Pick Up and Deliver

Brendan shares his thoughts on the films he watched in May, June, and July of 2026. Join us, won’t you?

• The Sheep Detectives (2026)
  • Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
  • Battle Sheep (2010)
  • Tipperary (2023)
    Shear Panic (2005)
• Swimming with Men (2018)
  • Castell (2018)
  • Raas: A Dance of Love (2026)
• The Crash (2026)
• Superman (2026)
  • Justice League: Hero Dice – Superman (2015)
• Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
  • Rock Hard: 1977 (2024)
  • Come Together (2022)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  • War of the Ring: Second Edition (2011)
• Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)
  • Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar (2022)
  • Raptor (2015)
• Legend (2015)
  • The Godfather: Corleone’s Empire (2017)
  • Speakeasy (2025)
• Enola Holmes 3 (2026)
  • The Sherlock Files: Elementary Entries (2019)

What films did you watch in May, June, and July of 2026? What do you think of Brendan’s take on the films he watched? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Transcript: PDF or TXT

Fresh off his episode about crowd pleasing beginner games, Brendan shares insights into how to introduce people to the hobby’s mechanisms. Join us for this conclusion, won’t you?

• Introducing the Hobby (episode 20)
• Introducing the Hobby, part 1 – Crowd Pleasers (episode 860)
• Forbidden Island (2010)
  • Hanabi (2010)
• Kingdomino (2016)
  • Between Two Cities (2015)
  • Bärenpark (2017)
• Lords of Waterdeep (2012)
  • Demon Worker (2016)
• Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game (2012)
  • Dominion (2008)
  • Star Realms (2014)
• QE (2019)
  • High Society (1995)
• Canvas (2021)
• Royals (2014)
  • Through the Desert (2017)
• Guillotine (1998)

What games would you add to the list of mechanism boot camp? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan shares insights into how to introduce people to the hobby. Join us for this first of two parts, won’t you?

• Introducing the Hobby (episode 20)
• Wits & Wagers: It’s Vegas, Baby! (2019)
• Qwixx (2012)
• Las Vegas (2026)
• Wavelength (2019)
• Diamant (2005)
• Skyjo (2015)
• Time’s Up! Title Recall! (2008)
• The Chameleon (2017)

What games would you add to the list of essential crowd pleasers? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you?

• Fit to Print (2023)
  • Tiny Towns (2019)
  • Galaxy Trucker (2007)
• Destinies (2021)
• Ticket to Ride: Europe (2005)
• Hex Effects (2025)
  • Mantis (2022)
  • Unstable Unicorns (2017)

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

Transcript: Txt or Pdf

Brendan talks a bit about what games he played in August, and what games he wants to play in September. Join us, won’t you?

• August 2026 Top of the Stack
  • New Game – Night at the Zoo✓
  • Top 50 game – Messina 1347X
  • Another New Game – Wandering Towers✓
  • One More – Tekhenu: Obelisk of the SunX
• Shelf of Opportunity
• Expand yourShelf
• September 2026 Top of the Stack
  • New Game – Recall
  • Top 50 game – Messina 1347
  • Another New Game – Outdoor Survival
  • One More – Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun

What games did you play in August? Share your game plays over on Boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Transcript: Txt or PDF

Brendan revisits an old Themestorm, “Back to School,” and reflects on some ideas about it. Join us, won’t you?

• Pick Up & Deliver 259: Back to School (Board Game Sommelier)
• For the Love of Books
  • Atheneum: Mystic Library (2020)
  • The Big Book of Madness (2015)
  • Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
  • The Library of the Unwritten
• Science and Learning
  • Darwin’s Journey (2023)
  • Lovelace & Babbage (2019)
  • The Imitation Game (2014)
  • Unconscious Mind (2024)
• School Life
  • Argent: The Consortium (2015)
  • Alma Mater (2020)
  • Trickerion: Dahlgaard’s Academy (2019)
  • Survival of the Witless (1997)
  • MOO by Jane Smiley
  • White Noise (2022)

What games did I miss? Which ones would you add to the conversation? Share your thinking over in our guild, #3269, on boardgamegeek.

Brendan shares an update on the pile of games he owns but hasn’t played yet. Join us, won’t you?

• My Shelf of Opportunity
• Emptying The Dust Bin (reflections)
• Collecting to collect
• Fun themes
• Designer Pedigree
• Game Pedigree
• Only So Much Time for Crunchy
• Big Games that are hard to schedule
• 2 player games that are hard to schedule
• Games I got for free, cheap, or in trade
• Solos I haven’t solo’d yet
• Someday we’ll get to it

What games are on your Shelf of Opportunity? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried recently, and one he revisited. Join us, won’t you?

• Everdell Emerland (2026)
  • Everdell (2018)
• Darwin’s Journey (2023)
• Thunder Road: Vendetta (2023) (revisited)
• Tranquility (2020)

What do you think of these games? What games have you tried recently? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan talks about his favorite games from 1996-2000. Join us, won’t you?Pick Up & Deliver 827: Look Back at 2001-2004Top 5 games from this era:

1. Lost Cities (1999)
2. Ra (1999)
3. Through the Desert (2017)
4. Torres (1999)
5. Guillotine (1998)

Honorable Mentions:

• Carcassonne (2000)
• Samurai (1998)
• Bohnanza (1997)

Grandparent of modern games:

• of co-ops: The Lord of the Rings (2000)
• of asynch deck construction games: Netrunner (1996)
• of modern parlour games: Time’s Up! (1999)
• of dumb judge games: Apples to Apples (1999)

Game I played once and stunk at: Tigris & Euphrates (1997)Great head to head games:

• Quoridor (1997)
• Schotten Totten (1999)
• Kahuna (1998)
• Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper (1998)
• Hera and Zeus (2000)

No thanks

• Metro (1997)
• Pokémon Trading Card Game (1996)
• Kill Doctor Lucky (1996)

Which of these games have you enjoyed most? Share your list over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan talks a bit about teaching games, particularly the delightfully complex game Anachrony. Join us, won’t you?

• Teaching About Boardgames, Part 1 and Part 2
• Help on how to introduce this to non boardgamer for a 2p game? (boardgamegeek thread)
• Anachrony (2017)
• Lords of Waterdeep (2012)
  • Worker Placement
  • Worker Placement, Different Worker Types
  • Contracts
  • Turn Order: Claim Action
  • Set Collection
  • End Game Bonuses
• Bärenpark (2017)
  • Open Drafting
• Zombie Dice (2010)
  • Dice Rolling
  • Die Icon Resolution
• Lost Ruins of Arnak (2020)

What do you think about this teaching philosophy? How do you approach teaching hard games to new players?