Board All The Time

This week's episode feels like we were just focused on talking about production quality and storage (considering that Freedom Five delivered yesterday, that can only be kismet for how rough that game's storage is). But we had a lot of fun talking about games that we've come to love, how a great game can transcend a bad teach, and how not every game in a genre is going to work for you. 

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This episode's segments:

00:00:00 - Intro 

00:00:47 - What's Been on the Table

00:08:34 - Topic of the Week: Do You Own Too Many Games?

00:14:13 - Why Did I Play That: Last Light

00:24:38 - Table / Shelf / Trade

00:49:08 - Rotating: Visions of the Future

00:57:47 - Contact Info / Sponsors 

00:58:55 - Outro

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1) From 31:32 - 32:56, the furnace in the studio kicked in and we didn't realize that it was going to be that noisy in the background. The joy of home studios I suppose, but I've done my best to reduce it. The game I'm discussing at the time I did end up calling a Table if you don't want to listen to that segment.

2) I realize that we talked about Millenium Blades in Episode 10 as well, but that episode was recorded something like 3 months before Episode 10 was (see that episode's notes as for why). If you want to skip that, the time stamp for it is 50:27 - 52:42.

3) We're on BlueSky now and loving it! At this point it really feels like BlueSky is for gaming, so definitely check us out on there! https://bsky.app/profile/boardallthetime.bsky.social

You can email us at [email protected].

We can be found at www.boardallthetime.com and on Facebook at Board All The Time. 

If you'd like to help support the show and assist with the hosting costs, you can do so with our Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/boardallthetime

Our Discord server, which is still in Beta, can be joined at https://discord.gg/VbRWEpc6

We'd like to thank our sponsors as well:

Robin's Nerd Supply: www.robinsnerdsupply.com

Eco Owl Press: www.ecoowlpress.com 

We'd also like to thank SoulProdMusic for the intro/outro music. 

Ahh, it's nice to be back to a regular episode again. We have an esoteric topic of the week, talk about all the games that we played recently, take a nostalgic dive back into some games that you may not have thought of in some time, and just gush over an area control game that Scott actually really likes. 

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This episode's segments:

00:00:00 - Intro 

00:02:51 - What's Been on the Table

00:08:01 - Topic of the Week: What Is Your Obligation as the Host?

00:21:43 - Why Did I Play That: Wonderland's War

00:33:58 - Table / Shelf / Trade

00:48:13 - Rotating: The Archives

01:00:01 - Contact Info / Sponsors 

01:01:07 - Outro

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1) Due to guest availability, we actually recorded this one before we did Episode 9 with James Hudson. We didn't know that we'd have this much Druid City so close together, but seriously Wonderland's War is exceptionally good. 

2) Masque of the Red Death's track through Mark's Top 100 is pretty wild: 

3) The third Doctor Lucky game was The Island of Doctor Lucky in 2018.

4) It's been mentioned a bunch of times, but the most recent Top 100 Mark did can be found at: 

You can expect the new one to be up at the start of January 2025 after we release our Top Ten for 2025.

5) Do you like all the weird little things after the outro sting now? Because we find them hysterical.

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You can email us at [email protected].

We can be found at www.boardallthetime.com and on Facebook at Board All The Time. 

If you'd like to help support the show and assist with the hosting costs, you can do so with our Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/boardallthetime

Our Discord server, which is still in Beta, can be joined at https://discord.gg/VbRWEpc6

We'd like to thank our sponsors as well:

Robin's Nerd Supply: www.robinsnerdsupply.com

Eco Owl Press: www.ecoowlpress.com 

We'd also like to thank SoulProdMusic for the intro/outro music. 

BATT Family! It's been a busy month of super cool Kickstarters coming out and we ALSO got a pretty sick delivery from our friends at IV Studios. We give Tend the full preview/review treatment to help support their campaign that is currently running. Check out the episode and then go ahead and back the campaign! Links are below!

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:10 - Gameplay

00:11:25 - Learning Curve

00:17:44 - Artwork

00:20:19 - Components

00:23:08 - Iconography

00:24:48 - Ease of Recommendation

00:28:45 - Replayability

00:32:10 - Final Thoughts

00:35:00 - Outro

Thanks so much again to IV Studios for supplying us with the protoype copy of the Deluxe Edition of Tend. As one final note, we didn't mention it in this review episode but there is a standard edition that will come with coloured pencils instead of markers as well as a few other components to help lower the cost. We were not aware of the standard edition at time of recording but did want to mention it here. 

Please check out the Kickstarter and the rest of their games:

Kickstarter Campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ivstudios/tend-0

IV Studio Website: https://www.iv.studio/

IV Games Website: https://shop.iv.studio/

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We can be found at www.boardallthetime.com and on Facebook at Board All The Time. 

If you'd like to help support the show and assist with the hosting costs, you can do so with our Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/boardallthetime

Our Discord server, which is still in Beta, can be joined at https://discord.gg/VbRWEpc6

We'd like to thank our sponsors as well:

Robin's Nerd Supply: www.robinsnerdsupply.com

Eco Owl Press: www.ecoowlpress.com 

We'd also like to thank SoulProdMusic for the intro/outro music. 

Hey hey BATT Family! Today we are doing another separate review in support of our friends at Grand Gamers Guild and their new Holiday Hijinks Kickstarter campaign. The Holiday Hijinks themselves are 18 card micro games that are all escape rooms in a box. We talk about the highs and lows of them and wanted to make you aware of them! 

00:00:00 - The Holiday Hijinks

00:16:07 - Ratings

Thanks so much again to Marc at Grand Gamers Guild for supplying us with review copies of each of the Holiday Hijinks. As one final note, we didn't mention it in this review episode but there are print and play options for all of the games in the series available at their website for a reduced price. 

Please check out their newest Kickstarter campaign and the rest of their games:

Kickstarer: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grandgamersguild/holiday-hijinks-collection

Grand Gamers Guild Website: https://grandgamersguild.com/

Holiday Hijinks Website: https://landing.grandgamersguild.com/holidayhijinks/

You can email us at [email protected].

We can be found at www.boardallthetime.com and on Facebook at Board All The Time. 

If you'd like to help support the show and assist with the hosting costs, you can do so with our Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/boardallthetime

Our Discord server, which is still in Beta, can be joined at https://discord.gg/VbRWEpc6

We'd like to thank our sponsors as well:

Robin's Nerd Supply: www.robinsnerdsupply.com

Eco Owl Press: www.ecoowlpress.com 

We'd also like to thank SoulProdMusic for the intro/outro music. 

Welcome BATT Family to Episode 10 - The Top Ten Thematic Games! This is an odd episode for us at this point, because this was actually recorded fairly early into the production run but we needed to get Jake in to be able to record. So this one actually happened before we upgraded our equipment and had enough mics to support a guest appropriately. There will be some odd table thumps that don't occur anymore and the like, but ultimately none of us would change the picks we made. It was a great conversation and we really hope that you liked having Jake on as well. Let us know what your favourite thematic games are in our Discord or by emailing us at [email protected]!

This episode's segments:

00:00:00 - Heads Up

00:00:54 - Intro / Welcome Jake!

00:02:22 - Criterion for List

00:06:03 - Tens 

00:10:16 - Nines

00:17:21 - Eights 

00:24:17 - Sevens

00:32:43 - Sixes 

00:39:55 - Fives

00:51:05 - Fours

00:54:26 - Threes

01:03:33 - Twos

01:11:29 - Ones

01:22:24 - Wrap Up

01:23:17 - Plugs

01:24:25 - Outro

Some notes! 

1) The games that turned into KH: Perilous Pursuit were Rollers, into Rollers Deluxe, into Fantastic Beasts: Perilous Pursuit. We do all still agree that it took four swings at it to make the game into what it should have been all along and it works best in KH.

2) This was recorded prior to GenCon. That means that we hadn't had the pleasure to meet and discuss Apiary with Connie at this point and didn't realize just HOW MUCH bee knowledge and genetic variance went into basically every aspect of that game. We'd definitely have commented on that if this took place after.

3) In relation to a point Scott very confidently states, he forgot that Apiary does in fact have a(n excellent) solo mode.

4) It's ironic that we said we forgot to release a spooky season set of content and then realizing how much horror is in this one. C'est la vie! That's what happens when you don't re-listen to a 3 month old recording before recording and releasing something that felt timelier. 

In the next week or so you'll be able to catch up on some promo content for both Tend from IV Studios and The Holiday Hijinks Series from Grand Gamers Guild!

We can be found at www.boardallthetime.com and on Facebook at Board All The Time. 

If you'd like to help support the show and assist with the hosting costs, you can do so with our Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/boardallthetime

Our Discord server, which is still in Beta, can be joined at https://discord.gg/VbRWEpc6

We'd like to thank our sponsors as well:

Robin's Nerd Supply: www.robinsnerdsupply.com

Eco Owl Press: www.ecoowlpress.com 

We'd also like to thank SoulProdMusic for the intro/outro music. 

Hey Madcala backers! Thanks so much for joining us for this little bonus episode for the Kickstart campaign. We hope to have you join us for the rest of our content as well. As a reminder, Madcala's campaign will be running from October 22nd to November 8th. Check it out! If you're in the future, then check it out anyway to do a late pledge. If you're WAY in the future, then check the game out anyway!

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If you're a regular listener, this conversation already featured in our Off Week Odds and Ends 2 episode that launched last week. 

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Madcala Kickstarter Page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/druidcitygames/madcala

Druid City's Main Website: https://www.druidcitygames.com

Druid City's Discord: https://discord.gg/CQutpamzff

Druid City's YouTube: www.youtube.com/@realdruidcitygames

You can email us at [email protected].

We can be found at www.boardallthetime.com and on Facebook at Board All The Time. 

If you'd like to help support the show and assist with the hosting costs, you can do so with our Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/boardallthetime

Our Discord server, which is still in Beta, can be joined at https://discord.gg/VbRWEpc6

We'd like to thank our sponsors as well:

Robin's Nerd Supply: www.robinsnerdsupply.com

Eco Owl Press: www.ecoowlpress.com 

We'd also like to thank SoulProdMusic for the intro/outro music. 

Welcome to the off week odds and ends episode! A variety of topics are being put out today, mostly extra conversation from Episode 9 with James Hudson. In addition to those topics, we've add in our conversation post-GenCon about Madcala and I really hope you enjoy that as much as we did. Finally there will be a small little nugget about Coma Ward - a game that Mark very much wants to get a second edition chance to iron out. Thanks for checking back with us this week and we'll catch you next week for Episode 10 - The Top Ten Thematic Games with another member of the BATT Family!

This episode's segments:

00:00:00 - Intro 

00:01:16 - Wonderland's War Expansion Intro

00:01:32 - Wonderland's War Expansion 

00:04:34 - Sorcerer's City Intro

00:05:01 - Sorcerer's City 

00:08:56 - Druid City Themes / The Future of Bloodstone Intro

00:09:23 - Druid City Themes / The Future of Bloodstone 

00:15:37 - Gaming Excitement / Dungeons and Dragons Intro

00:16:18 - Gaming Excitement / Dungeons and Dragons

00:20:21 - Madcala Intro

00:21:05 - Madcala

00:27:46 - Coma Ward Intro

00:28:08 - Coma Ward 

00:29:43 - Outro

Thank you again to James for joining us! Here are the links to what we talked about with him:

Madcala Kickstarter Page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/druidcitygames/madcala

Druid City's Main Website: https://www.druidcitygames.com

Druid City's Discord: https://discord.gg/CQutpamzff

Druid City's YouTube: www.youtube.com/@realdruidcitygames

You can email us at [email protected].

We can be found at www.boardallthetime.com and on Facebook at Board All The Time. 

If you'd like to help support the show and assist with the hosting costs, you can do so with our Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/boardallthetime

Our Discord server, which is still in Beta, can be joined at https://discord.gg/VbRWEpc6

We'd like to thank our sponsors as well:

Robin's Nerd Supply: www.robinsnerdsupply.com

Eco Owl Press: www.ecoowlpress.com 

We'd also like to thank SoulProdMusic for the intro/outro music. 

It's the best time of the year: Spooky Season! And darn it if Mark and Scott didn't forget to record a segment on this for release in an October episode. The joy of not considering release dates during pre-production. That'll be changing in the future, but until then have a whole singular helping of the topic. Enjoy!

00:00:00 - Intro 

00:01:36 - Honorable Mentions

00:06:37 - Scott Game 1

00:08:49 - Mark Game 1 

00:11:32 - Scott Game 2

00:15:20 - Mark Game 2

00:20:53 - Scott Game 3

00:26:43 - Mark Game 3

00:30:23 - Scott's Bonus Question!

00:32:40 - Plugs / Outro

**Mark would have totally put Nightfall on the list had he remembered it. What an oversight! It would have taken the place of The Few and Cursed most likely. You'll hear about that soon enough probably.

**There was an additional conversation about a game called Coma Ward that was ultimately cut from the episode. It was an attempt at another publisher to come up with a modern version of Betrayal at House on the Hill and it ultimately failed. Mark didn't want to just dunk on it in this episode, so that content may come out in a future Odds and Ends episode.  

**You might be wondering why Neither Mark nor Scott mentioned Horrified (a specific entry or the series) and it's because ultimately neither one likes it enough. Mark feels the first game is by far the best, but gets tired of the pick up and deliver whereas the rest of the series is deeply unbalanced and missing a lot of rules. Scott thinks that while the original Horrified felt very groundbreaking at the time that it was released, the other versions don't bring anything new to the table and there are a lot of games out there that are scarier and (for him) more fun. 

**We did discuss the Night Cage and considered putting it on the list, but the issue is that neither of us feel like it's a very good game. It's an incredible and substantially creepy theme with a really solid production, but in Scott's words: "I love its idea, its just not that great of a game. It ends up being Top Deck: The Game." Mark can't really disagree with that feeling and wants another try from the publisher at it. 

**Both Scott and Jason really enjoy the game Atmosfear. It is possible to find it online for anywhere between $50-$80 normally and all the video content is available on YouTube so you don't have to rely on a VCR. Go wild! Be spooky!

**And as a final side note, Scott thought about pulling a practical joke on Mark and do the Top Five Snoopy Games but he was very tired and forgot the joke until after post recording. 

You can email us at [email protected].

We can be found at www.boardallthetime.com and on Facebook at Board All The Time. 

If you'd like to help support the show and assist with the hosting costs, you can do so with our Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/boardallthetime

Our Discord server, which is still in Beta, can be joined at https://discord.gg/VbRWEpc6

We'd like to thank our sponsors as well:

Robin's Nerd Supply: www.robinsnerdsupply.com

Eco Owl Press: www.ecoowlpress.com 

We'd also like to thank SoulProdMusic for the intro/outro music. 

This week's episode is one that Mark and Scott had an absolute blast recording and are still pumped that it happened. We have the inimitable James Hudson from Druid City Games on with this today and we got to talk a wide array of things with him. In addition to discussing gaming from an industry perspective, he also gave us a number of heads up on things from Wonderland's War, Tidal Blades, and even the future of Bloodstone! Check it out and let us know your thoughts! Meanwhile, check out next week's off-week episode featuring all the extra conversation including the future of Sorcerer City!

This episode's segments:

00:00:00 - Intro / Hi James!

00:02:27 - What's Been on the Table

00:07:45 - Topic of the Week: Why Do "Bigger" Publishers Use Crowdfunding?

00:27:14 - Should Games Get Second Chances? 

00:36:41 - Table / Shelf / Trade

00:56:12 - Rotating Segment: Surprise Party!

01:02:28 - What's Next for Druid City?

01:06:06 - Plugs / Outro

Thank you again to James for joining us today! Here are the links to what we talked about with him:

Madcala Kickstarter Page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/druidcitygames/madcala

Druid City's Main Website: https://www.druidcitygames.com

Druid City's Discord: https://discord.gg/CQutpamzff

Druid City's YouTube: www.youtube.com/@realdruidcitygames

**As a quick note: we've gotten the question of what score ranges would each segment of Table/Shelf/Trade normally relate to? At least for Mark, a Shelf is 8+, Table is 5-7, though a 5 isn't that exciting of a table, and a Trade is 4-.

**When Scott said Telescope in his review of The Search for Planet X, he meant Observatory.

**When talking about Stamp Swap, Mark didn't have any foreknowledge of the game's existence. He was simply expecting an I Cut, You Choose game from the company for a very long time.

You can email us at [email protected].

We can be found at www.boardallthetime.com and on Facebook at Board All The Time. 

If you'd like to help support the show and assist with the hosting costs, you can do so with our Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/boardallthetime

Our Discord server, which is still in Beta, can be joined at https://discord.gg/VbRWEpc6

We'd like to thank our sponsors as well:

Robin's Nerd Supply: www.robinsnerdsupply.com

Eco Owl Press: www.ecoowlpress.com 

We'd also like to thank SoulProdMusic for the intro/outro music. 

Mark and Scott take on two games of the Flatout Trilogy, Calico and Cascadia, and break down the way the games work, why they like the one they do, and what they don't enjoy in the other. At the end of the episode, they also give a recommendation to explore similar games.

This episode's segments:

00:00:00 - Intro 

00:00:55 - Calico vs. Cascadia

00:16:56 - Recommendations / Outro

We can be found at www.boardallthetime.com and on Facebook at Board All The Time. 

If you'd like to help support the show and assist with the hosting costs, you can do so with our Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/boardallthetime

Our Discord server, which is still in Beta, can be joined at https://discord.gg/VbRWEpc6

We'd like to thank our sponsors as well:

Robin's Nerd Supply: www.robinsnerdsupply.com

Eco Owl Press: www.ecoowlpress.com 

We'd also like to thank SoulProdMusic for the intro/outro music.