50 episodes? Who'da thunk it??? Regardless, thank you for your support, whether you've been with us since the beginning or are just joining us for the first time. We wouldn't keep doing this without you! This month, we take a look back at our favorite gaming things from 2022 - mostly, but not exclusively, board games. Among them: Jayson says, "I don't know anything about this game, but I'm gonna wait in this big line to get a copy!" (Turns out to have been a good decision.) Many of the games...

Happy day-after-Halloween! First off, next month will be EPISODE 50, and we'd love to hear about anything you'd like us to cover in that momentous episode. Whether it's a game or a topic you've always wanted us to cover, or something we're all terribly wrong about, email us and let us know! Or, if you like, record a question or comment, send it to us, and we may include it in the episode! This month, we conclude our update to Episode 3 with a look at some more recent app-enabled board...

It's a blast from the past with an eye towards the future, as we look back at the new developments in computer-assisted and app-enabled board games since way back in Episode 3. In this episode: Frank risks death...possibly by crossbow. Space. What is the minimum that a board game needs to qualify as "app enabled"? (Joe says "a timer with music, but it gets FASTER.") We posit the existence of mirror-universe Brian and Jayson Jayson knows more about the future of a game than Frank! More to...

More rolling! More moving! More Sandi! Less Careers! It's part two of Roll-and-Move Games, wherein you can hear about: "Ice cream and pizza are OP, plz nerf." Frank calls this the best roll-and-move ever made. This picture may help you understand Nizza. "German games have to be based on a city" Spreadsheet wars! Art books! One of Mike's former favorites has not aged well...but Sandi still likes it And stick around until the end for a chance to participate in an upcoming episode! Next month,...

We've threatened it long enough, so we hope you're prepared for this - it's the Roll-and-Move episode! (Well, the first half of it, anyway...we have a lot to say.) Sandi fills in for the absent Joe as we discuss: Careers Careers for Girls ("Most Condescending Game Ever") Careers for World War II British Military RPG Characters Careers for Dinosaurs (in Cinemascope!) Hexentanz - like Pachisi, but you don't know which pieces are yours What IS the opposite of widdershins? (Turns out it's...

Hello again! A lot of what's going on in the world right now is Not Fun, but we're going to soldier on and return to our our look at deck-building games and what's happened in the genre since our first episode ever. This one may, at times, sound like the Renegade Games episode, but we promise we're not sponsored by them. (Not that we'd turn down some money from them, mind you...) In this episode, we discuss: The Cubitos Llama, distant relative of the Altiplano Llama from last month A game...

Hi folks! It's time to jump in the Wayback Machine, revisit our very first episode, and see what's changed in the world of deckbuilders since 2018! Don't worry, we still have plenty of ideas for new episodes, but we're going to look back at older episodes occasionally to see what we missed the first time around and what new hotness has been released in the interim. And, as seems to be usual lately, we've cut this episode in two because we don't know how to shut up. As a consolation prize,...

And now, the thrilling conclusion of our Boss Battlers episode. Featuring: Even more games that we've talked about a lot before...but also some new ones! What dramatic moment did The Little Mermaid (the Disney movie) borrow from "The Call of Cthulhu" (the Lovecraft story)? A not-Diablo, a not-Shadow of the Colossus, a not-Zelda, and a game that's ACTUALLY based on a video game. What game was received by Frank's game group like "a five-day-old haddock"? And what may be our most divisive...

Happy April! No fooling from us, just the first half of a loooong episode about Boss Battlers. Featuring: Frank telling us about an obscure game that's long out of print...or is it? Brian revealing his woeful ignorance of anime, which amuses Jayson no end Joe spending the entire episode trolling Frank (with an assist from Jayson) The proud history of farting monsters and the world's oldest known written joke. You might also enjoy these links: Ogre (2016 edition) with Ogre (1977 edition)...

Hi folks! We're here again to deliver unto you a podcast episode about pick-up-and-deliver games! In addition to the insightful (?) game information you've come to expect from us, this episode includes: Continued arguments about train games! Mike being woefully uninformed about the transportation standards of the tin industry! Ye Olde Clairol Dwarf! A completely unsolicited publisher promotion! Jayson tells us about the worst. Warship. Ever...and the ridiculous power of its...

Welcome to February! In honor of the shortest month, we've created a "lightning round" on the topic of our favorite word games. We hope you find some new favorites, and/or tell us about some of your current ones! Referenced in this episode: Vincent Price (yes, that Vincent Price) does a commercial for a boxed version of Hangman (yes, that Hangman). Another vintage commercial for an obscure yet cool-looking word game called RPM. What does Scrabble look like in Arabic? Like this. Several...

As promised, here's a little bit of bonus content from our 2021 wrap-up episode, with a little commentary on the games we DIDN'T discuss in that episode, as well as a look ahead games we're especially looking forward to in 2022. Included in this mini-sode: We discuss Jayson's latest obsession, which is now becoming a board game, plus another game he can play with those models if the official one doesn't turn out well. Joe tells us about his plan for a Kingdom Death: Monster RPG, run in...

Happy New Year! We mean it this time...no, really...please? This month we're taking a look back at the good times in 2021 - yes, there were some - as we discuss our favorite games from the past year. We also have some additional material on the games we DIDN'T discuss, as well as a look ahead to 2022, but Your Humble Editor is tired enough that that's going to be released as a special bonus episode in a week or so in order to keep THIS episode from being any later than it already...

Happy winter holiday(s) of your choice! If you're having trouble fitting everything you need to do this month into your calendar, listening to our discussion of spatial arrangement games...well, probably won't help, but hopefully it'll at least be entertaining, and might even provide some last-minute gift ideas. We ask and answer many questions in this episode: How many times (and how many ways) can we say "tetrominos" in one episode? (With "cromulent" coming a close second.) What game...

Hi folks! We're back to talk about the cumbersomely-named "simultaneous selection games," which covers everything from Rock-Paper-Scissors (and its ancient antecedents) to Gloomhaven. Your Humble Editor had a pretty rough month, so the audio on this one may likewise be a bit rougher than usual, but hopefully it's not too bad. Thanks for understanding! Featured in this episode: Mike tries to explain the difference between Rock-Paper-Scissors and Diplomacy, and the rest of us do NOT get...

For a lot of us, the past year and a half has been kind of a wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey blur. To celebrate (?) that, here's an episode on some games that use time travel as a mechanic, not just a theme. Sadly, Jayson was not able to join us for recording in this particular timeline, but we talk about him anyway. Learn what game Frank thought was so bad, he destroyed it "for the good of the world." Some visuals we mention in our audio show include: Time Tripper, which started out with some...

Hey, you know how we mostly talk about games we like on this show? Well, here's a change of pace for you! That's right, here's an entire episode on games we think you shouldn't play - either because they're unplayable as written, wracked by production errors, or just really, really bad. Don't give up hope, though - we do have recommendations for better games that we think you should play instead. Listen along as: None of us can remember which of Fast Food Franchise and Food Chain Magnate is...

Hi! It's us again! (Well, "us" minus Mike but plus Sandi.) This month we're talking about tech trees and skill trees, two similar sets of mechanics that Frank has been a little obsessed with lately. There are lots of 4X games and lots of dungeon-crawling campaign games, plus a few others we snuck in here and there. Plus more opinions, sass, and stories about Sandi's crossbow! We've added a bunch of new options to our Upcoming Episodes poll at our website, so please swing by and place your...

It's been a long time, but this episode was recorded with us all live in the same room! In other words, we were all WORKING in the same PLACE, which may give you a hint as to the topic of this episode (if you haven't, you know, read the title already). We learned fun things like what game Sandi would rather bleed from the eyes than play, what game makes Joe feel like "a giant, raging jerk the entire game," and that Brian still can't get his co-hosts' names right. Also, have some non-audio...

We're playing board games again! In the same physical space as each other! Vaccinations - another win for science! In this episode, we discuss the games that we're most looking forward to playing - on a real physical table in someone's house! Also, we ask timeless questions like: What game does Frank describe as "Wheel of Fortune, the legacy board game"?  What game does Brian describe as "the most Frank Branham game I've ever heard of"? How many different ways can we mispronounce Corey...

We recorded this back on Valentine's Day, but it's taken us this long to release it, so...well, enjoy some two-player games for Cinco de Mayo, maybe? In this episode: Sandi has a crossbow! Frank tells us about a game that made him bleed. (This is not related to Sandi having a crossbow...yet.) Mike single-handedly revolutionizes the history of agriculture, and thus civilization itself! Brian forgets Frank's name. Jayson points out a very...European ad for Klask. As always, we appreciate your...

Roll and Write games! Yet another surprisingly contentious topic, but we went ahead anyway. This definitely wasn't planned as an April Fool's episode, but I have to admit we get a little foolish at a couple points here. (Also, apologies for Mike's audio, as he was fighting with an uncooperative dishwasher.) Mike reveals the depth of his Avengers lore when he tells us about Thanos and his "Power Gems of Destiny" Frank makes a joke about Hunger Games Yahtzee, only to discover the existence of...

We're back to talk some more about some of our favorite tie-in games (and slightly less about Jodorowsky's Dune). We continue our tradition of not knowing what the heck we're talking about, as an off-mic Sandi corrects Frank's gross misunderstanding of the Witcher's fundamental nature. This episode also encompasses virtually all of Jayson's childhood (and, indeed, adulthood), plus some commentary from the rest of us, including some discussions on some franchises that we wish WOULD have a good...

It turns out we REALLY like talking about the universes and stories that we love. So much so that this episode on book/TV/movie tie-in games has grown to expand into two episodes, mostly because we won't shut up. Hopefully this experiment doesn't drive you too crazy. It also turns out that, while we like these things, we don't know as much about them as we should. For example: Jayson talks about Conan for 20 minutes, but doesn't know what is best in life. Brian raves about Tolkien games, but...

Happy New Year! Congratulations on surviving 2020 with enough mental fortitude to listen to a podcast about board games! To celebrate the (hopefully positive) change in the calendar, we're talking about games where the board changes as you play. You'll hear us say things like: "Sometimes you just wanna go punch your friends in the face." "In 2003, Mayfair Games produced a tiny little bundle of hate."  "Yahtzee, with punching." (I'm sensing a theme here...) "Hey Culligan Man!" Other items of...