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.