Current Plays

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas set sail with A Feast for Odin, Uwe Rosenberg’s sprawling Viking epic and a true modern classic. From raiding and trading to crafting and exploring, the game offers a remarkable range of paths to prosperity with each one weaving into the next like the threads of a well-worn saga.The hosts talk about why the game has earned its legendary status, especially the endlessly satisfying polyomino puzzle that turns every haul of goods into a careful exercise in planning and efficiency. With so many ways to build your Viking legacy, no two journeys feel quite the same. It’s big, bold, and deeply rewarding; exactly the kind of feast that keeps players coming back to the table.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas finally venture into Feya’s Swamp, a long-anticipated journey into a shifting landscape of settlements, trade, and careful positioning. As the swamp slowly fills with villages and pathways, the board begins to tighten around the players, turning every placement into a meaningful decision. Tactical positioning, clever interaction, and the evolving map create a game full of thoughtful choices and satisfying moments of planning.The hosts talk about how much they enjoy the core mechanisms—especially the negotiation and trading that lie at the heart of the design. At two players, however, the certain design decisions change the dynamic a bit, making trade less enticing and leaving certain actions feeling a little unusual. Even so, Feya’s Swamp remains a strong design with a lot to offer, and one that clearly shines brightest when more players gather around the table to explore the swamp together.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas chart a course through history with Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn, bringing the legendary computer franchise to the tabletop. From humble beginnings to world-shaping influence, the game captures the sweeping arc of building a civilization: expanding territory, advancing technology, and pursuing victory on your own terms.They explore how the clever focus-row action system streamlines the grand strategy of the video game into something tabletop-playable, preserving the spirit of progress and adaptation while embracing the limits, and strengths, of the board game format. While no tabletop version can replicate every layer of its digital ancestor, A New Dawn delivers a thoughtful, engaging experience that keeps the march of history moving and makes the rise of your empire feel earned.It’s a confident translation of a beloved series; ambitious, accessible, and well worth another turn through the ages.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas step through the gates of The White Castle by Isra C. and Shei S., a sharp and elegant euro set in feudal Japan. Beneath its serene exterior lies a game of razor-focused decision making, where every die placement matters and every action feels consequential.The hosts talk about how the streamlined design delivers big strategic choices in a surprisingly quick play time, proving that depth doesn’t require a sprawling footprint. With its tightly interwoven systems, spot-on theme, and beautiful artwork that brings Himeji Castle to life, The White Castle is a compact masterclass in thoughtful euro design.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas head to the zoo with Ark Nova, the heavyweight strategy title currently ranked #2 on BoardGameGeek. Tasked with building the most successful modern zoo, the hosts dive into a design packed with clever decisions, long-term planning, and a steady stream of satisfying combos.They chat about the game’s standout action-selection system, where timing and card strength shape every turn and the unique scoring track that keeps progress dynamic from start to finish. With deep strategy, meaningful choices, and plenty of room for clever plays, Ark Nova delivers a rich, engaging experience that shows exactly why it continues to sit near the very top of the hobby.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas travel to ancient Jerusalem with Ezra and Nehemiah, a game of rebuilding, restoration, and carefully chosen actions. From the first turn, the engaging action-selection system takes centre stage, with three shared action areas that interlock in satisfying ways and reward thoughtful timing. Watching those spaces fill, shift, and interact gives the whole game a sense of momentum, much like a city slowly rising back to life.They talk about how much they enjoy the way the mechanisms support one another, creating a steady rhythm of planning, adapting, and finding just the right moment to act. As always with Garphill Games, the theme is deeply integrated and ultimately a strong foundation for a genuinely great game. It’s a measured, engaging experience where every decision helps shape the rebuilding effort and the journey is just as rewarding as the result.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas kneel before the throne of The Old King’s Crown—and emerge utterly enchanted. What begins as a simple, elegant contest for power quickly reveals itself as a masterclass in subtle manipulation, clever timing, and razor-fine positioning. Every move feels like courtly intrigue: a quiet nudge here, a delicate shift there, and suddenly the entire kingdom tilts in your favour.The hosts gush over how effortlessly the game delivers depth without complexity, rewarding players who can read the board like a royal decree and twist it just enough to claim victory. The design is packed with smart choices and satisfying little moments that make it genuinely hard to believe this is Pablo Clark’s first published game.And then there’s the artwork, which is absolutely mind-blowing. It’s the kind of visual splendour that makes the table feel like a storybook kingdom come to life, where every card and component looks worthy of the crown itself.In short: The Old King’s Crown is a jewel-box of a game; deceptively simple, endlessly clever, and fit for royalty.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas set out on a gentle journey with Creature Caravan by Ryan Laukat and Red Raven Games. It’s a relaxed, mid-weight adventure where clever planning and quiet efficiency guide your caravan across a beautifully illustrated world brought to life by Laukat’s signature artwork.They chat about why this one feels so comfortable at the table: a smooth multiplayer solitaire experience, thoughtful decisions without pressure, and gameplay that feels fresh while still easy to settle into. Creature Caravan is the kind of game that invites you to slow down, enjoy the journey, and appreciate the charm along the way—and that made it a delight to explore together.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas touch down on the red planet with On Mars by Vital Lacerda—a monumental design where every system, resource, and decision is shared, intertwined, and fiercely consequential. From the moment boots hit Martian soil, the game demands careful timing, long-term vision, and a deep awareness of what everyone else at the table is building toward.The hosts dive into how On Mars weaves its many systems into a single, living ecosystem: incentives shift, priorities evolve, and no action exists in isolation. Progress on Mars is communal, but success is personal, creating a competitive landscape that feels both collaborative and relentlessly strategic. It’s a game of planning, adaptation, and precision, and one that rewards patience, foresight, and mastery.For Jordan and Thomas, this wasn’t just a great play, it was a discovery of why On Mars stands among the very best in modern board game design.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas step into the opening mission of War Story: Occupied France, a story-driven experience set in a world of uncertainty, difficult choices, and scarce resources. From the very first decisions, the game asks players to act with incomplete information, weighing risk and consequence in ways that feel both tense and meaningful.They discuss how the branching decision system drives the narrative forward, why every resource feels precious, and how even the combat leans into that same choice-driven design. Encounters unfold through smart decision trees that keep the action engaging and surprisingly exciting. It’s a thoughtful, immersive take on storytelling games—one that left a strong first impression after just a single mission.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas revisit Architects of the West Kingdom, returning to one of Garphill Games’ most approachable takes on worker placement. With a mitt-full of workers in hand right from the start, the game flips the usual scarcity on its head, encouraging bold plays, clever timing, and plenty of interaction at the table.Revisiting it several years later, the hosts reflect on how the game now feels lighter than they remember—still strategic and satisfying, but firmly in the realm of classic worker placement. That said, the familiar Garphill charm shines through, delivering a design that’s clean, engaging, and consistently fun. Sometimes it’s nice to return to the foundations and appreciate just how well they were built.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas set the games aside and look back at the year that was in Past Plays: 2025 In-Review. From plays and player counts to favourites, surprises, and patterns they didn’t expect, the hosts dig into the stats behind a year at the table.It’s a reflective, numbers-forward episode with the same honest takes and good-natured banter—celebrating what they played, what stuck, and what shaped their year in board gaming.

Pray, compose yourselves and adjust your waistcoats; this week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas ascend the grand staircase of society with Obsession, a most refined contest of reputation, refinement, and relentless social manoeuvring in Victorian England. Estates are improved, guests are entertained, and every polite invitation carries quiet ambition beneath its lace-trimmed sleeve.The hosts delight in the careful orchestration of servants, the art of curating just the right social circles, and the satisfying puzzle of planning the perfect evening at precisely the proper hour. Behind the formal bows and courteous smiles lies a deeply rewarding strategic experience where efficiency and elegance go hand in hand.It is all civility, calculation, and controlled chaos where fortunes rise over tea, and one poorly timed soirée may cause quite the awkward gossip. One must, of course, keep one’s composure.

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, to the Grand Stage of Strategic Sorcery!This week, Jordan and Thomas don their sparkling capes and perfectly waxed moustaches as we dive into Trickerion: Legends of Illusion, Mindclash’s masterwork of misdirection, meticulous planning, and marvellously crunchy decision-making.Prepare for an evening of elaborate illusions, last-minute pivots, and more brain-twisting calculations than a magician has pigeons up his sleeves. Trickerion asks you not only to plan five steps ahead, but also to gracefully recover when your rival illusionist steals your spotlight (and possibly your assistants).Join us behind the velvet curtain as we scheme, rehearse, conjure, and catastrophically overthink our way through one of the most delightfully thinky games in the hobby. The Prestige awaits… if we can remember where we put our Trickerion shards.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas take the throne in It’s a Wonderful Kingdom, a clever blend of kingdom-building, resource planning, and fantastic use of the “I cut, you pick” card selection. The duo digs into the game’s standout systems—from its escalating resource production to the tricky mind games of offering cards your opponent might want… or might regret.While not every mechanism reaches legendary heights, there’s still plenty here to enjoy: smooth turns, satisfying engine-building, and just enough bluffing to keep both players second-guessing every choice. It’s a kingdom that may not be perfect, but it’s certainly a wonderful place to spend an evening plotting, planning, and politely sabotaging your fellow ruler.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas each venture to ancient Skara Brae - separately, but in spirit together! With Thomas away, the hosts both took this Garphill Games 2025 Ancient Anthology release for a solo spin, exploring how this powerhouse cranks the resource management dial all the way up to eleven. Sixteen resources? Check. Tight decisions? Absolutely. That unmistakable Garphill settlers card magic? You bet.Both hosts found that Skara Brae truly shines as a solo experience, feeling less like a variant and more like the way the game was always meant to be played. They discuss the razor-sharp resource and action economy, the deep strategic tension, and why it’s one of Garphill’s most satisfying and finely tuned designs yet.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas venture into the Black Forest. Uwe Rosenberg’s 2024 update to Glass Road is a blend of brain-burning euro strategy and pastoral charm. True to form, it’s a game of careful timing, clever planning, and that signature Rosenberg tension that keeps every move deliciously tight.The hosts dig into what makes Black Forest stand out: those brilliant resource wheels that spin the entire game into motion, the razor-sharp action economy, and the satisfying balance between personal engine-building and interactive play. Once again, the match came down to a perfect tie; proof that in the Black Forest, efficiency is everything and every move counts.It’s classic Uwe: serene on the surface, savage underneath, and oh so satisfying to play.

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas descend into the shadowy depths of Warhammer Underworlds: Nethermaze, where blades flash, ghosts wail, and victory is as fleeting as a skaven’s courage. Thomas commands Skittershank’s Clawpack—swift, sneaky, and just a bit stabby—while Jordan leads Lady Harrow’s Mournflight, drifting through walls and dreams alike with eerie elegance.The hosts trade blows and banter in equal measure, marvelling at how Nethermaze blends razor-sharp tactics with deck-driven chaos. They chat about how every activation feels like a duel of wits, how the setting drips with dark atmosphere and compare this streamlined version of the Warhammer universe with its larger cousin. It’s a haunting, hilarious, and heart-pounding clash beneath the Mortal Realms—where the dead don’t rest, and the skaven don’t stop scheming.

Hear ye, hear ye! Gather ‘round the podcast hearth, noble listeners, for this week on Current Plays, Sir Jordan and Sir Thomas taketh up their quests in Tales of the Arthurian Knights. In this most wondrous game of adventure and fortune, our gallant hosts dost wander through the lands of Camelot, meeting maidens fair, dragons foul, and many a fate most strange.Verily, their latest play did bring such mirth and merriment that they could scarcely read the storybook for laughing most heartily! ‘Tis not a game of conquest nor crowns, but of tales well told and memories forged in jest and joy. For in Tales of the Arthurian Knights, victory mattereth little—’tis the journey, the fellowship, and the folly that maketh legends endure.So don thy cloak, sharpen thy wit, roll thy dice, and join us at the Round Table once more. Huzzah!

This week on Current Plays, Jordan and Thomas warp through space-time with Anachrony from Mindclash Games - a sprawling, cerebral sci-fi masterpiece that proved time travel can actually work on the tabletop. Designed by Dávid Turczi and the Mindclash team, this one’s part worker placement, part paradox management, and all brain burn.The hosts dive into how Anachrony nails its impossible theme of time travel by borrowing resources from the future, but needing to pay them back on future turns or risk tearing reality apart. It's a game that set our hosts on a long-term love affair with both the designer and publisher. With sleek exosuits, branching timelines, and enough temporal tension to make a Vulcan raise an eyebrow, Anachrony is a heavy euro that perfectly marries mechanics with an impossible theme.Boldly go where no worker has gone before!