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Featured Episodes
Episode 358: Our Listeners' Top 20 Board Games of All-Time 2026
Oh man, oh man, it's time that we ask you (yes, you) to tell us (yes, us) what your favourite games are, because for one time a year, it doesn't matter what we think about games, but you better be ready to tell us what you think about games. A lot of you did, so here it is, the listener top 20! Before we ask you to do all the work, we talk about Emberheart, Gods & Mortals, and Feya's Swamp. |
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Episode 350: Combined Top 50 Games of All-Time 2025 Draft: 50-31
Okay, things are a bit different this year. In honour of our 350th episode (a very important milestone), we're going to combine forces, like ... Voltron. I'm the head, and my left and right feet are here with me to collaboratively (yes, you heard right) compile Board Game Barrage's definitive (definitely definitive) top 50 board games... of all-time! |
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Episode 337: Our Listeners’ Top 20 Board Games of All-Time 2025
It's time again to turn the tables and get your take, to feel out the collective tastes of you, the listeners of the show. It's the annual Listener Top 20! You've been sending in all of your lists (thank you!), I've been compiling all of the data (you're welcome!) - and here it is, in a convenient list format. Before we ask the audience, we talk about Flip 7, Hot Streak, and Kolejka. |
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Episode 329: All the Stars Are Here!
I'm not sure why you'd make a hall of fame that's not also a sidewalk, but that's exactly what BoardGameGeek have gone and done - they've curated 25 games into their hall of fame, and we're here to judge them for their choices. It's weird that they didn't come to us first, honestly. Before we deck the halls, we talk about Arborea, Beyond the Horizon, and Taiwan Night Market. |
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Episode 326: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2024: Neilan's 30-11
Neilan's back to continue the journey down the lazy river of cardboard that is his top 50 board games of all time. It's games 30 through 11! I just counted, and that's twenty amazing games that I can't wait to tell you all about! |
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Episode 325: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2024: Mark's 30-11
And back to Mark! It's the soggy middle of his top 50, or as he insists on calling it, his numbers 30 through 11. That is twenty more delicious games, and he's here to tell you all about them while we continue to berate and praise him for his choices. |
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Episode 316: Four Heads Are Better Than One
I'm in a bit of a quandary here, because Mark told me not to tell you what this episode is even about, but I want this description to be, well, descriptive but he's glaring at me really hard, and making a throat slitting gesture so I daren't risk it. It's about ... board games? Before we get ahead of ourselves, we talk about Binho, Stamp Swap, and First Rat. |
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Episode 304: Our Listeners’ Top 20 Board Games of All-Time 2024
Oh man, oh man, I always love this one. It's the latest edition of the Listener Top 20! We asked you all to submit your lists of your favourite board games, and we collected, collated, and compiled all of that beautiful beautiful data using a magical formula to get THIS: The definitive rankings of your collective taste in board games. Before we throw it to you, we talk about Shuffle and Swing, Mythwind, and Cat Blues: The Big Gig! |
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Episode 298: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2023: 20-11
We're almost bursting at the seams, but there's room for a little more. It's the penultimate episode of our five part series, the Top 50 games of all-time! We're moving on to our 20th to 11th favourite games, which means it's time for some big risers and dramatic falls. Make yourself a coffee (sugar's over there in the corner), it's not time to sleep just yet. |
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Episode 291: Fantasy Draft: Reiner Knizia
Drafts are back, baby. And not just any old draft, no, but to celebrate the return of the greatest game, we're drafting none other than the best of the only true and living doctor, Reiner Knizia. Who ends up with the best list? Vote for your favourite, you could win a $50 gift voucher! Before we doc it up, we talk about Empire's End, My Favourite Things, and Four Horsemen. |
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Episode 259: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2022: 20-11
We've reached the penultimate part of our five part series, the great series that is sometimes called our top fifty greatest games of all time! We're barreling close to the end now, but not without a lot of moving and shaking first. Here's another fine selection of thirty amazing games we love. |
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Episode 258: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2022: 30-21
It's a new year, but the list must go on. The list, that is, of our top fifty greatest games of all time! It's part three, which everyone knows is the dark middle chapter of every pentalogy, so expect some swoops, some turns, some revelations. Brace yourself for another thirty incredible games that we can't wait to tell you all about. |
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Episode 211: Our Most Anticipated Games of 2022
New year, new games, and we're really in it now. We look ahead to the year ahead, and all the games that we're most excited to get our hands on ... but we couldn't do it without just a little bit of help from our friends. Before we consult our many crystal balls, we talk about American Bookshop, War of the Ring: Second Edition, and Coffee Traders. |
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Episode 207: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2021: 20-11 (ft. Ambie Valdés)
The penultimate episode of the grand series is here, it's the BGB Top 50! As the journey approaches its end, we're venturing into our 20th to 11th favourite games, with some support from the peanut gallery. And with thirty more board games to blitz through, who better to help us than Ambie Valdés of Board Game Blitz! |
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Episode 182: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 101-200
If you thought the Euro 2020 final was tense, wait until you listen to this episode. The next match in the world's most anticipated series is now here, as we continue down the BoardGameGeek top games list, drafting a collection of five games. Whose do you think is best? Vote to stand a chance to win a $50 gift card! Before we make like snakes, we talk about Chinatown, Curious Cargo, and Mercado de Lisboa. |
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Episode 162: God Does Not Play Dice
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. |
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Episode 155: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2020: 40-31
Now we're getting into the thick of it, in fact some are calling it the most ambitious Part II released in any medium. It's the Board Game Barrage Top 50 Games of All Time! We're in our thirties (even if we wish we weren't) and it's full speed ahead. That's forty(ish) more games, and ten spots closer to the grand finale. Now that we've got this train going, there's no stopping it. |
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Episode 122: Strongest Starter
When you're playing a game for the first time, and barely know what you're even doing, how do you even begin to strategize? That's what we're asking ourselves this week, as we explore some of our approaches to first plays, how we evaluate the game space, and well, win. Before we push levers, we talk about Orléans: Invasion, Zoned Out, Santorini, and Mini Express. |
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Episode 102: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2019: 30-21
It's the season of giving, so our gift to you is more of our favourite board games of all-time! We're only just halfway, so get comfortable in front of the fire, grab an eggnog, and join us for thirty more incredible games. Oh, you got us something too? Ah. Socks. Thanks. |
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Episode 90: Timmy, Jenny, Spike
Mark Rosewater, head designer for Magic: The Gathering, defined three player archetypes back in 2002, and we figured it'd be fun to see how we can apply them to, not just board games, but your three beloved hosts. We look into what makes a Timmy, Tammy, Johnny, Jenny, or Spike tick, and try to find some board games each might like. Before we profile ourselves, we talk about FlickFleet, Québec, and Ra. |
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Episode 86: Shame! Shame! Shame!
Look, there's only so much time in the day, so we don't get to play every game we ought to. But some of those missed games hurt more than others, in fact, some of them are downright shameful. This week we're counting down the top five games we're ashamed that we haven't played. Before we atone, we also talk about Kobayakawa, Taj Mahal, and Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition). |
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Episode 46: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2018: 50-41
We're counting down to our 50th episode, and what better way than to give our definitive lists of our 50 favourite games of all time?! You've been asking for it, so we've only gone and done it. Brace yourselves, we're just getting started. |
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