When you're playing a game for the first time, and barely know what you're even doing, how do you even begin to strategize? That's what we're asking ourselves this week, as we explore some of our approaches to first plays, how we evaluate the game space, and well, win. Before we push levers, we talk about Orléans: Invasion, Zoned Out, Santorini, and Mini Express.

02:03 - Orléans: Invasion 09:48 - Zoned Out 16:42 - Bronze Age 17:54 - Santorini 23:28 - Mini Express 32:40 - How We Approach First Games 37:53 - Troyes 38:47 - 7 Wonders 45:26 - Kemet 48:06 - Barrage 50:05 - No Thanks! 51:13 - Ra

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Mike Walker from So Very Wrong About Games joins us to talk about games that we add to our collection, not for ourselves, but (gasp) for others. Sometimes you do what you have to placate your so-called friends, and their awful taste. Before we begrudgingly acquire games, we talk about The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, Solo, Renegade, and Horrified.

00:15 - A New Tank Appears! 03:53 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 06:15 - Innovation 07:54 - Nemesis 12:21 - Castles of Burgundy 12:50 - Trieste 14:03 - Watergate 15:20 - Watergate Retheme? (Patent Pending, TM, etc...) 17:51 - Solo 20:47 - Renegade 26:48 - Horrified 34:55 - Catering Games to Your Game Group 40:17 - Ankh

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We all need something to look forward to, so this episode we're eagerly anticipating all the good things in the world of board gaming that are yet to come in 2020. Some of it might be a ways off, but where's the harm in getting the hype train rolling early? Before we cast our eyes ahead, we talk about Splendor, Qwirkle, Bronze Age, and Guards of Atlantis II.

02:40 - Lost Cities 02:53 - Coloretto 03:39 - Splendor 05:03 - Bugs in the Kitchen 06:29 - Qwirkle 10:47 - Bronze Age 14:24 - Guards of Atlantis II: Tabletop MOBA 25:40 - Things We're Excited for in 2020 31:52 - Ankh

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Look, digital gaming is great and all, but there are some games that either don't lend themselves well to the format, or aren't available. Whatever the reason, there are lots of games that we're itching to play once the world returns to normal. It's a top five countdown! Before our heart grows fonder, we talk about Exit: The Game - Sunken Treasure, Pandemic: Rapid Response, and Stockpile.

05:27 - Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne 06:45 - Exit: The Game - Sunken Treasure 08:39 - Roll for Adventure 10:18 - Pandemic: Rapid Response 14:01 - Stockpile 22:59 - Games We're Itching to Play 25:00 - Awkward Guests 26:25 - Nusfjord 28:22 - Flotilla 29:32 - Kemet 31:13 - Insider: Black 33:16 - 1889 34:35 - Maracaibo 35:39 - Pipeline 37:00 - Brass: Birmingham 37:58 - Mansions of Madness: Second Edition 40:07 - Special Tank Appearance! 44:01 - Dune 45:09 - Cooper Island 46:21 - Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy 48:08 - Square on Sale 48:58- The Crew

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What could be a more important topic than importance itself? This week, we're talking about the most important board games of the last decade, and what it even means for a board game to be worthy of the label. To us, at least. Before being earnest, we talk about Prêt-à-Porter, Riff Raff, Adventure Games: The Dungeon, and Innovation: Echoes of the Past.

03:09 - Prêt-à-Porter 09:59 - Riff Raff 16:20 - Scythe 19:16 - Adventure Games: The Dungeon 28:13 - Innovation: Echoes of the Past 30:46 - Important Games of the Last Decade 36:40 - Pandemic Legacy 40:13 - Kemet 41:35 - Chaos in the Old World 43:20 - Zombicide 45:02 - Codenames 47:45 - Splendor 50:31 - Scythe 53:57 - TIME Stories and Escape Room Games

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It's time for another "What we love, what we hate", and this time we're looking at deck builders! Its been twelve years since Dominion blew things up, and since then you don't have to look very far to see a game that uses the mechanic. We look at the highs and lows of deck building as a mechanic, and discuss some of our favourite games that use it. We also talk about Bruxelles 1897, Elysium, and Can't Stop.

01:07 - Golden Geek Award Nominations 03:46 - Bruxelles 1897 11:31 - Elysium 18:16 - Coffee Roaster 18:55 - Adventure Games: The Dungeon 19:23 - Hansa Teutonica  25:22 - Can't Stop 31:00 - What I Love, What I Hate about Deck Building 33:07 - Star Realms 34:32 - Clank! 35:05 - Dominion 35:50 - Sorcerer City 38:36 - Vikings Gone Wild 41:41 - Great Western Trail 42:20 - A Study in Emerald (Second Edition) 47:04 - The Quest for El Dorado 47:29 - Aeon's End 48:54 - Automobiles 49:58 - The North 50:15 - SPQF/Fort 51:33 - Friday

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To make it through quarantine, we take another look at digital games in a time when it might just be our only option. We've got to get our board game fill somehow! We investigate how our relationship to the electronic side of the hobby has changed, and give our recommendations for the many options. Before we plug in, we talk about Remember Our Trip, Castell, and Caylus 1303.

01:58 - Remember Our Trip 08:16 - Castell 14:45 - Pipeline 15:44 - Caylus 1303 18:40 - Caylus 26:18 - Voicemail from Isla 28:57 - Digital games in quarantine 37:30 - Cthulhu Wars 38:12 - Bärenpark 42:29 - BGB Digital Game Night!

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There's only so much space on our shelves, so games don't always stick around forever, but that doesn't always mean that we don't like them. There are many reasons that a good game might get the boot, so let's talk about them. We count down our top five favourite games we got rid of! Before we pay our respects, we talk about Through the Desert, Lords of Hellas, Troyes, and Watergate.

01:48 - Through the Desert 07:51 - Lords of Hellas 13:13 - Troyes 20:45 - Black Angel 22:01 - Watergate 29:12 - The best games we got rid of 29:45 - Yamataï 31:07 - Power Grid 32:37 - Indian Summer 34:23 - CrossTalk 35:20 - Agricola 36:27 - The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 38:22 - Dominion 39:50 - Terraforming Mars 40:47 - Forbidden Stars 43:10 - Glorantha: The Gods War (A Sandy Petersen Game!) 44:23 - Spirit Island 46:00 - Mage Knight 47:35 - Arcadia Quest 49:34 - Gloomhaven 51:03 - Terra Mystica

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Some games put their best foot forward on the first play, eager to have most players feel good right out of the box. Other games are content to take their time. This episode we're focusing on the latter, games that we've only come to appreciate as we've given them more time and more plays. Before we grow together, we talk about Ginkgopolis, Time Chase, and Food Chain Magnate.

01:31 - Ginkgopolis 08:46 - Time Chase 15:22 - Food Chain Magnate 26:58 - Games that grow on you 30:35 - Brass: Lancashire 31:28 - Agricola 32:24 - Biblios 33:57 - Wits & Wagers 35:13 - Bohnanza 36:35 - Tigris & Euphrates 37:07 - Yellow & Yangtze 38:08 - Nova Luna 41:17 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 41:53 - 18xx 43:31 - Just One Join the discussion at: https://boardgamebarrage.com/discord

Area control is the first subject of our new recurring feature, "What we love, what we hate", where we deep dive into a single mechanic and describe ... well, exactly that! We tend to enjoy games that have you fighting over territory, but what is it that specifically gets us excited about them? And what are the downsides? Before we assume direct control, we talk about The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, Stay Cool, and Mezo.

02:00 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine09:03 - Hanabi 11:55 - Trickerion 13:55 - Stay Cool19:39 - Linkee 22:10 - Mezo34:24 - Rising Sun 36:30 - Scythe 39:30 - Inis 40:45 - Mezo 42:24 - Cthulhu Wars ... sorry Mr. Cthulhu45:10 - Dominant Species 45:30 - Tigris & Euphrates 45:40 - Twilight Struggle 46:00 - Pax Pamir (Second Edition) 46:30 - Risk 46:56 - Inis 48:38 - Diplomacy

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