Board Game Hot Takes

In Episode 80 we discuss our top 3 favorite combat mechanisms as well as our top 2 least favorite combat mechanisms. We also discuss poll results on player counts and discuss favorite player counts. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:36 Poll: Player Counts 05:51 Favorite Combat Mechanisms - Lords of Hellas 8:05 #3 Tim - Dwellings of Eldervale 13:20 #3 Adam - Inis 16:35 #3 Chris - Fractal: Beyond the Void 20:44 #2 Tim - Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy 26:48 #2 Adam - Battle for Rokugan 29:37 #2 Chris - Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy 36:10 #1 Tim - Dune: Imperium 45:45 #1 Adam - Ankh: Gods of Egypt 51:35 #1 Chris - Blood Rage 56:51 Least Favorite Combat Mechanisms 57:28 #2 Tim - Star Wars: Rebellion 1:01:45 #2 Adam - Cthulhu Wars 1:06:37 #2 Chris - Scythe 1:13:44 #1 Tim - Root 1:18:10 #1 Adam - Path of Light and Shadow 1:20:52 #1 Chris - Risk: Legacy 1:26:20 Final Thoughts on Combat:  AuZtralia, Cthulhu: Death May Die, Mage Knight, Magic: The Gathering, Star Realms, Maria, Forbidden Stars 1:32:20 Listener Shout Out 

In Episode 79 we provide our hot take review of the expansion for Dune: Imperium, The Rise of Ix, covering the mechanisms, the production, notable moments in play, and our overall feelings of the game and we discuss a poll related to favorite interactions types. Then we discuss some games on our table including Cryo and some future takes on Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum and Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:27 Poll: Favorite Type of Interaction in Board Games 13:02 Dune: Imperium - The Rise of Ix 16:37 Gameplay and Mechanisms 38:52 Production and Theme 44:16 Memorable Moments 48:28 Final Thoughts 51:25 Cryo 58:56 Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum 1:04:28 Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest 1:10:28 Listener Shout-out

In Episode 78 we provide our hot take review of La Granja covering the mechanisms, the production, notable moments in play, and our overall feelings of the game and we discuss a poll related to thematic sci-fi IP based board games. Chris presents a La Granja themed cocktail and then we discuss some games on our table including Blood Rage, Gaia Project, Pan Am, Ra, and Nidavellir. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:17 Poll: Thematic Sci-fi IP based games 08:24 La Granja Game Description 11:13 Gameplay and Mechanisms 26:42 Production and Theme 31:40 Memorable Moments 34:59 Final Thoughts 38:48 Themed Cocktail of the Week 40:57 Blood Rage and Gaia Project 44:31 Ra 50:47 Nidavellir 55:50 Pan Am 57:57 Listener Shout-out

In Episode 77 we provide our hot take review of Brass: Birmingham covering the mechanisms, the production, notable moments in play, and our overall feelings of the game and we discuss a poll related to board game bonuses. Chris presents a Brass themed cocktail and then we discuss some games on our table including Ark Nova, Abandon All Artichokes, Art Decko, and Radlands and we give our future take of Legacy of Yu. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:34 News and Poll: Board Game Bonuses 08:10 Brass: Birmingham Description 10:30 Gameplay and Mechanisms 33:11 Production and Theme 37:40 Memorable Moments 43:14 Final Thoughts 47:25 Themed Cocktail of the Week 51:07 Ark Nova 53:50 Abandon All Artichokes 56:42 Art Decko 1:01:31 Radlands 1:02:19 Legacy of Yu

In Episode 76 we look back at the games we played in 2021 and talk about our biggest hits, and biggest missed in 2021.  This includes games that were published in 2021 but also games that were new to us in 2021.  We also talk about our Board Game Revelations - the things that changed gaming for us over the last year. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 3:23 Biggest Surprises in 2021 3:37 Chris - Keyflower, Gaia Project 7:00 Adam - Shamans 8:50 Jen - Camel Up 12:28 Tim - Smartphone, Inc., Shamans, The Expanse: The Board Game 15:06 Biggest Disappointment in 2021 15:34 Chris - Windward, AuZtralia 19:27 Adam - Cerebria, Outlive 22:03 Jen - Rajas of the Ganges 24:09 Tim - The Path of Light and Shadow, Obsession 25:19 Best New To Us in 2021 26:34 Chris - Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar 28:51 Adam - Smartphone, Inc. 30:52 Jen - Isle of Cats 34:09 Tim - Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar, Paladins of the West Kingdom 36:48 Best Components of 2021 36:59 Chris - The Great Wall, Return to Dark Tower 40:00 Adam - Oath 41:40 Tim - Hadrian's Wall, Terraforming Mars: Big Box, Red Rising 48:27 Best Game of 2021 48:38 Chris - Cascadia 49:30 Jen - Cascadia 51:01 Adam - Ankh: Gods of Egypt 54:23 Tim - Ark Nova, Cascadia 58:16 Most Played Game of 2021 58:30 Chris - Welcome To..., Azul, Tapestry, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Terraforming Mars, Star Realms 1:00:07 Adam - Dune: Imperium 1:01:22 Jen - Quacks of Quedlinburg 1:04:44 Tim - Lost Ruins of Arnak, Quacks of Quedlinburg 1:06:50 Board Game Revelations in 2021

In Episode 75 we provide our hot take review of Merchants of the Dark Road covering the mechanisms, the production, notable moments in play, and our overall feelings of the game and we discuss a poll related to what makes legacy games feel special. Then we discuss some games on our table including Azul, Tzolk'in, The Great Wall, Abyss, Seasons. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:27 Poll: What makes a legacy game special? 11:45 Merchants of the Dark Road Description 13:29 Gameplay and Mechanisms 26:47 Production and Theme 31:33 Memorable Moments 39:50 Final Thoughts 44:35 Azul strategy discussion 52:31 Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar - Double Take 56:40 Great Wall First Impressions 1:02:10 Abyss 1:04:07 Seasons

In Episode 74 we provide our hot take reviews of Welcome To... and Azul covering the mechanisms, the production, notable moments in play, and our overall feelings of the games and we discuss a poll related to ideal board game playtimes. Chris provides a Welcome To... themed cocktail and then we discuss some games on our table including Viticulture, Charterstone, and Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Poll: Board Game Playtimes 11:12 Welcome To... Description 13:04 Gameplay and Mechanisms 20:20 Production and Theme 23:30 Memorable Moments 26:48 Final Thoughts 30:30 Azul Description 32:17 Gameplay and Mechanisms 38:42 Production and Theme 43:45 Memorable Moments 47:55 Final Thoughts 55:10 Cocktail of the Week 58:36 Viticulture 1:00:16 Catan Junior 1:03:09 Charterstone 1:12:17 Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun

In Episode 73 we provide our hot take review of Ark Nova covering the mechanisms, the production, notable moments in play, and our overall feelings of the game and we discuss a poll related to board game strategy guides. Then we discuss some games on our table including Targi, Viticulture, Welcome To..., Happy Little Dinosaurs, and Just Desserts. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:22 News and Poll: Board Game Strategy Guides 08:46 Description 10:29 Gameplay and Mechanisms 25:53 Production and Theme 35:57 Memorable Moments 39:14 Final Thoughts 44:56 Happy Little Dinosaurs 46:52 Welcome To... 48:38 Just Desserts 49:23 Viticulture 50:36 Targi

In Episode 72 we discuss the top 5 games we want to play but haven't gotten around to... yet.  We also look at our lists from last year and review whether we played them and how they landed for us. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction Last Year 4:27 #5 Chris Last Year - Godspeed 6:00 #5 Jen Last Year - Rajas of the Ganges 7:00 #5 Tim Last Year - Res Arcana 8:25 #5 Adam Last Year - Fossilis 9:54 #4 Chris Last Year - Cthulhu Wars: Duel 10:54 #4 Jen Last Year - Whistle Stop 12:23 #4 Tim Last Year - Obsession 14:18 #4 Adam Last Year - Xia: Legends of a Drift System 15:45 #3 Chris Last Year - Dwellings of Eldervale 17:03 #3 Jen Last Year - Pan Am 17:40 #3 Tim Last Year - Manhattan Project: Energy Empire 18:09 #3 Adam Last Year - Canvas 18:52 #2 Chris and Adam Last Year - Imperium: The Contention 21:13 #2 Jen Last Year - Pandemic 22:40 #2 Tim Last Year - Concordia 23:44 #1 Chris Last Year - Disney: Villainous 25:33 #1 Jen Last Year - Castles of Tuscany 26:26 #1 Tim Last Year - Trajan 26:51 #1 Adam Last Year - Dune: Imperium This Year 28:10 #5 Chris - Azul 30:00 #5 Jen - Welcome To... 32:04 #5 Tim - Tyrants of the Underdark / The Quest for El Dorado 34:57 #5 Adam - Cryo 36:32 #4 Chris - Rising Sun 40:18 #4 Jen - Kokopelli 42:44 #4 Tim - Rolling Realms 44:40 #4 Adam - Barrage 46:19 #3 Chris - Nemesis 48:15 #3 Jen - Viticulture 53:27 #3 Tim - Sleeping Gods 54:44 #3 Adam - Organism 56:36 #2 Chris - Radlands 59:21 #2 Jen - Catan 1:02:43 #2 Tim - Ark Nova 1:04:53 #2 Adam - Reef Encounter 1:06:34 #1 Chris - Golem 1:09:14 #1 - Jen - Calico 1:12:14 #1 - Tim - Clans of Caledonia 1:14:20 #1 - Adam - Brian Boru: High King of Ireland

In Episode 71 we provide our hot take review of Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar covering the mechanisms, the production, notable moments in play, and our overall feelings of the game and we discuss a poll related to storing game expansions. Chris discusses the Tzolk'in themed cocktail that wasn't and then we discuss some games on our table including Praga Caput Regni and the games we've been playing on Board Game Arena. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Poll: Storing Board Game Expansions 08:21 Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar Description 10:18 Gameplay and Mechanisms 25:12 Production and Theme 29:52 Memorable Moments 34:55 Final Thoughts 39:25 Themed Cocktail of the Week 44:25 Board Game Arena 49:09 Praga Caput Regni