Tom is busy moving the studio, so Julie and Eric invite Robert Geistlinger from Arcane Wonders (and also Julie's husband) to join in a discussion about boardgame production. Where do the materials that go into our games come from? What do you look for in a manufacturer? And why doesn't everybody print their games in Cleveland? And of course, we close the show with some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:52 - Where's Tom? and Who Is Robert?
03:08 - Announcements: Dice Tower East and Dice Tower Cruise
03:55 - Game Production: Why We're Not Discussing Tariffs
05:27 - Where Does the Material Come From?
11:41 - Where to Start? Price Point or Wish List of Features?
18:35 - How Long Does It Take For The Back-and-forth?
28:05 - What Else Are You Looking For Beyond Price?
37:31 - Why Not Just Make Everything in the US?
49:44 - Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops (a primer)
51:48 - The Case of the Curiously Correct Blueprints
Board games have a magical way of transporting us to different worlds—whether we’re managing cattle in the American frontier, navigating mountains, or engineering automobiles. Today, let’s dive into three fascinating board games that offer unique themes and strategic gameplay: Great Western Trail: El Paso, Solstice, and Kraftwagen:Age of Engineering
The new GWT is a streamlined version that, in our opinion, is a good way to get people into the game. Solstice allows for two players to battle it out in a heavy luck driven game. Kraftwagen is a redesign of the original that is a historical economic game that places players in the shoes of automobile pioneers, balancing technological progress with financial strategy.
Each of these games offers something distinct—Great Western Trail is a immersive ranching journey in El Paso, Solstice is a luck-balanced strategic battle, and Kraftwagen takes players into the exciting world of automotive innovation. Whether you’re an experienced gamer looking for your next challenge or a newcomer exploring different themes, these three titles showcase the beauty and variety of board game design
This week, Joe, Jules and Lauren tuck into a mixed bag of gaming experiences. Jules has been dipping his fins into the Wingspan universe and getting back into Magic: The Gathering whilst being very excited about some upcoming IPs that are coming for his wallet. Joe has finally rejoined his weekly game group and had an absolutely kraken time bidding for the favour of gods in Cyclades. Lauren has been exploring a game that has her playing by the book in Artisans of Splendent Vale.
Timestamps:
What we've been playing [0:01:08]
Artisans of Splendent Vale [0:31:47]
Cyclades [0:37:33]
Question of the Pod: [0:48:52]
Fired Up: [1:00:27]
New Question of the Pod: What is your favourite board game trilogy and why
SPONSORS
Our podcast is proudly sponsored by Advent Games and More Than Meeples.
Advent Games is an Australian online board game store based in Sydney, NSW. http://www.adventgames.com.au/
More Than Meeples is an Australian retail and online game store based in Brisbane, QLD. https://morethanmeeples.com.au/
PATREON
Hey there, BBQ fans! Guess what? We’ve got a Patreon! By joining, you’ll unlock exclusive content, gain access to a members-only section of our Discord where you can help shape the show, and so much more. Plus, your support will help us grow and bring some awesome new projects to life in 2025.
At the Board Game BBQ Podcast, we’re passionate about what we do and promise to keep the fun and shenanigans rolling. We’re so grateful for your support! Joining our Patreon is totally optional, and we ask that you don’t contribute if it’ll cause financial stress. But if you’d like to chip in from just USD$5 a month, click the link to check out our Patreon page.
Thanks a million for being amazing! We’re committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive community, and you all make it special. See you at the BBQ!! https://www.patreon.com/BoardGameBBQ
Clef and Tim add BBQ into the discussion before talking about City of the Big Shoulders, Pax Illuminaten, and Imperial Steam. We also talk about Euro games as a whole and our feelings on them as the gamers we are now.
Last chance to sign up for PPCon at punchboardparadise.com and join the discord at discord.gg/s8hYtWkMS3
This week's guest is the designer of Liberty or Death, Harold Buchanan. We talk about the energy industry, polemic versus history and running a game convention...but which games did he choose?
On this long overdue episode of the Shut Up & Sit Down Podcast, Tom and Matt are hosting an intervention for one particular publisher… and also talking about some board games!
First up is a chat about Daitoshi, the latest ambitious and busy design from site favourites Devir, followed by some nattering about the “area-control-deck-builder-mutation” Altay and “tic-tac-toe-em-up” Architects of Amytis!
In this news flash designer Jonny Pac discusses the situation at recently folded company Final Frontier Games from the perpective of someone who has worked with them
Ambie and Crystal discuss a couple games they played recently, including Top Tier and Bag of Chips. Then, we talk about how the US tariffs might affect the board game industry (especially for publishers and retailers in the US). Post from Ami Baio of Pink Tiger Games
0:00-Intro
0:38-Recent Games - Top Tier
5:57-Bag of Chips
12:35-US Tariffs
22:09-Outro
23:13-Bloopers
This Game is Broken is a comedy board game panel show with Matthew Jude, Dave Luza, Paula Deming, Nick Murphy and Mike Murphy. We play a lot of nonsense games full of role playing and trivia as well as other fun stuff which can be found at the links below.
I would say that, for the most part, there's very little we won't play - but we also know what we like, and especially what we don't like. Every so often a game gets suggested that we have to say "literally anything but" to. Before we pass hard, we talk about TRICKTAKERs, Iquazú, and Hubworld: Aidalon.
02:49 - TRICKTAKERs 11:52 - Iquazú 21:47 - Hubworld: Aidalon 31:03 - Hard pass games 32:11 - Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant 33:29 - Captain Sonar 34:04 - Citadels 35:19 - 7 Wonders 40:03 - Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition 41:03 - Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game 42:51 - Welcome To... 46:08 - Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island
Good morning and happy Wednesday, Cabalists! Today the gang kicks things off by spotlighting Erik the Cabalist's homebrew Runebound scenario, packed with Secret Cabal references. Then they dive into the games they've been playing, including Baseball Highlights 2045, Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game, Obsession, Explorers of Navoria, Trick Shot, and a featured review of Moon from Haakon Gaarder. After Tony T's award-winning news segment, the gang launches into a discussion about hooks in board gaming - the things that get us fired up to try new games. Baseball Highlights 2045: 00:05:37, Metal Gear Solid The Board Game: 00:14:09, Obsession: 00:26:08, Explorers of Navoria: 00:38:34, Trick Shot: 00:46:18, Moon: 00:58:56, News with Tony T: 01:27:20, The Hook: 02:21:09. Check out our sponsors Restoration Games at https://restorationgames.com/. Game Toppers at https://www.gametoppersllc.com/. And CGE at https://czechgames.com/.
30 Games enter the ring...only 1 will be victorious.
Yes it's that time of the year where we celebrate our 3rd birthday podcasting and we celebrate the only way we know how. Pitching our favourite played games of 2024 against each other to see which one comes out on top.
THE BIRTHDAY ATTENDEES - JP, Becky, Tambo, Kerley & Dan
In this episode you'll learn: - the groups favourite moments as they look back over the past year now that we're 3 years old - whether the reigning champion Terraforming Mars will make it through again or will there be a new champion? - which 30 games make it through the 5 knockout rounds and which one hits the top spot for best game played in 2023
OUR 2024 PLAYED LEGENDS ENTERING THE BATTLEGROUND (30 GAMES) Star Trek Captains Chair, Imperium Horizons, Andromeda's Edge, Arcs, Cloudspire Minos, Twilight Imperium, Terraforming Mars, Ark Nova, Slay the Spire, Nucleum, Anachrony, White Castle, Coffee Traders, Castles of Burgundy, Secret Identity, Smartphone Inc, Primal: The Awakening, The Witcher - Old World, Too Many Bones, Seti, Shackletonbase, Endeavour: Deep Sea, Duel for Middle-Earth, Ticket to Ride, Wyrmspan, Merchants Cove, Here to Slay, Great Western Trail New Zealand, Eos Island Of Angles
EPISODE CHAPTERS
0:00 - TURN 1 - Player Count
1:22 - TURN 2 - 3 Years Old!!!
2:43 - NEWS - Come and see us live at the UK Games Expo 2025
5:09 - A look back at our favourite moments from last year
Join us as we chat with Rob and Justin from Restoration Games to dive into the exciting world of reviving classic board games. But that’s not all—there’s a twist! We challenge them to a lively game of Rank’em, where we present three items, and they rank them in any order they choose. The fun doesn’t stop there—together, we’ll debate, defend, and dissect whether their rankings hit the mark or missed the mark entirely.
We also get to hear all about their new game coming to Kickstarter called Battle Monsters. This is a reimplement of Battle Masters from 1992. Battle Masters was originally themed as an army of Good battling again an army of evil. The game had a huge footprint and miniatures and we hear how Restoration is bringing it back.
If you liked this version of Rank’em, please leave comments over in our Discord Channel.
Anmelden
