Operation Game Night

What if the most satisfying legacy campaign isn’t about winning at all, but about watching a small town come to life one sticker at a time? We dive into Cozy Stickerville from Unexpected Games and explore why this 10-session, 30-minute-per-year story-builder is winning hearts at family tables and weeknight game nights alike. With designer Corey Konieczka pivoting from space operas to small comforts, the result is a gentle, branching experience where your choices shape a shared map, not your stress levels.

We break down how it plays: draw an event, choose a path, place a sticker, th...

Ten hours. Six players. One planet daring everyone to blink first. We sat down with our friend Vic Diaz from the Games EMoss podcast to unpack why Twilight Imperium turns a day-long session into a story you’ll retell for years—equal parts senate brawl, star-spanning war, and social chess.

We start with the core loop that makes this galaxy tick: strategy cards that set initiative and shape your round, streamlined actions that keep turns moving, and a center gravity well—Mecatol Rex—that rewards boldness with points and influence. Vic breaks down how public objectives push players...

A three-player card game that dares to say “only three” and actually earns it. We sat down with Three Witches from Allplay and found a lean, tense trick taker that turns familiar rules into a focused 2v1 puzzle. One player steps into the role of lead witch, laying two cards each trick—one face up to set pressure, one face down to hold power—while the two lesser witches coordinate to beat the total with carefully timed responses. The twist? Matching rank or suit lets you add values for a bigger punch, elixirs double their partner, and a revealed two plun...

Tired of yet another cozy mushroom harvest or another horde of shambling minis? We take a scalpel to today’s most overused board game themes—nature deluges, zombie burnout, Cthulhu overload, space saturation, and farm fatigue—and talk about why they once worked, why they’re stale now, and what could replace them without losing the fun. Along the way, we dig into how theme shapes mechanics, who feels welcome at the table, and which stories actually stick after the box closes.

We make the case for underrepresented directions that deserve more love: sports built around the emotiona...

The moment the Hydra spawns a second die, you realize this isn’t just another solo dice chucker. We dive into Hercules and the 12 Labors, a compact, gold-trimmed card-and-dice battler that turns Greek myth into a tight sequence of allocation puzzles, track pressure, and mood-driven twists. We unpack how the design forces smart choices: spend a die permanently to power a life-saving boon, or keep your pool healthy to meet the labor’s exacting conditions next turn.

Across the journey, we chart the rhythm that makes this small-box game feel big. Early labors pop quickly, boosting your conf...

Eight games. One wild ride. We corral a posse of quick, high-impact titles you can teach in minutes and replay all night, from clever card shedders to a pocket-sized area control gem and a fresh twist on roll-and-writes. If your game night needs fast starts, tight decisions, and big table moments, this roundup delivers.

We kick off with Trio, a compact deduction game that turns “show me your lowest or highest” into a satisfying hunt for perfect information. Then we slide into Wolf Days, a two-player-only week planner where dogs pile up points with simple rules and snap...

A friendly debate about donut etiquette spirals into a funny, honest look at indulgence, shame, and small comforts. We pivot to downsizing a board game collection, handheld story games, coaching youth wrestling, and the media that keeps our spirits up.

• donut orders and the unspoken dozen rule
• cost, value, and the myth of donut shame
• using background audio to calm pets
• moving logistics and cutting 150 board games
• criteria for keep, sell, or gift in collections
• Dispatch on Switch as a story-first game
• time-boxed play with kids in the house
• youth wrestling coachi...

A calm garden on the table, a knife fight under the hood. We’re diving into Gazebo, the newly tuned abstract from Reiner Knizia and Bitewing Games, to unpack how a simple one-tile turn creates tempo races, bold steals, and those delicious patio flips. We lay out the core loop—build nooks, deploy gazebos, protect with large nooks—and show how merges can rip control away in a single, perfectly timed placement.

We also compare Gazebo to Qin, spotlighting the rebalance that trims luck without losing spark. Starting with a defined set of double-sided tiles and earning more t...

We put Star Wars: Battle of Hoth on the table, compare it to Memoir ’44, and test how well the Hoth theme holds up under fast, card-driven tactics. Quick scenarios, clean rules, and cinematic moments make this a strong gateway war game with a few thematic misses.

• how command cards drive three-lane tactics
• why snowspeeders vs AT-ATs feel iconic
• where leader cards underdeliver on theme
• scenario length, pace, and teaching new players
• campaign structure vs deeper narrative systems
• terrain, line of sight, and common rules snags
• balance swings, dice variance, and hand management
•...

A classic card battler grows fangs when you turn it into a legacy campaign. We unpack how Regicide Legacy transforms a tight solo-friendly system into twelve tough chapters with mercenaries, sleeves, and exact-damage recruits that make every decision feel earned. The best part: you don’t need the original to jump in. The first chapter onboards fast, the mat and iconography remove bookkeeping, and the art swaps plain suits for readable fantasy symbols so tactics come first.

We trade notes on why failure fuels progress through gold and unlocks, and how the game stays brisk even as me...

We break down a year of board gaming through data, stories, and the people who make play matter. From family tables to BGA marathons, we share what 564 plays reveal about habits, favorites, and how tracking changes the way we choose games.

• why logging plays reduces recency bias
• BG Stats features, costs and BGA syncing
• weekend bursts and Wine Wednesday rhythm
• top playing partners led by family
• most-played titles and what they teach
• co-op trick-taking as a learning tool
• digital depth vs around-the-table energy
• variety over obsession across 204 unique games
• shoutouts to frien...

Holiday chaos meets game night comfort, and it turns out that’s the perfect combo. We swap stories from six Christmases, a last-minute MC gig, and a road trip wedding that turned into a used-game treasure hunt—then zero in on the party games and house rules that kept friends and family engaged without a heavy teach. If your living room is full and attention spans are short, this playbook is for you.

Clay breaks down why Challengers shines with big groups and how a quick demo can transform first-time players into tournament diehards in under an hour...

Ever wonder why some hobbies fade while others become part of your identity? We open the door to our game closets and our calendars to unpack why board gaming keeps its grip—through job changes, parenting, and a hundred other distractions—when so many pursuits don’t.

We start with the quiet truth: unstructured hangouts can be hard. A board game solves for that by giving the room a shared focus, a fair set of rules, and a rhythm that makes conversation easier. From party nights with sizzling burgers to slow-burn engine builders, we show how the table...

What if you could choose the perfect board game for any table, every time? We sit down with Dr. Reiner Knizia and put his legendary catalog to the test—throwing real game-night scenarios at him and asking for exact recommendations.

From quick pre-dinner games like Money, to onboarding video-game players with My City, to big holiday tables where LAMA shines, Knizia explains why simple rules create the best decisions. He shares go-to picks for teens (The Quest for El Dorado), competitive families (Schotten Totten / Battle Line...

The plan was simple: hop the fence and talk about life beyond the table. What followed was a tour of real projects, real rest, and the stories that keep us curious. Mike is in the final stretch of transforming a 1950s metal trailer into a cozy home, complete with a shipping container for laundry now and a dream board game room later. That sparks a candid moment about trimming a 375-game collection to something that fits the life we want, not the shelves we have.

Holidays feel different this year. We trade travel stress for staying put...

Looking for fresh games that actually hit the table? We dig into a stack of recent plays that span fast fillers, tight two-player duels, a chewy co-op, a welcoming auction classic, and even a solo RPG you can toss in your bag. The throughline is simple: clear rules, meaningful choices, and sessions short enough to replay right away.

We start with Bohemians, a sleeper deckbuilder that remixes After Us’ symbol-chaining puzzle with a bohemian artist theme that finally makes the mechanisms sing. From there, Flamecraft Duels trims the cozy original into an elegant contract-filling duel-in-a-briefcase, and Penguin Pa...

A duel that teaches itself, bites fast, and still makes you sweat—Tag Team brings auto-battler energy to the tabletop without the bloat. We break down how two fighters per side, a locked deck order, and a single placement choice each round can produce real drama in under fifteen minutes. With 12 asymmetric fighters—tanks that soak, glass cannons that spike, and a rage-fueled shapeshifter chasing a late-game flip—the game rewards timing, foresight, and a little nerve.

We walk through the core loop step by step, then dig into the mind games: when to slot a clutch block...

What makes a board game leap off the shelf and onto the table, again and again? We dig into the publishers whose choices—production quality, component feel, rule clarity, art direction, and smart release strategies—turned solid designs into go-to weeknight plays and all-day favorites. From lavish dice trays and neoprene to tight, small-box curation, this conversation unpacks how labels build trust, reduce friction, and create onramps that welcome newcomers without alienating veterans.

We start by reframing the “game of the year” idea through the lens of time, cost, and table realities, then spotlight the companies that delivere...

We swap stories with Tiffany from Tiffs Board Games and share the best “new to us” plays that defined our year, from gentle family co-ops to solo epics and evergreen euros. The thread that ties them together is clean design, strong arc, and table moments that stick.

• Victorian engine-building and gossip in Obsession 
• Family laughs and tension in First Orchard 
• Trinket Trove’s turn-order bidding and quick teach 
• Rebirth as a clean, scalable Knizia tile-layer 
• Castles of Burgundy’s timeless flow and upgrades 
• Card crafting and player counts in Ruins 
• El Grande’s live-table edge ove...

What if you had to carve Reiner Knizia’s legacy into stone—just four games to represent a career that spans genres, decades, and thousands of tables? We are pumped to be joined by Bitewing Games’ Nick Murray to help us do exactly that, starting wide with party‑ready card games, heavyweight strategy, and auction masterclasses, then narrowing to a final four that balance impact, accessibility, and pure design brilliance.

We revisit Essen stories and the reality of publishing while putting big ideas under the microscope: why The Quest for El Dorado makes deckbuilding intuitive by tying every ca...

A first-timer’s crash course at PAX Unplugged turns from chaos to clarity after a late badge pickup, an impulse buying spree, and an anchor meetup with designer Paul Solomon at the Game Head booth. We share hard-won tips on planning, scheduling, demoing smart, and making the most of crowded play spaces and overwhelming choices.

• arriving late on Friday and missing badge pickup 
• early Saturday push, exploring vendors outside the expo hall 
• expo hall overload, impulse spending, and budget lessons 
• focused demos with Paul Solomon and Game Head highlights 
• scanning the event schedule too late and mis...

We roast the perfect smoked turkey, rescue a podcast from broken texts, and marathon board games until the table begs for mercy. Retro hardware meets Switch advice, while a koi dilemma becomes a quiet lesson in stewardship and starting fresh.

• Brining, drying, buttering and aromatics for smoked turkey
• MLEM highlights and Pinatas’ second-to-last trick strategy
• Magical Athlete chaos and playful stakes with a pickle bet
• Flip Seven’s quick teach and score-tracking tips
• Analog Pocket nostalgia and an Elden Ring demake
• Switch Online value, family plans and must-play titles
• Fixing cross-platform messaging and plan...

A podcast takeover with heart, dice, and a little chaos: we hijacked Games Y Mas to say thanks and to build your holiday game bag with confidence. We start by unpacking the three mechanics that made our year brighter—deck building for agency and momentum, push your luck for laughs and energy, and RPG-style progression for that sweet feeling of earned growth—then connect them to real games that work at actual tables with actual families.

Jared makes a spirited case for deck building, from Arnak fandom to a Vegas detour that reminded us why fine-tuning a deck...

The road was quiet, the horses were not, and our dice had other plans. We jumped into Dungeons & Dragons 5e with a veteran DM guiding us through a one-shot that quickly became a masterclass in what makes tabletop role-playing so compelling: real choices, shared imagination, and the wild variance of a d20. From a dwarf fighter built to tank to a half-orc monk chasing precision, our party learned how character ideas collide with probability—and why that tension is half the fun.

We break down how a simple prompt—a pair of dead horses blocking the path—opened...

Jerry returns with stories of a surprise Azul date night, a rediscovered $100 Vegas mini-game, and fresh takes on gateway games that can coax non-gamers into regular play. We swap strategies for The Quest for El Dorado, pitch Redwood for photographers, and plot the path to Arnak.

• Azul wins as a fast, colorful date night gateway
• Travel-sized components and the power of quick replays
• Ruins and trick-taking nostalgia with upgrades
• The $100 World Series mini-game and what to do with it
• Pax Unplugged plans and birthday bankroll jokes
• Redwood as a photography-themed next step
• El Dor...

We draft two original civilization board games with only $30 and 10 rounds, forcing bold choices on theme, mechanics, designer, art, publisher, box size, player count, and length. One becomes an insect super-civ of tech and diplomacy, the other a two-player city builder about climate resilience.

• rules of the $30, 10-round Civ game draft
• insect colony vs environmental adaptation sub-themes
• tech trees and diplomacy vs resource management and city building
• designer picks and why reputation matters
• art direction choices that support readability and mood
• publisher fits and expectations for production and support
• box size, player count...

We pivot from a planned board game origin to a candid catch-up on leadership growth, masculine archetypes, stadium joy, and sobering screen stories. Between a Steelers defensive explosion and a YMCA Wi-Fi meltdown, we land on what helps friendships and teams thrive.

• origin story mix-up and light chaos
• leader development course insights and self-awareness
• archetypes of mature masculinity and practical feedback
• Steelers defensive resurgence and stadium renaming
• Halloween hot dogs, family time and movie recommendations
• House of Dynamite structure and realism
• Weapons controversy and mood, art vs restraint
• The Perfect Neighbor and esc...

We share first impressions of The Hobbit: There and Back Again, a roll-and-write that blends dice drafting with a story you can feel across eight evolving chapters. From dwarf paths to riddles in the dark, we highlight why the theme lands, where solo stumbles, and how table tempo creates tension.

• components, setup, and how drafting works
• chapter variety and how goals change
• path drawing, bread, swords, and first‑to bonuses
• gollum puzzle chapter and ring scoring
• storm pass risk and pushing the endgame
• solo mode structure and why it feels off
• table interactio...

We debrief Falcons, the U.S. Air Force Academy board game, walking through how it plays, where it shines, and who will love it most. Theme and art carry a brisk time-track system, with competitions and events adding light strategy and table banter.

• time-track movement around the Terrazzo
• academics, training, action cards and how they interact
• competitions with simultaneous reveals and odd second-place wins
• character tokens as hidden points and tie-breaks
• milestone challenges of Recognition, Commitment, Ring Dance, Graduation
• events that reshape later years
• best at three or four players, weaker at two
• a...

We unpack how Origin Story fuses classic trick-taking with character-building powers, letting you charge abilities with stamina and choose between hero or villain scoring for sharp, thematic pivots. We weigh the balance of chaos and control across player counts, praise the production, and flag who will love this design.

• core must-follow trick-taking with love as trump
• story cards that grant powers and reshape hands
• stamina as a pre-round budget to charge abilities
• hero or villain identity dial that changes scoring
• round three event and round five final form
• table feel at 3 vs 4–5 players and pa...

A streaming giant just picked up one of the most beloved board games on Earth, and our imaginations ran wild. We set out to answer a big question: how do you turn Catan’s trade, tension, and that pesky robber into stories worth binging? With friend of the show Vic from Games Y Más, we pitch three directions that could each anchor a different corner of Netflix’s slate.

First up, an animated family adventure in the spirit of Toy Story and Wreck-It Ralph, where forgotten classics like Chess, Monopoly, and Risk band together to invent a gam...

A foggy graveyard, rattling dice, and a familiar voice rising from the crypt—Jared’s back, and we’re cracking open a night of stories that blend family life, hobby joy, and the kind of plans that keep a gaming calendar buzzing. We kick off with life updates, a very sweaty “fall” in Alabama, and a detour into adaptive spooky video games that learn your habits and dial up the tension. From there, we trade kitchen war stories about a pizza stone gone rogue and the humble fixes that turn hosting fails into crowd-pleasing rituals—because great game nights are built on...

Bidding in space shouldn’t feel this tense, but Ego makes every card you play—or don’t—matter. We explore why this Bitewing Games re-imagining of Reiner Knizia’s Beowulf clicks: a modular journey across alien worlds, a smooth checklist of actions, and auctions that crescendo at just the right moments. The premise is charmingly sharp: act as ambassadors, manage offense tokens, and convert small advantages into a final scoring burst without tipping into disaster.

We unpack the core escalating auction where you can only match or slightly exceed the prior play, turning restraint into a weapon and...

We break down Money! by Reiner Knizia, a quick blind-bidding card game where scoring thresholds and trio bonuses create sharp, swingy decisions. We compare it to High Society and other Knizia auctions, talk player counts, and share who should consider adding it to a shelf.

• core rules overview and scoring thresholds
• trio bonuses and their swing potential
• blind bidding and market swap decisions
• reading opponents and timing value shifts
• three player flow versus larger groups
• comparisons to High Society and Cat Blues
• who should buy now versus wait and try
• final thoughts o...

A duel at a Wonderland tea table shouldn’t feel this sharp—but Madcala turns classic Mancala into a fast, tactical fight that rewards nerve and clean planning. We sit down with this two-player brawler from Druid City Games and unpack why the lighter weight, tight turns, and gorgeous production make it so easy to teach yet surprisingly tense to master. From stitched neoprene to plastic shards and a chunky doubler, the table presence invites you in; the shard economy and plate effects keep you counting backward from game-winning landings.

We break down how the guests—Alice, the Re...

A fading crown. A table full of secrets. We’re diving into The Old King’s Crown—a heavy, heady blend of bluffing, bidding, and brutal clashes—where every season reshapes the map and every decision echoes across years. We unpack how the game’s sketchbook-fantasy art direction and sharper final production help a complex ruleset breathe, why the seasonal flow is the quiet teacher that keeps turns focused, and how a single overbid in spring can save (or sink) your endgame in year five.

We map the core loop: spring’s covert bids for locations and bold heralds...

Ever wished you could role‑play on your own terms—no scheduling headaches, no thick rulebooks, just a notebook, a deck of cards, and your imagination? We dive into the art of solo tabletop RPGs and how a few elegant systems can turn small moments into big stories. From late‑night radio confessionals to crumbling castles and whispered hallways, we share the titles that pulled us in and the tricks that kept us playing.

We start with Void 1680 AM, a music lover’s dream that turns card draws into setlists, caller requests, and memory‑soaked journaling. Then we head to...

A single die, 30 weird racers, and more table noise than most epic euros—that’s the promise we chased and found in Magical Athlete. We open the box to screen-printed meeples that feel like pocket totems, talk through why the reprint’s art taps straight into Saturday-morning nostalgia, and explain how a clean draft plus four escalating races turns simple rules into shareable stories. If you’ve ever wanted a game that your non-gamer friends, your kids, and your strategy group can all love for different reasons, this one earns the spot.

We walk through the flow: snake-dr...

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We break down Ruins by John D. Clair—how card crafting, day/night flips, and a live upgrade market twist a classic shedding game into a tempo puzzle with real stakes. We share what worked, what dragged, and why the match-to-skip rule has us debating house tweaks.

• first impressions from World Series of Board Gaming pickup
• core shedding structure and exact-size matching
• mid-hand upgrades using torches and transparent sleeves
• day versus night flips and torch relights
• claiming tricked-out cards for future rounds
• timing, tempo, and saving a single as a closer
• cognitive load o...