Shut Up & Sit Down

On this week’s episode of the Shut Up & Sit Down podcast, Matt, Tom & Ava sit around in a board game soup, rambling about a series of games that we’ve been playing in the darkest reaches of lockdown - and even go so far as to talk about some digital card games! The horror.

Join us for a bumbling episode where we talk about everything from the raucous Forgotten Waters to the pensive and tense The Crew, as well as a quick chat about Gloomhaven and its upcoming mini-adventure Jaws of The Lion. We’ll also be talking about all the recent games we’ve been streaming - such as the delectable 1s and 0s of Slay The Spire, and the existential dread of Mothership. Last, but not least, we'll be giving some positively DANGEROUS thoughts about Wingspan, a game that everyone can agree is QUITE NICE.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Are current events getting you down? Ha ha. That's our little joke. Of course they are.

But in this episode of the podcast, Ava and Quinns are here to remind you through the magic of tabletop, things can always be worse! There's the threat of adorable animals drowning in Isle of Cats (02:43), a world-devouring demon invasion in Planet Apocalypse (12:53), the startling cruelty of medieval Italy in Antiquity (24:17), as well as the bum-punishingly long Western Empires (46:01).

Quinns, Tom and Ava voyage boldly into the great boardgame unknown, this time without Matt’s assistance on the technology side of things! The result? A podcast that’s deeply flawed. Am I going to triple-check the edit to make sure the audio isn’t slipping and sliding around, crashing into itself like an ouroboros of waveforms? I’m sure you’ll be able to guess the answer to that question by just listening to it.

This week, we get covered in eldritch goop while talking about Cthulhu: Death May Die, barraged by dice AND pirates in Madeira, turned into candles with a Thousand Year-Old Vampire, and utterly BAFFLED by the interlocking systems in The Defence of Procyon III! We’ll also be talking a little about the games we’ve looked at recently, and discussing that stream.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

You, at the back! Was it you that ordered a chat sandwich? Was it with ramble bread and discussion filling - extra… stream schedule?

Look. I spent ages trying to make a joke about this podcast being ‘like a sandwich’ - with the strong base of classic Eurogames (Terra Mystica and Hansa Teutonica) wedged between the spicy hot filling of Root Underworld and Frosthaven. But there you see my problem; the filling is on the outside and the bread on the inside and that just ‘AINT a sandwich, chief. And then where does Mr Cabbagehead’s Garden fit in? The pieces are all there, but my brain won’t make them fit - the sandwich metaphor falls apart like a… like a… wet… sandwich. Dang it, just listen to the podcast.

This week’s episode is extra chunky and was a lot of fun to edit! I Hope YOU (yes, you!) enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Look, I’m really sorry that I sat on the podcast intro music but what am I supposed to do, check every seat for audio files before I sit down? I know it’s a bit crushed and quiet, but if we give it enough love and care then it’ll spring back soon enough, I’m sure - and I can always do my own version of the music for the time being… Oh the podcast is meant to be out… today? I’ll see what I can do…

This podcast may contain traces of trains - perhaps more than a trace, even, as Matt and Quinns discuss both Russian Railroads and 1889: History of Shikoku Railways in the space of just one hour. I know, it’s all getting a bit exciting. Squashed between those discussions like a fun filling in a games sandwich, Tom yammers on about Calico, Pax Pamir 2e and Watergate; games that somehow all contain the same levels of tension and despair in spite of their wildly differing themes.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

‘Ello ‘ello ‘ello, wot’s going on ‘ere then? Looks and sounds like there are three english men crammed inside one english cupboard talking about a series of “board games” from who knows where. That’s a recipe for disease-based disaster right there. City of the Big Shoulders? You’re certainly crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in here, though one of you is a bit smaller than the others. I’ve heard it’s as good an economic euro as any, though I, for one, prefer my commodity speculation games a little less beige. Last Bastion? I’ve heard that one’s a pretty dandy co-operative game, but personally I felt the fantasy redesign was a little lacking.

Wait, I swear on me nan’s ghost that I saw more games in here when I first burst in. Are you hiding ‘em? What’s that on there? Is that a game on your mobile device, Mr Lees? Is it Vlaada Chvatil’s classic tableau-builder, Through The Ages? You of all people should know those is contraband, as they remind people of ‘the time before’, when they could play games with their friends around their tables spreading all their germs. Not any more. You’re going to prison, but seen as we can’t go outside, I’m locking you in your own dishwasher. It’s for the best.

Welcome to the loosiest, goosiest episode of the Shut Up and Sit Down podcast yet, where three adults try to have a conversation via the internet without talking over each other all of the time. Experience the mixed results contained therein! Marvel at how 5 games are spread thinly over an hour of your life, like existential marmalade made of cardboard and opinions. What games, specifically - I hear you roar? I was getting there, no need to get impatient.

This week we’re bobbing around on an ocean of average in Flotilla, drinking some questionably garnered tea in Alubari: A Nice Cup Of Tea, and pelting druids with rocks in Cairn. Sandwiched amidst these activities one can find a brief segue through the eccentric Tokyo Game Show, and a brief visit to the ancient tabletop colossus that is The Castles of Burgundy. Also in this podcast: meandering chats about how the team is faring under quarantine, and a few brief teases of potential bread-based content.

DISCLAIMER: The thumbnail for this podcast contains more business than is actually contained in this podcast. Instead, on this short, sleepy episode, a tired old Matt and a sickly young Tom have a meandering chat about just four games.

‘That’s not enough games for my Friday night podcast-listening session!’ I hear you cry, panicked and approaching a point of crisis. Fear not, listener, as this winding little journey will take you through the staggering quite goods of Stockpile, the crushing it's fines of Big City  and Orleans Stories, before a twist ending where they were all Nemesis all along. Not only that, but there are tiny little trails along the way - a tease of City of the Big Shoulders, for sir? Maybe a trickle of Little Town? It’s all here and it’s all in audio form in this very 105th Shut Up and Sit Down Podcast.

Welcome, diners! Take your seats for the very 104th Shut Up & Sit Down podcast. Enjoy a salty fish supper alongside Oceans, a haggis and a whisky with Glen More II: Chronicles, or a rubbery old hot-dog with Rallyman GT. All options are served with opinions from our cardboard sommelier Matt Lees, and a side of steaming hot takes from our acrylic potwash, Tom Brewster.

Speaking of sides, this week’s podcast features a smorgasbord of canapes, vol au vents and other esoteric snacklets in our detour through Tom’s exclusive, invite-only Party Game Zone™. You can find us in the cordoned off area, chatting about a series of games that you could bring to a party, and smattering of games that you should bring to a party. No +1s are permitted, and BYOB(oardgames).

We also have a post-dinner keynote speech about recent videos on the site - including the palpably divisive review of Bunny Kingdom. Quinns and Tom aren’t on speaking terms after that one, on account of the attempted murder.

Have a lovely weekend all!

Look out! Podcast #103 is charging towards your fragile human body like the untameable beast of content that it is. Be shocked, as we wrangle with Clinic! Gasp in horror as we consume Irish Gauge… whole! Listen as we swirl the sequel to Welcome To... around in our mouths, and last but not least: be kind of bummed out as we talk about why Maracaibo is... a bit bad? Oh! And of course we'd also got some chat about Era, which is not bad at all but VERY PLASTIC. Since recording they've announced an expansion, but we're not sure that affects our feelings much at this stage. Time will tell!

This episode also features fleeting special guest appearances from Clipcut Parks, Food Chain Magnate’s latest expansion; The Ketchup Mechanism, and two games with ‘letter’s in their name. Technically all the games have letters in their name, but these ones literally have letters in their name. You’ll see what we mean.

We also talk a little about recent video reviews! Well, one video review, because Quinns got so excited about the prospect of playing Azul: Summer Pavilion, that he forgot to talk about his review. It tends to have that effect on people.