The Ascent of Board Games

By The Ascent of Board Games

A monthly podcast dedicated to the history, evolution, present state, and future potential of our favorite board games.... more

4.9

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FAQs about The Ascent of Board Games:

How many episodes does The Ascent of Board Games have?

The podcast currently has 94 episodes available.

The Ascent of Board Games episodes:

December 02, 2025Episode 76 - 2025 Year in Review
As we head into the last days of 2025, it's time for our traditional look back at our favorite games and game-related events of the last 12 months. Discussions include:
The best game shipping wrapper we've ever seen.
A really impressive deck-builder that you can't get for love or money...
...or CAN you?
A game box even bigger than last month's!
Blood on the Clocktower, but solitaire...and on a PC?
Frank cheats and adds a computer game to his list, as usual...but so does Mike?!?
What have we missed? What was your favorite board game of 2025? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and other like-minded game nerds!
As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!
Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social
Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/
And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames
Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.
Thank you for listening!
...more
1h 18min
November 01, 2025Episode 75 Part 2 - Computer Games to Board Games
More opinions on computer games that have been converted into board games!
Among our conversations:
Which of us played a demo of Civilization: A New Dawn and didn't like it? The answer may shock you!
We disagree on many things, but we all agree on...post-apocalyptic child labor?
What's up with This Room?
A game box that Jayson's doctor won't allow him to lift.
What have we missed? What's your favorite board game version of a video game? How are we wrong? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and other like-minded game nerds!
As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!
Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social
Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/
And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames
Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.
Thank you for listening!
...more
1h 20min
October 01, 2025Episode 75 - Computer Games to Board Games, Part 1
Yes, we're back again, this time to talk about board games that were converted from computer games. Some of them are excellent...some are just cash grabs. Listen on to find out which is which! Also, if you want to make this episode a drinking game, take a drink every time we say "...but the minis are gorgeous!" (Not responsible for liver damage.)
We discuss:
What kind of board game could be based on the world's first "cathode ray tube amusement device"? (Hint: none.)
60% of us remember Zaxxon - do you?
There are so many games named Civilization that Mike doesn't remember which one he likes.
He is, however, ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE that someone on the podcast didn't like Civilization: A New Dawn, but we don't know who. (Tune in next month to find out!)
What have we missed? What's your favorite board game version of a video game? How are we wrong? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and other like-minded game nerds!
As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!
Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social
Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/
And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames
Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.
Thank you for listening!
...more
1h 7min
September 01, 2025Episode 74 - Richard Garfield Deep Dive
An episode without Frank? But what about all the history? Well, thankfully, history in this case starts in around 1993, with the publication of Magic: The Gathering, because we're reviewing the career of its designer, Richard Garfield.
We discuss:
Not one, but two of Garfield's notable ancestors.
An interview where he talks about how MtG has drifted away from what he wanted it to be, along with some rather salacious stories from the early days of Wizards of the Coast.
A Usenet post from WotC founder Peter Adkison, dating to shortly before MtG was released, with a surprisingly candid overview of the company's history to date.
Was Magic directly responsible for the '00s anime boom? Mike says yes.
Joe is weirdly obsessed with the word "Deckmaster".
There are so many Star Wars collectible card games that none of us know which one we're talking about at any given time.
Attack Yahtzee!
And some ridiculous Keyforge deck names.
What have we missed? Who else deserves a deep dive? How are we wrong? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and other like-minded game nerds!
As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!
Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social
Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/
And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames
Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.
Thank you for listening!
...more
1h 1min
August 01, 2025Episode 73.2 - Trick-Taking Games, Part 2
We're back to finish our discussion of trick-taking games, covering the end of the creative surge around 2000 and then the new resurgence of clever designs that we've seen since 2019. Like last month's episode, this one is a bit on the shorter side, but we promise to make up for it next month!
We discuss:
A game so complicated that Frank can't keep track of what cards have been played - and he (and Sandi) designed it!
Why does Mike think that this game is "peak trick-taking"? The answer may surprise you...but it probably won't.
How many Easter eggs can you find in this card panorama?
Delicious, delicious Cat in the Box gummies (please do not eat)
Once again, we apologize for the number of times that this topic requires us to say the word "trump."
What have we missed? What should we discuss next? How are we wrong? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and other like-minded game nerds!
As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!
Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social
Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/
And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames
Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.
Thank you for listening!
...more
44min
July 01, 2025Episode 73 - Trick-Taking Games, Part 1
Why hello there! This month is the first part of our discussion about the wonderful world of trick-taking games, starting with the old classics and covering the first part of their resurgence in the 1990s. The rest of the topic, including the second (current) surge of clever new designs, will come next month. This could realistically have been a single episode, but for various uninteresting logistical reasons, we're splitting it into two, each of which is slightly shorter than usual. (Think of them as Fun-Size episodes.)
We discuss:
The origin of modern playing cards as fortune-telling devices, and the game (and deck) that was designed to let people have fun without associating with sorcery or (gasp!) gambling.
A surprising number of fond memories of learning various old-people games from our families.
Brian's mom was very fond of this analog bridge computer thing.
A build-your-own trick-taking game.
Don't have the right card to play? Make another player play for you!
Also, we apologize for the number of times that this topic requires us to say the word "trump."
Do you have any favorite trick-taking games we haven't gotten to yet? (All the recent ones are coming next month...) Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and other like-minded game nerds!
As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!
Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social
Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/
And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames
Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.
Thank you for listening!
...more
43min
June 02, 2025Episode 72 - Games With a Message
Welcome back, everyone! This month we're talking about games with a social or political message. It's not JUST because it's Pride Month in the USA, and it's not JUST because tariffs are currently wreaking havoc on the entire board game industry...but it's not NOT because of those things, either.
Many links follow:
Amabel Holland's great video about, among other things, the REAL origins of Monopoly
The games that made Jayson say, "It's awful. I hate this company. I hate it so much."
KamSandwich agrees that both of these games are pretty awful.
This game (and the rest of the games in its series) are also awful experiences, but for a very different reason.
Joe appears to be of the opinion that subtlety is dead.
Is this what a Phil Eklund game from the evil mirror universe would look like?
More Amabel Holland, discussing her games about Big Tobacco and kaiju as a trans metaphor.
What messages did we miss? Does a sociopolitical statement distract you from a game, or enrich the gameplay? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and other like-minded game nerds!
As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!
Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social
Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/
And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames
Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.
Thank you for listening!
...more
1h 16min
May 02, 2025Episode 71.2 - Role-Playing Games, Part 2
We're back, and so is Brian's voice! And we simply have to tell you about a bunch MORE role-playing games that have interesting mechanics.
We talk about games where characters don't trust each other, or perhaps do but shouldn't.
We give a lot of love to Bully Pulpit Games and Rowan, Rook, & Decard, because they do consistently great work.
We talk about a bunch of great GMless, no-prep games, and you can see several of them being played by our friends at Third Floor Wars:
Zhenya's Wonder Tales
Desperation (Brian's in this one!)
The Zone
We talk about an extraordinarily important and influential RPG that isn't actually very good, and a new RPG that's extremely cool, but we can't tell you why.
Have you ever wanted to play a character whose body and mind are being colonized by a swarm of sentient, psionic bees? Have we got the game for you!
Sex moves? Sex moves!
What great TTRPG mechanics did we overlook that you want to tell us about? What do you want to hear us talk about now that we've finished our TTRPG digression? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and other like-minded game nerds!
As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!
Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social
Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/
And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames
Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.
Thank you for listening!
...more
1h 14min
April 01, 2025Episode 71- Role-Playing Games, Part 1
I know, I know, we said we weren't going to do the Ascent of Role-Playing Games thing. And we're not! But there ARE a bunch of role-playing games that have some interesting mechanics, and we're going to be talking about those this month and next. (If you don't like it, join our Discord server so you can vote against it the next time we run a poll!)
Brian's voice is absolutely shot to hell after weeks of coughing - apologies for making you hear it.
"I don't know how we played this game before spreadsheets."
Frank insists on telling us about a staggeringly bad TTRPG.
We talk about games with weird dice, cards as dice, Jenga as dice, and no dice at all.
Joe wins Vampire.
An inexplicable (but not undeserved) shout-out to the great state of Wyoming.
What great TTRPG mechanics (before the mid-2000s) did we overlook that you want to tell us about? What must we not overlook in Part 2? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and other like-minded game nerds!
As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!
Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social
Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/
And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames
Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.
Thank you for listening!
...more
1h 11min
March 02, 2025Episode 70 - Auction Games
That's right, folks, it's episode 70! Do I hear 75? No? Episode 70, going once, going twice...sold to the discerning podcast listener!
IS Jayson actually Agent 47? Probably not. Forget we said anything.
Frank calling out Reiner Knizia within 4 minutes of the episode start
"What is fish?" Help us, Jane Austen!
Is this the first Eurogame?
What happens when you take the auctions out of a game that's all about auctions?
What is a Dutch Auction, and should anyone be offended by the term?
Frank continues to be our resident board game hipster
Are we wrong in our opinions on auction games? Are there some that we overlooked that you want to tell us about? Come visit our newly-revived Discord server to chat with us and other like-minded game nerds!
As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!
Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social
Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/
And, occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames
Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.
Thank you for listening!
...more
1h 2min

FAQs about The Ascent of Board Games:

How many episodes does The Ascent of Board Games have?

The podcast currently has 94 episodes available.

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