Podcasts by Board Game Barrage

#294: We Played a Stack of Games! from 2023-12-07T08:28

PAX Unplugged was a blast, and we played so much stuff that we're dying to tell you about - many of them with our beloved listeners. We braved the cold and the rain of Philadelphia, on the other...

#293: The Great Epochs of Board Gaming from 2023-11-23T08:12

In what could be our most grandiose episode yet, we attempt to tame the wild history of all of board games. We traverse the timeline, unpacking what we consider to be the great epochs of the hob...

#292: Lightning Round from 2023-11-09T08:01

Uh oh, is that thunder? That must mean it's time for a lightning round - we're scooping up all the lovely questions and suggestions that just aren't big enough for the main event, and stuffing t...

#291: Fantasy Draft: Reiner Knizia from 2023-10-26T11:01:09

Drafts are back, baby. And not just any old draft, no, but to celebrate the return of the greatest game, we're drafting none other than the best of the only true and living doctor, Reiner Knizia...

#290: Stuck in the Mid With You from 2023-10-12T07:01

Are board games stuck? Not to be dramatic or anything, but it does seem like we keep circling the same ideas over and over again, right? We speculate on where we think the hobby is headed, and w...

#289: Essen SPIEL 2023 Hype List from 2023-09-28T09:49

It's almost time for Essen SPIEL 2023, the great German Mecca of our people - and while we're not going ourselves, that's not going to stop us yearning. We're hear to tell you about all...

#288: Less is More from 2023-09-14T07:32:11

A little prune, a little embellish, a nip, a tuck, and a flourish, and we can get this thing just how we like it. We're looking at all the little things that we'd like to see more of, all the th...

#287: There's a Time and Place for Everything from 2023-08-31T08:21:35

Timing is everything, which is why it's so important that this episode came out when it did. Had we made it too early, it would have felt dated, and any later, you wouldn't have been ready for i...

#286: The Worst Duo, Kellen&Mark from 2023-08-17T07:40:57

I leave for one episode and these idiots are talking about eating board games. Hard hitting questions for hard hitting board game journalists, Kellen & Mark are on the scene reporting in. Before...

#285: Starting is Easy, Finishing is Hard from 2023-08-03T08:08:59

A solid end game trigger can be such an overlooked part of the design of a game. The conventional wisdom for most things is to start strong and finish strong, so we look at some of our favourite...

#284: Gen Con 2023 Preview from 2023-07-20T07:13:22

It's convention season, and the big one is almost upon us, as board gamers across America prepare to descend on Indiana. Gen Con! We won't be there this year, but that won't stop us anticipating...

#283: Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal from 2023-07-06T07:41:09

Not all are as blessed as we are by the gift of truly original thought, and so many turn to others for inspiration. Whether it's Newton standing on the shoulders of giants, or stealing from our ...

#282: A Soupçon of Sackson from 2023-06-22T07:12:25

After much consternation at his exclusion from our Mount Rushmore of games, we've decided to honour legendary designer Sid Sackson elsewhere - a BGB Designer Spotlight! I think these used to be ...

#281: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 901-1000 from 2023-06-15T08:12:19

We've reached the end of our fantasy draft series, the last in this increasingly dire list of games from which we pluck five gems each, and then get you to vote on your favourites. Ther...

#280: Equal and Opposite Interactions from 2023-06-08T07:03:46

We're veering into the dark roads of board game classification, but this time with a goal in mind - how to best highlight games that feature strong interaction. Shouldn't BoardGameGeek have a sc...

#279: Let the Golden Age Begin from 2023-06-01T07:01

Are we living in a golden age of board games? It's a simple question, but there's a lot to unpack - what even qualifies as a golden age, have we already had one, and if we are living in one, whe...

#278: Check Check Check from 2023-05-25T07:34:06

We're lucky to have covered wide swathes of the board game world, but there was a time when some of those things were aspirational. Like achievements to cross off on the great board game check l...

#277: Definitely Not a Mailbag Episode from 2023-05-18T06:51:37

It's just two of us, so we turn our attention to the burning questions that you've been asking us, in a feature we're calling Topic Talk Back. This is not to be confused with the format we've us...

#276: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 801-900 from 2023-05-11T07:24:31

It's the penultimate draft of the BGG Top 1000 series, and all of these games are garbage ... but it's up to us to sift through that garbage, and each find a collection of five games that's wort...

#275: Building and Breaking Conventions from 2023-05-04T09:08:23

Any creative work is built on a lot of conventions - things that we take as granted, the unspoken rules that must be followed. We get a lot of really great games by following design conventions,...

#274: Guessing Golden Geeks from 2023-04-27T08:51:08

We can all agree the Golden Geeks peaked last year, but I suppose we can continue the facade if we must. Nominees are out for BoardGameGeek's annual awards, and as the presiding champions of tas...

#273: Bob Chat from 2023-04-20T07:42:21

Board games are a social medium, which is a big part of their appeal for us. It's not just about being heads down solving a puzzle, they facilitate conversation. Some games are better at this th...

#272: Cool Story, Bro from 2023-04-13T07:39:30

Good storytelling isn't easy, and board games seem to struggle with it especially - which makes the ones that do pull it off, all the more memorable. We delve into the ways that games can engage...

#271: The Un-Episode from 2023-04-06T07:02

I mean, I don't know. Before we do whatever, we talk about Circle the Wagons, El Gaucho, Roller Coaster Rush, and Applejack.

Timecodes:

01:48 - ...

#270: You May Feel a Little Discomfort from 2023-03-30T07:01:25

Board games are great! Mostly. But as great as they are, we've probably all had a moment where, through no fault of the game itself, things got uncomfortable. Whether it's because of an awkward ...

#269: Keep On Rollin', Bob from 2023-03-23T07:15:31

BGBBOB's back, and he's rollin' (rollin') rollin' on a river of amazing games, all of which feature some incredible dice play. As is our sacred duty, we won't rest until we've arranged ...

#268: We Played a Slew of Games! from 2023-03-16T07:01:05

We (well some of us) made it back from Vegas, and what happened there didn't stay there - we're reporting in from Dice Tower West 2023, a fun week of friends, casinos, and all you can eat sushi....

#267: Our Listeners’ Top 20 Board Games of All-Time 2023 from 2023-03-09T08:05

I always love this one. It's the time of the year where we look at what your favourite games are, and discover whether there are any exciting movers and shakers in what you've been play...

#266: Don't Mess with Cathala from 2023-03-02T08:12:08

Bruna Cathala is the focus of this episode's BGB DOG, the unfortunately acronymed series where we showcase a designer whom we love, and talk through the history of their career and designs. Befo...

#265: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 701-800 from 2023-02-23T08:05

The draft is back, and while the lists are getting really thin at this point, that's not going to stop us doing our damndest to pick out a killer selection of five games each. Whose is the best?...

#264: Kellen from 2023-02-16T08:01

We've done deep dives into games before, but really when you get down to it, games are just the medium. The substrate. What it's always been about is people. We hope to pick at the minds of some...

#263: Our Most Anticipated Games of 2023 from 2023-02-09T08:17:27

If there's one thing I can say for sure about 2023, it's that it will certainly be a period of time. We're casting our eyes forward to the year ahead, and getting excited about some of the board...

#262: The Sweet Sound of Mailbag from 2023-02-02T08:30

Where would we be without the mailbag? We get such lovely questions from you lot, that we rarely get the chance to answer, so when the opportunity comes, one has to strike. Time to hear...

#261: Resolutions and Ramifications from 2023-01-26T14:21

You know how at the start of the year you make a lot of promises to yourself that you have no chance of holding yourself to? Yeah, this isn't like that, we absolutely, definitely will not see ou...

#260: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2022: 10-1 from 2023-01-19T10:43

Here it is, the one we've all been waiting for, the Board Game Barrage top ten games of all time! It's been a long road and we'll wrap it up by seeing some old favourites ... and maybe ...

#259: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2022: 20-11 from 2023-01-12T08:07:29

We've reached the penultimate part of our five part series, the great series that is sometimes called our top fifty greatest games of all time! We're barreling close to the end now, but...

#258: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2022: 30-21 from 2023-01-05T08:27:10

It's a new year, but the list must go on. The list, that is, of our top fifty greatest games of all time! It's part three, which everyone knows is the dark middle chapter of every penta...

#257: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2022: 40-31 from 2022-12-29T08:05:56

I hope you all had a good holiday break, but it's time to get back to business. The very serious business that is the top fifty greatest games of all time. We return to our heroes in wh...

#256: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2022: 50-41 from 2022-12-15T09:11:26

It's top fifty season! That's right, it's the time to reflect on every single game we've ever played, and see how we feel about them in the year of our lord, 2022. We sort through the chaff, and...

#255: Kellen Played a Hop of Games! from 2022-12-08T08:21:17

Kellen won't stop rubbing in that he went to PAX Unplugged without us, but at least he came back with a lot of cool games to talk about. Join us as he regales us with the latest from Philadelphi...

#254: A Celebration of Innovation from 2022-12-01T09:26:22

One of the greatest things about taking part in this hobby, is seeing new and novel ideas bubble to the surface. We're looking at some our favourite recent innovations - stuff that makes us thin...

#253: The Ghost of Turkeys Past from 2022-11-23T21:41:53

How do you all keep falling for this? The Ghost Turkey moves in mysterious ways, and this year he's moving us to 2019, to atone for our sins. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

04:48 - ICECOOL...

#252: Digital Killed the Tabletop Star from 2022-11-17T08:34:47

We all saw this coming. The inevitable digital future has come, and suddenly Mark is a book store owner who just discovered Kindles. It'd be sad if it weren't so inevitable. We discuss the rise ...

#251: Tabling the Teach from 2022-11-10T07:36:50

Look, I wasn't there, but my understanding is that Kellen got very mad about certain board game words and decided to change the course of the episode midstream. Which, you know, would be one thi...

#250: The Times They Are a-Changin' from 2022-11-03T03:58:04

Two hundred and fifty episodes. That's ... a lot of episodes. That's a lot of time! And, boy, things have changed around here. Well some things. We look at what's different in the hobby since we...

#249: The Essence of Excess from 2022-10-27T01:35:38

Games are getting bigger and more lavish, especially in the age of crowdfunding, but how far is too far? How many luxury bits, giant boxes of minis, and silk-screened wooden meeples until it's a...

#248: The Need for Theme from 2022-10-20T06:03:53

The topic of theme has come up intermittently over the course of the podcast, but how important is it? Is it something that makes or breaks a game? Or would we be mostly okay if games were mostl...

#247: We Played A Heap of Games! from 2022-10-13T08:00

What good would going to a convention be if we didn't play a lot of games? We're back from our trip, and it was filled to the brim of fine games played with fine people, and we're here to tell y...

#246: SHUX 2022 Live with Tom Brewster from 2022-10-06T09:08:41

We're at SHUX! Well, we were, and while we were there, we tricked Tom Brewster of Shut Up & Sit Down to take time away from his busy schedule to join us on stage. This episode was recor...

#245: Essen SPIEL 2022 Hype List from 2022-09-29T07:25:48

It's convention season, which means we're on the way to one convention, while talking about another. Every year a lot of new games get showed off at Essen SPIEL in Germany, and these are the one...

#244: Quick Count from 2022-09-22T03:28:14

We're in and out quick and breezy, with a h-h-hot question about player counts. All things equally considered, how many people do you want at the table? Before we boot people from the game, we t...

#243: We’re on Each Other’s Team from 2022-09-15T07:01

The best thing about being part of a team is even when things go wrong, your team is there for you. And boy, did things go wrong this week ... but I'm getting ahead of myself. This week we're ta...

#242: Second Time's the Charm from 2022-09-08T07:01

Not every game makes the best first impression, but some stick in your mind enough to warrant a second try. So fittingly, the first and second best hosts are here to tell you about the games tha...

#241: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 601-700 from 2022-09-01T07:01

Okay, this end of the BGG top list starts to get weird. Regardless, we must draft. Who's going to end up with the best selection of five games from this chunk of one hundred? That's up to you - ...

#240: The Pillars of Recreation from 2022-08-25T07:00

The pillars of board gaming are games that are so influential, so ubiquitous, that they're practically the shoulders on which many other board games stand. We talk about what are commonly consid...

#239: We're Back and We Brought Lots of Games from 2022-08-18T00:40:03

Well, we've returned, and some of us are a little worse for wear, but if a week off doesn't get us back into gear, nothing will. Gen Con is behind us, and Mark, who sadly couldn't make the con, ...

#237: Where Are They Now? from 2022-08-04T03:31:13

Given that we hyped up all those games last week, it's only fair that we prepare ourselves for the aftermath. We look back at some of the most famous and infamous games of yesteryear that were v...

#236: Gen Con 2022 Preview from 2022-07-28T06:11:32

Gen Con is a week away! We're headed to Indianapolis (hope to see you there!) but before we do, we're looking down the preview list to get ourselves hyped. These are our five games we're each mo...

#235: The Twin Game Showdown from 2022-07-21T07:50:03

There's a phenomenon called twin films, where competing studios release very similar movies at the same time. We imagine the same idea in board game land, and highlight some of the biggest board...

#234: It's About Family with Ambie Valdés from Board Game Blitz from 2022-07-14T07:23:50

Ambie Valdés, from the excellent podcast Board Game Blitz, joins us to talk about family games, and possibly also the Fast and the Furious franchise. Ambie actually has kids, so might k...

#233: A Decade of Missed Games: 2010-2019 from 2022-07-07T08:07:16

Well, we can't play everything, and that was probably more true ten years ago than it is now. So we thought we'd look back at the decade past, and highlight some games that we feel like...

#232: Transcontinental Mailbag Express from 2022-06-30T07:55:21

We're spread across the world and time, so we do the thing we should never do; we put the questions to you. Yes, you! It's a mailbag episode, we're answering a trio, a trilogy, a tricho...

#231: Why Fight When You Can Negotiate? from 2022-06-23T09:47:14

Yes, you could make the argument that every game is a negotiation game if you try hard enough, but for a lot of games it's more integral to the design. We look at games that we think integrate n...

#230: Worth the Weight from 2022-06-16T08:22:32

While we tend to enjoy games across the whole spectrum, there's something particular about sinking your teeth into a really heavy game. But it's not always an easy prospect; conditions have to b...

#229: The Positives of Being Negative from 2022-06-09T06:42:50

There's a lot of discourse lately about the pros and cons of negative board game coverage, and so of course we thought we ought to weigh in. Is there value in negative criticism versus positive,...

#228: Bob Is Beautiful from 2022-06-02T07:31:30

It's easy to get lost in mechanical discussions of games, and forget to appreciate them as physical creations. There can be beauty in games, and we're here to get to the heart of it the only way...

#227: Board Games: The Sequel: Part II: Electric Boogaloo from 2022-05-26T08:24:48

It doesn't happen as much as it does in other industries, but every so often the people at the top demand serialization. We're talking about sequels in board games, when they work, when they (su...

#226: Metapod from 2022-05-19T07:23:57

Metagaming is all about the game that exists within (and without) the game - it's everything that's not written in the rules. Whether that's something that emerges at your table, or in ...

#225: Itchy, Tasty from 2022-05-12T07:56:58

With the middle of the year rapidly approaching, we've acquired our fair share of games that we're really itching to play. We talk about what's recently made its way into our collections that we...

#224: Golden Geek Awards 2021 from 2022-05-05T07:42:02

The Golden Geek results are in for 2021, and to avoid burying the lede ... we won! We're over the moon, naturally, but we couldn't have done it without you. We celebrate by giving our takes on t...

#223: Ye Olden Games with Mark Bigney from So Very Wrong About Games from 2022-04-28T06:33:12

It's easy to get caught up in the cult of the new, but there are so many amazing games that came out before we were even in the hobby. Mark Bigney of So Very Wrong About Games joins us ...

#222: Are You the Gatekeeper? from 2022-04-21T08:12:39

There are many ways that we can accidentally contribute to gatekeeping in the hobby - pushing those who want to embrace it away. Whether it's to those outside, or even, bizarrely, to those alrea...

#221: P-P-P-Party Questions from 2022-04-14T06:45:49

It doesn't quite work the same, but what do you expect when Neilan's not present? Speaking of presents, it's Mark's birthday so the rest of the crew celebrate with a parade of (don't call them h...

#220: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 501-600 from 2022-04-07T07:41:45

It's been a little while, but we're back with the next hundred games on BoadGameGeek, and we're drafting a five game collection from them. Who ended up with the best picks? Vote and you could wi...

#219: A Perfect Ten from 2022-03-31T06:38:59

Does the perfect game exist? Probably not, but is that even the point? This week we discuss the elusive 10/10 rating, whether it makes sense to apply it, and what that means for rating games in ...

#218: Our Listeners’ Top 20 Board Games of All-Time 2022 from 2022-03-24T07:12:36

Wow, hundreds of you sent in your favourite games, and it was absolute chaos. But we got all the data together, cleaned up the typos, and crunched the numbers via a super secret algorithm, and h...

#217: We Got Rid of a Bunch of Games! from 2022-03-17T11:00:14

There is a joy as equal in receiving a game, as moving it onto another person to enjoy. Especially, if you're Mark, when there's cash involved. We reflect on the many games that got left behind ...

#216: We're Doing This Together! from 2022-03-10T09:25:39

Waiting your turn is so 2021.  Simultaneous play is where it's at now. Fortunately, we got a chance to try A BUNCH of games featuring the mechanism at Dice Tower West! So, before we all hold han...

#215: Some Like It H-H-Hot from 2022-03-03T10:27:45

We're on the way to Dice Tower West, so we're keeping this one easy breezy with just a hot question. How many games on your shelf do you think you could teach without looking at the rulebook? Be...

#214: Bob's Alright (For Fighting) from 2022-02-24T08:03:07

Return of the Bob! If you don't know what a BGBBOB, boy you've missed out. Twelve games enter, and, well, they all exit, but only once they've been arranged in the appropriate order via a series...

#213: Approach Without Caution from 2022-02-17T04:01:21

Approachability and accessibility are incredibly important to a wide swathe of gamers, but for those experienced in the hobby, it can often get overlooked. We investigate how games can aid those...

#212: Two Can Play At That Game from 2022-02-10T09:19:43

It's the triumphant return of the terrific trio - you know exactly who we mean - to talk about games where one of us would have to be left out. That's right, it's two players only at this table,...

#211: Our Most Anticipated Games of 2022 from 2022-02-03T04:54:38

New year, new games, and we're really in it now. We look ahead to the year ahead, and all the games that we're most excited to get our hands on ... but we couldn't do it without just a little bi...

#210: No One Man Should Have All That Power from 2022-01-27T11:39:48

Few things feel better than those moments in board games that make you feel powerful. Whether it's playing the perfect card, pulling off a perfectly executed turn, or splashing down that giant m...

#209: Holiday Hits and Hot Questions from 2022-01-20T10:40:29

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! Befor...

#208: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2021: 10-1 (ft. Tom Brewster) from 2022-01-13T11:06:47

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 surpri...

#207: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2021: 20-11 (ft. Ambie Valdés) from 2022-01-06T10:00

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 pea...

#206: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2021: 30-21 (ft. Mike Walker) from 2021-12-30T09:36:48

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...

#205: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2021: 40-31 (ft. Monique&Naveen) from 2021-12-23T09:24:52

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 31s...

#204: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2021: 50-41 (ft. Mike Dilisio) from 2021-12-16T09:00

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 gam...

#203: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me from 2021-12-09T07:44:39

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 k...

#202: Your Fulfilled Potential from 2021-12-02T08:32:51

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 o...

#201: I Choose You, Ghost Turkey! from 2021-11-24T20:10:06

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 Edit...

#200: The Big 200 Spectacular from 2021-11-18T11:10:50

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 fro...

#199: Amerigames and Eurotrash from 2021-11-11T08:19:49

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 ga...

#198: Making Memories from 2021-11-04T08:29:09

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, ...

#197: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 401-500 from 2021-10-28T08:54:47

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 ...

#196: Question Time with Jeremy from 2021-10-21T09:25:24

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 in...

#195: Eric, Eric, He's Our Lang from 2021-10-14T02:30:55

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...

#194: Essen SPIEL 2021 Hype List from 2021-10-07T07:49:44

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....

#193: Three Dimensions of Space from 2021-09-30T08:44:03

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 w...

#192: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 301-400 from 2021-09-23T06:37:23

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 $...

#191: Take Off Every Zig from 2021-09-16T09:34:45

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...

#190: Why Are You the Way That You Are? from 2021-09-09T06:29:21

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 particul...

#189: Uwe Baby from 2021-09-02T07:17:12

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 (...

#188: Whatever It Takes from 2021-08-26T06:59:39

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...

#187: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 201-300 from 2021-08-19T06:33:15

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 pic...

#186: Don’t Knock It Till You Try It from 2021-08-12T07:37:55

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 outlie...

#185: The Most Important Meal of the Day from 2021-08-05T07:20:55

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...

#184: Science Based Friction from 2021-07-29T00:57:38

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 e...

#183: Catch a Falling Wallace ...? from 2021-07-22T08:34:41

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,...

#182: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 101-200 from 2021-07-15T07:01:07

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 ...

#181: Save Dat Money from 2021-07-08T03:42:45

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...

#180: The Rules of Investing from 2021-07-01T06:45:31

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 ...

#179: Ignorance Is Bliss from 2021-06-24T00:30:29

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 f...

#178: The Power of Production from 2021-06-17T06:20:09

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 ...

#177: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek Top 100 from 2021-06-10T06:59:41

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 ...

#176: Sweet Summer Lovin' from 2021-06-03T03:10:31

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...

#175: Cute As a Button from 2021-05-27T07:41:31

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...

#174: Live Your Legacy from 2021-05-20T07:31:17

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 Bar...

#173: Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Games from 2021-05-13T06:20:36

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, ...

#172: Don't Hate the Player, Hate the Game from 2021-05-06T07:08:29

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 crit...

#171: A Complimentary Compilation from 2021-04-29T07:27:26

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 fig...

#170: Friedemann Friese Frenzy from 2021-04-22T07:33:13

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 ...

#169: Our Most Anticipated Games of 2021 from 2021-04-15T01:08:16

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 ga...

#168: Board Games Suck with Dan Hughes from Sporadically Board from 2021-04-08T08:03:23

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 ...

#167: Cleanin' Out My Closet from 2021-04-01T06:42:59

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 t...

#166: You've Got to Iterate to Innovate from 2021-03-25T07:30:28

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...

#165: Thriving or Barely Surviving? from 2021-03-18T08:35:55

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 cou...

#164: Get Uncomfortable from 2021-03-11T08:23:45

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 ...

#163: Our Listeners' Top 20 Board Games of All-Time 2021 from 2021-03-04T05:37:12

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' fa...

#162: God Does Not Play Dice from 2021-02-25T04:23:36

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 ...

#161: Mechanically Bullish from 2021-02-18T08:07:08

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 mechanic...

#160: Resolutions and Revisitations from 2021-02-11T01:37:57

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 ...

#159: Picking Favorites from 2021-02-04T05:26

We've been doing it a lot lately, so we thought we'd reflect on the ways that we evaluate our favourite games. How do you even begin to compare extremely dissimilar games, some party, some strat...

#158: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2020: 10-1 from 2021-01-28T06:48:27

It's the big one! We've come at last to the grand finale of the Board Game Barrage Top 50 Games of All Time ... Top. Ten. Baby. These are our absolute favourite games, forty (thirty?) all togeth...

#157: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2020: 20-11 from 2021-01-21T08:14:44

We're moving into the terrible teens of the Board Game Barrage Top 50 Games of All Time. I learned all I know about American teenagers from TV, so I assume this is where all the sex and drugs co...

#156: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2020: 30-21 from 2021-01-14T06:24:15

It's the dark middle chapter of the Board Game Barrage Top 50 Games of All Time. Time to call in a new director, change things up, and get subversive. Well, if there were any directors who'd sti...

#155: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2020: 40-31 from 2021-01-07T08:44:08

Now we're getting into the thick of it, in fact some are calling it the most ambitious Part II released in any medium. It's the Board Game Barrage Top 50 Games of All Time! We're in our...

#154: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2020: 50-41 from 2020-12-31T08:22:03

It's here at last, the big event! Yes, it's the first episode of the yearly ritual we inventively call the Board Game Barrage Top 50 Games of All Time. And this year, for the first time...

#153: Never Look Back at 2020 from 2020-12-17T10:17

Heads set firmly forward, we reflect on what's been a completely wild year. Despite our complete inability to play a lot of them, board games did happen, so we take a bit of time to tal...

#152: Bob's Holiday Gift Guide from 2020-12-10T02:43:24

'Tis the season, and if you're me, your first thought around this time of year is, "How many people can I just buy board games for?" But not all board game gifts are created equal! No, no, no, w...

#151: Your Attention Please from 2020-12-03T09:50:02

There's so much going on in board game land all of the time that it can be hard to know where to focus your attention. So, this week, we each give an example of people, publishers, and sites tha...

#150: Revenge of the Ghost Turkey from 2020-11-26T10:00:13

Gobble gobble, you got got! We wouldn't leave you hanging when there's important work to be done. Happy Thanksgiving!

02:54 - Marco Pollo: Sultry Poultry Edition
04:01 - Startups Listen

#149: Have You No Shame? from 2020-11-19T10:45:08

Boy, what a year it's been for accumulating games that we can't play. The shelf of shame, the collection of games we own that are yet to see a single play, has been steadily growing, and it's ab...

#148: Your Comfort Zone from 2020-11-12T05:43:02

Put on your thick socks, wrap yourself in a blanket, and get comfortable with us in front of the fire. We're using our patent pending formula (aka BGBBOB) to find the best heart warming comfort ...

#147: The Great Compromise from 2020-11-05T05:21:12

At least in some things, you've got to give a little to get a little, but what would you give to get what you want? We're coming up with our big board game compromises, the things we'd happily t...

#146: Essen SPIEL 2020 Hype List from 2020-10-29T09:00

Essen SPIEL is the latest of the conventions in 2020 to go digital, which is convenient for us, because we weren't about to fly to Germany any time soon. We perused the upcoming games that were ...

#145: Zero to One Hundred: $100 Collection Triple Triumph from 2020-10-22T08:04:01

We weren't going to let Kellen have the last word on what makes the perfect $100 collection, so the 139 squad is here to finish it out. Forgot the premise? You've lost all your board games, and ...

#144: Zero to One Hundred: Red Tank’s $100 Collection from 2020-10-15T09:49:44

It's an awful notion, but bear with me. What if you lost your entire board game collection, and had to rebuild it from scratch? Here's t...

#143: Pace Yourself from 2020-10-08T08:08:56

Slow and steady might win the race, but it doesn't make for an exciting board game. Pacing is a vital component of most entertainment me...

#142: Play Me a Memory from 2020-10-01T08:14:38

Blessed are the forgetful, because they don't have to play memory games? After all, games with a strong memory component often get a bad...

#141: Expectations Great and Small from 2020-09-24T01:25:23

We often build up the idea of what a game will be before we play it, whether for bad or good, and the reality of the game itself might deliver something we weren't e...

#140: All About Auctions from 2020-09-17T10:33:23

We return to our much loved feature from 2018, all about our favourite mechanics. This week, a mere two years later: auctions! We look at the good and bad sides of a...

#139: Bugbear Brawl from 2020-09-10T07:44:10

It's an unprecedented trio of hosts, but we're no less heated about our biggest board game bugbears. In fact, we're so upset about these little annoyances, that we c...

#138: Life's Lessons Learned from 2020-09-03T07:14:46

It would be hard for us to be as invested in this hobby as we are, if we didn't think there was something important underlying it. We share some of the lessons we ha...

#137: Past Its Prime from 2020-08-27T07:02:57

Some games are built to last, and no, we're not just talking about the ... R-word. For others, the high highs of early games must give way to the dawning realization...

#136: H-h-h-hot Hot Hot from 2020-08-20T07:51:33

Hot days call for hot questions! To counter the California heat wave, we get breezy with a round of hot questions. We take a long hard look at games we love, but don't play, and give our takes o...

#135: Social Climbing from 2020-08-13T05:35:49

It's a Social Deduction BGBBOB! For those that don't know what that means, it's a Board Game Barrage Battle of (the) Board...games, where we pit all of the best social deduction games against ea...

#134: CHAOS! from 2020-08-06T06:42:43

Some board games (and board game podcasts) thrive on chaos, which absolutely isn't the same thing as randomness. All of this has happened for a reason, it's just ... hard to tell what those reas...

#133: Light It Up from 2020-07-30T06:12:48

Things got a bit heavy last week, so let's take things down a notch by exploring the other end of the scale. Light games are just as important for a board game collection, after all. We discuss ...

#132: Heavy Duty with Monique from Before You Play from 2020-07-23T00:25:20

Monique from Before You Play is with us to get heavy. We're discussing the allure of heavy games, and who better to talk us through them than a Vital Lacerda fan who loves to not just play them,...

#131: But At What Cost? from 2020-07-16T05:31:52

Even if the price is right, it might not be right for you. We all have different thresholds where a board game we're interested in crosses from, "maybe I'll wait for a sale" into "sure why not" ...

#130: And the Award Goes To ... from 2020-07-09T09:02:06

It's award season when we say it is, so we're looking back at the Golden Geek Awards, The Dice Tower Awards, and the Spiel des Jahres nominees. We offer our thoughts on their picks, and how wron...

#129: Fight for Your Right to Party from 2020-07-02T09:14:59

BGBBOB, party edition! For those not keeping up, that's BGB Best of Board Games, which is definitely not the final name (but also maybe is) for our recurring feature where we duel rank games int...

#128: The Means of Production with Richard Simpson from 2020-06-25T07:50:36

We're joined by Richard Simpson of We're Not Wizards, who is definitely not a magician, Victorian or otherwise, to talk about the line between game design and production. Should production value...

#127: No Stupid Questions from 2020-06-18T05:06:22

We asked for your questions, and you provided! Some of you used Instagram, some of you used voicemail, but however you reached out, your voice was heard. We chose only a few to answer (quality n...

#126: So Very Wrong About Games from 2020-06-11T06:49:52

I know this is going to come as a shock, but sometimes we get things wrong. As we've worked our way through the hobby, we've discovered that some positions we once held, aren't ones we still do....

#125: REwrite the Stars from 2020-06-04T10:40:13

Once loved board games will often circle back into the limelight with reprints, but we're also starting to see a lot more get remasters and remakes too. We take a look at this trend, and discuss...

#124: Constraints You Can See from 2020-05-28T08:48:47

While all games have some restrictions, some games are more willing than others to let you go off the rails. For instance, some leave the economy entirely in the hands of the players, free to ta...

#123: Filler Up from 2020-05-21T09:52:14

Sometimes you have a little gap of time between larger, heavier games, and what you need is a palate cleanser, which brings us to the realm of games we lovingly call "fillers". We kick off the v...

#122: Strongest Starter from 2020-05-14T04:37:42

When you're playing a game for the first time, and barely know what you're even doing, how do you even begin to strategize? That's what we're asking ourselves this week, as we explore some of ou...

#121: FANTASTIC Four with Mike Walker from So Very Wrong About Games from 2020-05-07T06:45:52

Mike Walker from So Very Wrong About Games joins us to talk about games that we add to our collection, not for ourselves, but (gasp) for others. Sometimes you do what you have to placat...

#120: Light on the Horizon from 2020-04-30T06:58:20

We all need something to look forward to, so this episode we're eagerly anticipating all the good things in the world of board gaming that are yet to come in 2020. Some of it might be a ways off...

#119: The Seven Week Itch from 2020-04-23T09:06:10

Look, digital gaming is great and all, but there are some games that either don't lend themselves well to the format, or aren't available. Whatever the reason, there are lots of games that we're...

#118: Of the Utmost Importance from 2020-04-16T09:21:10

What could be a more important topic than importance itself? This week, we're talking about the most important board games of the last decade, and what it even means for a board game to be worth...

#117: All Decked Out from 2020-04-09T07:43:21

It's time for another "What we love, what we hate", and this time we're looking at deck builders! Its been twelve years since Dominion blew things up, and since then you don't have to look very ...

#116: The Cyber Reloaded from 2020-04-02T09:22:30

To make it through quarantine, we take another look at digital games in a time when it might just be our only option. We've got to get our board game fill somehow! We investigate how our relatio...

#115: Gone But Not Forgotten from 2020-03-26T12:08:13

There's only so much space on our shelves, so games don't always stick around forever, but that doesn't always mean that we don't like them. There are many reasons that a good game might get the...

#114: Let It Grow from 2020-03-19T10:20:22

Some games put their best foot forward on the first play, eager to have most players feel good right out of the box. Other games are content to take their time. This episode we're focusing on th...

#113: Trust is Good, Area Control is Better from 2020-03-12T06:46:20

Area control is the first subject of our new recurring feature, "What we love, what we hate", where we deep dive into a single mechanic and describe ... well, exactly that! We tend to enjoy game...

#112: We Played a Bunch of Games! from 2020-03-05T06:56:21

Let me set the scene: It's a late night at a hotel in Nevada, we're sprawled on the floor around a microphone, and we're flexing our tired hands after three days spent playing so many b...

#111: Conventional Wisdom from 2020-02-27T08:58:17

We've learned a thing or two about game nights and conventions over the years. The hobby has changed, and we've had to change with it! This episode, we talk about what's different with how we ap...

#110: One Small Thing from 2020-02-20T15:28:41

Sometimes a game is hitting all the right notes, and you want to recommend it wholeheartedly ... but there's just one tiny blemish you can't overlook. It's not enough to make a great game bad, b...

#109: Harshing My Buzz from 2020-02-13T08:07:51

We're gluttons for punishment this week, because we're talking about harshness in board games. These are the sort of games where big moves or bad mistakes can be hard to recover from. Harsh game...

#108: We Have to Go Back from 2020-02-06T05:11:37

We're reflecting on the past this episode, looking back at the things we said - never wise, by the way. The games of 2019 had a lot of promise, but how young and dumb they seem to our aged eyes....

#107: Get It Right the First Time from 2020-01-30T10:41:18

You only get one chance to play a game for the first time, but sometimes events conspire to make that debut ... less than ideal. We look at some first plays that could've gone better, examine wh...

#106: Popcorn Time with Mike DiLisio from 2020-01-23T11:30:53

Mike DiLisio (of The Dice Tower, and Sporadically Board) makes his BGB podcast debut as the Fandango Tank! Mike's trying to sell us on popcorn games. These are games that may or may not be ... c...

#105: Resolutions and Revelations from 2020-01-16T10:03:36

We're in a post top-fifty world, and it's about time we take this whole 2020 thing seriously. No more looking back, we've got to start looking to the year ahead, and what better way than making ...

#104: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2019: 10-1 from 2020-01-09T09:10:26

Here it is, the episode you've all been waiting for, the grand finale, the culmination of five weeks of episodes. These are our top ten favourite board games of all-time, games that we ...

#103: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2019: 20-11 from 2020-01-01T12:29:04

A new year, a new decade, a new podcast, and a new batch of games that we love talking about. It's the fourth in our five part series of our 50 favourite board games of all-time, and appropriate...

#102: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2019: 30-21 from 2019-12-25T20:27:44

It's the season of giving, so our gift to you is more of our favourite board games of all-time! We're only just halfway, so get comfortable in front of the fire, grab an eggnog, and join us for ...

#101: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2019: 40-31 from 2019-12-18T23:21:08

We're shifting up a gear, the stakes are higher, it's all to play for, and a whole host of other cliches, in the second of our five part series on the top fifty games of all time. Thirty(ish) mo...

#100: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2019: 50-41 from 2019-12-12T10:19:34

We made it! The big one-oh-oh. That's a thing people say, right? We're starting a five episodes series, working our way down each of our top fifty games of all time. We'll discuss what might mak...

#99: Sore Today, Strong Tomorrow from 2019-12-05T10:06

It's getting close now, can you feel it? Or are you just feeling sore from the game you just lost? We're talking sore losers and sore winners: people who are hard to be around when they lose or ...

#98: Thanks, Ghost Turkey! from 2019-11-28T10:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We're showing our thanks with a surprise podcast about ... well, maybe we'll just let the episode speak for itself. Gobble gobble.

03:23 - ICECOOL Listen

#97: Eleven Herbs and Biases from 2019-11-21T10:34:06

We've all got them, whether we'll care to admit it or not, quirks and and biases that might be irrational, but nevertheless affect our judgement of the games we play. This week we're looking at ...

#96: The House of Bounce from 2019-11-14T00:38:22

Uh oh, you're not enjoying the game you're playing. Now what? Is it okay to excuse yourself? Maybe it's better that you just call it rather than continue to have a bad time. This week we're talk...

#95: Holiday Hits from 2019-11-07T10:29:35

Where has the year gone?! It's almost time to start packing our bags for various family gatherings, and inevitably the most important question becomes ... what games are we taking? Whet...

#94: Even When You're Losing from 2019-10-31T09:22:35

It took us almost a hundred episodes, but we finally reveal how to have fun with your friends even when you're losing. Specifically, we're talking about games and mechanisms that help u...

#93: Tap Tap, No Take-Backs from 2019-10-24T09:30:50

Blue Tank's back to talk take-backs, so take that to the bank. It's bound to happen, someone makes a mistake on their turn and desperately wants a do-over - but how do you handle it? It's a deli...

#92: Chasing the MacGuffin from 2019-10-17T09:22:22

We're joined by the Blue Tank for a quick look back at SHUX, before we dive into a discussion on games that are better than their mechanics suggest. These are games that we might describe as Listen

#91: SHUX 2019 Live with Quintin Smith from 2019-10-10T09:36:45

Shut Up & Sit Down's very own Quintin Smith joins us live on stage at SHUX 2019! We play a rousing game of Hundreds of Horses, discuss some games from the convention, and lay out the un...

#90: Timmy, Jenny, Spike from 2019-10-03T09:00

Mark Rosewater, head designer for Magic: The Gathering, defined three player archetypes back in 2002, and we figured it'd be fun to see how we can apply them to, not just board games, b...

#89: Classified Information from 2019-09-26T09:15:12

Inspired by BoardGameGeek's new system for classifying board game mechanisms, we give our thoughts on the changes, as well as talk about classification in general. Somehow it always leads to hea...

#88: Essen SPIEL 2019 Preview from 2019-09-19T09:43

Hello, again, Germany! Well, we don't actually ever go to Essen, but boy do we wish we could. There are always so many games that debut at Essen SPIEL that we wish we could play or buy ...

#87: The Game of Life from 2019-09-12T09:00

No, not that game. We're talking about the life cycles of games, how we acquire them, how we end up moving on from them. Where do we generally get our games from, and how do we typicall...

#86: Shame! Shame! Shame! from 2019-09-05T09:37:18

Look, there's only so much time in the day, so we don't get to play every game we ought to. But some of those missed games hurt more than others, in fact, some of them are downright shameful. Th...

#85: Episode Too: Attack of the Adjectives from 2019-08-29T08:59:45

Kellen's back, which some might say is too many hosts - apt, because we're an episode of extremes today. We're talking about games that are too simple, too complicated, too short, or too long, t...

#84: Best With Two from 2019-08-22T09:00

Kellen graces us with his absence, which means it's time for Mark and Neilan to start talking numbers. Specifically, player numbers. We're talking about optimal player counts for games, whether ...

#83: Dexterous Laboratory from 2019-08-15T09:39:43

We're running components through our fingers this week, because we're ranking our favourite games that require dexterity. Whether it's flicking, stacking, or balancing, dexterity games tend to o...

#82: Tales from the Tables from 2019-08-08T09:56:23

We just flew in from Indianapolis, and boy are our arms tired! From carrying all these games. But, more than the games, it's the people you meet that make the memories, so we're recovering from ...

#81: Gen Con 2019 Day Three from 2019-08-04T06:29:57

Our trilogy of Gen Con podcasts concludes with one final foray between the sheets! Join us on the floor of room [redacted] for the last time, with our thoughts from day three. We talk about ...