Tony is on vacation, so Vanessa joins more for the classic RDTN intro banter. Plus in the outro, they talk about their favorite movies from the first half of 2025.
LoooT, the Spieli des Jahres nominee, made it to the table recently. Now, this is a Viking-themed strategy game where players lead their clan to victory by gathering resources, capturing buildings, and expanding their empire. Just picking and placing a tile will not get you a victory, you have some decisions to make that will have you balancing risk and reward.
Cretaceous Rails is not a doomed theme park like so many built with dinosaurs as the main attractions. This medium-weight euro game combines economic strategy with thematic elements, allowing players to take tourists on safari and construct a thriving dino resort where every piece in the game is a resource to be used. With careful planning and resource management, you should out-maneuver the other park operators and come away with a victory and not be eaten by the T-rex.
Santorini is a beautifully designed abstract strategy game that brings Greek mythology to life and Roxley has taken the new Pantheon Edition up to new hieghts with the components. Gameplay hasn’t changed, players take on the role of gods and heroes, competing to build a majestic island of Santorini without getting trapped by the competition. And now with the coop version added to the mix, Riddle of the Sphinx, this should dust of those old copies and get the game back to the table.
Thanks for listening and appreciate all the support
We revisited a game from back in the early days of RDTN called Calimala thanks to the reprint by Alley Cat Games. Using a unique action-selection system, players produce and deliver cloth while contributing to the construction and decoration of the city’s buildings. The game features dynamic scoring phases and strategic planning as you carefully plan out every turn. We enjoyed it then, but how about now?
Sometimes we will find those games that are just so basic and fun that we wonder how we missed them back in the day. That is the case for Skyjo, where players aim to have the lowest score by the end of the game. Each player starts with a grid of face-down cards and must carefully swap, reveal, and discard cards to minimize their total points. This is the game wish I had as my daughter aged to replace Rat-a-tat Cat.
Thanks for listening and be sure to grab your Strike Gen Con Tickets if you are headed to Gen Con this year. Head over to Buy Me a Moon Pie to purchase
00:00:00 Intro 00:04:30 Music Talk 00:06:30 Appliance Malfunctions 00:10:00 Discord Conversations 00:12:00Miniature Market Discussion 00:16:15 Taste Buds 00:22:30Portal Games 00:24:00 Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Besties Bakeoff Card Game 00:30:30Cyclades: Legendary Edition 00:46:00Gametoppers LLC 00:48:15 Rajas of the Ganges: Cards & Karma 00:54:15 SWU Update 00:57:00 Switch 2 Attempts 01:03:15Hubworld: Aidalon
We’ve been on an absolute whirlwind of recording episodes, and I can practically hear y’all shouting, “What the heck, make it stop!” Trust me, I get it—it feels like we’re popping up in your podcast queue nonstop. But here’s the deal: we’ve had some special releases in between our regular shows, so while it may seem like we’re flooding your feed, it’s all in the name of keeping things exciting. Or so we tell ourselves.
This time, we dove into a true classic that recently got a well-deserved facelift—Cyclades. Originally released in 2009, it was one of those gems we missed before board games became a staple in our lives. And wow, the production quality is nothing short of stunning. For those who picked up the deluxe components, I bet you weren’t disappointed.
Now, let me be honest—this game exposed my weaknesses in a way I didn’t see coming. It wasn’t the game’s fault; it was mine. But hey, maybe that’s a sign of a solid strategy game—one that lays bare where you struggle and pushes you to improve. If you were a fan of the classic and have a well-loved, slightly worn-out copy sitting on your shelf, it might be time to snag this refreshed edition and bring Cyclades back to the table in all its glory.
Thanks for listening and appreciate all the support.
One of our favorite traditions—and guilty pleasures—is diving into upcoming movie reviews with our good friends Dan and Chris. Let’s be honest, Marty needs some insightful voices on the show, or else it’d just be me listening to him ramble about movies (and trust me, that’s a whole experience on its own).
After all the fun banter, we move on to the real competition—drafting our predictions for which films will dominate the box office. If you’ve got the time, we’d love to hear your thoughts over on our Discord channel!
Thanks for tuning in, and we’ll be back to gaming in the next episode.
Board games have a magical way of transporting us to different worlds—whether we’re managing cattle in the American frontier, navigating mountains, or engineering automobiles. Today, let’s dive into three fascinating board games that offer unique themes and strategic gameplay: Great Western Trail: El Paso, Solstice, and Kraftwagen:Age of Engineering
The new GWT is a streamlined version that, in our opinion, is a good way to get people into the game. Solstice allows for two players to battle it out in a heavy luck driven game. Kraftwagen is a redesign of the original that is a historical economic game that places players in the shoes of automobile pioneers, balancing technological progress with financial strategy.
Each of these games offers something distinct—Great Western Trail is a immersive ranching journey in El Paso, Solstice is a luck-balanced strategic battle, and Kraftwagen takes players into the exciting world of automotive innovation. Whether you’re an experienced gamer looking for your next challenge or a newcomer exploring different themes, these three titles showcase the beauty and variety of board game design
Join us as we chat with Rob and Justin from Restoration Games to dive into the exciting world of reviving classic board games. But that’s not all—there’s a twist! We challenge them to a lively game of Rank’em, where we present three items, and they rank them in any order they choose. The fun doesn’t stop there—together, we’ll debate, defend, and dissect whether their rankings hit the mark or missed the mark entirely.
We also get to hear all about their new game coming to Kickstarter called Battle Monsters. This is a reimplement of Battle Masters from 1992. Battle Masters was originally themed as an army of Good battling again an army of evil. The game had a huge footprint and miniatures and we hear how Restoration is bringing it back.
If you liked this version of Rank’em, please leave comments over in our Discord Channel.
We are back again for another riveting episode of RDTN. But there is a surprise in this episode, there is somewhat a theme with the games we played. We are going to be talking about dice driven euros, meaning a euro with dice. Okay, that could have gone without saying. Not all games we talk about are euro dice, so don’t miss those discussions as well.
When you get a chance after listening to the episode, we would appreciate taking the time over at Boardgamegeek and giving us a vote for best podcast. Thank you in advance.
Tony’s back from his and it’s been a while since we’ve been the mics, so we are a little rough around the edges. Ok, so that’s not different that usual.
We got some to tell you about plus a new Taste Buds. And don’t forget to enter our contest!
It’s time for our 10th Annual Squirrelly awards! We look at our top games of 2024. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, this year is a little different.
Let us know what your favorite games are over in our Discord Channel
We are talking about so really big thinking games in this episode with Seti and Altay. Seti has been on the hot list for awhile and during a convention where we had no interruptions in our play time, we got it to the table. Up front, this is one of those games where the actions are easy to understand on a players turn, but all the little stuff takes the time to explain. Then when playing the game, you have to concentrate on how it will all go together based on the cards you have acquired. Lots to plan out, time crunch to beat other players to certain goals and you can’t do it all which is a common theme in this game.
Altay was fresh when it came to a deck building game and one that we all enjoyed when it was on the table. It can promote a little pile on during the game, but that is when other players need to come to the rescue of the player that is getting beat upon. If you are not a friend of strong conflict in deck builders, then this may not be the game for you.
We have been fortunate enough to have the chance to play Prey and now Rainbow card games from All Play. Love this well thought out games and different takes on proper trick-taking games. With Rainbow, playing up to six is what sold me on this game because tough to find games that do trick taking well with six.
Thanks for listening and be ready for our annual award show that is coming up soon.
We got to attend Dice & Diversions this month and the drive was worth it. The location was great, and the gamers were so well taken care of by the team that if you are in the Southeast, consider going next year. The date for 2026 hasn’t been announced as they work on contracts with hotels, but just know it will be in the first quarter. There was plenty to do if you are into board games or RPGs with plenty of opportunities to join others as people were continuously looking for players.
One of the games we played was a re-implement of one we played many moons ago that I really enjoyed. Beyond the Horizon uses similar mechanics found in Beyond the Sun, but it is its own game and should be judged as such. We compare the two in this episode and found that the mechanics in one we enjoyed more than the other. I think for people that have played both, your playstyle will help you determine which you like more. For me, Beyond the Horizon is more my style with the map versus the space majority control board.
Thanks for listening and appreciate all the support
We understand that with the new embedded ads, the time stamps are a bit off. Unfortunately, we can’t guess how long some of the ads are, so we are going to give you approximate times on when things are happening on the show. We will continue to look for solutions and appreciate you hanging in there with us.
We got in some family game time over the holidays and we share our experiences. I got in some heavier games with Risk AD 2210 and Catan, New Energies, while Marty enjoyed leisure time with the family. Very happy with Risk because I went into the game with concerns. Thought for sure that this game would be just another version of Risk with little added pieces here and there. But it wasn’t. Yes, it did come down to dice rolls, but that is Risk you take in this game.
Unfortunately, many of the games we discussed are out of stock at Miniature Market. This is where their notification system on restock works really well, so be sure to take advantage on something you may want.
Cons are starting up and the next time we are back, we will be discussing Dice and Diversion down in Atlanta, GA. Man, just hope it is going to be warmer this year.
We are coming out of the gate almost hot for 2025. We got a very solid Board & Dice game to the table prior to the holiday break called Minos: Dawn of the Bronze Age. This game is like other Board & Dice euros where you really need a plan going into your turn knowing all so well that it is going to be modified at some point. So, you better have a Plan B ready to go. There is a twist to the dice drafting where you need higher numbers move you up a track, but higher numbers also mean you end up possibly not getting all the actions you want because you get bumped by lower numbers. However, you never loose out on doing the action which is nice. Lots going on with this game, so as with similar games, you can’t do it all.
Thanks for putting up with us through 2024 and we hope your 2025 is off to a good start.
Yes we have been around for twelve years and there is nothing stopping us now. Well, server crashes, hacking of the site, strife among hosts, those might but we are still here. I wondered if we would make it to 10 years, but we are just now hitting our stride.
Really interesting games in this episode, especially Diluvium. If you get a chance, give this one a play.
Thanks for all the support over the many years, we really do appreciate it.
Hope those that celebrated the recent holiday had an enjoyable and were able to get some board gaming in with the family during that time. Seldom do we get two similar games to the table at the same time, but we did for this episode. Both Yro and Castle Combo are very similar in style and mechanic, so it was nice for us to be able to compare to games against one another.
The new Thunder Road expansion is out and this expansion takes you out of the wasteland and into the Demolition Derby arena where more chaos will reign. Maybe that is why they called in Carnival of Chaos. Since there is no finish line, it is nice that there is a “timer” to help end the game and not just wait on elimination of everyone but one player.
Finally, there is a look behind the curtain as you will experience the pain that Marty goes through in trying to explain a game to me. We have all had the experience where the game isn’t clicking or you are explaining the game and you get nothing but blank stares back. Well, you get to experience it in RDTN style during our discussion of Battalion: War of the Ancients.
Thanks for listening and see you during the anniversary show next time.
It has been brought to my attention that the timestamps are off ever so slightly and that this is due to these commercials that are being injected into the episode. I do not know how long they are or how many. We are trying to come up with a way to manage this, but until then, the times are maybe 30 seconds to a minute off.
Here are the top tile laying games as we discussed in the show.
Appreciate you listening and be sure to join the Discord channel
Only three games in this episode and one of them is an expansion. So, you thought it would be a short episode? Nope, we make up for this in our extended, over the top discussion on Hegemony. Don't be scared by this game and the length. It is one of those games that just flowed and was easy to understand. Admit that each faction is different, but not to the point that you sit there and say that you have no idea what is going on with them. You can see how it all comes together in my opinion.
Looking to play a Mario Kart style game on the tabletop, then give Dungeon Kart a try. Little too chaotic for me and Marty and that might just be we are enjoying the simpler racing games. We appreciate what the game is pulling off and if you want that mayhem on the table, then give this a try
Thanks for listening and appreciate the support as always.
Anmelden
