This week's guest is the designer of Fields of Green, Among the Stars and Hegemony, Vangelis Bagiartakis. We talk about education in games, philosophy and the decline of Star Wars...but which games did he choose?
In this episode of the news Ben and Steve thank some new patreon backers and answer some Qs. Also Ben talks to Christian Kudahl about his game Agent Avenue and whether it can win the Spiel des Jahres.
Ambie and Crystal discuss a couple games they played recently, including Signal, Here Lies, and Awkward Guests 2. Then, we talk about colors in board games - both as a theme and as a mechanism.
Well, we finally did it. We played CATAN, and it was ... good! And then we started wondering, is there anything that's done quite the same thing that that game is doing? And then that got us wondering how many games there are like that, where it's genuinely hard to say that nothing has done it better since. And then that got us wondering if, instead of all this wondering, we should record a podcast episode. Before we wander, we talk about Box Two, Catan: Cities & Knights, and An Infamous Traffic.
02:47 - Box Two 09:18 - Catan: Cities & Knights 19:50 - An Infamous Traffic 31:58 - Has anyone done it better? 32:26 - Catan 35:55 - Concordia 36:17 - Rise of Tribes 37:31 - Space Base 39:26 - Archipelago 40:38 - Dominion 41:17 - Aeon's End 42:22 - Star Realms 42:32 - Shards of Infinity 44:43 - Diplomacy 44:59 - Dune 46:48 - Battle for Rokugan 47:04 - A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition)
Paula's back for here Diamond Anniversary and things aren't firing on all cylinders
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.
Now for something completely different...Davey invites everyone into his mind as he devises an Escape Room for the gang to try and escape from. Who knew Taunton board game shops could be so dangerous.
FIRST PLAYER: Davey OTHER PLAYERS: JP, Becky & Dan
In this episode you'll learn: - how Dan has been launching off with his first experiences of Galactic Cruise by Kinson Key Games - about the latest hotness from 2011 with Ora et Labora from Lookout Games - how Davey can't get enough of battling boss monsters in Primal: The Awakening - that Becky is better at enticing people to her French parties than her collecting flowers in both Fleur & Botany by Dux Somnium Games - whether the Whose Turn gang will make it out of Davey's mind in our first recorded escape room experience.
Why duel with silly weapons when you can duel with whole cities? In Rival Cities, Hamburg and Altona go head to head to see who will be the city anyone's ever heard of. I think you probably know who pulled that off IRL.
But if you'd rather fight with fruit or sausages, fear not because we have those for you too - in our Work in Progress.
If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a Patreon supporter on patreon.com/nopunincluded
On to the timestamps:
00:00 Cold open
01:41 Intro
05:18 Work in Progress
06:05 Sausage Sizzle
08:17 (Reiner Knizia's) Fruit Fight
14:47 Corps of Discovery
25:46 Correspondence
27:16 Rival Cities
Hey now Cabalists and welcome to episode 320 of The Secret Cabal! Origins Game Fair 2025 is nearly here and we're all fired up. If you're going to be there you got to join us for our meetup at the Whistle and Keg on June 20th. Then the gang gets into some of the games they've been playing including Praga Caput Regni, YRO, Obsession Upstairs Downstairs, Space Empires 4x, Biblios and a feature review of Septima from Mind Clash games! Then after Tony T hooks us up with his amazing new segment the Founders jump into another Short Topic Extravaganza. Praga Caput Regni: 00:04:44, YRO: 00:12:55, Obsession Upstairs, Downstairs: 00:21:14, Space Empires 4x: 00:31:33, Biblios: 00:42:28, Septima: 00:58:39, News with Tony T: 01:35:45, Short Topic Extravaganza: 02:15:57. Check out our sponsors Restoration Games at https://restorationgames.com/. Game Toppers at https://www.gametoppersllc.com/. And CGE at https://czechgames.com/.
00:00:00 Intro 00:04:30 Music Talk 00:06:30 Appliance Malfunctions 00:10:00 Discord Conversations 00:12:00Miniature Market Discussion 00:16:15 Taste Buds 00:22:30Portal Games 00:24:00 Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Besties Bakeoff Card Game 00:30:30Cyclades: Legendary Edition 00:46:00Gametoppers LLC 00:48:15 Rajas of the Ganges: Cards & Karma 00:54:15 SWU Update 00:57:00 Switch 2 Attempts 01:03:15Hubworld: Aidalon
We’ve been on an absolute whirlwind of recording episodes, and I can practically hear y’all shouting, “What the heck, make it stop!” Trust me, I get it—it feels like we’re popping up in your podcast queue nonstop. But here’s the deal: we’ve had some special releases in between our regular shows, so while it may seem like we’re flooding your feed, it’s all in the name of keeping things exciting. Or so we tell ourselves.
This time, we dove into a true classic that recently got a well-deserved facelift—Cyclades. Originally released in 2009, it was one of those gems we missed before board games became a staple in our lives. And wow, the production quality is nothing short of stunning. For those who picked up the deluxe components, I bet you weren’t disappointed.
Now, let me be honest—this game exposed my weaknesses in a way I didn’t see coming. It wasn’t the game’s fault; it was mine. But hey, maybe that’s a sign of a solid strategy game—one that lays bare where you struggle and pushes you to improve. If you were a fan of the classic and have a well-loved, slightly worn-out copy sitting on your shelf, it might be time to snag this refreshed edition and bring Cyclades back to the table in all its glory.
Thanks for listening and appreciate all the support.
This time, Tom shares his adventures in Mexico, and Julie has tales to tell from Greece. Then, we kick of our discussion of video games that feel like board games with Eric's obsession with Blue Prince, before moving on to a bunch of other electronic games, including some that have made the leap to boardgames. We open up the mailbag for a question and Tale of Horror, and break down our Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
Anmelden
