In this episode Joel and Chris are joined by Andrew Stiles, designer of Wine Cellar, Digging for Dinos, and a host of upcoming games. Andrew shares three games that define him, then Joel asks all about Andrew’s design process, from idea to pitch to execution. Finally in honor of Digging for Dinos and the upcoming Avatar: Fight for Pandora, Chris quizzes Andrew on whether he can differentiate Jurassic Park quotes from Avatar quotes. We see you, Andrew Stiles. We see you.

In this episode Joel and Chris check in on the gaming year so far, exploring trends, highs, lows, and what’s coming in the second half of the year that we have our eyes on. Then we follow up last week’s chat about DVC’s games with a discussion of unique games that have stuck with us. Plus we’ll find out what Chris thinks about the sister franchises of Toy Story movies and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Episode 11 starts now!

Joel answers Chris’s Origins questions and Chris responds to Joel’s game cafe queries in this, the tenth episode of the Oak and Onion podcast. Ten episodes makes this our tin anniversary, and that doesn’t mean anything, but that’s weird, right? Listen in for convention highlights, Disclosure Day chatter, and bad movie celebrations as we try and fail to keep the episode under two hours. What can we say, we like to talk!

Join us for our most 9th episode ever as we shed our inhibitions, climb the ladder of podcasting success, and trick our listeners into spending another two hours with us. In this episode we talk superheroes old and new as we explore where He-Man gets resurrected, Marvel gets underappreciated, and The Boys gets overly graphic. Then Joel shares some of the highlights of a small local gaming convention he attended for the first time. We continue our Board Games 101 series with a group of card game terms. And we end the episode by Blind Ranking 5 games each from designers selected by the other. It’s our last show before a week off, so download it many times to listen to repeatedly and keep those listener stats up for us!

Segments:

• 00:00:00—Intro
• 00:00:43—What We’ve Been Up To
• 00:06:02—What We’ve Been Watching
• 00:25:17—What We’ve Been Playing
• 01:10:14—Board Games 101
• 01:40:13—Blind Rank
• 01:46:17—Closing and Sign Off

Join Chris and Joel for a short-ish episode where we give you tips and tricks for hosting a game night–spoiler alert, it all comes down to clear communication–throw down another 3-2-1 list for summertime games, and talk about some more games we’ve played in the last couple weeks. We also turn into a film podcast for a few minutes with a deep discussion of Curry Barker’s new film Obsession (don’t worry, we save all the spoilers for a bonus segment after our signoff). Yeah, okay, in the end, the episode is not that short-ish after all. What can we say–we love to talk!

Segments:

• 00:00:00—Intro
• 00:00:44—What We’ve Been Up To
• 00:04:03—What We’ve Been Watching
• 00:27:41—What We’ve Been Playing
• 01:07:05—How to Host a Game Night
• 01:19:41—3-2-1 Summer!
• 01:36:23—Closing and Sign Off
• 01:38:27—Obsession Spoiler Chat

After separate gaming weekends, Joel and Chris try to switch things up with a shortened episode as we aim for weekly releases through the month of June. We talk about Chris’s birthday, Joel’s illness, highlights of our gaming weekends, and give our tips for successful board game convention experiences. At right around 97 minutes, it’s our usual board game banter refined into a perfect blend of wit and wisdom, all in the same time it would take to watch 2004’s Mean Girls. So put in your headphones and spend time with some Nice Boys instead!

Segments

• 00:00:00—Intro
• 00:00:38—What We’ve Been Enjoying
• 00:22:00—BIG Gaming Weekends Recap
• 01:07:05—Convention Tips
• 01:36:31—Closing and Sign Off

It’s another episode where we can’t shut up! Joel and Chris talk theme parks and tv before we jump into a new segment with Board Games 101, where Joel convinces Chris it’s okay to talk about hard things. Then Chris gets his revenge with a game of Pass the Test (spoiler alert: Joel can not) before we hit some exciting and disappointing things on the board game horizon as we take another look at the Highlight Reel. Stick with us to the end for a moment of zen when one of us writes two haiku to pay homage to the winner of our Golden Geek competition. We’re high brow now!

Segments:

• 00:00:00—Intro
• 00:00:49—What We’ve Been Up To
• 00:10:56—What We’ve Been Reading & Watching
• 00:28:51—What We’ve Been Playing
• 01:00:14—Board Games 101: Euro vs. Ameritrash
• 01:39:27—Can Joel Pass the Test?
• 01:59:08—Highlight Reel
• 02:14:43—Golden Geek Winners
• 02:23:06—Closing and Sign Off

Tune in for an epic episode where Joel and Chris are joined by Mat Cousineau of the Dice, Camera, Action podcast to talk all things Star Wars. After learning about three games that define Mat as a gamer, Joel will put Mat and Chris head-to-head in a brand new game called Settling Scores. Then we’ll talk about some of our favorite Star Wars media in a segment called  3-2-1 Star Wars. And finally we’ll share listener feedback and our own picks for Star Wars games or rethemes we wish existed. All that plus a secret segment from Chris! The Force will need to be with you to get through this extra long episode, but maybe, just maybe we’ll answer the biggest Star Wars question of all: just how did Palpatine return? (Spoiler alert: we won’t.)

Segments:

• 00:00:00—Intro

• 00:00:54—Meet our Guest: Mat Cousineau

• 00:05:23—What We’ve Been Watching

• 00:22:46—What We’ve Been Playing

• 00:40:52—Mad Lib: Word Choices

• 00:47:00—Mat’s 3 Games that Define Him as a Gamer

• 01:11:43—Settling Scores: Star Wars Edition

• 01:36:49—3-2-1 Star Wars!

• 02:41:11—QOTE: What Star Wars Game is Missing?

• 03:07:39—Mad Lib: Star Wars

• 03:11:36—Closing and Sign Off

In this bonus episode Joel and Chris look at the nominees for BGG’s 2025 Golden Geek awards by choosing what they would like to see win and comparing it to what they think will actually win. They ask where Toy Battle fits in the gaming scheme, contemplate how many times Galactic Cruise and Fate of the Fellowship can be nominated for awards, and try to determine what weight of games they play the most of (answer: lighter than 25 lbs). It’s a very special short episode, where short means under 90 minutes!

Segments:

• 00:00:00—Welcome and Introduction
• 00:00:33—What we've been up to
• 00:10:18—Golden Geek Awards Overview
• 00:11:45—2p Game
• 00:21:39—Artwork & Presentation
• 00:29:32—Cooperative Game
• 00:34:06—Expansion
• 00:41:10—Innovative
• 00:46:29—Party Game
• 00:49:55—Solo Game
• 00:53:13—Wargame
• 00:56:13—Best Board Game Podcast
• 00:59:57—Best Board Game App
• 01:01:35—Thematic Game
• 01:05:36—Heavy Game of the Year
• 01:10:45—Light Game of the Year
• 01:13:53—Medium Game of the Year
• 01:19:21—Closing & Sign Off

Joel and Chris celebrate tax day by talking about exercise and birthdays, woodworking and pirates, and whether or not Joel’s only defining quality is being bald. Chris becomes a bit of an auspicious beast himself when he puts Azure from Bitewing Games on the Chopping Block. Then the guys discuss taxes in games by identifying three games that feature a tax mechanism, two games that feel like paying taxes, and one game worth spending your tax return on. Finally we check back in with the highlight reel for another look at what has our attention on the crowdfunding front. All that and more, like Joel offering to provide marriage counseling for Chris, on this episode of the Oak and Onion podcast!

Segments:

• 00:00:00—Welcome and Introduction
• 00:00:37—What we've been up to
• 00:14:11—What we've been playing
• 00:53:55—Chopping Block: Azure
• 01:20:04—3-2-1 Taxes!
• 01:49:42—Highlight Reel
• 02:03:58—Closing and Sign Off