Board Game Hot Takes

In Episode 135 we provide our hot take review of Distilled covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss a poll on board game terminology. Twitter Poll Results: Mechanics - 52.4% Mechanisms - 47.6% Then we discuss some board games on our table including Sea Salt & Paper, Teotihuacan: City of Gods, and Space Base. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:24 Poll: Mechanisms or Mechanics? 4:51 Distilled Description 7:23 Gameplay and Mechanisms 24:43 Production and Theme 31:24 Final Thoughts 36:52 Distilled Themed Cocktail 40:36 Sea Salt & Paper 45:36 Teotihuacan: City of Gods 48:16 Space Base 53:21 Listener Shoutout

In Episode 134 we each discuss our top 5 favorite board games that are ranked with a number higher than 1,000 on  Board Game Geek 'top games of all time' list and talk about why we like them, whether we think they should be higher, and what might be keeping them that far down the rankings. We also discuss a poll on Twitter about listening to music while playing board games. Twitter Poll Results: Always- 28.9% Depends on the Game - 20.1% Depends on the Players - 20.3% Never - 30.7% Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:40 Poll: Do you listen to music while you play board games? 09:00 Top 5 games ranked higher than 1,000 on BGG. 13:49 Kabuto Sumo 15:54 Sentient 18:04 LACORSA Grand Prix Game 22:10 Asara 25:19 Trekking The World 28:31 Rap Godz 31:23 Terracotta Army 32:56 The Expanse Board Game 36:15 M.U.L.E. The Board Game 41:05 The Castles of Tuscany 43:53 Age of Galaxy 46:20 Tiki Topple 50:53 Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers 53:11 Capital Lux 2: Generations 54:45 Batman: Gotham City Chronicles 59:00 Honorable (or other) Mentions: Lacrimosa, Super Skill Pinball 4cade, Mariposas, Guillotine, The Artemis Project, Top Gun Strategy Game, Godspeed, Tic-Tac-Toe

In Episode 133 we feature a couple of really exciting expansions including Tapestry - Fantasies & Futures and Dune: Imperium - Immortality covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the expansions as well as our rankings of our favorite expansions for these games. We also discuss Brass: Birmingham taking the BGG #1 game of all time spot from Gloomhaven after 5 years. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:40 Brass: Birmingham takes the BGG #1 spot from Gloomhaven 06:58 Tapestry - Fantasies & Futures 8:55 Gameplay and Mechanisms 17:57 Production and Theme 30:11 Tapestry Expansion Ranking and Final Thoughts 37:05 Dune: Imperium - Immortality 38:31 Gameplay and Mechanisms 51:45 Production and Theme 54:19 Dune: Imperium Expansion Ranking and Final Thoughts

In Episode 132 we provide our hot take review of A Feast for Odin covering the mechanisms, the production, and our overall feelings of the game. We also discuss a poll on if you special order games through your local game store if they don't have them in stock. Twitter Poll Results: Special Order - 21.6% Order Online - 67.6% I never shop local store - 10.8% Then we discuss some board games on our table including Capital Lux 2: Generations and In the Year of the Dragon. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:22 Poll: Do you special order games through your local game store if they don't have them in stock? 07:30 A Feast For Odin Description 08:56 Gameplay and Mechanisms 24:18 Production and Theme 28:02 Final Thoughts 32:19 A Feast for Odin Themed Cocktail 37:20 Capital Lux 2: Generations 40:59 In the Year of the Dragon 39:33 Listener Shoutouts

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