Garrett's Games and Geekiness

This year's Meeplefest roundtable found 3 designers once again joining us for a discussion of the state of the hobby, design choices, and the ways in which our gaming tastes and approaches to gaming have changed over the years.

This week as Shelley and I wend our way to Essen, we talk about two games that should be readily available in the halls, and heading your way soon if you're not in Germany for Spiel.

First we take on the roles of either Michelangelo or Leonardo and compete for patrons throughout Italy in

Maestro by Andrea Robbiani from Board&Dice (1-4/120-150/14+)

Then we find ourselves taking the Grand Tour which became an essential part of one's upbringing if you were of a certain status back in the 18th & 19th centuries in

Timeless Journey - The Italian Grand Tour by Nestore Mangone & Andrea Robbiani from Lirius Games (1-5/50-90/14+)

Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

SO MANY ESSEN GAMES! We've covered over 60 games on our YouTube channel, but there are many more games coming out at Essen NEXT WEEK, so this week Shelley and I do a quick rundown (organized by publisher) of all of the other titles I marked as "Interested" on BGG's Essen 2026 Preview.

Elementica from 14games

Observatory & Star Gazers from 25th Century Games

Palinka from A Games

Gnomeville from Adam's Apple Games

Bookshelf, Spaghettin, and Time of your Life from Alley Cat Games

Le Chocolat, Enchanted Ivy, Golden Goal and Mountain Goats Legacy from Allplay

Nine Tails from Amuri Studio

Orkney from Ars Edition

Gamma Extra from Batusaki

Warp 99 from Bezier Games

Arribada & Gold Country from Bitewing Games

Fame & Fable and Reforest from Board Game Circus

Shapemash from Boardcubator

Flamenco, HUND, and ONDA from BoardM Factory

Near: Echoes of Civilization from Le Boite de Jeu

Road Master from Bouvier International

Shrine: Duel of Light from Bright Horizon Games

Bubble & Shadow from Boradway Toys

Shards of Creation from Brotherwise Games

Treeline from Burnt Island Games

Yin Yang from Capstone Games

Fireflies from Catch Up Games

Vine from Cavernwire Games

Bee Bee and Pet's Run from Cayro, The Games

Red Panda Surprise and Use Up All Your Sick Days from Carming Games Collective

KumoKumo Park from CMON Ltd.

Kumata from Cosmoludo

Oil Rock from Cranio Creations

Foundation: Isaac Asimov from CREARDO

Bloom Kingdom from Deep Print

Let's Dance, Nascard, Rock Hard Expansion, White Castle Expansion from Devir

Underwood from dlp games

The Travels of Isabella Lucy Bird from Dotakusha

The Old Ones of El Dorado from Dranda Games

Villa from DV Games

Spooky Bar from Edition Spielwiese

Roxanne from Elznir Games

Dino Museum, Omelette Express and Word Buffet from Fractal Juegos

Jurassic Zoo and Warp & Weft from frechverlag

Chamelio and Pirate King! from Funbot

Dutch Flower Auction from Good Game Studio

Jisogi: Anime Studio Tycoon from Good Games Publishing

Under the Leaves from Grand Gamers Guild

Akakor from Granna

Estate: Raise The Realm from Grod Games LLC

Molecools, Orbita, Pixie Time, and Salaryman Madness from HABA

Allegra from HeidelBAR Games

Fugu from Helvetiq

The Amazing Journey and Drops of Evil from Horrible Guild

Tricky Traps from Inside Up Games

Hanami from J&M Space Entertainment

Card Trip Europe, Jolly Christmas, and Snowy Tricks from Jolly Dutch Productions

Photosaphari and Tramposo from Kokorin Games

Blancat, Brushwood, Capsule Collector, and Coffee Rush: Winter from Korea Boardgames

Fourth Wing: Das Spiel and Heartbeats from KOSMOS

River Market and Seashells from KTBG

Harmonies Expansions and Take Time Expansion from Libellud

Dragon Overlord and Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains from Lookout Games

Purrramid from Lucky Duck Games

Aspens from Ludivore Games

Dice Arcana from Ludonova

Right Now from Mandoo Games

Crescendo from MEBO Games

For the Gods! and Yotel from Mighty Boards

Bear Necessities from Mojito Studios

Van Sutnivalod (Got What It Bakes?) from Myam Games

The Beat: Rock Stars of the Galaxy from Nerdlab

Melodies from Next Move Games

Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo and Lord of the Rings: Circle of Conflict from Office Dog

Loop 40 from Oink

Torii Valley from Origames

Stars of Ilumeia from Ornament Games

Threaded: A Game of Needles and Points from Osprey Games

Ashes Blackout Protocol from Perro Loko Games

Pirates of the High Teas from Pink Hawk Games

Seoul Journey and Week Folk from Play to Z

Dance of Ibexes from Playte

Capybara Run & Fun and Dancing Birds from Queen

The Happiest Cat in the World and The Trial of the Forest from Rebel Studio

Stem & Branch from Rolling Wizards Studio

Perfect Tour from Schmidt Spiele

Avalon: The Riven Veil from Shadowborne Games

Button from Shilipash Studio

Dicecream from Skellig Games

West Story: A Town Building Game from Smart Flamingo

Pleesheez from Snowvid

Bean to Bar from Spielefaible

Interregnum from Strategos Games

Temple of Five from Strohmann Games

Mythologies from Super Meeple

Snowp fromSzpiLAB

Valley of Sky Lanterns from Taiwan Boardgame Design

Mini Gold Designer and Paragliders from Thematic Games

Bologna from TLAMA Games

Dawn of Pangaea from Treecer

This week we check out THREE fun card games, two of which are just hitting the shelves now/at Essen:

Space Lab by Corentin Lebrat and Johannes Goupy from Pandasaurus Games

6 Nimmt! Baron Oxx by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling from Pandasaurus Games

and Crops by Giampaolo Razzino from Little Rocket Games

Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week Shelley and I once again break the "two games discussed" format and instead cover FIVE games!

Circadia by Hisashi Hayashi from Synapses Games

Knowsy by Luke Hohmann from Luverly

Stereo Mind by Silvergun and Sunhyuk Chae from Playte

Then two games with Essen 2025 expansions:

Galileo Galilei with the Luna Expansion by Tomas Holek and Michal Pechl from Pink Troubadour

Atlantis Exodus with the Polymathis Expansion by George Halkias and Konstantinos Karagiannis from dlp Games

Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week Shelley and I check out THREE new games!

Machi Koro Life by Masao Suganuma from Pandasaurus Games

Then TWO new titles from R2I Games

Bordeaux by Ben Rosset (a draw and draw from one of the designers of Fromage)

Pop Art by Jeff Chin and Andrew Nerger (designers of Canvas)

Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week Shelley and I team up as forest rangers to complete missions and discover wildlife in

The Peak Team: Rangers by Scott Almes from Matagot

then we try to become the next Rick Steves, wandering around Europe and discovering its beauty in

Abroad by Rodrigo Rego and Danilo Valente from 1 More Time Games and Portal Games

Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week Shelley and I check out a gorgeous game about art, and a wonderful sequel to an already good game.

First we play Cascadia: Alpine Lakes by Randy Flynn from AEG and Flatout Games, a sequel to the SdJ winner Cascadia

Then we draft 3-D paint pots and place them in our grids to create art in

Kanó by Angel Pintero and Pablo Jimenez (with art by Jun Sato) from Matagot

Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week Shelley and I enjoy some of our favorite beverage and food, along with some fun forthcoming micro card games!

First we check out two forthcoming Button Shy Game releases that use cards in interesting ways

Forest Rivals by Ryan Cooke and Steven L. Smith where bears and bees compete for honey in a 2-player shared tableau

and Cursed Cat by Scott Almes where a solo (or co-operative married couple) try to get all of the monsters banished

then we enjoy the much heavier and quite excellent 2-player

Wine & Cheese by Scott Almes from Deep Print Games and Pegasus Spiele

Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week it's all about Stonemaier Games! First up is an older title that builds on a game from 2021:

Rolling Realms Redux by Jamey Stegmaier and Karel Titeca from Stonemaier Games

then we check out the brand new Scythe/Expeditions 2-player mash-up

Duel of Meloch by Jamey Stegmaier from Stonemaier Games

Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing