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Board Game Barrage

Board Game Barrage

300 episodes

Join Kellen, Neilan, Mark, and Christina for a podcast about board games, the latest hotness, and how to have fun with your friends even when you're losing.

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. #372: Kellen's Kull

    · 59 min

    Perhaps inspired by our recent embracing of minimalism a month ago, Kellen's going all in on reducing his games. In fact, he's already done it, and is here to tell all about everything that's left his collection and…

  2. #371: Essen SPIEL 2026 Hype List

    · 1 h 12 min

    We're not going to Essen, and frankly, may never, but that won't stop us from wishing we were going. From the mountain of games we won't get to play in person, we've mined for the diamonds that we think you should keep…

  3. #370: On Brand

    · 55 min

    It's a designer spotlight, which means we're turning the focus away from us, and putting it on some prestigious designers instead! This week it's Inka and Markus Brand, whose story apparently has a whole enemies to…

  4. #369: The Life-Changing Magic of a Minimalist Board Game Collection

    · 55 min

    We're downsizing, imagining a brighter future where we don't have hundreds of games to fret about not playing, but a very slight, extremely manageable twenty. Some say it can't be done, but that's never stopped us…

  5. #368: I Will Always Love You

    · 1 h 04 min

    We love a good old game - there are a lot that of games over a decade old that we'd happily sing the praises of, but if we were being brutally honest, how many of them do we think would make it in today's markets? How…

  6. #367: One vs. Many

    · 59 min

    We play a lot of games. Which is great, because a lot of games get made, and we get to play them ... but it does come at the cost of always having to learn (and teach) something new, grappling with rules, and gets in…

  7. #366: Collaborative Draft: Games of 2017

    · 1 h 10 min

    We're back to collaborate (and listen) to figure out together what the best games of 2017 were. Are? It's a collaborative draft, and if you haven't heard one of these before, get ready for an honest to goodness mess.…

  8. #365: Gen Con 2026 Preview

    · 1 h 00 min

    Gen Con is Gen Coming, so we're looking in our wizard's glasses to tell you what's what. Whether you're going or not, you're gonna want to know what the hot games are, and we've got you covered. Before we…

  9. #364: Mechanism Matchup

    · 1 h 10 min

    There are two board game mechanisms you just can't escape, they're on everyone's mind, flooding the discourse. That's combat, and card draw mitigation. Everyone won't stop talking about them. So we had to weigh in too,…

  10. #363: The Dark Depths of Mailbag

    · 1 h 01 min

    It's been a while since we've plumbed the depths of the bottomless chasm we call "fanmail", so this week we're reaching our hands as far as we can and pulling out some questions that have yet to see the light of say.…

  11. #362: Hot Takes About Board Games

    · 58 min

    The people demand takes, so get 'em while they're hot. We're weighing in on some possibly bad, certainly edgy opinions, and deciding where we land (spoiler: we're always right). Before we get heated, we talk about…

  12. #361: Collaborative Draft: Games of 2016

    · 1 h 08 min

    We had such fun collaboratively coming up with our definitive Top 50 list back in December, that we've decided to do it again. In the spirit of award season, we're celebrating the games of yesteryear, or…

  13. #360: Guessing Golden Geeks Galore

    · 59 min

    It's long been said that we're the foremost experts in knowing which way the awards winds blow, so we're putting our talents to use guessing, nay, predicting, nay, deciding who the winners in the Golden Geeks are going…

  14. #359: Top Brass

    · 59 min

    There are big spiky moments that happen in the meta that is the board game hobby, and the Brass: Pittsburgh crowdfunding campaign feels like one of them. It is after all, a successor to the #1 ranked game on BGG.…

  15. #358: Our Listeners' Top 20 Board Games of All-Time 2026

    · 1 h 02 min

    Oh man, oh man, it's time that we ask you (yes, you) to tell us (yes, us) what your favourite games are, because for one time a year, it doesn't matter what we think about games, but you better be ready to tell us what…

  16. #357: We Played a Mass of Games!

    · 1 h 08 min

    We made it back in one piece, and all told I think we did pretty well! We got through a heck of a lot of what we wanted to play, and we're here to tell you all about it - including Dark Pact, Totally Human, and Banana…

  17. #356: On the Road Again

    · 48 min

    By the time you're listening to this, we're probably already in Vegas for Dice Tower West! We're going to hang about all day playing games - which naturally leads to the question of what we're going to play? These are…

  18. #355: Anticipation Auction: Games of 2026

    · 1 h 21 min

    I think it's fair to say that we crushed this last year (although some of us better than others), so it's only correct and right that we should return to do it again. What are the best games of 2026 going to be? Well,…

  19. #354: Don't Call It a Comeback

    · 59 min

    All of this has happened before and will happen again. Everything comes back around, including games you could swear you've played before. Whether they're remakes, reimplimentations, or rejuvenations, we're tackling…

  20. #353: Getting it Just Right

    · 47 min

    Sometimes you know the type of game you want to play, just not exactly which game quite fits the bill. Is that heavy Euro too heavy? That deck builder not builder-y enough? Before we sit down with Goldilocks, we talk…

  21. #352: Combined Top 50 Games of All-Time 2025 Draft: 10-1

    · 57 min

    Well, we started this thing, so I guess we ought to finish it, as ill-advised as that might be. This is where all the chickens come home to roost, where we learn how badly we've set ourselves up to fail - but you never…

  22. #351: Combined Top 50 Games of All-Time 2025 Draft: 30-11

    · 45 min

    Happy new year! We're back to continue the very peaceful, collaborative, kind endeavour that is coming together to harmoniously assemble our top 50 games. It's been nothing but chill, friendly vibes, and we expect that…

  23. #350: Combined Top 50 Games of All-Time 2025 Draft: 50-31

    · 1 h 13 min

    Okay, things are a bit different this year. In honour of our 350th episode (a very important milestone), we're going to combine forces, like ... Voltron. I'm the head, and my left and right feet are here with me to…

  24. #349: Anticipation Auction 2025 - And the Winner Is…

    · 51 min

    Remember way back at the beginning of the year when we took some bets on what we thought the games of the year were gonna be? Well, all those good and bad decisions are back to help or haunt us, as we tally up where…

  25. #348: Got 'Em, Ghost Turkey

    · 22 min

    Somehow Ghost Turkey returned. And you never saw it coming! That might be because we forgot to remind people that it's Thanksgiving, but never mind that, the important thing is you're fools. Not us though, we're back…

  26. #347: Bob's Design

    · 1 h 11 min

    BGBBOB is back, and it's been long enough that you might need a reminder. Ten game designers enter the ring, and through the arduous process of one vs one battles, we arrive at our (and not just our, but the)…

  27. #346: It's One Bananagrams, How Much Could It Cost?

    · 51 min

    This episode is not about Bananagrams (at least, I don't think so), but it is about the price of things (though not Bananagrams specifically, shut up about Bananagrams). In a world where everything costs more, we're…

  28. #345: Essen SPIEL 2025 Hype List

    · 59 min

    Not perturbed by Kellen's trip to Germany, we're all daydreaming about the motherlode of board game conventions, Essen SPIEL. There's a lot of games coming to the show, and because we're not going, and presumably you…

  29. #344: ... But the Second Leaves a Mark

    · 1 h 02 min

    Dreaded continuity! We're following up Episode 41 from seven years ago about the games that started our love for board games! After those first loves, what really got our hearts aflutter with the joy that the hobby had…

  30. #343: Fantasy Draft: Card Games

    · 50 min

    The draft's back! This time it's card games, and we're picking the bestof what ought to be a staple of any good collection. We love card games, we love drafting games, and you love winning money, so be sure to vote for…

  31. #342: Oops! All Foreplay

    · 56 min

    There's any number of subtle innuendoes we could've gone with, but this is what we're doing I guess. If you haven't got there yet, we're talking about games that aren't just slow rides, but instead leave you gasping…

  32. #341: A Little Bit of Mailbag

    · 58 min

    One, two, three, four, five, everybody in the car so come on let's ride ... to the mailbag! We're answering your pressing questions - and oh how they press - about all manner of things: Crowdfunding ads! Narrative…

  33. #340: All by Myself

    · 1 h 08 min

    Are board games best played multiplayer? Who can say, but whether it's because you can't get people together at the appropriate time, or you're just itching to play something on your lonesome, there's a burgeoning…

  34. #339: One and Done

    · 55 min

    Sometimes once is enough, you know? Doesn't mean it was bad, but it might just be that you can have too much of a good thing. We're talking about board games that we'd recommend everyone play once, but only once.…

  35. #338: Gen Con 2025 Preview

    · 56 min

    Gen Con! Where all the cool games are, before you even know they're cool. Or hot! We've got you covered, if you want to know what all the best stuff coming out of Indianapolis is going to before before anyone else,…

  36. #337: Our Listeners' Top 20 Board Games of All-Time 2025

    · 58 min

    It's time again to turn the tables and get your take, to feel out the collective tastes of you, the listeners of the show. It's the annual Listener Top 20! You've been sending in all of your lists (thank you!), I've…

  37. #336: Happy Little Accidents

    · 55 min

    When playing games it's easy to fall into the trap of over-anaylsing turns, or questioning whether the move we made was the right one, or even allowing people to roll back whole turns - so we're asking if maybe we've…

  38. #335: A Cole New Wehrle

    · 1 h 08 min

    A dazzling place you never knew ... until now that is! We're diving deep on beloved designer Cole Wehrle in another designer spotlight. We dig back into his Roots, and explore the many Arcs that led to his Oath to…

  39. #334: Nothing's Done It Better

    · 52 min

    Well, we finally did it. We played CATAN, and it was ... good! And then we started wondering, is there anything that's done quite the same thing that that game is doing? And then that got us wondering how many games…

  40. #333: Gold3n G33ks

    · 59 min

    Happy 333! In honour of our three hundred and thirty third episode, BoardGameGeek has decided to host an emergency session of the Golden Geek Awards, and we're here to tell you about all the nominees that satisfy the…

  41. #332: Hard Pass!

    · 50 min

    I would say that, for the most part, there's very little we won't play - but we also know what we like, and especially what we don't like. Every so often a game gets suggested that we have to say "literally anything…

  42. #331: One Thing I Hate About You

    · 1 h 04 min

    We've spent a lot of time over the years singing the praises of the games we love, but they can't be perfect right? Surely there's something, one little thing, that bugs us - a small blemish in our otherwise most…

  43. #330: We Played a Load of Games!

    · 1 h 19 min

    We just got back from Dice Tower West, so you know what that means ... bunches and bunches of games! Between the convention, and the meetup, and just hanging out at Mark's place, we got a lot of great stuff played, and…

  44. #329: All the Stars Are Here!

    · 1 h 11 min

    I'm not sure why you'd make a hall of fame that's not also a sidewalk, but that's exactly what BoardGameGeek have gone and done - they've curated 25 games into their hall of fame, and we're here to judge them for their…

  45. #328: Anticipation Auction: Games of 2025

    · 1 h 14 min

    Okay, pay attention, this is gonna be different! We're looking at the rest of 2025, deciding what we think the most well received games of the year are going to be - but then we're going to be bidding on them, auction…

  46. #327: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2024: 10-1

    · 1 h 32 min

    It's finally time to cap it all off with the cream of the cream, Mark and Neilan's final set of ten games each! These are the games that we think are the pinnacle of our respective tastes, that we'd never turn down,…

  47. #326: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2024: Neilan's 30-11

    · 53 min

    Neilan's back to continue the journey down the lazy river of cardboard that is his top 50 board games of all time. It's games 30 through 11! I just counted, and that's twenty amazing games that I can't wait to tell you…

  48. #325: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2024: Mark's 30-11

    · 1 h 03 min

    And back to Mark! It's the soggy middle of his top 50, or as he insists on calling it, his numbers 30 through 11. That is twenty more delicious games, and he's here to tell you all about them while we continue to…

  49. #324: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2024: Neilan's 50-31

    · 53 min

    It's meeeeeeeeeee! So if you care to find my top 50 list, look right here. The first twenty incredible games on the list that early critics are calling "surprisingly tasteful" and "delightfully roomy" is finally yours…

  50. #323: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2024: Mark's 50-31

    · 56 min

    It's time! The grand spectacle that is our greatest games of all time is here at last! We're breaking things out a bit differently this year, so Mark's taking center stage while Kellen & Neilan mock his choices. It's…

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