It must be just about time for a boring show with just me on the mic, but you're spared once again! This time I have fellow podcaster Eric "Boardgame Babylon" Burgess with me to talk about another of my favorites, Big City. Turns out it's one of his, too, and when I made a half-serious request for someone to do this episode with, Eric responded right away. We live somewhat far from each other,

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An offer you can't refuse. We play by mob rule this week, packing heat and hijacking hooch with two gangster themed games: Chicago Poker and Family Business.

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In this episode, Geoff tells us how to manipulate negotiations in games, and Moritz gives some suprising game news. Tom and Sam talk about some game news, their current gaming trends, and ideas for drafting in games. Finally, we end the show with our top ten games from ten years ago - in 1999.

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Ground Control to Major Tom. We take to the stars to haul freight for The Man in Galaxy Trucker and then battle through a collapsing star to become the Galactic Emperor.

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Part 2 of my discussion with Dave Arnott was about game awards. There are a bunch of them, from the Spiel des Jahres to the Golden Geeks. We talk about a whole range of them, and also consider how game awards are similar or different from other artistic awards, such as the Oscars. (By the way, I did go see Slumdog Millionaire that night, and though I liked it I wouldn't have called it the Best

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In this show, Jim Reed interviews Curt from Smirk and Dagger Games, discussing Cutthroat Caverns and more. Tom and Sam talk about news and answer questions - how many games should a gamer buy in a year? Finally, we give our top ten games from five years ago - 2004, and discuss 2004's effect on gaming.

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What started as one show with two topics ended up being two shows. This is the first part, where Dave Arnott and I reflect on 2008. That means talking about our games played, totals as well as "fives & dimes." We also consider which were are favorite releases or discoveries in 2008. Along the way are some inevitable discussions about online plays, whether realtime (e.g. brettspielwelt, Game

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Lately I've really been enjoying Brass in its play-by-web implementation. The presentation isn't pretty, but is perfectly functional, and it enables more play of this deep game. Anyone care to join me? The password is bgtg, as always. http://wargamessoc.union.shef.ac.uk/brass/index.php http://wargamessoc.union.shef.ac.uk/brass/lobby.php?GameID=1406

In this episode, Moritz wonders why not everyone enjoys cooperative games, and Giles talks about changing the components of Hive. Tom and Sam discuss Le Havre and Catan Geographies: Germany, and go over some news. Geoff, Tom, and Sam then discuss "pushing your luck" and how it's used in games - including the top ten Push Your Luck games.

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Board games are team sports, too. There are plagues to fight and a village to defend! We dive into Pandemic and Ghost Stories, two in the latest wave of co-op "us vs. the world" games.

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My buddy Ryan Wheeler is part of our local game group, the Santa Clarita Boardgamers. In fact, he's the driving force of the group, hosting most of the game nights, always adding to his collection, and infecting the rest of us with his enthusiasm and sense of humor. When schedules conflicts led to only two of us showing up for games one night, I pressured him into recording another podcast with

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A special announcement from The Dice Tower.

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Avoid the Lulo List. More games inspired by the Spanish speaking world. We duel for glory in Toledo and angle for rum and power in Cuba. Plus two classic card games little known to gringos.

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I've posted another auction on Boardgamegeek. Help me get rid of some games so I can trick myself into buying more, immediately overwhelming the storage space I'm trying to recover! :)Auction ends on Friday, March 6. See the instructions at the top of the page.

I'm doing that again (never stopped, really). Go to the usual sites (SpielByWeb, Mabiweb, MichaelSchacht.net) to look for games I've started for BGTG podcast listeners, and the password for each is bgtg.Also, if you go to the realtime sites Brettspielwelt or GameTableOnline (or the hybrid pbw/realtime site Yucata.de--which just added Arkadia in beta test), be sure to see if I'm online. I always

In this show, Tom and Sam talk about the best trading games, and Geoff talks about the mechanics of trading. We start a new contest to win Age of Steam, talk about some upcoming games and news. Moritz reviews the "living card game" from Fantasy Flight, and Mark reviews Red November. Finally, we review nineteen games in nineteen minutes!

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Someone just did, and I'd like to respond on a future episode, but unfortunately he must've been calling on a cell phone with a poor signal. The audio drops out during all of the important words of his message, like his question why I don't do more shows about my ______ games. What was that? Or his name--that also dropped out.If you're out there, please try again!

Before I can post any new shows, I wanted to clear the decks for some accumulated feedback, as well as follow-through on my previous blog entry about family gaming over the holidays. Again I brought I bag full of specially chosen games, and again we played some of them. Just a few, really, but I knew to expect that. This year my gaming was mostly confined to playing with my young nephews, which I

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No pasarán! From building towers of people in Catalonia to manning the barricades in Madrid, we play España 1936 and Castellers, two games from Spanish publisher Devir.

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In this episode, Tom and Sam review Battlestar Galactica, while Geoff goes over evolution-themed games. Giles talks about a game expo in Australia, and Tom and Sam mention several recently played games. Finally, we talk about the Spiel des Jahres, talking about the game that SHOULD have won, and finishing with our top ten Spiel des Jahres games.

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