It's a designer spotlight, which means we're turning the focus away from us, and putting it on some prestigious designers instead! This week it's Inka and Markus Brand, whose story apparently has a whole enemies to lovers angle I did not see coming. Before we power duet, we talk about Party House: The Deckbuilding Game, Land and Freedom: The Spanish Revolution and Civil War, and Baba Is You: The Board Game.
01:50 - Party House: The Deckbuilding Game 06:35 - Land and Freedom: The Spanish Revolution and Civil War 13:03 - Baba Is You: The Board Game 28:53 - Designer spotlight: Inka & Markus Brand 32:10 - Catan 36:58 - The Great Dinosaur Game 37:40 - Village 40:56 - The Enchanted Tower 41:52 - Exit: The Game 46:22 - La Boca Check out the Kickstarter for Organism: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elephantlaboratories/organism
To paraphrase Sir Mix-a-Lot (O.B.E.), I like big bears and I cannot lie! Fat Bear Week is upon us. Let these corpulent kings of ursine excellence strut their stuff, and let us admire in awe at their tangible gains. These bears do not skip leg day. Some people have mukbang--we have out fat bears.
Tom kicks off the show by telling the tale of a church potluck that hid a surprise. We then continue our Game Night discussion by widening the scope to a larger community event at a local community center or library. The mailbag wonders what you should do when a small group at game night plays the same game every time, and we close the show with some new Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
Some weeks, the game table feels like a tour through entirely different mechanics and level of challenges. We kicked things off in Middle‑earth with The Lord of the Rings: Circle of Conflict, a game that thrives on tight choices with every roll of the die. It is not the normal Roll and Write, but one with clear objectives in order to win the game and not just get the most victory points. Every turn feels like a small story—heroes clashing, shadows pressing in, and players trying to outmaneuver one another while waging war on two fronts. It’s the kind of game that leaves you wanting one more round just to see if you can pull off the perfect combo.
From there, the mood shifted dramatically with Cat Trick, a clever little card game that proves you don’t need a big box to create big laughs. It’s quick, mischievous, and full of those delightful “gotcha” reveals that make everyone team up against one another. Then came Jump Masters, which brought out a game reminiscent of Checkers. This one thrives on setting up the best combo and tactical maneuvering to gain victory over your opponent. It is quick and easy to teach and the art and components are amazing.
Cyberpunk 2077 TCG, a game that channels the neon‑soaked grit of the franchise into a sharp, tactical card duel. More to come on this as we continue to explore the game and the meta that surrounds it. But for now, we will continue to put that one the table as we wait for others to show up for game night.
Once again, thanks for dropping by and giving us a listen.
Pull up a chair and listen in to the newest episode of the Board Game BBQ Podcast! In episode 370 Dana delves into the video game world much to the delight of Conor as she battles it out in Bullet Heart while Conor is giving Andy Worhol with Pop Art and creating tiny homes in Minikin Village. To no one's surprise, Conor gets bodied in his sizzle of SETI: Space Agencies while Dana fawns over the card play and art of A Wild Venture (just look at that frog meeple!!)
The two also discuss "Which Board Games would you like to see mashed together and why" and we hope that you join in the chat too for this week's Question of the Pod. Don't forget about the BBQ at PAX, check the Patreon in the upcoming week for an announcement!
All that and more on this weeks episode for the Board Game BBQ!
This week's guest is owner of Board Game Wire, Mike Didymus-True. We talk about crime, the decline of the truth, and if we're living in a Tolkien board game golden age...but which games did he choose?
Hey Now, Cabalists! Uh oh, Mia the cat is cause havoc in the household! After Chris gets his house in order we dive into the games we've been playing, including The Lord of the Rings Circle of Conflict, Happiest Cat in the World, Arkham Horror, The Gang, Cozy Stickerville, and feature Bloodstones designed by Martin Wallace. After Tony T's Tabletop Gaming News segment, the gang wraps things up by tackling a batch of listener-submitted questions. The Lord of the Rings Circle of Conflict: 00:02:58, Happiest Cat in the World: 00:15:43, Arkham Horror: 00:21:57, The Gang: 00:32:35, Cozy Stickerville: 00:45:45, Bloodstones Review: 00:56:58, News with Tony T: 01:34:08, A Short Topic Extravaganza: 02:36:09. Check out our sponsors Restoration Games at https://restorationgames.com/, Game Toppers at https://www.gametoppersllc.com/ and Prester's Painting at https://www.presterspainting.com/
With Walker imminently about to move (to Kingston from Kingston) and Mark still storing his games from the previous move, the overwhelming preponderance of the SVWAG collection(s) is currently shackled by packing tape. So much good design and fun toys yearning to get out! Alas, physical instantiation is a curse, the material world is a prison, and entropy always wins. Find me one realtor sympathetic to the specific needs of a boardgame collector, and that'd be something, at least.
01:12 AYURIS: The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game (Bryan Bormueller, Office Dog, 2025)
Games Played Last Week:
04:04 -The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth (Thomas Sing, KOSMOS, 2026)
06:32 -Avalon: The Riven Veil (Jamie Jolly, Shadowborne Games, 2026)
We are back to our normally scheduled programming as Clef and Tim talk a little disc golf controversy before getting into our battle of board game recent plays. We discuss The Gamer Makers, Ayar: Children of the Sun, Andromeda's Edge, Imperial Steam, Pax Pamir and Primacy. We also ask the question if optimal play ruins our board game plays.
Board games start at 19:44.
Join the discord at discord.gg/s8hYtWkMS3 to jump into the discussion!
We're downsizing, imagining a brighter future where we don't have hundreds of games to fret about not playing, but a very slight, extremely manageable twenty. Some say it can't be done, but that's never stopped us before. Before we get low, we talk about After you, Betobeto-san, Skull Queen, and Star Trek: Captain's Chair - To Boldly Go.
01:53 - After you, Betobeto-san 09:11 - Skull Queen 17:21 - Star Trek: Captain's Chair - To Boldly Go 28:12 - Minimalist board game collections
Anmelden
