fundraiser 30:05 - Ghost Turkey 2021 31:49 - Board games occupying space 45:28 - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 48:06 - Inis 48:47 - Scythe 49:06 - Splendor Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

A new list of a hundred games to draft, and it only gets harder and harder. We're each picking a standalone collection of five games in a snake draft format. And the best part is you could win $50 just by voting on your favourite collection! Before we get to clubbing, we talk about Regicide, Dice Miner, and Let's Make a Bus Route, and SCOUT! 02:06 - Regicide 08:34 - Dice Miner 16:55 - Let's Make a Bus Route 16:55 - Get on Board: New York & London 18:56 - SCOUT! 22:42 - Drafting BGG's #301-400 25:18 - Biblios 26:56 - Innovation 28:18 - Monikers 29:20 - The Great Zimbabwe 30:42 - Ginkgopolis 33:34 - For Sale 35:24 - Nusfjord 37:45 - Bunny Kingdom 39:18 - Chinatown 39:38 - Twice as Clever! 41:17 - Macao 43:03 - Lancaster 45:05 - Obsession 48:23 - Lost Cities 50:36 - Gùgōng See Badgers from Mars' statement on TGG Games: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2723017/badgers-mars-and-tgg-games Check out Mark playing Dice Miner on GameNight! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CouxIvYzh-s Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

While one of the appeals of following a specific game designer is the comforting familiarity of what they do best, it's also really fun to see them go off the garden path. We're looking at games and mechanics where one of our beloved designers zigged, when they easily could've zagged. Before we go our own way, we talk about Biosphere, The Ratcatcher: The Solo Adventure Game, and Stephenson's Rocket. Timecodes: 01:46 – Biosphere 10:58 – The Ratcatcher: The Solo Adventure Game 19:10 – Stephenson's Rocket 30:51 – Neilan's at Gen Con! 31:42 – Designers "Zigging" 33:03 – Codenames 33:07 – Pictomania 35:25 – El Grande 35:36 – 6 nimmt! 37:25 – Blood of the Northmen 37:54 – Strasbourg 38:25 – FlowerFall 40:37 – Kitchen Rush 42:19 – Mercado de Lisboa 43:02 – Age of Steam Expansion: Portugal 46:51 – XCOM: The Board Game Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

One of the things we love to do, especially if we're playing a game for the first time, is analyse it while we're playing. We're sure this totally isn't annoying for those around us. In particular, we love picking apart little mechanical choices, imagining what the designer's thought process was, and wondering "why is that like that?" Before we get to speculating, we talk about Divinity Derby, Mexica, and Strasbourg. 03:28 - Divinity Derby 11:54 - Hab & Gut 13:22 - Mexica 19:06 - Strasbourg 24:35 - Taj Mahal 30:38 - Why is that mechanic like that? 33:28 - Risk 33:39 - Kemet 34:58 - Scythe 38:57 - Circadians: Chaos Order 39:57 - Tinner's Trail 41:22 - Ankh: Gods of Egypt 42:58 - Rocketmen 45:09 - The Oracle of Delphi Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We love Uwe Rosenberg around these parts, whether it's because of our infatuation with polyominoes, the need to keep workers fed, or the strange mechanisms of animal breeding. Join us down the (cottage) garden path of his designography, and make sure to plant some vegetables along the way. Before we get agricultural, we talk about Bosk, Spies & Lies: A Stratego Story, and Glen More II: Chronicles. 00:58 - Bosk 07:57 - Spies & Lies: A Stratego Story 12:37 - Love Letter 15:21 - Glen More II: Chronicles 24:52 - BGG 201-300 Fantasy Draft Winner 27:49 - Strategicon 29:01 - Uwe Rosenberg 29:56 - Bohnanza 33:58 - Agricola 37:19 - Le Havre 39:34 - At the Gates of Loyang 40:58 - A Feast for Odin 41:20 - Patchwork 46:45 - Caverna: The Cave Farmers 47:34 - Nova Luna 49:36 - Hallertau 53:59 - Mamma Mia! 54:28 - Nusfjord Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Sometimes, if you want a game bad enough, you're willing to go to absurd lengths to acquire it. Whether it's because it's out of print, or just hard to come by, we've all put more effort than we should've into finding or playing specific games. We tell our stories of just how far we've gone. Before we secure the bag, we talk about Tinner's Trail, and The Night Cage. 01:10 - Tinner's Trail 08:13 - The Night Cage 17:31 - Games you've gone out of your way for 18:39 - Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective 23:36 - World of Warcraft: The Boardgame 27:06 - Discworld: Ankh-Morpork 27:57 - Dead of Winter 29:16 - Ugg-Tect 32:26 - HeroQuest 33:55 - Warhammer 35:38 - Watch the Skies Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We're back with another fantasy draft, as we keep on moving down the BoardGameGeek top games list. If you're not familiar, we're each picking a standalone collection of five games before our picks get stolen out from under us. Want to win a $50 gift card? You've got to vote on whose collection is best! Before we get the knives out, we talk about Raiders of Scythia, and Ankh: Gods of Egypt. 02:01 - Raiders of Scythia 02:18 - Raiders of the North Sea 08:56 - Ankh: Gods of Egypt 29:09 - Drafting BGG's #201-300 32:58 - 1830: Railways & Robber Barons 34:52 - Flamme Rouge 36:51 - Beyond the Sun 37:59 - Cthulhu Wars 39:14 - Modern Art 39:27 - Glory to Rome 41:35 - Dune 42:49 - Imperial 2030 43:36 - The Resistance 44:35 - Arboretum 45:47 - Hive 46:47 - Glen More II: Chronicles 48:20 - Dwellings of Eldervale 49:35 - Dixit 51:23 - Burgle Bros Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We all have types of games that, for whatever reason, we steer clear of. Often all that we've been missing is a more suitable introduction to the genre, or a game that's just enough of an outlier. This week, we try to tempt you toward genres that you might have written off, with the games that may just sway you. Before we change your minds, we talk about Pocket Galapagos, Cascadia, and Bites. 01:36 - Pocket Galapagos 08:57 - Cascadia 12:53 - Bites 18:34 - Games that'll turn you around 20:19 - Battle for Rokugan 23:54 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 26:54 - Smartphone Inc. 30:53 - Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends 33:23 - Santorini 35:13 - Snakesss 38:49 - Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

It's board games for dinner, but we're not just throwing whatever we could find on your plate. No, we've got menus. We lay out our ideas for a four course board game meal, complete with appetizer, amuse-bouche, entrée and dessert, in a fun little exercise suggested by a listener. Before we meal plan, we talk about Sequoia, The Mind Extreme, and MicroMacro: Crime City. 04:31 - Sequoia 10:07 - The Mind Extreme 13:36 - MicroMacro: Crime City 21:59 - Draft winner! 23:43 - Four course board game meals 24:12 - Christina's menu 25:26 - Happy Salmon 27:57 - Deep Sea Adventure 29:41 - The Quest for El Dorado 31:54 - True Colors 33:01 - Mark's menu 34:11 - Biblios 35:43 - The Estates 38:12 - Rising Sun 30:42 - A Fake Artist Goes to New York 41:35 - Neilan's menu 42:02 - Paku Paku 43:58 - Kitchen Rush 45:05 - A Feast for Odin 47:11 - Avenue 48:23 - Kellen's menu 48:55 - Auf Teufel komm raus 50:29 - Keyflower 51:57 - 6 nimmt! Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Board game science is a delicate process, but thankfully BOB's here to help, in another BGB Battle of Board (Games)! This week, we're pitting our favourite science fiction themed games against each other. That's fifteen sci fi games, which we'll put in a fact based ordered list, ready to submit to the journal of your choice. Before we pollute space, we talk about Riverboat, Bug Council of Backyardia, and Rocketmen. 04:02 - Riverboat 10:05 - Bug Council of Backyardia 16:37 - Rocketmen 23:17 - BGBBOB: Science fiction games 24:57 - Eclipse 26:02 - Anachrony 28:18 - Quantum 29:19 - Forbidden Stars 32:03 - Beyond the Sun 32:48 - Imperial 2030 36:09 - Sol: Last Days of a Star 36:59 - Space Alert 38:55 - Dune 40:20 - Nemesis 42:34 - Gaia Project 43:35 - Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant 45:30 - Race for the Galaxy 46:26 - Android: Netrunner 49:03 - Cosmic Encounter 1:04:28 - The final list Keep an eye on Bug Council of Backyardia's Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/engrogames/bug-council-of-backyardia Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Martin Wallace, titan of industry, man of steam and brass. He's made a lot of games, often involving trains, but sometimes also Cthulhu. We do a deep dive into the prolific designer's catalogue, in the next in the series that Mark (and nobody else) is calling BGB DOG. Before we put him in our pocket, we talk about Throne and the Grail, Race for the Galaxy, Dinogenics, and On Mars. 02:21 - Throne and the Grail 05:56 - Race for the Galaxy 09:19 - Lost Ruins of Arnak 11:19 - DinoGenics 18:19 - On Mars 26:44 - Martin Wallace 32:17 - Brass: Lancashire 34:29 - Brass: Birmingham 37:44 - Railways of the World 42:15 - Via Nebula 44:15 - Wildlands 45:58 - Age of Industry 46:51 - Nanty Narking 46:51 - Discworld: Ankh-Morpork 51:36 - A Study in Emerald (Second Edition) 53:43 - Hit Z Road 54:55 - Anno 1800 56:10 - Liberté Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

If you thought the Euro 2020 final was tense, wait until you listen to this episode. The next match in the world's most anticipated series is now here, as we continue down the BoardGameGeek top games list, drafting a collection of five games. Whose do you think is best? Vote to stand a chance to win a $50 gift card! Before we make like snakes, we talk about Chinatown, Curious Cargo, and Mercado de Lisboa. 02:14 - Chinatown 10:00 - Curious Cargo 16:44 - Mercado de Lisboa 24:45 - Drafting BGG's #101-200 28:32 - Hansa Teutonica 30:34 - Inis 31:56 - Cosmic Encounter 32:30 - Splendor 34:41 - Pandemic 37:20 - Kemet 39:37 - Ra 41:36 - Age of Steam 44:59 - Chaos in the Old World 46:15 - Dominion 47:24 - Res Arcana 50:01 - Yokohama 51:12 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 53:44 - Vinhos Deluxe Edition 57:02 - The Resistance: Avalon Vote for your favorite draft at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/draft Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Look, we know, we don't exactly help matters, but this hobby can be expensive. So, to make up for fueling your FOMO, we're gonna lay out some of the ways that we consciously try to curb our board game spending, while still keeping up with the zeitgeist. Before we balance our budget, we talk about Summer Camp, Wildlands, and Rome & Roll. 05:11 - Summer Camp 09:55 - The Quest for El Dorado 11:06 - Dominion 12:38 - Wildlands 21:12 - Rome & Roll 33:51 - Curbing board game spending 42:00 - Carnegie 43:03 - Gizmos 49:11 - Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile 49:49 - Stationfall Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We often talk about the burden of rules, and how in some of our favourite games, they just get out of the way. But when is that burden worthwhile; what makes the price of a heavy rules overhead worth paying? Before we maximize our returns, we talk about Crash Octopus, Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, Imperium: Classics, and Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile. 02:54 - Crash Octopus 08:33 - Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition 18:47 - Imperium: Classics 30:41 - Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile 40:44 - Return on rules investment 43:15 - Dune 44:17 - Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game 44:50 - Gloomhaven 45:29 - Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization 48:15 - Pax Renaissance 49:50 - Roads & Boats Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Sometimes it's best not to know, right? You've just played a game, and you liked it a lot, but you're not quite sure whether that faction is quite balanced, or the designers accounted for that winning strategy. Should you find out? Or is it better just to enjoy the game on its own merits? Before we disobey our thirst for knowledge, we talk about Genoa, Durian, The Search for Planet X, and Pavlov's House. 02:04 - Genoa 05:50 - Durian 10:52 - The Search for Planet X 20:57 - Pavlov's House 27:35 - Draft winners 31:30 - Pre/post-game research 33:17 - Splendor 35:30 - Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun 39:00 - Cthulhu Wars: Duel 39:46 - Chaos in the Old World 40:12 - Root 45:33 - Hallertau 46:39 - Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Because making board games is hard, it's not enough just to have some solid mechanics - the best games have a production that coheres with the design. We look at some examples of games where production considerations (or lack thereof) have helped or hurt how they play. Before we executively produce, we talk about The King is Dead: Second Edition, Equinox, and Enchanted Plumes. 01:48 - The King is Dead: Second Edition 10:15 - Colossal Arena 10:15 - Equinox 22:06 - Enchanted Plumes 32:40 - Production and design 34:33 - Bunny Kingdom 35:35 - Smartphone Inc. 36:40 - A Study in Emerald (Second Edition) 37:50 - Railroad Ink 42:30 - Nidavellir 44:45 - Mountain Goats 46:26 - Red Rising 47:58 - Scythe Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Mark's trying to get us all into something he calls "sports", so as a compromise, we're doing a fantasy board game draft! We're going to pick games from the BoardGameGeek Top 100, until we each have five. Then YOU get to vote on whose draft is best, for a chance to win $50! Before we play to the crowds, we talk about Azul: Summer Pavilion, Roads & Boats, Ruthless, and Cthulhu: Death May Die. 02:09 - Azul: Summer Pavilion 11:33 - Roads & Boats 22:33 - Ruthless 29:53 - Cthulhu: Death May Die 32:46 - Drafting the BGG Top 100 34:58 - Brass: Birmingham 37:03 - Gloomhaven 39:20 - Spirit Island 40:20 - Pax Pamir: Second Edition 41:22 - Scythe 43:11 - Root 43:47 - Codenames 44:56 - Concordia 46:55 - Wingspan 47:20 - El Grande 49:05 - Gaia Project 51:40 - Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition 52:28 - Arkham Horror: The Card Game 55:14 - Clank! 56:53 - A Feast for Odin Check out the campaign for Ruthless: https://www.ruthless-game.com Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord

We've got a couple of quick questions from listeners that we thought made for some fun talking points. We're trying to figure out what the board game equivalent of black licorice is, and Before rustle in the mailbag, we talk about Trekking the World, Inkling, My City, and Ruination. 01:37 - Trekking the World 11:26 - Inkling 20:08 - My City 22:31 - Ruination 33:52 - Kemet 38:55 - Black licorice games 40:42 - Archipelago 41:12 - Safranito 42:23 - Millennium Blades 43:00 - True Colors 43:38 - Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant 44:25 - Light summer games 45:16 - Splendor 46:13 - The Quest for El Dorado 47:23 - Race for the Galaxy 48:28 - Santa Monica 48:43 - Mountain Goats 49:40 - The Resistance 50:17 - Fuji Flush Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

As longstanding experts on being cute, we thought we'd finally bring both of our fields of expertise to bear on one topic. It's a return to the classic top five list, and we're counting down the cutest goshdarn board games we can think of. Before things get kawaii, we talk about Nations, Mountain Goats, and Brew. 02:34 - Nations 11:54 - Mountain Goats 17:11 - Brew 29:01 - Top 5 cutest games 30:31 - Calico 32:41 - Seasons 34:50 - Battle Sheep 36:01 - Takenoko 37:06 - Camel Up 37:49 - Mountain Goats 38:24 - Patchwork 40:04 - Walk the Dogs 41:36 - Startups 43:15 - Echidna Shuffle 45:08 - Sushi Go! 46:59 - Yura Yura Penguin 49:02 - New York Zoo 50:15 - Poseidon's Kingdom 52:07 - Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We played a double feature of legacy games for Cinco de Ocho Dos, which got us thinking about how our thoughts on legacy mechanics might have changed since the heady days of young Board Game Barrage. Before we open that box, we talk about Bonfire, Nidavellir, and The King's Dilemma. 02:07 - Bonfire 10:02 - Nidavellir 18:58 - The King's Dilemma 33:34 - Legacy games 34:03 - Risk Legacy 34:50 - Charterstone 40:19 - My City 47:30 - Gloomhaven 51:42 - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 52:48 - Scythe: The Rise of Fenris 54:10 - Bunker, Battlefield, or Blown Away 54:38 - Zoned Out 55:00 - Bronze Age 55:29 - Santorini 55:45 - Mini Express Check out our new wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We talk about so many good games on this podcast, that it might seem like there aren't enough bad games to balance it out. There's a good reason we don't often play or talk about them, but maybe every so often we ought to. Before we break bad, we talk about Scape Goat, Bunny Kingdom, Bullet♥, and Four Gardens. 02:12 - Scape Goat 08:29 - Bunny Kingdom 11:13 - Bullet♥ 13:53 - Four Gardens 20:49 - Bad games 22:01 - Trivial Pursuit 29:00 - Spicy 29:50 - Cards Against Humanity 30:55 - True Colors 32:37 - Betrayal at House on the Hill 35:11 - Money Bags 37:11 - Pucket 37:54 - Connect 4 Launchers 38:27 - Mord im Arosa 39:00 - Magical Athlete 40:34 - Panic Station 41:21 - Mascarade 41:41 - Bunker, Battlefield, or Blown Away! 42:36 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 43:46 - Solo 44:06 - Renegade 44:42 - Horrified Check out our new wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

After last week's love-fest made us all uncomfortable, we had to get back to what do best, spirited in-fighting. To that end, we've devised three debates around the same core: is that often criticized mechanic a design problem, or a player problem? Before we pit designers against players, we talk about Red Rising, Via Magica, and Alma Mater. 00:48 - Golden Geek Awards 04:36 - Red Rising 14:21 - Rise of Augustus 14:53 - Via Magica 20:17 - Alma Mater 29:36 - Board Game Barrage Wiki! 32:26 - Design problem or player problem? 33:11 - Player elimination 36:47 - Skull 37:55 - Secret Hitler 38:29 - Food Chain Magnate 40:33 - Diplomacy 43:40 - Alpha gamers 46:34 - Spirit Island 47:00 - Pandemic 51:31 - Kingmaking 55:50 - Rising Sun 57:04 - Cthulhu Wars 57:42 - Inis Check out our new wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We had so many fun ideas for this week that we couldn't settle on just one! It's always great getting topic suggestions from our listeners, but not all of them can make a full episode, so we figured we'd work through some of them here. Keep sending them in! Before we spice our lives with variety, we talk about Jekyll vs. Hyde, Seikatsu, and Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road. 01:28 - Golden Geek Awards 03:55 - AwSHUX 05:57 - Jekyll vs. Hyde 14:32 - Seikatsu 21:37 - Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road 29:54 - The first game we'll play together 31:06 - Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy 33:36 - My City 35:23 - The King's Dilemma 37:22 - Ruination 41:07 - Board games we appreciate but hate 41:25 - The Estates 43:28 - Captain Sonar 45:05 - Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective 47:20 - Cosmic Encounter 49:39 - Why we love gaming with each other Please vote for us in the Golden Geek Awards! https://boardgamebarrage.com/vote Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We love Friedemann Friese, so much so that we're devoting a whole episode to the green-haired designer - a comprehensive look back at his contribution to the hobby, and how we've gotten on with his games over the years. If you've never played one of his games, let us help correct that. Before we give the fantastic fellow our full focus, we talk about Kubb, Pictures, and The Field of the Cloth of Gold. 03:20 - Kubb 08:20 - Pictures 16:12 - The Field of the Cloth of Gold 23:39 - Golden Geek Awards 25:24 - Board Game Barrage vs. Shut Up & Sit Down! 27:44 - Friedemann Friese 29:17 - Power Grid 36:21 - Copycat 37:11 - 504 38:43 - Fearsome Floors 39:43 - Fauna 41:22 - Friday 42:03 - Fabled Fruit 43:41 - Fast Sloths 44:27 - Fresh Fish 45:46 - Finished! 46:20 - Funny Friends Vote in the Golden Geek Awards! https://boardgamebarrage.com/vote Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and with the exciting possibility of actually being able to play games together again, we cast our minds forward to all the wonderful games yet to arrive in 2021. Did I mention it's a BGBBOB? Before we look ahead (never back), we talk about Clever Cubed, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, and Keyper. 02:29 - Clever Cubed 10:22 - Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon 19:16 - Keyper 26:40 - 300 by 4/11! 28:39 - Golden Geek Award Nominations 29:31 - Most Anticipated Games of 2021 31:02 - Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles 32:03 - Furnace 35:13 - Weather Machine 36:07 - Coffee Traders 38:54 - Brazil: Imperial 40:24 - Arkwright: The Card Game 42:18 - LAMA Dice 43:11 - Oathsworn: Into the Deep Wood 45:22 - Kabuto Sumo 46:31 - Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile 49:35 - Darwin's Journey 50:24 - Skyrise 53:19 - Guards of Atlantis II 53:59 - Ankh: Gods of Egypt 56:54 - Dokojong Please nominate us in the Golden Geek Awards! https://boardgamebarrage.com/vote Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Dan Hughes from Sporadically Board joins us to flip the podcast on its head. Now that we've spent a hundred and sixty seven episodes raving about board games, it's only fair that we discuss all the reasons they suck. Before we turn heel, we talk about Blackout: Hong Kong, Royal Visit, Marvel Champions: The Card Game, and Deckscape: Test Time. 03:34 - Introducing the Pigeon Blood Tank! 05:38 - Blackout: Hong Kong 10:56 - Royal Visit 14:51 - Marvel Champions: The Card Game 22:03 - Deckscape: Test Time 27:25 - Why Board Games Suck 28:50 - Gandhi: The Decolonization of British India, 1917 – 1947 30:38 - Lisboa 31:54 - A Feast for Odin 36:03 - CoraQuest 37:04 - Trial by Trolley 50:00 - Mythic Battles: Pantheon 1:02:33 - Arkham Horror: The Card Game Check out Dan's board game CoraQuest: https://www.coraquest.com Check out Dan's podcast Sporadically Board: https://www.dicetower.com/game-podcast/sporadically-board Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

As important as it is to talk about that which we have received, so must we mark the loss of the games whose time has passed. Board games leave our collections for many reasons, so we're going to revisit the ones that found better homes in the past year. Before we press F, we talk about Long Shot: The Dice Game, Hallertau, and Welcome to New Las Vegas. 02:43 - Long Shot: The Dice Game 09:30 - Hallertau 20:04 - Welcome to New Las Vegas 28:43 - Games We've Recently Let Go 29:34 - Res Arcana 30:20 - Seasons 31:58 - War Chest 33:04 - Oaxaca: Crafts of a Culture 33:35 - Kingdom Builder 35:11 - Pendulum 37:44 - Nētā-Tanka 38:00 - Nevada City 38:33 - The Magnificent 41:05 - Ethnos 41:24 - Crokinole 42:49 - El Grande 45:00 - Imperial Struggle 45:53 - Iwari 48:41 - Through the Desert 49:25 - Lords of Hellas 50:27 - Troyes 51:11 - Watergate Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Design often builds heavily on what has come before, but some designers, have made an art of iteration, taking their own beloved designs, and frequently reinventing them in new ways. We dig into this practice of extremely iterative design, and how it fits into an industry hungry for fresh ideas. Before we do it again, we talk about Dirge: The Rust Wars, Electropolis, Vinhos Deluxe Edition, Architects of the West Kingdom, and Sagani. 01:34 - Dirge: The Rust Wars 09:23 - Electropolis 10:28 - Vinhos Deluxe Edition 12:15 - Architects of the West Kingdom 21:39 - Sagani 24:55 - Nova Luna 33:06 - Iterative Games 34:44 - Azul 37:11 - The Game 41:43 - Indian Summer 42:46 - Zombicide 43:52 - Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan 44:33 - Babylonia 45:50 - Yellow & Yangtze 47:04 - Caylus 1303 48:18 - Brass: Birmingham 52:07 - Strat-O-Matic Baseball 53:20 - Guards of Atlantis Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

There are two good ways to create engagement in a board game: One is to let the player feel like they're achieving something constantly, the other is to keep them feeling like any wrong move could tank their game. We're dubbing this the "thriving to barely surviving" spectrum, but first, we need to figure out where some of our favourite games fit on it. Before we surthrive, we talk about Carnegie, Divvy Dice, and Underwater Cities. 03:56 - Carnegie 13:11 - Divvy Dice 20:56 - Underwater Cities 24:26 - Terraforming Mars 32:23 - The "Thriving to Barely Surviving" Spectrum 33:10 - Agricola 33:43 - A Feast for Odin 37:34 - Troyes 42:12 - Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization 43:03 - Scythe 43:55 - Tapestry 45:20 - In the Year of the Dragon 45:52 - Macao 46:43 - The Castles of Burgundy 47:41 - Bruges 48:02 - The Oracle of Delphi 49:00 - Splendor 49:55 - Root 51:36 - Food Chain Magnate 55:12 - The Estates 56:00 - Biblios Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

It's getting a bit too comfortable around here. Time to put stones in our shoes, tighten our belts, and get out of our comfort zones. We talk about the times that we've found ourselves in unfamiliar or uncomfortable gaming situations, and what we learned about ourselves in the process. Before we unfluff our pillows, we talk about Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation, Reavers of Midgard, and Paleo. 02:01 - Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation 13:50 - War of the Ring: Second Edition 15:20 - Reavers of Midgard 23:37 - Paleo 31:13 - Friday 34:23 - Leaving Our Comfort Zones 35:05 - Thornwatch 37:55 - Blood Rage 41:22 - Megagames 50:33 - Twilight Struggle 54:16 - Under Falling Skies 56:17 - Fiasco 1:00:50 - War Games Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Wow! We asked for your top twenty lists, and boy did you deliver. We've crunched the numbers on the hundreds of submissions, and created what we think is the definitive list of BGB listeners' favourite board games. Now let us tell you how we think you did. Before we outsource our work, we talk about Santa Monica, Steam Works, and Cthulhu: Death May Die. 02:09 - Santa Monica 08:05 - Steam Works 15:25 - Cthulhu: Death May Die 24:06 - BGB Listener Top 20 27:18 - Viticulture 29:34 - Everdell 31:17 - Orléans 32:09 - Pax Pamir: Second Edition 33:20 - A Feast for Odin 34:24 - Terra Mystica 36:00 - Race for the Galaxy 37:13 - Food Chain Magnate 38:36 - Codenames 39:35 - Cosmic Encounter 40:48 - Inis 41:36 - Terraforming Mars 42:54 - Innovation 44:12 - Root 45:20 - Gloomhaven 46:30 - Great Western Trail 47:40 - Spirit Island 48:33 - Brass: Birmingham 49:19 - The Castles of Burgundy 50:25 - Concordia Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We're seeing a lot more versions of games that are X: The Dice Game or Y: The Card Game. These are (usually) simplified takes on beloved classics, but often end up changing the feel of the game dramatically. We discuss when we think this formula works, and when it really doesn't. Before we cast the die, we talk about Gods Love Dinosaurs, Nanga Parbat, and Ra: The Dice Game. 03:37 - Gods Love Dinosaurs 09:50 - Nanga Parbat 18:22 - Ra: The Dice Game 23:17 - Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun 24:33 - Ra 27:13 - One Night Ultimate Werewolf 28:30 - Dice and card game spinoffs 32:46 - Troyes 32:46 - Tournay 33:17 - Troyes Dice 35:44 - Biblios Dice 36:46 - Zooloretto: The Dice Game 39:10 - Camel Up Cards 41:55 - Istanbul: The Dice Game 42:54 - Roll for the Galaxy 45:55 - Azul 46:41 - Gùgōng 48:40 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 49:33 - No Thanks 50:01 - Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Sometimes all it takes is a good designer (and the right game) to take what would otherwise be a mechanic we don't like, and utilize it in a way that feels right. We take a look at some mechanics that we usually don't love, and the games that turned us around on them. Before we see things in a new light, we talk about CloudAge, Mariposas, and Faiyum. 03:04 - CloudAge 12:37 - Mariposas 18:01 - Faiyum 28:27 - Games that rescued a mechanism 28:40 - Performative Clues 29:05 - Time's Up 31:29 - On a Scale of One to T-Rex 32:19 - Action Points 32:52 - Flash Point: Fire Rescue 34:00 - Blood Rage 37:18 - Hidden Movement 37:18 - Nuns on the Run 37:45 - Specter Ops 38:35 - Scotland Yard 42:16 - Card Drafting 42:25 - Agricola 42:46 - 7 Wonders 43:53 - Paper Tales 44:25 - Inis 47:22 - Player Elimination 47:22 - Werewolf 47:40 - Shadow Hunters 48:09 - Secret Hitler 49:15 - Blood on the Clocktower 50:50 - "The Dice Game" 52:00 - For the King (and Me) 52:41 - Ra: The Dice Game Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Look, when we made those resolutions in episode 105, how were we to know? The world exploded, and here we are, one year later, sheepishly looking back on the goals we set. But we're not beaten yet, we cast our minds forward (always forward, never back) and set our sights on our resolutions for 2021. Before we make promises we definitely will keep, we talk about Sprawlopolis, Bandada, and Terramara. 02:15 - Sprawlopolis 09:06 - Bandada 13:53 - Terramara 23:51 - Revisiting 2020's Resolutions 27:09 - 2021 Resolutions 31:05 - Cthulhu Wars 36:14 - Anachrony: Infinity Box 37:29 - Import/Export 38:31 - Carnegie 40:05 - Rising Sun 40:52 - Tainted Grail 44:44 - Board Game Barrage Facebook Group! 45:44 - War of the Ring: Second Edition 46:42 - Red Rising Visit our new Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store Check out the Kickstarter for Bandada: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bandada/bandada Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord