I was three actions deep into my tenth turn of Recall when I achieved total mastery. I was beyond the Schwarzenegger and the Farrell, deep with Koato and triple-mammaried subversives. A newb at the table interrupted my reverie with a question concerning ambiguous inconography. "That card?" I said, feeling like cutting a deal. "I can remember it for you wholesale." They called me a dick.
Games Played Last Week:
01:20 -Innovation Deluxe (Carl Chudyk, Asmadi Games, 2017)
05:19 -Wroth (Manny Trembley, Chip Theory Games, 2025)
08:37 -All In: Predictions (Phil Walker-Harding, Next Move Games, 2026)
12:06 -dnup (Kei Kajino, asmodee, 2025)
14:36 -Double Seven (Michael Schacht, TIKI Editions, 2025)
17:54 -Eternal Decks (Hiroken, tricktakers Games, 2025)
24:49 -Knarr (Thomas Dupont, Bombyx, 2023)
26:03 -Orléans: Invasion (Inka Brand, Markus Brand, & Reiner Stockhausen, dlp Games, 2015)
30:58 -Queen of Spies (Liz Davidson & David Thompson, Salt & Pepper Games, 2026)
37:32 -Regicide (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, & Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2020)
39:07 -Snakes and Hawks (Carey Suber, Suber Electronics, 2020)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
42:10 Come join us in Kingston, Ontario July 24th-26th for SVWAG Con!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/svwag-con-ii-electric-boogaloo-tickets-1986634285627
Icebreaker events to meet new people at SVWAG Con!
https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/379864/svwagcon-2-icebreaker-signup
43:57 Kingdom Come: Deliverance preorder from CGE (by Vlaada Chvátil & Tomáš Holek!)
47:14 Eternal Sevens, psuedo-sequel to Eternal Decks
47:41 Feature Game: Recall (Helge Meissner, Kristian Amundsen Østby, Kjetil Svendsen, and Anna Wermlund, Alion – by Dr Ø, 2025)
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This week Shelley and I try (and often fail) to save our lunar colonists from rampant robots and accidents in
Moon Colony Bloodbath by Donald X. Vaccarino from Rio Grande Games
then we explore ruins and reefs, while casting enchantments by rolling dice and marking off the best spots in
Reef and Ruins by Carla Kopp from Weird Giraffe Games
Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series 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: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing
There are two board game mechanisms you just can't escape, they're on everyone's mind, flooding the discourse. That's combat, and card draw mitigation. Everyone won't stop talking about them. So we had to weigh in too, not just with what we feel are the best examples of games that have done them best, but some other quirky takes on them too. Before we mitigate our card draws, we talk about Rolling Deep, Eureka!, dnup, and Grinivil.
03:59 - Rolling Deep 15:12 - Eureka! 16:48 - dnup 24:48 - Grinivil 40:10 - Combat mechanisms 41:07 - Kemet 45:00 - Dune 48:40 - Shogun 52:42 - Forbidden Stars 53:51 - Dead Reckoning 54:48 - Gloomhaven 55:12 - Card draw mitigation 56:09 - Dark Pact 57:19 - La Granja 58:26 - Glory to Rome 59:58 - Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization 1:02:07 - Race for the Galaxy 1:02:57 - 7 Wonders Duel 1:06:28 - The Vale of Eternity
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Please join us on the Boardgames To Go discord server where you can chat online with other podcast listeners. Openers: Mark: Kraftwagen and old podcasts like CubeLove Jonathan: Cocktail Games, and what will I do when the "old masters" pass away? Closers: Jonathan: Do we have too many good games? Here's what Bruno Faidutti says. scroll down for English Mark: How old is "an old game"? Does 2019 count?
Jonathan Takagi
@jtakagi
My friend Jonathan Takagi returns to the podcast to talk about the upcoming Spiel des Jahres award. Not just the SdJ, we also talk about the Kennerspiel and Kinderspiel awards for "expert" and kids' games, too. And not only that, but Jonathan is known for digging past the three nominees for each award, deeper into the recommended games, too. Only the nominees can be picked for the top awards (announced live on July 12 and broadcast on YouTube). Nonetheless, sometimes we find amazing, "hidden gems" in the recommended lists, games that we may not have otherwise heard about. First we cover the Kennerspiel games. Nominees: Boss Fighters QR, Moon Colony Bloodbath, and Rebirth. Along with the Recommended list: Sanctuary, Frosted Blooms, Foundations of Metropolis, and Tag Team. Next it's the Kinderspiel titles. Nominees: Boo Party, Mookie Island, and Verflixt Verzaubert. Plus the Recommended list: Little Stinker, Half-and-Seek, and Paleolino Finally the big prize itself, the Spiel des Jahres. Nominees: Cozy Sticker Ville, Jinxo, and Morty Sorty Magic Shop. And the Recommended list: Hot Streak, Meister Makatsu, Take Time, Toriki, Toy Battle, and Wilmot's Warehouse. -Mark
Julie recounts her adventures at Origins 2026 before we delve into questions about Authenticity of Theme, Fan Interactions, and Teaching Race for the Galaxy. And of course, we close the show with a healthy dose of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:00 - Intro
00:45 - Middle of the Year
03:59 - Last Minute Dice Tower East
04:32 - Julie at Origins
30:26 - Question: Teaching Race for the Galaxy
33:58 - Question: Taking You Out of The Theme
37:11 - Question: Fan Interactions
43:49 - Shapely
46:59 - Revisiting Mice and Mystics
49:55 - Soothsayers
52:25 - The Friday Fright
55:25 - Flip Voyage
58:18 - Tomatoss
Questions? Tale of Horror? Hot Sauce Recipes? tom@dicetower.com
It is Inadvertent Surprise Railway Week (ISRW, pronounced "is raw") here at SVWAG, and we take a look at some train games without directly addressing the raging controversy of what, exactly, constitutes a train game.
02:25 AYURIS: Wilmot's Warehouse (Ricky Haggett, Richard Hogg, and David King, CMYK, 2024)
Games Played Last Week:
07:06 -Railway Boom (Hisashi Hayashi & Simone Luciani, Arclight Games, 2025)
14:48 -Pickomino (Reiner Knizia, Zoch Verlag, 2005)
19:25 -Keltis: Neue Wege, Neue Ziele (Reiner Knizia, KOSMOS, 2009)
23:04 -King of Tokyo (Richard Garfield, IELLO, 2011)
29:22 -Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard (Gaëtan Beaujannot, Olivier Cipière, and Geonil, Mandoo Games, 2023)
33:30 -Irish Gauge (Amabel Holland, Capstone Games, 2019)
35:42 -Railroad Tycoon/Railways of the World (Glenn Drover & Martin Wallace, Eagle-Gryphon Games, 2005)
43:06 -Portobello Market (Thomas Odenhaven, Schmidt Spiele, 2007)
46:00 -Medina (Second Edition) (Stefan Dorra, Stronghold Games, 2014)
News (and why it doesn't matter):
49:09 Come join us in Kingston, Ontario July 24th-26th for SVWAG Con!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/svwag-con-ii-electric-boogaloo-tickets-1986634285627
Icebreaker events to meet new people at SVWAG Con!
https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/379864/svwagcon-2-icebreaker-signup
52:21 Stonemaier's Scythe/Expeditions mashup: Duel of Meloch
54:06 Kabuto Sumo Dice! Alex Culter Michael Mihaelsick (Tidal Banner, Flotilla)
55:21 Topic: Teaching vs. Discovery (what to teach and what to let players find out)
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00:01:00 Intro
00:04:00 Moving the Kids
00:10:15 AI in Board Games
00:16:30 Obsession
00:20:15 Bomb Busters
00:23:30 El Grande
00:25:00 Neuroshima Hex
00:28:30 Miniature Market
00:30:00 Our Top 3 LOTR Games
00:30:00 Lincoln
00:53:30 Portal Games
00:55:00 Guild Wars 3
01:03:30 Outro
Even though our regular game night has been on pause for a few weeks, we still managed to squeeze in some great plays with family and friends. Marty kicked things off with Bomb Busters, a title getting a lot of well‑deserved praise. The way he described it reminded me a bit of Hanabi—that same feeling of relying on your teammates to guide you toward the right moves. There’s something deeply satisfying about working together toward a shared victory, especially when the puzzle finally clicks.
He also finally got Obsession to the table, a game that’s been floating around one his radar for a while. I’ll admit it’s one I wasn’t familiar with, but that’s hardly surprising given how many games slip past me. Marty had some thoughtful pros and cons, but even with those caveats, it still sounds like something I’d love to try on a future game night, there’s a charm to that Victorian engine‑building vibe that’s hard to resist.
And of course, El Grande continues to shine as a perfect introduction to area control, teaching new players the tension and timing that make the genre sing. Every cube, every power card—it all matters. Lincoln, on the other hand, offers a lean, card‑driven take on the American Civil War, capturing momentum, attrition, and asymmetry in a way that feels brisk yet thoughtful. If it weren’t for a few rulebook hiccups, this would’ve been one of those plays that makes you wonder why it took so long to get it to the table in the first place.
Thanks for listening and until next time, keep rolling dice and taking names.
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Happy Pre Play Con Episode everyone, to get in the groove for our celebration of all things board games by listening to the latest ep of the Board Game BBQ Podcast!
This week Jules has been collecting pretty pearls in 12 Rivers while Conor has been cleaning up the city of Chicago in Raising Chicago while also ruining friendships in Cyclades.
Jules fawns over his current TCG obsession 'Riftbound' for his sizzle, Conor on the other hand laments his losing in 'Spacebase'
All that and more on this week's episode of the Board Game BBQ Podcast!
On this episode of On Board Games, Erik talks with Clarence Timmerman from the Victory Track about games (and other things) they've played lately.
Games discussed are:
You can get a discount on Zencastr.com using this link.
(21:24) Then, the two break down Twilight Imperium 4.
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On Board Games Guild at Board Game Geek
This week Shelley and I get a chance to check out one of the three Spiel des Jahres nominees for this year
Cozy Stickerville by Corey Konieczka from Unexpected Games (1-6 players, 8+, 30-60 minutes)
then we check out another game from our stack of "haven't played in too long" game that we made back in February to try
Bloom by Laurent Escoffier and David Franck from QWG Games
Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series 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: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing
On this glittering and golden episode of the Shut Up & Sit Down Podcast, Matt and Tom are sitting atop a dragon’s hoard of card board! Wahey! That’s what we in the business like to call “Rhyme Style”, and you can find many examples of it in the youthmusic of today :)
Right atop the pile is the latest from frivolity enjoyers Weast Coast - Loners! It’s a card game that has an entire clown car of variably ripped dudes. Proceed with caution! Hachi Machi!!! We follow that up with the latest game from the Reiner Knizia Cardboard Industrial Complex: Gold Country! It’s camel speculation. You’ll see what we mean. Last but by no means least, Matt chats about some strange dream he had about a kind of figure-of-eight draconic salad spinner - completely unrelated to our discussion of 8 Dragons.
Have a great week, everybody!
Timestamps:
2:47 - Loners
12:57 - Gold Country
23:24 - 8 Dragons
Anmelden