Guten Tag Cabalists! Don, Jamie, and Tony T are raising their steins high for Oktoberfest and running down their top picks for the hottest games releasing at Essen Spiel 2025! It’s a full-on beer hall bash here at The Secret Cabal, and the excitement is flowing like a fresh keg. All we need now is a heaping plate of wienerschnitzel, spaetzle, and sauerkraut to make it complete. So grab a brew, settle in, and join the Founders for the festivities. PROST!
Adrian takes us into the world of variation in board games. We discuss the various ways and mechanisms that game design does this and whether we personally like them or not and why.
FIRST PLAYER: Adrian OTHER PLAYERS: JP & Rob
In this episode you'll learn: - that we have a new Discord so come and Join us on Discord and say hi - that Adrian has can to Warp 9 in Star Trek Ascendency by Gale Force Nine Games - that the Lacerdaverse is extended to Rob as he plays Lisboa by Eagle-Gryphon Games - JP gets a full playthrough of The Old Kings Crown by Eerie Idol Games
A quick search of the word Pandemic as it relates to the board game mentions on this site, you will find a bunch of them. However, back in Episode 5 is when we do this first mention and where our mission on the podcast was to bring awareness to board games beyond those found at big box stores. That was on February 12, 2013.
Time marches on and we find ourselves with a new entry using the Pandemic system with the LOTR: Fate of the Fellowship. Mr. Leacock has done an incredible job with this one. In my opinion, this brings the base goodness of the Pandemic series to the LOTR world and then ramps it up a few notches. To be honest, it might be a little too hard at times. But who cares, play it again and think of the feeling you will have when you destroy the ring.
We also have some slight dissension in the ranks at RDTN where one does like a game as much as someone else and we have a solid discussion on why. This doesn’t mean that the game isn’t good, just that there is a difference of opinion on what some people like versus what others like.
The Wondrous Museum is an engine builder that plays very fast and has solid decision making for which cards to play and how to use the runes that activate the cards. Leaders if a two person duel game that shrinks down the board to where players are using special moves by their champions to allow them to capture the other person leaders. Your champions are never removed from the board, so it is all about positioning while maintaining a solid defense for your leader.
Thanks for listening and be sure to visit the Discord site to tell us about what type of grass is in your area.
Tom begins by recapping his adventures at the Dice Tower Retreat, and looks forward to the World Series of Boardgaming, before turning to the topic of figuring out what to do with your game collection after you're gone, and why it might be a good idea to make some choices sooner rather than later. Later, we share a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, peek into the mailbag, and gather a collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:51 - Tom at the Dice Tower Retreat
02:25 - The World Series of Boardgaming
04:58 - Dice Tower Cruise, Dice Tower West, Spiel
06:03 - Planning for the Future of your Collection
We are staunchly body positive here at SVWAG, but we do prefer our bears fat. "Let me have about me bears that are fat," said Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, or he would have, had he known about the glory that is Fat Bear Week. I guess Caesar wouldn't have been totally down with the democratic aspect of the whole voting thing, but whatever! Exercise your franchise and vote for the moist chonkers bears.
This week, join Lauren, Conor and Jules as they chat about the games hitting their table. Jules is used to laying waste to his opponents, and now he can literally leave them - in Ruins. Conor is hot for this game but she's cold for him, in the expansion Aquatica: Cold Waters. Lauren has been playing some small little card games but is mostly just along for the ride.
This plus our Question of the Pod recap and finally ending with what has us fired up! (yee-haw)
Timestamps:
What we've been playing [0:02:19]
Aquatica: Cold Waters [0:46:17]
Ruins [1:00:47]
Question of the Pod [1:14:17]
Fired Up [1:25:16]
New Question of the Pod: What games did you miss on release, but are hanging out to play and why?
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
On this in-person episode of On Board Games, Erik talks with Marc Specter from the Grand Gamers Guild about games (and other things) they've played including:
Hamster Roll
Koekeshi
Bouba/Kiki
Clank Catacombs
Downfall of Pompei
You can get a discount on Zencastr.com using this link.
(17:26) Then, the two talk about modernising the Downfall of Pompei and, by extension, other older games.
This week Shelley and I get into the WAY BACK machine and play a couple of titles from the beginnings of our gaming careers
Alhambra and Atlantic Star both by Dirk Henn from Queen Games
and then look back at one from Spiel Essen 2024
Stephens by Rola and Costa from Pile Up Games and Capstone Games
And the other games we mentioned as highlights from last year's Essen 2024:
Atlantis Exodus
Zero to Hero
Steam Power
Resafa
Sparks
Tivoli
Bone Wars
Galileo Galilei
Remember to SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel so you're ready for all of our Essen 2025 videos: www.youtube.com/@garrettsgames
Thanks to Bezier Games for their continued support
You can sponsor the podcast directly by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on YOUR table here:
Ambie and Crystal discuss a couple games they played recently, including Terrorscape 2 and the app for My City. Then, we talk about deduction games and social deduction games, and what makes a game social deduction. Note: I mistakenly said Terrorscape 2 is on Kickstarter but it's actually on Gamefound.
0:00-Intro
0:47-Recent Games-Terrorscape 2 (on Gamefound)
10:52-My City app
16:30-Deduction vs. Social Deduction
29:09-Outro
30:12-Bloopers
The draft's back! This time it's card games, and we're picking the bestof what ought to be a staple of any good collection. We love card games, we love drafting games, and you love winning money, so be sure to vote for whoever you think drafted the best set, and you could win a $100 gift card! Before deal everyone in, we talk about Money!, Venture, and Fishing. 03:02 - Money! 12:43 - Venture 20:27 - Fishing 28:39 - Card Games Draft 31:15 - Innovation 32:38 - Race for the Galaxy 34:20 - Hanabi 35:27 - Marvel Champions: The Card Game 36:21 - Dominion 37:47 - SCOUT 39:28 - Glory to Rome 40:58 - The Crew: Mission Deep Sea 41:50 - Arboretum 42:12 - Lost Cities 42:57 - Bohnanza 43:57 - Tichu 45:06 - Skull King 47:00 - Res Arcana 48:07 - That's Not a Hat
Welcome back, Cabalists, to another jam-packed episode of The Cabal! Today, the gang dives into a stack of games they’ve been playing, including Unsettled, Agricola, Blood Rage, Tony’s take on Blood Rage: Valhalla, Endangered, and Regicide Legacy. After that, Don and Jamie feature Luthier from Paverson Games. Then Tony T reclaims the reins from Stevie S and brings you one hell of a news segment. And finally, the Founders dig into the big topic of the past few episodes - increasing complexity - are games becoming too complex and where should the line be drawn? Unsettled: 00:01:30, Agricola: 00:12:16, Blood Rage: 00:21:26, Endangered: 00:32:41, Regicide Legacy: 00:41:52, Luthier Review: 00:54:36, News with Tony T: 01:32:57, The Complexity Issue: 02:32:53. Check out our sponsors Restoration Games at https://restorationgames.com/ and Game Toppers at https://www.gametoppersllc.com/.
Mike and some people he knows are here with some synonyms, syllables and hybrids.
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.
We've just rolled a load of bones in our back-up plan and about to level up because JP get's some time with Josh Weilgus "Ghillie" and Andrew Santoro from Chip Theory Games to talk through all things CTG.
GUEST PLAYER: Josh Weilgus & Andrew Santoro PLAYERS: JP
In this episode you'll learn: - what games got Josh & Andrew into the hobby - How CTG started from it's humble beginnings and how it turned into one of the largest board game publishers in the industry - more about the upcoming Elder Scrolls campaign and what to expect...there's a lot more content people - about the upcoming line-up and campaigns
We tempt fate and refer to a number of third rails in the hobby community. For one, we acknowledge a loss in Regicide Legacy, which reliably summons the chattering mobs. Further, we mention both Star Trek and Star Wars, so undoubtedly we get a detail "wrong" that will "justify" a detailed response.
Look, we're experts here. We completed the Kobayashi Maru in under 12 parsecs. We're regular callers to Car Talk with Martok. Don't test us.
Games Played Last Week:
01:06 -Galactic Cruise (T.K. King, Dennis Northcott, and Koltin Thompson, Kinson Key Games, 2025)
05:30 -Spectres of Brocken (Aaron Lim, Web published, 2022)
My guest this week is designer and develop with GMT Games, Adam Blinkinsop. We talk about making music, telling a designer that their game is rubbish and whether you should make your hobby a job...but which games did he choose?
Anmelden
