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!!!!

Shelley and I re-play the games discussed on Episode 1 (Elasund and Mesopotamia), then spend some time discussing an older favorite, Kings Progress.

Shelley and I comment and answer listener queries, then revisit Episode 1 of the podcast.

Shelley and I check out two games from Taiwan this week, delving into

Dadocheng by Eason Kao and Tsai Huei-Chiang from Soso Games

and

Burano by Yu-Chen Tseng and Eros Lin from EmperorS4 Games

both members of the Taiwan Boardgame Design group

Shelley and I get goofy on the mics and enjoy listening and commenting on what you listeners have to say.

Shelley and I get the 2-player-only extravaganza to the table this week, trying out

Hengist by Uwe Rosenberg from Mayfair/Lookout

Trambahn by Helmut Ohley from Mayfair/Lookout

and

7 Wonders Duel by Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala from Repos/Asmodee

Shelley and I discuss more games during a snowy winter in 2008.

Familiar designers on tap with Reiner Knizia and Cwali's own Corne van Moorsel, along with one of the last really good Adlung games from Michael Rieneck who has since gone on to design Cuba, Pillars of the Earth, and last year's Grog Island.

Shelley and I finally get a chance to sit down and tackle some of the heavier titles that we picked up at Essen. This week it's the meaty designs of Spielworxx.

Haithabu by Wolfgang Heidenheim and Andreas Molter

and

Dilluvia Project by Alexandre Garcia