Board Game Radio

This week on Board Game Radio, Doug and Michael tackle some surprisingly tricky questions: Do we need a new term for strategy games, and how do you feel about kingmaking?In This Week in Gaming, we take a look at Pet Quartet and share our thoughts on the game. Plus, Magical Athlete is showing up at Walmart! What does that mean for the hobby?Then it's time for Redacted Reviews! We've pulled glowing reviews from BoardGameGeek, but there's a catch—the names of the games have been removed! Can we figure out which games are getting all that praise based on the reviews alone?Finally, we introduce Goldilocks: Overrated, Underrated, or Perfectly Rated? We're putting BoardGameGeek's ratings, complexity scores, and player counts under the microscope. Do we agree with the gaming community, or have they gotten it completely wrong? This week's games include:- First-Class Letters- Clank! A Deck-Building Adventure- Venture Angels- Splendor- Wild Magic- Just OnePlus, we talk about why our Discord community is such a great place to discover new games and get recommendations! Join the conversation at BoardGameRadio.com/discord.Subscribe to Board Game Radio on your podcast platform of choice, and if you enjoy the show, consider leaving us a 5-star review.If it's about games, it's on the table!00:00:00 Introduction to Board Game Radio00:01:23 Follow-Up on Campaign Games00:12:49 What's Awesome in Tabletop Gaming00:17:44 Review of Pet Quartet00:26:19 Discussion on Strategy Games00:34:42 Exploring Kingmaking in Board Games00:42:12 Redacted Reviews00:55:26 Goldilocks: Evaluating Game Ratings00:56:52 Exploring Word Games: First Class Letters01:01:24 Diving into Clank: A Deck-Building Adventure01:06:52 Venture Angels: The Art of Secret Bidding01:11:30 The Charm of Splendor: A Gem-Collecting Race01:15:05 Wild Magic: A Hidden Gem in Card Games01:19:44 Just One: The Ultimate Party Game

This week on Board Game Radio, Doug and Michael tackle a question every campaign gamer eventually faces: What do you do with a campaign game after you’ve finished it? Keep it on the shelf as a trophy? Pass it along? And should our answer change if the campaign can actually be played again?In This Week in Gaming, we’re looking ahead to Game Store Day on November 7 and celebrating the local game stores that help keep the tabletop community rolling.Then Troll er No? returns! We’ve collected some wonderfully brutal negative BoardGameGeek reviews—but some of them are completely made up. Can we tell the real internet trolls from the imposters?Finally, Michael puts on his salesman hat for Play or Pass. He’ll pitch games from his collection to Doug, answer Doug’s questions, and try to convince him that these games deserve a spot at the table. Will Doug agree to play…or send them straight to the pass pile?Visit BoardGameRadio.com, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and join the conversation at BoardGameRadio.com/discord.Subscribe to Board Game Radio on your podcast platform of choice, and if you enjoy the show, consider leaving us a 5-star review.If it’s about games, it’s on the table!00:00:00 Crowdfundin' Carl00:01:12 Intro to Board Game Radio00:01:56 Follow-Up and Community Engagement00:04:08 The Appeal of Simplified Games00:09:25 This Week In Gaming00:09:48 Game Store Day and Local Support00:11:36 A Gluttony of Crowdfunding Campaigns00:16:52 What's On Your Mind?00:17:30 Advantageous Moves00:27:20 Campaign Games: To Keep or Not to Keep?00:27:38 When To Move On From Campaign Games?00:38:05 Troll er No?00:39:26 7 Wonders: Architects00:49:28 Rebirth00:55:58 Play or Pass: Game Hole Con Edition00:57:31 Bean To Bar01:01:25 Brink01:03:33 World Order

This week on Board Game Radio, Doug and Michael dig into the art—and occasional pain—of teaching board games. What parts of teaching trip us up the most, and which games have proven especially difficult to get to the table?In This Week in Gaming, we talk about CMON’s $19 million capital raise and Chip Theory Games working with Jennifer Graham-Macht to bring Neon Knight to a wider audience.Then it’s time for The Great Game Guessing Game! We’ve each dug up an obscure game from before 1995, and the other host has to figure out what the game is about based on the title alone. What could possibly go wrong?Finally, it’s List Time with our High-Five Games We’ve Cooled On—games we once enjoyed or were excited about, but that just don’t hit the same way anymorePlus, we follow up on your trick-taking questions from Discord.Visit BoardGameRadio.com, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and join the conversation at BoardGameRadio.com/discord.Subscribe to Board Game Radio on your podcast platform of choice, and if you enjoy the show, consider leaving us a 5-star review.If it’s about games, it’s on the table!00:20 Introduction to Board Game Radio02:58 This Week In Gaming03:24 Jumpmasters: A New Favorite Game15:01 Chip Theory Games Expands17:47 CMON Raises Cash19:48 What's On Your Mind?20:17 Difficulty Teaching Games30:54 The Great Game Guessing Game31:42 Higgly Piggly: The Plastic Farm Game35:15 Time Agent38:41 Rootie Kazootie Word Game42:30 Times to Remember48:21 High Five Games We've Cooled On

This week on Board Game Radio, Doug and Michael celebrate one of the best parts of tabletop gaming: introducing the hobby to new players and seeing that moment when a game unexpectedly clicks.Then, are you playing the wrong game with the wrong people? We talk about how the group around the table can completely change the experience.We also debut a brand-new segment: Geek Sequence! Can we correctly rank a lineup of games based on a single BoardGameGeek metric? This week, we put our knowledge of game complexity to the test.Finally, it’s our Monthly Game Roundup, featuring four games that have been hitting our tables:🌱 Tend — IV Studio👑 Rebel Princess: Deluxe Edition — Bezier Games🏙️ Machi Koro: Life — Pandasaurus Games⚔️ Brave & Bold: Bag Building Combat Game — Resurrection GamesWe’ll tell you what we played, what stood out, and what we thought about each one.Visit BoardGameRadio.com, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and join the conversation on Discord at BoardGameRadio.com/discord.Subscribe to Board Game Radio on your podcast platform of choice, and if you enjoy the show, leave us a 5-star review.If it’s about games, it’s on the table!00:00:20 Introduction to Board Game Radio00:04:43 This Week In Gaming00:05:22 Wow Factor For New Gamers00:08:59 New Buying System Consequences00:15:47 Magic: The Gathering Update00:20:07 What's On Your Mind?00:20:50 The Impact of Group Dynamics on Gaming Experience00:33:30 The Inception of Game Collection Reduction00:40:54 Geek Sequence00:41:37 Ranking Games by Complexity00:49:54 Family Games By Dr. Reiner Knizia00:54:21 Monthly Game Roundup00:54:54 Brave & Bold: Bag-Building Combat Game01:02:00 Machi Koro: Life01:09:17 Trick-Taking Games: Rebel Princess Review01:19:16 Tend: A Complex Flip and Write Experience

We’ve got a great show this week! We’ll be sharing what’s awesome this week in tabletop gaming, including some new crowdfunding campaigns. We'll discuss gaming cynicism and table real estate. We debate some game night hypotheticals about consistent game nights and expansions versus bling! We finish the episode by drafting Phil Walker-Harding Games!00:20 Introduction to Board Game Radio07:21 This Week In Gaming07:56 Upcoming Crowdfunding11:34 Bestselling Games14:24 What's On Your Mind?14:49 Veteran Gamer Cynicism28:02 Table Real Estate and Game Acquisition36:36 Game Night Hypotheticals: Choices and Dilemmas36:59 New vs. Old40:25 Expansions or Bling?43:44 Consistent Game Nights?46:31 Discount or Speed?50:57 Collection Selection: Phil Walker-HardingDon't forget to check out our Discord!https://www.boardgameradio.com/discord/