Pick Up and Deliver

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

• 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 X
  • One More – Bury Me In the Rift ✓
• Shelf of Opportunity
• Game Streaks
• July 2026 Top of the Stack
  • New Game – Liberté
  • Top 50 game – Dungeon Petz
  • I’ve been meaning to play this – Fit to Print
  • One More – The Fox Experiment

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

Brendan shares some tales of his vacation to the Maritime provinces of Canada, shares the games he played there, and talks about what games the events he went to reminded him of.

• Games we played on the trip:
  • Qwixx (2012)
  • Lost Cities (1999)
  • Cribbage (1630)
  • Gin Rummy (1909)
• Game Stores
  • Board Room Game Cafe, Halifax
    • Orloj: The Prague Astronomical Clock (2025)
  • Winter Rabbit (2025)
  • Exor Games, Charlottetown
    • Nestlings (2024)
• Bird Island
  • Riverside (2021)
  • Wingspan (2019)
  • Wild: Serengeti (2022)
  • Costa Rica (2016)
  • Redwood (2023)
  • Birdwatcher (2022)
• Ceilidh
  • Rock Hard: 1977 (2024)
  • Come Together (2022)
  • On Tour (2019)
• Hiking
  • Parks (2019)
  • Trekking the National Parks (2014)
  • Trailblazer: The John Muir Trail (2023)

What games do you play on vacation? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in our guild #3269.

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.