Board Game Barrage

The Golden Geek results are in for 2021, and to avoid burying the lede ... we won! We're over the moon, naturally, but we couldn't have done it without you. We celebrate by giving our takes on the rest of the awards, how we voted, and what we think about the other categories. Before we bathe in our glory, we talk about Aristocracy, Senators, and Ark Nova. 06:08 - Aristocracy 15:51 - Senators 23:58 - Ark Nova 42:15 - Golden Geek Awards 43:29 - That Time You Killed Me 43:58 - Summoner Wars (Second Edition) 44:17 - Radlands 45:30 - Sleeping Gods 46:16 - Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile 47:52 - The Crew: Mission Deep Sea 49:19 - PARKS: Nightfall 49:56 - The Adventures of Robin Hood 51:03 - 7 Wonders: Architects 52:00 - Cascadia 54:07 - Ankh: Gods of Egypt 57:12 - Gloomholdin' 1:02:31 - Red Flag Over Paris 1:03:07 - Podcast of the Year Check out the results here: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2859849/16th-annual-golden-geek-winners-2021 Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the dis

It's easy to get caught up in the cult of the new, but there are so many amazing games that came out before we were even in the hobby. Mark Bigney of So Very Wrong About Games joins us to look at the games we love from yesteryear, and other older games we really ought to play. And stick around for even more special appearances after the show! Before we go back in time, we talk about Sobek: 2 Players, Phantom Leader Deluxe, and Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition. 04:30 - Sobek: 2 Players 11:59 - Phantom Leader Deluxe 27:56 - Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition 37:07 - Acquire 41:45 - Bus 45:29 - Dream Factory 49:49 - Civilization 53:15 - Advanced Civilization 1:00:52 - Quo Vadis? 1:01:43 - Ikusa 1:03:20 - Antike II 1:03:52 - Die Macher 1:05:41 - Victory in the Pacific 1:10:18 - Subbuteo Please vote for us in the Golden Geek awards! https://boardgamebarrage.com/vote Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: h

There are many ways that we can accidentally contribute to gatekeeping in the hobby - pushing those who want to embrace it away. Whether it's to those outside, or even, bizarrely, to those already in, we break down the subtle (and unsubtle) ways we do it, whether or not we mean to. Before we find the keymaster, we talk about San Marco, Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, and Ghosts of Christmas. 02:28 - San Marco 10:57 - Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion 20:34 - Ghosts of Christmas 32:03 - Exploding Kittens 32:18 - Catan 33:17 - Wingspan 43:02 - Codenames Please vote for us in the Golden Geek awards! https://boardgamebarrage.com/vote 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 quite work the same, but what do you expect when Neilan's not present? Speaking of presents, it's Mark's birthday so the rest of the crew celebrate with a parade of (don't call them hot) questions, where they invent expansions, and save the planet. Before we get older, we talk about Time Barons, and The Key: Sabotage at Lucky Llama Land. 03:57 - Time Barons 13:37 - Hanabi Deluxe II 15:34 - The Key: Sabotage at Lucky Llama Land 28:06 - Beyond the Sun 30:57 - The Quest for El Dorado 32:38 - Biblios 33:32 - Pax Renaissance 36:54 - The Castles of Burgundy 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 been a little while, but we're back with the next hundred games on BoadGameGeek, and we're drafting a five game collection from them. Who ended up with the best picks? Vote and you could win a $50 gift voucher! Before things get drafty, we talk about Imperium: The Contention, Wonderland's War, and Gentes. 02:19 - Imperium: The Contention 07:20 - Wonderland's War 19:23 - Gentes 33:32 - Quantum 35:31 - Kemet: Blood and Sand 37:51 - Through the Desert 39:28 - Pax Renaissance 40:45 - Blitzkrieg!: World War Two in 20 Minutes 42:45 - Pax Porfiriana 43:27 - Coloretto 45:02 - Camel Up 46:14 - Cuba Libre 47:02 - Nova Luna 48:57 - Furnace 49:59 - Imperium: Classics 51:56 - Fort 54:09 - Space Empires 4X 57:47 - Carson City 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

Does the perfect game exist? Probably not, but is that even the point? This week we discuss the elusive 10/10 rating, whether it makes sense to apply it, and what that means for rating games in general. Before we realize pobody's nerfect, we talk about Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.”, Manila, and Picture Perfect. 02:11 - Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.” 12:14 - Manila 16:55 - Camel Up 18:50 - Picture Perfect 31:05 - Tigris & Euphrates 37:58 - Ark Nova 40:17 - Wingspan 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

Wow, hundreds of you sent in your favourite games, and it was absolute chaos. But we got all the data together, cleaned up the typos, and crunched the numbers via a super secret algorithm, and here we are, your favourite games of all-time! For this year, at least. Before you take the stage, we talk about Schotten Totten 2, For Science!, and The Bridges of Shangri-La. 02:17 - Schotten Totten 2 13:13 - For Science! 23:17 - The Bridges of Shangri-La 33:59 - Pax Pamir: Second Edition 35:07 - Inis 36:34 - El Grande 37:43 - Dominion 39:14 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 39:45 - Scythe 40:29 - Terraforming Mars 41:11 - Terra Mystica 42:53 - A Feast for Odin 43:18 - Agricola 44:20 - Race for the Galaxy 44:41 - The Castles of Burgundy 45:47 - Innovation 46:55 - Gloomhaven 47:36 - Great Western Trail 48:21 - Concordia 49:58 - Root 51:07 - Hansa Teutonica 52:21 - Brass: Birmingham 53:19 - Spirit Island Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/dis

There is a joy as equal in receiving a game, as moving it onto another person to enjoy. Especially, if you're Mark, when there's cash involved. We reflect on the many games that got left behind recently. Before we purge, we talk about Imperial Steam, Circus Flohcati, and Dogs of War. 02:33 - Circus Flohcati 09:37 - Imperial Steam 21:22 - Dogs of War 29:33 - Camel Up: Off Season 31:01 - Ciub 31:53 - Ten 33:18 - Visitor in Blackwood Grove 33:35 - Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden 33:52 - Bosk 34:08 - Castell 35:38 - Ninja Catfoot and the Covert Action 37:07 - In a Grove 37:07 - Dokojong 40:16 - Yokohama 40:59 - Castles of Burgundy 41:20 - Oath 41:46 - Feudum 42:23 - Lords of Vegas 42:32 - Chinatown 44:20 - Scape Goat 44:42 - Bequest 45:08 - Kardashev Scale 45:38 - Beez 45:56 - Llamaland 46:51 - Kobayakawa 47:07 - Lost Cities: Roll and Write 47:15 - Rebel Knox 47:36 - Tutto! 48:02 - Time Bomb Evolution 48:28 - My City 48:28 - The King's Dilemma 49:00 - Seikatsu 49:35 - Dinner in Paris 49:43 - Ruination 50:05 -  Radlands

Waiting your turn is so 2021.  Simultaneous play is where it's at now. Fortunately, we got a chance to try A BUNCH of games featuring the mechanism at Dice Tower West! So, before we all hold hands and dive in all at once, we'll chat about Bear Raid, Loco!, Imperium: The Contention, and Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest. 04:30 - Bear Raid 12:18 - Loco! 18:09 - Imperium: The Contention 30:37 - Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest 47:20 - Guards of Atlantis 48:49 - Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant Submit your lists for the Listeners' Top 20: 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

We're on the way to Dice Tower West, so we're keeping this one easy breezy with just a hot question. How many games on your shelf do you think you could teach without looking at the rulebook? Before we turn up the heat, we talk about Yokohama, Final Girl, and Mystic Paths. 03:04 - Yokohama 11:35 - Final Girl 20:27 - Mystic Paths 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

Return of the Bob! If you don't know what a BGBBOB, boy you've missed out. Twelve games enter, and, well, they all exit, but only once they've been arranged in the appropriate order via a series of one on one fights. And fights are doubly appropriate this week, because we're battling it out in search of the best combat systems. Before we wish for peace, we talk about 7 Wonders: Architects, Kokopelli, and Canopy. 03:18 - 7 Wonders: Architects 10:46 - Kokopelli 19:22 - Canopy 31:42 - Diplomacy 33:26 - Rising Sun 35:52 - Mage Knight 37:44 - Arcadia Quest 41:10 - Chaos in the Old World 42:18 - Eclipse 45:49 - Blood Rage 48:20 - Kemet 53:03 - Neuroshima Hex 57:11 - King of Tokyo 01:01:55 - Dune 01:05:17 - Inis Give us feedback: https://boardgamebarrage.com/feedback 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/st

Approachability and accessibility are incredibly important to a wide swathe of gamers, but for those experienced in the hobby, it can often get overlooked. We investigate how games can aid those both in and especially outside the hobby to be more immediately appealing. Before we have a beer with him, we talk about Shinkansen: Zero Kei, Project L, and Boonlake. 01:32 - Shinkansen: Zero Kei 11:30 - Project L 21:13 - Boonlake 37:34 - Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion 38:13 - Wavelength 39:14 - Splendor 39:45 - Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation 40:54 - Race for the Galaxy 42:07 - Scythe 43:22 - Troyes 49:27 - The Siege of Runedar 51:14 - Kitchen Rush 52:45 - Enchanted Plumes Give us feedback: https://boardgamebarrage.com/feedback 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 the triumphant return of the terrific trio - you know exactly who we mean - to talk about games where one of us would have to be left out. That's right, it's two players only at this table, and we're talking about our favourite games that fit the bill, and why we love them. Before we one-three-nine-take-two, we talk about Undaunted: Normandy, Fields of Arle, and That Time You Killed Me. 02:12 - Undaunted: Normandy 11:07 - Fields of Arle 17:27 - That Time You Killed Me 28:19 - Two player games 29:47 - Azul 30:56 - The Field of the Cloth of Gold 34:35 - Innovation 35:52 - Cthulhu Wars: Duel 36:25 - Cosmic Encounter Duel 38:40 - BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia 39:42 - Magic: The Gathering 41:10 - Race for the Galaxy 43:53 - Ginkgopolis 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

New year, new games, and we're really in it now. We look ahead to the year ahead, and all the games that we're most excited to get our hands on ... but we couldn't do it without just a little bit of help from our friends. Before we consult our many crystal balls, we talk about American Bookshop, War of the Ring: Second Edition, and Coffee Traders. 01:56 - American Bookshop 06:42 - War of the Ring: Second Edition 22:21 - Coffee Traders 34:16 - Aegean Sea 34:35 - Hamburg 36:01 - The Guild of Merchant Explorers 37:26 - Eleven: Football Manager Board Game 39:12 - The Shivers 40:53 - Root: The Marauder Expansion 42:33 - Dungeons, Dice & Danger 42:52 - Hamburg 43:49 - Bear Raid 45:24 - Federation 47:32 - Dice Realms 48:37 - Vagrantsong 50:14 - Return to Dark Tower 51:16 - Weather Machine 53:10 - Crescent Moon 55:06 - Stationfall 57:36 - Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory 59:39 - Ra 1:00:53 - Distilled 1:02:40 - Endless Winter: Paleoamericans Please check out all of our guests' amazing work: Paula Deming - htt

Few things feel better than those moments in board games that make you feel powerful. Whether it's playing the perfect card, pulling off a perfectly executed turn, or splashing down that giant mini, we look at some of our favourite power plays in board games. Before we corrupt absolutely, we talk about Biblios: Quill and Parchment, Cryo, and Origins: First Builders. 03:00 - Biblios: Quill and Parchment 12:43 - Cryo 22:24 - Origins: First Builders 28:57 - Games that make you feel powerful 29:21 - Russian Railroads 30:22 - Le Havre 31:01 - A Feast for Odin 32:01 - Dominion 32:43 - Automobiles 33:49 - Cosmic Encounter 34:17 - I'm the Boss! 35:06 - Magic: The Gathering 36:35 - La Granja 38:45 - Cthulhu Wars 40:05 - Nothing Personal 41:32 - The Downfall of Pompeii 43:12 - Spirit Island 44:53 - Dominant Species 46:49 - Furnace 48:07 - Innovation Check out our wiki at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/wiki Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord Join our Facebook group at: https://boardgamebarrage.c

And we're back! The holiday extravaganza is over, and it's back to business as usual around here. And what better way to get back into the swing of things than with some h-h-hot questions! Before that, we catch up on our holidays apart, with tales about the games that we played with our loved ones, including The Siege of Runedar, Snakesss, and Time Bomb Evolution. 02:18 - The Siege of Runedar 08:02 - Snakesss 14:49 - Time Bomb Evolution 19:04 - Sacred Rites 24:09 - Hearts of AttrAction 30:03 - Wits & Wagers Vegas 32:18 - Colorful 35:14 - Paperback 37:33 - Ten plays of one game, or one play of ten? 40:17 - The Great Zimbabwe 44:47 - Abandoning games halfway through? 48:56 - Time's Up! 51:36 - Blood Rage 52:10 - Heroes of Land, Air & Sea 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 the grand finale of the event of events that is the BGB Top 50 Games of All-time! These are our ten absolute favourite games, and, fittingly, it's a bumper episode with more than one surprise. Joining us in the peanut gallery this week, it's none other than the manic imp of Shut Up & Sit Down himself, the absolute mad genius that is Tom Brewster. Buckle in, it's going to get weird. 02:36 - Kellen #10 - El Grande 04:08 - Mark #10 - 1830: Railways & Robber Barons 07:44 - Neilan #10 - Exit: The Game 11:08 - Christina #10 - I'm the Boss! 14:53 - Kellen #9 - Inis 18:05 - Mark #9 - The Estates 20:13 - Neilan #9 - Guards of Atlantis II 23:20 - Christina #9 - Lost Cities 28:28 - Kellen #8 - Diplomacy 31:18 - Mark #8 - Hansa Teutonica 34:02 - Neilan #8 - Pictomania 37:20 - Christina #8 - Twice as Clever! 41:07 - Kellen #7 - Dune 43:43 - Mark #7 - Time's Up! Title Recall! 45:33 - Neilan #7 - Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar 48:14 - Christina #7 - Blood Rage 53:03 - Kellen #6 - Cosmic Encounter 55:03 - Mark #6

The penultimate episode of the grand series is here, it's the BGB Top 50! As the journey approaches its end, we're venturing into our 20th to 11th favourite games, with some support from the peanut gallery. And with thirty more board games to blitz through, who better to help us than Ambie Valdés of Board Game Blitz! 01:27 - Mark #20 - Imperial 2030 03:02 - Neilan #20 - Decrypto 04:11 - Kellen #20 - The Resistance 06:19 - Mark #19 - Ra 07:35 - Neilan #19 - Patchwork 09:15 - Kellen #19 - Ingenious 11:32 - Mark #18 - Barrage 13:41 - Neilan #18 - Rising Sun 15:24 - Kellen #18 - Time's Up! 18:01 - Mark #17 - Pax Renaissance 19:32 - Neilan #17 - Taj Mahal 20:34 - Kellen #17 - 6 nimmt! 22:55 - Mark #16 - Archipelago 26:03 - Neilan #16 - Brass: Birmingham 28:00 - Kellen #16 - Telestrations 30:20 - Mark #15 - 1846: The Race for the Midwest 32:07 - Neilan #15 - Watson & Holmes 33:44 - Kellen #15 - Decrypto 35:53 - Mark #14 - Bus 38:01 - Neilan #14 - Codenames 39:05 - Kellen #14 - Omen: A Reign of War 41:29 - Mark

What better way to send off the year than part three of the party to end all parties, the BGB Top 50! We're adding thirty more incredible games to the list, with our 30th to 21st favourite picks. This week, we have the Black Tank, Mike Walker of So Very Wrong About Games tearing apart our choices from the peanut gallery! 01:57 - Kellen #30 - Taj Mahal 03:32 - Mark #30 - Modern Art 05:48 - Neilan #30 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 09:11 - Kellen #29 - Race for the Galaxy 11:27 - Mark #29 - Francis Drake 13:02 - Neilan #29 - Gaia Project 16:33 - Kellen #28 - Krass Kariert / Dealt! / SCOUT 18:33 - Mark #28 - The Gallerist 20:37 - Neilan #28 - Twice as Clever! 22:33 - Kellen #27 - Rumble Nation 25:12 - Mark #27 - Panic on Wall Street! 27:30 - Neilan #27 - Azul 30:00 - Kellen #26 - Startups 32:49 - Mark #26 - A Question of Scruples 34:34 - Neilan #26 - Werewords 37:44 - Kellen #25 - Keyflower 40:09 - Mark #25 - Lancaster 43:23 - Neilan #25 - Spirit Island 46:33 - Kellen #24 - Smartphone Inc. 48:42 - Mark #24 - P

We're back for the second part of the year's greatest celebration, it's the top fifty! We've got thirty more incredible games to talk about this week, as we get into our games ranked 40th to 31st. This week in the peanut gallery, critiquing our picks, we're thrilled to have Monique (the Lavender tank herself) and Naveen of Before You Play! 01:29 - Neilan #40 - Coloretto 03:15 - Kellen #40 - Zendo 05:28 - Mark #40 - Ginkgopolis 07:46 - Neilan #39 - Aeon's End 10:06 - Kellen #39 - Stephenson's Rocket 12:47 - Mark #39 - Reef Encounter 16:09 - Neilan #38 - Dominion 17:49 - Kellen #38 - Genoa 19:46 - Mark #38 - Smartphone Inc. 23:22 - Neilan #37 - Archipelago 25:08 - Kellen #37 - Beyond the Sun 27:21 - Mark #37 - Maracaibo 29:54 - Neilan #36 - Innovation 32:33 - Kellen #36 - Dogs of War 34:45 - Mark #36 - Blue Lagoon 38:05 - Neilan #35 - Hansa Teutonica 39:58 - Kellen #35 - Pax Porfiriana 42:37 - Mark #35 - Genoa 44:57 - Neilan #34 - In the Year of the Dragon 47:10 - Kellen #34 - Agricola 49:42 - Mark #34 - True C