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!
Episodes
94 episodes
Special Ops: The Knizia Mount Rushmore (ft. Nick Murray from Bitewing Games)
What if you had to carve Reiner Knizia’s legacy into stone—just four games to represent a career that spans genres, decades, and thousands of tables? We are pumped to be joined by Bitewing Games’ Nick Murray to help us do exactly that, starting...
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1:19:27
Special Ops: A Rookie’s Ride Through PAX Unplugged
A first-timer’s crash course at PAX Unplugged turns from chaos to clarity after a late badge pickup, an impulse buying spree, and an anchor meetup with designer Paul Solomon at the Game Head booth. We share hard-won tips on planning, scheduling...
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22:15
OTF: Talkin' Turkey and Texts to the Void
We roast the perfect smoked turkey, rescue a podcast from broken texts, and marathon board games until the table begs for mercy. Retro hardware meets Switch advice, while a koi dilemma becomes a quiet lesson in stewardship and starting fresh.
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30:29
Joint Ops: OGN Takes Over Games Y Mas for Thanksgiving
A podcast takeover with heart, dice, and a little chaos: we hijacked Games Y Mas to say thanks and to build your holiday game bag with confidence. We start by unpacking the three mechanics that made our year brighter—deck building for agency an...
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35:30
Debrief: We Played Dungeons and Dragons!
The road was quiet, the horses were not, and our dice had other plans. We jumped into Dungeons & Dragons 5e with a veteran DM guiding us through a one-shot that quickly became a masterclass in what makes tabletop role-playing so compelling:...
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25:30
Special Ops: Jerry’s Board Game Comeback
Jerry returns with stories of a surprise Azul date night, a rediscovered $100 Vegas mini-game, and fresh takes on gateway games that can coax non-gamers into regular play. We swap strategies for The Quest for El Dorado, pitch Redwood for photog...
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22:26
Special Ops: Civilization Board Game Draft...Ants Are Cool!
We draft two original civilization board games with only $30 and 10 rounds, forcing bold choices on theme, mechanics, designer, art, publisher, box size, player count, and length. One becomes an insect super-civ of tech and diplomacy, the other...
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30:40
OTF: Game Night Off The Rails
We pivot from a planned board game origin to a candid catch-up on leadership growth, masculine archetypes, stadium joy, and sobering screen stories. Between a Steelers defensive explosion and a YMCA Wi-Fi meltdown, we land on what helps friends...
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19:36
Debrief: The Hobbit: There And Back Again, A Roll-And-Write By Reiner Knizia
We share first impressions of The Hobbit: There and Back Again, a roll-and-write that blends dice drafting with a story you can feel across eight evolving chapters. From dwarf paths to riddles in the dark, we highlight why the theme lands, wher...
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24:33
Debrief: Falcons- the US Air Force Academy Board Game
We debrief Falcons, the U.S. Air Force Academy board game, walking through how it plays, where it shines, and who will love it most. Theme and art carry a brisk time-track system, with competitions and events adding light strategy and table ban...
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22:10
Debrief: Origin Story by Stonemaier Games
We unpack how Origin Story fuses classic trick-taking with character-building powers, letting you charge abilities with stamina and choose between hero or villain scoring for sharp, thematic pivots. We weigh the balance of chaos and control acr...
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20:54
Special Ops: We Pitch Netflix's Catan Adaptations (ft. Vic from Games Y Más)
A streaming giant just picked up one of the most beloved board games on Earth, and our imaginations ran wild. We set out to answer a big question: how do you turn Catan’s trade, tension, and that pesky robber into stories worth binging? With fr...
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21:20
OTF: Jared Returns From The Crypt!
A foggy graveyard, rattling dice, and a familiar voice rising from the crypt—Jared’s back, and we’re cracking open a night of stories that blend family life, hobby joy, and the kind of plans that keep a gaming calendar buzzing. We kick off with...
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22:40
Debrief: EGO by Reiner Knizia and Bitewing Games
Bidding in space shouldn’t feel this tense, but Ego makes every card you play—or don’t—matter. We explore why this Bitewing Games re-imagining of Reiner Knizia’s Beowulf clicks: a modular journey across alien worlds, a smooth checklist of actio...
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20:57
Debrief: Money! by Reiner Knizia
We break down Money! by Reiner Knizia, a quick blind-bidding card game where scoring thresholds and trio bonuses create sharp, swingy decisions. We compare it to High Society and other Knizia auctions, talk player counts, and share who should c...
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16:32
Debrief: Madcala- A Wonderland's War Game by Druid City Games
A duel at a Wonderland tea table shouldn’t feel this sharp—but Madcala turns classic Mancala into a fast, tactical fight that rewards nerve and clean planning. We sit down with this two-player brawler from Druid City Games and unpack why the li...
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19:02
Debrief: The Old King's Crown by Eerie Idol Games
A fading crown. A table full of secrets. We’re diving into The Old King’s Crown—a heavy, heady blend of bluffing, bidding, and brutal clashes—where every season reshapes the map and every decision echoes across years. We unpack how the game’s s...
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29:00
Debrief: Solo TTRPGs for the RPG-Curious
Ever wished you could role‑play on your own terms—no scheduling headaches, no thick rulebooks, just a notebook, a deck of cards, and your imagination? We dive into the art of solo tabletop RPGs and how a few elegant systems can turn small momen...
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21:02
Debrief: Magical Athlete by CMYK Games
A single die, 30 weird racers, and more table noise than most epic euros—that’s the promise we chased and found in Magical Athlete. We open the box to screen-printed meeples that feel like pocket totems, talk through why the reprint’s art taps ...
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18:33
Debrief: Ruins by John D. Clair
We break down Ruins by John D. Clair—how card crafting, day/night flips, and a live upgrade market twist a classic shedding game into a tempo puzzle with real stakes. We share what worked, what dragged, and why the match-to-skip rule has us deb...
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17:36
Debrief: Sid Sackson's Acquire
Sid Sackson's 1963 classic board game Acquire completely surprised us as our favorite game from the World Series of Board Gaming, offering deep economic strategy that outshines Monopoly through elegant stock market manipulation and hotel chain ...
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18:27
Special Ops: Live from the World Series of Board Gaming!
The Operation Game Night crew reunites in person for the first time at the World Series of Board Gaming in Las Vegas, diving into an epic weekend of non-stop gaming and competition. From late-night Tapestry sessions to birthday celebrations wit...
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23:31
Debrief: Star Wars Deckbuilding Game: Clone Wars Edition
The Operation Game Night crew finally reunites to dive into the latest Star Wars tabletop offering that's taking the deck-building world by storm. Fantasy Flight Games has delivered a knockout with Star Wars: The Deck Building Game - Clone Wars...
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22:26