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 ideas under the microscope: why The Quest for El Dorado makes deckbuilding intuitive by tying every card to the map; how Ra fuses auctions with push‑your‑luck and tempo in a way that still feels unmatched; why Tigris & Euphrates delivers multi‑layered conflict and genius “weakest‑color” scoring that drives desperate, thrilling plays; and how MLEM: Space Agency shows Knizia’s lighter side can still create unforgettable tension and table talk through shared risk. Along the way, we weigh Modern Art’s glorious chaos against Ra’s razor‑clean structure, pit Blue Lagoon against Through the Desert for route‑building purity, and spotlight the negotiation fireworks of Zoo Vadis and the point‑salad teeth of Mille Fiori. Lost Cities gets its due as the 20‑minute two‑player gut‑twister couples keep coming back to, and we make space for why small boxes and family‑weight designs matter in a legacy conversation.

By the end, we land on a Mount Rushmore that feels both timeless and alive: The Quest for El Dorado, Ra, Tigris & Euphrates, and MLEM. It’s a mix of deep strategy, elegant auctions, intuitive racing, and joyous dice drama—a snapshot of why Knizia still hooks new players and keeps veterans obsessed. Listen, argue with our picks, and tell us what you’d chisel into the rock.

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