The Dice Pirates are back from hiatus (joined by special guest Aaron) and Ian walks us through the history and meteoric rise in popularity of modern board gaming! We talk about some terrible games from when you were a kid, Germany’s role in both creating some of what are still the most popular games, how they almost stopped Risk from releasing, and the shifting styles of popular games over the years. 

[00:00:00] Intros

[00:01:36] Matt talks Tsuro, and the joy of “simple” games

[00:08:03] Ian discusses some recent controversy with Prison Architect 

[00:17:34] Ian surprises the crew with a new segment, Rulebook Randomness

[00:22:07] The Renaissance of Board Games 

[00:25:08] Family games paving the way

[00:28:13] Germany’s significance and impact on modern games

[00:42:33] The Holy Trinity of modern games and some great years for games

[00:52:42] Social media’s part in the growth of the hobby

[01:01:31] Where are we know, and what does the future hold?

[01:07:15] Outro

Other Games Discussed This Episode: Here I Stand, The Omega Virus, Settlers of Catan, Munchkin, Carcassonne, Dominion, Pandemic, Cards Against Humanity

-  Intro and Outro Music - "A Robust Crew by Darren Curtis"