It’s easy to get lost in mechanical discussions of games, and forget to appreciate them as physical creations. There can be beauty in games, and we’re here to get to the heart of it the only way we know, the one on one fight to the death that we call BGBBOB. Before we get skin deep, we talk about First Empires, Mille Fiori, and Foundations of Rome.
It’s the triumphant return of the terrific trio – you know exactly who we mean – to talk about games where one of us would have to be left out. That’s right, it’s two players only at this table, and we’re talking about our favourite games that fit the bill, and why we love them. Before we one-three-nine-take-two, we talk about Undaunted: Normandy, Fields of Arle, and That Time You Killed Me.
What better way to send off the year than part three of the party to end all parties, the BGB Top 50! We’re adding thirty more incredible games to the list, with our 30th to 21st favourite picks. This week, we have the Black Tank, Mike Walker of So Very Wrong About Games tearing apart our choices from the peanut gallery!
Mark’s trying to get us all into something he calls “sports”, so as a compromise, we’re doing a fantasy board game draft! We’re going to pick games from the BoardGameGeek Top 100, until we each have five. Then YOU get to vote on whose draft is best, for a chance to win $50! Before we play to the crowds, we talk about Azul: Summer Pavilion, Roads & Boats, Ruthless, and Cthulhu: Death May Die.
Design often builds heavily on what has come before, but some designers, have made an art of iteration, taking their own beloved designs, and frequently reinventing them in new ways. We dig into this practice of extremely iterative design, and how it fits into an industry hungry for fresh ideas. Before we do it again, we talk about Dirge: The Rust Wars, Electropolis, Vinhos Deluxe Edition, Architects of the West Kingdom, and Sagani.
We’re seeing a lot more versions of games that are X: The Dice Game or Y: The Card Game. These are (usually) simplified takes on beloved classics, but often end up changing the feel of the game dramatically. We discuss when we think this formula works, and when it really doesn’t. Before we cast the die, we talk about Gods Love Dinosaurs, Nanga Parbat, and Ra: The Dice Game.
War in the middle list. It’s the dark middle chapter of the Board Game Barrage Top 50 Games of All Time. Time to call in a new director, change things up, and get subversive. Well, if there were any directors who’d still work with us. This week, we’re barreling through our twenties in what...
‘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.
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.
We’re joined by Richard Simpson of We’re Not Wizards, who is definitely not a magician, Victorian or otherwise, to talk about the line between game design and production. Should production values be an integral part of the discussion of a game’s merits, or should we learn to separate the two? Before we get productive, we talk about Doughnut Dash, Cities, Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra, and L.L.A.M.A.