2019 is well underway, but with so many amazing games on the horizon, it's hard to know what to look out for. Fear not, listener, that's what we're here for. Join us as we count down our most anticipated games of the year. Before we cast our eyes ahead, we talk about New Frontiers: The Race for the Galaxy Board Game, and Hansa Teutonica.

02:33 - New Frontiers: The Race for the Galaxy Board Game 09:25 - Hansa Teutonica 18:13 - Most Anticipated Games of 2019 18:59 - Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy 22:09 - Glorantha: The Gods War 25:28 - TOKYO TSUKIJI MARKET 28:27 - Sabotage 31:04 - Living Planet 33:26 - Pipeline 36:20 - Escape Plan 38:04 - Res Arcana 39:36 - Barrage 41:03 - ELO Darkness 44:02 - Black Angel 45:18 - On Mars 46:43 - Warpgate 48:54 - Mezo 51:07 - City of the Big Shoulders

Objectivity is a nice goal, but what does it mean for board game criticism? Are there elements of board game design that we can have factual conversations about, without invoking our personal biases? We debate this in the only way we know how. Before we start shouting, we talk about Hyperspace, Gùgōng, and Wingspan. 02:30 - Hyperspace 08:52 - Gùgōng 14:43 - ZhanGuo 17:35 - Last Will 18:06 - Wingspan 21:37 - Innovation 26:26 - Critical Objectivity 26:58 - Nemesis 28:01 - Zombicide 32:01 - Heroes of Land, Air & Sea 43:04 - Monopoly 43:55 - Formula D 44:42 - Magical Athlete 46:18 - Diplomacy

Sometimes you're not looking to win or lose, you're looking for an experience. A lot of games promise to deliver thematic gameplay, but what does that mean for the mechanics? Does it have to be one without the other? Before we set the mood, we talk about Nusfjord, Paper Tales, and Nemesis.

03:25 - Nusfjord 09:43 - Paper Tales 15:25 - Nemesis 25:34 - Thematic Games We Like 26:08 - Mansions of Madness: Second Edition 29:58 - Nothing Personal 31:16 - Gloomhaven 31:35 - Android: Netrunner 32:05 - Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game 33:19 - Captain Sonar 36:45 - The Resistance 37:48 - The Grizzled 39:19 - Dune

We throw back to our very first episode, with our biggest surprises and disappointments of the year gone by. 2018 was a year of highs and lows, but sometimes you just don't see them coming. The difference between expectation and the final product is what this week's episode is all about. Before we gaze back wistfully, we talk about Akrotiri, Blue Moon City, and This Guilty Land.

01:56 - Akrotiri 05:09 - Innovation 05:27 - Blue Moon City 10:31 - This Guilty Land 16:37 - 2018's Biggest Disappointments 16:57 - Rising Sun 21:29 - The 7th Continent 25:31 - Merlin 32:07 - 2018's Best Surprises 32:21 - Space Base 34:31 - Decrypto 37:18 - Lords of Hellas

Top ten, baby! We finally made it. And thus concludes our five part series of our favourite games of all-time. Frankly, we were changed by the experience, and will never be the same again. We hope you were too.

01:35 - Kalen #10 - Coloretto 03:30 - Mark #10 - True Colors 06:15 - Neilan #10 - Dominion 09:28 - Kalen #9 - Diplomacy 12:45 - Mark #9 - ??? (32:02) 13:10 - Neilan #9 - Guards of Atlantis 16:32 - Kalen #8 - ??? (01:24:54) 16:43 - Mark #8 - Brass: Birmingham 20:27 - Neilan #8 - Scythe 25:32 - Kalen #7 - Troyes 28:07 - Mark #7 - Cuba Libre 31:54 - Neilan #7 - ??? (32:02) 32:02 - Kalen #6 - Time's Up! 35:23 - Mark #6 - ??? (01:07:00) 35:29 - Neilan #6 - Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization 38:57 - Kalen #5 - El Grande 38:57 - Mark #5 - El Grande 42:56 - Neilan #5 - A Feast for Odin 46:09 - Kalen #4 - Cthulhu Wars 50:47 - Mark #4 - 1830: Railways & Robber Barons 53:55 - Neilan #4 - Codenames 56:19 - Kalen #3 - Cosmic Encounter 59:47 - Mark #3 - Francis Drake 01:04:17 - Neilan #3 - Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar 01:07:00 - Kalen #2 - Archipelago 01:11:35 - Mark #2 - Arboretum 01:15:15 - Neilan #2 - Gloomhaven 01:19:37 - Kalen #1 - Innovation 01:23:16 - Mark #1 - Biblios 01:24:54 - Neilan #1 - The Resistance

The end is nigh! If you squint just right you can see it from here. We're almost done counting down our favourite fifty games of all time, so join us in the penultimate part of our five part series.

01:20 - Mark #20 - Caverna 03:18 - Neilan #20 - Archipelago 05:49 - Kalen #20 - Fuji Flush 07:43 - Mark #19 - Troyes 09:22 - Neilan #19 - Aeon's End: War Eternal 12:38 - Kalen #19 - Genoa 14:29 - Mark #18 - Cthulhu Wars 15:40 - Neilan #18 - Alchemists 18:38 - Kalen #18 - No Thanks! 20:09 - Mark #17 - 1846: The Race for the Midwest 22:09 - Neilan #17 - Inis 25:27 - Kalen #17 - Telestrations 27:05 - Mark #16 - Dominant Species 31:19 - Neilan #16 - Exit: The Game 34:20 - Kalen #16 - Inis 35:34 - Mark #15 - Imperial 2030 37:22 - Neilan #15 - Watson & Holmes 40:03 - Kalen #15 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 41:11 - Mark #14 - Tigris & Euphrates 43:15 - Neilan #14 - Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant 45:26 - Kalen #14 - Omen: A Reign of War 46:46 - Mark #13 - Caylus 49:58 - Neilan #13 - Cthulhu Wars 51:15 - Kalen #13 - Dogs of War 53:03 - Mark #12 - The Voyages of Marco Polo 55:57 - Neilan #12 - Pictomania 57:38 - Kalen #12 - Codenames 58:00 - Mark #11 - Rising Sun 58:00 - Neilan #11 - Rising Sun 01:02:04 - Kalen #11 - I'm the Boss!

Okay, we're past the middle. It's all downhill from here, but the good sort of downhill. We're counting down our fifty favourite board games, in part three of what the world is calling our most ambitious endeavour yet! Well, we're calling it that.

01:01 - Neilan #30 - Grand Austria Hotel 02:35 - Kalen #30 - Startups 04:20 - Mark #30 - Pax Renaissance 06:37 - Neilan #29 - Azul 08:57 - Kalen #29 - Imperial 2030 10:37 - Mark #29 - Kemet 11:52 - Neilan #28 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 14:26 - Kalen #28 - A Fake Artist Goes to New York 16:06 - Mark #28 - Castles of Burgundy 18:51 - Neilan #27 - Coloretto 20:53 - Kalen #27 - Hanabi 22:53 - Mark #27 - Blue Lagoon 24:36 - Neilan #26 - Spirit Island 27:03 - Kalen #26 - Cockroach Poker 28:50 - Mark #26 - Age of Steam 30:53 - Neilan #25 - Blue Lagoon 32:10 - Kalen #25 - A Study in Emerald (Second Edition) 34:40 - Mark #25 - Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant 38:11 - Neilan #24 - Alhambra 41:16 - Kalen #24 - Insider 43:16 - Mark #24 - The Great Zimbabwe 47:03 - Neilan #23 - Patchwork 49:24 - Kalen #23 - Splendor 50:11 - Mark #23 - Orléans 51:19 - Neilan #22 - Taj Mahal 52:16 - Kalen #22 - Decrypto 53:33 - Mark #22 - Mansions of Madness: Second Edition 57:02 - Neilan #21 - Android: Netrunner 01:00:09 - Kalen #21 - Glory to Rome 01:00:09 - Mark #21 - Glory to Rome

Ten down, forty to go ... It's part two of our all-time top fifty lists! What surprises await us in this, the second installment of our historic feature?! Find out with us as we celebrate some fantastic board games!

Kalen #40 – For Sale Mark #40 – Guards of Atlantis: Tabletop MOBA Neilan #40 – Hanamikoji Kalen #39 – Bruges Mark #39 – A Feast for Odin Neilan #39 – In the Year of the Dragon Kalen #38 – Crokinole Mark #38 – Sol: Last Days of a Star Neilan #38 – Kemet Kalen #37 – Taj Mahal Mark #37 – Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 Neilan #37 – Codenames: Duet Kalen #36 – Piñata Mark #36 – A Question of Scruples Neilan #36 – Dead of Winter Kalen #35 – SiXeS Mark #35 – Modern Art Neilan #35 – Agricola Kalen #34 – Lords of Vegas Mark #34 – Decrypto Neilan #34 – Decrypto Kalen #33 – Wiz-War Mark #33 – Terra Mystica Neilan #33 – Sol: Last Days of a Star Kalen #32 – SHH Mark #32 – Le Havre Neilan #32 – Orléans Kalen #31 – Keyflower Mark #31 – Codenames Neilan #31 – Gaia Project

We're counting down to our 50th episode, and what better way than to give our definitive lists of our 50 favourite games of all time?! You've been asking for it, so we've only gone and done it. Brace yourselves, we're just getting started.

01:11 - Mark #50 - Dungeon Fighter 02:51 - Neilan #50 - Werewords 04:36 - Kalen #50 - Agricola 06:28 - Mark #49 - Chronicles of Crime 08:07 - Neilan #49 - Biblios 09:28 - Kalen #49 - Concept 10:55 - Mark #48 - Pictomania 13:02 - Neilan #48 - Mage Knight Board Game 14:54 - Kalen #48 - Hanamikoji 16:27 - Mark #47 - Kanban 17:28 - Neilan #47 - Splendor 19:26 - Kalen #47 - Ingenious 20:40 - Mark #46 - Samurai 22:55 - Neilan #46 - Clank! 25:09 - Kalen #46 - Evolution 27:54 - Mark #45 - ZhanGuo 29:23 - Neilan #45 - Innovation 31:39 - Kalen #45 - Mysterium 33:02 - Mark #44 - Ra 34:21 - Neilan #44 - Puerto Rico 36:48 - Kalen #44 - New Angeles 38:58 - Mark #43 - Wyatt Earp 41:29 - Neilan #43 - The Oracle of Delphi 42:18 - Kalen #43 - The Game 46:23 - Mark #42 - Blood Rage 50:04 - Neilan #42 - Anomia 52:00 - Kalen #42 - Lifeboat 53:51 - Mark #41 - Tzolk'in 55:39 - Neilan #41 - Panic on Wall Street! 57:56 - Kalen #41 - Diamant/Incan Gold

It's question time again! After last week's massive success, we couldn't resist the urge to have you, loyal listener, once more do all the work for us. Before we turn the microphones around, we also talk about Brass: Birmingham, Exodus: Paris Nouveau, and Werewords.

01:52 - Brass: Birmingham 05:48 - Exodus: Paris Nouveau 09:55 - Werewords 15:30 - Listener Questions 15:39 - Should I play the classics? 15:39 - Catan 15:39 - Carcassonne 20:21 - What solo games do you like? 21:08 - Coffee Roaster 21:35 - Scythe 21:45 - A Feast for Odin 21:53 - One Deck Dungeon 22:18 - Teotihuacan: City of Gods 23:35 - Onirim 24:50 - Hot Trivia Question 26:02 - Reviewing games after one play? 36:13 - Cry Havoc 37:49 - More convention showings? 39:32 - How do you pick game night games? 42:40 - YouTube?

It's your time to shine! We field questions from you, our adoring fans, in our first ever Q&A episode. You sent us the important topical issues you've been yearning for our take on, and takes ye shall receive. Before we line up in front of the mic, we also talk about Blokus, Brass: Lancashire, and Teotihucan: City of Gods.

01:42 - Blokus 06:16 - Brass: Lancashire 12:40 - Teotihuacan: City of Gods 19:20 - World Chess Championship 21:51 - Listener Questions 22:10 - Does Kalen hate co-ops? 22:50 - Pandemic 23:24 - Spirit Island 24:23 - Has Kalen played more Spirit Island? 28:16 - Best "bang for your buck" board games? 32:10 - Castles of Burgundy 32:47 - Azul 33:15 - Splendor 33:46 - Taj Mahal 34:40 - Cthulhu Wars 37:27 - Archipelago 39:11 - How are you still friends? 41:23 - Rising Sun 44:36 - Giveaway! (Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra)

We're getting introspective this week, weighing up the mistakes we've made in our collections, and reflecting on our earlier selves. Would you reset your board game collection? What games might you not buy if you had to do it all over again? Before we turn back time, we also talk about Between Two Castles Of Mad King Ludwig, Claustrophobia, and KeyForge: Call of the Archons.

01:39 - Between Two Castles Of Mad King Ludwig 06:17 - Claustrophobia 10:43 - KeyForge: Call of the Archons 21:12 - Resetting your Collection 21:50 - Innovation 22:22 - Patchwork 23:50 - Skull 25:53 - Forbidden Stars 28:10 - Through The Ages: A New Story of Civilization 28:55 - Cosmic Encounter 32:05 - Fury of Dracula 33:57 - Rising Sun 34:22 - Blood Rage 35:52 - Cthulhu Wars 54:28 - Giveaway! (Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra)

Not everything has to be a competition, because this week we're talking about cooperation. I know, it's weird, in some games, you're not actually trying to beat the other players! We're counting down our favourite co-op games, "favourite" of course being a relative term in Kalen's case. Before we put our heads together, we also talk about SSH, Just One, and Hamsterrolle.

01:44 - SHH 04:39 - Just One 07:53 - Hamsterrolle 11:32 - Chess 14:12 - Our Favourite Cooperative Games 15:27 - Codenames Duet 17:44 - The Grizzled 19:15 - Kitchen Rush 21:40 - Aeon's End: War Eternal 23:46 - Burgle Bros 25:04 - Chronicles of Crime 29:57 - Exit: The Game 33:30 - Mysterium 35:49 - Dungeon Fighter 38:53 - Spirit Island 42:04 - The Game 43:18 - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 45:21 - Gloomhaven 50:44 - Hanabi 52:16 - Mansions of Madness: Second Edition

There's no love like your first love, and this week we're talking about our early board game crushes. These are the games that first got us into the hobby, that made us want to shout our love for board games to all who'd care to hear. Before we walk down memory lane, we also talk about Key to the City: London, Empires, and Guards of Atlantis.

03:31 - Key to the City: London 09:14 - Empires 15:48 - Guards of Atlantis 29:49 - Our First Board Game Crushes 30:34 - Connect Four 31:33 - Scrabble 32:43 - Acquire 33:22 - Hang On Harvey 34:31 - Risk 36:49 - True Colors 39:08 - Dominion 41:52 - Space Hulk 43:27 - WarCraft: The Board Game 44:16 - The Resistance 46:32 - One Night Ultimate Werewolf 47:09 - Alhambra 48:10 - Biblios 49:06 - Cosmic Encounter 50:22 - Genoa 51:25 - Through The Ages

We're doing some upgrades this episode, because we're talking about improving and enhancing the board games we already own through accessories, new components, and fancy inserts. Before we sleeve our cards, we also talk about Keyflower, The Palaces of Carrara, Welcome To...'s Halloween Expansion, and That's Not Lemonade!

01:41 - Keyflower 08:46 - The Palaces of Carrara 12:17 - Welcome To ... Halloween Expansion 15:22 - That's Not Lemonade! 18:50 - Component Upgrades 27:56 - Gloomhaven 33:59 - Archipelago 34:33 - Dominant Species 45:32 - Scythe

Essen SPIEL 2018! Okay, we're not technically at Essen SPIEL, but we've got that Essen FEEL. We're each counting down the five games that we most wish we were in Germany to play this weekend. Before we hand over our Euros, we talk about SPQF, Le Havre, and Scythe: The Rise of Fenris.

02:09 - SPQF 07:17 - Le Havre 12:31 - Scythe: The Rise of Fenris 17:06 - Essen Preview 17:49 - Magnastorm 19:11 - Futuropia 20:27 - Big Shot 22:41 - Gùgōng 24:21 - Shadows: Amsterdam 26:41 - Smartphone Inc. 28:03 - Alone 29:40 - Solenia 30:44 - Tsukiji 31:51 - Teotihuacan: City of Gods 33:26 - Pax Transhumanity 34:53 - Rebel Nox 36:09 - Warpgate 38:35 - Forum Trajanum 39:34 - 1906 San Francisco 44:43 - Scythe: The Rise of Fenris (SPOILERS!)

Board game dealbreakers, we all have them, and they're enough to dissuade us from buying or even playing some otherwise great games. This week, we go around the table and talk about two things each that put us off in board games. Before we start looking elsewhere, we talk about Illusion, and Food Chain Magnate.

02:16 - Illusion 04:46 - Food Chain Magnate 18:05 - Too Many Steps for Simple Tasks 18:35 - 1st & Goal 19:42 - Blood Bowl 21:04 - Baseball Highlights: 2045 21:36 - Automobiles 23:04 - Too Many Variants 23:35 - Agricola 26:26 - Mezo 27:33 - Battlestar Galactica 31:20 - Production Hampering Immersion 32:17 - Rising Sun 33:03 - The Great Zimbabwe 33:52 - Leonardo da Vinci 36:13 - Zombicide 37:20 - Sidereal Confluence 38:16 - Punishing the Leader 38:27 - Power Grid 39:35 - Gravwell 41:14 - Flamme Rouge 41:35 - Suburbia 43:03 - Point Salads 44:18 - Agricola 44:45 - Village 48:10 - Blue Lagoon 52:50 - Roleplaying and Improv 53:27 - Fog of Love 53:58 - Thornwatch 56:22 - Tales of the Arabian Nights

How do you meet other board game enthusiasts? Just loving and owning board games isn't enough if you don't have anyone to play them with! It's not always easy to turn your friends into board gamers, so what are your other options? Well, sit back, as we cast our minds far, far back into the past, when the Board Game Barrage trio was just three separate unos. This is where it all began. Before we gather round the campfire, we talk about Crypt, Fool's Gold, and War Chest.

01:01 - Crypt 03:22 - Coloretto 05:17 - Fool's Gold 08:23 - War Chest 13:47 - Meeting Board Gamers 26:23 - Skull 40:40 - Twilight Imperium

What's your white whale? The one game you've been itching to get to the table for ages, but for whatever reason, just never have? Well, call me Ishmael, 'cause we're counting down not just one, not five, but ten games each that we haven't played, but really want to. Maybe this'll be the kick in the pants we need … but probably not. Before we dust off our shelves of shame, we talk about CIV: Carta Impera Victoria, Raxxon, and Scythe: The Rise of Fenris.

01:36 - Carta Impera Victoria 04:49 - Raxxon 09:28 - Scythe: The Rise of Fenris 15:18 - Games we Want to Play 16:56 - Fog of Love 17:38 - Spirit Island 18:47 - Dungeon Petz 20:16 - Mini Rails 20:45 - Pax Porfiriana 21:42 - Keyflower 23:12 - Dogs of War 24:09 - Clockwork Wars 24:37 - Anachrony 25:24 - Lisboa 26:17 - Three Kingdoms Redux 26:59 - Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game 27:55 - ?!!? 28:50 - The Gallerist 29:36 - The Voyages of Marco Polo 30:13 - Diplomacy 30:58 - For-Ex 31:46 - Project: ELITE 32:40 - War of the Ring 33:23 - Roads & Boats 34:12 - Tammany Hall 35:04 - Fury of Dracula 35:51 - 1880: China 36:45 - Spartacus: A Game of Blood & Treachery 37:41 - Arkham Horror: The Card Game 38:36 - Crokinole 39:32 - An Infamous Traffic 40:38 - Chaos in the Old World 42:11 - Great Western Trail 43:06 - Dune 44:40 - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1

Asymmetry is a powerful tool for game design, if done right. There's a lot of replayability right out of the box, and finding a playstyle that works for you can be very satisfying. But this dark alchemy has a darker byproduct: imbalance. When so much is different between each player, how do you ensure that things stay fair? Before we nerf plz, we discuss Container, and more Root.

01:40 - Container 12:28 - Root 18:08 - Scoreboard Update 20:04 - Balancing Asymmetry 26:49 - Vast: The Crystal Caverns 27:26 - Cosmic Encounter 30:05 - Scythe 30:55 - Terra Mystica 33:20 - Cry Havoc 40:08 - Cthulhu Wars 44:14 - The Voyages of Marco Polo 45:27 - Rising Sun 47:55 - Sidereal Confluence 49:57 - Diplomacy