Board Game Barrage

A solid end game trigger can be such an overlooked part of the design of a game. The conventional wisdom for most things is to start strong and finish strong, so we look at some of our favourite ways that games can end. Before we reach the end of the road, we talk about Robot Quest Arena, Mr. President: The American Presidency, 2001-2020, and Expeditions. Timecodes: 02:07 - Robot Quest Arena 08:52 - Mr. President: The American Presidency, 2001-2020 30:11 - Expeditions 47:33 - Inis 48:09 - Azul 51:35 - Ethnos 51:52 - Pax Pamir: Second Edition 52:31 - I'm the Boss! 53:12 - Archipelago 54:22 - War of the Ring: Second Edition 55:16 - Innovation 55:31 - Pax Porfiriana 55:41 - John Company: Second Edition 56:16 - Dune 56:51 - Stationfall 57:25 - 7 Wonders Duel 58:34 - The Quest for El Dorado 1:00:04 - Scythe 1:00:45 - Blood Rage Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/topics Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Fa

It's convention season, and the big one is almost upon us, as board gamers across America prepare to descend on Indiana. Gen Con! We won't be there this year, but that won't stop us anticipating what we could be playing at the show. Before we want what we can't have, we talk about Fancy Feathers, Beast, Mr. President: The American Presidency, 2001-2020, and Mercator. Timecodes: 02:43 - Fancy Feathers 08:31 - Beast 16:55 - Mr. President: The American Presidency 22:43 - Merkator 29:53 - Aurum 31:12 - Age of Innovation 35:06 - Ahau: Rulers of Yucatán 37:03 - Inheritors 40:11 - City of the Great Machine 42:41 - The Fox Experiment 44:01 - SpellBook 46:13 - Tesseract 48:15 - Wild Tiled West 50:14 - Kutná Hora: The City of Silver 52:38 - General Orders: World War II  54:13 - 3 Ring Circus 56:21 - Wandering Towers 1:00:32 - The Search for Lost Species 1:01:02 - Legacies Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/topics Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://

Not all are as blessed as we are by the gift of truly original thought, and so many turn to others for inspiration. Whether it's Newton standing on the shoulders of giants, or stealing from our rich neighbour Xerox, many great ideas are born from what has come before. Before we make the inspired choice, we talk about Masters of Renaissance: Lorenzo il Magnifico – The Card Game, Innovation Ultimate, and Dawn of Ulos. Timecodes: 01:59 - Masters of Renaissance: Lorenzo il Magnifico – The Card Game 11:18 - Innovation Ultimate 21:45 - Dawn of Ulos 32:45 - Game Design Inspirations 34:41 - Apples to Apples 37:03 - Magic: The Gathering 40:53 - Final Girl 40:53 - Hostage Negotiator 42:26 - Acquire 42:49 - Witchstone 42:49 - Ingenious 44:19 - Blood on the Clocktower 44:44 - The Resistance 48:10 - Dark Moon 49:16 - Cthulhu Wars 49:16 - Chaos in the Old World 50:13 - Nova Luna 50:13 - Habitats 50:52 - Lowlands 51:25 - El Grande 52:04 - Red Rising 52:04 - Fantasy Realms Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com

After much consternation at his exclusion from our Mount Rushmore of games, we've decided to honour legendary designer Sid Sackson elsewhere - a BGB Designer Spotlight! I think these used to be called BGB DOGs but even Mark forgot about that bit of branding. Oh well. Before we make amends, we talk about Magicalligraphy, Hamlet: The Village Building Game, and Tournament at Camelot. Timecodes: 01:33 - Schedule update 03:11 - Magicalligraphy 09:30 - Hamlet: The Village Building Game 19:48 - Tournament at Camelot 27:56 - Sid Sackson 30:14 - Piggly Wiggly 32:16 - High Spirits with Calvin and the Colonel 35:54 - Bazaar 39:28 - Focus/Domination 40:20 - I'm the Boss! 41:18 - Can't Stop 42:48 - Acquire The Sid Sackson Portal: https://sacksonportal.museumofplay.org Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/topics Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board G

We've reached the end of our fantasy draft series, the last in this increasingly dire list of games from which we pluck five gems each, and then get you to vote on your favourites. There's a (potential) $50 gift card in it for you! Before the last dance, we talk about Seas of Havoc, Whale to Look, and Dorfromantik: The Board Game. Timecodes: 03:12 - Seas of Havoc 10:42 - Whale to Look 19:50 - Dorfromantik: The Board Game 29:10 - Drafting BGG's #901-1000 32:17 - Caylus 1303 33:43 - Ready Set Bet 36:03 - Mosaic: A Story of Civilization 37:12 - Clever Cubed 38:51 - Condottiere 40:20 - Adrenaline 42:54 - Meeple Circus 45:13 - Automobiles 47:54 - Unmatched: Battle of Legends, Volume Two 49:12 - Lowlands 50:04 - Genoa 52:46 - Santa Monica 54:41 - Feed the Kraken 58:02 - Homesteaders 1:01:25 - First Rat Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/topics Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://bo

We're veering into the dark roads of board game classification, but this time with a goal in mind - how to best highlight games that feature strong interaction. Shouldn't BoardGameGeek have a scale for that somewhere? And while we're at it, BGG ... Before we put our thoughts in the suggestion box, we talk about Guatemala Café, and Ride the Rails. Timecodes: 01:56 - Guatemala Café 12:43 - Ride the Rails 23:09 - Quantifying interactivity 25:43 - A Feast for Odin 32:13 - Yucatan 34:31 - What else should be on a BGG page? 37:15 - Stationfall 44:20 - Biblios Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/topics Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Are we living in a golden age of board games? It's a simple question, but there's a lot to unpack - what even qualifies as a golden age, have we already had one, and if we are living in one, when does it end? Before we go for gold, we talk about That's Not a Hat, Pulsar 2849, and Barrage. Timecodes: 01:39 - That's Not a Hat 02:19 - Cockroach Poker 10:52 - Pulsar 2849 19:58 - Barrage 33:30 - Are we in a golden age? 48:32 - Scythe 57:31 - Ark Nova The BGG thread Kellen referenced: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2556595/number-games-published-year Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/topics Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

We're lucky to have covered wide swathes of the board game world, but there was a time when some of those things were aspirational. Like achievements to cross off on the great board game check list ... or like that Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson movie. You know they invented that phrase? Wild. Before we make our list, we talk about Municipium, and Yucatan. Timecodes: 02:27 - Municipium 12:47 - Yucatan 29:38 - Board game checklist/bucket list 31:17 - Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition 35:15 - Diplomacy 35:57 - Playing landmark games 38:39 - Blood on the Clocktower 41:05 - Board game conventions 45:24 - Board game meetups 48:10 - You don't need everything for a game 48:29 - Dominion 49:52 - Guards of Atlantis II 50:38 - Two player and abstract games 52:26 - Designing a board game Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/topics Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.co

It's just two of us, so we turn our attention to the burning questions that you've been asking us, in a feature we're calling Topic Talk Back. This is not to be confused with the format we've used before, mailbags are old news now, and we'd appreciate it if you'd stop bringing it up. Before we do anything but rustle in the cloth sack, we talk about By Stealth and Sea, and Undaunted: Stalingrad. Timecodes: 02:38 - By Stealth and Sea 12:11 - Undaunted: Stalingrad 25:41 - Topic Talk Back 26:37 - Favorite Campaign Games 27:20 - Gloomhaven 27:44 - Frosthaven 30:56 - Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon 33:31 - Games that are too short? 34:03 - The Voyages of Marco Polo 34:17 - Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan 35:38 - Woodcraft 37:47 - Designer Mount Rushmore Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/topics Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Boar

It's the penultimate draft of the BGG Top 1000 series, and all of these games are garbage ... but it's up to us to sift through that garbage, and each find a collection of five games that's worthy of you. Vote for your favourite, and you could win a $50 gift voucher! Before we find diamonds in the rough, we also talk about Paperback Adventures, and Woodcraft. Timecodes: 02:31 - Paperback Adventures 13:29 - Woodcraft 23:51 - Drafting BGG's #801-900 26:27 - Babylonia 28:37 - Blue Lagoon 30:57 - A War of Whispers 32:22 - Signorie 33:19 - The Mind 34:52 - Pictomania 36:04 - Brian Boru: High King of Ireland 36:57 - Santiago 38:45 - Werewords 39:49 - Battle for Rokugan 41:19 - Vasco da Gama 43:20 - Cerebria: The Inside World 44:21 - Bullet♥︎ 46:10 - Incan Gold 49:00 - Railroad Ink Challenge: Lush Green Edition Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/topics Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: ht

Any creative work is built on a lot of conventions - things that we take as granted, the unspoken rules that must be followed. We get a lot of really great games by following design conventions, but some times, in order to innovate we have to break them. Before we try to find the balance between convention and innovation, we talk about Darwin's Journey, Aleph Null, and Rome in a Day. Timecodes: 02:00 - Darwin's Journey 13:44 - Aleph Null 21:07 - Rome in a Day 30:09 - Innovation vs. Convention 33:14 - Root 36:02 - Teotihuacan: City of Gods 36:02 - Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun 36:17 - Tiletum 38:17 - Tower of Babel 42:04 - Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile 42:31 - Horseless Carriage 42:49 - Atiwa 44:04 - Inis 45:14 - The Castles of Burgundy Send us topic ideas at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/topics Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-sh

We can all agree the Golden Geeks peaked last year, but I suppose we can continue the facade if we must. Nominees are out for BoardGameGeek's annual awards, and as the presiding champions of taste, we're declaring our favourites. Before we prognosticate, we talk about Big City, Spots, and Horseless Carriage. Timecodes: 02:10 - Big City 09:33 - Spots 16:02 - Horseless Carriage 28:53 - Golden Geek 2022 Predictions 29:29 - Best 2-Player Game 30:33 - Wingspan Asia 31:20 - Beer & Bread 32:01 - Mindbug: First Contact 33:16 - Caesar!: Seize Rome in 20 Minutes! 33:30 - Splendor: Duel 33:37 - Undaunted: Stalingrad 34:02 - Marvel Dice Throne 34:18 - Best Artwork and Presentation 35:11 - CoraQuest 35:31 - Blood on the Clocktower 36:05 - Best Cooperative Game 36:26 - Kites 37:20 - Dorfromantik: The Board Game 38:17 - Best Board Game Expansion 38:58 - Most Innovative Board Games 39:36 - Heat: Pedal to the Medal 39:54 - Turing Machine 40:07 - Deal with the Devil 40:25 - My Father's Work 40:57 - Light Game of the Year 4

Board games are a social medium, which is a big part of their appeal for us. It's not just about being heads down solving a puzzle, they facilitate conversation. Some games are better at this than others, so we put BGBBOB on the case to find our favourites! Before we natter away, we talk about Big Top, Autobahn, and Pollen. Timecodes: 03:04 - Big Top 12:21 - Autobahn 23:25 - Pollen 34:51 - Dealt! / Krass Kariert 37:02 - Boast or Nothing 39:37 - Codenames 40:30 - Twice as Clever! 42:47 - Concept 43:45 - Biblios 45:25 - Dixit 46:07 - Coloretto 48:43 - Sushi Go! 51:46 - The Mind 54:25 - Qwirkle 57:09 - Dominion Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Good storytelling isn't easy, and board games seem to struggle with it especially - which makes the ones that do pull it off, all the more memorable. We delve into the ways that games can engage us and create lasting experiences through stories. Before we spin a yarn, we talk about Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Artisans of Splendent Vale. Timecodes: 01:36 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars 18:13 - Artisans of Splendent Vale 29:51 - Storytelling in games 30:40 - Gloomhaven 34:44 - The King's Dilemma 36:59 - Mansions of Madness: Second Edition 37:40 - Eldritch Horror 37:49 - Dead of Winter 38:44 - Phantom Leader 40:31 - Undaunted: Normandy 41:00 - Freedom: The Underground Railroad 43:34 - This War of Mine: The Board Game 47:23 - Return to Dark Tower 47:34 - Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective 47:59 - Sleeping Gods Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barr

I mean, I don't know. Before we do whatever, we talk about Circle the Wagons, El Gaucho, Roller Coaster Rush, and Applejack. Timecodes: 01:48 - Circle the Wagons 07:49 - El Gaucho 14:58 - Roller Coaster Rush 19:05 - Applejack 25:34 - What do I do with old campaign games? 25:48 - Frosthaven 25:48 - Gloomhaven 27:47 - What board game product would improve my gaming? 30:50 - What are good miniature games for people who don't like miniature games?  31:53 - For What Remains 33:12 - Are there modern classics of the war game genre that you would recommend? 34:48 - What are some good, one shot TTRPGs? 37:05 - What do you have to do to get heavier games played? 39:50 - Which games would be perfect for us that we've never mentioned? 41:02 - The big question Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

Board games are great! Mostly. But as great as they are, we've probably all had a moment where, through no fault of the game itself, things got uncomfortable. Whether it's because of an awkward play, or just particulars of the group dynamic, we look back at some of our most uncomfortable moments. Before we enter the discomfort zone, we talk about Dog Tag Trick, Deal with the Devil, and Yokai Septet. Timecodes: 01:46 - Dog Tag Trick 10:01 - Deal with the Devil 19:44 - Yokai Septet 27:53 - When games make you uncomfortable 33:48 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 39:34 - Pictionary 40:42 - Fauna 41:27 - Inhuman Conditions 43:11 - Praise Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

BGBBOB's back, and he's rollin' (rollin') rollin' on a river of amazing games, all of which feature some incredible dice play. As is our sacred duty, we won't rest until we've arranged them in some sort of numerical order, a ranked list, if you will. Before we rattle the bones, we talk about The Lord of the Rings Adventure Book Game, The South: Terminus, Beyond Baker Street, and The Defence of Procyon III. Timecodes: 04:59 - The Lord of the Rings Adventure Book Game 12:05 - The South: Terminus 13:52 - Beyond Baker Street 19:54 - The Defence of Procyon III 27:56 - 701-800 Draft Results 29:30 - BGBBOB: Best Dice Rolling 30:53 - Tumblin' Dice 32:10 - Cthulhu Wars 34:49 - Space Base 35:17 - Cube Quest 39:00 - Dice Forge 39:51 - Lords of Vegas 41:38 - Dungeon Fighter 42:41 - Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy 44:17 - Formula D 45:24 - Las Vegas 47:28 - Martian Dice 49:01 - Can't Stop 51:08 - FUSE 51:57 - Gang of Dice 54:03 - Quarriors! Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion a

We (well some of us) made it back from Vegas, and what happened there didn't stay there - we're reporting in from Dice Tower West 2023, a fun week of friends, casinos, and all you can eat sushi. To everyone we met, thank you for saying hey! We also played a lot of hot games, including Heat: Pedal to the Metal, and Stationfall. Timecodes: 02:52 - Return to Dark Tower 08:47 - Magic Mountain 10:46 - Tower of Babel 11:58 - In the Year of the Dragon 15:06 - No Mercy 15:22 - Trick Raiders 16:20 - Pups 16:30 - Scharfe Schoten 19:19 - The Estates 20:23 - Coyote 22:26 - Time's Up! 24:08 - Heat: Pedal to the Metal 32:28 - Yokai Septet 33:35 - Ninja Master 35:30 - I Made You a Mix Tape 40:52 - Time of Empires 43:23 - Stationfall Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store

I always love this one. It's the time of the year where we look at what your favourite games are, and discover whether there are any exciting movers and shakers in what you've been playing! It's the BGB Listener Top 20! Before we check in with all of you, we talk about Tower of Babel, Great Western Trail: Argentina, and Jump Drive. Timecodes: 02:01 - Tower of Babel ...or why the eighth wonder was never built 11:16 - Great Western Trail: Argentina 18:26 - Jump Drive 29:21 - Listener Top 20 33:44 - Terraforming Mars 34:19 - Food Chain Magnate 34:19 - Cosmic Encounter 36:14 - Wingspan 37:32 - Inis 38:03 - Ark Nova 39:45 - Dune: Imperium 42:32 - Scythe 43:35 - Agricola 44:48 - Great Western Trail 46:12 - Race for the Galaxy 46:52 - Innovation 47:28 - A Feast for Odin 48:08 - The Castles of Burgundy 48:30 - Concordia 49:13 - Gloomhaven 50:05 - Root 50:53 - Hansa Teutonica 52:33 - Spirit Island 53:06 - Brass: Birmingham Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardga

Bruna Cathala is the focus of this episode's BGB DOG, the unfortunately acronymed series where we showcase a designer whom we love, and talk through the history of their career and designs. Before we pay tribute to the two player king, we talk about Smart Four Connected, Skytear Horde, and Endless Winter: Paleoamericans. Timecodes: 02:56 - Smart Four Connected  06:30 - Skytear Horde 12:51 - Endless Winter: Paleoamericans 21:42 - Designer Spotlight: Bruno Cathala 23:26 - Fief 30:17 - Mr. Jack 32:00 - Five Tribes 32:51 - 7 Wonders Duel 34:00 - Kingdomino 39:43 - Zany Penguins Submit your lists for the Listener Top 20 at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/top20 Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/facebook Get a Board Game Barrage T-shirt at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/store