Operation Game Night

Twenty people show up for game night, dinner ends, and everyone looks at the game shelf like it’s a bomb that might go off. We’ve lived that nightmare, so we lay out a real, tested blueprint for running a big board game night with multiple tables without letting it turn into chaos.

We start with quick debriefs on two small-box wins: Collect! by CMON, a light card game with slick powers and shifting displays, and Grabble by CMYK, a ridiculous handful of trinkets that somehow turns into three minutes of pure tension and laughter. Then Trav...

How do you turn a goofy argument like “Is a stop sign taller than an emu?” into a party game people can learn in seconds and replay for years? We sit down with Kerry and Ryan from Barn Boy Games out of Lancaster, PA to talk about their first Kickstarter board game, Height Fight, and the long, messy, surprisingly thoughtful road from homemade prototypes to a retail-ready product.

We start with quick hits from our own tables, from the relaxing solo puzzle of Enchanted Ivy to a conversation-sparking Tales card set, plus a clever “face-down” twist that makes Ca...

A board game weekend can go one of two ways: the table clicks and everyone rides the momentum, or you bog down in rules, downtime, and “maybe next time.” We just got back from a Colorado Springs hang, and we’re sharing the exact mix that worked, plus the honest reactions when a game is clever but your brain still bounces off it.

We start with Reforest, a small box tableau builder that packs a surprisingly puzzly decision space. From there we sprint into lighter, faster wins like Tiny Mountain Goats, then dig into Pet Quartet, a tight...

A Golden Geek Award winner joins us, and we do what any responsible board game podcast would do: we immediately test whether he can actually host a great game night. Tim from Board Game Hot Takes stops by for a full debrief plus a rapid-fire hosting quiz built around real life situations that every board gamer runs into sooner or later.

We start at the table with Misfit Heroes and its card crafting style setup that creates hilarious hybrid characters while keeping the gameplay in quick, satisfying tableau-builder territory. Then we talk legacy in two very different...

We had a question stuck in our heads: can you make a board game betting episode that actually feels like a bet? So we built a weird little experiment where we “bet on betting games” by turning five racing betting games into one meta race, powered by our own head-to-head choices. Think pub meeple-style matchups, but the results move games forward on a track while we sweat our $100 bet slips.

We put Hot Streak, Camel Up, Ready Set Bet, Downforce, and Long Shot The Dice Game on the starting line, then force 30 comparisons across production, mechanics, and fun...

Your board game shelf can either fuel game night or quietly smother it. We sit down to talk about the messy, satisfying work of board game culling: how we decide what stays, what gets sold, and what gets donated when our collections start feeling heavier than our actual playtime.

We start with a bright spot: Wingspan Pocket, a streamlined card version that delivers the engine-building fun in a quick 25 to 30 minutes. From there, we get into the real-world logistics of offloading games, including Facebook Marketplace, game store trade-ins, and the chaos of board game swaps. We also...

A single game store run turns into the most relatable tabletop gaming story possible: we drive out for one small box, get hit by the shopping bug, and walk out with expensive choices we absolutely did not need. Then we put one of them on the table and it completely redeems itself. We break down why Ready Set Bet High Roller Edition feels like the “real” version of the experience, how the oversized production changes readability and table energy, and why betting games keep winning crowds even when nobody thinks they like gambling.

From there we shift into...

We celebrate two years of Operation Game Night by ranking our current top 10 board games and owning the messy reality behind how those lists actually get made. We also debrief what hit the table this week, then zoom out on why table time, audience, and life constraints shape our tastes more than hype ever will. 
• remembering impossible face-down tiles in Wilmot’s Warehouse by building a shared story 
• using Wavelength to spark sharp clues and even sharper table talk at a birthday party 
• ranking our current top 10 and admitting when “great” games drop because they never get played 

Two years, 130+ episodes, and more games than we can count — and we're celebrating with a full roundtable. Amanda Lee (emptynestboardmama) and Mike (TheMeepleThatLoses) join us to look back at the episodes that defined Operation Game Night's first two years and dig into everything hitting our tables right now.

We run through a stacked "what we've been playing" segment: Pyradice (Amanda's dice-and-quarry pyramid builder), Six-Sided Seas and Tug of Roar from Inside Up Games, Kanō (the gorgeous paint-pot pattern game Mike says out-Harmonies Harmonies), Night at the Zoo from SETI designer Tomáš Holek, Wingspan Pocket, and the two heavy...

We trade stories about the small games that save a night, from bluffing chaos at a wrestling convention to real-time trading frenzies that only work with the right group. Peter C. Hayward joins us to get honest about what makes a design worth releasing, how Baba Is You becomes a competitive board game, and why he built a board game career as a long-term plan to move to LA and write scripts. 
• Cockroach Poker as a near-perfect late-night bluffing game for non-gamers 
• Picking the right small box game for a new crowd 
• Triangulation as a low-rules word gues...

You know that moment when you look at your shelf and realize you’re collecting faster than you’re playing? We start there with Vic from the Games Y Mas podcast, breaking down the “pile of shame” pact that forces real table time and sparks honest mini-reviews of what’s been worth it and what hasn’t. From cozy roll-and-write vibes in Tend to the frustration of vague rulebooks, we talk about what makes a board game night land for different kinds of players.

Then a happy accident changes the whole vibe: designer Peter C. Hayward drops into the cal...

We catch up with Paul Solomon from GameHead Games, trade notes on recent plays, then dig deep into what Wave 1 taught him about selling small box board games that actually last. We break down the biggest hooks in GameHead Wave 2, from time-travel trick taking to semi-co-op scoring, plus Gen Con plans and a few spicy prototypes.
• Paul’s family play of Ribbidi Flibbity as a Candyland alternative
• Clayton’s thoughts on The Four Doors as a compact Matt Leacock co-op
• Travis’s rundown of Gruntz as a fast skirmish with rock paper scissors combat
• Components talk including...

Trick-taking games are everywhere right now, but not all of them earn a permanent spot on the shelf. We put Clay’s full taste on the record with a ranked list of 35 trick-taking games, from “still happy to play” to the titles that absolutely nail what we love about the genre: clean decisions, readable hands, and one great twist that changes everything without adding a rulebook’s worth of exceptions.

Along the way, we warm up with recent plays that hit very different corners of tabletop gaming. Clay breaks down Game Makers, a big box board game about ma...

A lot of games feel fun for one night and then vanish into the shelf. We wanted to figure out the opposite: the board games that keep tugging at your brain weeks later, the ones you actually want to play again instead of just admiring the box.

We start by debriefing what we played recently, including Harvest and why its planting and harvesting rhythm feels so satisfying even when you get absolutely thwomped. Clayton breaks down quick hitters like Excalibur, Pick A Pepper, Tag Team, and Mind Bug, then we spend real time on Hanami, the gorgeous...

They're back. Travis survived the move. Clay survived a month without his leader. The long form format is officially back by popular demand — and to celebrate, Clay drops a full military-tier deployment report on 38 games across 69 plays in June.

Plus: Travis debriefs on Lairs and Deep Regrets (Lovecraftian push-your-luck fishing game — yes it's as good as it sounds), a shoutout to Jared playing Root and Skull King somewhere overseas, Clay's new job with the National Wrestling Coaches Association, Travis settling into Space Force, and a mutual vote on who is most likely to become the grouchy old game...

New Zealand has no wild bears, which is exactly why we end up talking about building the best bear zoo we can. Clay and Sam dig into Baron Park, the Phil Walker-Harding tile-laying board game that turns Tetris-style polyomino pieces into a fast, satisfying puzzle you can teach to almost anyone. If you love games that reward smart placement without burying you in rules, this one keeps delivering that “one more turn” feeling.

We walk through how the game actually flows: place a tile, cover an icon, draft the next tile, and slowly expand your park as cons...

Catan has a weird superpower: it’s one of the most loved gateway board games and one of the most mocked “I’m too serious for this” targets. We lean into that tension and ask the honest question: is Settlers of Catan actually good, or are we just remembering 1995 with rose-colored glasses? Clay brings the frustration many hobby gamers feel, like three-hour runtimes, dead turns, and trading that drags. Sam joins us bright and early from New Zealand to make the case that the problem usually isn’t Catan, it’s how the table plays it.

We get tactical...

We trade the usual birthday expectations for a weeklong board game celebration as Mike turns 40 and brings a list of 20 games he wants on the table. We break down what makes the list work, which titles he’s most hyped to play, and why having a partner who truly loves the hobby changes everything. 

•building a 20-game birthday week list that’s realistic to play 
•who’s joining the sessions and how the week is structured 
•early plays and quick hits like Druids of Edora and Dunup 
•goofy story moments in Botany and why it stays memor...

A five-hour learning game sounds like a warning label, but Speakeasy has the rare kind of weight that makes us lean in instead of bounce. I’m Clay, and I’m joined by Mike from Meeple That Loses on Instagram to talk through Vital Lacerda’s Speakeasy board game and why it’s hitting so hard for fans of heavy eurogames, worker placement, and deep “efficiency puzzle” planning.

We dig into what makes the theme actually work: Prohibition-era Manhattan, building distilleries, running rum across the city, and turning deliveries into real momentum on your player board. Mike explains how...

Pirates who serve tea instead of plundering feel like a joke until you see how well the idea works on the table. Clay sits down with Mike from Meeple That Loses to review Pirates of the High Teas, the 2026 release from designer Emily Vincent and Pink Hawk Games, and we dig into why this light board game is such an easy sell for a relaxed game night. You draft tea cards that act like scoring objectives, draft dish cards that provide flavors and fleet colors, then try to serve the captain for the biggest doubloon payout. Simple goal, surprisingly...

A board game about growing up sounds like pure theme, until you see Coming of Age’s head-shaped player board packed with mood tracks, goals, and friendships. We’re joined by Tiffany from tiffs.board.games, and she walks us through why this Dani Garcia design surprised her: it looks like a lot, but after one play the whole system snaps into focus and starts flying.

We break down the core mechanism as a clean dice-placement Eurogame. You start small with a D4 and a short list of childhood interests, then add bigger dice as new places open...

A two-player board game that feels like Battleship grew up, learned dungeon design, and decided to mess with your head. Clay Gable is joined by Tiff from @tiffs.board.games on intstagram to unpack Lairs from Kids Table Board Games, a build-then-explore dungeon crawl where you create a maze behind a screen, hide treasure, plant a trap and a monster, then race through your opponent’s creation while they do the same to you.

We break down what makes the system click: the moment-to-moment tension of turning corners, the satisfaction of building a dungeon that “reads” like a puzz...

A move will humble any gamer, especially when you’re staring at a wall of boxes that all say “games.” While I’m packing up and Clay’s dialing in a newly upgraded office setup, we take a break from the usual board game grind and go over the fence into the stuff we’ve been watching and playing lately and why it’s scratching the same strategy itch.

Clay brings a wild movie recommendation: Sheep Detectives, a murder mystery where a flock has to solve the shepherd’s death. It sounds absurd, it’s way better than it has any ri...

Seth Ewing lost his brother to suicide in 2017. The guilt nearly broke him. What pulled him back? A Dungeons & Dragons group that refused to let him isolate. Now he's turned that experience into Operation Tabletop — a nonprofit using board games to fight veteran isolation, substance abuse, and the identity crisis that hits after military service.
In this episode, Seth shares his raw personal story, how Operation Tabletop got started with just 4 friends and 2 people at their first event, and how they've grown to serve nearly 900 participants a year — with plans to expand nationwide.

How you can help...

The moment that Ra statue gets grabbed, the whole table tightens up, because you don’t get to ease into an auction in this game. Clayton Gable and I, Travis Smith, unpack why Ra by Reiner Knizia still feels like one of the smartest, most interactive auction board games ever made, and why Clayton just bumped it to his number one game of all time. We also gush a bit about the gorgeous modern production from 25th Century Games and how the tactile components amplify the tension that’s already baked into the design.

We walk through how...

Two camels per turn shouldn’t be enough to create real tension, but Through The Desert keeps proving otherwise. We’re back on Operation Game Night with Travis and Clay, digging into Reiner Knizia’s classic board game of camel caravans, watering holes, oasis points, and ruthless positioning. Clay brings notes from the AllPlay reprint and why the production choice matters less than what’s happening on the board: a clean ruleset that turns every placement into a commitment.

We break down how scoring actually drives behavior, from snatching watering holes to chasing the longest caravan bonuses, and why...

We sit down with John Lazaration, creator of Draughtnauts, to talk about turning checkers-style strategy into a customizable sci-fi tabletop game that welcomes new players and hobbyists. We dig into 3D printing, art direction, playtesting lessons, and how a community can help grow new rules, characters, and story. 
• Draughtnauts as a collectible, expandable tabletop game built on checkers-style movement 
• Champion pieces, armor, and weapons as customization now with room for future mechanics 
• Community-driven expansion, fan ideas, voting, and the “creative sandbox” approach 
• Building the game through 3D printing, print-on-demand mats, and a solo home studio workflow 
•...

Fence-sitting is underrated. Sometimes you’re not ready to deliver a polished verdict, you just want to talk about what you played, what worked, and what absolutely didn’t. That’s where Travis and Clayton land today, swapping honest takes on recent board games, digital board game adaptations, and a few surprising side quests.

We start with Reiner Knizia dice energy: Heck Meck (Pickomino) reminds us why push-your-luck dice games endure when the rules stay clean and the choices stay sharp. Then we get into what happens when “Deluxe” content adds more confusion than spice, and why Pyramid le...

You ever see a board game and immediately think, “Wait, you do what to start the game?” Drop Drive opens with a literal physics event: you drop asteroids, fuel, space junk, and an alien onto a plastic half-sphere sun, then play the entire session in the galaxy that scatter creates. It’s a bold dexterity board game idea, and it turns setup into a moment people will talk about. 

We walk through how the game actually plays once the novelty wears off: your alien auto-collects nearby resources, you measure movement with a chain-link tool, and you fly a custo...

Mother’s Day has us asking a question that cuts through all the hot takes and hobby hype: what board games do moms actually want to play? We trade stories about the moms who raised us, the stepmoms who brought the party games, and the spouses who became moms and suddenly have zero interest in a 40-minute rules teach. The result is a surprisingly practical guide to building a better family game night around real life, not fantasy game-night schedules.

We dig into specific “mom-approved board games” and why they work, including Castles of Burgundy as a foreve...

We go over the fence to trade life updates that explain why game nights slow down and why the stories around the hobby still matter. Promotions, move-ins, audiobooks, TV binges, and review drama all collide with one big theme: how we stay part of the board gaming community even when we are not playing much.
• Vic’s Games Y Mas crossover and a “board game bestie” dispute
• Green Player first impressions format and a Rock Hard 1977 hot take tease
• Resident Evil playthrough project and the long road through the series
• Amanda’s promotion to post office superviso...

Twenty yes-or-no questions sounds like a lot until you start spending them on the wrong things. We put that to the test with a full round of board game 20 questions, and it turns into a surprisingly intense mix of deduction, board game knowledge, and pure table talk chaos. Clayton’s out on assignment, so Travis is joined by Amanda, Mike, and Vic as our guessing panel.

If you love board game podcasts, board game night banter, and practical strategy for asking better questions in deduction games, you’ll get a lot out of this one. Subscribe for more...

Your group makes a solid plan, everyone nods, and then the table goes completely silent. A minute later you flip the cards and realize somebody quietly dropped a “2” where it could never belong. That’s the joy and pain of Take Time, the cooperative board game we can’t stop thinking about, and it might be the co-op reset your game night needs.

Jared is out on assignment, so we hold down the fort and dig into why Take Time works so well as a communication-limited puzzle game. We compare it to two modern co-op staples: The Crew, a...

The fastest way to learn what Fate of the Fellowship is really doing is to watch your Hope evaporate. We sit down with Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship (Z-Man Games, 2025) and talk through why this Pandemic system co-op feels so different once you swap disease control for marching orc armies, collapsing havens, and Nazgul that will not stop hunting Frodo. The bones are familiar, but the game plays like Middle-earth is actively pushing back every single round. 

We break down the core structure, including the player deck versus shadow deck, how movement and Fellowship c...

A broken AC on the first hot day, a sudden cold snap, and two dads trying to keep up with life’s pace sets the vibe for a wide ranging “over the fence” catch up on Operation Game Night Podcast. We start with the kind of home maintenance surprise nobody budgets for, then jump straight into the real schedule maker: kids flag football. Clayton breaks down why flag football is actually fun to watch at the youth level, how positions and simple plays keep it engaging, and why the sport’s growth (yes, even the Olympics angle) makes it feel lik...

Your board game shelf is packed, your wishlist is growing, and somehow you feel less excited to play than ever. We’re right there with you. Clayton and Travis sit down for an honest talk about board game burnout and why tabletop gaming can quietly turn into a second job when you’re the one scheduling game night, learning rules, setting up, and teaching every time.

We dig into what’s really behind the slump: big life changes, limited energy, the “shelf of shame” guilt, and the pressure to introduce games perfectly. We also react to a great burn...

A Star Wars board game with a clear plastic window and chibi ships should not be this interesting, and yet here we are. We grabbed Star Wars: Super Teams as an impulse buy expecting a throwaway family game, then ended up genuinely enjoying how much decision making it squeezes out of a super simple ruleset.

We talk through the full flow of this card driven racing game: teams and player counts, how a shared deck means you might move an opponent’s ship on your turn, and why that makes timing the real skill. Then we dig in...

A trick-taking game where your card is the suit but your die is the number sounds like a gimmick until you feel the decisions stack up fast. We’re talking Crits And Tricks from Inside Up Games, a tabletop game that pulls Dungeons & Dragons class flavor into every hand: rogues, barbarians, wizards, paladins, druids, and bards that stay trump no matter what. I’m joined by Clayton Gable, who admits he jumped into a Board Game Arena match before fully knowing what he was doing, and that becomes the perfect doorway into explaining why this design clicks.

We b...

A house where “no smells” are allowed sounds like a joke until you’re living it, and that’s exactly where we start. Travis is back with Clayton Gable for a freewheeling catch-up that somehow turns deodorant choices, candle toxins, and the looming reality of teenage-boy funk into a surprisingly relatable opener.

Then we jump to the real headline: Project Hail Mary. Clayton just saw the movie and can’t stop thinking about it, and we dig into why it lands like the kind of sci-fi blockbuster people used to rally around. We talk Andy Weir, the gap betwee...

A tax refund hits different when you’ve got a board game wishlist the size of a Kallax. We set a simple (and slightly irresponsible) challenge: spend an average $3,500 refund on the stuff that actually upgrades game night, not just more boxes on the shelf. What starts as a joke turns into a surprisingly practical guide to building a board game room you’ll want to live in.

Clay comes in hot with premium picks: six comfy chairs to survive long sessions, Allplay Jasper shelves that look straight out of a showroom, and the kind of crokinole boar...