Board Game Hot Takes

In Episode 111 we discuss all 18 games that we played at BGHT LongCon over 5 days.  We also discuss a poll on win percentages in your group and discuss why Tim can't seem to win a game at BGHT conventions. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:47 News 01:35 Poll: How much do you win compared to the people you play against 18:44 Dune: Imperium (w/ Rise of Ix) 22:39 Radlands 26:25 Champions of Midgard (w/ Dark Mountains and Valhalla) 32:38 Ghosts of Christmas 36:37 Star Wars: Outer Rim 39:12 Ark Nova 44:49 Barrage (w/ Leeghwater Project) 50:15 Eric Lang Trilogy Preview (Blood Rage, Rising Sun, Ankh: Gods of Egypt) 52:30 Shamans 56:42 Tapestry (w/ Plans and Ploys and Arts and Architecture) 1:03:16 Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy 1:14:34 Terraforming Mars (w/ Prelude) 1:19:25 Age of Galaxy 1:27:50 Star Realms 1:30:27 Lorenzo Il Magnifico 1:36:25 Lost Ruins of Arnak 1:40:14 Final Thoughts 1:45:24 Listener Shoutout

In Episode 110 we provide our hot take review of The Fox Experiment covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss a poll about buying expansions, and then we discuss some games on our table including Arkham Horror: The Card Game (and the experience of buying expansions for it), Boonlake, and Barrage, a future take on They Live: Assault on Cable 54 and then discuss Petersen Games' disappointing crowdfunding campaigns for Cthulhu Wars: Daemon Sultan and Hyperspace. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:36 Poll: If you like a game are you likely to buy expansions for it? 12:32 The Fox Experiment Gameplay Description 14:19 Gameplay and Mechanisms 28:44 Production and Theme 36:35 Final Thoughts 40:12 Arkham Horror: The Card Game (Expansion Follow-up) 47:42 Barrage 51:31 Boonlake 1:03:24 Future Take: They Live: Assault on Cable 54 1:06:37 Walk of Shame: Petersen Games - Cthulhu Wars: Daemon Sultan and Hyperspace 1:11:17 Listener Shoutout

In Episode 109 we provide our hot take review of Clans of Caledonia covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss a poll about games that surprised you in a good way, and then we discuss some games on our table including Blood Rage,  Arkham Horror LCG, and Cafe and discuss some future takes including The Fox Experiment, Astra, and Star Realms: Deluxe Nova Collection. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Poll: Have you ever ending up loving a game that you though you would hate? 09:02 Clans of Caledonia Gameplay Description 11:15 Gameplay and Mechanisms 26:44 Production and Theme 31:00 Final Thoughts 35:49 Themed Cocktail of the Week 39:20 Blood Rage 41:36 Arkham Horror: The Card Game 39:55 Cafe 53:08 Future Take - The Fox Experiment 55:07 Future Take - Astra 56:27 Future Take - Star Realms: Deluxe Nova Collection

In Episode 108 we discuss our top ten board games that we would love to see turned into movies. We also discuss a poll on whether food and drinks should be included at your game table. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:43 Poll: Food and Drinks at the Board Game Table 10:49 Board Games that Should Be Movies 14:50 Chris #10 - Godspeed 16:28 Adam #10 - Terraforming Mars 17:40 Tim #10 - Spirit Island 19:36 Chris #9 - This War of Mine 21:33 Adam #9 - Wingspan 22:20 Tim #9 - Root 24:20 Chris #8 - Coyote and Crow 27:32 Adam #8 - Barrage 28:49 Tim #8 - Underwater Cities 30:25 Chris #7 - Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon 32:11 Adam #7 - Azul 34:03 Tim #7 - Near and Far 34:54 Chris #6 - Nightmare Cathedral 38:33 Adam #6 - Xenon Profiteer 41:13 Tim #6 - Outlive 44:11 Chris #5 - The Isle of Cats 47:01 Adam #5 - Xia: Legends of a Drift System 48:57 Tim #5 - Vindication 51:29 Chris #4 - Cthulhu: Death May Die 53:51 Adam #4 - La Granja 55:36 Tim #4 - Arkham Horror: The Card Game 57:35 Chris #3 - The Quiet Year 1:01:18 Adam #3 - T.I.M.E. Stories 1:02:28 Tim #3 - Anachrony 1:04:35 Chris #2 - Sleeping Gods 1:05:02 Adam #2 - Ankh: Gods of Egypt 1:06:33 Tim #2 - Golem 1:07:44 Chris #1 - AuZtralia 1:11:59 Adam #1 - Radlands 1:13:56 Tim #1 - Scythe

In Episode 107 we discuss 30 games that haven't gotten much attention from us on the podcast over the last 2 years but that we thought were worth mentioning briefly, good or bad. We also discuss a poll on diverse representation in board game artwork. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:38 Poll: Does diverse representation in board game art drive purchases? 07:18 Forgotten Games 8:25 Hadara 10:16 Canvas 13:35 Carson City 15:52 Afternova 18:35 Doughnut Drive-thru 20:50 Century: Spice Road / Century: Golem Edition 24:09 Jet Set 27:19 Space Base 29:59 Champions of Midgard 33:15 Seal Team Flix 35:18 Hero Realms 39:59 Chronicles of Crime 42:50 1841: Railways in Northern Italy 48:08 Imhotep 51:36 Deep Space D-6 53:14 Hellenica: Story of Greece 56:40 Babylonia 59:11 Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia 1:02:00 Sentient 1:04:46 Lords of Hellas 1:08:08 Funkoverse Strategy Game 1:10:34 The Field of the Cloth of Gold 1:12:39 Zombie Kidz Evolution 1:14:32 Hyperborea 1:16:42 Antike II 1:18:47 Cthulhu Realms 1:22:13 Paper Dungeons: A Dungeon Scrawler Game 1:23:56 Patchwork 1:27:42 Shakespeare 1:31:15 Roll Player

In Episode 106 we provide our hot take review of Age of Galaxy covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss a poll about bad feelings created by huge wins, and then we discuss some games on our table including Planted, Tapestry, Watergate, Expedition to Newdale, and the new expansion for Parks: Wildlife. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:25 Poll: Has winning created bad feelings? 14:16 Age of Galaxy Gameplay Description 16:13 Gameplay and Mechanisms 42:30 Production and Theme 57:04 Final Thoughts 1:02:32 Planted 1:07:47 Tapestry 1:09:50 Watergate 1:11:30 Expedition to Newdale 1:21:53 Parks: Wildlife

In Episode 105 we provide our hot take review of Barrage covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss a poll about setup time, Chris provides a Barrage themed cocktail and then we discuss some games on our table including Dutch Blitz, Age of Galaxy, Bloodstones, and Notre Dame. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:37 Poll: Does setup time impact your love of games? 7:10 Barrage Gameplay Description 10:16 Gameplay and Mechanisms 29:00 Production and Theme 34:32 Final Thoughts 41:28 Themed cocktail of the week 44:48 Dutch Blitz 48:50 Age of Galaxy 58:40 Bloodstones 1:08:01 Notre Dame

In Episode 104 we discuss our top ten favorite uses of toy factor in board games. We also discuss a poll on attending conventions. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:42 Poll: Attending Conventions 07:12 Toy Factor in Games 11:01 Chris #10 - Mechanica 14:53 Adam #10 - Baseball Highlights 2045 17:47 Tim #10 - Splendor 19:36 Chris #9 - Windward 21:42 Adam #9 - Pax Pamir 2nd Edition 23:40 Tim #9 - Lords of Xidit 26:50 Chris #8 - Scythe 30:59 Adam #8 - Xia: Legends of a Drift System 32:47 Tim #8 - Pan Am 34:39 Chris #7 - Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar 38:04 Adam #7 - Skyrise 41:02 Tim #7 - Tapestry 43:44 Chris #6 - Nemesis 47:28 Adam #6 - Wonderland's War 49:36 Tim #6 - The Great Wall 51:01 Chris #5 - Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon 53:47 Adam #5 - Anachrony 56:03 Tim #5 - Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun 58:07 Chris #4 - Blood Rage 1:01:35 Adam #4 - Star Wars: Rebellion 1:03:41 Tim #4 - Everdell 1:06:20 Chris #3 - Fossilis 1:10:14 Adam #3 - Voidfall 1:12:25 Tim #3 - Cthulhu: Death May Die 1:15:25 Chris #2 - Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar 1:18:43 Adam #2 - Ankh: Gods of Egypt 1:21:33 Tim #2 - Camel Up (2nd Edition) 1:24:02 Chris #1 - Return to Dark Tower 1:27:14 Adam #1 - Eclipse: 2nd Dawn for the Galaxy 1:29:38 Tim #1 - Dwellings of Eldervale 1:34:23 Listener Shoutout

In Episode 103 we provide our hot take review of Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game.  We also discuss a poll about buying games used and then we discuss some games on our table including Imperium: Classics, Memoir '44, and Viticulture World and then we give our future takes on Dune: Imperium - Immortality and Bloodstones. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Poll: Buying Used Games 07:06 Crusaders: They Will Be Done Gameplay Description 09:08 Gameplay and Mechanisms 23:31 Divine Influence Expansion Preview 25:43 Production and Theme 29:49 Final Thoughts 34:05 Imperium: Legends and Imperium: Classics 38:00 Memoir '44 42:47 Viticulture World 1:00:02 Dune: Imperium - Immortality 1:04:33 Bloodstones 1:06:04 Listener Shoutout

In Episode 102 we provide our hot take review of Rising Sun covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game.  We also look at all three games from Eric Lang's 'Troops on a Map' trilogy: Blood Rage, Rising Sun, and Ankh: Gods of Egypt and discuss our rankings of them. We discuss a poll about other whether it's acceptable to concede a game and then we discuss some games on our table including WW84 and Agricola. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:26 Poll: Conceding Games 13:53 Rising Sun Gameplay Description 18:35 Gameplay and Mechanisms 42:07 Production and Theme 44:52 Final Thoughts 49:24 Eric Lang Trilogy Ranking 54:40 Themed Cocktail of the Week 59:35 WW84: Wonder Woman Card Game 1:02:51 Agricola 1:08:50 Listener Shoutout