Board Game Hot Takes

In Episode 131 we provide our hot take review of Dungeon Petz covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss a poll on if you feel bad or upset when hearing a reviewer saying something negative about games you love. Twitter Poll Results: Yes, they're wrong - 6.7% Depends how it's stated - 40.3% Nah, it's their opinion - 53% Then we discuss some board games on our table including Joan of Arc: Orleans Draw and Write and 7 Wonders Architects. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:28 Poll: Do you feel bad when a reviewer says negative things about a game you like? 07:50 Dungeon Petz 10:19 Gameplay and Mechanisms 22:32 Production and Theme 26:00 Final Thoughts 29:56 Joan of Arc: Orleans Draw and Write 34:37 7 Wonders Architects

In Episode 130 we provide our hot take review of Endless Winter: Paleoamericans covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss one time use games (legacy, escape room, etc.) Twitter Poll Results: Love Them - 21.3% I Don't Mind - 35.4% I Prefer Not To - 31.1% Absolutely No - 12.1% Then we discuss some board games on our table including Woodcraft, Final Girl, Frosthaven, and It's a Wonderful World. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:23 Poll: How do you feel about one time use games (Legacy, Escape Room, etc.)? 10:17 Endless Winter: Paleoamericans 12:50 Gameplay and Mechanisms 26:51 Production and Theme 33:58 Final Thoughts 38:44 Endless Winter Themed Cocktail of the Week 40:45 Woodcraft 49:16 Final Girl 51:30 Frosthaven 59:05 It's a Wonderful World

In Episode 129 we take a look at games 101-200 on the Board Game Geek 'top games of all time' list and discuss the games on that list that we haven't played. We list the top 5 games we each want to play from that list and the top 5 games that we don't want to play from that list and discuss why some of them are interesting to us and others aren't. We also discuss a poll on where people met their gaming group. Twitter Poll Results: Games Store / Meeting - 15.4% School, University, or Work - 13.9% Existing Friends - 56.6% Social Media - 13.9% Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:03 Poll: How did you meet your game group? 05:27 BGG 101-200 games we want to play 08:31 Radlands 09:38 Village 11:05 Nations 12:42 Magic: The Gathering 14:47 Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deckbuilding Game 16:51 Stone Age 19:12 Quest for El Dorado 22:11 Forbidden Stars 24:53 Yokohama 25:35 Trickerion: Legends of Illusions 27:02 Trajan 31:40 Trickerion: Legends of Illusions 33:07 Tigris and Euphrates 36:45 BGG 101-200 games that we don't want to play 37:14 Go 40:24 Paths of Glory 43:50 Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition 46:30 Village 47:44 Captain Sonar 50:26 Concordia: Venus 50:54 Azul: Summer Pavilion 53:01 A Game of Thrones: The Board Game 54:25 Dominion 57:20 Concordia: Venus 58:41 Cosmic Encounter 1:00:17 Twilight Edition Third Edition 1:01:41 Pandemic Iberia 1:06:09 Age of Steam 1:07:57 Eldritch Horror

In Episode 128 we look back at the games we played in 2022 and talk about our biggest hits, and biggest misses in 2022.  This includes games that were published in 2022 but also games that were new to us in 2022.  We also talk about our Board Game Revelations - the things that changed gaming for us over the last year. We also discuss a poll on whether there is a price point where you will always buy a game. Twitter Poll Results: No: 45.6% 25% Off: 3.7% 50% Off: 25.7% 75% Off: 24.9% Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:41 Poll: Is There a Price Point Where you Have to Buy a Board Game 06:24 2022 Awards 06:59 Biggest Surprises in 2022 - Bonfire, Barrage, Age of Galaxy, Nemesis, The Fox Experiment, Agricola, La Granja 15:06 Biggest Disappointment in 2022 - Catan, Merchants of the Dark Road, Carnegie, Ark Nova, Azul: Queen's Garden, Lorenzo Il Magnifico 23:39 Best New To Us in 2022 - Notre Dame, Barrage, La Granja 31:10 Best Published Components of 2022 - John Company 2nd Edition, Everdell: The Complete Collection, Wonderland's War 38:22 Best Game Published in 2022 - Wonderland's War, Paperback Adventures 45:06 Look Back at Best Game Published in 2021 - Ark Nova, Cascadia, Ankh: Gods of Egypt 49:48 Most Played Game of 2022 - Castles of Burgundy, Azul, Barrage, Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilizations, Tapestry, Lost Ruins of Arnak 57:10 Board Game Revelations in 2022 1:04:08 Listener Shoutout

In Episode 127 we provide our hot take review of Chaos in the Old World covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss the best board game randomization components. Twitter Poll Results: Dice - 34.1% Cards - 40.9% Bag Pull - 24.5% Spinner - .5% Then we discuss some board games on our table including My City, A War of Whispers, and the Tapestry Natural Rubber Playmat. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:28 Poll: What is the best board game randomization component? 09:15 Chaos in the Old World 11:02 Gameplay and Mechanisms 36:21 Production and Theme 42:18 Final Thoughts 48:45 My City 54:59 Tapestry Natural Rubber Playmat 1:00:51 A War of Whispers

In Episode 126 we provide our hot take review of Sol: Last Days of a Star covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss a poll about how many times on average you get a board game played within a year after you purchase it. Twitter Poll Results: 0-1  18.1% 2-5  64.1% 6-15  15.2% 16+  2.5% Then we discuss some board games on our table including Battlecrest, Disney Sorcerer's Arena: Epic Alliances, and Tsuro. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Poll: How many times do you get most games played within a year after you purchase them? 11:14 Sol: Last Days of a Star board game description 13:08 Gameplay and Mechanisms 25:19 Production and Theme 30:52 Final Thoughts 37:17 Battlecrest 47:39 Disney Sorcerer's Arena: Epic Alliances 57:20 Tsuro

In Episode 125 we discuss our top 5 board games that we only played once in 2022.  These are some games we haven't mentioned much on the show but that we wish we were playing more. We also discuss a poll about board game related challenges. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:40 Poll: Do you have any board game related challenges for 2023? 05:51 Top 5 Board Games we only played once in 2022 10:50 Golem 13:02 Messina 1347 14:12 The Fox Experiment 15:13 Circadians: Chaos Order 19:06 Terracotta Army 20:24 Brian Boru: High King of Ireland 21:42 AuZtralia 23:50 Boonlake 25:03 Rising Sun 26:58 Dice Forge 29:43 Francis Drake 32:28 Lacrimosa 33:47 Arcs 37:23 Tiletum 39:20 Wonderland's War 43:29 Listener Shoutout

In Episode 124 we discuss the top 5 games we want to play in 2023.  We also review last years' lists and look back on the games we got played. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction Last Year 2:06 #5 Chris Last Year - Azul 3:35 #5 Jen Last Year - Welcome To... 4:13 #5 Tim Last Year - Tyrants of the Underdark / The Quest for El Dorado 4:45 #5 Adam Last Year - Cryo 5:00 #4 Chris Last Year - Rising Sun 5:39 #4 Jen Last Year - Kokopelli 6:22 #4 Tim Last Year - Rolling Realms 7:20 #4 Adam Last Year - Barrage 8:34 #3 Chris Last Year - Nemesis 9:52 #3 Jen Last Year - Viticulture 11:06 #3 Tim Last Year - Sleeping Gods 11:41 #3 Adam Last Year - Organism 12:25 #2 Chris - Radlands 13:21 #2 Jen Last Year - Catan 15:04 #2 Tim Last Year - Ark Nova 15:51 #2 Adam Last Year - Reef Encounter 16:36 #1 Chris Last Year - Golem 17:18 #1 Jen Last Year - Calico 19:00 #1 Tim Last Year - Clans of Caledonia 19:20 #1 Adam Last Year - Brian Boru: High King of Ireland This Year 21:12 #5 Adam - Paperback Adventures 23:10 #5 Tim - Welcome To the Moon 25:11 #5 Chris - Twilight Imperium 4th Edition 30:36 #5 Jen - Splendor 34:36 #4 Adam - Forbidden Stars 37:05 #4 Tim - Scout 39:46 #4 Chris and Jen - Mariposa 44:27 #3 Adam - Imperial 2030 45:56 #3 Tim - Tawantinsuyu: The Incan Empire 47:35 #3 Chris - Anunnaki: Dawn of the Gods 51:53 #3 Jen - Honey Buzz 55:03 #2 Adam - Battle for Rokugan 56:42 #2 Tim - Revive 59:44 #2 Chris - Chaos in the Old World 1:02:19 #2 Jen - Bora Bora / Cuzco 1:07:00 #1 Adam - Pessoa 1:09:36 #1 - Tim - Marrakesh 1:12:28 #1 - Chris - My Father's Work 1:17:08 #1 - Jen - My Lil' Everdell 1:20:56 Honorable Mentions: Fortune and Glory, Where Humans Don't Belong

In Episode 123 we provide our hot take review of Lacrimosa covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss a poll about preferences on leaving space for expansions in board game boxes, Chris give us a Lacrimosa themed cocktail, and then we all discuss One Deck Galaxy. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Poll: Do you prefer to leave space inside boxes for expansions or making it as compact as possible? 12:06 Lacrimosa board game description 14:21 Gameplay and Mechanisms 26:27 Production and Theme 32:46 Final Thoughts 36:14 Lacrimosa themed cocktail 38:55 One Deck Galaxy

In Episode 122 we provide our hot take review of Tyrants of the Underdark covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss a poll about spending time with board games outside of playing them, Chris give us a Tyrants of the Underdark themed cocktail, and then we discuss some games on our table including Tiletum, Chocolate Factory,  My Lil Everdell, and Sol: Last Days of a Star. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:28 Poll: What's your favorite way to spend time with board games other than playing them? 10:32 Tyrants of the Underdark board game description 12:23 Gameplay and Mechanisms 25:20 Production and Theme 27:42 Final Thoughts 32:55 Tyrants of the Underdark themed cocktail 34:57 Tiletum 47:23 Chocolate Factory 54:49 My Lil Everdell 1:03:44 Sol: Last Days of a Star