Meeple Nation Board Game Podcast

We start out the episode with Ryan's report of his play in the Magic prerelease, include more details than Brent cared to listen to. Then Brent talks Arkham Horror The Card Game and his trip to Italy. Nmbr9 is a quick and accessible game were players stack numbers in order to gain points. Power Grid The Card Game is a scaled down version of Power Grid, with no map. We are raising money for Primary Children's Hospital at https://extra-life.org/team/nugg/

Despite us continually asking that we not receive a Raxxon invite, we did and Nathan now owns a copy. This much hyped game was talked about quite a bit on the web because of the scarcity created through the invite system. Is the game fun? What is it really?

This week we sit down to discuss a few games we have been playing recently, including Thief's Market, Abandon Planet and First Martians. Then we move into the main portion of the 'cast and we talk about Clank! In! Space, the sequel to our much loved, Clank! How is it different? Is it an improvement? Listen and find out.

This week we cover five different Escape Room Games. Listen for our commentary, but the summary is: EXIT the Game - Three current titles, three more announced. Fantastic games with the best puzzles, contents destroyed during play. In game Hints give solutions if you desire. Unlock! - Three current titles, three more announced. These are the hosts' favorite with their humor and fun. Extremely easy to reset for play by another group. Free App required. Escape the Room - Nathan and Brent played Mystery at the Stargazer's Manor and found it clever and fun, but much more simple than the previous two. Reset instructions online. Escape Room the Game - Core set comes with four different games, but the electronic device that is needed to solve and advance the game did not work properly for the hosts. Not recommended. Reset with a printer and less than 30 minutes. Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experience - Huge fun that is pretty pricey and probably hard to find. Can be reset with a printer and a half hour of time, or so. Don't forget to pick up Ryan Decaria's book, Devil in the Microscope, available from Amazon, and check out Brent's Meeple Sing Shirts, also available through Amazon.

Matt and Barb are recently back from GenCon 50 and have details of the games they purchased and played. They are joined by Ryan, Brent and Nathan and they all discuss additional news out of GenCon and the larger board game world. We thank Tasty Minstrel games for supporting our podcast. Please support them by buying their great games and listening to the TMG Podcast. We now have four Meeple Nation shirts on Amazon. Search Meeple Nation there and see our new minimalistic design. Brent has created 20 board game related shirts with more coming soon. Search Meeple Sing Shirts on Amazon.com Ryan's book is now published and available on Amazon Kindle and in print. It is called Devil in the Microscope.

This week join Ryan as he talks with enthusiasm about word games! Nathan and Brent are also present. We discuss a few different categories of word games. Spelling Games: Scrabble, Boggle, Pick Two, Paperback, Hardback, Word Domination, Boggle Bowl Guess the Word: Code Names, Word Slam, Werewords, Insider, Codenames, The Chamelon, Mad Gab, Taboo Matching Words: Apples to Apples, Cards Against Humanity

For years, games made from IPs meant roll and move, trivia, or a reskin of another popular mass market game. Now things are changing as we see more effort and better overall design married to the movies and books we love. This week we discuss the world of IPs and what we hope to see in future. Join our guild on Boardgamegeek at https://www.boardgamegeek.com/guild/1943 or our Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/MeepleNationOffAir/

This week Nathan, Ryan and Brent discuss what attracts them to games, and what instantly repels them. They start out with introductions and move into talking about deckbuilders, engine builders, and direct attacks. Don't forget to pick up Ryan Decaria's book, Devil in the Microscope for Kindle. Print and audio versions will be released later this year.

Nathan, Brent and Ryan sit down to talk about games we are excited about that will be released on the next few months, including more Fable games from Friedemann Friese, a game about Einstein, gaining Sentience, news on a couple of Brandon Sanderson games, and much more. Don't forget to join us at Meeple Nation Off Air on Facebook!

This week we start off the podcast with a nice little rant about how T.I.M.E Stories is going astray. At least that is what Brent and Ryan think. We have news from the industry including more Target exclusives and we talk about a slew of Kickstarters that have caught our eye. Next week we will cover GenCon games.

Are you like Nathan, and you haven't ever met an expansion you didn't like? Do you consider expansions unnecessary, or particular expansions essential? This week we discuss the sordid world of board game expansions. Are you interested in asking us an audio question or giving us feedback? Please send mp3 emails to [email protected] or call our US phone number, 801-784-0743, any time of the day or night and leave a message. Ryan Decaria's book is coming out August 15th, 2017. Search for Devil in the Microscope on Goodreads or Amazon!

Nathan has returned and he talks travels with Brent. Ryan is out this week but should return for episode 174. We talk about Raxxon, a game being shared through viral marketing, Monopoly Gamer and how that suddenly reversed many people's view of the core game, feedback, upcoming questions, Our Boardgamegeek.com guild (number 1943), and the SdJ 2017 winners.

Nathan is out and about in the islands of Hawaii so Ryan and Brent face off across the microphone to talk about the integration of theme. Ryan recreates one of his presentations from FryeCon with Brent as a live and sometimes disruptive audience. What do you think about theme? Continue the conversation on Facebook in the Meeple Nation Off Air group or on Boardgamegeek.com in our guild.

We discuss the fantastic website boardgamegeek.com. This stalwart site is chocked full of resources and user-generated content fit for any style and experience level of gamer, although each person is going to use the site in different ways. We discuss ratings, rankings, reviews, geeklists, guilds, logging games owned and played, and many other features of the Geek, including forums, contests, videos, podcasts, images, and flame wars. Join the conversation!

Board Game News for June 2017. We talk Pandemic Legacy: Season 2, Big Trouble in Little China, Legendary: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestations: Second Edition, andCentury: Spice Road. We cover the following Apps: San Juan, Race for the Galaxy, Tsuro, Coup, and Colony Wars in the Star Realms app. Let's just say that not all apps are created equal. We're excited for Deception: Undercover Allies and Triplock on Kickstarter. And we even mention Master Detective Clue for some retro board game action.

Nathan likes tiny boxes packed with lots of game pieces from the Japanese game company, Oink Games. We start off talking Deep Sea Adventure, a press your luck, 20 minute game for 3-6 players. We continue telling you more about Insider, a 20-question style game for 4-8 players in less than 10 minutes. Third up is A Fake Artist Goes to New York, where players collectively draw a picture while trying to guess which player doesn't know what the group is drawing. This game plays 5-10 players in 20 minutes. The Pyramid's Deadline is a game of building a beautiful resting spot for the Pharoah, but if you fail you will be executed. 2-6 players can play in 10-25 minutes. We end the discussion with Maskmen, a shedding card game with a Lunchadores theme. It should work well with 2-6 players in about 30 minutes.

Brent chats about the games he enjoyed at BGGCon Spring, and Ryan and Nathan interject about the games played at home. We discuss Archipelago, Escape from 100 Million BC, Codenames: Duel, Flamme Rouge, Insider,The Goonies, H.I.D.E. and The Great Dinosaur Rush.

This week we finish the discussion of the Spiel des Jahres 2017 nominees. We start with Kingdomino, talk about Magic Maze, and end with Race to El Dorado.

This episode we talk more in depth about Ice Cool, Mysterious Forest, and Captain Silver, the three Kinderspiel des Jahres nominees. We then discuss what we know about Raiders of the North Sea, Terraforming Mars, and EXIT The Game.

We start off this episode by bringing the news of the nine nominees for the three Spiel des Jahres awards and talk about two of the three of those that we played. We also talk news! Don't forget to support Counter Magazine at https://boardgamegeekstore.com

Ryan Decaria regales us with a discussion of his adventures in gaming without the other hosts. He discusses Vanuatu and Tinners Trail. Brent talks the GIPF series of abstract games, which leads to a discussion of the misuse of the word Legacy. We update/correct our discussion of Charterstone, a new Legacy game coming from Stonemaier Games. Brent then talks about Pack O Games 2 from Chris Handy at Perplext.

This we we discuss Hidden Role Games, Nathan's favorite genre. We discuss what we like about these games, including Don't Mess with Cthulhu, Battlestar Galactica, Shadows over Camelot, Burke's Gambit, Dead of Winter, and many others. What is your favorite Hidden Role Game?

We recap the NUGG sponsored International Table Top Day event. We discuss 7 Wonders: Duel, Colt Express, Ice Cool, Terraforming Mars, Arkham Horror: the Card Game, and Clank!: Sunken Treasure. We all love Clank!, but we examine a few game-play issues that could be improved through expansions. We also discuss game etiquette when teaching a game to new people. Good times were had by all!

We cover many subjects including: Secrets of the Lost Tomb Big Trouble in Little China Trick of the Rails Diamonds Moons Solarquest Trick-Taking, The Trick-Taking Game Deck Building, the Deck Builder Game Pathfinder: The Mummy's Mask Magic - Amonkhet Cycle Arkham Horror: The Card Game - The Path to Carcosa Firefly - Big Money Kingdom Builder Vast - The Crystal Caverns

It's Barb day on Meeple Nation where we give you the latest board game news. We talk Kickstarters with Aeon's End: War Eternal, Gloomhaven, Five Seals of Magic, Rise to Nobility, Hardback, Brass, and Bios Genesis 2nd edition, among other bits-o-news and games, such as Esports tournaments, a new GIPF game, a Seafall non-update, and plenty more. Oh, and Matt was there too. Cheers!

This week Nathan, Ryan and Brent sit down and talk about games and related books that we have played recently. The list includes: Hardback Castle Assault Investigator of Arkham Horror Clank: Sunken Treasures The Extrodinary Adventure of Baron Munchausen Jump Drive High Frontier

This week Nathan and Ryan sit down with Sam Aho from Sam Says Game Reviews to talk about Mechs vs Minions, the surprisingly good board game from Riot Games. They talk about the mechanisms of the game while skirting those details that some might consider spoilers. Enjoy this special podcast with Sam since Brent will be returning next week and will definitely not allow Sam on the show again.

Are you ready to defend the underground city of Gravehold from the Nameless and their hordes of monstrous minions? How are you going to fight them? By playing Dominion. But instead of buying action cards and real estate, you buy gems and spells, and attack them nasty bug-eyed demon things with magic. Aeon's End is a cooperative deckbuilder with fantastic theme, great art, and plenty of variety to keep things interesting over a plethora of game nights. Designed by Kevin Riley and published by Action Phase Games and Indie Boards & Cards. 1-4 players. 60 min playing time.

Colony by Bézier Games, Inc. is a tableau building dice game set in a post apocalyptic world where the players attempt to put civilization back together competitively. Nathan and his daughter embraced the game play, mechanics, variety of building cards, and dice rolling. This seems like a theme Ryan could get behind, but does the game meet his increasingly high standards for theme resonance in game play? Listen to find out.

Lets start with Rising Sun, move to Gloomhaven again, Dinosaur Island, Thunderstone Quest, even Gamer Deck 2. Should companies do second and third editions of games? MeepleCon and the GAMA Trade Show are right around the corner. Will Jon Gilmour and team convert Centipede into a compelling board game? Also check out Counter Issue #75 available now in the boardgamegeekstore.com

Meeple Nation's favorite convention is in the books. We played some games, met with friends, and put on four fantastic events, including a game show, a puzzle hunt, Werewolf and Deception: Murder at SaltCon. Join us as we recap a great weekend, and set your schedule to join us next year! SaltCon is AMAZING!

Exactly one year after releasing episode 98, Consumable Games, we revisit the subject of Legacy games. In this spoiler free episode we talk Seafall, Gloomhaven, Charterstone, and define what we believe Legacy to be, which is a permanence to your choices. We also contrast these games to other scenario and campaign games and revisit the One Shot games from our past.

Game Companies, we love you! But...get those rules right, let me sleeve my cards, and support the game long term. In other words, make it easy for us to love your games!

Is this game garbage? Tell us what you really think. Seriously. Drop the label and give us the why you didn't enjoy the game. This week we discuss game audiences and game diversity, and set you free from believing you need to like all games.

This week the Meeple Nation guys sit down with Barbara and Matt Allen to talk about industry news for February 2017. What's going on with BGG.con premium badges? Is Plan B a good idea?

You probably already know that Brent and Nathan love deckbuilders while Ryan is pretty particular on the subject. The Meeple Nation hosts sit down and discuss three small box deck builders. Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Kings: Afterlife, and Valley of the Kings: Last Rites are all standalone (with interchangeable parts) games from Tom Cleaver and AEG. Playable in under an hour for 2-4 players. Players gain points by obtaining then entombing item cards. Best played with three (maybe four), this game requires you to entomb (place in a scoring pile) the powerful cards you had previously bought. Dale of Merchants is a cute little game from Sami Laakso and Snowdale Design. Each of the two games, Dale of Merchants and Dale of Merchants 2 comes with six animal sets, allowing each game to be different as different animal sets are combined. It is playable in under an hour for 2-4 players. Xenon Profiteer is a game from T.C. Petty, III and Eagle-Gryphon Games. It is also playable by 2-4 players in under an hour. Most turns players will add air to their hands then try to remove the unwanted elements while fulfilling contracts and upgrading their distillery.

Do you sleeve your cards before you play with them? Have you invested in a quick start insert, or do you have a favorite game overlay or dice tower? This week we sit down to talk about the many gaming accessories that enhance our hobby. You can listen to previous interviews we have done with makers of the gaming accessories in the following episodes: Episode 116 - Chris Urinko of Daft Concepts, Kris McClanahan of Deeply Dapper Episode 114 - Greg Spence of The Broken Token Episode 58 - Ben Hillyard of Daedalus Productions Episode 41 - Chris Urinko of Daft Concepts

Strap on your armor and get ready to make your way into the deeps beneath the castle. Rumors abound that a sleepy dragon is hoarding artifacts. Can you gain the best treasure and make it out of the dungeon before the dragon wipes you out? Be very quiet! Nathan, Ryan and Brent review Clank!, a deckbuilder with a map.

Finally, we sit down and talk about Battlestar Galactica. We are joined by Dennis and Adam to talk about this traitorous game and its expansions. Nathan loves it, and is destined for the airlock. Ryan and Brent aren't on that side of the fence (or airlock). Who is the Cylon? Who wants to be? We discuss these items and more.

Nathan, Ryan and Brent sit down with members of their local game group, Dennis, Everett and Adam, to close out our goals for 2016, discuss our favorite games of the year, and set forth 10x10 lists for 2017. They then take the time to discuss a few news items and a few stats from boardgamegeek.

Sit back while we talk about some of the games we have played but haven't taken the time to talk about. We start with Freedom: The Underground Railroad, then proceed down the list: Legendary Encounters: Firefly Duel of Ages II Timebomb II Secret Hitler Legendary: Big Trouble in Little China Bloodborne: The Card Game Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft London Dread Venom Assault Tyrants of the Underdark Nerdy Inventions

Ryan Bruns joins the regular hosts to finish out the first Arkham Horror campaign and talk about the newest expandable card game from Fantasy Flight Games. One core set allows 1-2 players to explore the dismal buildings and forests of Arkham Massachusetts. Add a second core set to allow a third or fourth investigator. We recommend this game for the storytelling, discovery, and cooperative gameplay.

This week Sam Aho joins Nathan and Ryan, while Brent is AWOL. He brings his Kickstarter version of Themachy, a game that combines poker, ancient gods, and resource management. What do we think about this game? Listen and find out. And make sure you catch Sam on his Video Channel, Sam Says Sam's FB page is https://www.facebook.com/Samsaysgamereviews/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samsaysgamereviews/?hl=en Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOKodZmnh7uJl2KQfUR2FHg

Classic Games Ticket to Ride Pandemic Catan Splendor Family Games Fabled Fruit Dixit Potion Explotion Mysterium Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle Party Games Codenames Bang! The Dice Game Wits and Wagers Gamers Games Star Wars: Destiny Clank! Quadropolis Stocking Stuffers Fuji Flush Deep Sea Adventure Rage! Love Letter Bohnanza Star Realms Sushi Go! or Sushi Go! Party We hope for Arkham Horror: The Card Game Expansion Someone who will play Star Wars: Rebellion with Nathan Tyrants of the Underdark Magic Cards

This week we sit down with Matt and Barbara Allen to discuss the industry news which mainly comes out of BGG.Con 2016. We start by talking about Matt's favorite game of the con, Lorenzo Il Magnifico, then talk Star Wars Destiny, Tiny Epic Quest, and Clank! We visit Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle, and Fate of Akalon: Tribes. Ryan then questions why we would travel to a convention, and we talk a bit more about the why, as if we needed a reason. We then get back to talking games, starting with The Daedalus Sentence, a cooperative game in a massive box. Ryan brings up Cottage Garden and cats, and we wander from there over to A Feast for Odin. Power Grid the Card Game is explained, and we talk about not playing Great Western Trail. Ryan then moves us to talk about Roll Player, another game we haven't yet played. Kingdom Death Monster 1.5 is newly on Kickstarter and getting plenty of press. Some predict it will become the most successful Kickstarter project ever. Finally, Ryan starts a conversation about culling our collections, the subject of the first few articles in the most recent edition of Counter Magazine, issue 74. You can find the most recent issue (and previous issues) at boardgamegeekstore.com

Brent has just returned from BGGcon 2016 and sits down with Ryan and Nathan to talk about some of his experiences. What follows is a larger discussion about friendships and different ways to enjoy conventions. Brent speaks of Haggle with Rikki Tahta, Werewolf with longtime friends, BGGfit, Poker, Puzzle Hunt, and creative use of an elevator. There is also a couple of interviews with USAOpoly and Victory Point Games along with a short shoutout from Brent's friend, Nick. What events happen at your ideal convention? Let us know!

Nathan, Brent and Ryan sit down and discuss Hero Realms after their first play. This game is based on the highly successful deckbuilder, Star Realms but already has additional play options such as cooperative play, solo play, and character packs that provide unique starting hands. How will these Star Realm loving hosts like this game? Listen to find out.

This week Nathan and Brent sit down and talk with Bubba Washington about Organized Play options and how they benefit both the game companies and the game stores. We talk CCGs, including Magic the Gathering, and about the Asmoplay program from Asmodee. We also discuss Stronghold Games' release of Terraforming Mars!

In Terraforming Mars each player takes the role of a corporation that works across generations in order to turn Mars into a habitable planet. Work to raise the temperature, create oceans, and create flora that will release oxygen into the atmosphere, all while doing this more efficiently than you competition. Will there be puppies on earth grass when you are done? Let's hope so. What do we think about this game? Will Nathan play the rules correctly? Can Ryan unsee the uneven artwork? Listen to find out.

On the heels of Essen, Nathan, Ryan, and Brent sit down with Matt and Barbara to discuss the latest news in the board game industry. We discuss Terraforming Mars and Cottage Garden, Kickstarters for C.O.G., Cobras, and Steal This Game, and more digital content for Star Realms and Descent: Road to Legend. Matt and Barbara will be at BGG.Con, at the Mayday and TMG booths respectively, so make sure you stop by and tell them Hi!