Talk Cardboard

One thousand five hundred plus games released over four days is a HOT WEEKEND in board games and the Elaines and Efkas of this world were in attendance. Did we play all 1500 games? No. Did we play the hot ones? Yes. Did we play the weird ones? Yes. Did we play the good ones? Oh my yes yes yes. So grab a warm beverage, plonk yourself into a comfy chair and write off the next hour and a half because we bring you informed coverage of all the games that we played and what you should be on the lookout for in the next three months of board games. What a time to be alive. You can now watch a video version of the episode on YouTube - link here If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 0:00 Cold Open 1:40 Intro 4:15 15 - Milkuro 6:44 14 - Rock Rubber Scissors 8:58 13 - Potato Tomato 11:18 12 - Bomb Busters 17:45 11 - Overparked 21:09 10 - Big Two 26:17 9 - Bottle Imp 30:50 8 - Civolution 41:33 7 - Altay: Dawn of Civilization 49:56 6 - Seas of Strife 53:36 Joint 5,4,3 - ??? 1:01:29 Joint 5,4,3 - ??? 1:06:14 Joint 5,4,3 - ??? 1:18:55 2 - ??? 1:24:32 1 - ???

Folks, folks and folks, please come join us for a marvelous carboard celebration through time, energy and cities. Gaze your eyes to Paris in 1920 and marvel at the deductive action of Kronologic. Now turn those eyeballs further east towards Germany and amaze yourself with the fantabulous power of Nucleum and finally, fly up and up and up and then look down for a birds eye view of cities in Cities. It’s a show like no other and that show is called Talk Cardboard. For more NPI please visit https://nopunincluded.com If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 0:00 Cold Open 2:48 Intro 3:42 Audience Correspondence: Convention Demo Learning 8:45 Kronologic: Paris 1920 19:52 Audience Correspondence: Board games in libraries 25:29 Nucleum + Nucleum: Australia 1:09:31 Audience Correspondence: Wilmot's Warehouse 1:13:26 Cities 1:25:40 Outro

Vroom vroom it’s time to kaboom! Or something along those lines because today’s feature game is all about smashing cars into other cars. It feels like we’ve seen this type of game over and over through time, from Rock’n’Roll Racing to Mario Kart to Twisted Metal to Carmaggedon - the world is full of games that let you cause car accidents on purpose. But let me tell you, it’s never been done like that in cardboard. Joyride is a delight! And there’s other games too! We take a look at the somewhat bland and reliable Invincible: The Hero-Building Game and the charming Wilmot’s Warehouse in its new board game incarnation. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 0:00 Cold Open 0:39 Intro 1:44 Audience Correspondence: Qualia 5:29 Joyride: Survival of the Fastest 30:58 Audience Correspondence: Standardized Size 34:29 Invincible: The Hero-Building Game 53:19 Audience Correspondence: More Haggis Letters 55:29 Wilmot's Warehouse

Cute, but deadly! We used to dance under that name but you could also use those three words to describe today’s selection of games. Harvest is a farming worker placement game so cloyingly sweet you could squeeze condensed milk out of it. Is it good? Jury’s still out. War Stories: Occupied France is the unlikely combination of Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective and Undaunted - how does that even work? We’ve got the scoop. And finally… Dorfromantik: The Duel. Last year’s adaptation of Dorfromantik to board game form was low key our favourite light tile layer. But now naturally come the spin-offs and we’ve got some takes. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 0:00 Go Listen to So Very Wrong About Games 1:34 Cold Open 3:35 Intro 4:30 Audience Correspondence - Horror Games 12:25 Harvest 28:30 Audience Correspondence - Haggis 30:44 War Story: Occupied France 48:40 Audience Correspondence - More Haggis 51:26 Dorfromantik: The Duel 1:00:24 Outro

Hello boardgamers and boardgamees, how are your MEEPLES? Do they need feeding? Watering? Some TLC? Or do they just need a good dose of the Talk Cardboard podcast to refresh that wooden noggin? Well worry not young meeple trainer, we’ve got a new episode digitally bumbling its way to you right now. A real smorgasboard of delights this week as we take a look at three very different games to suit very different needs. Spectral is a strange melange of deduction and Keyflower style bidding? Does that even work? Does it make sense? Is Ryan Courtney the only designer that can pull this off? Talking of designers that can pull things off, how about none other than Reiner Knizia himself, who, believe it or not, designed another game. Except he designed this one quite a long time ago and also made a very fresh expansion for it right now. Through the Desert is a mean mean classic and Bazaar is a mixed bag of modules to add some zest. And finally, a board game based on a beloved video game (unofficially) that doesn’t just work but maybe even surpases its insipiration? Leviathan Wilds is the tabletop version of Shadows of the Colossus and there are moments when it towers above it. Find more episodes on https://nopunincluded.com/podcast If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 0:00 Cold Open 1:05 Intro 3:03 Spectral 30:25 Through the Desert (+Bazaar Expansion) 56:55 More letters on Salton Sea 1:01:40 Leviathan Wilds

I don’t know about you, but I think there’s something special about the momentum of two player games. The tension, the back and forth. The sensation of making a clever move is so much more palpable than in any other player count. Today we’ll take a look at three two player games, each interesting in its own way, and also two more on our bonus episode. Our friend Jon from JonGetsGames has designed a game called Spring Cleaning, which we mention in the episode, you can pre-order it here: https://www.newmillindustries.com/store/p/spring-cleaning-preorder or you can play it online on boardgamearena. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 0:00 Cold Open 2:04 Intro 4:08 Run 24:31 Haggis 37:07 Harrow County

Dear listeners, it’s never been clearer to us that board games have entered into a new era - the era of the size race. Each month publishers are competing to release a bigger campaign game than the one before and in terms of scope, Agemonia is definitely in the running for the lead. In terms of box size it’s no slouch either, looking eerily similar to that 32 pound Frosthaven box. To provide some contrast and levity, the second game on this episode is Terra Nova, a sleeker, slimmer, smaller and shorter version of its big sibling - Terra Mystica. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 0:00 Cold Open 1:46 Agemonia 41:34 Agemonia content warning start 45:49 Agemonia content warning end 48:22 Audience Correspondence - Salton Sea 55:52 Terra Nova

There is a duality in first time plays, at least when you’re playing with a mind to reviewing. One path leads to potential, the other to the bin. A first time play can reveal quirks and kinks that promise an interesting second or third or fourth and beyond plays; exploration and indulgence. It can equally reveal a design you never wish to revisit. On today’s episode - two board games. Arcs and Salton Sea. A remix of space board games and a trudge through the bleak world of mining lithium. Each a representative of both polar opposites of first impressions. Articles and websites discussed in the episode can be found here: Vote for your favourite podcast in the BGG Awards: https://boardgamegeek.com/geekawards/boardgame From Wingspan to Wyrmspan: An Accesibility Journey - https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/157687/from-wingspan-to-wyrmspan-an-accessibility-journey Rolling with Two: Wyrmspan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifMREbPv1Zk Colorbling Games - https://colorblindgames.com/ If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 0:00 Cold Open 1:46 Intro 2:49 Flavor Text 9:13 Salton Sea 41:46 Weight vs Subject 45:02 Arcs 1:15:03 Outro

This episode we only cover two games, but we had so much to say it ended up being a full length episode anyway. Which isn’t a surprise really when you end up with two follow ups for two massively succesful games. It’s the follow-up episode! And if you strain your thinking really hard, you could even argue that this very episode is a follow up to previous episodes, and thus thematically represents the games themselves. It’s nice when things like that line up perfectly. Please enjoy our chatter on 7th Citadel (sequel to 7th Continent) and Wyrmspan (sequel to Wingspan). If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded 0:00 Cold Open 0:38 Intro 2:44 7th Citadel 34:15 Wyrmspan

“What’s good?” you might ask me. Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Just board games. Three specific board games that are, in fact, good and COINCIDENTALLY are all featured on this episode of Talk Cardboard. What a treat! A threefer. A co-op boss battler that’s good, a solo deck-builder that’s good and, wait for it, a EUROGAME that is very good! It’s good games vibes only. Enjoy! If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded 0:00 Cold Open 2:00 Intro 3:17 Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze 22:08 Witchcraft! 38:41 Revive

A remake, a new take and an expansion walk into a bar. The barman says, “what’ll it be?” They all reply “something fresh.” Was that too mean? I think that was too mean, especially since at least (and also at most) two of the games discussed in this episode are pretty great. And one of them is okay. We revisit the classic Terra Mystica in it’s new more thematically demure incarnation, we explore how Raising Robots riffs on Wingspan and Efka finally gets to play the expansion to his favourite game of all time - Sidereal Confluence. Let me tell you folks - it’s been bifurcated. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded 0:00 Cold Open 2:48 Intro 3:43 Age of Innovation: A Terra Mystica Game 33:22 Raising Robots 53:23 Sidereal Confluence: Bifurcation

More and more board games are adopting eco themes! Whether it’s Daybreak and it’s simulation of climate change or Dune: War for Arrakis and Dune’s enviromental themes and… uh… one or two plastic miniatures or Ticket to Ride Legacy and… um… all the railroad constru…. You know what nevermind, welcome to board games! It’s board games everyone, aren’t they good? So good those board games. Are they good? It depends on which one it is. And thus enters the board game reviews. They’re here. Enjoy it. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 00:00 Cold Open 1:27 Intro 2:30 Audience Correspondence: Green Appreciation 6:08 Dune: War for Arrakis 38:26 Daybreak 59:07 Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West

Can you believe it’s been a whole year of Talk Cardboard? Incredible! What’s a better way to celebrate the end of the year than by revisiting where we began? On the very first episode Efka talked about his most anticipated games for 2023, so today we’ll take a look at how those panned out and also take a peek at his most anticipated games for 2024. Plus we’ll talk about Dune: Imperium - Uprising, Efka’s game of the year and share some of Elaine’s impressions of it. Finally, we saved something a little special for the end of the episode, but you’ll have to listen to find out what that is. Thanks for sticking with us for a whole year! Here’s to another one. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 3:35 The Ones that Got Away 20:47 Dune: Imperium - Uprising 44:09 Most Anticipated 2023 Revisited 54:15 Most Anticipated 2024

Winter months are here and a deep chill is setting over the world. A chill that can represent only one thing - Elaine and Efka’s disappointing week of board games. That’s right, it’s one of those episodes - where no one game is a standout and all of them feel like they’re missing just a little warmth. So grab a cup of hot cocoa and settle in for a grumpy cast of some grumpy cardboard talk. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 2:08 Audience Correspondence - Contentification (for the last time) 8:16 Sail 32:23 Thank you to Mark from So Very Wrong About Games https://www.sowronggames.com/ 37:46 Trolls and Princesses 55:45 Evacuation

It’s a new episode of the Talk Cardboard podcast and I feel great! Rejuvenated even because today’s games are light, breezy, quirky and fun. And what’s a breezier topic than the collapse of an empire? Just the thought of that warmed something inside of me, like a cozy blanket gently touching the fireplace and setting aflame. If you too would like to partake in some famine, pestilence, war, etc. you might want to give Empire’s End a spin. And if that wasn’t cozy enough, how about some real time horse gambling? Honestly, all that cozyness put my brain in a twist. Thankfully, we’re also covering Mind Space. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 1:16 Audience Correspondence - Singapore 1819 3:33 Empire's End 13:17 Audience Recommendations 14:49 Ready Set Bet 26:06 Rob Daviau Talks Legacy Games 45:00 Mind Space 56:40 Audience Correspondence - All Time Favourites

Every year in board games there’s a new fad. Legacy, polyominoes, roll and writes and trick takers. This year’s fad seems to be less genre based and more societally concious. Here at NPI every week we encounter more and more board games that reduce their use of wasteful material such as plastics. On this episode alone two of the three games discussed are 100% recyclable (if you ignore the stickers that hold the lid on the box). And the third one is themed around enviromental issues. How amazing is that? But on top of that, they’re really interesting games in their own right. Honestly, this feels like a celebration. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 1:43 Audience Correspondence - Contentification Part One 3:51 Earthborne Rangers 27:52 Audience Correspondence - Contentification Part Two 36:32 Forest Shuffle 59:10 Sonny Liew and the Two Board Games Called 1819: Singapore 1:25:31 Planta Nubo 1:42:06 Audience Correspondence - Contentification Part Three

What’s the biggest event of the year? That’s right, it’s the DFS Winter Mega Sale! But right after that comes Essen Spiel, or as it is now known: Spiel Essen. Every year, just under two hundred thousand board gamers flock to an industrial city in Germany to partake in a mass consumption event where over a thousand board game titles are released over the course of one weekend and this year we have played ALL OF THEM. Or at least tried to. We played twenty five, ate a kebab and fell asleep. But now, on this one and only episode of Talk Cardboard, we’ll rank them from worst to best and talk about each one a little bit. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 0:56 Intro Unranked Games: 3:13 Karvi 4:02 El Grande 5:30 Bruxelles 1893 7:30 Nana/Trio Ranked Games: 10:25 Here Comes The Dog 12:00 Stich für Stich 13:59 Sunrise Lane 16:32 Couture 20:19 Ninja Masters 23:19 Havalandi 27:55 Tangram City 32:30 Quicksand 36:15 Extravaganza 39:14 Nuts a Go Go 43:50 Viking Sea-Saw 47:28 Tiger and Dragon 51:23 White Castle 55:55 Come Sail Away 1:00:41 The Top 3 Games from Spiel

Tell me something, which other board game podcast episode can claim to contain the entire gamut of board games in one episode? Antropomorphic animals? Check. Weirdly themed euro? Check. Fantasy campaign game? Check. Real time? Check. Randomness? Check. Strategy, tactics, abstractification? Check check and check. In this episode we’ll take a long overdue look at Vindication, a game where you gather cubes to kill monsters, Fit to Print, a cutesy real time newspaper assembly simulator and Kinfire Chronicles: Night’s Fall, a fantasy campaign game that signals the arrival of everyone’s most dreaded season - Campaignmass. Find the video we mention in the discussion on contentification right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMqtgN82fUY If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 2:48 Fit to Print 29:07 Audience Correspondence: Board Game Fan Fic Trivia 31:48 Vindication 46:51 A Discussion on Contentification 59:47 Kinfire Chronicles: Night's Fall

Are games even real? According to Kieron Gillen, they certainly bleed into reality and reality bleeds into them. According to Great Western Trail, New Zealand isn’t even real. So who’s to say? On this episode of Talk Cardboard we review Schadenfreude, the little trick taking game that could, chat about the absurd comedy that is Freelancers, take an early peak at Great Western Trail: New Zealand and chat to Kieron Gillen about his comic book and role-playing game DIE. For more on DIE, here’s the links provided at the end of the interview in clickable form: Kieron’s Newsletter - https://buttondown.email/KieronGillen DIE RPG - https://diecomic.com/rpg/ Rowan, Rook and Decard - https://rowanrookanddecard.com/ If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 00:59 Intro and Audience Correspondence - Review copies 6:32 Schadenfreude 19:31 Freelancers: A Crossroads Game 37:07 Audience Correspondence - Dinged up Cards 39:56 Interview: Kieron Gillen and DIE 1:07:53 Great Western Trail: New Zealand

From Earth to Space to the abstract void in between, this episode has a little bit of everything, including a game that made Efka feel like he had to give a rating. That’s right, a bona fide numerical value asigned to the perceived quality of a game. What will they think of next? Verdicts? Comparisons? In the future, anything will be possible. On this episode of Talk Cardboard we review the many many card game Earth, the impossibly adorable abstract two player only game Lacuna and share our first impressions of the heaviest euro game of the year - Voidfall. If you’d like to check out our bonus episodes - become a patreon supporter on https://patreon.com/nopunincluded On to the timestamps: 0:00 Review Copies and NPI 6:13 Earth 25:20 Audience Correspondence - Game Wear and Tear 31:01 Lacuna 45:21 Audience Correspondence - Aeon’s End 52:16 Voidfall First Impressions