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© 2026 Operation Game Night
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Travis Smith, Jared Erickson, and Clay Gable get together to discuss the latest and greatest in board games in this weekly podcast. What's hot, what's hitting the table, featured discussions about board games and the board gaming culture, and the primary mission objective- to play more board games!
104 Episodes
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A classic card battler grows fangs when you turn it into a legacy campaign. We unpack how Regicide Legacy transforms a tight solo-friendly system into twelve tough chapters with mercenaries, sleeves, and exact-damage recruits that make every decision feel earned. The best part: you don’t need the original to jump in. The first chapter onboards fast, the mat and iconography remove bookkeeping, and the art swaps plain suits for readable fantasy symbols so tactics come first. We trade notes on ...
We break down a year of board gaming through data, stories, and the people who make play matter. From family tables to BGA marathons, we share what 564 plays reveal about habits, favorites, and how tracking changes the way we choose games. • why logging plays reduces recency bias • BG Stats features, costs and BGA syncing • weekend bursts and Wine Wednesday rhythm • top playing partners led by family • most-played titles and what they teach • co-op trick-taking as a learning tool • digital d...
Holiday chaos meets game night comfort, and it turns out that’s the perfect combo. We swap stories from six Christmases, a last-minute MC gig, and a road trip wedding that turned into a used-game treasure hunt—then zero in on the party games and house rules that kept friends and family engaged without a heavy teach. If your living room is full and attention spans are short, this playbook is for you. Clay breaks down why Challengers shines with big groups and how a quick demo can transform fi...
Ever wonder why some hobbies fade while others become part of your identity? We open the door to our game closets and our calendars to unpack why board gaming keeps its grip—through job changes, parenting, and a hundred other distractions—when so many pursuits don’t. We start with the quiet truth: unstructured hangouts can be hard. A board game solves for that by giving the room a shared focus, a fair set of rules, and a rhythm that makes conversation easier. From party nights with sizzling ...
What if you could choose the perfect board game for any table, every time? We sit down with Dr. Reiner Knizia and put his legendary catalog to the test—throwing real game-night scenarios at him and asking for exact recommendations. From quick pre-dinner games like Money, to onboarding video-game players with My City, to big holiday tables where LAMA shines, Knizia explains why simple rules create the best decisions. He shares go-to picks for teens (The Quest for El Dorado), competitive famili...
The plan was simple: hop the fence and talk about life beyond the table. What followed was a tour of real projects, real rest, and the stories that keep us curious. Mike is in the final stretch of transforming a 1950s metal trailer into a cozy home, complete with a shipping container for laundry now and a dream board game room later. That sparks a candid moment about trimming a 375-game collection to something that fits the life we want, not the shelves we have. Holidays feel different this ...
Looking for fresh games that actually hit the table? We dig into a stack of recent plays that span fast fillers, tight two-player duels, a chewy co-op, a welcoming auction classic, and even a solo RPG you can toss in your bag. The throughline is simple: clear rules, meaningful choices, and sessions short enough to replay right away. We start with Bohemians, a sleeper deckbuilder that remixes After Us’ symbol-chaining puzzle with a bohemian artist theme that finally makes the mechanisms sing....
A duel that teaches itself, bites fast, and still makes you sweat—Tag Team brings auto-battler energy to the tabletop without the bloat. We break down how two fighters per side, a locked deck order, and a single placement choice each round can produce real drama in under fifteen minutes. With 12 asymmetric fighters—tanks that soak, glass cannons that spike, and a rage-fueled shapeshifter chasing a late-game flip—the game rewards timing, foresight, and a little nerve. We walk through the core...
What makes a board game leap off the shelf and onto the table, again and again? We dig into the publishers whose choices—production quality, component feel, rule clarity, art direction, and smart release strategies—turned solid designs into go-to weeknight plays and all-day favorites. From lavish dice trays and neoprene to tight, small-box curation, this conversation unpacks how labels build trust, reduce friction, and create onramps that welcome newcomers without alienating veterans. We sta...
We swap stories with Tiffany from Tiffs Board Games and share the best “new to us” plays that defined our year, from gentle family co-ops to solo epics and evergreen euros. The thread that ties them together is clean design, strong arc, and table moments that stick. • Victorian engine-building and gossip in Obsession • Family laughs and tension in First Orchard • Trinket Trove’s turn-order bidding and quick teach • Rebirth as a clean, scalable Knizia tile-layer • Cast...
What if you had to carve Reiner Knizia’s legacy into stone—just four games to represent a career that spans genres, decades, and thousands of tables? We are pumped to be joined by Bitewing Games’ Nick Murray to help us do exactly that, starting wide with party‑ready card games, heavyweight strategy, and auction masterclasses, then narrowing to a final four that balance impact, accessibility, and pure design brilliance. We revisit Essen stories and the reality of publishing while putting big ...
A first-timer’s crash course at PAX Unplugged turns from chaos to clarity after a late badge pickup, an impulse buying spree, and an anchor meetup with designer Paul Solomon at the Game Head booth. We share hard-won tips on planning, scheduling, demoing smart, and making the most of crowded play spaces and overwhelming choices. • arriving late on Friday and missing badge pickup • early Saturday push, exploring vendors outside the expo hall • expo hall overload, impulse spending, ...
We roast the perfect smoked turkey, rescue a podcast from broken texts, and marathon board games until the table begs for mercy. Retro hardware meets Switch advice, while a koi dilemma becomes a quiet lesson in stewardship and starting fresh. • Brining, drying, buttering and aromatics for smoked turkey • MLEM highlights and Pinatas’ second-to-last trick strategy • Magical Athlete chaos and playful stakes with a pickle bet • Flip Seven’s quick teach and score-tracking tips • Analog Pocket nos...
A podcast takeover with heart, dice, and a little chaos: we hijacked Games Y Mas to say thanks and to build your holiday game bag with confidence. We start by unpacking the three mechanics that made our year brighter—deck building for agency and momentum, push your luck for laughs and energy, and RPG-style progression for that sweet feeling of earned growth—then connect them to real games that work at actual tables with actual families. Jared makes a spirited case for deck building, from Arn...
The road was quiet, the horses were not, and our dice had other plans. We jumped into Dungeons & Dragons 5e with a veteran DM guiding us through a one-shot that quickly became a masterclass in what makes tabletop role-playing so compelling: real choices, shared imagination, and the wild variance of a d20. From a dwarf fighter built to tank to a half-orc monk chasing precision, our party learned how character ideas collide with probability—and why that tension is half the fun. We break do...
Jerry returns with stories of a surprise Azul date night, a rediscovered $100 Vegas mini-game, and fresh takes on gateway games that can coax non-gamers into regular play. We swap strategies for The Quest for El Dorado, pitch Redwood for photographers, and plot the path to Arnak. • Azul wins as a fast, colorful date night gateway • Travel-sized components and the power of quick replays • Ruins and trick-taking nostalgia with upgrades • The $100 World Series mini-game and what to do with it •...
We draft two original civilization board games with only $30 and 10 rounds, forcing bold choices on theme, mechanics, designer, art, publisher, box size, player count, and length. One becomes an insect super-civ of tech and diplomacy, the other a two-player city builder about climate resilience. • rules of the $30, 10-round Civ game draft • insect colony vs environmental adaptation sub-themes • tech trees and diplomacy vs resource management and city building • designer picks and why reputat...
We pivot from a planned board game origin to a candid catch-up on leadership growth, masculine archetypes, stadium joy, and sobering screen stories. Between a Steelers defensive explosion and a YMCA Wi-Fi meltdown, we land on what helps friendships and teams thrive. • origin story mix-up and light chaos • leader development course insights and self-awareness • archetypes of mature masculinity and practical feedback • Steelers defensive resurgence and stadium renaming • Halloween hot dogs, fa...
We share first impressions of The Hobbit: There and Back Again, a roll-and-write that blends dice drafting with a story you can feel across eight evolving chapters. From dwarf paths to riddles in the dark, we highlight why the theme lands, where solo stumbles, and how table tempo creates tension. • components, setup, and how drafting works • chapter variety and how goals change • path drawing, bread, swords, and first‑to bonuses • gollum puzzle chapter and ring scoring • storm pass risk and ...
We debrief Falcons, the U.S. Air Force Academy board game, walking through how it plays, where it shines, and who will love it most. Theme and art carry a brisk time-track system, with competitions and events adding light strategy and table banter. • time-track movement around the Terrazzo • academics, training, action cards and how they interact • competitions with simultaneous reveals and odd second-place wins • character tokens as hidden points and tie-breaks • milestone challenges of Rec...
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