Talking Across The Game Board Podcast

This week Dean and Graeme have a look at deduction games. What types of deduction games are there? Do we like some sub genres better than others? Do we think we are good at them? Are traitor games deduction games? We then do our Top 5 Deduction games

This week Dean and Graeme look at replacement games. Are we actively searching for replacement games? Are there games we really want to replace? Ever had that "never going to play that old game again" moment when playing a new game? Ever gone back and played games you had previously "replaced"? We then do our Top 5 Replacement Games (original game and it's replacement)

This week Dean and Graeme have a look at player elimination in games. Do we like it or avoid it? Is it a dated mechanism? What about introducing it to new members to the hobby? Are there different types of player elimination? We then do our Top 5 games with Player Elimination

This week we look at rule books and some good and not so good points in rules books. Do we like 2 rule books (learn to play and rules appendix)? What about GMT-like rule books? Are there things all rule books must have? We then have a look at our Top 5 Worst Rule Books (and what makes them bad!)

This week Dean and Graeme have a look at large group games (or games that play 5+ players) that are not party games! Is the higher player count something we look for in games? Do we like playing with the full complement of players? Are there some genres/styles where the more players the better? Then we do our Top 5 Large Group Games.

Dean and Graeme have a look at party games! What type of games do we like to play at a party? Do we bring games to all the parties? Do we want to get everybody involved? Are there "party" games that we think are misclassified as party games? Do we like party games? How many in our collections? We then do our Top 5 Games to play at a party

Dean and Graeme have a look back 10 years ago. This is a time before Graeme was into hobby board games, and dean was mostly a war gamer. So how many games from 2009 do we have in our collections? Looking back at it, was it a good year in games? Any games we feel need a 10th anniversary edition? Oh, and Dean did some math! We end with our Top 5 games from 2009.

Dean and Graeme have a look at small box games. Are they all just filler games? Can a grand game be put into a small box? If our favourite designer makes a small box game, does that excite us or are we a little disappointed? We then finish with out Top 5 Small Box Games.

This week Dean and Graeme look at reprints. Why do games go out of print? When games are reprinted, should they be kept the same or updated? When is a reprint really just a new game with the same theme? Would you ever go back and buy the original when there is a reprint? We end with the Top 5 Games We Want Reprinted (for whatever reason)

  In this episode Dean and Graeme have a look back at 2014. How much were we into the hobby at that time? How many 2014 games do we own? Was it a good year in gaming? We then do the Top 5 Games from 2014.  

Now that we are a few months into 2019, Dean and Graeme have a look back at 2018. Was it a good year in gaming for us and for the hobby? What were the highlights/lowlights/regrets from the year? We then answer 5 questions : Biggest surprise, Best gaming experience, Top Expansion, Top Older game you got back to the table, and the 2019 game you are looking forward to.

This week Dean and Graeme have a look at stand up moments in games. Do we like these in games? Does it detract from the rest of the game? Are there certain types of games that these types of moments tend to occur in? We then move on to our Top 5 Games with Stand Up Moments.

This week Dean and Graeme have a look at designers. Does a designer influence if we will purchase/play a game? We've got insta-buy designers, but what about insta-avoid designers? We then have our top 5 Designers that make us want to check out the game.

Dean and Graeme have a look at Classic Games this week. What do we mean by classic? Are all older games classics? Is there an age limit for being a classic? What about Modern Classics? We then do our Top 5 Classic Games we still like to play.

Dean and Graeme have a look at preconceptions in reviewing/looking at boardgames. Do we give some designers/publishers/etc. a free ride when looking at their game? Do we start at different point on the 1-10 scale depending on our preconceptions? Does it matter? Is it fair? We then do our Top 5 Games that Bucked the Trend.

  This week Dean and Graeme have a look at the upcoming Essen Game Fair. As reviewers, do we feel this is something we have to go to? Are we missing out? We then count down our top 10 (yes 10 this time) most anticipated games that are coming out at Essen 2017.  

Since we are all in a holiday mood, Graeme and Dean didn't want to do a heavy episode, so we decided to talk about food. We look at snacking at the table while gaming. Good idea? Are any foods off limits? Ever seen a food related disaster at the table? We then finish off with our Top 5 Snacks we like to have at the table.

  In this episode Graeme and Dean have a look at the BoardGameGeek ranking system. Do we use it? Is it helpful for new comers? Do we ever buy (or not buy) based on a games rankings? We end the discussion with our Top 5 games that we like (or love) but are ranked poorly on BoardGameGeek  

Dean and Graeme discuss bad games that we still have fun playing. "Bad" of course being completely subjective and arbitrary. We discuss what makes a game bad for us, how do we overcome that, what how can we still enjoy them. We then finish with out Top 5 Bad Games we Still Find Fun!

  This episode Dean and Graeme look at transition games. We've been asked how to get people into the general board game hobby if they enjoy Magic, or RPG, or Miniature games. Is just picking a game close to their other hobby a good choice? We then finish with our top 5 games that made us want to try different subgenres of the hobby (war games, 18xx, minis, RPGs, etc.)