Brendan shares his experience at a home-con he attends yearly, Bogencon. Join us, won’t you?

• The Board Game Show
• Regular games for me:
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game (2025)
  • Dice Miner (2021)
  • Strike (2012)
  • The Gang (2024)
• Games I dusted off:
  • Chicken! (2023)
  • Skull (2011)
  • Glory to Rome (2005)
• Games I tried for the first time
  • Dune (1984)
  • Struggle of Empires (2004)

What games have you tried lately? What are some of your favorite home-con games? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan shares his thoughts about the books he read in the first three months of 2026. Join us, won’t you?

• The Death of the Necromancer (Ile-Rien, #2)
• The Element of Fire (Ile-Rien #1)
• The Courage of Birds: And the Often Surprising Ways They Survive Winter
• 
  Seven Surrenders (Terra Ignota, #2)
• 
  For We Are Many (Bobiverse, #2)
• All These Worlds (Bobiverse, #3)
• 
  Barrayar (Vorkosigan Saga, #7)
• The Warrior’s Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga, #2)
• 
  The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6)
• 
  The Mistress of Spices
• 
  The Decagon House Murders
• 
  Howling Dark (The Sun Eater, #2)
• A Conventional Boy: A Laundry Files Novel (The Laundry Files Series)
• Escape from Yokai Land (Laundry Files, #6.5)

What did you read in Q1 of 2026? Share your reads over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan talks a bit about what games people born under the zodiac sign Gemini might like best. Join us, won’t you?

• Previous Astrology Files episodes
• Allure.com’s “12 Zodiac Signs: Dates and Personality Traits”
• Guiding Change and Transformation
  • Seasons (2012)
  • Revive (2022)
  • Ark Nova (2021)
• Very Talkative and Communicative
  • Monikers (2015)
  • The Resistance (2009)
    • Blood on the Clocktower (2022)
  • Sidereal Confluence (2017)
• Unreliable or Scattered
  • Flip 7 (2024)
  • Mottainai (2015)
  • Stationfall (2023)
• Twins
  • Sanctuary (2025)
  • Fantasy Realms (2017)
  • Awkward Guests: The Walton Case (2016)

Are you a Gemini? Do these games appeal to you? Do you think these fit Geminis you know? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan talks about three games he tried for the first time lately, and one game he dusted off. Join us, won’t you?

• King of the Dice (2017)
  • Yahtzee (1956)
• Level 7: Escape (2012)
  • Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game (2007)
• Gold Ahoy! (2014)
  • Glasgow (2020)
• Dog Park (2022)

What do you think of these games? What games have you played lately? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in our guild, #3269.

Brendan shares his gameplay achievements from May 2026, and looks ahead to June. Join us, won’t you?

• May 2025 Top of the Stack
  • New Game – AhoyX
  • Top 50 game – Lost Ruins of Arnak✓
  • Old Game New to Collection – TeotihuacanX
  • One More – Level 7 Escape✓
• Shelf of Opportunity
• June 2026 Top of the Stack
  • New Game – Struggle of Empires
  • Top 50 game – Glory to Rome
  • I’ve been meaning to play this – Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun
  • One More – Bury Me In the Rift

What did you play in May? Share your plays over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan talks about games themed around books. Join us, won’t you?

• Games about Libraries
  • Ex Libris (2017)
  • The Big Book of Madness (2015)
  • Mythic Mischief (2022)
  • The Great Library (2026)
  • Fire in the Library (2019)
  • Alexandria (2017)
  • Atheneum: Mystic Library (2020)
• Games about Managing Books
  • A Place for All My Books (2025)
  • My Shelfie (2022)
• Games about Words and Books
  • Illiterati (2023)
  • Paperback (2014)
  • Hardback (2018)
  • Fiction (2023)
• Games About Book-Making
  • Biblios (2007)
  • Gutenberg (2021)
• Other themes
  • Books of Time (2023)
  • Alma Mater (2020)

What games about books do you enjoy? Share them over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan examines the recent posts on boardgamegeek as though the threads are there as questions for him. Join us, won’t you?

• Negotiation in Games
• Spiel des Jahres Nominees
• Trying to replace a stock image – need help
• 8 Board Game Re-Themes I Made for Fun
• Looking to get into more complex Euros… what is a good “step up”?
• New to board/card game design so using simulation to test mechanics
• On Board Games 589: Teachability
• Multiple or singular artists?
• Hello New Comers
• How to choose the best board game ?
• Requesting 10 GG to start a guild for a local gaming group

What do you think of this format? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan talks about three games he played for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you?

• Postcards (2025)
• Leviathan Wilds (2024)
  • Episode 027: Shadow of the Leviathan
• MANTIS (2022)
  • “Why the MANTIS shrimp is my new favorite animal.”
• Fugitive (2017) (revisited)

What games have you tried lately? Share your plays over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan shares his thoughts about what makes for a great beginning to a game. This follows up on the previous episode about ends of games. Join us, won’t you?

• Happy Salmon (2016)
  • Bruce Voge III
  • Paku Paku (2017)
  • Escape: The Curse of the Temple (2012)
  • dude (2018)
• Agricola (2007)
  • Res Arcana (2019)
  • 3 Chapters (2024)
• Calico (2020)
  • Las Vegas (2012)
• A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition) (2011)
  • A Handful of Stars (2017)
  • Sidereal Confluence (2017)
• Pandemic (2008)
• Honorable Mentions:
  • Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization (2015)
  • The Resistance: Avalon (2012)

Which games do you hope think have amazing openings? Share your thoughts with the guild over on boardgamegeek, #3269. See you there!

Brendan talks about how games end, and recommends five games with compelling endings. Join us, won’t you?

• Skull King (2013)
• Arkham Horror: The Card Game (2016)
• Monikers (2015)
• Escape! The Curse of the Temple (2012)
• A Study in Emerald (2013)

Honorable Mentions

• Res Arcana (2019)
• The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus (2011)
• QE (2019)

What games do you think have good endings? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.