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
A 40th Birthday Becomes A 20-Game Challenge
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We trade the usual birthday expectations for a weeklong board game celebration as Mike turns 40 and brings a list of 20 games he wants on the table. We break down what makes the list work, which titles he’s most hyped to play, and why having a partner who truly loves the hobby changes everything.
•building a 20-game birthday week list that’s realistic to play
•who’s joining the sessions and how the week is structured
•early plays and quick hits like Druids of Edora and Dunup
•goofy story moments in Botany and why it stays memorable
•bigger table picks like A Gest of Robin Hood and Great Western Trail
•why Tapestry is the must-play birthday tradition
•Barnes and Noble clearance surprises with Pick a Pepper and Floristry
•the one brand-new birthday buy he hopes arrives in time: Trismegistus
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Welcome And The Birthday Plan
SPEAKER_00Welcome to the Operation Game Night podcast. I'm your host, Clay Gable, and here with me is the birthday boy himself, Mike, from the Meeple That Loses on Instagram. Hey Mike.
SPEAKER_01Hey, how's it going?
SPEAKER_00It's going good. So we were cutting some episodes because Travis is out, and it came up that you have this list of 20 games that you are foisting upon your friends and family to play with you during your birthday week. And I was like, we need to do an episode about Mike's birthday week, and we can hear about these 20 games. So let's talk about it. Is this a thing you do every year? Like, is this a thing with your your uh girlfriend?
SPEAKER_01Uh so I don't like celebrating my birthday, and every year she's like, What are we doing for your birthday? And for as long as we've been together, it is we are playing board games, and that's all I want to do on my my birthday. Um, and normally I I'll play a few games solo on my birthday, um, and she'll play a couple games with me. Uh, but this year um is the big 4-0. Oh yeah, so old man over here. Um, and she was like, We should do something special, and I've declined everything. Um uh because like any real board gamer, no, I'm kidding. Uh anyone who's in the hobby probably prefers to be playing board games um over anything else. Um, so now I've came up with um uh I took uh some extra days off this week um and told her that I would like to spend at least one full day playing board games uh and a few other things in between there as we fill in those days. Uh and then I decided two days ago that I was gonna make a list of the games that I would love to play. So that's that's where we are.
Who’s Playing And How It Works
SPEAKER_00I love that. And wow, 40. I think you could have made a case for asking to play 40 games for your 40th birthday.
SPEAKER_01That wouldn't pass. I can I would lose that one quick. Uh yeah, maybe in the month, 40 in a month, I could get.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that would have been fair. Okay, so is it mainly just gonna be Riley, or do you have other people rocking to play?
SPEAKER_01So right now, uh it is Riley for the most part. She's gonna be subjected the most. Um, and then uh my buddy Rob and his wife and Riley and I are gonna get together on my actual birthday um and do some things, and then I have a couple co-workers that are keep asking to play a game, and I said that maybe we could play a game this week at work on lunch. So, yeah, we got some people all kind of mixed in there for for this.
SPEAKER_00Good. Well, I wish you know what, throw me in the mix. We're we'll play a BGA game this year. All right, uh let me see if I can find a Lacerta game. Oh my gosh, no, don't forget. Um uh I will be they they they don't exist on BGA, uh as they shouldn't. Yeah, so probably not. It would be a horrible yeah, I couldn't even keep up with wondrous creatures on there, man. I was like, I was like, what am I even doing? I'm just like clicking buttons now.
SPEAKER_01That's fine. Sometimes you just gotta pull leathers and see how it plays out.
SPEAKER_00Yeah,
The 20-Game Birthday Week List
SPEAKER_00not cool. All right, so let's get into this list. Let's let's just walk through your 20.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so uh going down the list here. Um, we have druids of Endora by Steffen Feld.
SPEAKER_00Uh whoa, never heard of it.
SPEAKER_01Uh so Stefan Feld, the guy who did Castle of Burgundy. Um, but in this one, you're kind of visiting shrines and its dice placements. Um uh very, very green board. We've played it a bunch of times. Uh that was actually our first game this week is Druze of Endora. We played it right before we recorded today.
SPEAKER_00Oh, nice. Hold on, real quick. Yeah, not to interrupt your flow, but I am going to. Are most of these games games that you already have played before, or is it a wish list of games that you haven't played? Well, clearly one is one you've already played a bunch. Is it a mix?
SPEAKER_01Uh, there are mixes when you include some expansions, or ones that Riley's never played, uh, that I've played with other people, but not Riley.
SPEAKER_00So none that you've never played.
SPEAKER_01Uh, well, yes. Uh it though well, there's the one that I ordered for my birthday uh that I have not played, that we will hopefully will be playing this weekend as well. Or this okay.
SPEAKER_00All right, you may continue.
SPEAKER_01Oh, right. Um, the next one, and we also played this right before this because we got to start out strong on this challenge. Uh have you heard of Dunup?
SPEAKER_00Oh, yes, people have been talking about it. This game seems right up my alley. Forget the forget Vital. I want to play the shedding card game. That sounds awesome.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, uh, we played it right before we just did right now, and done up. Nice, either way, it's the same thing. Oh dig that, yeah. Um, and it's made by the guy that did Scout. Um, so very, very good uh lineage. Um and Riley uh threatened to assault me uh when we played it, uh because she was getting competitive, uh playfully. Um but yeah, in this game, you're really just um you can't you can rearrange our cards, but they're dual-sided cards, uh kind of like in Scout. Um but you can't change the you can't flip them in your hand, you can rearrange them in your hand uh to create sets. Uh the only time you can flip it is if you play it and it you have to pull it back in your hand, you turn it so that it's the other side.
SPEAKER_00You have to turn it.
SPEAKER_01You have to turn it.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01Um, and there's also a special action in there where you flip the card, uh your whole hand of cards at once instead of playing uh a set. Um, but that was a lot of fun. That actually made it into my um my my Smith uh Springfield uh board game bag, uh, which is full of board games that went and got put into there, uh instead of anything else going in there. Um, but yeah, so that's that was number two um that we we started with. Um and then we have botany, which is have you ever heard of this?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. I can picture the cover, I don't know much about it.
SPEAKER_01Very pretty Victorian art. Um, and the whole uh premise behind this is really it's a roll and move, uh kind of like a Jamanji almost. Uh, but you have like uh not like Jamanji, but it's a roll and move, and you're like picking up and delivering flowers. But what really sold me on this is there's event cards in there, like, hey, you're trying to get this flower to take back to England, and a uh monkey, you know, decides to pull your a knife out of your your pocket and stab you with it. So then you're like you have these weird little events that happen throughout the game. It's it's goofy, it's fun. I love it. Um then uh crafting the cosmos, which is talked about that a lot. I loved it. Um, and I played a good amount, I think, with Tiff, uh on BGA, and we played it of one time in person. Love it. Uh Faea Swamp, which is I don't know which game I like better, Speakeasy or Faea Swamp. Um it's nine and ten on my list right now. Um and it's by the guy that did Gaia Project and Terra Mystica. Um but the art is fantastic. Uh, it's very straightforward. Easy. This is one um that you would could jump into and it'd still be kind of a heavy-ish game, um, but real fun, real easy to learn and teach. Okay. Um no list would not have gazebo on it. Gazebo's in, no matter what, gazebo's in.
SPEAKER_00Um how you how's how's this one stacking up in your like all-time rankings?
SPEAKER_01Top 20, top 25. Okay. Uh yeah, I definitely think it's like 14, if I remember right. It's like definitely up there. Um, and then this is a game that I've played with my old boss, uh uh and buddy Rob, who I'm playing games with him and his wife and Riley this weekend, uh, just of Robin Hood, which is a GMT um irregular conflict game. But you you play uh Robin Hood and the Merrimen, and then you got um what's his name? I can't remember it now, the Sheriff of Nottingham. Um, and you the sheriff is trying to find Robin Hood and get rid of the Merrimen, uh, and you're trying to steal money and turn districts over to support the the rebels. Um, it is a war game in essence, but with a really cool hit in movement kind of thing with Robin Hood. Um fantastic. Uh um and then Great World Western Trail, which has been my top 10 forever. But Riley and I haven't played this in almost two years.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I want to like this game, but I hated it so much.
SPEAKER_01You gotta maybe you need to try El Paso.
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, I think that might be the answer for me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, shrink it down.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, and uh you don't have to give comments on this because I at the time of this it probably hasn't come out yet, but layers. Uh uh, we we we are gonna play layers. I just got everything, um, and I think we're gonna four player it for the first time, where I'm the uh my buddy Rob wants to be the I I think will be the dungeon master, and we're all gonna try to get through his dungeon, the the wife Sin and I uh this Saturday. Um Lightning Train, uh, which is a Paul Denon. Um, probably my favorite Paul Denon. I've only played solo. Uh yeah, I know. Everyone says the same thing. It's kind of like getting rid of Critter Kitchen. Um, but yeah, pick up and deliver train game. Riley's never played it. This is definitely gonna happen. Uh Nakosu Dice, another culture taker, uh, where you have a hand of cards and dice that you play. Um just got to a wide distribution here in the US, which is Whoa, did it? Yeah, uh, you can get it through uh tricky imports. I think um uh Tanuki Games, which is fantastic, which is where I think you got Viking Seesaw from.
SPEAKER_00Yep, per your recommendation. Yeah, you're gonna have to send me send me more links because yeah, it's it's a good one.
SPEAKER_01Um Office Dog, another office dog game here, River of Gold. Oh yes, yeah. The board, I love the traveling up and down, and it's so good. Um and uh once again, I can't celebrate a birthday. I've done it every year since I fell in love with this game, my number one game of all time, Tapestry. Uh, we're playing Saturday as well, four-player. Um, Riley's played it, Rob's played it, his wife Andy has no idea what she's walking into. Um, and we're doing all the expansions. Um T Garden, which is a deck building game that uh Keisha from Moments Gaming Together uh bragged about for so long. I finally bought it. It is such a good game of deck building and putting out uh begotas and area control. It loved it. Um it's also made by the guy that did SETI. Oh, dear. So but no, but much lighter. Much lighter. Like we're talking like Stonemeyer level uh kind of games. Uh the White Castle Duel, uh not White Castle, White Castle Duel. We've only played it once. Riley and I want to play it again. Um, and then my Simple Pleasure Nana. Uh or the American trio. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But I just love the art, Nana. Um, and then we were just talking about the last game on this list is First Giants. Um one of the only games I've ever played on BGA that I'm gonna I bought the actual version for. Uh yeah, I'm not usually a buy-on from BGA kind of guy, but yeah, so that is my list right there.
If We Lived Closer We’d Join
SPEAKER_00That's a hell of a birthday week. Good grief. I wish you lived in uh York, Pennsylvania, so I could hop in on this birthday gaming.
SPEAKER_01But if we if I live there, I'd want to go to that smorgasbord place that Jared talked about.
SPEAKER_00Uh shady maple.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, set maybe get a table set up there, get uh get some games out there.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I don't know what you're doing out there because all the cool people live on the east coast, you know. Tiff's just right up the road.
SPEAKER_01I know, I know.
SPEAKER_00Pax PAX is right there, and Amanda's just right down the road.
SPEAKER_01That's true, yeah. Oh, maybe I should play at windmill valley into that list.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, 21 on there. Yeah, what's one more word? Yeah, yeah. Riley won't even notice you slip a windmill valley in there.
SPEAKER_01No, no, at that point, probably not.
SPEAKER_00Oh man, that is awesome. Yeah, man.
The Games He’s Most Excited For
SPEAKER_00What's which ones are you most excited for?
SPEAKER_01Uh we honestly tapestry. That I'm I'm anytime I could put those gorgeous buildings on the table and and touch them, I'm in for it. Um, and then uh Adjust of Robin Hood, uh that two-player GMT game. Um, Riley's very competitive, so I feel like a war game with her is gonna be fun. Um and so she's never played that kind of game before. Um, so that one will be really interesting, dude.
SPEAKER_00Uh you either torture this poor girl or she is like actually a gamer. Because I feel like sometimes you talk about her like you're just kind of like dragging her along into games, but like you you've played the all these Lacerda games with her, you've played just the you're playing just the Robin Hood. Like, she is not uh a ride-along girlfriend at this point.
SPEAKER_01She's she's a ride or die, yeah. Yeah, um, no, she loves board games, she's actually way more against me getting rid of games than I am. Um she falls in love with some of them very hard. Um yeah, so no, she she's the the significant other every board gamer wishes they had for sure.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like my wife looks at me like it's your birthday. I guess I'll play one patchwork with patchwork with the yeah, I guess I'll play patchwork because that's the one I like.
SPEAKER_01Go go get Castles of Burgundy again off the wall.
SPEAKER_00Like, yeah, yeah, no, she'll always play that.
SPEAKER_01No, Riley will play almost anything.
Barnes And Noble Finds And Surprises
SPEAKER_01Actually, she we went to Barnes and Noble uh to look at the clearance because I'm sure you've seen that. She actually picked up two games herself, which is weird because that's my thing. Yeah, so that was that was surprising, and one of them was great. Um Pick a Pepper. It's very bonanza-y, but pick a pepper, yeah.
SPEAKER_00What's uh what's it look like?
SPEAKER_01It's uh I think it's I I want to say Wolfgang Kramer.
SPEAKER_00Uh I think I picked that up and I haven't played it yet.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I we we we had a blast with it.
SPEAKER_00Okay, uh, yeah. Uh it's on my it's on my shelf of I opportunities, I would say. But I got it because I like the peppers and I was Wolfgang Kramer, so I was like, um, I'll get it.
SPEAKER_01And then the other one she picked up uh was Floristry, which you may actually like. It it has an auction in it. Uh it's a phone auction. It's uh you you you you hold the phone and it has uh them bid and you bid, and you both tap when you want to bid and it's a clock, and as the clock goes, the bid goes less, so you raise things to hit that button first, and then based off of that is what you get to pick off the board.
SPEAKER_00Oh interesting, yeah.
SPEAKER_01But we got that for I think five bucks during that clearance sale.
SPEAKER_00Dang, so nice, okay.
The One New Game And Wrap-Up
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and then oh, the last one, and if it gets here in time, it's included is Trismagintis. Uh, that is my never played game that I ordered myself for my birthday. Um that we yeah, treated myself, um, which is a board and dice game about creating the philosopher's stone through alchemy. Um so that that's the one game that I've never played that hopefully will comes in in enough time.
SPEAKER_00Dang. Well shoot, yeah. You you're having the week we all wish we were having, but you earned it, you've made it to 40. Yeah, happy, happy early birthday. I just when this comes out, it'll probably be past your birthday.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it'll just be another 40-year-old, but yeah, 40-year-old who's played 20 games in a yeah, 20 more games, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Just padding those stats, making us look bad. But all right, Mike. Well, thanks for doing that. I know that it was a whimsical idea, but I love just hearing people talk about games. So I was like, I got Mike here, and it's an exciting week of gaming, hopefully. Yeah, well, you're gonna have to come back and debrief it then.
SPEAKER_01So that's the only thing sounds good.
SPEAKER_00All right. Well, for Operation Game Night, I have been Clay, and he has been the birthday boy himself. Mike, the meeple that loses, and we are getting on out of here so he can go keep playing games.
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