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Arboretum

From Board Game Barrage Wiki

A tight card game that sees players strategically laying down cards to build their own arboretums while holding cards in hand to make sure they can score their arboretum at the end - and maybe so others can't score theirs.

  Top 10 - 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018

Episode 343: Fantasy Draft: Card Games
Episode 343
Episode 343

The draft's back! This time it's card games, and we're picking the bestof what ought to be a staple of any good collection. We love card games, we love drafting games, and you love winning money, so be sure to vote for whoever you think drafted the best set, and you could win a $100 gift card! Before deal everyone in, we talk about Money!, Venture, and Fishing.

Released: September 18, 2025

Episode 331: One Thing I Hate About You
Episode 331
Episode 331

We've spent a lot of time over the years singing the praises of the games we love, but they can't be perfect right? Surely there's something, one little thing, that bugs us - a small blemish in our otherwise most beloved games? Before we come clean, we talk about Classified Information, Starline Hill, Panda Spin, and SHASN: AZADI.

Released: April 3, 2025

Episode 327: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2024: 10-1
Episode 327
Episode 327

It's finally time to cap it all off with the cream of the cream, Mark and Neilan's final set of ten games each! These are the games that we think are the pinnacle of our respective tastes, that we'd never turn down, that any person ought to try at least once. It's the Top 10 Games of All-Time!

Released: February 6, 2025

Episode 299: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2023: 10-1
Episode 299
Episode 299

We made it! We've arrived at last at the final ten(-ish) games, in fact, our TOP TEN (or so?) favourite games of all time. Thanks for joining us again on this yearly pilgrimage, as always it's the journey that's the important thing - but that's not to say that there isn't some exciting moving and shaking to happen at the destination. That said, it's time to pass out on the couch.

Released: January 18, 2024

Episode 260: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2022: 10-1
Episode 260
Episode 260

Here it is, the one we've all been waiting for, the Board Game Barrage top ten games of all time! It's been a long road and we'll wrap it up by seeing some old favourites ... and maybe a few new faces? Old or new, these are the thirty games we enjoy the most (at least, right now.)  We loved sharing these lists with you and hope you've enjoyed listening to them!

Released: January 19, 2023

Episode 247: We Played A Heap of Games!
Episode 247
Episode 247

What good would going to a convention be if we didn't play a lot of games? We're back from our trip, and it was filled to the brim of fine games played with fine people, and we're here to tell you about all of them, the good, the bad, and perfunctory. Before we revisit Vancouver, we talk about Village Rails, The Guild of Merchant Explorers, and Puzzle Strike 2.

Released: October 13, 2022

Episode 208: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2021: 10-1 (ft. Tom Brewster)
Episode 208
Episode 208

It's the grand finale of the event of events that is the BGB Top 50 Games of All-time! These are our ten absolute favourite games, and, fittingly, it's a bumper episode with more than one surprise. Joining us in the peanut gallery this week, it's none other than the manic imp of Shut Up & Sit Down himself, the absolute mad genius that is Tom Brewster. Buckle in, it's going to get weird.

Released: January 13, 2022

Episode 187: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 201-300
Episode 187
Episode 187

We're back with another fantasy draft, as we keep on moving down the BoardGameGeek top games list. If you're not familiar, we're each picking a standalone collection of five games before our picks get stolen out from under us. Want to win a $50 gift card? You've got to vote on whose collection is best! Before we get the knives out, we talk about Raiders of Scythia, and Ankh: Gods of Egypt.

Released: August 19, 2021

Episode 158: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2020: 10-1
Episode 158
Episode 158

It's the big one! We've come at last to the grand finale of the Board Game Barrage Top 50 Games of All Time ... Top. Ten. Baby. These are our absolute favourite games, forty (thirty?) all together, that we'd just about never turn down a game of. Thanks for joining us on this ride, it's been wild.

Released: January 28, 2021

Episode 145: Zero to One Hundred: $100 Collection Triple Triumph
Episode 145
Episode 145

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.

Released: October 22, 2020

Episode 123: Filler Up
Episode 123
Episode 123

Sometimes you have a little gap of time between larger, heavier games, and what you need is a palate cleanser, which brings us to the realm of games we lovingly call "fillers". We kick off the very first Ranked Duel Battle of the Boards (definitely not the final title) by ranking our favourite filler games! Before we pass the time, we talk about Aerion, Ingenious, The One Hundred Torii, and Taluva.

Released: May 21, 2020

Episode 109: Harshing My Buzz
Episode 109
Episode 109

We're gluttons for punishment this week, because we're talking about harshness in board games. These are the sort of games where big moves or bad mistakes can be hard to recover from. Harsh games aren't for everyone, so when and why do we find them appealing? Before we grit our teeth, we talk about Wavelength, Genoa, Krass Kariert, and Oceans.

Released: February 13, 2020

Episode 104: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2019: 10-1
Episode 104
Episode 104

Here it is, the episode you've all been waiting for, the grand finale, the culmination of five weeks of episodes. These are our top ten favourite board games of all-time, games that we absolutely adore, and would happily play at a moment's notice. Heck, we'd even play the games on each others' lists ... on, you know, birthdays and special occasions. That's how good they are.

Released: January 9, 2020

Episode 89: Classified Information
Episode 089
Episode 089

Inspired by BoardGameGeek's new system for classifying board game mechanisms, we give our thoughts on the changes, as well as talk about classification in general. Somehow it always leads to heated discussions, whether it's arguing what a Civilization game even is, or why we need classification at all. I'm sure we'll all agree in the end. Before we taxi into taxonomy, we talk about Piepmatz, Era: Medieval Age, and Cursed Court.

Released: September 26, 2019

Episode 50: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2018: 10-1
Episode 050
Episode 050

Top ten, baby! We finally made it. And thus concludes our five part series of our favourite games of all-time. Frankly, we were changed by the experience, and will never be the same again. We hope you were too.

Released: January 10, 2019

Episode 18: You Get What You Give
Episode 018
Episode 018

Skill and experience should be important parts of determining the winner of a game, but what about new players? Accessibility is important too, so, where's the balance? We also talk about High Society, Rising 5: Runes of Asteros, The Tea Dragon Society Card Game, and Inkognito.

Released: June 14, 2018

Episode 15: Keep Your Hands to Yourself
Episode 015
Episode 015

Week two of our favourite mechanics in board games is Mark's pick, hand management. We also talk about Ascending Empires, Funky Chicken, Felicity: The Cat in the Sack, and New Corp Order.

Released: May 24, 2018

Episode 8: Just Deserts
Episode 008
Episode 008

Trapped on a desert island and forced to bring only five board games? We've all been there. And we're going back. To the island. The board game island.

Released: April 5, 2018