Between its beautiful components, exciting Wild West theme, and clever yet accessible gameplay, Colt Express has a lot going for it. But the coveted Spiel Des Jahres award almost always goes to a game with non-violent subject matter, which is why none of us on the SnakesCast predicted that it would win. But it did win, and this week we're talking about why.

Supers have conquered the box office, but through most of the board game renaissance of the past decade or two, they've been hard to find on the tabletop. That's because it's really hard to bring super-heroism to a board game that actually makes sense. A few recent hits have broken through though, and we'll be talking about them in this week's episode.

Guess what, everyone? We were wrong again about the "obvious" SDJ winner this year! Thrill to our epic discussion of the game we were sure was going to take home the top honours! Gasp at the gurus' collective indifference toward this broadly beloved game! And wonder at the world that might have been if Colt Express hadn't scored a surprise victory!

Being a teenager can be pretty frustrating sometimes. If you're older, you probably still remember what it was like. And few things can be as annoying to a teenager as time wasted when you could have been doing something you actually wanted to do. Like, say, if your friends dragged you out to a board game café and you're not really into board games. How can a game guru help a teen in that position to actually have a good time?

Nobody likes games that start arguments, right?

Except there are lots of games that directly involve discussion and debate with your opponents, and some of those games are really popular. When you're at the game table, where do you draw the line between a debate and an argument? What kind of verbal sparring is acceptable and fun, and when does it become a problem?

When you play a co-operative game, everybody wants to win, and everybody wants to help everybody win. But what happens when one player knows the game a lot better than the rest... and really REALLY wants to win? Often they end up telling you what you would have to do on your turn to ensure everyone wins. And you've just fallen victim to the Alpha Player. This week we talk about the various ways you can deal with the problem.

Fans of party games and fans of strategy games often have trouble seeing eye to eye. But that doesn't mean they can't enjoy playing together, especially if they're mindful of the reasons why their friends play games. With a little effort and empathy, a good time really can be had by all. This week we talk about ways to bridge that gap.

We don't see many games about clothes, and we certainly don't see many games about married couples. But this week we're shining the game spotlight on both. You and your spouse will work as a team to make sure the lady has the best outfit at the ball, outshining all those other nasty couples. But in comedic Victorian fashion, there will be pitfalls and pratfalls along the way. Is this a game for you? Is it a game for a board game café?

Some of the game gurus lament hearing the phrase "we don't want to have to think" from a customer, but even the most hard-core boardgame enthusiast gets tired or hung over from time to time, and ends up looking for something simple and undemanding. But the kinds of simple games they enjoy aren't the same ones enjoyed by more casual players. Or are they?

If you're a game expert and you want to recommend something good for a new game player to try, you'll need to ask them what they like. But when you ask them, the words they use won't always mean what you think they mean. Three of the most commonly heard words that crop up in those answers at Snakes and Lattes are "interactive," "strategy," and "fun." This week we'll talk about the different meanings those words have for different people when it comes to board games.