The Castles of Burgundy
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A tactical (short-term planning), tile-laying eurogame in which players use actions limited by dice to claim a variety of tiles and build them into their kingdom, gaining new abilities and scoring points. One of the most well-known games by euro designer Stefan Feld.
Featured Episodes
| Episode 368: I Will Always Love You
We love a good old game - there are a lot that of games over a decade old that we'd happily sing the praises of, but if we were being brutally honest, how many of them do we think would make it in today's markets? How much have tastes really moved on since these games were in their prime? Before we let nostalgia get the better of us, we talk about I'm Out, Evenglow, and Trials of Maya. |
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| 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 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 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 275: Building and Breaking Conventions
Any creative work is built on a lot of conventions - things that we take as granted, the unspoken rules that must be followed. We get a lot of really great games by following design conventions, but some times, in order to innovate we have to break them. Before we try to find the balance between convention and innovation, we talk about Darwin's Journey, Aleph Null, and Rome in a Day. |
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| Episode 267: Our Listeners’ Top 20 Board Games of All-Time 2023
I always love this one. It's the time of the year where we look at what your favourite games are, and discover whether there are any exciting movers and shakers in what you've been playing! It's the BGB Listener Top 20! Before we check in with all of you, we talk about Tower of Babel, Great Western Trail: Argentina, and Jump Drive. |
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| Episode 221: P-P-P-Party Questions
It doesn't quite work the same, but what do you expect when Neilan's not present? Speaking of presents, it's Mark's birthday so the rest of the crew celebrate with a parade of (don't call them hot) questions, where they invent expansions, and save the planet. Before we get older, we talk about Time Barons, and The Key: Sabotage at Lucky Llama Land. |
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| Episode 218: Our Listeners’ Top 20 Board Games of All-Time 2022
Wow, hundreds of you sent in your favourite games, and it was absolute chaos. But we got all the data together, cleaned up the typos, and crunched the numbers via a super secret algorithm, and here we are, your favourite games of all-time! For this year, at least. Before you take the stage, we talk about Schotten Totten 2, For Science!, and The Bridges of Shangri-La. |
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| Episode 217: We Got Rid of a Bunch of Games!
There is a joy as equal in receiving a game, as moving it onto another person to enjoy. Especially, if you're Mark, when there's cash involved. We reflect on the many games that got left behind recently. Before we purge, we talk about Imperial Steam, Circus Flohcati, and Dogs of War. |
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| Episode 165: Thriving or Barely Surviving?
There are two good ways to create engagement in a board game: One is to let the player feel like they're achieving something constantly, the other is to keep them feeling like any wrong move could tank their game. We're dubbing this the "thriving to barely surviving" spectrum, but first, we need to figure out where some of our favourite games fit on it. Before we surthrive, we talk about Carnegie, Divvy Dice, and Underwater Cities. |
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| Episode 163: Our Listeners' Top 20 Board Games of All-Time 2021
Wow! We asked for your top twenty lists, and boy did you deliver. We've crunched the numbers on the hundreds of submissions, and created what we think is the definitive list of BGB listeners' favourite board games. Now let us tell you how we think you did. Before we outsource our work, we talk about Santa Monica, Steam Works, and Cthulhu: Death May Die. |
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| Episode 157: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2020: 20-11
We're moving into the terrible teens of the Board Game Barrage Top 50 Games of All Time. I learned all I know about American teenagers from TV, so I assume this is where all the sex and drugs come in. Let's get to it then, forty (roughly) more games that we simply adore. As the list goes on, they only get better and better. That is, after all, the premise. |
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| Episode 149: Have You No Shame?
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. |
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| Episode 128: The Means of Production with Richard Simpson
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. |
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| Episode 121: FANTASTIC Four with Mike Walker from So Very Wrong About Games
Mike Walker from So Very Wrong About Games joins us to talk about games that we add to our collection, not for ourselves, but (gasp) for others. Sometimes you do what you have to placate your so-called friends, and their awful taste. Before we begrudgingly acquire games, we talk about The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, Solo, Renegade, and Horrified. |
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| Episode 48: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2018: 30-21
Okay, we're past the middle. It's all downhill from here, but the good sort of downhill. We're counting down our fifty favourite board games, in part three of what the world is calling our most ambitious endeavour yet! Well, we're calling it that. |
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| Episode 44: Red Letter Episode
It's your time to shine! We field questions from you, our adoring fans, in our first ever Q&A episode. You sent us the important topical issues you've been yearning for our take on, and takes ye shall receive. Before we line up in front of the mic, we also talk about Blokus, Brass: Lancashire, and Teotihucan: City of Gods. |
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