Operation: Game Night
Travis Smith, Jared Erickson, and Clay Gable get together to discuss the latest and greatest in board games in this weekly podcast. What's hot, what's hitting the table, featured discussions about board games and the board gaming culture, and the primary mission objective- to play more board games!
Operation: Game Night
OGN Ep 2: Our Top 5 Games!
What happens when you combine zany humor, international shoutouts, and a deep dive into the world of board games? You get another thrilling episode of the Operation Game Night Podcast! This week, we give a special nod to our listeners from Washington D.C. and Lucknow, India...should we consider a podcast pivot to Indian culture?!
Join us as we discuss the intricate world of board games, starting with the innovative Skyrise. Picture players building structures on floating islands and engaging in strategic bidding wars. We compare Skyrise to other classics like Ra and Foundations of Rome, emphasizing its accessible yet tactical gameplay. Moreover, we dive into our "shelf of shame"—that daunting backlog of unplayed games—and share our personal experiences with titles like Lost Ruins of Arnak and Distilled. This conversation is a celebration of our gaming journeys and the sheer joy of uncovering new favorites.
Get ready for a wide variety of recommendations as we reveal our top board game picks and the special moments they create. From the collectible charm of Disney Lorcana to the strategic brilliance of Dune Imperium and the evolving legacy of My City, we've got a thrilling lineup. We also talk about the bird-themed wonder of Wingspan and the immersive experience of Western Legends. By the end of this episode, you'll have a fresh appreciation for the tactile pleasure of game pieces, the excitement of strategic gameplay, and the unforgettable memories made around the gaming table. Whether you're a seasoned board game enthusiast or just starting your collection, this episode is packed with insights and enthusiasm you won't want to miss.
I just want to let you guys know. We had a listener, one from Washington DC no shit what and two. We had a seventh listener all the way from India. Okay, no way, let me pull it up no, that's outrageous From the Lucknow province of India. So if you are a listener from India, please use the link at the bottom of the show notes and write in to us. We want to hear from you. Lister from India, smash that like and subscribe. Yeah, we need you Tell your friends.
Speaker 3:What platform was this person from India listening to a song?
Speaker 1:Listening to it via Listen Notes. Maybe just read the RSS feed on their computer, on their apple computer from india the lucknow providence of india well, that sounds preposterous.
Speaker 3:I don't know if I believe it I think we should actually completely change the the form and focus of this podcast to just strictly indian culture and cuisine.
Speaker 1:Sounds like Welcome to the Operation Bollywood podcast.
Speaker 3:That could be us. I'm just saying.
Speaker 1:Either that or one of our relatives is into Bollywood and has a hell of a VPN and is VPNing into Lucknow to watch some Bollywood films on Netflix you know DC could be cult.
Speaker 3:He wanted to get in on this action. Oh nice, how would he?
Speaker 2:have known. I didn't tell him I didn't share. I was waiting for us to work out some of these kinks in this episode and hopefully produce a polished product that I could proudly post out there to my 1000 followers on Instagram.
Speaker 3:Are you not proud of me?
Speaker 2:Sounds like I'm proud of Jared, I was very proud of the effort we put in, but I think we still have some, some work to do.
Speaker 1:Well, I think eventually we're going to need a cardboard and clay push. We're going to have to. That's how we really need to get our foot in the door. Big endorsement coming, I know. I feel like we need to have a paid endorsement through cardboard and clay If you're going to use an influencer like that.
Speaker 3:Our first sponsor will be cardboard and clay. Then 23andMe to figure out which chromosome gives you the board game bug. Chromosome gives you the board game bug, you know, after 23 and me I'm kind of targeting monster the monster. Recovery drinks are so good, not sponsored yet you know I'm saying coming soon.
Speaker 1:Yeah, uh, monster, if you're listening to this podcast, go ahead and like and subscribe and use the link in the show notes.
Speaker 3:Mash that, that subscribe button for me. Smash it for me.
Speaker 2:Operation Game Night brought to you by 23andMe and Monster Recovery.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Operation Game Night podcast, where the mission objective is to play more board games. Put your battle rattle on and mount up. Let's start the show. Welcome everybody to the Operation Game Night Podcast, the one, the only board game podcast. I'm joined today by my good friend Clay Gable of Cardboard and Clay fame. How you doing, Clay?
Speaker 2:I'm living life, man. It's good to be here Living life Clay.
Speaker 1:I see you're in your new game cave. You've got a different background this time.
Speaker 2:I did. I thought if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. So I moved my desk from the shared office that Mary and I both had and I took it down here, stuck it in the game room, and so now this is where I live Subtle flex to all of us.
Speaker 1:Your game collection is pretty robust. It's looking pretty thick.
Speaker 2:It's shameful really. I mean, I know in the world of board gamers this is probably not the most obscene collection Probably got a few hundred in there but for an average person this is intimidating, and it's intimidating to me at times as well also joined by the one, the only, jared erickson uh, can you sound?
Speaker 3:can we sound the?
Speaker 1:klaxon. Nobody is here, I don't know if anyone's saying personally.
Speaker 3:next, if you could please get the John Cena intro to play before you announce me. We probably need to license that. Damn it. John Cena, could you be our third person to sponsor us? That would be great, john Cena.
Speaker 1:Sponsored by Monster Recovery and John Cena, the Operation Game Night podcast.
Speaker 3:Dude John Cena gives me Operation Board Game vibes bad.
Speaker 1:Well, we'll get him on here. He's a fan of the troops. I see him at some USO tours.
Speaker 3:He could be our first guest speaker. Is that what we call them, guest speakers? I think they're just called guests. They're on a show. They're a guest, guest host Right, we want them to be on our level.
Speaker 1:That's right, I like it, and, as always, I am Travis Smith of Operation Game Night Fame. And that's it, yeah, so today we're going to talk about what we've been playing and procuring and then we'll talk about our games that we've been thinking about, just in case no one's played anything or bought anything.
Speaker 2:Maybe you just have thought and that's good enough.
Speaker 1:So we'll talk about what we've played, procured and thought about. We'll talk about our top five board games, each plus any uh, honorable mentions that we want to throw out there, and then we will do our last-minute additions, our things outside of board game. We've got to come up with a segment title for that. But, clay, why don't you kick us off? What have you been playing and or procuring this week?
Speaker 2:Listen, I've procured nothing, but that's about to change because I just got $100 in Petri's bucks. For those of you out there who don't know Petri's, it's the local game store here in Colorado Springs. Love it Great store, took a bunch of trade-ins in, just got back to me last night Told me I got $100 in store credit waiting for me. So I'll be over there procuring my little heart out. But for plays I'm going to let you I don't want to talk about all of them because that's overbearing, but I played three games that I might want to talk about Mindbug, endless Winter and Skyrise. So I will let you guys decide which of those three you want me to give you the deets on.
Speaker 1:I want to hear more about Skyrise, because it is currently sitting in my basement and I have not played it yet.
Speaker 2:Did you get the Gucci version Because you seem like you might have. I think so. Yeah, dang man. All right, can you send that to me Because I really spoiler alert I really like Skyrise. It is really climbing the ladders of games that I'm going to pull out around anybody.
Speaker 2:So brief overview in Skyrise you are building structures on sky islands and trying to gather up tokens across these islands that will help you score points at the end of the game. It's designed by Gavin Brown, sebastian Paukan and Adam Wise and published by Roxley Games. I just have the retail version, which I think is plenty nice for a $60 game. It's got these nice chunky wood pieces that are different heights. You know you have your tall buildings, your medium buildings and your short buildings, but anyway.
Speaker 2:So how the game plays it's kind of like raw in that you have bidding, like your structures are your bidding power and each of your structures has a number on the top. So they go from like one to 115 on these structures. So you have this big map, sprawling map, and someone starts an auction by placing one of their structures in an area. It's an area. It's got a different color. The colors matter but you place your structure there and that's starting the bid on that area and it goes to the next person clockwise and if they want to outbid you they play a higher number tower and they play it on an adjacent area. So you're not bidding for the same location, like you're kind of working your way through the map as you keep increasing the bid. So it's a very interesting.
Speaker 2:At first it seems like kind of arbitrary where these things end up and like what different areas you end up building on because you know it's wide open. But as the map starts filling up with structures there's certain spots where you can place a structure and like kind of dictate where the auction is going to lead. And you know, the more you play it, the more you kind of see these things. But I really like that, you know, because you can see what everybody else has left as their building. So if I really want a spot I can go ahead and throw out my highest building and hope that nobody trumps me with one of their buildings.
Speaker 2:But you know, it's a good game. It's easy to teach. You know the basic thing you're doing is just going through that auction phase and then, once you construct a building, you take a token and they really don't do much different, they just increase the amount of points you'll score for each different color of area that you've built on. So you're getting these tokens, that kind of like cascade, and give you more points as you score those sections at the end of the game. But yeah, it's just a simple fun game that is pretty easy to teach and offers some more strategic thinking than you would think at first glance.
Speaker 3:Is this like similar to Rome? Is it Rome Foundations?
Speaker 2:of Rome.
Speaker 3:Yeah, maybe the big one, big box.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it's kind of like that and the fact that you are all sharing a big map that you're placing your buildings on, so you're kind of jockeying for position, trying to have the highest towers on each island. So you score points. But yeah, the way you get it put them out there is a little different than foundations of Rome, but I mean, I'd say it's a similar weight and a similar feel.
Speaker 1:Nice. I'm a sucker for raw so I'm like really excited to try it. I have been eyeing that box for a long time. Yeah it's good, I was going to talk about this, but my shelf of shame, shelf of opportunity is gigantic Shelf of shame.
Speaker 2:Did you just say shelf of?
Speaker 1:shame. Oh yeah, Shelf of shame.
Speaker 3:No Do you think our listener in India has a shelf of shame.
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 3:We need them to click that link in the show notes and reach out to us and tell us about their shelf of shame click that link in the show notes and reach out to us and tell us about their shelf of shame and they might have a different kind of shelf of shame. We got to be careful. Uh, this is, this, is this show is for you know, not explicit audiences, is that correct?
Speaker 1:it's true, okay, for all ages, all ages, yeah but yeah, it's, my shelf of shame is getting pretty extensive and so I told rachel once baby comes, no more board game procurements for a year. I have so many, I have so many. I could play a game every single week and probably get rid of my backlog in one year. So yeah, it's pretty extensive.
Speaker 2:Skyrise is a good one that you could probably teach to Rachel pretty easily, and I've played it three times now and all three times I played it four players, which is the max player count. So there are moments where you like don't have any more good buildings left and you just kind of have to sit there and watch everybody else win all these auctions and you're kind of waiting for your moment to strike, but it all ends up equaling out Jared tell me about the games that you've been thinking about, since you have no plays or procurements.
Speaker 3:Plays, procurements. Well, I have always have a solid, steady. Is everyone surprised by this? Lost Ruins of Arnak? I've been playing this game for three years consistently on BGA. But huge shout out to my brother out there who plays with me all the time, dallin Tavoyan. He pretty much got me through my career a year away from my family because we would play Arnak nonstop, something that was consistent in my life. I mean Clay and Travis, I always played and we still actually have one going right now. A good Castle of Burgundy. Those have been my plays. But honestly, guys, distilled is on my brain. I really like it. Have one going right now. A good castle burgundy. Those, those have been my plays. But honestly, guys, distilled is on my brain. I, I really like it. I like my engine, I like where I'm going, I like the, uh, the spirits that I'm making. I'm about to whack you guys with some, uh, some wheat, the wheat sugar that's locked and loaded in my my squirrel squirrel jig or whatever the hell it is.
Speaker 3:yeah, that's, that's kind of. That's kind of been the vibe In your what I don't know, like you distill. It Is there like when you make moonshine. Isn't there like some kind of whirl jig your pot still, yeah, one of those.
Speaker 3:Have you played any real-time games of it or are you still on game number one of Distilled Still on game number one, and I was going to play yesterday actually a live version of Distilled, but then the estimate on the timeline was like an hour, and it's hard to find an hour in my day these days. You know what I'm saying, so I opted against it.
Speaker 2:It's a tough thing. Was it saying an hour to pair you up with somebody or an hour to play the game?
Speaker 3:To play it with three other people Dang. An hour to pair you up with somebody or an hour to play the game. To play it with three other people Dang. I am a big fan of the turn-based games, as you know, on BGA I can whip it out in the couple minutes break between class I can get my moves in. I love it when it's the morning because Travis is awake and we can just grind out a couple rounds, but then in the afternoonvis has to go to sleep because he's on the other side of the world. But board games really unite us. It's kind of a beautiful thing.
Speaker 3:but it is a beautiful thing so, travis, travis, what, what about you? What have you been, uh, procuring or playing?
Speaker 1:so we have been a little busy this week. I was one busy with trying to learn editing software for podcasts, so, uh, I did a lot of that. But it just so happens that I had two games show up in the mail this week and they are both about anthropomorphic animals, and one is called peacemakers, horrors of war, and the other is called defenders of the wild. Peacemakers is by sammy lasco, laxo and Vil Reikinen, published by Snowdale Designs, and then Defenders of the Wild is by TL Simmons and Henry Audubon, published by Outlandish Games, and they both are about anthropomorphic animals. They seem really interesting. I have not played them yet. Peacemakers Horrors of War it's a war game.
Speaker 3:Can we do a pause? Is it Horrors of Wars or Horrors Horrors. Horrors of War yeah, continue.
Speaker 1:Yep, sorry, Peacemakers, horrors of War. It's a war game. It's basically in chapters. It's like a chapter game, legacy game, but you are playing as anthropomorphic animals that are trying to prevent war from happening. So each of these maps that are two spiral bound books that come with the game you fold them out to create the maps, hex, tiles, as like the grid that you're playing on. Then you have two factions that are separate from each other, that are warring against each other, and then you are placed in the middle as a animal asymmetric player abilities, and you are trying to navigate this tug of war game of war while trying to prevent atrocities of war from happening. So at the end of each chapter, depending on the end conditions, you are drawing other cards that will send you down a different path through the narrative of the game. So I'm pretty excited to play. That one Seems pretty interesting. They don't make many war games that are about preventing war.
Speaker 2:So I'm looking forward to that one. Yeah, pretty cool. You're kind of like an you're like an indie buyer man. You get into some of the stuff I never. I'm so like into the Instagram hot takes like what's popular. I only hear about those games. But you come at it with some games. I'm like I had never heard of that. And I hear a lot about board games.
Speaker 1:Yeah, To be honest, I can't remember where I heard about that one, but I bought it and it came pretty quickly. So I don't think it was like a. I don't think it was backed on like Kickstarter or GameFound, I think it. I must've just found it readily available. And then I got it in a pack with an expansion called More Atrocities or something like that, but it's a pack of additional cards and scenarios that you can play through once you play through the main campaign. And then the second game is Defenders of the Wild. You play as anthropomorphic animals on a grid-based cooperative play mat and you are it's got a modular board. It's got like the three hex tiles that are all sandwiched together. You build out your board and you are basically like leading an insurgency against invading robots that are trying to destroy the woodland and you are moving around and sabotaging their encampments and their technological advancements. You're trying to just thwart their advances and bring peace to the realm once again.
Speaker 2:So looking forward to trying both of those their advances and bring peace to the realm once again. So looking forward to trying both of those. Is there really room for another anthropomorphic? War game out there after root I was oh wow, which which you may hear more about later I had to google.
Speaker 3:I had to google what anthropomorphic was, and then I was like oh yeah, basically you just find other ways to do root.
Speaker 1:Yeah, basically it's kind of root-flavored. But Peacemakers has some amazing screen-printed meeples. So there's a bunch of different warring factions. They all play differently and stuff. So, like root, each of the factions has different screen-printed meeples in the faction. So one of them is like the ocelots, and the ocelots have like three or four different shape cut out meeples with beautiful screen printing on them and then they come in these like rubberized bases that you stick them in.
Speaker 2:Oh, I love a good, like that whole section you just said was like you were just describing root, like there's factions and they all play different and they come in these little wooden screen printed meatballs.
Speaker 1:I was like, yeah, that is rude, yeah but basically it's like I from what I believe how it plays is that you're basically playing like kind of against like the clockwork factions. Like you don't control either of those factions, you can like reveal their plots and then they are fighting against each other and what you're trying to do is thwart their plans to stop them from killing each other and then you win once both of them are satisfied, or have had enough war but have not killed each other off.
Speaker 2:This sounds like an interesting plot line, yeah we'll see how it goes.
Speaker 1:It's cooperative, so I might be able to get Rachel to play with me. Yeah, right, yeah, we'll see. Okay, are we ready to jump into top five?
Speaker 2:I've been dying to jump into top five.
Speaker 1:Oh boy Okay, clay, why don't you start us off with your?
Speaker 2:number five. I thought we were going to give the listeners just like a quick how we arrived at this decision.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, all right, tell us about your thought process when you were developing your top five.
Speaker 2:In the past I've done the Pub Meeple ranking, which just takes every game you've ever played and does these pairings Would you rather play Root or Villainous? And then you click one and then it just does that like 6,000 times and spits out a top 100 list of your games. I started doing that and I was just like this is crazy. I know some of these games don't stand a snowball shot in hell at beating my top five. So I sat there and started thinking about, you know, top fives, top tens they're always just a snippet in time about how you're feeling, right, you know? And these games are all just games that I feel deserve that place, based on number of plays, experiences that I've had playing them. They might not be my favorite games right now, but I think they are worthy top five games.
Speaker 1:Good one, Jared. Do you want to share your thought process to come up with this?
Speaker 3:Oh, a lot less scientific. I'll tell you that I have a few games that I really, really love and enjoy playing them. Most yep, all of them I've played with or because of clay or travis, so they're kind of I have a feeling like we're gonna have quite a few overlaps. Maybe not, I don't know, oh yeah, um, but yeah, they're kind of you could say that they're timeless. I don't know if mine really get updated, but yeah so you were like you were sure you did.
Speaker 1:You had no deliberation, just like you had your top five ready to go.
Speaker 3:I have a number six. That is um kind of honorable mention. If that's allowed, I don't know if that's allowed.
Speaker 1:That well, we'll hit on honorable mentions at the very end, just rapid fire okay, what about?
Speaker 3:yeah, what about you, travis? Sorry, I didn't uh, alley that's all good.
Speaker 1:I am a big proponent about about how games feel when you have them at the table Not like tokens and pieces and stuff that's a bonus but the experience of getting around the table and playing a game of XYZ. Oftentimes when I procure games which is a huge issue for me I imagine what it would feel like to get it to the table and play it and have a group to get together. So, yeah, a lot of my games are based on feelings that I experience when I have them on the table and you're in the middle of it and it's tense. You can't really get that in a whole lot of other mediums of entertainment where you get really invested in what's going on. It's tense, you're trying to outsmart other players and do that type of stuff. So, yeah, it was more of a feelings-based. Plus, I'm a big theme guy. Like the theme of a game is really important. So mine are pretty thematic games, even to include my honorable mention. So I'm excited to jump in. We can talk through it, heck yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm just going to throw it out there and just on a limb Is perhaps Wonderland's War on that list, are we not? No spoilers?
Speaker 2:No spoilers. It's a spoiler.
Speaker 3:It's not on there, it's a spoiler. Oh no, no, oh no spoilers. Yeah, I would actually be interested in hearing what you guys think is on my top five before I go, but obviously Clayton goes first.
Speaker 2:I think you guys will be surprised at some of mine. I don't think you guys will be surprised at some of mine.
Speaker 1:I don't think you guys will be surprised at all of mine. I think I could probably guess Jared's one for one. I think I have at least three. I have three of them that are on your list, Jared.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, Clay, jump in. Tell us your number five.
Speaker 2:All right. So number five is the one on this list that I most debated, but I couldn't deny the fact that it served a big purpose for me, and that is Disney Lorkana, the collectible card game, which, could be argued, is it even a board game? It's on Board Game Geek, so I'm putting it on here. I just really I got caught up in the hype. You know it's easy for me to do. When Lorkana came out, I was like this is my chance to get in on the ground floor of a collectible card game, because up until that point I'd been like Magic the Gathering. That game has been out for a hundred years and there's like meta around it.
Speaker 2:I'll never be able to figure it out, but Lorkana seemed approachable. It was the first set and I went nuts trying to get it all, and that was fun in and of itself, just like collecting the cards. Obviously I'm a collector, but once I actually played the game, it really is a fun game. It's just a two-player dueling card game. You have to make tough decisions about whether you want to use your characters to quest and then they're potentially exposed to get attacked, or if you want to use them to attack. And yeah, it's just a simple, pretty easy to explain game that introduced me to the world of collectible card games that I otherwise probably never would have jumped into and I wouldn't say I'm in it Like right now I don't play any per se, but I can't deny that I played a ton of Lorkana for a period of time.
Speaker 2:I would still be happy to play it anytime, but I've sort of fallen out of the meta, as you will, and don't understand what the good strategies are right now. So if I was a player, I'd probably just be getting married to come down and play a couple of the starter decks, which I still think is fun. I just think it's a good system and when I was into building my own decks, that was a whole nother thing, like the game within the game of buying cards and thinking like, oh, do I want a strategy where I'm going to be really aggressive and try and just quest really quick with all these low characters, or am I going to drag out the game and get these big heavy hitters on the end? So yeah, it was informative for me in the past year getting into Lorkana and learning all about that. So that's my number five.
Speaker 2:It's questionable. I mean, I don't play as much as I'd like to and I probably won't ever get back into it the way I was there for a little bit, because it really is consuming these collectible card games, like when you're in it, you're in it. So I have to be hesitant of that. So I'm going to do it's going to be up there, I'm going to keep it in my mind. But yeah, it's number five.
Speaker 1:I am surprised that that is even in your top five. That's crazy, like a recent game too. You have so many like classic games, especially like look behind you. You have games from all eras and different difficulties and stuff, and I never expected a card game to get in there.
Speaker 2:Cult of the new.
Speaker 3:Was that before or after? You got into One Piece?
Speaker 2:That was before One Piece. That's what I'm saying Like. That's what opened my eyes. I'm like, oh, these games are actually really fun. And then I had a friend that was into pirates, so we started playing One Piece trading card game and that was fun too. And I started learning how to play Pokemon for real, which of all things you know. You don't play them as a kid, you just like throw cards out there and say mine's better than yours, I win. But there was actually a way to play it and it's. It's fun too. But of all the ones I've tried, including star Wars unlimited, I still think Lorkana is probably my favorite to play and I just like the theme. Like the card art's amazing. Yeah, you know all the characters. It's fun. Nice, jared, give us your number five um publisher pegasus spiel do.
Speaker 3:Is that the right way? Okay, uh, stefan bogan was the artist. Oh no, that was the designer artist. Uh, dennis artist. Dennis Lawson, camel Up, guys.
Speaker 2:Nothing brings.
Speaker 3:Camel Up. Nothing brings the energy like Camel Up. You're all sitting around a table, just a mysterious little crazy camel pops out of nowhere, changes everyone's mind, blows the socks off of whoever was in the first. I love games where it's just unpredictable. Also, I love the betting element of camel up. They really crushed it there. And who can beat a pop-up board game, like the board itself pops up? You can't. You can't beat that, yeah, and and the pyramid. Use the tactical, the tactile, the feel in your hand when you click that button and you don't know what color is coming out of the hopper. I have a house rule where you have to keep a finger on the top, because too many times have I seen the top fly off and you actually have to shake it upside down to make sure there's nothing stuck in the chute itself. That's house rule. So you can ask my buddy Tanner how it went when he did not keep his finger on the top. I almost threw him out of the house. It was disrespect really.
Speaker 1:Got to respect the game. That's right. I have that reprint coming here shortly and I'm pretty excited about it.
Speaker 2:Have you ever played Camel Up Travis?
Speaker 1:I played it very briefly. I think at last SN they had a demo. They had like a big booth full of demo like games that are already out and exist in the wild and I sat down and played real quick, played a couple of rounds.
Speaker 2:It is a fun game. Yeah, you cannot deny you will have a fun time if you play Camelot Travis. Where are you at? On number five, man, my?
Speaker 1:number five, designed by Paul Denon, art by Clay Brooks oh, I know it, brett Neinberg. Published by Direwolf Games dune imperium, dune imperium, uh, can't be beat. It's so good clay. You introduced me to this one. We had talked about it briefly. I think we mentioned it last episode that, yeah, this is the one that you brought up. You were just getting into it. When I first came over for game night and we played dune imperium and it was phenomenal. Uh, we, I think we played on thursday and I just remember that whole weekend my brain was on fire. Just like there has to be, there has to be an ideal path to victory in this game, like is it water, is it spice, is it? You know your your favor with the different factions and it's so good building the deck as you go along.
Speaker 3:My heart literally races when I play that game. Like it will race because of how exciting. Oh my, I told you.
Speaker 1:It's all about how I feel at the table, and this one definitely got me going.
Speaker 2:And it stuck with me long afterwards.
Speaker 1:So number five is Dune Imperium.
Speaker 2:When you think you have it locked up and just a couple things have to go right, and you're sitting there with the cards and the strategy in hand. You're like please, god, jared, do not stick your stupid little meeple on that spot that I need. And then he does, and then you're just like oh my god, how do I?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah well then, towards the end, when, like the, the combat, uh, victories get, like the stakes start raising on those and you can see people's path to victory opening up and you're all vying for that same position on the board, or that same. I really want to try do an imperium uprising uprising.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I really want to try that. Yeah, I've played it. It's good. It's same game, you know. I mean there's a couple tweaks that make it a little more interesting, but all things considered, same great game we played that one right before the band disbanded, before everyone went their separate ways.
Speaker 3:What was it? Last summer, we got a house together. The wives made us show up. We didn't realize we were all going to wear the exact same shirt. I just love that there's so many great feelings around Dune Imperium and then we hit the hot tub. And Dune Imperium is that secret sauce that just set that weekend on fire.
Speaker 2:It will, it's so good. Anyways Clay what's your number four? My number four. I realized I didn't do this in the fun way that you guys did for your number five. For my number five, so I might have to edit. But for my number four it's a game by Cosmos, designed by Reiner Canizia, published in 2020, called my City.
Speaker 1:My City, my city.
Speaker 2:This is a lightweight little polyomino game. By all accounts, I was not expecting much. I mean, I like Reiner Knizia games, but I didn't know it would have such an impact on me, mainly because of the time I shared with Mary going through it. You know it's a legacy game, so there's 24 different episodes you play through and each episode ends and you open a little envelope and it says OK, now in the next episode you have these new rules and new components come out and you stick stickers on your board and I've always been intrigued by legacy games. But the reality of it is I'm never playing a single game that many times to actually get through one game, that many times to actually get through one. And this was like the perfect little, sweet 15 to 20 minute per game legacy game that Mary and I we played it almost every night for like a month and we just got through the campaign and at every turn.
Speaker 2:It was just a interesting little tweak that made you think about it in a different way.
Speaker 2:And I just started thinking about it again because I fired up a game of it on Board Game Arena with the Spanglers and Mary.
Speaker 2:And I just started thinking about it again because I fired up a game of it on Board Game Arena with the Spanglers and Mary and I was like my God, this game just feels so good. You know you all have the same tiles to place and it's almost like a rolling right. You know, you flip a card and it says, okay, place your square red tile. And then everybody has to find a spot on their board to place their square red tile. And then they flip the next card and it's the blue L-shaped tile and everybody tries to find and everybody's boards end up looking different and you're all just trying to score the points and it ends so quick. And then the next game comes and you're like, oh, now I have to worry about this little tweak. And yeah, it just just, probably it stays up here because of the time with mary and just we both really enjoyed playing through it. So that is my number four game of all time you mentioned playing it on bga I.
Speaker 1:I think that's probably my preferred way to play, because there's something about putting stickers on a board that is so permanent that just does not feel good to me. You lent me your copy and I was, and yes, there are, like little you know, things that can be put down and removed. There's just something that feels so permanent about, like putting stickers down and it just does not feel good to me.
Speaker 2:It's hardcore, man, you gotta be ready for it. But the gameplay experience you get out of it like's like a $20 game and the amount of game you get out of that is just top notch. Share with us your number four game, Jared.
Speaker 3:This is a little bit of a bout face from Camel Up here. Stonemaier Games, elizabeth Hargrave. But wingspan guys, nothing gets me going like a little birdie. Span guys, nothing gets me going like a little birdie that. I'm trying to court this little birdie into my waterfowl section so that I can get some more cards. It's a lot of fun. There's eggs involved. There's little eggs. That one's a good one to play on BGA as well. Bga could be our sixth sponsor. I don't know if they make money or sponsor anything, but we could be their first one. Um, just saying, but no, it's a lot of fun, those subscriptions have to go somewhere where's it all going?
Speaker 3:probably server of some kind, I don't know. Um, no, that wingspan. And there's like different versions of wingspan that I've played that I just really enjoy. Like each one it's got that same brand, touch, feel.
Speaker 2:Optimization kind of makes an engineer just very pleased, so yeah, that's the thing about you, jared, is you are, like you mentioned last time, speaking about children and duality. You have a duality in your taste for board games because you like the party wild games, but you also can geek out on like a, a crunchy euro, and like optimizing resources and being counting that you know a lot of people either fall in one or the other camp, but you, you span them pretty well I'm an engineer that likes to talk to people.
Speaker 3:It's tough, it's a tough world. Uh, we're out there, um, but anyways, wingspan big fan yeah, you look, you love your engine builders for sure.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, love me an engine rev it up travis anything different on your number four list uh, yes, I do have an edition designed by michael boggs, nate French and Caleb Grace, published by Fantasy Flight Games, marvel Champions Living card game. I own everything there is to own for this game at this point. It's all sleeved, it's all nice and organized. This one is great. Clay, you showed me this one. I know it didn't jive with you. You felt that it was a little finicky, but this is a game that can play one to four players. It's cooperative. You can share cards back and forth if you want to. It's really thematic in that each hero that you're playing as feels like the hero that you're playing as Iron man. You have to put his suit. Together with tech upgrades. Black Panther can take damage and then deal damage back to the enemies. You can switch back and forth between your superhero version and your secret identity, and the villains behave accordingly, and the game just gets getting more and more not complex, but um nuanced as they release more sets.
Speaker 3:It's um really impressive is that the one where it has a little boom and pow? Yeah, I love that game it does. Yes, it's really impressive. It's a tough game, though I feel like we couldn't even take down Juggernaut. He's supposed to be easy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is very challenging and the best part about that game is that it's really challenging and it's hard to keep track of everything, but the community is phenomenal and super supportive. Their reddit presence is great. They you know the every fan has their big wish list for what heroes they think should come next. There's tons of resource websites if you want to learn about cards and how they interact with another. People can go online and like build custom decks that you can try out that are super thematic and like have different aspects for each, that you can try out that are super thematic and like have different aspects for each hero. You can approach the challenges different ways. People will give recommendations. So I really enjoy it and it's a game that I can get to the table whenever I want, because even playing it solo, two handed, is still enjoyable. Pretty fun, it's like a puzzle. Yeah, number four Marvel champions.
Speaker 2:Dang man, why are you making me feel like I got to try Marvel champions again? I like love the theme of it and I enjoyed my turns and like the hero turns, but there was something about the upkeep of like trying to remember everything that happens when it was the villain's turn. It's like, oh my God, now they got to level up and now they're going to deal damage to eight different spots and I got to read this other card that says what they're going to do. Now I've got this thing on me that says this happens during a villain turn. I just felt like it was so convoluted when it was the villain's turn that it kind of like took me out of the experience. But like it was a game I really want to like and you talking about it makes me feel like maybe I should try it again.
Speaker 1:So I yeah, next time we're together I'll pull it out. I have a gigantic box with all the cards organized. They've got some really cool expansions. They've like hit pretty deep corners of the Marvel universe for heroes. Right now they uh they're just doing a bunch of X-Men expansions and the X-Men feel phenomenal. They all play off of each other Super cool. You can create teams and different aspects. There's like secondary aspects that you can add to heroes. But, clay, you mentioned like not getting specific rules right. The best part about like being part of this like Reddit group for Marvel champions is that people will be like I think I don't think I'm playing this right, and people nine times out of 10 will say like well, you're not playing it right technically, but as long as you're having fun, then that's fine. Just play the game and just get it to the table, and as long as you're having a good time, you're playing by yourself most of the time, so what does it matter?
Speaker 3:Do they have any computer-based like aids or like? Is there an online version?
Speaker 1:There is an online version, but it's on Tabletop Simulator and somebody created it, so you have to know the rules and play it yourself. So, yeah, I think it's on Tabletop.
Speaker 2:Simulator. Well, here's a segue from Travis's Marvel Champions to my number three game of all time. Some might call it the kiddie version of Marvel Champions, published in 2020 by CIMON, designed by Andrea Chiavaseo God, I am so sorry, that was horrible and Eric M Lang. My number three is Marvel United. Yeah, so Marvel United is what I hoped for from Marvel Champions, like the collecting of different heroes that all feel a little different, but it's all just watered down enough for someone of my simple taste to be able to understand it. You know the game is fun and I enjoy it. It's simple enough. You know you're fighting against a villain and you all take turns playing a card into this storyline and the action symbols are so simple. It's like move punch or heroic action and then the next hero plays and they get to use their card and also your card, so you're kind of working together trying to solve whatever problem the villain has. But it's all just like a simpler version of Marvel Champions that I really appreciate, mainly because my kids both love it, and so, man, we get that out and we go fight some villain and we get excited about taking them down, so it has that special place in my heart that I can play it with them and I just think it's a for co-op, which is a type of game that I don't normally like.
Speaker 2:This is a game that I really enjoy because there's just so much variability with the different villains and the heroes. You know they do their best to make them feel unique. You know Hulk has a lot of punch icons he can do and you know someone like Quicksilver he's got a ton of movement that he can do around the board. So there's a small variability in the play of the heroes, but the villains are all so different and you really feel like you're playing a different game every time you get it out if you have a different villain Additionally, including the special place it has because of my children, mary and I paint these minis and she loves doing that. So it's a game that is also a hobby of painting. Yeah, marvel's just an IP that I enjoy and I'm realizing I don't know anything about it. Now that I have the Marvel United Multiverse Pledge here, I'm like I don't know any of these characters.
Speaker 1:But anyway, that is my number three marvel united yeah, they dug pretty deep for those expansions and stuff. It's and the, the thematic ones like, uh, the infinity gauntlet, one that comes with the big gauntlet with the little infinity stones, super satisfying. They have like cool little campaign add-ons. Now they're really expanding the gameplay with, like the, the super friends you can add in. And I'm a big fan of DC. Dc United is coming out soon, pretty excited about that.
Speaker 2:Anyway, Jared, what's your number three? Is your number three a Marvel game?
Speaker 3:No, I know I'm like we could have really planned this out, but I love that it's so free-flowing and so interesting at the same time. It's like it's beautiful number three here on my list. This one's a fun one. This is a crowd pleaser. Rio grande games ue. Rosenberg makes his appearance on to the list. Bjorn profet uh, it's bonanza guys. Beans, beans, beans. I was once told it's kind of like Catalan without the board, with the trading and the jockeying for position. Get your hand right, just line it up. Perfect, so you can collect those coins. Harvest the field. When I was in Korea the other guys that was there with me they would beg to play some beans. They want the beans on the table. They want to be trading the stink for the garden beans. They want to be getting coffee beans. It's just an easy game to pick up. A lot of fun to play. It's a crowd pleaser and Adrian likes it too.
Speaker 3:It's a good one for the family, so it's definitely it definitely has a mainstay in the erickson household heck yeah all right, travis, what do we got my?
Speaker 1:number three uh designed by harvey uh. The mate art by roland mcdonald, published by colossal games.
Speaker 1:Western legends I should have been a cowboy so I I mentioned that uh, it's all about how you feel when you play the game. For me, and western legends is like the ultimate sandbox game. You are a cowboy in the wild west and you can do cowboy stuff in the wild west. You can choose to be a sheriff or a villain. You're moving around the grid, you can rob other players, you can uh herd cattle back and forth. You can uh revel at the burlesque show. You can go and play hands of cards. You can have a drink at the bar. You can rob the bank ultimate sandbox do whatever you want.
Speaker 1:I'm a big fan of uh the red dead redemption video games and this is a board game version of that. If you're a sheriff, you know you earn points as you move up the track by doing good deeds. If you are, uh an outlaw, it's all about kind of pressing your luck and seeing what you can get away with. The more bad deeds you do, the higher up the track you move. You score points at the end of every turn that you haven't been caught. So the sheriffs are trying to catch the outlaws. Cat and mouse game inside of a sandbox game. It's so much fun. I really enjoy it, especially being an outlaw, so tense, running away and trying to avoid the johnny laws.
Speaker 3:They try and track you down so good western legends you get big old butt, buckles yeah you put on your cowboy hat into that kind of thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, your belt buckle. Yeah, I don't think we would personally do that. No.
Speaker 1:I would never drink whiskey with your friends.
Speaker 2:Yep, it's also. It's deceivingly simple, like it's really not that hard of a game to play. I I'm intimidated by it, but every time I get it out I'm like.
Speaker 1:Oh, buy it. But every time I get it out I'm like, oh, this isn't that bad. No, no, it's pretty easy to get out and teach somebody, as long as they understand basic poker hands and other than that, everything that you need to do is on the card. So I think it's a little intimidating with the options that you have right off the bat. But once people get moving it's pretty easy and the expansions are so good. You can rob a train, can trade with little peddlers.
Speaker 2:Well, if theme's important to you, then my number two game will not shine very bright. But my number two game deserves this spot. It was designed by Steffenfeld, published by multiple publishers, most recently Awakened Realms. That game is Castles of Burgundy.
Speaker 3:Oh, number two.
Speaker 2:Number two it has to be. If I sat here right now and told you like, what game am I really excited to play right, this minute, Castles of Burgundy would not be that game, but it is a game that I always, always have a good time playing. There is something so satisfying about those tactical decisions. Every time you roll your dice to try and see how can I make the best possible decisions with these two numbers and trying to optimize that, You're constantly getting hits of dopamine, placing tiles in scoring points and BGAs.
Speaker 2:I mean I've played this game more than any game hands down. I mean I'm probably in the thousands of plays of Castles of Burgundy at this point, Any given time. I have three different games of Castles of Burgundy going on BGA and anytime Mary wants to play a game, it's Castles of Burgundy. So it's a game that might be wearing out its welcome just because I enjoy playing new things, but it's a game that cannot be denied for the perfect little Euro game that it is, and it will probably always have a place near and dear to my heart, but right now it's a number two spot.
Speaker 3:I just checked the facts and it is actually your number one played game on BGA.
Speaker 1:So I think I think Clay and I have a ongoing game of Castles of Burgundy dating back probably since I've known you, clay. Honestly, it never stops. Like I mentioned last week, castles of Burgundy I love it once I'm in it, but setting up a physical copy of this on a table is so daunting, oh my God. It's like an uphill climb to get it to the table. That's why I love that digital implementation.
Speaker 2:Actually, travis, your top played game on BGA is Castle St Bergen. See, it cannot be denied, it can't. It deserves this spot.
Speaker 3:Well, my number two. If you want to go to BGA and see what my top played game is at 260 games, which is actually about four times more times than you guys have played Castles of Burgundy I've played 260 games. That's insane. That's a lot of time, mostly because I play this game while I'm working out on the exercise bike. Obviously, I've gained about 30 pounds in the last two years, so maybe that's not a great combination?
Speaker 2:It's not obvious.
Speaker 3:It's lost ruins of our neck. Okay, guys, this game hyped me up big time. The first time I played it, I remember I came over to Clay's house. He's got it all laid out. I'm like what's this fear, this fear? This worker placement game changed my view on what board gaming can and is can be, and what it is.
Speaker 3:Lost Ruins of Arnak truly made me a big old nerd, and I just love the different cards that you have, like that you can buy. There's items, but there's also the artifacts that you can also buy. There's different resources. Every game is completely different as well. There's a lot of randomness. That's like when you go to place one of your workers, a new monster pops up. A new adventure awaits you. So many different paths to victory too.
Speaker 3:It's a lot of fun and it's pretty simple for people to grasp, and I say simple, but it's not really that simple. You know you got to watch like a 30-minute YouTube video, and then people get really upset when they're like, oh, you didn't tell me about that rule. But once you get them started on the Lost Ruins of Arnak, it can't be beat. So and I'm seeing a lot of these other games. Now they have bj open and I'm really sad that I I made the call that I did because, uh, there's gonna be some real a lot of, a lot of honorable mentions. We probably should have done like three of these episodes, because now I'm just sad, I'm just beating myself up. But anyways, travis, what, what's the old number two?
Speaker 1:Before we move on, lost Ruins of Arnak is one that I have never given a real fair shot and I owe it I owe it to myself to try it, because the couple times that we have played on BGA, I have never learned how to play the game between the two.
Speaker 3:You just keep clicking buttons trying to get it done.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to play my turn. So I never actually do the tutorial, I just whatever move is acceptable at that moment, I'm going to take it and just move on with my life. Okay, number two Designed by Tim and Brett Eisner and Ian Moss, art by Manny Tremblay, published by Druid City Games. Whoa, wonderland's War. It's so good, wonderland's War. It's so good. Wonderland's War, it's thematic, it's exciting.
Speaker 1:You have ownership over what occurs during your game. It's not luck-driven. Bag building, area control, the thing in the middle, the tea table that you go around. Tea table, rondell, that's the word I'm looking for. Rondell, where you choose your actions for the round Tea party phase. Del, that's the word I'm looking for. Rondel, where you choose your actions for the round Tea party phase. You're going around, you're picking your cards to put your troops out into the different battlefields. You're recruiting Wonderlandians to help you. They give you special bonuses. You're adding chips to a bag and then you go. Once you do your tea party phase, you go to the war phase. You're trying to get area majority. The point values for the different regions go up per round.
Speaker 1:Tense game always comes down to the very end. There's been a couple games where I feel like I'm in a good lead and then I just get swept in all the battles and I fall behind and it crushes me every time. It's always different with the number of Wonderlandians that you use and which ones come out first from the different decks. Yeah, I love this game. It's so good and I have not gotten to play the Shards of Madness expansion that I backed and showed up a couple months ago. But I love this game. I just wish it was easier to get to the table.
Speaker 1:One it's hard to find players that are willing to sit down for a two and a half three hour game of wonderland's war. And two unpacking this thing out of the box and setting up these standees and putting them all out there is really daunting. It's it's like castles of burgundy. It takes a lot of energy. It takes 15 minutes to set the game up before you even start digging into the to the rules. So not a game that you can just show up and teach and then play. You got to come.
Speaker 3:I will say, travis, this game, like I even brought it up earlier in our talk today. It's like when I think of what game is Travis? Boom, it's wonderland, it's war, like you're. You're out there with with, uh, alice, just straight chopping heads, taking names, like it. It's really fun to see like us get around a table and actually whip out that game and grind like it's just, it's awesome, it's a, it is a lot of fun, yeah, maybe when we retire, like we just have a burgundy game table in our one of our basements and, like you know, in your basement, travis, it's Wonderland's war.
Speaker 3:You just leave it out. That one less step to us getting it to the table. It's already there, it's on the table, it is the table Perfect.
Speaker 2:My number one game. This spot is constantly up for grabs and and will always go to a game like this, and currently that spot is being held, designed by Cole Worley, published by Leader Games in 2018. My number one game is Root. I haven't played Root in so long because the two people that I would play Root with are looking at me from hundreds of millions of miles away and I just haven't had those people that are that dedicated to the cause to really get spun up on Root. But the number one spot for me had to go to a game that provides that tension and the political intrigue and you know the different factions vying for control and you know that social interaction you have with the other players around the table as you try and score your points and pull one over on them.
Speaker 2:And Root has just been that game that every time I played it feels like it was like an epic story that unfolded Travis's Corvid conspiracy, just bombed the bejesus out of us and there was no hope for Jared's Marquita cat that previously had a stronghold on the map, and there's like those situations that come out of that game just always feel good. But I will say that I said this spot is like it's tenuous, like once Root leaves it it's probably off the top five and this will go to a game like Dune Imperium or Wonderland's War. It's just like this spot will always be reserved for one of those games that gives me those feelings. Right now, root's just the one that I've had the most good experiences with. Yeah, but anyway, that's my number one and I got to say I didn't want to be cult of the new and I haven't played enough to really slap the table and say this is my new number one. But Arx really has a shot.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:I've played it five times now and it is a good game. It is not like root, but it does have that in your face player interaction, trying to be clever and figure out your way to victory.
Speaker 1:Like arcs is a, it's a climber for me, and root better watch its back I'm looking forward to talking about arcs more once I finally get it on the table, that's the one we played with Coley.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we played like three times in one week.
Speaker 3:Oh, it was one night where I was like dude, we should just run it back one more right.
Speaker 2:I couldn't believe it that was a school night too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we stayed up until like 1 in the morning. I was like in the middle of moving to Alabama, all my stuff was already packed up and Adrian was asleep.
Speaker 1:So I'm like yeah, I'll just run it back. All right, Jared, what is your number one game?
Speaker 3:Well, over the course of this podcast, I've realized I forgot about a few of them. The one that I have written down, which is honestly still a hardcore number one We've already talked about it. It already gets my blood pumping. It's Dune Imperium, it's the battle, the head-to-head, Like literally. There was the first time we played it, Clay, I think was with freaking Mike Mike.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Mike.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I was like how did he? He just win, how did he just pull that off on me, like it got into me it takes you over but like not in a creepy way and like someone's you know possessing you, but it is like, yeah, again.
Speaker 3:All I could think about that whole weekend was like dude, I gotta play that game one more time. Like that was so much fun, so intense and I I gotta get back on the table for that one. So dune imperium it really is my number one, like the other twos which I will mention in the honorable mentions, they are rock solid as well. But I bought dune imperium, got it shipped to kore, I played a few times and the people got that same feeling. It like hooks. You Like it's one of those games that you play it once, you'll never stop playing it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for the listeners, jared is not a board game procurer on the level of Travis and I, so when he buys a game, you damn well know it's a good game.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. Every game on my list except for Wingspan I own, so I might be having to treat myself soon.
Speaker 2:I think you deserve it. You just had a birthday, didn't you Probably got some birthday?
Speaker 3:money. I got birthday money coming out of the wazoo all right, let's wrap this up.
Speaker 1:Uh, my number one there's no sense in belaboring it any longer is root. Oh, I love it. Clay, you already mentioned it a whole bunch. It's really difficult to get to the table. Learning curve is pretty steep. I wish the app was a little better with online integration. You have to create the game and then like give people the code, yeah, and then you have to set it to private and it's it's kind of hard to coordinate. I wish it like pushed you a notification maybe. I just haven't figured out how to do it yet, but root can't be beat so tense. Uh, clay, I don't know if you know, but they're coming out with some new factions in October, of course. Yeah, I'll get them. Yeah, coming to Kickstarter in October.
Speaker 3:I just love too. Like, yeah, their expansions, they fit just so well. They just slide right into the game. You know, nothing has to change in the game. It's just like now this new badass faction's on the field and you got to figure out what to do with them. It's it's awesome. But you got the vagabond. That's like he's so powerful, but he's only just like one little guy, so like, do you kill him? No, he helps you out. Like it's really cool.
Speaker 1:I love root yeah, for those of you listening at home, you should always go smack the vagabond always yeah, don't let them slide by listen to me, you know, yeah, yeah, next next two factions are, uh, bats and toads oh the info yet. So pretty excited about that. Yeah, that's cool. Okay, let's do rapid fire.
Speaker 2:Honorable mentions clay you guys honorably mentioned most of the games that would be in my honorable mentions. So Dune, imperium, wonderland's War, like those have all oscillated in my top five at any given time, but yeah, right now they just aren't at the top of my mind, so they didn't make it. I might throw a bone to Quest for El Dorado for El Dorado. I've just really been enjoying that. The more I have to play games with people that aren't like core gamers, the more I appreciate a game like Quest for El Dorado that can kind of meet people where they're at. It's not a complicated deck builder, everything makes sense. You got machetes, you move through the jungle. You got canoes, you move through the water and it's a race game. So you know, know. That's my other honorable mention, apart from the ones we've already talked about. Jared honorable mentions okay.
Speaker 3:Honestly, these are more than honorable mentions. They could be number one dead reckoning oh my gosh, dropping the cubes head-to-head battle on the open seas. Colin von olin would be sad that I didn't mention it today, but Dead Reckoning, absolutely. Feast for Odin. Are you kidding me? How did I forget Feast for Odin?
Speaker 1:Dude, I thought that was going to be your number one. I thought it was.
Speaker 3:It should be. It should be that one's a tough one because it is very complicated and you lose a lot of people trying to play it. But again, once you figure it out, it's like I got to go get me some resources, I got to place my little workers and I got to cover up all my spots on my maps and stuff. That one's pretty fun. On BGA too. I've typed all these games that I've mentioned into my chat GBT and I said, hey, what other games should I play? Scythe, are you kidding? Should I play Scythe? Are you kidding me? I love Scythe. Like how did I forget about Scythe, dude? So anyways, there's my honorable mentions. Love it.
Speaker 1:The first time we pulled out Feast for Odin at Clay's house, my brain about melted. You're just staring at this giant board full of symbols that don't really mean anything and then by the end of the game I'm like it's clicking a little bit and then once we hit it on BGA, I was sold. It's a great game.
Speaker 3:I'll throw you guys a Feast for Odin game too, if you want.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would like to rock one on BGA.
Speaker 3:As soon as we're done with Distilled and Castles of Burgundy, when are we going to have time for all this stuff, guys, come on.
Speaker 1:God dang, never enough time for games. No, okay, honorable mentions, I'm going to go rapid fire. Star Wars, outer Rim Super thematic Pretty fun, shuttling stolen cargo and paraphernalia across the galaxy. You're hunting down bounties. We all played this game. I know that fell a little flat towards the end because it was so late at night, but it's really good. I really enjoy it. I wish it would have been just a little faster towards the end. Castles of Burgundy we've hit that Unmatched. Unmatched is super simple, pretty easy. You pull it out. Grid-based skirmish game. You can play 1v1, 2v2, tons of different heroes. You can mix and match and fight against each other. You can teach it to anybody in 30 seconds. It's pretty easy. They have great player aids and the variety of battles are always pretty tense and and pretty fun. Uh, everdell this one kind of burned a hole in my brain too is kind of like dune imperium.
Speaker 1:It's like a lesser dune imperium what you're fighting for the same what I have never heard, that comparison made yeah, it's a worker placement game where you're trying to gather resources to build a hand or, I guess, your tableau or whatever in everdell I got you can go to the special spot up at the top to get an additional worker okay, well, I mean, that just comes to you really it like, occupies this, like kind of tangential area in my brain that's fair.
Speaker 2:I just I would have never made that connection everdell and dune imperium.
Speaker 1:Uh, and then the last one. We all played this together, had a great time nemesis. Oh wow, what I can't that one. That one took a while, uh, long game, but pretty uh tense. We came down to like the very end. I think we all died and lost, but yes, I'm sure did you. We created some stories. We're uh kicking down doors and the whole ship was on fire. We were frankly trying to fend off aliens while the ship burned and we all lost.
Speaker 3:But like like secret motives I'm a huge fan of that. Like oh yeah, I mean it's like house on the silent Hill or whatever, but like on steroids and it's way cool, there's aliens Okay.
Speaker 1:I considered betrayal at house on the Hill for my top five as well, because I really like that game. It's like adult Clue and then you end up killing each other at the end. So I really enjoy Betrayal at House on the Hill.
Speaker 3:While you were talking, I thought of Ahoy, oh yeah, you kidding me, yeah, I mean, isn't it like the same guy who did Root?
Speaker 2:I don't know if it's the same designer, but it's the same publisher.
Speaker 3:Ah, the same guy who did root. I don't know if it's the same designer, but same publisher. Ahoy will knock your socks off. Yeah, it's a good little asymmetric game.
Speaker 1:It's beautiful. Yeah, sorry, there's so many good games out there guys. Yep, all right, quick, quick hits clay. You've been doing anything besides board gaming?
Speaker 2:painting marvel united. Lately mary has been. You did it. I started after you gave me crap last week and then Mary fussed about it. I was like all right, we'll get it out. And now we just have like a permanent table set up in the basement that has Marvel United figures ready to be painted, and so it's kind of a it's fun, but it's kind of annoying because now Mary wants to do that and she thinks that's like in lieu of playing a game with me, she's painting my miniatures. But she really loves painting those miniatures and so it's hard to pull her away from it to play an actual game.
Speaker 1:So that makes me realize the power of this podcast has. We spoke it into existence last week and then it happened one week later you have a permanent paint station. I do, yeah, we, we have too much power in this podcast.
Speaker 2:It's a powerful podcast. And the other thing is, while we've been painting, we've been watching Cobra Kai. I don't know if you guys have seen that show, but people say it's good. It seems so cheesy I don't know if that's what they're going for Just like nostalgic corny show, but we keep watching it. But I just keep thinking this isn't that good. But anyway, yeah, we've been painting and watching Cobra Kai at our house, Jared quick hits, quick hit.
Speaker 3:I got out the old pizza oven guys. I've been slinging some pies, really dialing in my dough recipe, making sure that it's got good strength, that I can do the window test, make sure light comes through and then when you sling it on the 800-degree stone, perfect pizza every time.
Speaker 2:Just like that.
Speaker 3:Had a South Korean exchange officer come over to the house yesterday because I can't say no to more friends and we didn't get the games out. That's probably next time, but I did sling some pies out. That's probably next time, but I did sling some pies. He brought some, uh some bibimbap not bibimbap kimbap which is like korean sushi so good, his wife is an amazing cook. And then they brought mandu, which is just uh like dumplings fried dumplings and soju. So it was a good night, it was a great time.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, my one more thing, my uh quick hit, is house of dragon. Oh, we finished house of dragon and as a fan of the book called fire and blood. They kind of did some of the characters a little dirty, specifically on the high tower side. They are really just making them look like fools in the show when they are quite more capable and cunning in the book. Interesting. But the acting was good. I just wish that the season would have gone somewhere I know they, they.
Speaker 2:I was like I would thought there was a big battle coming in the final episode and it was just more preamble.
Speaker 1:Give me the fight lots of, lots of preamble and they uh yeah, lots of teasing up until the very last moment and then they kind of just leave you hanging. So I heard that we had such a long wait between seasons one and two because of the writer's strike. But I think that that will be cut much shorter, or there should be less time between season two and season three, so they are already planning for four seasons, okay, to wrap up this whole story. So we will see how they do with season three. Nice, I think they're getting caught in some of their uh original game of thrones traps where they're just trying to like push the story along, they're like lengthening some parts and condensing others, and we'll see how they pull it off at the end.
Speaker 1:But it's, it was at least enjoyable yeah enjoyed it, plus the memes, the memes on the internet every week. Oh that's funny. He's like on his luigi's mansion side quests this whole season, so I find that really hilarious. But that's good anyways. Uh, yeah, that's my one more thing. House of dragon, season three all right we did it episode two, episode two, that's a wrap season one episode two we did it.
Speaker 1:Episode 2 episode 2. That's a wrap. Season 1 episode 2 we did it. The Operation Game Night podcast was created, produced and edited by me, travis Smith, and co-hosted by my good friends Clay Gable and Jared Erickson. Thank you for listening and hope to see you again next week.