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@Gregarius

I know I said this episode would be my Feedback (or "mail bag") focused epsiode. And some may remember that previously I'd used the December 1st episode for my grinch-like Curmudgeon Show. In the end, I decided to push the Feedback episode back one month, to start the year with it on January 1st, 2026. You've got some more time to submit any questions or topics for me. While I'm not bringing back the Curmudgeon Show (just enjoy the grumbling on our special Discord channel!), I did bring back another old-timer who always joins me this time of year to talk about BGGcon. Greg Pettit is an "every-timer" to this wonderful event, and I've always had him back on the podcast to talk about his experiences & games played there. I wasn't able to join this year, but that's because I went to a different game convention the same month: San Diego History Con, or SDHistCon. So...I decided to blend our experiences and discussions into a combined episode about both conventions. Greg & I both intended to be more concise in this episode...but that didn't really happen. :-) Even after trimming our lists of some games, only talking about an interesting subset of them, we managed to have as much to say as ever. It's another big episode that will keep you going the entire holiday season. Is it a gift buying guide? Not really! We don't approach things that way, a little curmudgeon-ness leaks through sometimes, but we do gush about a few games. So perhaps it inspires some gift-giving, who knows? When you listen to this episode, you may find it helpful to follow along with our geeklist. That way you can track what games we've talked about, which are coming next, and what are 5-star ratings are. I've also inserted the game boxes here in the order discussed, which will also appear in the shownotes.

We both had good experiences at our respective cons, and I look forward to next year when I expect we'll get to sit across the same game table together in Dallas. As much as I'd like to go to all the good conventions, I can't. As it is, I'm at a point in my life (empty nester, nearing retirement) when I can go to more than ever before. In a month I'll return to the regional EsCon event, and in the spring I think I'll be back in Las Vegas for Dice Tower West.

-Mark