Episodes

In this episode, I am joined by Jason Wong. He and his wife traveled the country and visited all the national parks. While there, he took pictures. Then, he knew there was a game in there somewhere. They worked on a spreadsheet, that I really want to see, giving out 16 different tags to these parks. Things like size, age, how visitied, and geography. In the end, Jason put out a rummy style game called PocketParks. It is a great game that celebrates the national parks, and looks great doing it! ...

I am joined by Kirk Damman, a patent lawyer who has worked in the gaming industry on what is, and is not, protected by the law. We talk the usual, find out we have a weird history together we didn't know about, and more. Thanks for listening. Cover of the magazine:

In this episode, I am joined by Ashy Feet Games founder Moe Poplar. We talk about how he is a converted TTRPG player and a recovering Magic The Gathering addict. How we met also was a bit serendipitous. All this and more follow. Thanks for listening. www.ashyfeet.com

There are so many great looking games from the 70’s and 80’s. Games that were probably too expensive at the time. Games that just had table presence to spare. Sub Search was one such game. Edward and I loved that game. It has led us to search out other games in that realm. Chopper Strike was our next purchase. Chopper Strike has a tag line on the box that reads: “The Two-Level land/air Battle Game.” And that was precisely what drew us to the game: the two-level aspect. Since the game came out in...

A lot of past guests have mentioned Elizabeth Hargrave’s Wingspan as an answer to a question. Whether as the current game, 60 minute game, or just in passing, there is no denying Wingspan’s impact on the industry since its debut in 2019. It was nominated for, and won, lots of awards that year and in 2020. It has had four expansions so far with a fifth in the distant queue according to the Stonemeir emails. Its deeper impact came in 2024 with the release of Wyrmspan, a reimaging, or reimplementat...

Well, Facebook ads’s algorithm targeted me perfectly, again. While doomscrolling (which I have tried very hard NOT to do lately), an ad for a new dexterity game came across my feed. It was for a game called Catch 33, published by a company called Buddy Pal Games. So, of course I hit the notify me button and backed it on Kickstarter, probably on day one. What caught my attention were the ramps. Yes, ramps. In Catch 33, you and your opponent are ramping dice up and into the bottom of the box tryin...

Is there any better feeling than a great Goodwill find? Probably, but Edward and I were pretty satisfied with finding Sorry Sliders, opened but unpunched on the shelf for $3.02. We took that evening to the family dinner at my in-laws, punched it out, and prepared to play all four games the box bragged about. We even got The Daughter involved. Let’s see how it went and how it compares with Sorry Spin. Directing people to the get the games tab

While collecting the Rivals Editions, a Hasbro game called Pictureka came up. Turns out, this 2006 game by designers Glenn D’Hondt, Arne Lauwers, and Sylvia Meert, two of which also did the artwork, fits the profile of what I am researching. It has multiple versions, including a card game, a Kube game (not dice), and even a few Intellectual Properties thrown in for good measure. What struck me was, I had never heard of this game, and it is almost 20 years old, and I did not recognize the box art...

I cannot remember exactly how I heard of Sub Search, a 1973 Milton Bradley release by an uncredited designer and artist. I am sure it was some book I was reading that talked about games that are similar to Battleship. Anyway, when I looked into it, Sub Search looked like a 3D take on the beloved classic. Battleship is a staple in my family. We even have a travel version or road trips. I scoured the internet, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to pull the trigger. Then, my game dealer (like a drug...

Edward and I have continued our quest to play all the Rivals Editions. This time, we sat down to solve the famous murder of Mr. Boddy, with Clue: Rivals Edition. There are few changes from the original game. Some for the two-player rework, some for…no apparent reason. In Clue: Rivals Edition, you and your Rival are trying to solve the same mystery that has been happening for close to 80 years. Mr. Boddy has invited six people over to his mansion, and one of them has killed him. As usual, you mus...

As Edward and I have worked our way through various variants of mainstream, mass market games, we have found some gems and some stinkers. Yet, we have not slowed down. The latest game to reach the table was 2010’s Sorry! Spin, by Hasbro. Sorry! debuted back in 1929, making it darn near 100 years old. Now that is some staying power. Sorry is one of many variations on the same mechanics and gameplay in games like India’s 4 AD Pachisi, the Westernized Parcheesi, 1962’s Aggravation (with the marbles...

The Game of Life is one of my least favorite games to play. It has zero strategy and few decisions. And, with these decisions, you must make the most optimum one, or risk (another classic game) losing the game. One of the later editions adds in the gambling aspect, but still, it is not enough to save this 1960 Milton Bradley classic. I begrudgingly bought The Game of Life: Rivals Edition. I was not looking forward to playing it. After the modestly entertaining Monopoly Rivals Edition, I had a li...

I don’t want to say that Edward is all in on this IP book, but as we were strolling through Target, he spotted a game. His pitch, “It’s an IP, Dad. We need it for the book!” So, without hesitation, we added Buffalo Games’s Tecmo Bowl to the cart. It wasn’t that hard of a sale for me though. I loved this Nintendo game back in the day. While I prefer the Tecmo Super Bowl to its predecessor, I was not about to let this chance at nostalgia pass me by. In Tecmo Bowl, which came out this year, 2025, y...

Another fun series of games that I discovered through my research was the Hasbro "Rivals Editions." In this series, Hasbro took one of its classics and boiled it down to a two-player, mano y mano showdown. I was interested in how you could boil some of these games down to two players, for sure. So, first up, Monopoly! Grab your biggest rival and let’s battle it out over Monopoly: Rivals Edition! Directing people to the get the games tab

You know me. I love to give credit where credit is due. While reading the book, Who’s in the Game? by Terri Tolles Patkin, I came across an interesting variant to Operation; Operation: Brain Surgery. I immediately had to look into this. Operation debuted in 1968. It hasn’t really changed in the past 30+ years, other than the “funatomy” parts. No new gameplay was offered until 2002 with the debut of Brain Surgery. Since then, it has had a few other variants on the brand: Pet Scan, Botched Operati...

In 2010, Hasbro released five games in this U-Build series. I was only familiar with the Monopoly version, so I was excited to try U-Build Mouse Trap, a variant of the 1963 staple. U-Build Mouse Trap arrived, procured from eBay, and the kids and I sat down that evening to play it. I had done very little research into it because I wanted to go into it with no expectations. We opened the box to discover it was filled with a lot of building blocks similar to, but not, Lego. We sat around the table,...

A few weeks ago, I had professor and author Marco Arnaudo on the show. We talked about his amazing book, Tabletop Revolution. One of the many games I bought because this book was A Universal Truth. It was in the card games section. Marco talked about how cards have evolved from their rudimentary beginnings as just a suit and a number to multi-use, multi-functional components. He mentioned A Universal Truth: The Strategic Game of Courtship, designed by Patrick Einheber, self-published by Danger ...

Just a routine reading of Board Game Geek put me onto the release of today’s focus game, King of Tokyo: Duel. There was a banner ad on the homepage. From there, a quick click over to my local game shop webpage allowed me to preorder the game. I did not need any more information. It was King of Tokyo. It was designed by Richard Garfield. It was two-player. Upon further inspection, it appeared to be a tug of war style game. It had the established characters. Well, my copy arrived. I went to get it...

My family loves this game. My sister has not yet played it because it's a little over her skill level. But my mom, dad and I love this game. We have played this game dozens of times. When it comes to the expansion (which I will talk about later), we have only played it a few times. In Chili Mafia, you are a mob boss building gangs of various chili peppers. You can either build a gang of different peppers, or one of similar peppers. Both have their benefits. The game ends when the cards run out. ...

In this episode, I’m joined by Brian Reynolds, one of the founders of The Bridge Teachers. We dive into his secret weapon for Two Truths and a Lie, the art of playing Monopoly by the rules, and the challenge of teaching Bridge to a 6-year-old, and that’s just the beginning. Brian also shares an online comic recommendation and a book that’s now on my list to read. Plus, his wife makes a few surprise appearances, she could hear us through the wall and couldn’t resist chiming in to keep him honest....

In a past episode, our guest Camilla Zamboni mentioned The Tabletop Revolution , a fascinating book by fellow professor Marco Arnaudo. In it, Prof. Arnaudo explores the dramatic evolution of board games—how mechanics have transformed from simple numbered cards to dynamic, multi-functional game elements. We dive into this revolution, celebrating classics like Acquire —a game so essential that Prof. Arnaudo calls it "foundational." (And honestly, he's right—everyone should play it!) Plus, we squee...

Last year at Geekway to the West, the local gaming convention here in St. Louis that you have heard me talk about a lot, fellow game designer and past guest on this show, Phill Wamser and I sat down and played this one evening after a long day in the booth. We were surprised by the feel of the cards, but other than that, we played two or three games back to back without really realizing it. As soon as we realized it, we decided we like this elegant game design! In Sea Salt & Pepper, you are tryi...

In this episode, I am joined by author Steve Dee. His book The Book of Carcassonne was an early bedtime read for Edward. His other books are equally as entertaining. Steve and I talk about playing at lunch and feeling that you are misbehaving a little. In a good way... We also reminisce about Tabletop with Wil Wheaton and the great games that he introduced us to. Steve also mentions having a "home game" because he lives close to Birmingham. All this and more. Thanks for listening. Steve Dee on A...

I came across an article while reading a different article that I came across while reading another article that was referenced in a book I was reading about board games. I enjoyed the story and the experience that author talked about. So, I reached out to the writer, Morgan Ebbs. Morgan joins me to talk about her entry into the gaming hobby, answer the standard questions, and how she has a $60 limit on games. We talked about this and more. Thanks for listening. From Candy Crush to Catan article