Boardgames To Go

Notice: I'm in the process of moving this blog over to Boardgamegeek. I'm still running the show, and the podcast will still be available through your normal subscription (iTunes, or whatever)--I'm just using a different host on the internet. This move is only happening because I think it will be more convenient for my listeners, and it may also generate more comments. Please follow me over to

Notice: I'm in the process of moving this blog over to Boardgamegeek. I'm still running the show, and the podcast will still be available through your normal subscription (iTunes, or whatever)--I'm just using a different host on the internet. This move is only happening because I think it will be more convenient for my listeners, and it may also generate more comments. Please follow me over to

Filling in the gaps between episodes with guests, I like to post episodes that let me simply talk about some games I've played lately, offer scattered opinions & thoughts about them, and then share some of the podcast's feedback. My listeners often have great suggestions and comments that expand upon topics discussed in previous episodes. In this "Session Report & Feedback" show, I discuss 

I'm still trying to keep podcasts coming out more frequently, and now I've got friends who are actively pushing me along. That can only help! In this case, it's Greg Pettit, who I thought of immediately when I decided to do a podcast about secondhand games. Whether you're acquiring Out-Of-Print classics or being economical about the Cult of the New-To-Me, sometimes buying used games is the way

What?! Two episodes in the same month?! When was the last time I did that? Unfortunately, it's been a while. But as I say during the early part of this podcast, I've got a little more free time now, and I hope I can use it to publish podcasts a bit more frequently than it's been. This could change at any time, but for now I've got my fingers crossed. In this episode I do a few things. Most

Train games mean something special, at least to train gamers. Usually they involve the 18XX system and hours of deep gameplay. Oddly, though, sometimes it means a very light game such as Express. Within hobby gaming, the term predates the German style of boardgames typified by Settlers and the like. Are there games that include some of what "makes" a train game, but also includes the design/

This is a very long episode, but no one ever complains about length so I decided to keep it intact rather than splitting it into two shorter shows.Just as he did last year, my buddy Greg Pettit went to Bgg.con in 2011 and joined me on the podcast afterward to discuss the new games he played there. Like a lot of people, he focused on new releases, including a bunch that are new from this year's

First of all, welcome to anyone who discovered (or re-discovered?) my show after hearing my guest appearance on boardgame podcast, Ludology. I joined Ryan Sturm over Skype (when Geoff Engelstein was snowed in) to discuss the difference between 2-player and multiplayer games. There's also been some good follow-up discussion on Ludology's guild over at Boardgamegeek.But back here, on my own show,

I'm not even late! Not quite, anyway. The annual small (& large) game publisher extravaganza in Essen, Germany is set to start with the press day about 24 hours after I post this, and the doors open to the public the day after that. Four days of record-setting boardgame product launches and direct sales will follow, along with some sense of which games are the best ones.For those of us who don't

The recent announcement of the Spiel des Jahres winner, Qwirkle, gave me the good idea to play that game again...as well as the excuse to talk about a handful of other SdJ winners I've played "recently." Ok, not really that recent, but there was a game party last year when I specifically wanted to concentrate on games from 1999 or earlier. Quite by accident, I found myself concentrating on some

You may think it's odd or ridiculous that a guy who hosts a boardgame podcast feels uncomfortable in some social party games due to the putting-yourself-out-there part of them. But that's exactly how I feel, and my suspicion is that other boardgamers may feel the same. Meanwhile, there are clearly a bunch of other people--including boardgamers--who really enjoy the fun, laughs, and camaraderie

Part of what's kept me away from the microphone lately has been some overseas travel. First was our family T. O. A. L. (Trip of a Lifetime) to Germany & Italy. Then, surprisingly, a return visit to Europe shortly thereafter by just me because of a new assignment at work. Though neither of those trips were about games, I couldn't help getting in SOME shopping and playing while I was over there.

Here's a podcast that I recorded with my buddy DaveO last summer. You probably know that I prefer lighter games. Well, DaveO likes the heavier stuff (as well as some quicker games). We got to talking about that, and the conversation drifted to our differences in opinion about the number of players in a game. I felt that five was a troublesome number, while he could quickly think of several

I'm posting this show again to get the correct version in the RSS/iTunes feed. (An earlier posting of this show erroneously copied an earlier episode.) Sorry for the trouble. -Mark

At long last, another "All About" show, the format in which a guest and I talk through a particular game in great detail. This time we tried something a little different, discussing the entire series of fast-playing games in small, square boxes called Easy Play by German publisher Schmidt Spiele. Since we covered so many games in this episode, this is one of my longest shows ever, nearly two

Whew! I hurried up and recorded Part 2 of my annual "Essen Anticipation" episode so I could get it posted before the Spieltage itself. Hopefully some of the people who wanted to listen to it before the show opens (even when traveling there?) will get it in time. This episode is more like my Essen shows from previous years. I talk a little about about general things, then launch into a long

It's that time again. Time for excitement about the Spiel game expo (Internationale Spieltage) held in Essen, Germany every October. Even when my fall season gets busy with work, kids' school, and other activities, there's always this time when I start living vicariously through the pre-, post-, and (now) during-the-event reports. Over a decade ago we heard about the new titles debuting at

I grabbed two of my artistically talented friends (Greg did my podcast logo!) and put them on the microphone to talk about their hobby-within-a-hobby: handcrafted games. These guys have both taken a known, existing boardgame or two and hand made their own copies. It might have been to create something that's hard to get, or it might have been to make a personalized, deluxe version of a favorite

At long last, another episode, and a long-winded one at that! These session report & feedback shows are supposed to be easier episodes for me to bang out--I need to remember that! Doing them more often will work through the response backlog and make them easier & shorter. We'll see how well I do at remembering that... :-) In addition to a lot of great comments about past shows, I talk about

Themes in boardgames are a favorite subject of mine. I'm sure I've said before how interested I am in the themes these games of ours have. Some themes instantly attract me to a game, while others are an immediate turn-off. When I'm playing a game, I particularly enjoy historic theming on the cards, or historic notes within the rulebook. You'd think that makes me a theme-gamer. I certainly