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Top 10 - 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018
Top 10 - 2018
Top 10 - 2020
Featured Episodes
Episode 351: Combined Top 50 Games of All-Time 2025 Draft: 30-11
Happy new year! We're back to continue the very peaceful, collaborative, kind endeavour that is coming together to harmoniously assemble our top 50 games. It's been nothing but chill, friendly vibes, and we expect that to continue into 2026. It's the next twenty games on our definitive top 50 board games... of all-time! |
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Episode 334: Nothing's Done It Better
Well, we finally did it. We played CATAN, and it was ... good! And then we started wondering, is there anything that's done quite the same thing that that game is doing? And then that got us wondering how many games there are like that, where it's genuinely hard to say that nothing has done it better since. And then that got us wondering if, instead of all this wondering, we should record a podcast episode. Before we wander, we talk about Box Two, Catan: Cities & Knights, and An Infamous Traffic. |
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Episode 331: One Thing I Hate About You
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. |
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Episode 299: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2023: 10-1
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. |
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Episode 288: Less is More
A little prune, a little embellish, a nip, a tuck, and a flourish, and we can get this thing just how we like it. We're looking at all the little things that we'd like to see more of, all the things we'd like to see less of in the world of board games. Before we giveth and taketh away, we talk about First in Flight, Tramways, and Wandering Towers. |
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Episode 285: Starting is Easy, Finishing is Hard
It's such an important part of the design and often overlooked - the end game trigger. The conventional wisdom for most things is to start strong and finish strong, so we look at some of our favourite ways that games can end. Before we reach the end of the road, we talk about Robot Quest Arena, Mr. President: The American Presidency, 2001-2020, and Expeditions. |
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Episode 260: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2022: 10-1
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! |
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Episode 257: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2022: 40-31
I hope you all had a good holiday break, but it's time to get back to business. The very serious business that is the top fifty greatest games of all time. We return to our heroes in what the enthusiasts call phase two, and boy are things heating up! Thirty more incredible games that we absolutely love are coming right at you. |
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Episode 256: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2022: 50-41
It's top fifty season! That's right, it's the time to reflect on every single game we've ever played, and see how we feel about them in the year of our lord, 2022. We sort through the chaff, and from it we weave a beautiful golden strand we call our top fifty greatest games of all time. Grab a glass, and join us. |
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Episode 208: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2021: 10-1 (ft. Tom Brewster)
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. |
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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 205: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2021: 40-31 (ft. Monique & Naveen)
We're back for the second part of the year's greatest celebration, it's the top fifty! We've got thirty more incredible games to talk about this week, as we get into our games ranked 40th to 31st. This week in the peanut gallery, critiquing our picks, we're thrilled to have Monique (the Lavender tank herself) and Naveen of Before You Play! |
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Episode 197: Fantasy Draft: BoardGameGeek 401-500
It's part five of our venerable draft series, a series so loved that it's now in syndication! We're moving on to the tail end of the BGB Top 500, but the format stays the same: draft five games to build a standalone collection that's better than the others. Vote for your favourite, and you can win $50! Before we collect royalties, we talk about PARKS, Fairy Trails, Abandon All Artichokes, and So Clover! |
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Episode 176: Sweet Summer Lovin'
We love listener questions, and this week we’ve got a couple that we thought made for some fun talking points. Specifically, we’re trying to find the salt licorice of board games, and start planning some easy breezy summer games. Before our quick twosome, we talk about Trekking the World, Inkling, My City, and Ruination. |
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Episode 158: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2020: 10-1
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. |
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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 156: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2020: 30-21
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 we like to call reverse numerical order. |
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Episode 143: Pace Yourself
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. |
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Episode 140: All About Auctions
We return to our much loved feature from 2018, all about our favourite mechanics. This week, a mere two years later: auctions! We look at the good and bad sides of auction mechanics, and discuss our favourite games that feature them. Before we inflate the bid, we talk about Fleet: The Dice Game, Iwari, and Modern Art. |
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Episode 139: Bugbear Brawl
It’s an unprecedented trio of hosts, but we’re no less heated about our biggest board game bugbears. In fact, we’re so upset about these little annoyances, that we couldn’t help but order them in a list for your amusement … BGBBOB style. Before we get bugged by bears, we talk about Calico, Telestrations: Upside Drawn, and Pendulum. |
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Episode 132: Heavy Duty with Monique from Before You Play
Monique from Before You Play is with us to get heavy. We're discussing the allure of heavy games, and who better to talk us through them than a Vital Lacerda fan who loves to not just play them, but teach them? We dig into why we enjoy the occasional heavy game, and why you should too! Before we play, we talk about DURIAN, Animal Kingdoms, and Brass: Birmingham. |
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Episode 104: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2019: 10-1
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. |
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Episode 103: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2019: 20-11
A new year, a new decade, a new podcast, and a new batch of games that we love talking about. It's the fourth in our five part series of our 50 favourite board games of all-time, and appropriately, we're kicking off 2020 by breaking into the top twenty. Synergy. |
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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 99: Sore Today, Strong Tomorrow
It's getting close now, can you feel it? Or are you just feeling sore from the game you just lost? We're talking sore losers and sore winners: people who are hard to be around when they lose or win a game. What can you do to avoid being that person, and what games bring out the worst in us? Before we fight our feelings, we talk about Paris: New Eden, Glory to Rome, and No Swap No Pay. |
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Episode 75: Failing Forward
So, you're coming in last. You could sigh, lean back, mutter to yourself about all the things you should've done better ... or you could get back in there, soldier! Back on your feet! This week on the show, we discuss what's worth fighting for in a board game, when you're clearly not going to win. Before we lose with dignity, we talk about Murder on the Cosmic Express, TAMSK, and Diplomacy. |
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Episode 73: Dictionary Attack
You don't need no education, but you're getting one anyway. This week we're going to be explaining the meaning of some common but unclear board game words, for we are nothing if not your humble servants. Before we define our terms, we talk about The Shipwreck Arcana, Kingdom Death: Monster, and Vinhos Deluxe Edition. |
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Episode 72: The Long and the Short of It
Time is a precious resource, so let's not waste any; we're talking about game length. How long should a game be? Is it worse if a game is too long or too short? We wrestle with the fourth dimension in our search for answers. Before we watch the clock, we talk about Dice Forge, Gulo Gulo, and Millennium Blades. |
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Episode 50: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2018: 10-1
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. |
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Episode 49: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2018: 20-11
The end is nigh! If you squint just right you can see it from here. We're almost done counting down our favourite fifty games of all time, so join us in the penultimate part of our five part series. |
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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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Episode 40: Bling It On
We're doing some upgrades this episode, because we're talking about improving and enhancing the board games we already own through accessories, new components, and fancy inserts. Before we sleeve our cards, we also talk about Keyflower, The Palaces of Carrara, Welcome To...'s Halloween Expansion, and That's Not Lemonade! |
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Episode 33: You Can't Win 'Em All
Look, sometimes we lose games. I know. It's weird. It's hard to talk about, to be frank, but it's important to realize that your heroes can have flaws. So, this week, we're counting down our top five games we're bad at! Before we admit defeat, we also discuss Yogi, Orléans, and Blue Lagoon. |
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Episode 32: Are We Having Fun Yet?
In this week's fun episode, we talk gaming etiquette, or the unspoken rules that surface when you're playing a board game. They often have nothing to do with the game itself, but what's appropriate? Should you deliberately help and hinder others at the table? Before we let the Wookiee win, we also discuss Let's Make a Bus Route, Sailing Toward Osiris, Fleet, and Founders of Gloomhaven. |
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Episode 21: The Beautiful Game
World Cup fever sweeps the podcast, as we consider the analogies between board gaming and sport. We also talk about Harvest, Caylus, Exit: The Game, and Trajan. |
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Episode 19: What Are You Made Of?
What would a board game be without components? Just rules and a box, I guess. Before we pick up our pieces, we talk about Wildcatters, Bärenpark, Chimera, Star Cartel, and Council of 4. |
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Episode 14: Do You Want to Know a Secret?
We kick off three weeks of our favourite mechanics in board games with Neilan's pick, hidden information. We also talk about Omen: Fires in the East, Gaia Project, and Pioneer Days. |
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Episode 2: Catching Trains and Mathing Trades
We talk about what we've been playing (1830: Railways & Robber Barons, Archipelago and Gaia Project), we dive deep into math trading for board games, and close out with what we're looking forward to in the weeks ahead. |
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