In this episode of Game Brain, Ben and Paul dive deep into the ancient world with a full review of Men-Nefer, exploring its mechanics, strategy, and whether it’s an  classic Egyptian Euro (oxymoron?) in the making. But that’s not all—we also break down Mind MGMT, Serenissima, and DroPolter, dissecting the mind games, economic battles, and dexterity highjinks within these standout titles. Plus, we check in on The Traitors on Peacock—what does this season tell us about our gaming hobby?

02:00 - Guards of Atlantis II

03:32 - Galactic Cruise

07:20 - Stroganov

12:29 - Mind MGMT

20:29 - Traitors

31:56  - Serenissima

42:40 - Landmarks

44:42 - DroPolter

49:43 - We Need To Talk

51:28 - Hooky

56:59 - Men-Nefer Review

Ben and Paul talk about punctuality and game night: what do you do when you're running late?  When is it okay to run late?  What do we owe those who are late?  And what about showing up too early?  It's all about timing and game night.

Matt, Paul, Trey, Tom, Jordan, and Ben convene to discuss their top games of the year.  Plus, awards in categories such as "Best New To Me Game," "Biggest Disappointment," and "Best Expansion."

We had a variety of audio issues in this episode; so apologies in advance for the not amazing sound quality. 

Drew Conley Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-drew-dcon-rebuild-after-eaton-fire-loss

Ben and Paul discuss their favorite gaming sessions of 2024. Then, in advance of  a future Game Brain top 10 episode (or something in that mold), Ben shares his favorite non-top 10 games of last year, specifically #25-#11.  This list will make some listeners angry, and Ben apologizes in advance.

Please help our friend Drew recover from the devastating wild fires here in Los Angeles. Find his GoFundMe here:  https://gofund.me/bce5bc67  Every little bit helps.

00:00:00 Intro
00:09:46 Best gaming experiences of 2024
00:34:24  Ben's 2024 10x5 challenge
00:38:19  Ben's top games of 2024: #25-#11

Welcome to Table Scraps, a new board game chat show here at Game Brain.  We'll be posting these eps from time to time, and if the tech gods are kind to us, there will even be a video component.

Today Ben and Paul chat about the sort of games Anna Scott (not a real person), Barack Obama, and Erin Brockovitch would enjoy, and then they explore how to get someone like Jennifer Lawrence to play Catan. Because it could happen!

The new hotness has flooded the marketplace, and Ben and Jordan are here to make sense of it. Which new releases live up to the hype, exceed it, and fall short of it? We cover a lot of ground; so buckle up!

00:00 Introduction

11:22 Kraftwagen: Age of Engineering

13:00 Stress Botics

14:48 Unconscious Mind

16:47 Landmarks

18:08 Shackleton Base

21:00 Gaia Project: The Lost Fleet

25:44 Harmonies

31:19 Age of Rail: South Africa

40:51 The Yellow House

45:07 Pariahs

48:45 Asian Tigers

52:08 Fromage

58:47 Middle Ages

1:03:41 Men-Nefer

1:10:35 Red Dust Rebellion

1:14:48 Saltfjord

1:21:29 Fellowship of the Ring Trick Taking Game

1:27:14 Lord of the Rings Duel

1:29:06 Endeavor Deep Sea

1:36:02 SETI

1:41:14 Civolution

Ben and Paul deep dive the new area control, tableau-building, moon-exploiting, corporation-pleasing game "Shackleton Base."  They also discuss new hotness Civolution as well as Fromage and Men-Nefer.  Ben also offers up some family game suggestions for the holidays - all while attempting labored "Wicked" puns.

Matt and Jordan return to the world of miniature wargaming to get you up to speed on all of their recent adventures. 

Ben, Trey, and Paul go deep on The Lost Fleet, a hot new expansion for Gaia Project.

Plus, initial impressions from fresh Essen releases SETI, Asian Tigers, and Shackleton Base.

• 0:00:00 Introduction
• 0:09:45 SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
• 0:30:15 Asian Tigers
• 0:44:50 La Famiglia: The Great Mafia War
• 0:46:15 Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon
• 1:03:05 Captain Flip
• 1:03:35 The Gang
• 1:18:15 Gadget Trick
• 1:21:10 Gaia Project: The Lost Fleet
• 2:13:20 Outro

-  Find Etamar at kirbooloni.com
-  Game Brain Facebook Group
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Join Matt and Jordan for the first episode of "Sprue'd Up!", an occasional Game Brain offshoot about two euro gamers taking their first steps into the world of miniature wargaming. 

• Star Wars: Shatterpoint
• Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team