Board Game Bros: Recent Episodes
Board Game Bros
BOARD GAME BROS
We are Jeffrey Craig and Matthew Craig - brothers in real life and board game designers in real life. This is our board game hobbyist/design podcast where we talk about our favorite games. We start every episode talking about how the game is played, and then we examine how game design was used to assist the player and enhance the gameplay.
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The Board Game Bros are back from their hiatus, and what better game to discuss upon their return than Return to Dark Tower! Listen for Jeffrey and Matthew's strategy tips, then stick around for a discussion on what an app can bring to a tabletop gaming experience.
This episode the board game bros discuss Wolfgang Warsch's roll-and-write-er That's Pretty Clever! Listen for tips on investing early, fox tips, and stick around for a discussion on player expression in a game with no flavor.
This week the Board Game Bros cover the evil-realm-building tile placement game Overboss. Listen for Jeff and Matt's thoughts on the pixel art style, strategies for going big, and a continuation on the discussion on board game spin-offs.
This episode the Board Game Bros review Spiel Des Jahres winner Pictures! Listen for tips on using each of the game's 5 sets of objects, then stick around after the break for a discussion on the game's laid-back vibe and how to add your own objects.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the dice-bag-building classic Quarriors. Learn how to out-pace your opponents in a race for glory, then listen for Jeff and Matt's thoughts on why a couple lacking design elements make this game feel like autopilot.
This week the Board Game Bros Cover Clank!: A Deck-building Adventure. Listen for Jeff and Matt's 3 strategies for winning and which they think is best, then stick around and listen as Matt reckons with deck-building design principles.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the party game withe the most scares-per-minute, Fright. Listen for their thoughts on how to be a good ghost, if and when you should scare yourself, and a design discussion on the necessity of fancy components. Thanks to SolidRoots games for sending us the game for this review!
This week its another double feature! Matt and Jeff discuss Looney Labs' very own Fluxx and Chrononauts. Listen for the Board Game Bros' thoughts on a classic, a discussion on feels-bad mechanics, and the importance of a good theme.
This week the Board Game Bros are serving up a double feature with a discussion on Century: Spice Road and Century: Eastern Wonders. Learn about the similarities and differences between parts one and two of the Century trilogy, then stick around for a discussion on designing sequels that combine with their prequels.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the tile-placement board game The Palace of Mad King Ludwig. Listen for tips on how to score points and race the rising tide of the moat, then stick around for a discussion on rules comprehension.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the woodland worker-placement game Everdell. Learn strategies for maximizing actions and points, then stick around to hear Jeff and Matt's thoughts on how this game combines mechanical inspiration to great effect.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the Roll and Write (or Draw and Write) game Welcome To. Listen for tips on placing your houses, meeting objectives, and stick around for a design discussion about tension and payoff.
This episode, the Board Game Bros discuss the beautifully-designed party game Wavelength. Listen for tips on being a good psychic, then stick around for a discussion on the component design, and reasons why this is Jeff and Matt's new favorite party game.
This week the Board Game Bros review Pendulum from Stonemaier Games. Listen for Matt and Jeff's strategy tips for managing your time and workers, then stick around til the end for a discussion on the game's theming and component design.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the competitive dodecahedron-assembling game Planet. Listen for a discussion on how to spot the synnergies between animals, and how to build 1 birdhouse for 2 birds (or was it with one plank?) Stick around til the end where we discuss the component design and how the game gets in its own way with its satisfying gameplay.
This week the Board Game Bros revisit the stone-cold-classic co-op game Spirit Island and its 2 phenomenal expansions. Listen for strategy tips with the new spirits, then stick around for a discussion on why Matt and Jeff Spirit Island's expansions, though complicated, nail it for their target audience.
This week the Board Game Bros revisit Teamfight Tactics. Listen for Jeff and Matt's strategies for the current set, then stick around for a discussion on past sets and TFT's design philosophy.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the dice-rolling game of space domination Roll for the Galaxy. Listen for tips on win conditions and making the most of your dice, then stick around for Matt and Jeff's thoughts on the game's theme and design.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the meta-worker-placement-game Architects of the West Kingdom. Listen for opening strategies, and Matt and Jeff's thoughts on how this game successfully subverts the worker placement genre.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the "roll" and write map-charting game Cartographers (A Roll Player Tale). Listen for Jeff and Matt's tips on placing your territories, and learn why this quick and simple game is so dang satisfying.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss their 7 favorite mechanics from specific board games. Listen for how each of these unique mechanics stands apart and defines the game that it's from.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss what it takes for a game to have a competitive scene, then go into some professional tips and tricks for their favorite competitive board games.
This week the board game bros discuss the 2011 eurogame classic The Castles of Burgundy. Listen for how to develop tempo and points with clever dice usage, and if/why Jeff and Matt think this game deserves its high rating.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss how player counts impact games, and what games can do to support large or small counts.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the competitive survival adaptation game Evolution. Learn what traits will bring you success as carnivore and herbivore and how the players create the complexity in this otherwise minimal game.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the hidden traitor game sensation of 2020 Among Us. Listen for their top Crew mate and Impostor tricks.
This week the board game bros. Discuss their thoughts on the various trends in board games that have come, gone, and in some cases still have potential.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the rpg board game Sanctum. Listen for how this game successfully adapts elements of games like Diablo into an addictively replayable board game.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss what makes a good 2 player game and list a couple favorites.
This week for their 100th mainline episode, the Board Game Bros discuss the semi-abstract area control game Photosynthesis. Learn the best places to grow your trees, how to collect lots of light, and how this game twists the abstract game formula via indirect conflict.
This week the board game bros discuss Stonemaier Game's first release Viticulture. Learn how to best utilize your workers and plan ahead in this game about wine crafting.
This week the board game bros discuss the roll-and-write print-and-play game Rolling Realms. Listen for how Stonemaier games interpreted each game from their catalog in unique dicey ways and how this game is well suited for our new quarantined lifestyles.
This week the Board Game Bros review the underrated Wii video game board game Fortune Street. Learn the tips and tricks to game the stock market in this game that, despite drawing many comparisons to monopoly, is actually incredibly fun.
This week the Board Game Bros are giving you a sneak preview into their patreon-exclusive series: The Dusty Shelf! The first game Matthew dusts off is Uno! Matthew dives into the small decisions that can help lead to ditching that final card, then explores Uno's legacy and its more dated decisions.
This week the board game bros discuss the Luck and Deduction game Love Letter. Listen for ways to deduce your opponents' cards, play to your outs, and why this game makes for an excellent deduction gateway game.
This week the Board Game Bros have wrapped up their Betrayal Legacy Campaign and are here to discuss it. Learn about how this uses the legacy game format to tell a story with twists and turns and listen for Matt and Jeff's favorite sessions.
that doesn't take place on Mars, Terra Mystica. Listen for how to weave strategically through this complex game and how to not fall for newbie traps.
This week discuss the drafting-est game around Citadels. Learn a couple levels of draft strategy and why this game is great even for folks that don't like drafting so much.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the efficient engine-building game Res Arcana. Listen for Jeff and Matt's favorite magical artifact engine pieces and why the victory condition of this game changes the way you think about your engine.
This week the Board Game Bros are beyond excited to interview legendary game designer and Chief Restoration Officer at Restoration Games Rob Daviau on the podcast about his career, game design philosophies, and the upcoming Restoration Games kickstarter project Return to Dark Tower. Visit restorationgames.com/return-to-dark-tower/ for more information and to sign up to be notified when the kickstarter goes live on January 14.
This week the Board Game Bros have a big announcement: they are starting a Patreon! Tune in to hear the first episode of Matt's new series "Let's Make a Game" with a special guest appearance from Jeff!
This week the Board Game Bros discuss each of their top 5 games of the 2010s for their 100th recorded episode. Listen for which games Jeff and Matt include in their lists and why, and stick around til the end for an important podcast update.
In this bonus episode for the week the Board Game Bros cover the no-talking co-op game of mall mischief Magic Maze. Learn about what needs to be paid attention to and how this game uses an hourglass in an interesting way.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the king-of-the-hill kaiju game King of Tokyo. Listen how points are the real king and how it stands as a strong gateway game despite a disconnect between flavor and mechanics.
This week the Board Game Bros cover the Lovecraftian co-op press-your-luck game Elder Sign. Learn how to stop an ancient one from decimating our world and how this game's mechanics tie into it's eldritch theme.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the hand drafting game of raven transformation Nevermore. Learn about how the unique drafting mechanism changes affects draft strategy and how Nevermore makes getting knocked out fun.
This week the Board Game Bros cover the 2-player game of deception and deduction Mr. Jack. Learn about this gateway game's strategic depth and how it handles being a symmetrical game with asymmetric goals.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the new civilization board game released by Stonemaier games: Tapestry! Learn about nifty opening strategies, the fine line that new game experiences can walk, and the importance of Narative Equity.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss 5D Mancala aka Five Tribes. Learn the tips and tricks to making it in the sultanate and how the design of the game shines a light on the existence of those tips and tricks.
This week the Board Game Bros the 2-player civ-builder 7 Wonders Duel. Listen for why science and military are important strategies and how this game adapted the original to create a better atmosphere for a 2-player experience.
This week the Board Game Bros. cover aren't covering Star Realms (which keeps coming up) but instead cover the fantasy re-themed deck builder Hero Realms. Listen for the differences between the 2 games, where this game succeeds, and where it falls short.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the abstract game Santorini. Learn about how the strategy evolves across each game and how Santorini succeeds as an abstract game by encouraging it.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the tile drafting-and-placement game Kingdomino. Listen how this gateway game uses simple math to differentiate different strategies.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the civilization game of small but epic proportions, Tiny Epic Kingdoms. Learn about the arms race for mana and how Tiny Epic Kingdoms applies it's design ideology to condense a typically complicated genre.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the dice drafting game Coimbra. Learn about the game's masterful use of dice and a discussion on whether the application is tooelegant.
This week the board game bros step into video game territory when comparing the latest additions to the auto-battler genre of game, DotA Underlords and Teamfight Tactics.
This week the Board Game Bros have a party game double feature! Jeff and Matt start out talking about the art of subtlety in Subtext. At 21:08 the topic shifts to the improv movie pitching game Pitchstorm.
This week the board game bros discuss the mechanics of auctioning and bidding. Listen to their built-in pros and cons, and how you can modify the process for a better game experience.
This week the Board Game Bros are back from their 1-week hiatus to discuss Cryptid - the game of honest deduction. Learn how to "bluff" and deduce your way to victory and see if you can make sense of how Jeff and Matt think this game was designed.
This week the board game bros discuss Keyforge - the competitive card game with procedurally generated decks and zero deckbuilding. In this episode we talk about the importance of board control and the effects that the faction system has on the game as a whole.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss Koi, the serene game of eating bugs and frogs. Matt and Jeff talk about how to out-swim your opponents before diving into an in-depth discussion about randomness and how this game flounders from it.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss one of their top pics from Geekway to the West, Tiny Towns. Learn about the depth of player interaction in this pleasantly simple game.
This week the board game bros discuss the press-your-luck potion-crafting game Quacks of Quedlinburg. Learn how this Kennerspiel winner uses immersive modular components to give this game an intense atmosphere.
This week the board game bros discuss the hex-based, insectoid, abstract game Hive. The strategy portion starts with an intense debate over the strategy of pinning ants, but things quickly become amicable, and eventually end in an interesting discussion on abstract games.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the award-winning, mind-melding, communication-forbidding game from 2018, The Mind. Learn how this game melds a simple objective into a fun arcade-esque psychic experience.
This week the Board Game Bros put on another video-game-themed end-of-month episode when they run down every trivia and party game in every Jackbox Party Pack, all the way from 1 to 5. Listen to their thoughts on which games they think are great, which ones they think are duds, and how the packs stack up against each other.
This week the Board Game Bros continue their social deduction theme with Werewords. Listen for how this game puts a deduction spin on 20-questions by telling key players what the word is and making them use that information without giving themselves away. Also, you heard it here - Werewords is a Euro game.
This week the Board Game Bros carry the social deduction theme for the month when they talk about The Resistance. Learn how to blend in as a Spy and see how the many bureaucratic steps of assigning mission give the resistance small pieces of information to form conclusions from.
This week the Board Game Bros kick off their month of bluffing and deduction games with Spyfall. Learn what makes a good spy, what makes a good non-spy, and what makes this game good.
In this end of the month episode the Board Game Bros discuss difficulty in board games. Listen for reasons why you would make a difficult board game and what you have to do to achieve a good level of difficulty.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the auction-bidding, map-controlling, power-supplying game Power Grid. Learn about this 15 year old game's strategic depth and why having a table on the back of the rulebook isn't so fun.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the leap-frogging tile placement game Heaven and Ale. Listen for their expert lap-1 strategy and the reasons why this game can be frustrating for newcomers but satisfying for expert gamers.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the family-friendly betting game Camel Up. Listen to how the components are used to amusing and brilliant effect to balance the game's predictability and surprise factor.
This week the Board Game Bros are covering their first listener-suggested game, Fury of Dracula. Listen where this hidden movement, combat clashing game stands out and where it falls short.
On this special end-of-month episode, the Board Game Bros discuss another board-game-themed video game (mod, that is), DotA 2: Autochess. Learn about the deep complexities and the unique catchup mechanics in this mod that's worthy of the same attention and analyzation as a full blown game.
This week the Board Game Bros review Leder Games' 2018 release Root. Learn about the strategies for the various woodland factions and the lessons Leder Games learned from Vast in order to make a more cohesive and beginner friendly asymmetrical game.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the dystopian worker placement game Euphoria. Listen to the key strategy to managing your minions' knowledge and the key difference between this game's worker placement versus others'.
This week the Board Game Bros depart from their usual format to discuss the virtual board game Super Mario Party. Hear about how Nintendo mitigated luck and rewarded strategy in this update to their classic party game series.
This week the Board Game Bros Discuss how the aspects of a legacy game when paired with the dread that emerges from the horror theme in Betrayal Legacy.
This week the Board Game Bros review the co-op/competitive hybrid tile drafting game Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig (sheesh... that was a mouthful). Listen for the reasons why you should absolutely not care about sleeping rooms and hear about all the different draft strategies we recommend for mad-king-pleasing success.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the card drafting, area control game Bunny Kingdom. Listen as they break down the surprisingly strong strategy and the unfortunate terminology within the game.
In this special episode of Goodstuffs, the board game bros give the usual recap of their interests before talking about their favorite games and episodes of the year. Hear which episodes Matt and Jeff liked recording the most and why. Also get some merch at teepublic.com/user/bgbcast!
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the character-creation board game Roll Player. Learn how this game accurately draws from the experience of creating a character for an RPG (sometimes to a fault) and why you should always tank charisma.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the dungeon-delving asymmetrical board game Vast: the Crystal Caverns. Listen as Jeff and Matt go into great detail how the unique player rolls play and interact with each other and why you should brush up on your rule book interpretation skills before sitting down with this game.
When the Board Game Bros started the podcast, they made a series of episodes covering the traditional list of gateway games. This week, Matt and Jeff give that list an update with some newer games that better exemplify what it means to be a gateway game.
Also, get our new t-shirst at www.teepublic.com/user/bgbcast
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the worker placement game of intrigue Lords of Waterdeep. Listen for the reasons why Jeff and Matt believe this game belongs in the list of essential gateway games.
Jeff's on vacation this week but the other brother in real life and game designer in real life is still here! Joining Matt this week is friend and special guest, Galen. In this episode these board game friends discuss board games, video games, and video game adaptations of board games!
This week the Board Game Bros have a few choice words for the card-crafting game of natural energy Mystic Vale. Listen to the issues Matt and Jeff take with the balance and mechanics of this game, and if you hear a weird noise from time to time, it's probably Jeff peeling the protective film from some of the cards.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the 2018 Spiel Des Jahres winner Azul. Listen to Jeff and Matt talk about how the connected scoring and tile acquisition encourage a pre-planned, slow but reliable strategy, and how plans going awry make this a good gateway game.
The Boooo-oard Game Bros (sorry not sorry) wrap up October with a discussion on the genre/mechanic of Social Deduction in board games. Learn how games will force players to lie through the manipulation of information and how a simplified rule set gives players the agency to affect a game through their words.
Jeff had a sore throat last weekend so this is a special mid-week edition of your otherwise regularly-scheduled Board Game Bros podcast! This week the Board Game Bros review the RPG-inspired game of a traitor, hidden even to themself, Betrayal at House on the Hill. Learn how design and the use of randomness leads to a great deal of narrative equity (and try and play nice before you stab everyone in the back).
This week the Board Game Bros continue the spooky games discussion with the ghost-murder-solving game of psychic visions, Mysterium! Learn the best ways to interpret clues and see how the surrealist artwork leads to an evolving unorthodox communication method.
It's the most spookiest time of the year and the Board Game Bros are here to review spooky games! This week the Board Game Bros review the hybrid co-op competitive zombie survival game Dead of Winter: The Long Night. Listen to the mechanical and social strategies involved in staving off zombies in this cold abandoned town and see why an unseen threat may be the spookiest threat of all.
It's the end of the month, and so this week the Board Game Bros discuss the meta-genre of engine building. Learn about what an engine is, how to build it, and what makes building it so dang fun.
This week the Board Game Brothers discuss the image-linking guessing game Concept. Learn the various levels of using the pieces to creatively get the point across and hear why the points don't really matter in this game.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the TV network management game The Networks. Hear about the simple math involved and learn how to set yourself up for success (specifically in seasons 1 and 3).
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the trick-taking potion-delivering board game Broom Service! Matt and Jeff are big fans of what the trick-taking bravery/coward mechanics do for the strategy in this game, and Matt has the just the right vocabulary to explain it.
This week the Board Game Brothers discuss the light deck-mixing card game Smash Up. Jeff and Matt provide their tier lists for the decks in the base game, provide some tips for how to combine them, and examine whether the unbalance of the game is acceptable due to its casual accessibility.
It's the first of the month and you know what that means! On this episode of BGB Goodstuffs the Board Game Bros discuss all manner of board games, video games, and board-game-themed video games!
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the atmosphere-altering game of corporate battle Terraforming Mars. Listen as they rank resources, encourage engine building, and compliment how the game works when all the cards are shuffled together (even though one time Jeff drew 16 unplayable cards in a row).
The Board Game Brother's are back again with the shortly-awaited sequel to episode 24 in Charterstone part 2! SPOILER ALERT: Jeff and Matt (along with their parents) finished the game and in their longest episode yet these brothers are prepared to give you their lengthy look back on the game's surprises and the strategies they made along the way.
This week the Board Game Brothers are back to discuss the Mediterranean-spanning euro game Concordia. Jeff and Matt have some hangups on the game's otherwise ingenious card action system, but some thing have to be overcome in order to master this Kennerspiel nominee.
It's another installment of BGB goodstuffs, the Board Game Brothers discuss a whole host of topics, board gaming and otherwise! Learn what games they've been playing lately, what games won Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel, and get a spoiler for what game Matt and Jeff will discuss next!
Jeff's feeling under the weather this week, so for your listening pleasure here is a Board Game Bros episode recorded May 31, 2017 covering Geekway 2017! This was the second episode Jeff and Matt ever recorded, so cut them some slack alright? Since we're sharing some fun facts then here's another one... did you know Jeff writes all of these episode descriptions? Also, did you know Jeff tags all of these episodes with the games they discussed? One last fun fact: did you know Jeff didn't feel like listening back to this one to give it the proper tags? Anyways, Enjoy!
In the final week of Expansion month, the Board Game Bros are hitting you with a double feature of expansions: Red Dragon Inn 2 and 3. Learn the various ways the designers addressed the same-ness of the characters in Red Dragon Inn 1, and check out how things were kicked up a notch with the characters in Red Dragon Inn 3.
In the next expansion of the Board Game Bros' month-long look at board game expansions, Matt and Jeff discuss the expansion/sequel Small World: Underground. Learn how the addition of a simple mechanic vastly changes the gameplay and replay-ability, and hear how the redistribution of powers and race abilities changes the play patterns and identities of the players' armies.
In July the Board Game Bros are discussing expansions of games from previous episodes. In the first episode of this series, Jeff and Matt talk about the first expansion of the OG deckbuilder Dominion, Dominion: Intrigue! Learn what Jeff and Matt believe makes for a good expansion, and hear how Dominion: Intrigue did it right (for the most part).
This month the Board Game Bros have more video games to talk about than ever! New Magic set, new Overwatch hero, plus we tried out Roll Player.
This week the Board Game Bros give helpful tips for the process of game design. Learn that there's no such thing as too much playtesting, and don't sweat trying to make the perfect game - the important thing is to have fun!
This week the board game brothers discuss the 2001 backs-stabbing dungeon-crawling card game Munchkin! Listen as Jeff and Matt sympathetically give this game a good roasting for how it was designed for its time and learn a couple of hotfixes that make the game at least a little bit playable.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the cooperative colonial-destroying game Spirit Island. Learn the not-perfect-but-good-enough strategy for pushing back colonial oppressors from your perfect island and see how this game mitigates the "quarterbacking" phenomenon experienced in most cooperative games.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the worker placement dice battle viking game Champions of Midgard. Learn about how Jeffrey thinks this is a worker placement game with dice elements, and how conversely Matthew thinks this is a press-your-luck game with less-than-desirable worker placement mechanics.
In today's episode, the Board Game Bros. discuss the legacy worker-placement game Charterstone. Listen as Matt and Jeff explore how the game uses the campaign format to its advantage, how the game paces itself within that format, and how it uses player psychology to subtly guide the players through changing the game. At least, listen to how the game does so .in the first half!
For this month's special BGB Goodstufs episode, the Board Game Brothers discuss every game they played at Geekway to the West. Listen to hear what they thought of all these games, which ones they won, and which ones they are excited to play again.
In may's end-of-month genre discussion, the Board Game Bros tackle competitive card games. Learn how a players relationship with a collectible card game grows and deepens over time and how game design can encourage this and generate healthy competition.
In the third and final installment of Greatest Hits May, the Board Game Brothers discuss the listener-requested TCG "meta" game Millennium Blades. Learn how this game attempts to simulate the experience of being a TCG card shark and tournament grinder with a TON of cards, which all seem to work together nicely through the use of "knobs".
In the next installment of Board Game Bros' Greatest Hits May, Jeff and Matt discuss their favorite party game We Didn't Playtest This at All. Learn how this game manages to make losing fun and other ways it twists the common conceptions surrounding party games or games in general.
May is Board Game Bros' greatest hits month where they talk about some of their favorite games of all time (which they inevitably talk about in every episode) and Jeff and Matt kick it off with Scythe. Learn all the intricate elegant details that went into Scythe's game design and how they all fit together for a game of production, expansion, and war in a historic diesel-punk setting.
This month the Board Game Bros have 2 months of gaming to catch up on in Goodstuffs Episode 4! Matt and Jeff talk about some upcoming games, some games they have bought and played, some games they have bought and NOT played, and if you stick around til the end you can hear some info on Esports! Check out our twitter poll to weigh in on whether or not we should do a live episode from Geekway to the West! https://twitter.com/BGBroscast
This week the Board Game Bros deviate from their end-of-month mechanical discussion to talk about the party game genre! Learn about what party games are meant for, what makes a good party game, and how to make one that doesn't use the Apples to Apples call-and-response-2-deck-format.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the party "drinking" game Red Dragon Inn. Learn Jeff and Matt's takes on the political and apolitical strategies involved in the game, and see if you can find just as much amusement as Jeff did in the design of the health/alcohol tracker.
This week the Board Game Bros discuss the unique mechanics of the dice-building game Dice Forge. Listen to Jeff break down the various actions of the game into numbers of extra turns, and see if the brothers are able to discern why some cards cost sun shards while others cost moon shards (we thing we got close).
This week the Board Game Bros finally discuss the much hyped game Food Chain Magnate. Learn in detail how to avoid the various punishing aspects of the game in detail as Jeff and Matt answer the question: does this fast food game go down smooth or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
Welcome to another BGB bonus episode, Goodstuffs episode 3! In our special April 1st episode the brothers Matt and Jeff discuss all manner of games they have played in the past month–some old, some new, some borrowed, and some blue!
For this month's mechanical discussion the Board Game Bros talk about card drafting. Listen to Jeff and Matt discuss how a great depth of strategy and metagame comes from a mechanic that needs so few cards, and learn how some games introduce these concepts to their players through design.
This week the Board Game Bros cover the abstract area control game Tigris and Euphrates. Listen to Jeff and Matt talk about the simplicity of the mechanics and how they lead to dynamic conflicts in tile-based kingdom expansion.
The Board Game Bros have their first guest on the podcast when they talk about the party game Codenames. After a complicated game last week, Jeff, Matt, and their friend Clay discuss what sets Codenames apart from other party games, and just how terrible a clue "water" can be.
The Board Game Brothers discuss the fighting-game-made-board-game Battlecon: Devastation of Indines. Learn how this may be the most complicated Jeff and Matt have discussed yet, and why the complexity makes this the perfect game for spikes.
This week, the Board Game Bros discuss the fantasy wargame SmallWorld. Listen to Jeff and Matt discuss the decline mechanic that gives the game tension, and the race and class combinations that give the game life.
Welcome to another BGB bonus episode, Goodstuffs episode 2! In the second ever Goodstuffs episode, the Bros talk about Crank!, We Didn't Playtest This, the Munchkin CCG, and more! Also - is this too much video game discussion?
The Board Game Brothers dig deep in deck building design discussion on this week's episode. The brothers have decided that every last Saturday they will ditch the single game discussion to speak with greater detail on a broader topic. This week, we examine deck building's pros, cons, flavor, and how it gets used in many different games.
The brothers discuss farming in the dark ages in Agricola! Learn how this game is definitely not a gateway game, and how it's punishingly complicated (and that weirdly makes us want to play it again).
The Board Game Bros discuss 7 Wonders in the 7th and final part of their gateway games series. Even though this one might be a little more complicated than the other board games in the gateway games series, the brothers love this game too much to leave it out. The Board Game Bros gush about the elegant complexity of the card drafting mechanic, the visual design of the cards, and much more.
The Board Game Bros discuss Splendor in part 6 of their gateway games series. Listen as Jeff forgets to say all the friggin rules, and hear the brothers' short, succinct appreciation for Splendor's simple design that affords an excellent depth of strategy.
In this bonus Board Game Bros episode series, Jeff and Matt talk about board game news, give mini reviews of games they've been playing, and talk about all the other gaming stuff they are into. In the first Goodstuffs episode, the Bros talk about Kingdomino (can it dethrone Carcassonne???), Expedition, Dropmix, and more!
The Board Game Bros discuss the cooperative game Forbidden Island in part 5 of their gateway game series. Learn about what makes Forbidden Island the "gateway-weightiest" cooperative game and leave wondering if the game would be better with dinosaurs.
The Board Game Bros discuss the classic tile placement area control game Carcassonne in part 4 of their gateway games series. Learn about the strategic complexities that arise from the simple mechanic of matching the artwork of one tile to its neighbors and see if you can figure out how to win, since neither BGBro has a clear strategy.
The Board Game Bros discuss the "mother" of all gateway games, Ticket to Ride, in part 3 of their gateway games series. In this episode Jeff and Matt talk about what makes this popular train game such a great gateway game with its simplicity, tension, and brilliant map design.
The Board Game Bros' very first episode kicks off a 7-part series on gateway games with Settlers if Catan. In this episode Jeff and Matt talk about what Catan is all about, how the game's design has made it the 'monopoly' of our generation, and the hangups that have put them off of playing it over the years.
The Board Game Bros' discuss the classic deckbuilder Dominion in part 2 of their gateway games series. In this episode Jeff and Matt talk about how Dominion's design makes it the perfect gateway game when compared to other deckbuilders, and Matthew provides insight on some pro strats for winning.