Remember when Saltfjord was the talk of the town in late 2024? Well, we couldn't get our hands on a copy here in Australia, so we're late to the party. Fast forward to 2025 and we're now able to put that FOMO to bed... but was it worth the wait? And will we keep it?
Timestamps:
00:00 🎲 Introduction
00:28 🎨Theme
00:55 ⚙️Mechanics
02:28 ☁️How it Feels to Play
05:49 🎯What Surprised Us
09:30 🛠 What We'd Change
10:50 ✅ Is it Shelfworthy?
Thanks for stopping by! We're Amy & Maggie aka ThinkerThemer. We're an Australian couple with two very different perspectives of what makes a great board game - Amy (Thinker) is all about the mechanics and enjoys tight, competitive games, and Maggie (Themer) is all about the storytelling and the theme of the game, and the 'world' that the designer is trying to create. Subscribe to our channel to hear us talk about these two elements of a game, and how well integrated we feel these are in delivering a cohesive and wonderful game experience.
#boardgames #tabletopgames #thinkerthemer ❤🏳️🌈🇦🇺
Great Western Trail is one of our favourite games, period. So when we heard that there was going to be a new version that would be easier to table and teach, it instantly made both of our most anticipated games of 2025 list. So how does it fare? Will it be joining our other three GWT titles on our shelf?
Timestamps:
00:00 🎲 Introduction
00:35 🎨Theme
01:21 ⚙️Mechanics
02:49 ☁️How it Feels to Play
05:54 🎯What Surprised Us
08:31 🛠 What We'd Change
12:08 ✅ Is it Shelfworthy?
Thanks for stopping by! We're Amy & Maggie aka ThinkerThemer. We're an Australian couple with two very different perspectives of what makes a great board game - Amy (Thinker) is all about the mechanics and enjoys tight, competitive games, and Maggie (Themer) is all about the storytelling and the theme of the game, and the 'world' that the designer is trying to create. Subscribe to our channel to hear us talk about these two elements of a game, and how well integrated we feel these are in delivering a cohesive and wonderful game experience.
#boardgames #tabletopgames #thinkerthemer ❤🏳️🌈🇦🇺
If you would like to donate to Drive Thru Games, you can use the "Thanks" button under the video, or please check out the Gamefound Pledge Manager - https://tinyurl.com/2p8tbhpu
Intro (00:00);
Reviews (01:59);
Bee Lives (02:05);
Cosmo Lancer (07:09);
Pax Illuminaten (13:01);
The Gang (20:29);
Rumble Nation (25:19);
Hot Streak (31:34);
Games in 100 Years (34:59);
Goldland was a German-only exploration board game by Wolfgang Kramer and Goldsieber, originally published in 2002. Old, but not forgotten! Daryl Andrews has re-worked the game into a new 2025 edition, Donald Duck in Happy Camper, published by Maestro.
This new development is significantly different from the original, so they maybe could have gotten away with not giving any recognition to the original designer. But Andrews and Maestro did the right thing and co-credited Kramer. Class acts!
Board Gems highlights older board and card games that are still great games today, and deserve to not be forgotten!
#boardgames #review #arcs If you'd like to support thoughtful and responsible board game media, consider donating to us on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded
Our board game podcast is called Talk Cardboard which you can find on your podcast devices or our website https://nopunincluded.com
References:
Asimov, Isaac, et al. Isaac Asimov: 10-20-1976 - SUNY Digital Repository. https://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/items/335b0c73-1b04-4d05-be41-25c6d93595ee
Gingrich, Newt. To Renew America. Harper Collins, 1995.
O'Reilly, Timothy. Frank Herbert. Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., Inc., 1981.
Diamond, Jonny. Elon Musk learns all the wrong lessons from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy. LitHub. https://lithub.com/elon-musk-learns-all-the-wrong-lessons-from-isaac-asimovs-foundation-trilogy/
Asimov, Isaac. Foundation. Ballantine Books, 1983
Asimov Isaac. Foundation and Empire. Ballantine Books, 1983
Asimov Isaac. Second Foundation, Ballantine Books, 1983
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness. Gollancz, 2018
Robinson, Kim Stanley. Aurora. Orbit, 2016
Marling, Laura. Take the Night Out, et al. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bs88_xvj0c
00:00 Chapter 1 - A Different Arc
08:14 Chapter 2 - Arcs Control
28:44 Chapter 3 - Foundation and Arcs
49:13 Chapter 4 - Arcs' Arcs
1:18:48 Chapter 5 - Despite Everything, it's Still Arcs
1:32:46 Epilogue and Outro
Sadly we won't be attending GenCon this year - but that didn't stop us researching all of the exciting titles that are being launched! Definitely violating the Top 10 again this year with far more titles, but it's so hard to narrow it down! I hope this helps you with your shopping list.
GenCon is one of our favourite conventions because we usually get to meet so many of you there. Have the best time if you are going and let us know in the comments which game is your first booth stop :)
Note: all B-roll in this video is credited to game publisher and/or designer of the game
Thanks for stopping by! We're Amy & Maggie aka ThinkerThemer. We're an Australian couple with two very different perspectives of what makes a great board game - Amy (Thinker) is all about the mechanics and enjoys tight, competitive games, and Maggie (Themer) is all about the storytelling and the theme of the game, and the 'world' that the designer is trying to create. Subscribe to our channel to hear us talk about these two elements of a game, and how well integrated we feel these are in delivering a cohesive and wonderful game experience.
#boardgames #tabletopgames #thinkerthemer ❤🏳️🌈🇦🇺
I usually talk about older games, and many of those older games are (of course) of an older style. My style. What about new games in that style? Enter Foundations of Rome (Emerson Matsuuchi & Arcane Wonders 2022), a luxe plastic-mini-filled city-building experience. The same game re-appeared in a more sensible retail edition in 2024 as Foundations of Metropolis.
Since these are pretty new, there are I'm sure already lots of videos out there about these games. You probably don't need yet another How to Play video for it. If you're here, maybe you're here for my opinion, I'm guessing. So that's what you get!
Old mic died, new mic seems a bit muffled? We'll get through this, together.
Board Gems highlights older board and card games that are still great games today, and deserve to not be forgotten!
If you would like to donate to Drive Thru Games, you can use the "Thanks" button under the video, or please check out the Gamefound Pledge Manager - https://tinyurl.com/2p8tbhpu
More from Amy's most anticipated games of 2025, and perhaps from any Themer's most dreaded - two brand new VERY abstract titles from the one and only Reiner Knizia. We take our first look at the Mythos collection from Bitewing Games and consider if we keep one, both, or none?
Thanks for stopping by! We're Amy & Maggie aka ThinkerThemer. We're an Australian couple with two very different perspectives of what makes a great board game - Amy (Thinker) is all about the mechanics and enjoys tight, competitive games, and Maggie (Themer) is all about the storytelling and the theme of the game, and the 'world' that the designer is trying to create. Subscribe to our channel to hear us talk about these two elements of a game, and how well integrated we feel these are in delivering a cohesive and wonderful game experience.
#boardgames #tabletopgames #thinkerthemer ❤🏳️🌈🇦🇺
If you would like to donate to Drive Thru Games, you can use the "Thanks" button under the video, or please check out the Gamefound Pledge Manager - https://tinyurl.com/2p8tbhpu
Intro (00:00);
game overview (02:25);
final thoughts and review (19:05);
In this side-by-slide comparison I compare, with commentary, old and new versions of the same great Reiner Knizia board game: Orongo (Ravensburger 2014) and Nyakuza (CMON 2025).
Board Gems highlights older board and card games that are still great games today, and deserve to not be forgotten!
Join me for a teach and play of In the Shadows, GMT’s 2024 card-driven wargame exploring the clandestine battle between the French Resistance and the Nazi Occupation in the final years of World War II. I’ll be joined by one of the game’s designers, Dan Bullock, as we dive into the asymmetric mechanics, historical nuance, and moral complexity of this tense two-player duel. From covert sabotage to brutal repression, In the Shadows captures the struggle for France’s soul—on the board and in the shadows.
Adam explores nature-themed board games like Finspan, highlighting their design choices. He also touches on the educational elements in games like Primates and Nature from NorthStar Games. Enjoy this deep dive into the board game industry and see some exciting board game releases, with loads of tips for board game designers.
0:00 Introduction
2:47 Beauty
5:16 Simulation
7:38 Education
10:41 Fantasy
14:05 Game Design Books
14:54 Set Collection
16:09 Drafting
18:54 Tableau Building
23:51 Area Control
27:07 Animal Characteristics
29:08 Who are we?
31:01 Summary
In this teach and play session, I’m joined by friend of the show James Buckley to dive into Stalingrad Roads, the 2024 hex-and-counter wargame from French publisher Nuts! Publishing. Covering the Soviet counteroffensive that encircled and shattered the Axis forces around Stalingrad, this title offers both classic operational gameplay and fresh twists on momentum, command, and attrition. Whether you're curious about the 'Roads' system or just love a good Eastern Front slugfest, this one’s for you.
In this special strategy stream, I’m joined by a panel of top-ranked players from BoardGameArena to explore the tactics, nuances, and advanced play of A Gest of Robin Hood, the game I designed and released with GMT Games in 2024.
Together, we’ll break down the game’s asymmetry, key decision points, and strategic arcs from the perspective of both the outlaw Robin Hood and the law-and-order Sheriff of Nottingham. Expect deep dives into tempo control, plot synergy, and so much more.
We'll also try to answer the eternal question: which faction is OP?
☕ Support the channel and help keep this kind of independent historical board game content alive: https://ko-fi.com/homoludens1871
Join us for a special SDHistCon Online event as I sit down with acclaimed designer Paolo Mori (Blitzkrieg!, Pandemic: Fall of Rome) to learn and play his self-published system: Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars.
In this elegant and fast-paced take on Napoleonic warfare, Paolo distills grand battles into sharp tactical showdowns across a series of small, scenario-driven maps. Stripping things down to bold maneuvers, timing, and bluffing, this minimalist system captures the tension and drama of Napoleonic command without the usual overhead. It’s wargaming through Paolo’s signature design lens — clever, streamlined, and full of surprises.
Tireless designer David Thompson (the Undaunted series, War Story, Night Witches, and countless more) is joined by questionable historian Stuart Ellis-Gorman to discuss the historical background to David’s latest (and first ever American Civil War) game: Rebels Against Rebellion, to be published by Flying Pig Games. They will discuss how David came to pick this topic, Southern loyalism in the American Civil War, the challenges in representing nineteenth-century guerilla warfare, and when David is finally going to design that Gettysburg game everyone wants him to do, among other topics.
If you would like to donate to Drive Thru Games, you can use the "Thanks" button under the video, or please check out the Gamefound Pledge Manager - https://tinyurl.com/2p8tbhpu
Intro (00:00);
game overview (01:56);
final thoughts and review (09:51);
Adam Porter is a seasoned board game designer with hundreds of pitches under his belt. He is also a trainer in Communication Skills and Interview Technique. And like most board game designers, he's experienced a LOT of rejections. Here's how to take feedback while remaining professional.
'Adam in Wales: Getting Published' is available worldwide, via Amazon's print on demand service, and as an ebook.
Use the links below, or IF NOT LISTED BELOW, search on your local Amazon for Adam in Wales: Getting Published.
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