Board Game Barrage

It's convention season, which means we're on the way to one convention, while talking about another. Every year a lot of new games get showed off at Essen SPIEL in Germany, and these are the ones we're most excited to hear more about! Before we start messin' with Essen, we talk about Plutocracy and Finca. 01:56 - Plutocracy 09:54 - Finca 19:09 - Essen SPIEL 2022 Preview 19:39 - The Great Split 21:57 - Time Capsules 23:45 - Heat: Pedal to the Metal 25:45 - La Famiglia: The Great Mafia War 27:49 - Applejack 29:22 - Rise & Fall 31:13 - Sauscharf 33:29 - Oros 35:08 - Tribes of the Wind 36:23 - Shark 38:34 - Tindaya 41:07 - Lacrimosa 42:43 - Virtù 46:38 - Revive 48:51 - Pilgrim We're going to be at SHUX: https://www.shutupandsitdown.com/shux22 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 in and out quick and breezy, with a h-h-hot question about player counts. All things equally considered, how many people do you want at the table? Before we boot people from the game, we talk about Bitoku, San Francisco, and Caesar's Empire. 01:28 - Bitoku 12:21 - San Francisco 20:11 - Caesar's Empire 28:46 - Favorite Player Counts 36:08 - Star Trek: Ascendancy 37:04 - Churchill We're going to be at SHUX: https://www.shutupandsitdown.com/shux22 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

The best thing about being part of a team is even when things go wrong, your team is there for you. And boy, did things go wrong this week ... but I'm getting ahead of myself. This week we're talking about team games! Twice! Before we make the dream work, we talk about Art Decko, Feed The Kraken, and War of the Ring: The Card Game. 02:47 - Art Decko 09:03 - Feed The Kraken 20:08 - War of the Ring: The Card Game 32:51 - Team games 35:26 - Guards of Atlantis II 39:20 - Ingenious 40:10 - Tichu 43:32 - Concordia Venus 47:43 - Shadow Hunters 49:33 - Inkognito 51:27 - Between Two Cities 52:06 - Ladies & Gentlemen 53:16 - Space Cadets: Dice Duel 53:16 - Captain Sonar We're going to be at SHUX: https://www.shutupandsitdown.com/shux22 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

Not every game makes the best first impression, but some stick in your mind enough to warrant a second try. So fittingly, the first and second best hosts are here to tell you about the games that they think deserve a revisit. Before we repeat stuff, repeat stuff, we talk about Mille Fiori, Rise of the Metro, and Turing Machine. 02:05 - Mille Fiori 05:57 - Rise of the Metro 12:48 - Turing Machine 22:29 - Games that need a second chance 24:01 - Gaia Project 26:39 - Space Station Phoenix 28:34 - Twilight Imperium: Third Edition 31:01 - Root 33:15 - Ankh: Gods of Egypt 35:16 - An Infamous Traffic 35:16 - Panamax 35:16 - Maria 37:09 - Dune: Betrayal 38:10 - Beyond the Sun 40:06 - XCOM: The Board Game 41:56 - Quantum 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

Okay, this end of the BGG top list starts to get weird. Regardless, we must draft. Who's going to end up with the best selection of five games from this chunk of one hundred? That's up to you - vote and you could win a $50 gift voucher! Before we pick a peck of paper products, we talk about Town 66, Akropolis, and Pampero. 02:09 - Town 66 08:24 - Akropolis 16:51 - Pampero 27:38 - Drafting BGG's #601-700 29:40 - Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation 31:11 - So Clover! 32:49 - 6 nimmt! 34:19 - Bus 35:56 - The Oracle of Delphi 37:11 - The Estates 38:50 - Long Shot: The Dice Game 40:44 - Yellow & Yangtze 42:06 - Undaunted: North Africa 43:05 - Between Two Cities 44:02 - City of the Big Shoulders 47:05 - Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road 48:05 - QE 49:47 - Civilization: A New Dawn 52:18 - Fort 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: h

The pillars of board gaming are games that are so influential, so ubiquitous, that they're practically the shoulders on which many other board games stand. We talk about what are commonly considered the classic pillars, and try to make a more modern list. Before we get into Greek architecture, we talk about Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, Trailblazers, Photograph, and Ys. 02:34 - Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon 04:01 - Trailblazers 11:38 - Wind the Film! / Photograph 18:22 - Ys 28:01 - Modern pillars of board gaming 32:33 - Codenames 36:09 - Splendor 39:01 - 7 Wonders 41:48 - The Resistance: Avalon 43:59 - Concordia 47:21 - Qwixx 51:38 - Scythe 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

Well, we've returned, and some of us are a little worse for wear, but if a week off doesn't get us back into gear, nothing will. Gen Con is behind us, and Mark, who sadly couldn't make the con, quizzes us about our highlights of the show. Before we cast our minds back to Indiana, we talk about Cat in the Box, Formosa Tea, and Twilight Inscription. 02:14 - Cat in the Box 08:31 - Formosa Tea 15:32 - Twilight Inscription 26:26 - Games we played at Gen Con 26:50 - Splendor Duel 33:38 - Green Team Wins 35:06 - Empire's End 38:23 - Kites 39:34 - Good Puppers 42:57 - War of the Ring: The Card Game 43:52 - Anunnaki: Dawn of the Gods 46:28 - Freezer pants forever 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

Given that we hyped up all those games last week, it's only fair that we prepare ourselves for the aftermath. We look back at some of the most famous and infamous games of yesteryear that were very highly anticipated, and wonder what became of them. Before we relive the comedown, we talk about Master Word, Living Forest, and Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef. 02:00 - Master Word 06:27 - Living Forest 13:29 - Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef 25:04 - Anticipated games of years past 26:56 - Founding Fathers 27:35 - Vinhos 28:32 - Wok Star 29:50 - 51st State 30:27 - CO₂ 31:11 - Rex: Final Days of an Empire 33:01 - Glory to Rome 36:12 - Xia: Legends of a Drift System 36:50 - Cthulhu Wars 37:48 - Myth 38:43 - Conan 39:40 - Viceroy 40:32 - Mysterium 41:57 - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 45:10 - SeaFall 47:57 - Cry Havoc 49:02 - Founders of Gloomhaven 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

Gen Con is a week away! We're headed to Indianapolis (hope to see you there!) but before we do, we're looking down the preview list to get ourselves hyped. These are our five games we're each most excited to see at the show! Before we go Indy, we talk about Vabanque, Orongo, and Blood on the Clocktower. 02:06 - Vabanque 07:25 - Orongo 15:12 - Blood on the Clocktower 23:49 - Our most anticipated Gen Con 2022 games 25:50 - San Francisco 27:07 - Diamond Dig 28:28 - Turing Machine 29:55 - Weirdwood Manor 31:02 - Deal with the Devil 33:00 - Last Light 34:30 - Starship Captains 35:22 - Framework 36:49 - ??? 37:04 - Time of Empires 38:38 - Green Team Wins 40:58 - Catherine: The Cities of the Tsarina 41:53 - The Shadow Planet: The Board Game 43:30 - Cat in the Box 45:30 - Autobahn 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://boardgameba

There's a phenomenon called twin films, where competing studios release very similar movies at the same time. We imagine the same idea in board game land, and highlight some of the biggest board game grudge matches - and judge which game we think came out on top. Before there can be only one, we talk about Viking See-Saw, Dandelions, Codex Naturalis, and Luna. 02:38 - Viking See-Saw 05:32 - Dandelions 13:09 - Codex Naturalis 17:52 - Luna 28:30 - Twin game matchups 30:46 - Azul 30:46 - Sagrada 31:35 - Century: Spice Road 31:35 - Splendor 32:28 - Race for the Galaxy 33:28 - Roll for the Galaxy 33:45 - Dune: Imperium 33:45 - Lost Ruins of Arnak 35:08 - Cascadia 35:08 - Wingspan 36:29 - Eclipse 36:29 - Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition 37:29 - Codenames 37:29 - Decrypto 37:47 - Ark Nova 37:47 - Terraforming Mars 38:19 - Azul vs. Sagrada  40:13 - Century: Spice Road vs. Splendor  42:48 - Race for the Galaxy vs. Roll for the Galaxy 45:43 - Dune: Imperium vs. Lost Ruins of Arnak 48:22 - Cascadia vs. Wingspan 51:22 -

Ambie Valdés, from the excellent podcast Board Game Blitz, joins us to talk about family games, and possibly also the Fast and the Furious franchise. Ambie actually has kids, so might know a little more about this than the rest of us. Kids love Vin Diesel. Before we edutain, we talk about Savannah Park, Cryptid, and Stroganov. 04:43 - Savannah Park 11:26 - Cryptid 17:51 - Stroganov 27:11 - Family games 29:55 - Tidy Up! 33:01 - Wingspan 38:03 - Ticket to Ride 40:04 - Flash Point: Fire Rescue 41:39 - Let's Catch the Lion! 43:05 - Qwirkle 43:29 - Gulo Gulo 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

Well, we can't play everything, and that was probably more true ten years ago than it is now. So we thought we'd look back at the decade past, and highlight some games that we feel like we missed out on. Before we prolong our backlogs, we talk about Loot of Lima, Yosemite, and Planted: A Game of Nature & Nurture. 02:13 - Loot of Lima 09:17 - Yosemite 14:56 - Planted: A Game of Nature & Nurture 23:01 - Games from last decade we want to play 24:14 - Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game 25:53 - Black Friday 27:12 - Haggis 28:07 - Sentinels of the Multiverse 30:09 - Kolejka 31:30 - Eclipse 33:02 - Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery 34:20 - Copycat 35:31 - Caverna: The Cave Farmers 38:06 - Duel of Ages II 40:24 - Kanban 42:07 - Wir sind das Volk! 43:21 - Kingdom Death: Monster 45:18 - Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization 47:23 - Mombasa 48:59 - Arkham Horror: The Card Game 50:14 - Arkwright 51:03 - Adrenaline 52:18 - This War of Mine: The Board Game 53:14 - Gaia Project 54:36 - Calimala

We're spread across the world and time, so we do the thing we should never do; we put the questions to you. Yes, you! It's a mailbag episode, we're answering a trio, a trilogy, a trichopteran of your questions. Before we put in our hand and pull out a letter, we talk about Caesar!: Seize Rome in 20 Minutes!, Symphony No.9, and Arrakis: Dawn of the Fremen. 03:46 - Caesar!: Seize Rome in 20 Minutes! 11:36 - Symphony No.9 19:10 - Arrakis: Dawn of the Fremen 37:48 - Do you create game specific ambience? 43:45 - What games have you been returning to? 44:22 - The Great Zimbabwe 45:16 - Tigris & Euphrates 46:37 - Great Western Trail 47:49 - Cascadia 50:03 - Imperium: The Contention 50:24 - Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage "Game." 50:54 - What's a one sentence description of your tastes? 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://

Yes, you could make the argument that every game is a negotiation game if you try hard enough, but for a lot of games it's more integral to the design. We look at games that we think integrate negotiation mechanics especially well, and ask how much is too much (or too little) when it comes to negotiation. Before we compromise, we talk about Septima, and Kremlin. 02:12 - Septima 18:09 - Kremlin 34:26 - Negotiation as a mechanic 35:51 - Catan 38:01 - Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant 43:23 - Inis 45:45 - Rising Sun 47:31 - Between Two Cities 49:22 - Dune 50:28 - Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery 52:48 - Diplomacy 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

While we tend to enjoy games across the whole spectrum, there's something particular about sinking your teeth into a really heavy game. But it's not always an easy prospect; conditions have to be just right. So what makes a heavy game worth it? Before things get heavy, we talk about Barony, Bausack, Whitehall Mystery, and Dead Reckoning. 02:14 - Barony 13:17 - Bausack 18:07 - Whitehall Mystery 22:59 - Dead Reckoning 32:23 - Diplomacy 34:43 - War of the Ring: Second Edition 35:15 - A Feast for Odin 38:45 - Shipyard 40:03 - Vindication 41:21 - Mage Knight Board Game 42:35 - Forbidden Stars 46:59 - Food Chain Magnate 54:09 - The Great Zimbabwe 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

There's a lot of discourse lately about the pros and cons of negative board game coverage, and so of course we thought we ought to weigh in. Is there value in negative criticism versus positive, or should there be a balance between the two? Before we take the good with the bad, we talk about Homeworlds, Ave Caesar, and Founders of Teotihuacan. 01:42 - Homeworlds 12:39 - Ave Caesar 18:03 - Founders of Teotihuacan 30:31 - Negative criticism 56:06 - Quest 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

It's easy to get lost in mechanical discussions of games, and forget to appreciate them as physical creations. There can be beauty in games, and we're here to get to the heart of it the only way we know, the one on one fight to the death that we call BGBBOB. Before we get skin deep, we talk about First Empires, Mille Fiori, and Foundations of Rome. 01:44 - First Empires 08:25 - Mille Fiori 16:41 - Foundations of Rome 32:51 - BGBBOB: Beautiful games 34:18 - Photosynthesis 35:23 - Root 39:12 - Brass: Lancashire 40:34 - Rising Sun 43:26 - Spirit Island 44:36 - The Gallerist 46:28 - Yamataï 48:00 - Azul 49:51 - Agricola 51:17 - Pax Pamir: Second Edition 53:26 - Wingspan 54:23 - Inis 56:41 - Foundations of Rome 57:33 - Startups 1:00:19 - Ark Nova 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

It doesn't happen as much as it does in other industries, but every so often the people at the top demand serialization. We're talking about sequels in board games, when they work, when they (super) don't, and what we'd like to see get the treatment. Before we get franchised, we talk about Next Station: London, Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition), and Azul: Queen's Garden. 01:23 - Next Station: London 09:29 - Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition) 21:44 - Azul: Queen's Garden 39:51 - A Study in Emerald (Second Edition) 40:42 - Uwe Rosenberg Puzzle Trilogy 43:15 - Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan 45:13 - Brass: Birmingham 47:11 - Glen More II: Chronicles 48:21 - Empires of the Void II 48:36 - The Resistance: Avalon 49:44 - 7 Wonders Duel 50:10 - 7 Wonders: Architects 50:42 - Alchemists 52:05 - Lignum 52:27 - Francis Drake 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 B

Metagaming is all about the game that exists within (and without) the game - it's everything that's not written in the rules. Whether that's something that emerges at your table, or in the community at large, it can be a big part of the social experience, and we're all for it. Before we get meta, we talk about Rum & Pirates, Box One, Shamans, and Crescent Moon. 05:00 - Rum & Pirates 11:24 - Box One 14:58 - Shamans 22:11 - Crescent Moon  38:55 - Metagaming 44:01 - Hanabi 44:40 - The Resistance 48:04 - Root 56:35 - Blood Rage 59:02 - Keyflower 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

With the middle of the year rapidly approaching, we've acquired our fair share of games that we're really itching to play. We talk about what's recently made its way into our collections that we just can't wait to get to the table. Before we break out the back scratchers, we talk about Ivanhoe, Freshwater Fly, Vindication, and Cryptid: Urban Legends. 02:23 - Ivanhoe 09:13 - Freshwater Fly 17:11 - Vindication 24:22 - Cryptid: Urban Legends 37:36 - Games we're itching to play 38:40 - Dead Reckoning 41:04 - Gloomholdin' 44:18 - Mille Fiori 46:29 - Foundations of Rome 49:57 - Innovation 51:31 - A Feast for Odin 52:17 - Biblios 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