Matt, Jordan, and Dmitry are joined by our friend David to do a deep dive on trick-taking card games. 0:00:00 IntroductionIntro to David0:07:10 Defining terms and the genreTrick-takersShedders and Climbers0:13:00 Our history with card gamesHeartsBullshitBridge0:21:45  The game that made us love card gamesNokosu DiceSchadenfreudeCat In The BoxThe CrewMü0:41:30 Our top trick-takersEuchreScout9 LivesDurak Bug Council of BackyardiaTRICKTAKERs Inside JobTichuYokai SeptetFox in the ForestJekyll vs....

Matt and Trey are joined by the newest member to our podcast, Jordan Sayyah, to review The War of the Ring: The Card Game 0:03:00 Intro to JordanJSaysYeah on Discord0:08:00  Games we played this weekAge of SteamNanaStartupsInside Job0:30:00 Review:  War of the Ring: The Card GameWar of the RingQuartermaster GeneralRace for the GalaxyRoll for the Galaxy-  Find Etamar at kirbooloni.com -  Game Brain Facebook Group -  Twitter -  Instagram

Tom, Trey, and Ben talk about everything from the Spiel des Jahres, to gaming in Japan, to all their recent discoveries. Iki1880: China Bug Council of BackyardiaNokosu DiceVoodoo PrinceOrleans: Trade & IntrigueTortuga 1667 FindorffFuture Review:  War of the Ring: The Card Game-  Find Etamar at kirbooloni.com -  Game Brain Facebook Group -  Twitter -  Instagram

Trey and Elder review Wayfarers of the South Tigris. 0:00:00 Introduction0:02:13 Games on the BrainGalactic Starcuiser closesWoodcraftGenotype 0:20:45 Review: Wayfarers of the South TigrisScholars of the South Tigris-  Find Etamar at kirbooloni.com -  Game Brain Facebook Group -  Twitter -  Instagram

Tom and Ben talk about our recent Golden Geek Nomination and deconstruct the special sauce that makes Hegemony so great!

Tom, Ben, and Trey circle back to the review the new edition of Tragedy Looper. 0:00:00 Introduction0:04:00 Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition0:12:10 HegemonyThe Cost0:38:00 Great Western Trail: Agentina0:49:20 Fast Sloths0:59:05 Foundations of RomeRa1:09:10 Tragedy Looper: New TragediesBGG First EditionWhiz Kids Pre-order-  Find Etamar at kirbooloni.com -  Game Brain Facebook Group -  Twitter -  Instagram

Tom, Matt, Trey and Ben gather to reveal their Top 5 Games of 2022! 0:00:00 Introduction0:05:40 Games we played this weekRed CathedralStationfallBarrage: The Nile AffairBoonlakeBlack Angel0:32:20 Top Games of 2022LacrimosaDeal with the DevilGuards of Atlantis IIReady Set Bet56:30 Weather MachineMosaic: A Story of CivilizationAutobahn1:22:30 Blood on the ClocktowerBen's #1: CarnegieTrey's #1: The TranscontinentalTom's #1: TiletumMatt's #1: John Company, 2nd Ed.2:02:45 Honorable...

Ben, Trey, Elder, and Paul discuss the 2020 game The Red Cathedral and its 2022 expansion The Red Cathedral: Contractors. 00:02:40 - Ramen Fury 00:07:01 - Scholars of the South Tigris 00:13:30 - Hegemony 00:19:27 - Tzolkin 00:20:26 - Robotech Reconstruction 00:38:23 - Woodcraft 00:43:40 - Imperial Steam 00:59:34 - Red Cathedral + Contractors

Ben lost power in the great LA blizzard of 2023, but just because his house was dark didn't mean the podcast had to be.  And so Ben and Paul bravely wrapped themselves in blankets and churned out an episode in a heatless house,  sharing their gaming stories of the past two weeks:  Mosaic, Deal with the Devil, Crisis, Red Cathedral and several others. Time codes: Mosaic:  05:54 Santiago 18:14 Wiz War:  25:53 Glory to Rome, Import/Export: 31:35 Deal with the Devil: 34:38 Tragedy Looper: New...

Ben, Tom, and Trey deep dive Mosaic: A Story of Civilization and discuss what makes a civ game... a civ game?  Plus, recent plays of Dune and Cosmic Frog.

Trey gets it in gear with Tom and Dmitry and their first impressions of Splotter's Horseless Carriage.  0:00:00 Introduction0:06:45 Traitors Talk0:21:10 Games on the BrainDmitry's 5x5 List: Tichu, Barrage, Indonesia, Panamax, AutobahnMosaicWestern EmpiresThrough the AgesNations Trey's 5x5 List: Mosaic, Autobahn, Imperial Steam, On Mars, Horseless CarriageTrickerion0:45:20 Endurance0:46:45 Tragedy Looper0:47:50 WizWar Kickstarter0:55:10 Heat: Pedal to the Metal0:59:45 First Impressions: ...

Talking about our favorite Splotter games in anticipation of "Horseless Carriage."  Plus, The Traitors, which blends social deduction party games with reality TV.

Ben and Paul talk about Lords of Vegas as well as fairness and games and the new reality series "The Traitors." 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:55 - The Traitors 00:17:47 - Fairness + Winning Discussion 00:47:41 - Vast: The Mysterious Manor 00:53:56 - Weather Machine  01:01:19 - 18Mag 01:11:41 - Mind MGMT 01:15:44 - Lords of Vegas

We're back from a busy holiday season, and we have games to talk about:  Woodcraft, Imperial Steam, Wayfarers of the South Tigris, and Matt's first ever game of Twilight Imperium!

Tom, Candice, and Ben talk about Tiletum.  Plus, Candice tells us all about the games she played and people she met from five back-to-back conventions!

Ben, Trey, and Dmitry discuss the 2022 game, Autobahn.  Plus, recent plays of Deal with the Devil, Lacrimosa, and Atiwa.  Plus, they discuss a recent piece in the New York Times about strategy games.

Matt discusses the state of the solo mode in 2022 by looking at the solo modes from this season's top Essen games. 

Ben, Tom, and Paul chat about recent plays of Atiwa, Tiletum, Fracis Drake, and Maria.  Plus, recommendations for good games to play at Thanksgiving.

All four hosts are here this week to talk about a whole mess of hot Essen releases, as well as a deep dive on one of the season's biggest games, Revive.  00:05:30 Ready Set Bet00:10:30 Oak00:19:50 Autobahn00:30:30 Tiletum00:57:30 Revive

00:00:00 Introduction00:09:15 Maricaibo: The UprisingFrancis Drake00:23:00 Let's Go! To JapanNote: Josh Wood is NOT the designer of Isle of Cats - that's Frank WestJosh Wood's best known games are Cat Lady and Santa Monica00:32:30 Ready, Set, Bet00:45:45 Autobahn01:01:45 Oak01:08:50 Revive01:15:40 Federation01:35:15 Discussion: Narrative and the move toward Baroque design02:03:10 Thank you and outro

Tom, Paul, and Elder talk about recent plays of "Food Chain Magnate" and "Space Station Phoenix" and then games they would play for the rest of their lives.  Plus, Tom has more news from Essen.