Board Game Hot Takes

In Episode 42 we provide our hot take review of Rap Godz covering the mechanisms, the production, exciting moments in play, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss some games we've been playing including Dice Throne, Doughnut Drive-Thru and Terraforming Mars and some games we're excited about including Paperback Adventures and AuZtralia. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:10 Rap Godz Description 03:03 Gameplay and Mechanisms 29:02 Production 29:16 Favorite Moments 35:46 Final Thoughts 44:51 Dice Throne 47:40 Doughnut Drive-Thru 49:17 AuZtralia 51:52 Terraforming Mars 52:42 Paperback Adventures

A review of Lost Ruins of Arnak, comparing it to Dune: Imperium. Exciting gameplay moments, production quality, and overall feelings discussed. Also mentioned are games like Oath, Power Grid, and upcoming releases like Elder Scrolls and The Witcher: The Old World.

In Episode 40 we provide our hot take review of AuZtralia covering the mechanisms, the production, exciting moments in play, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss some games we've been playing including Kemet: Blood and Sand and Lost Ruins of Arnak and some games we're excited about including an expansion to Beyond the Sun and Twisted Fables. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:04 AuZtralia description 04:48 Gameplay and Mechanisms 42:55 Production 51:01 Exciting Moments 57:36 Final Thoughts 1:03:44 Kemet: Blood and Sand 1:07:02 Lost Ruins of Arnak 1:12:18 Beyond the Sun: Leaders of the Exodus expansion 1:14:00 Twisted Fables

In Episode 39 we discuss house rules and fan variants in board games.  We talk about why people may use them, how we feel about that, and what games we've house ruled with some notable examples including Orleans, Wingspan, Scythe, Castles of Burgundy, Eclipse: 2nd Dawn for the Galaxy, Dune: Imperium, My Little Scythe, Dice Throne, Space Base, and Champions of Midgard. We also talk about some official variants that you find in the rulebook including Res Arcana and Terraforming Mars. We then discuss some games we've been playing this week including Dice Throne and Red Cathedral, and some game we're excited about trying including High Society, First Ascent, and VoidFall. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:55 House Rules and Fan Variants 01:52 Removing Complexity (Dice Throne, My Little Scythe, Space Base) 08:42 Zoom Compatibility (Wingspan) 10:30 Improved Variability and Easier Intro (Orleans, Champions of Midgard) 15:20 Better Strategic Decisions (Eclipse: 2nd Dawn for the Galaxy, Tapestry) 20:22 Exploring Games in Different Ways (Dune: Imperium) 26:02 Official Variants (Terraforming Mars, Res Arcana) 27:45 Fixing Balance Issues (Castles of Burgundy, Scythe) 31:05 Games We're Excited About 33:06 First Ascent 35:05 Red Cathedral 35:52 Voidfall 41:28 Kemet: Blood and Sand 43:46 Dice Throne 46:20 High Society

In Episode 38 we discuss the top 10 games on boardgamegeek.com.   We talk about whether we've played them, whether we want to, and how we've rated the best games of all time according to BGG user ratings.  We also discuss some games that we think might make a run for the top 10. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 04:04 - #10 Twilight Struggle 12:50 - #9 Star Wars: Rebellion 21:00 - #8 Gaia Project 26:30 - #7 Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization 32:20 - #6 Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion 40:46 - #5 Twilight Imperium: 4th Edition 45:08 - #4 Terraforming Mars 51:30 - #3 Brass: Birmingham 58:52 - #2 Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 1:03:37 - #1 Gloomhaven 1:07:07 - Games we think might make Top 10

In Episode 37 we provide our hot take review of The Quacks of Quedlinburg and Cubitos covering the mechanisms, the production, exciting moments in play, and our overall feelings of the games. We then compare the two games and discuss which is our favorite and why. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:17 The Quacks of Quedlinburg Description 03:13 Gameplay and Mechanisms 18:06 Production 21:32 Favorite Moments in Play 24:53 Final Thoughts 27:24 Cubitos Description 29:00 Gameplay and Mechanisms 39:50 Production 44:29 Favorite Moments in Play 49:25 Final Thoughts 50:47 Quacks VS Cubitos - Showdown

In Episode 36 we provide our hot take review of Clank! In! Space! covering the mechanisms, the production, exciting moments in play, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss the importance of diversity and representation in the board game industry and hobby and then highlight some games that we're excited about including Boss Battles and Red Cathedral, and look at the games published by Hollandspiele Games. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 04:23 Clank! In! Space! Description 05:56 Gameplay and Mechanisms 23:37 Production 34:20 Favorite Moments in Play 41:43 Final Thoughts 48:20 Diversity and Representation in Board Games 54:26 Boss Battle 58:17 Red Cathedral 1:02:30 Hollandspiele Games 1:06:30 BGHT Supports the Human Rights Campaign - and you can help!

In Episode 35 we provide our hot take review of Concordia covering the mechanisms, the production, exciting moments in play, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss some recent plays including Fox in the Forest, Omen: Reign of War, and Trekking the National Parks.  We also talk about a game coming to Kickstarter soon: Fractal: Beyond the Void. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:08 Concordia Description 02:35 Gameplay and Mechanisms 12:55 Production 18:22 Favorite Moments in Play 21:43 Final Thoughts 26:40 Omen: Reign of War 27:33 Fractal: Beyond the Void 31:05 Fox in the Forest 37:55 Trekking the National Parks

In Episode 34 Adam and Tim discuss 10 games that they played during their first in-person gaming session in over a year!  Chris joins in to heckle us. 00:00 Introduction and discussion on gaming in person 06:05 A Feast for Odin 15:27 Canvas 23:18 Dwellings of Eldervale 30:27 Baseball Highlights: 2045 39:33 Anachrony 50:40 Anachrony: Fractures of Time 51:35 Dune: Imperium 56:50 Underwater Cities 1:01:23 Path of Light and Shadow 1:12:49 Santa Monica 1:18:10 Star Wars: Rebellion 1:27:08 Weekend Highlights

In Episode 33 we discuss our top five games that are great for introducing people into the board game hobby. We also offer a Double Take review on Terraforming Mars and give our thoughts on how it has held up since our original review back in episode 1.