This week we talk about Raiders of the North Sea along with the Hall of Heroes and Fields of Fame expansions.

These games are now published in the US and are designed by Shem Phillips with art by Mihajlo Dimitrievski.

The many games played at SaltCON end of summer including Hail Hydra, Battleline, Reef and many more.

This week we talk through five games we've been playing. We start with Majesty: For the Realm, Ryan continues with Terraforming Mars: Prelude, Nathan talks Mountains of Madness, I bring up Fast Forward Fortress and we end with more Decrypto.

When you picnic or camp do you game, or just enjoy the outdoors? Do you beat up your cards, watch over them carefully, or choose tile based or pencil games? 

We discuss all manor of games from our past and suggestions from you, Meeple Nation.

It is again time for news. We talk Power Rangers, Unique Games, Keyforge and Discover, the exit of Christian Peterson from Asmodee North America, and the merger of Stronghold Games and Indie Boards and Cards.

We discuss Root, Everdell, Monster Crunch, Flotsam Fight, and many more games.

Join us in the guild or at Meeple Nation Off Air on Facebook.

This week we are again joined by Matt and Barb of the Players Wanted Podcast. We discuss their recent trip to GenCon including Oink Games, Pikoko, Ice Cool 2, and Matt's GenCon Hat, which is not a game.

We cover all that and over a dozen other titles, including Keyforge, Welcome To..., Reef, and more.

We've been deep in the hobby for 20 years now and we are surprised when some games remain for sale continually, or in other words, become evergreen games, and why some don't.

What makes Ticket to Ride, Catan, Pandemic, and many others stand out and sell thousands of times more copies than the average hobby game.

We have some ideas. Let us know what you think.

This episode Ryan, Brent and Nathan each choose five games from the massive list of 615 titles previewed on boardgamegeek.com.

This list is found at https://www.boardgamegeek.com/geekpreview/7/gen-con-2018-preview

We talk Robotech, Alien, Aliens, Towers, and many more.

We are joined this week by friend of the podcast, Thomas Roybal, a university professor that has used games and gaming concepts for years in his classrooms. 

He gives us examples of games he was occasionally able to play with the kids when he taught high school, and his more subtle way of using games at the university.

Brent, Nathan and Ryan are joined again by Barb and Matt for a lot of fun and a little chaos.

We talk Kickstarters, Games ending, games beginning, and for some reason, real news about Big Trouble in Little China

Sam Aho joins Nathan and Ryan while they discuss their favorite games, including Ryan being on a quest.

What do you play when you have seven or more players and splitting into two or more groups isn't an option? We discuss games we enjoy plus ideas from you, the listeners. Let us know what we missed by contacting us in the BGG guild or on the Meeple Nation Off Air Facebook group!

This week we sit down and talk about the fantastic cooperative game from Greater than Games.

Nathan likes it. Brent likes it. What does Ryan think? Does the theme resonate, do the mechanics and theme come together to provide a nice narrative?

Yes.

This episode we introduce and review two games, starting with Space Base from John D Clair and AEG and The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 from Mondo games and Joe Van Wetering.

Could Ryan and Nathan like them both?

Nathan finally plays Starfarers of Catan, he raves about his Game Toppers Tables, we talk Kickstarter, more Asmodee acquisitions and Asmodee's possible desire to be acquired, and more June news.

We talk a bit about the nine Spiel des Jahres Nominees. Brent has played them all and Nathan and Ryan talk Ganz Shon Clever, The Mind and Azul. Ryan sneaks in some Terraforming Mars jabs.

Kinderspiel des Jahres Nominees:

• Shaky Manor
• Emojito
• Dragon's Breath

Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominees:

• Heaven & Ale
• Ganz Shon Clever
• Die Quacksalber von Quedlenburg

Spiel des Jahres Nominees:

• Luxor
• The Mind
• Azul

Ryan and Nathan are joined by Daniel Hadlock. Brent and Sam are conspicuously absent. Daniel is president of Tasty Minstrel Games and caries out a variety of tasks in order to get games out to market. Sit back and listen while Daniel answers Nathan and Ryan's quetions.

We discuss a number of games we have been playing including 7th Continent, Muse, Illusion, Mystic Vale: Conclave and the Estrella Drive expansion for Time Stories

Be sure to support our sponsors: The TMG Podcast and Game Toppers!

This week we talk about what we are playing including a non-spoiler wrap-up of Charterstone, Roll Player, Eldritch Horror, Arkham Horror: TCG, and despite an attempt to move this off 6 months, even more Cthulhu Mythos games.

Pardon some Audio Glitches that caused occasional loss of audio.

Make sure you support our sponsors, the TMG Podcast, and GameToppersLLC.com

Nathan is now interested in Thanos Rising: Infinity War. We talk about games we are playing (or watching) including Clank! The Mummy's Curse, The Quest for El Dorado, Welcome To Your Dream Home, Space Cadet: Dice Duel.

Meatball Nation is now available through Google Home or Amazon Echo. On the Play say: Play Meeple Nation Board Game Podcast. On the Echo say: Enable Meatball Nation then Play Meatball Nation. Yeah, that's right.

X-Wing is getting a second edition, Robotech is getting two new games from a new publisher (despite the issues with the previous licensee), we banter minis vs standees, then talk Kickstarters, Hellboy, a return of Thunderstone Quest, Homesteaders, and The City of Kings.

Remember to support our sponsors, the TMG podcast and Game Toppers! Let them know that Meatball Nation sent you.

A dozen years ago many of us talked about how to grow the gaming community. Now, the chatter has changed. Now, the question is more about when or if this golden age will end, and many of us wonder when we will get to play the games we already own, or possibly have on order.

What do all these games mean to the industry, to gamers, and to me? Why won't anybody play my game?

We often hear people ask what makes a game a game. We've formed our own opinions and parroted others.

Well after some reflection, and with excited and odd new games entering the market, we have come to a different conclusion.

So what exactly comprises our hobby? Many many different types of games. Listen for more.

We talk about the creative process and puzzle hunts, including those created at BGG.Con and those for SaltCON

Please consider supporting our sponsors, The Tasty Minstrel Games Podcast and Game Toppers LLC.

We discuss two new games this episode.

The Mind is a cooperative game of non-communication. What level can you reach?

Thunderstone Quest is the newest iteration of Thunderstone and while it is yet another improvement, how much has it approved?

We are again joined by Matt and Barb while we discuss gaming news including an almost update on Big Trouble in Little China, World War Hulk Legendary, Thanos Rising: Avengers Infinity War

We are excited to announce that Game Toppers is our new sponsor, check them out at http://gametoppersllc.com

We also discuss Kickstarters past and present including Fire in the Library, AuZtralia, Dragon Keepers, and many more.

We review the games that won the Golden Geek Awards for 2017 from Boardgamegeek.com and we talk a bit about the Stonemaier Games and Steve Jackson Games Stakeholder Reports.

https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1955324/12th-annual-golden-geek-awards-winners-2017

https://stonemaiergames.com/2017-behind-the-scenes-stakeholder-report-for-stonemaier-games/

http://www.sjgames.com/general/stakeholders/

This week we discuss Gloomhaven, the monstrous game by Isaac Childres. Ryan, Brent, and Nathan are joined by Dennis Holliday for this podcast.

We talk about more games played at SaltCON including Fast Forward: Flee, Fast Forward: Fear, Verflucht!, Dominion: Nocturne. We discuss Con Games feedback, and have a few more interviews from attendees.

We have just returned from SaltCON 2018 and we have reports on the events we ran for the convention inlcuding a Game Show, Werewolf, and a Puzzle Hunt.

We also (mainly Nathan) played large group games of Deception Murder In Hong Kong and Salem 1692.

We also talk about other convention events, games, dealers, and other SaltCON stuff.

And is that Brent and Sam on the same episode? This episode might explode in 60 seconds.

Ryan, Brent, Nathan and Matt sit down and discuss current news and Kickstarters.

They start by talking about convention expectations, meander into prototypes, then jump into what is new!

We sit down with Tim Fowers of Fowers Games creator of Wok Star, Burgle Bros, Hardback, Paperback, Now Boarding and Fugitive. We talk his company and distribution philosophy and what is going on at his company.

Then we talk pacing in games, strong finishes, and alternate win conditions.

This week we are joined by Shane Larsen as we talk about complexity in games including talks about Puerto Rico, Through the Ages, Lorenzo Il Magnifco, and many more. Are complex games better, or just longer?

This week we take a half dozen of your questions and answer them. Why do people play cooperative games? How do you make sure that hype doesn't affect you when you are evaluating a game? What do you do when you are mathematically eliminated from the game?

Welcome to episode 201 of the Meeple Nation podcast. This week our opener is our origin story. Then we get into the meat of the podcast where we discuss advice for new people entering our hobby, and a reminder that we need to be aware of others as we game. Be nice, Brent!

We have reached 200 episodes and gather to talk news. We discuss Kickstarters from Brian's Got Game, CMoN Unlimited, TMG, and more. Also news from Plan B, and more.

We take time this episode to discuss four games we have been playing. In addition to Nathan's update on Imperial Assault, we discuss Azul, from Michael Kiesling and Plan B Games, Exodus Fleet from TMG, and Tichu, published in English by Rio Grande Games.

Charterstone has begun, and while we say little about it, Ryan riffs on people trying to make permanence temporary in Legacy games.

We also discuss some games we have played recently, including Crosstalk, Nmbr9, Timebomb: Evolution, and Terraforming Mars: Venus Next.

2017 is in the books! We discuss our highlights and report on how we failed (or did we?) at our gaming goals. Bring on the new year, and Nathan's ambitious, 15x10 challenge.

We love deckbuilding games. We each discuss our top three games, explain what deckbuilders are and talk about our recent experience playing Hero Realms The Ruins of Thandar Campaign and Tyrants of the Underdark.

This week Nathan and Ryan and joined by Sam Aho and Matt and Barb Allen to discuss Kickstarters and other news in the board game industry.

This holiday seasons people make lists and people play games. Some even make lists of games they would play. Do you prefer Nathan's Twelve (mostly short games) that he wants to play 1-12 times in the next few weeks? What do you think about Brent's list of games that have the number of the day in them? Even better, Ryan has ideas for mini goals to do while playing games.

Whatever you celebrate this month, we hope you are surrounded by friends and family and board games.

Brent returns, barely, from BGG.Con and we discuss many of the events he enjoyed and games he played including Nusfjord, Majesty: For the Realm, Reworld, Otys, Roll Player, the Puzzle Hunt, and more.

Brent also conducts and interview with a Ravensburger North America representative about their upcoming games! 

Our Gift Guide:
Family Games
Ticket to Ride
The Quest for El Dorado
Kingdomino
Fast Forward: FLEE
Transamerica
Century: Spice Road
Delve
Splendor
NMBR 9
Can't Stop Express
Clank! In! Space!
Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle

Children Games
Ice Cool
Rhino Hero
Flick 'Em Up
Bang: The Dice Games
Coconuts
Happy Salmon

Group Games
Fuse
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
Magic Maze

Stocking Stuffers (Small Games)
Pack O Games
Mint Works
Insider
Timeline
Pirate 21
Don't Mess with Cthulhu
Magic Packs

Ryan, Nathan, and Brent sit down and discuss Kickstarters, new games, what we are playing, and board game art and presentation. Join us on Facebook at Meeple Nation Off Air.

This week, Ryan, Nathan and Dennis sit down and talk about the monstrosity that is Massive Darkness. How does it stand up? Is it better as a stand-alone game or in story mode? Listen to their review.

After a few weeks of discussion we sit down and record this episode on Board Game collections. Brent asserts that a person is a collector if, 1. They identify themselves as a collector and have at least two games, and/or 2. They have more games than they could reasonably play.

Ryan uses a sports analogy to explain how he would select games to buy if Nathan, Brent and his other friends didn't keep him supplied in games, and Nathan waffles on whether he is A True Collector.

This episode is filled with quotations from our tribe. Join us on Facebook at Meeple Nation Off Air or on our BGG guild, 1943.

Join us this week while we discuss three games we have recently played. Ryan explains Pirate 21, a quick game from Indie Boards and Cards. Nathan follows with his explanation of Delve from the same company, and finally, Brent leads off discussion about Codenames Duet, a cooperative version of Codenames.

This week we have a shorter episode than normal due to lost audio. We are joined by Matt. He talks Lisboa, and we talk Downfall, Kahoots, Too Many Bones, and the Kickstarter only model of some massive games such as Batman: The Board Game.

Ryan, Nathan, and Brent meet with Matt Allen to discuss October news, including some Kickstarters we are looking forward to and recently fulfilled Kickstarters we have played, including Massive Darkness, 7th Continent, Table Toppers, and more.

We finally put to bed Seafall, and yet again talk Terraforming Mars.

We start out the episode with Ryan's report of his play in the Magic prerelease, include more details than Brent cared to listen to. Then Brent talks Arkham Horror The Card Game and his trip to Italy.

Nmbr9 is a quick and accessible game were players stack numbers in order to gain points.

Power Grid The Card Game is a scaled down version of Power Grid, with no map.

We are raising money for Primary Children's Hospital at https://extra-life.org/team/nugg/

Despite us continually asking that we not receive a Raxxon invite, we did and Nathan now owns a copy. This much hyped game was talked about quite a bit on the web because of the scarcity created through the invite system. Is the game fun? What is it really?

This week we sit down to discuss a few games we have been playing recently, including Thief's Market, Abandon Planet and First Martians.

Then we move into the main portion of the 'cast and we talk about Clank! In! Space, the sequel to our much loved, Clank! How is it different? Is it an improvement? Listen and find out.

This week we cover five different Escape Room Games. Listen for our commentary, but the summary is:

• EXIT the Game - Three current titles, three more announced. Fantastic games with the best puzzles, contents destroyed during play. In game Hints give solutions if you desire.
• Unlock! - Three current titles, three more announced. These are the hosts' favorite with their humor and fun. Extremely easy to reset for play by another group. Free App required.
• Escape the Room - Nathan and Brent played Mystery at the Stargazer's Manor and found it clever and fun, but much more simple than the previous two. Reset instructions online.
• Escape Room the Game - Core set comes with four different games, but the electronic device that is needed to solve and advance the game did not work properly for the hosts. Not recommended. Reset with a printer and less than 30 minutes.
• Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experience - Huge fun that is pretty pricey and probably hard to find. Can be reset with a printer and a half hour of time, or so.

Don't forget to pick up Ryan Decaria's book, Devil in the Microscope, available from Amazon, and check out Brent's Meeple Sing Shirts, also available through Amazon. 

Matt and Barb are recently back from GenCon 50 and have details of the games they purchased and played. They are joined by Ryan, Brent and Nathan and they all discuss additional news out of GenCon and the larger board game world.

We thank Tasty Minstrel games for supporting our podcast. Please support them by buying their great games and listening to the TMG Podcast.

We now have four Meeple Nation shirts on Amazon. Search Meeple Nation there and see our new minimalistic design.

Brent has created 20 board game related shirts with more coming soon. Search Meeple Sing Shirts on Amazon.com

Ryan's book is now published and available on Amazon Kindle and in print. It is called Devil in the Microscope.

This week join Ryan as he talks with enthusiasm about word games! Nathan and Brent are also present.

We discuss a few different categories of word games.

Spelling Games: Scrabble, Boggle, Pick Two, Paperback, Hardback, Word Domination, Boggle Bowl

Guess the Word: Code Names, Word Slam, Werewords, Insider, Codenames, The Chamelon, Mad Gab, Taboo

Matching Words: Apples to Apples, Cards Against Humanity

For years, games made from IPs meant roll and move, trivia, or a reskin of another popular mass market game. Now things are changing as we see more effort and better overall design married to the movies and books we love.

This week we discuss the world of IPs and what we hope to see in future.

Join our guild on Boardgamegeek at https://www.boardgamegeek.com/guild/1943 or our Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/MeepleNationOffAir/

This week Nathan, Ryan and Brent discuss what attracts them to games, and what instantly repels them. They start out with introductions and move into talking about deckbuilders, engine builders, and direct attacks.

Don't forget to pick up Ryan Decaria's book, Devil in the Microscope for Kindle. Print and audio versions will be released later this year.

Nathan, Brent and Ryan sit down to talk about games we are excited about that will be released on the next few months, including more Fable games from Friedemann Friese, a game about Einstein, gaining Sentience, news on a couple of Brandon Sanderson games, and much more.

Don't forget to join us at Meeple Nation Off Air on Facebook!

This week we start off the podcast with a nice little rant about how T.I.M.E Stories is going astray. At least that is what Brent and Ryan think.

We have news from the industry including more Target exclusives and we talk about a slew of Kickstarters that have caught our eye.

Next week we will cover GenCon games.

Are you like Nathan, and you haven't ever met an expansion you didn't like? Do you consider expansions unnecessary, or particular expansions essential?

This week we discuss the sordid world of board game expansions.

Are you interested in asking us an audio question or giving us feedback? Please send mp3 emails to brent@meeplenation.com or call our US phone number, 801-784-0743, any time of the day or night and leave a message.

Ryan Decaria's book is coming out August 15th, 2017. Search for Devil in the Microscope on Goodreads or Amazon!

Nathan has returned and he talks travels with Brent. Ryan is out this week but should return for episode 174.

We talk about Raxxon, a game being shared through viral marketing, Monopoly Gamer and how that suddenly reversed many people's view of the core game, feedback, upcoming questions, Our Boardgamegeek.com guild (number 1943), and the SdJ 2017 winners.

Nathan is out and about in the islands of Hawaii so Ryan and Brent face off across the microphone to talk about the integration of theme. Ryan recreates one of his presentations from FryeCon with Brent as a live and sometimes disruptive audience. What do you think about theme? Continue the conversation on Facebook in the Meeple Nation Off Air group or on Boardgamegeek.com in our guild.

We discuss the fantastic website boardgamegeek.com. This stalwart site is chocked full of resources and user-generated content fit for any style and experience level of gamer, although each person is going to use the site in different ways. We discuss ratings, rankings, reviews, geeklists, guilds, logging games owned and played, and many other features of the Geek, including forums, contests, videos, podcasts, images, and flame wars. Join the conversation!

Board Game News for June 2017.

We talk Pandemic Legacy: Season 2, Big Trouble in Little China, Legendary: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestations: Second Edition, andCentury: Spice Road.

We cover the following Apps: San Juan, Race for the Galaxy, Tsuro, Coup, and Colony Wars in the Star Realms app. Let's just say that not all apps are created equal.

We're excited for Deception: Undercover Allies and Triplock on Kickstarter. And we even mention Master Detective Clue for some retro board game action.

Nathan likes tiny boxes packed with lots of game pieces from the Japanese game company, Oink Games.

We start off talking Deep Sea Adventure, a press your luck, 20 minute game for 3-6 players.

We continue telling you more about Insider, a 20-question style game for 4-8 players in less than 10 minutes.

Third up is A Fake Artist Goes to New York, where players collectively draw a picture while trying to guess which player doesn't know what the group is drawing. This game plays 5-10 players in 20 minutes.

The Pyramid's Deadline is a game of building a beautiful resting spot for the Pharoah, but if you fail you will be executed. 2-6 players can play in 10-25 minutes. 

We end the discussion with Maskmen, a shedding card game with a Lunchadores theme. It should work well with 2-6 players in about 30 minutes.

Brent chats about the games he enjoyed at BGGCon Spring, and Ryan and Nathan interject about the games played at home. We discuss Archipelago, Escape from 100 Million BC, Codenames: Duel, Flamme Rouge, Insider,The Goonies, H.I.D.E. and The Great Dinosaur Rush.

This week we finish the discussion of the Spiel des Jahres 2017 nominees. We start with Kingdomino, talk about Magic Maze, and end with Race to El Dorado.

This episode we talk more in depth about Ice Cool, Mysterious Forest, and Captain Silver, the three Kinderspiel des Jahres nominees.

We then discuss what we know about Raiders of the North Sea, Terraforming Mars, and EXIT The Game.

We start off this episode by bringing the news of the nine nominees for the three Spiel des Jahres awards and talk about two of the three of those that we played.

We also talk news!

Don't forget to support Counter Magazine at https://boardgamegeekstore.com

Ryan Decaria regales us with a discussion of his adventures in gaming without the other hosts. He discusses Vanuatu and Tinners Trail.

Brent talks the GIPF series of abstract games, which leads to a discussion of the misuse of the word Legacy. We update/correct our discussion of Charterstone, a new Legacy game coming from Stonemaier Games.

Brent then talks about Pack O Games 2 from Chris Handy at Perplext.

This we we discuss Hidden Role Games, Nathan's favorite genre. We discuss what we like about these games, including Don't Mess with Cthulhu, Battlestar Galactica, Shadows over Camelot, Burke's Gambit, Dead of Winter, and many others.

What is your favorite Hidden Role Game?

We recap the NUGG sponsored International Table Top Day event. We discuss 7 Wonders: Duel, Colt Express, Ice Cool, Terraforming Mars, Arkham Horror: the Card Game, and Clank!: Sunken Treasure.  We all love Clank!, but we examine a few game-play issues that could be improved through expansions. We also discuss game etiquette when teaching a game to new people.

Good times were had by all!

We cover many subjects including:

• Secrets of the Lost Tomb
• Big Trouble in Little China
• Trick of the Rails
• Diamonds
• Moons
• Solarquest
• Trick-Taking, The Trick-Taking Game
• Deck Building, the Deck Builder Game
• Pathfinder: The Mummy's Mask
• Magic - Amonkhet Cycle
• Arkham Horror: The Card Game - The Path to Carcosa
• Firefly - Big Money
• Kingdom Builder
• Vast - The Crystal Caverns

It's Barb day on Meeple Nation where we give you the latest board game news. We talk Kickstarters with Aeon's End: War Eternal, Gloomhaven, Five Seals of Magic, Rise to Nobility, Hardback, Brass, and Bios Genesis 2nd edition, among other bits-o-news and games, such as Esports tournaments, a new GIPF game, a Seafall non-update, and plenty more. Oh, and Matt was there too.

Cheers!

This week Nathan, Ryan and Brent sit down and talk about games and related books that we have played recently. The list includes:

This week Nathan and Ryan sit down with Sam Aho from Sam Says Game Reviews to talk about Mechs vs Minions, the surprisingly good board game from Riot Games. They talk about the mechanisms of the game while skirting those details that some might consider spoilers.

Enjoy this special podcast with Sam since Brent will be returning next week and will definitely not allow Sam on the show again.

Are you ready to defend the underground city of Gravehold from the Nameless and their hordes of monstrous minions? How are you going to fight them? By playing Dominion. But instead of buying action cards and real estate, you buy gems and spells, and attack them nasty bug-eyed demon things with magic.

Colony by Bézier Games, Inc. is a tableau building dice game set in a post apocalyptic world where the players attempt to put civilization back together competitively. Nathan and his daughter embraced the game play, mechanics, variety of building cards, and dice rolling. This seems like a theme Ryan could get behind, but does the game meet his increasingly high standards for theme resonance in game play? Listen to find out.

Lets start with Rising Sun, move to Gloomhaven again, Dinosaur Island, Thunderstone Quest, even Gamer Deck 2. Should companies do second and third editions of games? MeepleCon and the GAMA Trade Show are right around the corner. 

Will Jon Gilmour and team convert Centipede into a compelling board game?

Also check out Counter Issue #75 available now in the boardgamegeekstore.com

Meeple Nation's favorite convention is in the books. We played some games, met with friends, and put on four fantastic events, including a game show, a puzzle hunt, Werewolf and Deception: Murder at SaltCon. Join us as we recap a great weekend, and set your schedule to join us next year! SaltCon is AMAZING!

Exactly one year after releasing episode 98, Consumable Games, we revisit the subject of Legacy games. In this spoiler free episode we talk Seafall, Gloomhaven, Charterstone, and define what we believe Legacy to be, which is a permanence to your choices.

We also contrast these games to other scenario and campaign games and revisit the One Shot games from our past.

Game Companies, we love you! But...get those rules right, let me sleeve my cards, and support the game long term. In other words, make it easy for us to love your games!

Is this game garbage? Tell us what you really think. Seriously. Drop the label and give us the why you didn't enjoy the game.

This week we discuss game audiences and game diversity, and set you free from believing you need to like all games.

This week the Meeple Nation guys sit down with Barbara and Matt Allen to talk about industry news for February 2017. What's going on with BGG.con premium badges? Is Plan B a good idea?

You probably already know that Brent and Nathan love deckbuilders while Ryan is pretty particular on the subject. The Meeple Nation hosts sit down and discuss three small box deck builders.

Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Kings: Afterlife, and Valley of the Kings: Last Rites are all standalone (with interchangeable parts) games from Tom Cleaver and AEG. Playable in under an hour for 2-4 players. Players gain points by obtaining then entombing item cards. Best played with three (maybe four), this game requires you to entomb (place in a scoring pile) the powerful cards you had previously bought.

Dale of Merchants is a cute little game from Sami Laakso and Snowdale Design. Each of the two games, Dale of Merchants and Dale of Merchants 2 comes with six animal sets, allowing each game to be different as different animal sets are combined. It is playable in under an hour for 2-4 players.

Xenon Profiteer is a game from T.C. Petty, III and Eagle-Gryphon Games. It is also playable by 2-4 players in under an hour. Most turns players will add air to their hands then try to remove the unwanted elements while fulfilling contracts and upgrading their distillery.

Do you sleeve your cards before you play with them? Have you invested in a quick start insert, or do you have a favorite game overlay or dice tower?

This week we sit down to talk about the many gaming accessories that enhance our hobby.

You can listen to previous interviews we have done with makers of the gaming accessories in the following episodes:

Episode 116 - Chris Urinko of Daft Concepts, Kris McClanahan of Deeply Dapper

Episode 114 - Greg Spence of The Broken Token

Episode 58 - Ben Hillyard of Daedalus Productions

Episode 41 - Chris Urinko of Daft Concepts

Strap on your armor and get ready to make your way into the deeps beneath the castle. Rumors abound that a sleepy dragon is hoarding artifacts. Can you gain the best treasure and make it out of the dungeon before the dragon wipes you out? Be very quiet!

Nathan, Ryan and Brent review Clank!, a deckbuilder with a map.

Finally, we sit down and talk about Battlestar Galactica. We are joined by Dennis and Adam to talk about this traitorous game and its expansions. Nathan loves it, and is destined for the airlock. Ryan and Brent aren't on that side of the fence (or airlock).

Who is the Cylon? Who wants to be? We discuss these items and more.

Nathan, Ryan and Brent sit down with members of their local game group, Dennis, Everett and Adam, to close out our goals for 2016, discuss our favorite games of the year, and set forth 10x10 lists for 2017. They then take the time to discuss a few news items and a few stats from boardgamegeek.

Sit back while we talk about some of the games we have played but haven't taken the time to talk about.

We start with Freedom: The Underground Railroad, then proceed down the list:

Legendary Encounters: Firefly

Duel of Ages II

Timebomb II

Secret Hitler

Legendary: Big Trouble in Little China

Bloodborne: The Card Game

Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft

London Dread

Venom Assault 

Tyrants of the Underdark

Nerdy Inventions

Ryan Bruns joins the regular hosts to finish out the first Arkham Horror campaign and talk about the newest expandable card game from Fantasy Flight Games.

One core set allows 1-2 players to explore the dismal buildings and forests of Arkham Massachusetts. Add a second core set to allow a third or fourth investigator.

We recommend this game for the storytelling, discovery, and cooperative gameplay.

This week Sam Aho joins Nathan and Ryan, while Brent is AWOL. He brings his Kickstarter version of Themachy, a game that combines poker, ancient gods, and resource management.

What do we think about this game? Listen and find out. And make sure you catch Sam on his Video Channel, Sam Says

Classic Games

• Ticket to Ride
• Pandemic
• Catan
• Splendor

Family Games

• Fabled Fruit
• Dixit
• Potion Explotion
• Mysterium
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle

Party Games

• Codenames
• Bang! The Dice Game
• Wits and Wagers

Gamers Games

• Star Wars: Destiny
• Clank!
• Quadropolis

Stocking Stuffers

• Fuji Flush
• Deep Sea Adventure
• Rage!
• Love Letter
• Bohnanza
• Star Realms
• Sushi Go! or Sushi Go! Party

We hope for

• Arkham Horror: The Card Game Expansion
• Someone who will play Star Wars: Rebellion with Nathan
• Tyrants of the Underdark
• Magic Cards

This week we sit down with Matt and Barbara Allen to discuss the industry news which mainly comes out of BGG.Con 2016. We start by talking about Matt's favorite game of the con, Lorenzo Il Magnifico, then talk Star Wars Destiny, Tiny Epic Quest, and Clank! We visit Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle, and Fate of Akalon: Tribes.

Ryan then questions why we would travel to a convention, and we talk a bit more about the why, as if we needed a reason.

We then get back to talking games, starting with The Daedalus Sentence, a cooperative game in a massive box. Ryan brings up Cottage Garden and cats, and we wander from there over to A Feast for Odin. Power Grid the Card Game is explained, and we talk about not playing Great Western Trail. Ryan then moves us to talk about Roll Player, another game we haven't yet played.

Kingdom Death Monster 1.5 is newly on Kickstarter and getting plenty of press. Some predict it will become the most successful Kickstarter project ever.

Finally, Ryan starts a conversation about culling our collections, the subject of the first few articles in the most recent edition of Counter Magazine, issue 74. You can find the most recent issue (and previous issues) at boardgamegeekstore.com

Brent has just returned from BGGcon 2016 and sits down with Ryan and Nathan to talk about some of his experiences. What follows is a larger discussion about friendships and different ways to enjoy conventions.

Brent speaks of Haggle with Rikki Tahta, Werewolf with longtime friends, BGGfit, Poker, Puzzle Hunt, and creative use of an elevator.

There is also a couple of interviews with USAOpoly and Victory Point Games along with a short shoutout from Brent's friend, Nick.

What events happen at your ideal convention? Let us know!

Nathan, Brent and Ryan sit down and discuss Hero Realms after their first play. This game is based on the highly successful deckbuilder, Star Realms but already has additional play options such as cooperative play, solo play, and character packs that provide unique starting hands.

How will these Star Realm loving hosts like this game? Listen to find out.

This week Nathan and Brent sit down and talk with Bubba Washington about Organized Play options and how they benefit both the game companies and the game stores. We talk CCGs, including Magic the Gathering, and about the Asmoplay program from Asmodee. 

We also discuss Stronghold Games' release of Terraforming Mars!

In Terraforming Mars each player takes the role of a corporation that works across generations in order to turn Mars into a habitable planet. Work to raise the temperature, create oceans, and create flora that will release oxygen into the atmosphere, all while doing this more efficiently than you competition. Will there be puppies on earth grass when you are done? Let's hope so.

What do we think about this game? Will Nathan play the rules correctly? Can Ryan unsee the uneven artwork? Listen to find out.

On the heels of Essen, Nathan, Ryan, and Brent sit down with Matt and Barbara to discuss the latest news in the board game industry. We discuss Terraforming Mars and Cottage Garden, Kickstarters for C.O.G., Cobras, and Steal This Game, and more digital content for Star Realms and Descent: Road to Legend.

Matt and Barbara will be at BGG.Con, at the Mayday and TMG booths respectively, so make sure you stop by and tell them Hi!

We first fire off a few mini reviews. The first game discussed is Vast: The Crystal Caverns, then we discuss Nathan's sadness over missing out on Captain Sonar.

Then we discuss the dirty little secrets of playing with house rules. Is your favorite space on the Monopoly board Free Parking? Do you enforce certain variable rules when you play a game, in the rulebook or not? Two Captains in Firefly? Is this madness? Listen to find out.

It's the cold war and you are a 20 year-old mastermind spy, controlling your network of the three spies you have across Europe. Gather your spy camera, tracking device, lock picks, and other gear, position your spies correctly, use your dice wisely, and complete missions.

Covert is a game for 2-4 that will take a few hours as you compete to be the coldest war spy in the world.

Mystic Vale uses an innovative card crafting system designed by John D. Clair. Druid clans attempt to cleanse the curse upon the land...and competing to do it better than the other clans by gaining the most VP? Meeple Nation takes the system for a spin with mixed results. Does the theme matter? Does Ryan need to put a dollar in the swear jar for invoking the term Multiplayer Solitaire? Listen to find out.

Fantasy Flight and Games Workshop broke up. What will happen with their kids? We discuss this, get stuck talking about theme again, cover three different awards, introduce our favorite Kickstarters, and tell you what we liked most about issue 73 of Counter Magazine.

Friedemann Friese delivers not just 1 new game, but 504 new games in a single, but heavy, box. 504 is a bundle of mechanisms and bits that you combine together using a flip book to discover the ruleset of the selected world. Each world uses three of nine possibilities, configured in a specific order to designate how to gain money, gain points and win the game. Different worlds use different components from the box. It is a brilliant design that will appeal to a specific type of player. Brent might just play it another 491 times. 

We sit down with game designer Tim Fowers to talk about four different social games. We first talk about Cockroach Poker, then Grifters, followed by Don't Mess With Cthulhu, and finally Coup: Rebellion G54.

Tim also leads us in contrasting Cockroach Poker and Coup and we talked about this design space and why we like these types of games.

We now have shirts available through Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L2WOF2I

Your hosts talk about the use of rating systems to evaluate board games including the flawed rating system on the popular Board Game Geek website. We discuss 1-10, thumbs up, stars, among others. Nathan prefers the 3-7 rating system within a 1-10 shell. Brent and Ryan are still trying to figure it out. Give us a listen, and maybe you can help us find a review system for our humble podcast.

We've all had that experience. Yes, that one, where a perfectly fine game was ruined by other players. Perhaps last time it was their attitude, or Kingmaking, or someone who refuses to put down their phone. What to do, what to do. We talk about these isssues as we remind ourselves not to be "that guy."

The old Jarl has died. Fearsome trolls, draugrs and a smattering of monsters are attacking from all sides. The Vikings need a champion to repel the surmounting threats and lead the people to glorious victory. Are you that champion?

Ragnarök has arrived. We're all going to die, but we're going to die in a blaze of glory and celebrate our victories in Valhalla. Oh, and my clan is going to die better than your clan. Blood Rage is a strategic area control game with card drafting designed by Eric Lang. Blood Rage comes with some truly fantastic minis (viking and monsters) and slick, easy to teach rules. Friend of the podcast, Sam Aho, joins Ryan and Nathan to discuss the carnage, monsters, and strategy, including the Kickstarter exclusives and the rad insert by The Broken Token.

It is a dark time after the last Great War in 1920's Europa where large mech war machines are all that remain from the the capitalistic city-state known simply as “The Factory". When the Factory goes dark and shuts it's doors, the leaders of the surrounding countries set out to make their claim upon the region, hoping to control the secrets and win over the people.

We speak with Craig Nybo, author, musician, and designer of various board games. Quirky Engine Entertainment publishes under a few different games including 3 Headed Giant, Gangrene Games, and GameARama. Games include Eyeball Boxing, Trash War, and Hoagie.

We also speak with Mike from Epic Puzzles and Games, a nice store that supports the board game community in the greater Salt Lake City area.

Ryan, Nathan, and Brent sit down to discuss the News and current Kickstarters including:

• Bluffing in Sheriff of Nottingham
• Mystic Vale
• Guildhall: Fantasy
• AEG does Deckbuilding a little wrong
• Clout will again be released from Crash Games
• A new Buffy the Vampire Game
• Magic's Next Release, not called Eldritch Horror
• Counter Magazine, issue 72 with 120 Pages of Articles and Reviews

We continue our coverage of the fantastic two player games available right now. Star Realms: Colony War was a sure hit with us, but Brent and Ryan discover even more difference in their play styles even in a game they both enjoy. Does Colony Wars stack up to vanilla Star Realms? Find out as we discus the game from drastically different angles. We also cover Onitama, Hive, Tides of Time, and Pinata (formerly Balloon Cup). 

We have four interviews from Game Industry professionals!

1:00-7:30 Joshua Githens of CGE Games

7:31-19:22 John Binkley of Bink Inc, Makers of Trekking the National Parks

19:23-36:29 Michael Coe of Gamelyn Games

36:30-46:55 Luke of Sea Pig Games

Two player games are the perfect pastime to spend with your significant other, your soulmate or a random guy at the park. We love our two player games so much, we devoted several new podcasts to the topic, gushing about some of our new favorite games. We discuss 7 Wonders: Duel, Patchwork, Star Wars Risk, ...and then we held hands, and Horrible Hexes in this episode. Hold hands with someone close by awkwardly and with no regrets as you listen.

Brent and Ryan finally get around to editing more interviews from SaltCON 2016. Here are five great interviews recorded back in March. Enjoy!

0:00-1:11 - Introduction

1:12-14:38 Kris McClanahan from Deeply Dapper talks about his geeky products for sale at his Etsy store or at www.deeplydapper.com

14:38-24:57 Chris Urinko of Daft Concepts talks about his current projects on sale at Etsy and www.daftconcepts.com

24:58-32:42 Dale Tolley, designer of Cheesonomics, from Eagle-Gryphon, talks to us about game design and his future plans

32:43-38:19 Matt Saunders, designer of Mow Money, published by Mayday Games, talks about his game. Follow him on Twitter @Matt_Saunders

38:20-47:28 Shaea and Alex Bernard of the Saint George Board Game Convention talk about their inaugural year and what they plan for their 2016 convention. Find out more at www.stgcon.org 

Bang! Loses its lawsuit against a copycat game, We talk many Kickstarters, Cthulhu Realms Eats My Batteries is not an expansion, Brent Rants about CMoN, Kickstarter Exclusives, and the Boardgame Bubble  

At SaltCON 2016 we sat down with Greg Spence and talked about inserts, how he started the company, and many of his offerings, including his impressive convention schedule. You can find them at their website http://thebrokentoken.com or at Origins, GenCon, BGG.con, or many of the other conventions they have scheduled.

Kennerspiel des Jahres

T.I.M.E Stories 0-7:03

Pandemic Legacy: Season One 7:03-9:56

Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King 9:57-11:45

We announce our winner of the Kennerspiel des Jahres 11:46-15:02

Kinderspiel des Jahres

Leo 15:03-21:41

Mmm! 21:42-25:18

My First Stone Age 25:19-27:50

Brent's opinion of which should win 27:51-29:29

Spiel des Jahres

Karuba 29:30-36:27

Imhotep 36:28-42:52

Codenames 42:53-47:56

Ryan tells us which game will win 47:57-48:59

The fantastic Dan Wells, author and avid gamer, joins the Nation! Dan Wells is a fantasy, YA, post-apocalyptic author known for the Partials series and his new book, Bluescreen a futuristic science-fiction cyber-thriller. He also writes the John Cleaver series. The first one, I am not a Serial Killer, has been made into a movie starring Christopher Lloyd, Laura Fraser, and Max Records. He is a co-host of the Writing Excuses podcast.

This bonus episode was recorded by Brent while he attended BGG.Spring in Dallas on May 29, 2016. He sits down with three of the Spiel des Jahres judges and discusses game eligibility, judging criteria, the selection process, and the differences between the three awards.

We then review the nine nominated SdJ games for 2016.

Matt and Barbara join us for another News episode. We talk of Hero Realms, Pathfinder App, Cthulhu Realms App, Descent: Road to Legend App, Campaign Manager, Game Bags, SpielSoap, two versions of Caravan.

We also report the newly announced Spiel des Jahres nominees including Codenames, Imhotep, and Karuba.

You're in the trenches in the first World War, trying to stay alive long enough to return home with your grizzled old friends. The threat are bullets, combat, toxic gas, night, winter, and rain. The only way to survive is a little planning, teamwork, and a whole lot of luck. The Grizzled is a cooperative game for two to five players from Fabien Riffaud and Juan Rodriguez.

In March, at SaltCON 2016, we sat down and talked with Seth Hiatt of Mayday Games. We talk about a number of their products including Twist of Fate, a microgame that is finishing up on Kickstarter at the time this podcast is released.

Seth talks about manufacturing, shipping, and the benefit of being Euro Friendly.

This week's podcast come to you from Skye, the largest and most northerly major island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, with soft sand beaches, gently sloping hills and impressive mountain. We're not there, unfortunately. Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King is an economic, territory building game from Mayfair Games. For 2-5 players and for 60 minutes, Isle of Skye will task you to create the best kingdom in your effort to lead y our clan well enough to become King.

We interview the awesome dudes, Seth Jaffee, Michael Mindes, and Andy Van Zandt, from Tasty Minstrel Games (www.playmtg.com) at SaltCON 2016. We've got the insights from a game designer, an owner and a developer.

We’ve hit another 5th episode so it is time for Industry News! Don’t forget to enter our contest on Meeple Nation Off Air on Facebook.

0:00 - 0:47 Introduction

0:48 - 3:07 Mombasa, World 192 of 504 and Ryan hates Stocks

3:08 - 4:59 Contest for Gold West from Tasty Minstrel Games - Ends May 1, 2016

5:00 - 5:53 The Grizzled: At Your Orders

5:54 - 7:51 Star Trek Frontiers

7:52 - 10:12 Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2nd Edition - Road to Legends Companion App

10:13 - 13:30 Charterstone

13:31 - 16:50 Santorini Kickstarter ends April 27, 2016

16:51 - 18:15 Legendary Encounters: Alien Expansion

18:16 - 19:23 Codenames Pictures

19:24 - 20:39 Legend of the Five Rings LCG coming in 2017 from Fantasy Flight Games

20:40 - 22:24 Mistborn: House War

22:25 - 23:16 Galaxy Quest

23:17 - 24:17 Munchking CCG

24:18 - 24:58 Political Kickstarters are bad

24:59 - 26:06 C.O.G. (The Cabinet of Gadgetry)

26:07 - 28:07 Star Trek: Ascendancy

28:08 - 29:21 Star Trek Panic

29:22 - 31:29 Ave Roma on Kickstarter until May 4, 2016

31:30 - 32:31 Daft Concepts Kickstarter for Yakitori ends April 22, 2016

32:32 - 34:58 Xibalba, currently on Kickstarter through May 8, 2016

34:59 - 35:42 Ghostbusters: The Boardgame II on Kickstarter through May 9, 2016

35:43 - 36:48 Dark Moon: Shadow Corporation

36:48 - 37:20 En Route on Kickstarter through May 12, 2016

37:30 - 40:09 Shadows over Innistrad

40:10 - 45:17 Counter Magazine, January 2016

45:18 - 45:59 Contest reminder and Outro

One thing we know for sure: Saucermen are jerks. Except that Brent, for some reason, likes the Saucermen. Something is wrong with Brent. Might be that alien tech sticking out the back of his neck. Rocket Patrol unite. We have to rescue Brent!

Months worth of work goes into running a board game convention. We sit with the Organizers of SaltCON and discuss the past, present and future.

Join us in our newly formed Facebook Group, Meeple Nation Off Air, at https://www.facebook.com/groups/MeepleNationOffAir

This week we interview the members of HUGG, Herriman Utah Gamer Girls, a board game club of women. I use the word interview loosely, as HUGG takes over the Nation, explaining their love of heavy board game, strict competition, and the importance of integrity of the game. The worst insult within their group is that someone "isn't a real gamer." We found out quickly that they are all real gamers. Find out how the group was formed, their favorite games, and a little trash talk about who is the most competitive.

Join Meeple Nation as we host a live podcast as a panel at SaltCON, a board game convention in SLC, Utah. We talk to several guests about how they approach attending conventions, including the big one--the long CON, whether that is GenCon or BGGCon or another convention. We grilled two professionals, Ryan Bruns from Mayday Games and Ben Hillyard from Daedalus Productions about attending conventions as a dealer. We also interview Claudine Finlay and Julie Balazs from HUGG about why they love gaming at CONs. Also, we interview Brent Mair. He's kind of a big deal.

Meeple Nation celebrates episode 100! We talk with Barb and Matt about reaching this milestone, talk SaltCON, our local board game convention, and discuss board game news of the day, including new or newly announced games, Kickstarters, and some related events. Games discussed include Goonies, a possible new fantasy version of Star Realms, Pack O Games 2, and expansions to Mysterium, Dominion, Imperial Assault and Dead of Winter. Join the Nation as we look forward to the next 100 episodes. 

 Pack O Games 2 Kickstarter ends April 2, 2016 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/713947418/pack-o-game-set-2-wee-strategy-games-for-on-the-go

The Manhattan Project Energy Empire ends April 7, 2016 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/miniongames/the-manhattan-project-energy-empire-board-game

Darklight Memento Mori ends March 28, 2016

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/53406598/darklight-memento-mori-miniatures-dungeon-crawler

The Lazy Gamer ends March 31, 2016

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/878938288/the-lazy-gamer

Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game, is a cooperative game for 1-4 players based on the Warhammer property from Games Workshop. This Fantasy Flight game is played mostly with cards, with a few supporting items such as custom dice, and health and exploration tokens.

Each player takes the role of one of the four heroes in the box and uses unique Fight, Explore, Aid, and Rest cards to survive the dungeon and kill the evil nemesis.

Our games took 30-120 minutes to complete. Ages 14 and up.

In October of 2015 we noticed a number of threads complaining about games that get used up or cannot be replayed for other reasons. We sit down and talk about these games

Everyone likes expansions, right? Especially good ones? This episode we talk expansions for games we have already reviewed.

Roll for the Galaxy: Ambition, is the first expansion for this popular dice game. It adds a slightly accelerated start with new black leader dice, and new starting planet and factions. We first discussed Roll for the Galaxy in Episode 37.

Firefly has a number of expansions, including the big box Kalidasa. If you want more Firefly reach back into our archives and listen to Episodes 9 and 12.

Star Wars Imperial Assault now has a smaller box expansion, Twin Shadows, and a bigger expansions, Return to Hoth. We discussed the base game in Episode 61.

It has been six months since we last discussed Kickstarter, and Jeff Siadek joins us to explain why publishers use Kickstarter. Jeff's project, Battlestations Second Edition! Tabletop Starship Simulator, is currently on Kickstarter, with an end date of March 3, 2016.

This is Jeff's tenth kickstarter, with a relaunch of his flagship game, Battlestations. His company, Gorilla Games, has been around for twelve years, and Jeff has been in the industry even longer than that.

Join us as we discuss Battlestations, and how Kickstarter is allowing Jeff to make this game even better.

No one likes a lying cheaterface when playing board games, but what about all of the games that have made lying, cheating, and bluffing core mechanics of game play. This week on Meeple Nation, the primes discuss games with these mechanics such as Sheriff of Nottingham, Coup, Werewolf, Cockroach Poker, Intrige, Lifeboats and Illuminati. We all hate cheating as a mechanic, but find out our take on Bluffing and Lying as core mechanics and hear a few stories of cheaty-cheaterfaces in our past games. Nate owns up, and Ryan finally agrees to let it go. Brent just shakes his head in judgment at us both.

This week we review the game, Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

This week, we discuss all things Pandemic, including spoiler free talk of Pandemic Legacy. Luckily, we have Barb and Matt back to keep things from getting too hostile. Everyone seems to like this game, except for Ryan. What's wrong with Ryan? Join us to find out.

Five Tribes is a clever, meeple-heavy work placement game where the workers are already in place on the table and you use a Mancala-like movement on your turn to maneuver the five tribe and gain points. Designed by Bruno Cathala and released in 2014 by Days of Wonder, Five Tribes is a game played best with player of the same experience level and low analysis paralysis. 

We finally review Mysterium! For this seance, we all put on our Medium caps and find meaning in our dreams, conveniently provided by the ghost player in the form of full art cards. Mysterium was designed by Oleksandr Nevskiy and Oleg Sidorenko. The English version was released in 2015 by Asmodee.

In this episode we talk about our gaming year, including a review of what goals we completed from those we set back in Episode 33. What were our gaming highlights? Can Brent's highlight be Ryan's lowlight? What are our plans for 2016?

Join us while we enter the new year. Let us know what you are wishing for!

This week, we travel to ancient Egypt and try to win over the big guy, the Pharaoh, with dice. Favor of the Pharaoh,by Tom Lehmann and Bezier Games, is a re-implementation and re-theme of To Court the King. We liked the first version well enough, are were excited to see what Tom came up with. Spoiler--we all thought it was fabulous.

Surviving on a deep space mining expedition on Titan is hard enough without Nathan always trying to kill you. Sure he's infected, but he doesn't have to be such a jerk about it. Join Meeple Nation as we dissect another hidden role gem like Shadows over Camelot and Battle Star Galactica. In fact, Dark Moon originated from a homebrew game called BSG Express, based on the game, Battle Star Galactica . So how does Dark Moon hold up? Well, the shields are damaged, life support is failing, and Nathan has a stupid grin on his face. Listen to find out what happens next.

This week we continue our discussion of November gaming, concentrating on Brent's report of BGG.con in Dallas. He talks about his work in the game library, hot games, Codenames LARP, the Puzzle Hunt, Poker Tournament and Game Show.

He also explains his experience with Ponzi Scheme, Fische, Flupen, Frikadelen, Fresh Fish, and Rattlebones.

This episode we offer up advice during this gift giving season. Here are our suggestions. Let us know what you suggest!

Party Games

• Codenames
• Spyfall
• One Night Series (Ultimate Werewolf, Ultimate Werewolf Daybreak, Ultimate Vampire, and Revolution)

General Games

• Carcassonne: Star Wars
• Splendor
• Dixit
• Favor of the Pharaoh
• 7 Wonders: Duel

Gamer Gift

• Pandemic Legacy

Stocking Stuffers

• Bang! The Dice Game
• Star Realms or Star Realms: Colony Wars
• Red 7
• Timeline in it’s many forms, Timeline: Americana, Timeline: Invention, Timeline: Discoveries, Timeline: Diversity, and a few more

Kids Games

• Coconuts
• Loopin’ Chewie

What we hope to get for Christmas

Nathan

• Spyfall, still
• Space Cadets: Away Missions
• A Carrying Case for Dominion

Ryan

• Magic the Gathering 2015 Gift Box

Brent

• 504

This week we discuss a deckbuilder initially released on 2009 from Rio Grande Games. Nathan has embraced and enjoyed this game with his 20 plays so far. 1-5 players compete for scarce resources and they try to build the biggest tribe. Brent's along for the ride and Ryan is a bit hesitant based on theme and some blind selection gameplay.

Let us know what you think.

We interview Richard and Emily Gibbs about their game company which makes accessories and kits to make games blind accessible.

Support their Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/64ouncegames/braille-rpg-dice-from-64-oz-games

Visit their store at http://store.64ouncegames.com/

These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. With dice. Lots of beautiful dice. Yellow, blue, and the unfortunate red-shirt 6-sided dice.

In this podcast, we delve into this light dice fest. We all enjoyed the theme, each player taking a role of a bridge crew member from the Original Series or The Next Generation with a unique ability to help overcome the challenges. This game is easy to learn, easy to play, offers a variable challenge level, and allows players to join in at any point in the game, while playing up to 7 players.

Nathan added the game to his "family game list" which he'll bring out often. Brent enjoyed his first play. Ryan felt a little burnout after 6 plays, but admits that there will be times with certain group dynamics where this game will fit perfectly.

In this podcast, we discuss the awesome games that are currently hitting our game tables including Arctic Scavengers, Legendary Encounters: A Predator Deckbuilding Game, Liar's Dice, Space Alert, and Machi Koro: Millionaires Row. We also give an update at the goals we set at the first of the year, and we learn that Ryan is a bad friend. We end by covering our anticipated games including T.I.M.E Stories, The 7th Continent, Gloomhaven, and Pandemic Legacy.

This week we discuss board games with a horror theme that would make for an excellent time at your next Halloween party. The games discussed range from King Of Tokyo and Betrayal at House on the Hill to Gloom and Mansions of Madness to Midnight Party and Ghosts!.

Ryan details his dream Halloween Party including plans to play Mysterium in costume, with atmospheric candles, playing up the seance. Apparently, Brent and Nathan aren't getting an invite.

These are the games we discussed. Let us know your favorite Halloween Game!

Tile Placement games are a little too prolific to cover in a single cast, so we limited the games we cover to tile placement games where you are connecting lines from tile to tile. The games discussed include Street Car, Metro, Tongiaki, Fresh Fish, Tsuro and Tsuro of the Seas. 

Ninja Ghosts and Killer Plants of Cthulhu don't measure up to the Alien Shapeshifters who took home the prize. We discuss Smash Up by Paul Peterson. In Smash Up, you combine two factions into one deck and compete for the majority at several locations that offer victory points for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in power when the total power reached the locations breaking point. This game, and the rulebook, offer plenty of humor, great art, and a sense of discovery as you learn how your two factions interact, create synergy and win points. In addition to the base game, we cover the expansions Awesome Level 9000, The Obligatory Cthulhu set, and Science Fiction Double Feature. 

We discuss Specter Ops by Emerson Matsuuchi and Plaid Hat Games. In this deduction game, you play as Hunters guarding a secret base or as the Agent sent in to discover the secrets. The Agent tracks her moves in secret and the other players try to locate and kill the agent using unique player powers and a cool car. This is similar the Scotland Yard in game play, but in a nifty scifi universe. 

This week we talk Party Games. First we speculate on what defines a party game. Honestly, who knows? Should it play more than 6? Should it involve teams? Should it be 'light'? Then we talk about our favorite party games, why they count, and why we find them outstanding. We talk Codenames, Spyfall, Times Up!, Ca$h 'n Guns, Wits & Wagers, Liar's Dice, Game of Things, and Two Rooms and a Boom!

We talk with Avonelle Wing from Double Exposure about the services they provide for Game Companies, Stores, Conventions, volunteers, and gamers. We encountered the Envoy heralds at SaltCon where they taught players new games at the con, including games in the Play-to-win program.

This week we talk about Viceroy, which is designed by Yuri Zhuravlev and produced by Mayday Games and Hobby World. Viceroy is a board game of bidding and resource management set in the world ofBerserk, a Russian collectible card game.

This week we revisit the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. We are joined by our friend, Dennis Holliday, and we talk about the second and third base games, Skull and Shackles & Wrath of the Righteous.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is a cooperative game

Ages: 13 and up

Players: 1-4 (up to 6 with expansion)

Time: 60-90 minutes

Publisher: Paizo Publishing

Designers: Chad Brown, Mike Selinker, Tanis O'Connor, Paul Peterson, Liz Spain, Gabby Weidling

We previously reviewed the base set in 2014 on our fourth podcast, http://meeplenation.com/podcast/mn-podcast-0004-pathfinder-adventure-card-game-rise-of-the-runelords/

This episode we review:

Betrayal at House on the Hill

Publisher: Avalon Hill

Year Published: 2004

Edition: 2nd

Designer: Bruce Glassco

Ages: 12+

Time: 60 minutes

Player Count: 3-6

In this episode we talk about games we have already reviewed and the expansions we hope to see soon. We also talk about new games we anticipate. We cover

• Star Wars: Imperial Assault and the Twin Shadows expansion
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game
• Dark Moon
• Firefly and the new ships and new expansion, Kalidasa
• Ghostbusters
• Seafall
• Dark Moon

This week we review Castles of Mad King Luwdig.

Designer: Ted Alspach

Publisher: Bezier Games

Time: 30-90 minutes

Ages: 13+

Colt Express is a program movement game for 2-6 players that plays in 40 minutes, ages 10 and up. It is played on a three dimensional train, as players take the roles of competing bandits, trying to get the best haul without encountering the sheriff.

This week we talk about the game Werewolf, originally designed as Mafia as part of a psychology experiment. We focus our talks on Ultimate Werewolf, a set of cards from Bezier Games.

This episode we review Star Wars: Imperial Assault, a game based on Fantasy Flight's Descent series of games.

Released in 2014

Players: 2-5

Time: 60-150 minutes

Ages: 14 and up

This game can be played as a two player head to head skirmish or with one player controlling the imperial side while 1-4 players control 2-4 heroes as they try to complete objectives and level up their characters.

What is theme? What is narration? Do they compete with each other? We discuss Theme and Narration and a few games as we explore this topic.

Games include:

Dominion

Dixit

Mysterium

Duel of Ages

Legendary Encounters

Upper Deck

Ages 17 and up

Around 60 minutes

1-5 players

Ben Hillyard of Daedalus speaks with us at SaltCON 2015

Daedalus makes inserts designed to quickly start games. These inserts store the game in the original box but can be pulled out and opened to set up the game. http://daedalusproductionsinc.com

Some of the games they have built these inserts for are

• Merchants of Venus
• Dead of Winter
• Eclipse
• Small World
• Marvel/DC/Dungeons and Dragons, etc Dicemasters
• Robinson Crusoe
• Cosmic Encounters
• Caverna
• Le Havre

You can use their Design It tab to request inserts for your favorite games.

We discuss

• Meteor
• Get Bit!
• Garbage Day
• Chopsticks Megadexterity 3000
• Click Clack Lumberjack
• Mayday Sleeves 
• Mayday Sleeve Bundles

Visit www.maydaygames.com

In this episode we speak with new designer and game company owner, John Ogilvie, about his games Bejinx and Skwozen. Bejinx is a game add-on that enhances most any game, adding a little bit more chaos and another level of game.

Skwozen is a card set which takes a traditional set of playing cards and adds eight symbols to each of the square cards. Rules exist for many popular public domain games.

On May the 4th we sat down and recorded this Star Wars specific podcast, reminisced about the movies, the good the bad, the Gungans, and then talked about Gaming in the Star Wars Universe. We talk about the following games:

• Star Wars Trivial Pursuit
• Decipher's Star Trek CCG
• Star Wars LCG
• Queen's Gambit
• Star Wars: Epic Duels
• West End Games' Star Wars Role Playing Game
• Star Wars: X-Wing
• Star Wars: Imperial Assault

This episode we speak with Blake and Curtis, designers of the block stacking game, Kubeni.

This game can be played with 2-8 players. Each set contains 20 blocks a custom die, a timer, and a set of cards. Playtime is 10 minutes or less per player.

www.kubeni.com

Deus was designed by Sébastien Dujardin. It looks like it scales well from 2-4 players in 45-60 minutes. Ages 14 and up. Some direct interaction as players compete to expand across a hex based map.

Seth Jaffee is a game designer and developer best known for the game Eminent Domain. In this episode he discusses the game and the upcoming Exotica expansion. Eminent Domain is for 2-4 players (up to five with the Escalation expansion) in 45-60 minutes.

You can find Seth at http://sedjtroll.blogspot.com

Star Realms is a game for 2 player. It plays in 20 minutes. Ages 12 and up.

Designed by Rob Dougherty and Darwin Kastle.

In this episode we discuss Gamer Snobbery, terms such as Eurogame and Ameritrash, and why Brent doesn't like the term Filler.

We also do a third of the way review of our 2015 gaming goals. How are you doing with yours?

Michael Coe of Gamelyn Games talks about his three Tiny Epic Games:

• Tiny Epic Kingdoms
• Tiny Epic Defenders
• Tiny Epic Galaxies

Machi Koro is a card and dice game from IDW and Pandasaurus Games for 2-4 players in 30 minutes. Ages 8 and up.

The Harbor expansion adds a 5th player but can extend the game past an hour.

SaltCON 2015 took place in Layton Utah on March 12-14, 2015.

Next year the convention will be March 3-5, 2016 at the same location. 

Visit their website at http://saltcon.com

In our first episode from SaltCON 2015 we talk with Rick and Joanne Soued about their history, creation of Funagain Games, aquisition of Eagle Games, and creation of Gryphon Games.

Rick spends much of the interview telling us about many of the current games available through their company including Tumblin-Dice, Through the Ages, Baseball Highlights 2045, and many  more.

We greatly enjoyed the time we spent with Rick and Joanne and hope to spend more time playing Eagle-Gryphon Games.

In this episode we introduce the SaltCON interviews which we plan to release across the next six or seven weeks. Some weeks we will release two episodes.

We are saddened to report that the podcast recorded live during the Saturday panel was lost.

We discuss the games we played at SaltCON including Deus, Colt Express, Witness,  Baseball Highlights 2045, Ultimate Werewolf, and Two Rooms and a Boom.

We talk about future releases Orphan Black Card Game, Abyss Expansion - Black Pearl, Legendary Encounters: Predator, Seafall, and Pandemic Legacy.

Finally we report our contest results. Thanks to Mayday Games for their support of Meeple Nation!

This week we review the 2009 release Thunderstone, and what is considered by many to be its improvement, the 2012 released Thunderstone Advance. This game is for 2-5 players ages 12 and up, in about 60 minutes, which might include setup. There are solo rules in some of the rulebooks.

We focus a bit on the Thunderstone Advance: Numanera set, which is based in the Numanera world created by Monte Cook.

Let us know what you think!

Beowulf the Legend was released in 2005 for 2-5 players (the more the better). It plays in an hours and was designed by Reiner Knizia.

Join Beowulf as he embarks on his epic journey to defeat Grendel, the Sea Hag and the Dragon. Work to aquire the most fame so that you can become Beowulf's successor.

This episode we talk about seven pirate games (in addition to bringing up Corsari again). 

We start out with a short mention of Ghostbusters the Board Game and Cuao. Then we dive into these seven pirate games:

• Meuterer
• Pirate Flux
• Get Bit!
• Walk the Plank
• Hold Your Breath
• Dead Man's Draw
• Loot

Finally, a contest from our friends at Mayday Games. Visit our Facebook Page or listen to the podcast for more details.

This week we are releasing a second episode, an interview with Chris Urinko of Daft Concepts, makers of board game accessories. We talk about kickstarter, their current project, Custom Miniatures and Tokens for your RPG and Tabletop Games.

Chris also talks about his experience with the Board Game Designer Guild of Utah and gives advice to new Board Game Designers. He codesigned the game, Hold Your Breath.

Kickstarter Project: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/732415737/laser-etched-miniatures-for-table-top-games-and-rp

Website: http://daftconcepts.com

Email: info@daftconcepts.com

Twitter: @battlejack, @daftconcepts

During this month of love (February 2015) we turn our hearts to two-player games. We discuss

• Battle Line
• Balloon Cup (now Pinata)
• Lost Cities
• Medici vs Strozzi
• GIPF
• TAMSK
• Tally Ho

Nathan also laments his inability to keep up with Living Card Games and figure based games such as X-Wings.

We also discuss three games that at least one of us (Ryan) considers best with 2, even if they play more. 

• Attika
• Scrabble
• Carcassonne

Kingsport Festival is steeped in art and lore from the Cthulhu Mythos. In the game you summon one or more of the Outer Gods or their minions in order to increase in Evil, Death or Destruction. The game is similar to Kingsburg but offers unique play.

The game is for 2-5 players in about 60-75 minutes. Ages 13 and up.

An interview with Michael Mindes of Tasty Minstrel Games.

In this episode we discuss the Roll for the Galaxy game, for 2-5 players in 45 minutes or less.

Fun for all!

This week we hear a report from Brent on BryceCon 2015, gaming convention with family, and food. We briefly discuss Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Timeline, Dead Man's Draw, Coconuts and Roll for the Galaxy.

After this report Brent talks with Rob Hicks of Midnight Campaign. Then he interviews Gail and Gary Tanner, founders of BryceCon.

In this episode we have a bit of feedback, discuss Splendor again for a few minutes (they fixed the colorblind issue), and then dive into the six racing games we discuss this episode: Hare and Tortoise, Roborally, Fearsome Floors, Cartagena, Formula De, and Snow Tails.

This is a hot release from late 2014 where 2-5 players work together to complete a common goal and each player works on an individual goal. But is one of you a Betrayer?

Recommended by all three hosts.

In this episode we review Brent's 2014 gaming goals:

1. Play 40 games 10 times

2. Play Twilight Imperium with Brian

3. Play Monopoly

4. Play More Games with my Kids

We then discuss the benefits of playing a game multiple times.

Then we dive into our 2015 gaming goals

Brent

1. Play Dominion at least 43 times.

2. Play Games at least 25 times with my kids.

3. Attend 3 game conventions/trade shows.

4. Make 12 videos - likely games played at least 10 times.

5. Play 10 games 10 times.

6. Significantly organize at least five games with better inserts and getting started sheets.

Nathan

1. Play Starfarers of Catan at least once.

2. Play at least 40 games with my kids.

3. Play 10 new games with my family.

4. Play 10 games 10 times.

5. Play 20 new games this year.

6. Play 20 games within my collection that I haven't played for at least a year.

Ryan

1. Play Hanabi and get a perfect score.

2. Find Accessible Games I can play with my blind daughter and my other kids.

3. Thrift 10 gems (games I want to add to my collection).

4. Travel 10 times this year to my friends house to play games.

At the request of a listener we play and review Shogun by Dirk Henn. This game is for 3-5 players and will take 2-3 hours to play. It is a game of conflict in order to determine who will gain the title of Shogun.

Space Alert by Vlaada Chavatl. Fun for 1-5 players, 12 and up, in about 30 minutes.

Highly recommended.

There is no ! in the title.

We discuss over twenty-five games as we review our Feeback and contest entries, then we randomly pick our two contest winners.

Games we discuss: Star Realms, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Dominion, Colt Express, Twilight Imperium, Agricola, Caverna and many more! 

We used the wrong cable on our microphone so audio suffers a bit this episode. We apologize. The next episodes will not have this problem.

We talk about close to a dozen games that you should consider if you are planning to give a boardgame as a gift this season.

Here is the list in the order we present them:

• Lords of Waterdeep
• King of New York or King of Tokyo
• Forbidden Island or Forbidden Desert or Pandemic: The Cure
• Survive!
• Transamerica
• Times Up! Title Recall
• Wits & Wagers
• Incan Gold
• Love Letter in its many forms
• Hanabi

This episode we talk about many dexterity games and launch a contest where you can win one of two copies of Toc Toc Woodman. Listen to the podcast for details!

This week we review Abyss, a 2-4 player game by Bruno Cathala and Charles Chevallier. Ages 14 and up, 45-60 minutes. The artwork, by Xavier Collette, is simply stunning. Highly recommended by two of the three reviewers.

This week we are speaking with 15 different gamers (and game company representatives) at the International Games Day held at Weber State University on 8 November 2014. We recorded the interviews amongst the gamers so there is a bit of background noise. 

This week we discuss Expansions, both what we love and their darker sides. We explore Carcassonne expansions from our past as an example.

We then each list 7 boardgame expansions or sequels that we are anticipating.

Bring Out Yer Dead plays in 40 minutes for 2-5 players, ages 12 and up, the first game from Ginger Ale Games. We review the game and talk about the game industry with Max.

The Kickstarter runs through November 26, 2014 at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/808648996/bring-out-yer-dead

Guildhall and Guildhall: Job Fair by AEG and numerous other language publishers.

2-4 players, 45 minutes, ages 10 and up

2-6 players, 30-45 minutes, ages 8 and up.

Like us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/meeplenation

We review five games, each in about five minutes. The first two are card games with only sixteen cards. Love Letter by Seiji Kanai and Lost Legacy: The Starship by Seiji Kanai and Hayato Kisaragi.

The last three games are push your luck. Zombie Dice by Steve Jackson and Martian Dice by Scott Almes. Lastly, the best game of them all, Can't Stop by Sid Sackson.

This week we respond to listener feedback and discuss our favorite worker placement games.

One question we responded to was "Who are the significant female board game designers?" Here are a few geeklists from boardgamegeek.com

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/56208/women-game-designers

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/33115/good-games-designed-women

Don't forget to like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/meeplenation

Fleet, released in 2014

2-4 players ages 10 and up, 1-4 with the expansion, and 1-6 with additional promo cards. Plays in 30-45 minutes.

This week we discuss the new dice game, King's Forge, for 2-4 players in about an hour. 13+ on the player's age due to the need to read a decent amount of text.

This week we discuss the collectible dice game, Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers vs. X-Men released by Wiz-Kids for 2 players.

This game involves many different heros and villains from the Marvel Universe including the Avengers from the movie and many well known, X-Men.

We answer listener feedback and talk about our favorite mechanics. We spend a large amount of time loving and hating on Battlestar Galactica.  

This week we discuss Madi's six favorite games.

3-7 players out of the box, 2-8 with the expansions.  45-60 minutes, ages 10 and up.

Our second Firefly episode.  This one about the expansions and promos.

This week we discuss Splendor, the 2014 Spiel des Jahres nominee by Marc Andre and Space Cowboys.  For 2-4 players in 30 minutes.  It is a great board game enjoyed by all three hosts.

Ryan, Nathan and Brent answer two listener questions, talk about recently played games, Fleet, Splendor, and Monopoly.  The we discuss our four favorite designers, and their board games.

Firefly the Game by Gale Force 9.  Playable out of the box by 1-4 players but expandable up to 7.  Approximately 120 minutes with around 15 setup.

In this episode we discuss Carolus Magnus designed by Leo Colovini and published by Venice Connection and Rio Grande Games.  This board game plays in less than an hour for 2-4 players.  Each player count plays differently but all are enjoyable.  This game is for more intense gamers.

We refer to the region tiles as city tiles, regions, and territories. These are all the same.

We talk about the card games Mamma Mia!, Sole Mio!, Coloretto, Bohnanza, Corsari, Guillotine, and Rage!

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Twitter: @meeplenation

Website: http://meeplenation.com

We discuss Galaxy Trucker Anniversary Edition, a game for 2-5 players by Vlaada Chvatil and published by Czech Games Edition

Today we discuss the games that brought us together. It all started with the Star Wars Collectable Card Game by Decipher but didn't stop there. We talk of Magic the Gathering, Scrabble, Settlers of Catan, Attika, Solarquest, Mastermind, and Chess, among other board games.

Brent, Nathan, and Ryan discuss the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game including theme, gameplay, and fun.

Nathan, Ryan and Brent discuss Shadows Over Camelot, a game by Serge Laget and Bruno Cathala and published by Days of Wonder.

Ryan, Brent and Nathan discuss Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game.  Theme, gameplay and art are all discussed.

Ryan, Brent and Nathan discuss Coup by Rikki Tahta and published by Indie Boards & Cards.  We discuss game play and theme and give you information that should help you determine if this meets your boardgame tastes.