‘Tis the season, and if you’re me, your first thought around this time of year is, “How many people can I just buy board games for?” But not all board game gifts are created equal! No, no, no, we need to find the best. So, of course, we put BGBBOB on the case. Before we start stocking stuffings, we talk about Pandemic: Fall of Rome, and Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers.
There’s so much going on in board game land all of the time that it can be hard to know where to focus your attention. So, this week, we each give an example of people, publishers, and sites that we’ve been keeping an eye on, that we think you might want to as well. Before we turn your gaze, we talk about New York Zoo, Targi, Throne and the Grail, and The Red Cathedral.
Gobble gobble, you got got! We wouldn’t leave you hanging when there’s important work to be done. Happy Thanksgiving!
Boy, what a year it’s been for accumulating games that we can’t play. The shelf of shame, the collection of games we own that are yet to see a single play, has been steadily growing, and it’s about time we pruned it. We check in on the games most deserving of that first play. Before we take a walk of shame, we talk about Sonora, Troyes Dice, Macao, Quantum, and Rurik: Dawn of Kiev.
Put on your thick socks, wrap yourself in a blanket, and get comfortable with us in front of the fire. We’re using our patent pending formula (aka BGBBOB) to find the best heart warming comfort games. Twelve board games enter, and … twelve leave, but arranged in the scientifically correct order. Before we get comfortable, we talk about The Castles of Tuscany, Cooper Island, and SCOUT!
At least in some things, you’ve got to give a little to get a little, but what would you give to get what you want? We’re coming up with our big board game compromises, the things we’d happily trade away to fix some of our biggest frustrations. Before we deal with the devil, we talk about Lost Ruins of Arnak, Ohanami, and Beyond the Sun.
Essen SPIEL is the latest of the conventions in 2020 to go digital, which is convenient for us, because we weren’t about to fly to Germany any time soon. We perused the upcoming games that were showcased as part of the event, and picked our favourites to talk about. It’s a top 5! Before we virtually convene, we talk about Babylonia, Veiled Fate, and Dune: Imperium.
We weren’t going to let Kellen have the last word on what makes the perfect $100 collection, so the 139 squad is here to finish it out. Forgot the premise? You’ve lost all your board games, and only have $100 to rebuild it; what do you buy first? Before we make every penny count, we talk about Cosmic Encounter Duel, Hundreds of Horses, Billionaire Banshee, and Floor Plan.
It’s an awful notion, but bear with me. What if you lost your entire board game collection, and had to rebuild it from scratch? Here’s the catch, you only have one hundred dollars. We try to predict what the Red Tank would do, before he talks us through what makes the cut, and why. Before we rebuild, we talk about 5211, Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan, and Cóatl.
Slow and steady might win the race, but it doesn’t make for an exciting board game. Pacing is a vital component of most entertainment mediums that doesn’t often get applied to board games, so we’re going to climb and climb and climb and climb … and then rapidly descend down the roller-coaster of emotion that makes for some of our favourite games. Before we set the pace, we talk about Bus, The Game: Quick & Easy, and Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun.