Author: Anthony

Anthony is taking the reins this week, at least when it comes to the games we’re reviewing this week. Anthony is a huge, huge fan of Roll and Write games, so he wanted to take some time and share about three different games. Welcome To… is all the hotness nowadays. He also tells us about Steamrollers and the (hopefully) soon to be available in the US, Ganz schon clever. If you want to check out a whole Facebook group on Roll and Write games, check out the group made by Glenn Flaherty from the Board Games and Bourbon YouTube channel:…

Ever want to wine and dine a potential client or get to know your new colleagues over board games? This week, we look at some games that offer the social interaction without potential gaffes or uncomfortable situations that work perfectly for low-key non-drinking ice-breakers. Before we dive in, we look at our question of the week – asking the listeners “What’s the most ostentatious thing you’ve seen printed for or with a board game (besides CMON’s jumbo Cthulhu)?” For our acquisition disorders, Anthony puts the spotlight on Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game hitting the states at Gen Con this…

Note: This review originally appeared alongside the 2017 Kickstarter campaign. It has been updated with new photos, additional commentary, and a new score to reflect the finished, retail copy of the game. Spy Club is all about solving mysteries. But it’s not your typical murder-in-an-alley-with-construction-material mystery game. It’s about the things that mattered most when we were children. Like, where the heck did my video game console disappear to? Or who would dare get into mom’s purse (and why am I being blamed?!). In Spy Club, players take on the role of pre-teen sleuths attempting to track down each of five…

We are happy to be joined this week by Stephen Gibson. He gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the design, development, and multiple iterations of Grimslingers, a card game that has a duel mode as well as a solo-coop adventure card game mode. We thought this would be an interesting discussion, not only to talk about Grimslingers and its new expansion, Northern Territories, but also to address big picture questions about iteration of design, responding to fan feedback, releasing multiple editions, and working with a publisher. Stephen gives his very honest opinions about the whole process. To help us with…

Only one week to Gen Con! That means it’s time to run down some of the hottest games everyone’s talking about, plus lots of reviews of our recent plays from Origins. To kick things off, we chat about the recently announced Spiel des Jahres winners – Azul, Die Quacksalber von Quedlinburg, and Dragon’s Breath. Then we read listener answers to our question of the week, which asked, “What criteria do you use when/if culling your board game collection?” – a spot on question for convention season. Next up, in our acquisition disorders, Anthony looks at the newest Vital Lacerda game,…

Some games defy basic expectations. They hide meaty mechanics behind cute artwork, or they bury a party game behind a gothic-horror theme. In the case of Drop It, Kosmos and designers Bernhard Lach and Uwe Rapp have couched a surprisingly rich dexterity game behind a colorful, connect-four inspired plastic toy. Don’t let the look of this one fool you, though. It manages what all the best dexterity games do – finding a way to be instantly accessible for children, and yet frustratingly difficult to master if you want to do well. Combined with the need for tactical decision making about where to…

We didn’t think we would do another Kickstarter mega-pod for a good long while. However, we’ve gotten so many delivered kickstarters that we had to bring the band back together! (we know, we have some acquisition disorder issues…) So, we are happy to welcome back Liz from Beyond Solitaire and Jeremy from Jambalaya Plays Games. First up, Jeremy shares about Ninth World: A Skill Building Game in Numenara (5:25), a deckbuilder-esque cooperative game with a RPG feel. Then Liz tells us about the new 4x-style release from our friend Carla Kopp, Stellar Leap (13:30). Jason then brings us away from…

In the grand tradition of the (relatively new) cinematic universe, this week we’re looking at our favorite board game universes. Join Chris and Anthony as they delve into several different universes that have expanded with shared rules, components, and characters. We start by asking the listeners about some of their favorites, then dive into Acquisition Disorders. Anthony talks about Rurik: Dawn of Kiev, currently on Kickstarter, and Chris looks at the newest from Next Move Games (Plan B): Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra. At the table this week, Anthony reviews the Kennerspiel nominated Ganz Schon Clever (which you can play…

In today’s episode, we talk about two highly competitive games, both set in fictional worlds that both Anthony and Jason absolutely love. First, we talk about The Expanse (3:24), an area control game set in the universe of the same name. Anthony explores some of the mechanisms here that evoke Twilight Struggle, while Jason brings his usual investigative eye towards theme integration. After that, Jason covers Mistborn: House War, a negotiation game filled with betrayal and chicanery set in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn universe. Jason played the game with two groups – a group that did not know the books, and…

I cannot rap. I know that not because I have tried and failed but because I have never tried and am certain that if I did, I would fail. So I was somewhat skeptical that VERS, a game that claims to make it possible for anyone to string a verse together using a series of carefully constructed cards, would actually work. The game, developed by Jerry Spatch is a love letter to hip hop culture, from the particular style of its artwork to the mission statement of its designer. I like everything about the presentation, and was eager to see…