Shelley and I have a BUSY week, so it's time for a short, one-game episode this time. This week we get in a couple of plays for a discussion of

Dice City by Vangelis Bagiartakis from AEG and Artipia Games

Enjoy!

Shelley joined the weekly gaming group with the guys for a playing of the new Hans im Glück release from Matthias Cramer, then I snag yet another 'not-yet-reviewed-from Essen' release off the pile for some 4-player auctioning of chickens!

Dynasties: Heirate & Herrsche by Matthias Cramer from Hans im Glück

and

Blindes Huhn (or Blind Hen) by Heike Risthaus from Ostia Spiele

FUHN Stuhff!

Shelley and I get Quadropolis to the table this week for discussion (2 'Classic' game plays, 1 'Expert' game play), finding it quite enjoyable, then spend some time talking about some of the games on the Opinionated Gamers' lists for Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres (Nominations & Recommendations out tomorrow/Monday, May 23).

Game Discussed: Quadropolis by Francois Gandon from Days of Wonder

Awards Picks:

SdJ Winner: Codenames

Other Nominees: Animals On Board, then Lanterns/Medieval Academy/Karuba

KdJ Winner: Pandemic Legacy

Other Nominees: Quadropolis, then Isle of Skye/Porta Nigra/Steam Time/Grand Austria Hotel (or maybe Castles of Burgundy Card Game which we didn't talk about on the podcast???)

Shelley and I get a chance to try two fun new games this week while appreciating a nice bottle of dry Muscat from Zind Humbrecht and some Kouign Amann from Manresa.

Animals On Board by Ralf zur Linde and Wolfgang Sentker from Stronghold Games

and

Legends by Knut Happel and Christian Fiore from Ravensburger

Great stuff!!!

Shelley and I take some time and delve into Medieval Academy, a game some have been talking up as a possible SdJ nominee, then we check out the card game version of Stefan Feld's Castles of Burgundy.

Medieval Academy by Nicolas Poncin from Blue Cocker and Iello

and

Castles of Burgundy the Card Game by Stefan Feld from alea and Ravensburger

Shelley and I check out new games from Hisashi Hayashi (of Trains, String Railways, Sail to India, fame), as well as Kenichi Tanabe (of Kaigan and Lisbon/Lisboa fame) after we talk about Jesse Li's Guns & Steel.

Guns & Steel by Jesse Li from Grail Games and Moaideas

Minerva by Hisashi Hayashi from Japon/Okazu

and

Balloon Challenge by Kenichi Tanabe from Colon Arc

Shelley and I try out the second expansion to Mac Gerdts' great game Concordia, Concordia Salsa, then have some fun with Time travel in a steampunk-based Steam Time!

Concordia Salsa by Mac Gerdts from PD-Verlag and Rio Grande

and

Steam Time by Rudiger Dorn from KOSMOS

Enjoy!

Tony Boydell of Snowdonia and the forthcoming Guilds of London joins me this week for a discussion of his forthcoming title, as well as a look back, now that we're 6 months removed, on the games of Essen 2015.

Shelley and I get a couple of limited-run Essen 2015 releases to the table that I obtained post-show.

Haspelknecht by Thomas Spitzer and produced by Quined Games has players digging for coal in the Ruhr area of Germany, using limited resources to obtain points over a 3-year period.

Bomarzo by Stefano Castelli and produced by Giochix.it has players tapping the powers of mythological gods to gain prestige and influence in various areas.

Shelley and I get Stephen Buonocore of Stronghold Games back to the microphones for a discussion of recent releases like 504, Porta Nigra, La Granja, and The Golden Ages, as well as forthcoming titles like Bear Valley, Animals On Board, City of Spies, JORVIK and Terraforming Mars. We even delve into Stronghold's classic titles that remain solid sellers like Survive and Code 777.

Enjoy!

Shelley and I check out two small-box card games this week, one that's excellent, and the other that's about dogs...

The Grizzled by Fabien Riffaud and Juan Rodriguez from Cool Mini or Not

and

Barking Up The Wrong Tree by Gary Dicken, Steve Kendall and Phil Kendall from The Ragnar Brothers

Enjoy!

Shelley and I discuss a Japanese game that takes place in Portugal and a German/Italian/American game that takes place in Austria!

Lisbon, The Gate To The World by Kenichi Tanabe from Colon Arc

and

Grand Austria Hotel by Virginio Gigli and Simone Luciani from Mayfair/Lookout

Enjoy!

Ted Alspach of Bezier Games joins us on the microphones for a discussion of the just-announced Colony (due this fall) as well as discussions of other titles, including America and One Night Ultimate Vampire.

Then Ray, co-owner of Game Kastle joins me for a discussion of the brand new Mountain View Game Kastle store.

Shelley and I talk up a recent re-issue, as well as an Essen-released card game, and quickly talk up the latest micro games from Chris Handy and Perplext.

Circus Flohcati by Reiner Knizia from Grail Games

Pi Mal Pflaumen by Matthias Cramer from Pegasus Spiele

and

RUM, SOW, ORC, and GYM by Chris Handy and Perplext's PackO Games series that's now on Kickstarter.

Shelley and I delve into the game that corresponds with this episode's number

504 by Friedemann Friese from Stronghold Games

but first discuss our completion of the first scenario of

TIME Stories by Manuel Rozoy from Space Cowboys

and a quick discussion of the card game

Linko by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling from Ravensburger

Enjoy!

Shelley and I finally got a chance to sit down and experience time travel and mystery with the co-op T.I.M.E. Stories, along with heading back to a tried and true favorite with a new twist!

T.I.M.E. Stories by Manuel Rozoy from Space Cowboys

and

Russian Railroads: German Railroads by Helmut Ohley and Leonhard Orgler from Z-Man

Shelley and I check out the new tile-laying family game from Mayfair/Lookout, then check out the latest Ticket to Ride Map Collection.

Isle of Skye by Alexander Pfister and Andreas Pelikan from Mayfair/Lookout

and

Ticket to Ride Map Collection 5: United Kingdom and Pennsylvania by Alan Moon and from Days of Wonder/Asmodee

Enjoy!

Shelley and I build competing theaters and send missions to the bottom of the world in

Shakespeare by Hervé Rigal from Ystari

and

Antarctica by Charles Chevallier from Argentum Verlag

Enjoy!

Shelley and I go through our Top 10 lighter and Top 10 heavier games, hear what many listeners posted as their favorites, resolve our Episode 500 Contest, and listen to a few GREAT audio recordings from listeners!

I will put up Geeklists for our Top Games, but our #1 for each of the lists were the same:

Light Games: Between Two Cities from Stonemaier Games

Heavier Games: Bretagne from Placentia Games

Shelley and I try two games that involve light...one that's lighter, the other that's rather heavy.

Bretagne by Marco Pozzi from Placentia Games

and

Lanterns by Christopher Chung from Foxtrot Games

both of which are solid, interesting games that we MAY be discussing next week during our Top 10 Games of 2015 on EPISODE 500!!!!