Board Game Gumbo Live!

It's ESSEN SPIEL week! BJ from Board Game Gumbo is back with TEN more games that he has the ENVIE to buy at ESSEN SPIEL 2025. Plus, there's a little bit of lagniappe, with six interesting games that might slip under the radar, and two expansions that would have definitely come home in the Gumbo suitcase. Do these games catch your eye, too? Laissez les bon temps rouler! Twitch Tuesdays! twitch.tv/boardgamegumbo -- where we play your games live on Twitch! www.facebook.com/boardgamegumbo @boardgamegumbo on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook www.boardgamegumbo.com ← our written reviews, news, and convention recaps

The summer break is over, and we are back in the Gumbo Pot! This time, Jeremy from the Acadiana Board Gamers is back to teach us how to play CASCADIA ALPINE LAKES, out on Kickstarter right now from our friends at Flatout Games.  You like Cascadia? You want it even more breezy, and with a 3D component? Check this game out!  But we were not alone. The chat krewe was with us, and we did some deep dives about the gameplay and our thoughts after this first two player game for BJ. (Jeremy has played it a bunch with his spouse at home). Plus, there's talk about SoBo and Pax and lots of other shenanigans.  Sit back with a cold bottle of Berliner Weisse, grab your favorite jagerschnitzel, and enjoy another episode of Lagniappe from Board Game Gumbo! Laissez les bon temps rouler!  For more information about CASCADIA ALPINE LAKES, which is already funded, click here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flatoutgames/cascadia-alpine-lakes ** A prototype copy of the game was provided by the publisher. The production, artwork, and rules are subject to change during the project -- although Flatout does a great job of sending us pretty stout production copies before the campaign starts. **  Board Game Gumbo plays your games every TUESDAY on TWITCH! twitch.tv/boardgamegumbo @boardgamegumbo on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, Bluesky, Threads and Instagram www.boardgamegumbo.com ← our written reviews, news, and convention recaps

It’s another “lagniappe” episode of the Gumbo podcast, this time with Jay from Cardboard East! Jay is the marketing manager for Bezier Games, and he’s here to chat about The Game Makers!  First, Jay gives us his two ENVIE games from Asian designers that will be featured at GENCON (to demo, check out Age of Galaxy and to buy, look at 12 Rivers). Plus, we throw in some lagniappe — Buffet Boss.  Then, we get into a deep dive with Jay all about The Game Makers, designed by Ben Rossett from Panda Games and coming in September to crowdfunding from Bezier Games. Finally, Jay dishes on two spicy hot games he played recently:  Castle Raisers and The Wondrous Museum before we close out the show.  Sit back with a cold bottle of Dr. Enuf, grab your favorite meat-and-three, and enjoy another episode of Lagniappe from Board Game Gumbo! Laissez les bon temps rouler!  Get your Board Game Gumbo merch here: https://boardgamegumbo.wordpress.com/gumbo-merch/ Board Game Gumbo plays your games every TUESDAY on TWITCH! twitch.tv/boardgamegumbo @boardgamegumbo on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, Bluesky, Threads and Instagram www.boardgamegumbo.com ← our written reviews, news, and convention recaps

We took the month off of June from podcasting to play some games! We’re back with a special episode of Gumbo Live! this time with Steve “The Name Father” O’Rourke dishing on his recent adventures at Chuck Con IV in Salt Lake City.  But Steve’s not alone — he’s brought friends! Our old friend, Phillip Millman (“Baseball Highlights 2045”) joins Becke from the Chuck’s Gateway & Filler Games Facebook Group to chat about all things Chuck Con.  Chuck Con is an annual “friend con” hosted by the members of the Chuck’s Gateway & Filler Games group. The group is dedicated to the memory of Chuck Yeager, who started the group and championed lightweight family friendly games that just have a way of bringing more people into the hobby.  Sit back with a cold dirty soda, grab some smooth cheese and Russian pickled peppers, munch on a croissant from the Beaucoup Bakery and enjoy another Gumbo Live!    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Get your Board Game Gumbo merch here: https://boardgamegumbo.wordpress.com/gumbo-merch/ Board Game Gumbo plays your games every TUESDAY on TWITCH! twitch.tv/boardgamegumbo @boardgamegumbo on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, Bluesky, Threads and Instagram www.boardgamegumbo.com ← our written reviews, news, and convention recaps

It’s another Twitch Tuesday in the Gumbo Pot! This time, Jeremy and Doug stop by to play Pirates of Maracaibo and Schrodinger’s Cat, which you can find on our Twitch and YouTube channels. But before they get to playing the games, they have to chat about the news that came out today — it’s Spiel nominations time! The krewe chat about their experiences playing all of the Spiel and Kennerspiel nominations: Kenner:  Endeavor Deep Sea, Faraway and Looooot Spiel des Jahres: BombBusters, Flip 7 and Krakel Drakel Until next time, laissez les bon temps rouler!  

Gumbo Live! welcomed in Josh Ballagh, designer and publisher of Coalition: Councils of the Republic, which is hitting Kickstarter this summer! Josh is also one of the co-heads of our awesome GEAUXPUB section at Southern Board Game Fest, and we chatted about the successful con! Then we chatted up the history of Coalition and how it came from Josh’s days in school to now. Plus, we played a game live with the Chat Krewe! For more information on Coalition: Councils of the Republic:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coalition-the-game/coalition-councils-of-the-republic  www.coalitionthegame.com   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

Jerod and I opened up a new box on Twitch — the kickstarter preview copy of The Pirate Code — and once we finished, we started chatting about our top games played at Southern Board Game Fest 2025 in beautiful downtown Lafayette, Louisiana!   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

Gumbo Live! welcomed in Rob from www.theboardboyspodcast.com and Logan from the Acadiana Board Gamers Discord to chat about everything SoBo2025! (But only after we got in a BEAUX-NESS episode with Beau from the Board Boys).  That’s right, the krewe is back from another successful Southern Board Game Fest in beautiful downtown Lafayette, Louisiana.  We chatted about the top games checked out of the Library, Hot Games, and Play-to-Win sections, then moved on to our spicy hot games:  Sardegna Endeavour: Deep Sea Shackleton Base Automania The Gest of Robin Hood And many other games!  Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

Gumbo Live! welcomed Charlie McCarron, designer of SURPLUS OF SLOTHS, into the Gumbo Pot!  We chatted about his background in music, the process of tying theme to these mechanisms, and all of the fun of the crowdfunding campaign! For more information, click here: Plus, we chatted about his previous game, FOUR HUMOURS, that we are giving away at Southern Board Game Fest! Before we wrapped up the night, we continued our quest to come up with the perfect board game quiz with the guest. This time, it’s all about the world of movie themes. Can you spot the fake ones from the real?  Don't forget -- Southern Board Game Fest 2025 in Lafayette, Louisiana the weekend of March 29: www.southerngamefest.com Come join the Krewe and play some games -- you might even see some special Gumbo guests there!   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

Gumbo Live! welcomed Gregory Alford, designer of FOOD TRUCK RACE, into the Gumbo Pot!  We chatted about his start in board gaming, the design process behind the game, playtesting the game, and all of the fun of the upcoming kickstarter! For more information, click here: https://www.foodtruckracegame.com/yes-chef Plus, we chatted about some spicy hot games that we’ve played recently:  Wilmot’s Warehouse Run Run Run! Flip 7 Before we wrapped up the night, we played THE ENVIE GAME with Gregory. This is one we should’ve gotten. Did we guess it?  Don't forget -- tickets are still on sale for Southern Board Game Fest 2025 in Lafayette, Louisiana the weekend of March 29: www.southerngamefest.com Come join the Krewe and play some games -- you might even see some special Gumbo guests there!   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

Gumbo Live! welcomed back Glenn Flaherty from Boardgames & Bourbon to chat about the new release of TABRIZ from Crafty Games! Well, that was the plan…but everyone’s got a plan until … well, you know. So, we started talking about ALL the games that Crafty Games is releasing, and got on some tangents about conventions and content creation and even a guest appearance from the cutest little board gamer ever. But in particular, we gabbed about: Sardegna Flame & Fang Siege of Valeria Flip 7 Banana Boy v Unicone The Great Meteora Before we wrapped up the night, we debuted a new game with Glenn called Liar’s Liquid or Liar’s Cardboard or something. Doesn’t matter, because it was a fun game where Steve and Glenn had to compete to distinguish between wacky (but real) board games from BGG versus wacky (but fake) board games created by Chat GPT.  Don't forget -- tickets are still on sale for Southern Board Game Fest 2025 in Lafayette, Louisiana the weekend of March 29: www.southerngamefest.com Come join the Krewe and play some games -- you might even see some special Gumbo guests there!   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

Gumbo Live! welcomed back Alex Goldsmith who has done it all in the industry. He’s playtested, pod created, Kickstarter shepherded, and now he’s back to playing games with his friends in St. Louis! Alex was the former host of The Dukes of Dice (a Gumbo fave) and former marketing guru for Grey Fox Games.  Before they swim into a deep discussion of Finspan, they talk about some ENVIE games that they are looking forward to playing 2025!   Vantage First Monday in October LOTR: Fate of the Fellowship Lastly, it was time to play a game! This week, it’s a hockey edition of DID YOU KNEAUX!  Don't forget -- tickets are still on sale for Southern Board Game Fest 2025 in Lafayette, Louisiana the weekend of March 29: www.southerngamefest.com Come join the Krewe and play some games -- you might even see some special Gumbo guests there!   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

Gumbo Live! welcomed in Andrew Stiles, the designer of Wine Cellar, a brand new bidding game from 25th Century Games going out to backers and retailers soon. Andrew is also the co-host of Tabletop Submarine, where he and his co-host Josh do a deep dive into board game stories with guests each episode. But before…diving…into some board games, the Gumbo krewe talked with Andrew about his former life as a wine sommelier and podcaster, about spicy wine-and-board game pairings, and some news of some of his upcoming games.  Next up, it was time to talk about some spicy hot games:  Wine Cellar (25th Century Games) Digging for Dinos (3WS games) Forest Shuffle: Woodland Edge (Lookout Games) Lastly, it was time to play a game! This week, Andrew tries to stump us in the ENVIE game!  Make sure you check out https://www.facebook.com/tabletopsub/ Tabletop Submarine Podcast for all of Andrew’s podcasting about board games.  Don't forget -- tickets are still on sale for Southern Board Game Fest 2025 in Lafayette, Louisiana the weekend of March 29: www.southerngamefest.com Come join the Krewe and play some games -- you might even see some special Gumbo guests there!   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

BJ and Steve welcomed in Daryl Andrews, one of the most prolific and well respected co-designers in board gaming today! BJ is a big fan of Sagrada and Dice Theme Park, but it was time to get to know the designer behind the cardboard.  Before diving into some games, Daryl talked about life in Canada, traveling to board game conventions, his favorite moments at BGG.CON, some surprise news about some upcoming games, and his work with Maestro Media.  Next up, it was time to talk about some spicy hot games:  Leylines (Daryl’s co-design with Wolfgang Kramer) Donald Duck In Happy Camper (another co-design with Wolfgang Kramer)  Mistwind (Daryl’s co-design with Adrian Adamescu) Lastly, it was time to play a game! This week, BJ puts Steve and Daryl to the DID YOU KNEAUX game — ONTARIO EDITION! Since Steve’s Long Island is cat-a-corner to Toronto, this should be easy, right?  Make sure you check out www.youtube.com/nerdabout — like and subscribe to Daryl’s new and excellent channel!  Don't forget -- tickets are still on sale for Southern Board Game Fest 2025 in Lafayette, Louisiana the weekend of March 29: www.southerngamefest.com Come join the Krewe and play some games -- you might even see some special Gumbo guests there!   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

Jeremy and Logan are back in the Gumbo Pot! At BJ’s request, Jeremy brought two games we’ve been dying to play: FROMAGE and WONDROUS CREATURES.  Plus, the krewe de Gumbo chats about their favorite games from BGG.CON! Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

BJ, Verla and Steve welcomed in Jay Bernardo, the marketing director at Bezier Games and content creator at Cardboard East!  BJ is a big fan of Jay’s wonderfully eclectic and deep diving content about the Asian board gaming scene and it was a thrill to get him on the show. Before diving into some games, Jay talked about his journey in board gaming and how the Cardboard East channel came to be.  We get some inside gumbo scoop about the Tokyo Game Market and the Korean Board Gaming scene! Next up, it was time to talk about some spicy hot games:  Last Penguin Seers Catalog Bonsai and some bonus lagniappe — Rebel Princess strategy!  Lastly, it was time for the ENVIE game. Last week, they figured out Logan’s game pretty quickly. Can they make it two successful ENVIE games in a row?! Make sure you check out www.youtube.com/cardboardeast — like and subscribe to Jay’s excellent channel!  Don't forget -- tickets are still on sale for Southern Board Game Fest 2025 in Lafayette, Louisiana the weekend of March 29: www.southerngamefest.com Come join the Krewe and play some games -- you might even see some special Gumbo guests there!   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

BJ, Verla and Steve welcomed in Mitchell and Logan from the Acadiana Board Gamers discord to chat about cons including their recent trip to Dallas.  Before diving into the details, Steve previewed some of the games he is excited to play at PAX-U in Philly in two weeks: Flock Together  Black Forest  Molly House Then, it was time to reminisce about the week that was at BGG.CON 2024, including some spicy hot games:  The Flames of Fafnir (Mitchell’s pick) Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth (Verla’s pick) SETI (Logan’s pick) The Belgian Beer Race Dice game (BJ’s pick) Lastly, it was time for the ENVIE game. This time, we put Logan up for questioning. How fast did BJ guess the game?!?  Don't forget -- tickets are still on sale for Southern Board Game Fest 2025 in Lafayette, Louisiana the weekend of March 29: www.southerngamefest.com Come join the Krewe and play some games -- you might even see some special Gumbo guests there!   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

BJ and Verla are live from Dallas, Texas home of BGG.CON! Thanks to Logan Lanoo, we were able to record our thoughts after two days of gaming along with some special guests:  Mitchell from the Beans & Dice Podcast, Logan who runs the Acadiana Board Gamers discord, “Capt” Mark from New Orleans, Patrick & Cindy Newman, and of course, the inimitable Dave Dooooooooogas!  Don't forget -- tickets are still on sale for Southern Board Game Fest 2025 in Lafayette, Louisiana the weekend of March 29: www.southerngamefest.com Come join the Krewe and play some games -- you might even see some special Gumbo guests there!   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

Friend of the show and all around amazing fellow, Evan Halbert returns to Gumbo Live! This time as a full blown guest ready to give us the scoop on all the latest news from the world of his designs. First, we chat about AFTER THE EMPIRE's success with Grey Fox Games and Evan gives us some info on the in-progress expansion! Next up, we chat about everything METBETOCH, Evan and his design partner Ryan's take on a fantasy world from SBC Games coming to Kickstarter in the future. Then, the Gumbo Overlord lets us know that we should check out WONDEROUS CREATURES, a gorgeous little tile-and-engine building game from Bad Comet Games. Finally, Steve and Verla take on Evan in this season's continuing themed game, DID YOU KNEAUX -- the Portland edition! Don't forget -- tickets are still on sale for Southern Board Game Fest 2025 in Lafayette, Louisiana the weekend of March 29: www.southerngamefest.com Come join the Krewe and play some games -- you might even see some special Gumbo guests there!   Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

Carla Kopp from Weird Giraffe Games is back to talk about some spicy hot games, including her newest two games coming out on Kickstarter right now:  REEF & RUINS (designed by Carla) and WICKED & WISE deluxe edition and expansion (designed by Fertessa Alysse). Here is a link to the Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/weirdgiraffegames/reef-and-ruins Plus, we chat about a spicy hot card game that the Gumbo Krewe enjoyed -- REBEL PRINCESS from Zombie Paella and Bezier Games!  Finally, it wouldn't be a Gumbo Live! without a game with the guest, and this time, we play DID YOU KNEAUX, animal edition, with Carla!  Laissez les bon temps rouler!