The
Episodes

What starts as a perfectly normal podcast episode immediately derails when Sean F unveils a fully operational, suspiciously over-engineered Board Game Bracket.

The flip side of last episode — the mechanics that make us groan, stall, or quietly put a game back on the shelf. We get specific about what kills the fun and why some design choices just don't work for us.

We get into the design side — the specific mechanics that make us pick up a game and keep coming back. Worker placement, deck building, push your luck, hidden information. What hooks us and why.

The BoardGameGeek Golden Geek Awards are in — we break down the nominees, argue about the winners, and make the case for the games we think got snubbed. Strong opinions, lightly researched.

We unpack everything from the latest PAX — the games we demoed, the ones that lived up to the hype, the ones that didn't, and what's already on the pre-order list heading home from the con floor.

Devon Travelyn joins us for a conversation about the hobby from a different angle — their background, the games they love, and what they think the board game community gets right (and wrong).

Every collector has one — the games that looked incredible at the store, got bought with the best intentions, and have never once been punched out. We confess ours and try to figure out if they'll ever actually get played.

We welcome Ben and Lindsey to the table — fresh perspectives, new game opinions, and the kind of energy that happens when you bring in people who aren't afraid to disagree with the hosts.

Which games do you hand to someone who's never touched a modern board game? We revisit the classics, debate the new contenders, and try to agree on the perfect starter kit for a brand new game group.

We go deep on hidden role and deduction games — the ones built around bluffing, misdirection, and finding out who at the table is lying to your face. Spoiler: it's probably Sean F.

We close out the year by looking back at what actually hit the table most in 2025. The games that earned their shelf space, the ones that surprised us, and the ones we're still talking about heading into the new year.

A deeper dive into everything PAX Unplugged — the highlights, the hidden gems we found on the show floor, the panels worth attending, and the games that had the longest lines for good reason.

We recap PAX Unplugged and talk about the games that are worth hauling through an airport. What makes a great travel game, what we picked up at the con, and whether any of it survived the trip home.

Every game night has that one game — the one you groan about but somehow keep playing. We dig into the games we have a complicated relationship with, and why we can't quit them.

We break down the games that actually hit the table most — not the ones sitting on the shelf looking pretty. Our most-played picks, why they keep coming back, and which ones have quietly become staples of game night.

We kick things off with the stories behind the obsession — how each of us fell down the board game rabbit hole and never quite climbed back out. Origin stories, gateway games, and the moment we realized this hobby was getting expensive.