Board Game Barrage

Here it is, the episode you've all been waiting for, the grand finale, the culmination of five weeks of episodes. These are our top ten favourite board games of all-time, games that we absolutely adore, and would happily play at a moment's notice. Heck, we'd even play the games on each others' lists ... on, you know, birthdays and special occasions. That's how good they are. 08:41 – Mark #10 – The Estates 11:29 – Neilan #10 – Pictomania 13:46 – Kellen #10 – Coloretto 15:23 – Mark #9 – The Voyages of Marco Polo 17:39 – Neilan #9 – Guards of Atlantis 22:26 – Kellen #9 – Inis 25:26 – Mark #8 – Time's Up! 26:33 – Neilan #8 – Scythe 30:04 – Kellen #8 – The Resistance 32:17 – Mark #7 – Brass: Birmingham 34:24 – Neilan #7 – Times Up! 35:54 – Kellen #7 – Troyes 37:59 – Mark #6 & Kellen #6 – El Grande 40:28 – Neilan #6 – Through The Ages: A New Story of Civilization 44:25 – Mark #5 – 1830: Railways & Robber Barons 46:34 – Neilan #5 – Codenames 49:44 – Kellen #5 – Time's Up! 51:17 – Mark #4 – Francis Drake 53:3

A new year, a new decade, a new podcast, and a new batch of games that we love talking about. It's the fourth in our five part series of our 50 favourite board games of all-time, and appropriately, we're kicking off 2020 by breaking into the top twenty. Synergy. 01:01 - Neilan #20 - Blue Lagoon 03:14 - Kellen #20 - Startups 04:33 - Mark #20 - Imperial 2030 06:00 - Neilan #19 - Taj Mahal 07:41 - Kellen #19 - Genoa 09:09 - Mark #19 - Dominant Species 11:31 - Neilan #18 - Alchemists 13:28 - Kellen #18 - I'm The Boss 15:06 - Mark #18 - 1846: The Race for the Midwest 16:53 - Neilan #17 - Exit: The Game 19:20 - Kellen #17 - Zendo 21:42 - Mark #17 - Cuba Libre 23:51 - Neilan #16 - Watson & Holmes 26:46 - Kellen #16 - Telestrations 28:29 - Mark #16 - Pax Renaissance 30:13 - Neilan #15 - Rising Sun 33:32 - Kellen #15 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 35:23 - Mark #15 - Cthulhu Wars 38:34 - Neilan #14 - Dominion 40:19 - Kellen #14 - Omen: A Reign of War 42:11 - Mark #14 - Caylus 45:01 - Neilan #13 - Inis 47:15 - Kel

It's the season of giving, so our gift to you is more of our favourite board games of all-time! We're only just halfway, so get comfortable in front of the fire, grab an eggnog, and join us for thirty more incredible games. Oh, you got us something too? Ah. Socks. Thanks. 01:45 - Kellen #30 - Splendor 04:38 - Mark #30 - Sol: Last Days of a Star 07:22 - Neilan #30 - Azul 08:54 - Kellen #29 - A Fake Artist Goes to New York 11:06 - Mark #29 - Great Western Trail 12:47 - Neilan #29 - The Quest for El Dorado 14:29 - Kellen #28 - Cockroach Poker 15:50 - Mark #28 - Genoa 17:27 - Neilan #28 - Coloretto 18:36 - Kellen #27 - Hanabi 20:07 - Mark #27 - Le Havre 22:57 - Neilan #27 - El Grande 24:24 - Kellen #26 - Dogs of War 25:40 - Mark #26 - Ra 27:43 - Neilan #26 - Android: Netrunner 30:12 - Kellen #25 - Keyflower 32:16 - Mark #25 - Pictomania 33:53 - Neilan #25 - Decrypto 36:01 - Kellen #24 - A Study in Emerald (second edition) 38:15 - Mark #24 - Rising Sun 40:15 - Neilan #24 - Spirit Island 42:12 - Kellen #23 - Hansa

We're shifting up a gear, the stakes are higher, it's all to play for, and a whole host of other cliches, in the second of our five part series on the top fifty games of all time. Thirty(ish) more incredible board games coming at you, and we're not even halfway done yet. 03:36 - Mark #40 - Blue Lagoon 05:58 - Neilan #40 - Panic on Wall Street! 07:01 - Kellen #40 - Dune 08:36 - Mark #39 - Shipyard 10:30 - Neilan #39 - Kemet 11:37 - Kellen #39 - For Sale 13:21 - Mark #38 - Pipeline 14:19 - Neilan #38 - The Estates 16:04 - Kellen #38 - Crokinole 17:32 - Mark #37 - Bruges 18:41 - Neilan #37 - Alhambra 20:53 - Kellen #37 - Lords of Vegas 22:41 - Mark #36 - Zany Penguins 24:25 - Neilan #36 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 26:06 - Kellen #36 - Blood Rage 27:52 - Mark #35 - Scruples 31:06 - Neilan #35 - Pipeline 32:47 - Kellen #35 - Sixes 35:05 - Mark #34 - Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar 36:24 - Neilan #34 - Agricola 36:41 - Kellen #34 - Agricola 39:22 - Mark #33 - The Great Zimbabwe 42:30 - Neilan #33 - Orléans 43:47

We made it! The big one-oh-oh. That's a thing people say, right? We're starting a five episodes series, working our way down each of our top fifty games of all time. We'll discuss what might make a game move up or down our list, celebrate the highs that the hobby has to offer, and talk about a heck of a lot of amazing board games. Buckle up! 08:17 – Neilan #50 – Twice As Clever 09:32 – Kellen #50 – Maskmen 11:28 – Mark #50 – Codenames 12:56 – Neilan #49 – Air, Land & Sea 16:03 – Kellen #49 – Wizard 17:50 – Mark #49 – Carson City 18:59 – Neilan #48 – Innovation 20:27 – Kellen #48 – Ingenious 21:07 – Mark #48 – Wyatt Earp 23:52 – Neilan #47 – The Oracle of Delphi 24:56 – Kellen #47 – Detective Club 27:13 – Mark #47 – City of the Big Shoulders 29:46 – Neilan #46 – Anomia 31:13 – Kellen #46 – Cursed Court 34:24 – Mark #46 – Kemet 35:50 – Neilan #45 – In the Year of the Dragon 37:19 – Kellen #45 – The Game 39:11 – Mark #45 – Panic on Wall Street! 40:51 – Neilan #44 – Dead of the Winter: The Long Night 42:24 –

It's getting close now, can you feel it? Or are you just feeling sore from the game you just lost? We're talking sore losers and sore winners: people who are hard to be around when they lose or win a game. What can you do to avoid being that person, and what games bring out the worst in us? Before we fight our feelings, we talk about Paris: New Eden, Glory to Rome, and No Swap No Pay. 03:35 - Pipeline 06:29 - Paris: New Eden 14:54 - Glory to Rome 20:36 - Mottainai 22:48 - Innovation 24:14 - No Swap No Pay 32:09 - Sore Winners and Losers 37:00 - The Resistance 41:50 - Cthulhu Wars 42:54 - Cosmic Encounter 45:46 - Detective Club 46:13 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 48:16 - Archipelago Join the discussion at https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We're showing our thanks with a surprise podcast about ... well, maybe we'll just let the episode speak for itself. Gobble gobble. 03:23 - ICECOOL 04:46 - Meeple Circus 06:11 - Root 06:42 - Sheriff of Nottingham 07:47 - Fauna 08:22 - Piepmatz 09:07 - Evolution: Flight 09:56 - Gulo Gulo 11:29 - Zany Penguins 12:07 - Funky Chicken 13:56 - Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn 14:51 - Rook 16:19 - Chess 17:36 - Biblios 19:53 - Scythe Join the discussion at https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord

We've all got them, whether we'll care to admit it or not, quirks and and biases that might be irrational, but nevertheless affect our judgement of the games we play. This week we're looking at a few of the little things that might weigh a game in or out of our favour, even if they don't necessarily make much sense. Before we exercise extreme prejudice, we talk about Flamme Rouge, The North, and Ragusa. 02:03 - Cursed Court 02:39 - Flamme Rouge 09:28 - The North 15:43 - Ragusa 24:08 - Board Game Biases 25:51 - Vindication 26:08 - Suburbia: Collector's Edition 30:39 - Anachrony 32:15 - Scythe 33:26 - Magical Athlete 36:16 - Pipeline 41:02 - Adrenaline 41:28 - Fog of Love 43:23 - The Battle at Kemble's Cascade 45:05 - Pandemic Join the discussion at https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord

Uh oh, you're not enjoying the game you're playing. Now what? Is it okay to excuse yourself? Maybe it's better that you just call it rather than continue to have a bad time. This week we're talking about scenarios where some or all of the players of a game might decide it's better to bounce than to wallow in misery. Before we make an early exit, we talk about SEAL Team Flix, Paranormal Detectives, and I'm the Boss. 01:21 - SEAL Team Flix 10:32 - Paranormal Detectives 18:53 - Mysterium 21:37 - Crokinole 22:12 - Cursed Court 23:27 - I'm the Boss! 31:50 - Bouncing off Games 33:49 - Menara 36:37 - Cosmic Encounter 38:45 - The Great Zimbabwe 39:40 - Megacity: Oceania 40:25 - Founders of Gloomhaven 43:52 - Diplomacy 45:22 - Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge 46:08 - Merlin 47:00 - Heroes of Land, Air & Sea 48:54 - LLAMA 49:33 - Nemesis

Where has the year gone?! It's almost time to start packing our bags for various family gatherings, and inevitably the most important question becomes ... what games are we taking? Whether it's specific games for specific people, or games that work in large inexperienced groups, we're here to make your holidays merry and bright. Before we head on home, we talk about Ethnos, Street Masters, Templari, and Carnival of Monsters. 03:02 - Ethnos 08:12 - Street Masters 11:39 - Sentinels of the Multiverse 14:08 - Templari 17:14 - Carnival of Monsters 25:21 - Top Five Games for the Holidays 29:16 - Werewords 30:20 - Letter Jam 30:20 - SHH 31:21 - Ingenious 32:53 - Sushi Go! 34:39 - Fast Forward: FORTRESS 36:01 - Cartographers 37:14 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 38:14 - Cryptid 39:36 - Cursed Court 40:43 - One Night Ultimate Werewolf 42:16 - Coloretto 43:54 - Hanabi Deluxe II 44:56 - Just One 46:46 - Air, Land & Sea 47:51 - Res Arcana 49:13 - Codenames 51:05 - WINK 52:16 - Medium

It took us almost a hundred episodes, but we finally reveal how to have fun with your friends even when you're losing. Specifically, we're talking about games and mechanisms that help us enjoy our losses, because let's face it, we can't all be winners. Before we celebrate our setbacks, we talk about Sierra West, Mansions of Madness: Second Edition, and Black Angel. 01:37 - Sierra West 11:17 - Mansions of Madness: Second Edition 20:17 - Black Angel 24:02 - Troyes 27:18 - Solenia 35:30 - Q.E. 35:43 - Ponzi Scheme 35:59 - Biblios 38:52 - Aeon's End: War Eternal 40:59 - Ghost Stories 43:56 - Agricola 44:37 - Terraforming Mars 46:31 - Lords of Vegas 47:00 - Diamant/Incan Gold 48:20 - Twice as Clever

Blue Tank's back to talk take-backs, so take that to the bank. It's bound to happen, someone makes a mistake on their turn and desperately wants a do-over - but how do you handle it? It's a delicate balance of making sure everyone at the table is having a good time, and not slowing the game down. So what's fair? Before we undo, we talk about Air, Land & Sea, Menara, and Seasons of Inis. 02:57 - Air, Land & Sea 03:03 - Heroes of Land, Air & Sea 08:43 - Hanamikoji 10:59 - Menara 22:09 - Riff Raff 23:08 - Inis 23:08 - Seasons of Inis 53:31 - Dominant Species

We're joined by the Blue Tank for a quick look back at SHUX, before we dive into a discussion on games that are better than their mechanics suggest. These are games that we might describe as not very good, but somehow still give us incredible experiences that we find distinct and unique. But that makes them good, right? Before we lose all credibility, we talk about Kingdomino Duel, Panic on Wall Street!, and Blood on the Clocktower. 02:22 - SHUX 06:27 - Kingdomino Duel 11:29 - Panic on Wall Street! 18:52 - Blood on the Clocktower 23:48 - The Resistance: Avalon 36:57 - Experiences that transcend mechanics 38:02 - Fuji Flush 38:58 - Happy Salmon 39:40 - True Colors 39:40 - A Question of Scruples 40:32 - Zombicide: Black Plague 41:26 - Hundreds of Horses 49:30 - Loopin' Louie

Shut Up & Sit Down's very own Quintin Smith joins us live on stage at SHUX 2019! We play a rousing game of Hundreds of Horses, discuss some games from the convention, and lay out the unspoken truths of board games - opinions about the hobby we vehemently hold, even if everyone else is too afraid to say it. Before we speak truth to power, we talk about Deep Blue, Curios, Obscurio, and Vast: The Mysterious Manor. 02:51 - Hundreds of Horses 08:05 - Deep Blue 11:44 - Curios 16:03 - Obscurio 20:55 - Vast: The Mysterious Manor 28:07 - Unspoken Truths of Board Games 29:05 - Neilan: Theme and storytelling 32:22 - Flamme Rouge 33:40 - Too Many Bones 34:16 - Kellen: The decline of interactivity 36:40 - Troyes 37:47 - Hansa Teutonica 38:26 - Agricola 38:26 - A Feast for Odin 39:10 - Mark: Playing to win 41:48 - Inis 45:20 - Twilight Imperium 47:55 - Quinns: Reading flavor text 50:03 - Pax Pamir (Second Edition) 50:58 - Scythe

Mark Rosewater, head designer for Magic: The Gathering, defined three player archetypes back in 2002, and we figured it'd be fun to see how we can apply them to, not just board games, but your three beloved hosts. We look into what makes a Timmy, Tammy, Johnny, Jenny, or Spike tick, and try to find some board games each might like. Before we profile ourselves, we talk about FlickFleet, Québec, and Ra. 02:13 - FlickFleet06:19 - Québec09:10 - El Grande10:29 - Tapestry15:00 - Ra21:56 - Magic: the Gathering Player Archetypes31:08 - Gùgōng40:27 - The Voyages of Marco Polo40:55 - Rising Sun41:19 - Crokinole41:47 - Dominion42:47 - Terraforming Mars43:15 - Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar43:50 - Cosmic Encounter44:47 - Dune45:31 - Glory to Rome

Inspired by BoardGameGeek's new system for classifying board game mechanisms, we give our thoughts on the changes, as well as talk about classification in general. Somehow it always leads to heated discussions, whether it's arguing what a Civilization game even is, or why we need classification at all. I'm sure we'll all agree in the end. Before we taxi into taxonomy, we talk about Piepmatz, Era: Medieval Age, and Cursed Court. 02:45 - Piepmatz 05:05 - Arboretum 08:42 - Irish Gauge 10:38 - Era: Medieval Age 19:00 - Cursed Court 29:43 - Board Game Classification 36:53 - Codenames 51:35 - Tapestry 52:12 - Civilization 53:10 - Scythe 56:55 - Great Western Trail 58:30 - 18Lilliput

Hello, again, Germany! Well, we don't actually ever go to Essen, but boy do we wish we could. There are always so many games that debut at Essen SPIEL that we wish we could play or buy ... and this year is no exception! We're counting down the games we would most anticipate getting our hands on if it weren't so goshdarn far. Before we cross the Atlantic, we also talk about Irish Gauge, Heroes of Terrinoth, and Tapestry. 01:00 - Irish Gauge 08:33 - Heroes of Terrinoth 16:21 - Tapestry 37:50 - The games we want from Essen SPIEL 2019 38:15 - Trismegistus: The Ultimate Formula 39:27 - The Magnificent 40:22 - Welkin 41:46 - Terramara 43:10 - Rush M.D. 44:09 - Deep Blue 44:54 - Paranormal Detectives 46:04 - Rome & Roll 47:07 - Offshore 48:42 - Glen More II: Chronicles 49:38 - Maracaibo 50:33 - Kakerlaken Sushi 51:52 - Crystal Palace 53:29 - Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles 55:12 - Babylonia

No, not that game. We're talking about the life cycles of games, how we acquire them, how we end up moving on from them. Where do we generally get our games from, and how do we typically get rid of them? Things get a little bit existential before the end. Before we, blinking, step into the sun, we also talk about Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne, 18Lilliput, and Tonari. 01:38 - Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne 10:06 - 18Lilliput 15:25 - City of the Big Shoulders 19:56 - Tonari 28:11 - The life cycle of games 29:05 - Exit: The Game 29:30 - Charterstone 35:06 - Piepmatz 35:50 - Nyctophobia 40:40 - Rising Sun 42:52 - Irish Gauge 44:17 - The Resistance: Avalon 45:07 - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1

Look, there's only so much time in the day, so we don't get to play every game we ought to. But some of those missed games hurt more than others, in fact, some of them are downright shameful. This week we're counting down the top five games we're ashamed that we haven't played. Before we atone, we also talk about Kobayakawa, Taj Mahal, and Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition). 02:07 - Nine Tiles Panic 03:36 - Kobayakawa 07:38 - Taj Mahal 17:47 - Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition) 33:53 - Games we're ashamed we haven't played 34:29 - Modern Art 36:18 - Kremlin 37:44 - Nothing Personal 38:12 - Ra 39:32 - Caverna: The Cave Farmers 40:50 - Macao 41:57 - Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game 43:37 - Terraforming Mars 45:04 - Indonesia 46:26 - Dungeon Lords 46:26 - Dungeon Petz 47:43 - Seafarers of Catan 47:43 - Catan: Cities & Knights 49:16 - Antike II 49:51 - Trickerion: Masters of Illusion 51:48 - Cyclades 53:37 - Amun Re

Kellen's back, which some might say is too many hosts - apt, because we're an episode of extremes today. We're talking about games that are too simple, too complicated, too short, or too long, that might otherwise have been among our favourites. Before we venture outside the Goldilocks zone, we talk about Q.E., Cartographers, and City of the Big Shoulders. 02:58 - Q.E. 11:52 - Cartographers 19:36 - City of the Big Shoulders 37:25 - Games that are too long 38:36 - Citadels 38:51 - Alien Frontiers 39:04 - Cubist 40:41 - Dead of Winter 41:18 - Robo Rally 41:52 - Skull 43:19 - Mage Knight 43:52 - Forbidden Stars 45:17 - Twilight Imperium 45:51 - Las Vegas 46:17 - Time's Up! Title Recall! 46:55 - Games that are too short 46:59 - Above and Below 47:53 - Clank! 48:15 - Oink Games 49:37 - Agricola 50:15 - The Voyages of Marco Polo 51:05 - Games that are too complicated 51:19 - Burano 53:12 - Keyflower 53:39 - Nemesis 54:03 - Altiplano 54:37 - Escape Plan 55:07 - Skull King 56:36 - Games that are too simple 56:42 - K