Pick Up and Deliver

Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he played for the first time at Gencon this year. Join us, won’t you?

• Trickarus (2024)
• Hey Hey Relay (2024)
• In a Nutshell (2025)
• The Trial of the Forest (2026)
• Magical Athlete (2025)
• Got Five! (2026)
• Cyberpunk Legends (2026)

What do you think of these games? Which do you find most interesting to try? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan shares some highlights from GenCon 2026. Join us, won’t you?

• XYZ Game Labs
• Checking in with friends
  • Azkadelia (All Play)
  • Kervin Queliza (For Why Games)
  • Flying Frog Productions
• Call of Cthluhu
• Tornado Warning at GenCon
• Meeting designers
  • Ben Harkin (Floodgate Games)
  • Dominic (North Star Games)
  • Nick Little (Indie Boards and Cards)
• Gencon tips
  • Book a few events, but don’t overschedule yourself
  • Think about using Lyft or Uber rather than driving
  • Pack a Lunch

What’s your favorite thing to do at a convention? Did you go to Gencon? Speak out over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan shares his game plays from July and his plans for August. Join us, won't you?

• Top of the Stack, July 2026
  • New Game - Liberté
  • Top 50 game - Dungeon Petz✓
  • I've been meaning to play this - Fit to Print✓
  • One More - The Fox Experiment✓
• Shelf of Opportunity
• My Top 50
• Top of the Stack, August 2026
  • New Game - Night at the Zoo
  • Top 50 game - Messina 1347
  • Another New Game - Wandering Towers
  • One More - Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun

What games did you play in July? What games will you play in August?

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

• Bury Me in the Rift
• The Fox Experiment
  • Regarding evolution: Lysenkoism
• Diplomacy: The Golden Blade
  • Know Thy Enemy: Designing for Yomi in Games
• Sentinels of the Multiverse

What games have you played for the first time recently? Share your plays over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan continues his discussion of his boardgame class. Join us, won’t you?

• Pick Up & Deliver 847: Teaching About Boardgames, part 1
• “Fail Faster”
• Playtesting for game design

What do you think about this class? What should I add or remove? Join the conversation over on Boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan talks about his approach to teaching his class about Board Games and Community. (Well, he returns to this topic, really.) Join us, won’t you?

• Previous episodes about my teaching:
  • Pick Up & Deliver 772: My Board Game Class (400 back)
  • Pick Up & Deliver 366: My Board Game Class
• Games we play:
  • Monikers (2015)
  • Beyond Balderdash (1993)
  • Point Salad (2019)
  • 7 Wonders (2010)
  • Carcassonne (2000)
  • Dominion (2008)
  • Lasers and Feelings
  • The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine (2019)
  • Unlock! Series
  • Burn the Fort (2023)
    Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest (2022)
• Games we might play:
  • Yut Nori (500)
  • Kalah (1940)
  • Perudo (1800)
  • Mexican Train (1994)
  • Tablut (1700)

What games would you use in a course? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan shares his thoughts about the books he read in April, May, and June of 2026. Join us, won’t you?

• Challenger
• The Kingdom of Gods
• Death of a Gentle Lady
• The Wind Through the Keyhole
• Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy
• The Wizard Hunters
• Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
• System Collapse
• Platform Decay
• Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
• Impostor
• The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
• The Company of Owls
• The Birds That Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness
• The Stand

What did you read in April, May, or June of 2026? Share your reading over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.

Brendan discusses three games he played for the first time recently, and one he dusted off. Join us, won’t you?

• Disney: The Haunted Mansion – Call of the Spirits Game (2020)
  • Jaws (2019)
• Nestlings (2024)
  • The Gardens (2022)
• Camel Up (2014) (6 years, 4 months, 13 days dusty)
  • Ready Set Bet (2022)
  • Hot Streak (2025)
  • Animal Upon Animal (2005)
• Velonimo (2020)
  • Fuji Flush (2016)

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

Brendan talks about the games he got out of the dust in the last couple months but did talk about in the podcast. Join us, won’t you?

• March 2026
  • Axis & Allies: Guadalcanal  (2 years, 5 months, 25 days dusty)
  • Quest for El Dorado  (1 year, 9 months, 11 days dusty)
  • Hues and Cues (1 year, 1 month, 19 days dusty)
  • Point Salad (1 year, 6 months, 19 days dusty)
  • Woodcraft  (2 years, 7 months, 16 days dusty)
  • Rhino Hero (5 years, 5 months dusty)
  • Can’t Stop (5 years, 8 months, 9 days dusty)
• April 2026
  • None un-discussed
• May 2026
  • Heat: Pedal to the Metal (1 year, 2 months, 22 days dusty)
  • Last Will (1 year, 1 month, 11 days dusty)
  • Forest Shuffle (1 year, 9 months, 6 days dusty)
  • Lost Ruins of Arnak (1 year, 11 days dusty)
  • Lost Cities: The Board Game (1 year, 3 months, 4 days dusty)

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

Brendan talks about board games that have been adapted from published sources. Join us, won’t you?

• Previous episodes about this subject:
  • Established Creative Worlds
  • Comic Book IPs
• Game Play by Paul Booth
• Flip the Table
• Feels like the text
  • Jaws (2019)
  • Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle (2016)
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Board Game (2016)
• Game components evoke the game
  • Back to the Future: Back in Time (2020)
  • Shark Island (2017)
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Game (2000)
• Game that feel like they take place in the text.
  • The Expanse Board Game (2017)
  • The Godfather: Corleone’s Empire (2017)
• 5 best adaptations
  • Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game (2014)
  • Dune (2019)
  • Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game (2008)
  • The Thing: The Boardgame (2022)
  • Star Wars: Rebellion (2016)
• What adaptations do you like? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.