Men on Board is a board gaming podcast where each episode will focus on a particular category within the hobby. The categories will be anything from a mechanic, to a theme, to a particular designer or publisher. Each episode will usually focus on two games from the category and contain a discussion of each as well as some compare and contrasting between them. Also, every episode will include a discussion that pulls back and looks at a more broad view about the board gaming hobby.
Shakespeare is the category this week as we discuss the games Histrio and Shakespeare. In our Broader View, we talk about settings in board games, and the conversation goes into some places that we weren’t expecting and get a little bit real.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:47] - Shakespeare (Category)
[00:01:25] - Histrio
[00:13:32] - Shakespeare (Game)
[00:34:41] - Comparison
[00:43:37] - Other Games about Putting on Shows
[00:46:21] - Broader View
This week we’re looking at two series of games that simulate the feeling of an escape room: the Unlock series and the Exit series. Because of the nature of these games, we were very careful to avoid spoilers, and only lightly touched on a few topics that may be considered slight spoilers, so I have noted those times in the show notes below, along with what is talked about in general. In our Broader View, we talk about how to make your game group more inclusive with a particular focus on inclusivity for gay men.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:33] - Escape Rooms
[00:02:38] - Unlock Series
[00:13:53] - SPOILER: Vague references to mechanics in Squeek & Sausage and The Formula
[00:16:42] - SPOILER: Discussions about the set up of The Island of Doctor Goorse and vague references to frustrations with the game
[00:21:26] - Exit Series
[00:23:57] - SPOILER: Commentary about the design of the wheel in Pharaoh’s Tomb and Sunken Treasure
[00:33:21] - SPOILER: Slight spoiler about the overall nature of Dead Man on the Orient Express
[00:33:56] - Comparison
[00:39:52] - Other Games that feel like Escape Rooms
[00:43:52] - Broader View
Today we’re celebrating our one year anniversary, and because this episode is coming out a day late, it is actually coming out on our one year anniversary! So in honor of making it a full year, we’re going back to our very first category and revisiting hidden movement with Specter Ops and Nuns on the Run. In our Broader View, we reflect on the last year of recording this podcast. Thank you to everyone that has been on this journey with us!
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:01:07] - Hidden Movement
[00:02:12] - Specter Ops
[00:20:01] - Nuns on the Run
[00:31:25] - Comparison
[00:37:11] - Other Hidden Movement Games
[00:41:40] - Broader View
This episode went longer than we try to keep our episodes, but since we're talking about Twilight Imperium that seemed appropriate. Specifically, we're talking about Twilight Imperium Third Edition and Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition. Also, because Josh has never played Twilight Imperium, we brought in our friend (Other) Matt to fill in our fourth chair. In our Broader View, we talk about playing games that are an all day event.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:03:25] - Twilight Imperium
[00:06:09] - Twilight Imperium Third Edition
[00:31:46] - Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition
[00:34:14] - Comparison
[00:56:49] - Other Epic Games
[00:59:52] - Broader View
Today we're discussing board games that are in some degree hybrids of board games and video games. These are games that require smartphone apps in order to be played, and the two games that we're featuring are Stop Thief! and Mansions of Madness Second Edition. Then, in our Broader View, we're going to flip the script and talk about board games that have been made into apps and how we feel about that.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:43] - App Integration
[00:01:19] - Stop Thief!
[00:16:26] - Mansions of Madness Second Edition
[00:40:10] - Comparison
[00:42:56] - Other Games with App Integration
[00:46:43] - Broader View
In part two of our two part "plus" series, we're looking at deckbuilding games that both have some mechanics that go a little bit beyond the typical deckbuilding game. Specifically, we're talking about Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure and The Quest for El Dorado. In our Broader View, we go on a series of tangents about sleeving, shuffling, and storing cards, which we're calling card maintenence.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:01:07] - Deckbuilding Games with a Little Bit Extra
[00:02:18] - Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure
[00:19:16] - The Quest for El Dorado
[00:32:20] - Comparison
[00:38:35] - Other Deckbuilding Games
[00:42:43] - Broader View
In this episode's category, we're looking at two deduction games that have a little bit more going on than just straightforward deduction: Mystery Express and Alchemists. In our Broader View, we talk about Aaron's pet peeve of Deduction and Mystery being used as synonyms. Also in this episode, we're putting the call out for feedback as we near our one year anniversary of podcasting and look forward to the future.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:01:02] - Deduction Games with Something More
[00:02:17] - Mystery Express
[00:18:48] - Alchemists
[00:34:17] - Comparison
[00:38:26] - Other Deduction Games
[00:43:31] - Broader View
[00:54:20] - Looking Forward and a Request for Assistance
Today we're taking a look at a publisher that typically makes family friendly games that can be scaled up in complexity with expansion content: Queen Games. Specifically, we're talking about Alhambra and Fresco. In part two of our two part Broader View conversation about expansions, we discuss our thoughts about when we integrate expansions.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:34] - Queen Games
[00:02:19] - Alhambra
[00:15:20] - Fresco
[00:28:25] - Comparison
[00:34:39] - Other Games from Queen Games (and a game with a Queen)
[00:38:11] - Broader View
In this episode, we're looking at games with a lot of available expansion content: Carcassonne and Dominion. In our Broader View, we have a discussion about what we consider before purchasing an expansion for a game.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:43] - Prolific Expansions
[00:01:20] - Carcassonne
[00:15:33] - Dominion
[00:30:02] - Comparison
[00:38:08] - Other Games with a Prolific Number of Expansions
[00:41:19] - Broader View
In our first Board Game Kiki, we're talking about everything that we did and played at Origins Game Fair 2018! These Kiki episodes are going to be sporadic and occur only when we have something that we want to talk about that doesn't fit into our normal format.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:02:50] - Origins 2018
[00:07:08] - Queen Games
[00:07:23] - Luxor
[00:09:32] - Alhambra
[00:10:39] - Franchise & Other Upcoming Queen Games
[00:12:12] - Bezier Games
[00:12:31] - One Week Ultimate Werewolf
[00:13:28] - Werewolf Legacy
[00:16:13] - Reef
[00:18:41] - The Mind
[00:20:25] - Nyctophobia
[00:22:08] - Decrypto
[00:23:24] - Nightfalls
[00:26:55] - Ticket to Ride New York
[00:28:59] - Seven Wonders Armada
[00:32:15] - Dragon Castle
[00:33:27] - 1754
[00:35:52] - Tudors
[00:38:05] - Ladies & Gentlemen
[00:38:51] - An Outsider's Perspective from our Friend Topher
[00:42:30] - Thank You
Today we're looking at two games designed by Alexander Pfister: Mombasa and Great Western Trail. In our Broader View, we talk about game designer signatures. Shorter show notes courtesy of getting home very late after Origins 2018!
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:51] - Alexander Pfister
[00:01:30] - Mombasa
[00:17:01] - Great Western Trail
[00:32:38] - Comparison
[00:38:37] - Other Games Like These In Some Way
[00:42:35] - Broader View
This week we're looking at set collection with Splendor and Century: Golem Edition (which is mechanically identical to Century Spice Road, but Aaron just likes animating golems more than trading spices). In our Broader View, we discuss how component quality can enhance or detract from our enjoyment of a game.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:56] - Set Collection
[00:01:23] - Splendor
[00:16:24] - Century: Golem Edition
[00:31:13] - Comparison
[00:38:41] - Other Set Collection Games
[00:41:44] - Broader View
After starting off with some bad news last episode and promising the same for this week, we were pleasantly surprised to see that we did not have the same issue in this recording! This week, we're talking about the social deduction games Two Rooms and a Boom and The Resistance. In our Broader View, we talk about deception in games and it gets a little bit real.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:41] - Social Deduction Games
[00:01:32] - Two Rooms and a Boom
[00:15:59] - The Resistance
[00:30:05] - Comparison
[00:34:58] - Other Social Deduction Games
[00:38:11] - Broader View
Unfortunately, we had some issues with the recording in this episode, so Mat's sound quality is a little bit distracting. As a result, we had to do some creative editing, so hopefully this doesn't sound too jarring. But in this lo-fi episode, we're discussing Ghost Stories and Zombicide: Black Plague, two cooperative games where dice combat is a major part of the game. In our Broader View, we have a discussion about dealing with alpha players.
[00:00:00] - An apology
[00:00:46] - Introduction
[00:01:28] - Cooperative Dice Games
[00:02:14] - Ghost Stories
[00:17:05] - Zombicide: Black Plague
[00:33:13] - Comparison
[00:39:50] - Other Cooperative Dice Games
[00:42:40] - Broader View
The category for this episode is card drafting games which we define as games where a player gets a hand of cards, selects one of those cards, and then passes the hand off to another player. The games that we're comparing our Sushi Go Party and 7 Wonders. In our Broader View, we talk about storing game components.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:45] - Card Drafting
[00:01:50] - Sushi Go Party
[00:15:23] - 7 Wonders
[00:34:11] - Comparison
[00:39:57] - Other Card Drafting Games
[00:43:14] - Broader View
This episode takes a look at two similar appearing games that are actually very different. The category is Mad King Ludwig, who was actually King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The games we're talking about today are Castles of Mad King Ludwig and The Palace of Mad King Ludwig, which are both tile laying games but play very distinctly from each other. In our Broader View, we discuss aggressive gameplay and our personal reactions to it.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:41] - Mad King Ludwig
[00:01:59] - Castles of Mad King Ludwig
[00:17:43] - The Palace of Mad King Ludwig
[00:31:31] - Comparison
[00:41:55] - Other Tile Laying Games
[00:44:43] - Broader View
We're hoping that this episode is going to be the first in a series of episodes about Spiritual Successors of games (but if not it works well enough on its own!). In our first installment of Spiritual Successors, we're taking a look at Eric Lang's series of mythology based area control games: Blood Rage and Rising Sun. In our Broader View, we're talking about exclusive content in gaming.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:50] - Spiritual Successors
[00:01:26] - Blood Rage
[00:22:34] - Rising Sun
[00:34:37] - Comparison
[00:46:42] - Other Spiritual Successors
[00:49:35] - Broader View
This episode went a little bit longer than usual, but that's because we have been waiting to talk about Mindclash Games since we started this podcast! Today we're looking at the two games that have been released by Mindclash to date: Anachrony and Trickerion. In our Broader View, we give some advice about how to teach complicated games.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:32] - Mindclash Games
[00:01:35] - Anachrony
[00:24:43] - Trickerion: Legends of Illusion
[00:45:38] - Comparison
[00:48:51] - Other Games in the Same Style as Mindclash Games
[00:52:13] - Broader View
Today we're taking a look at a niche category of games, where players are divided into teams, and each member of the team is playing a different style of game. Specifically, we're talking about Captain Sonar and Ladies & Gentlemen. In our Broader View, we talk a bit more about teamwork in games.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:31] - Asymmetrical Team Games
[00:00:57] - Captain Sonar
[00:17:20] - Ladies & Gentlemen
[00:36:39] - Comparison
[00:44:06] - Other Asymmetrical or Team Games
[00:46:46] - Broader View
Inspired by Valentine's Day, this week's category is Two Player Games and we talk about Star Realms and 7 Wonders Duel. In our Broader View, we talk about playing games with your significant other. Also, we say "spoiler" a lot in this episode for some reason.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:32] - Two Player Games
[00:01:19] - Star Realms
[00:15:28] - 7 Wonders Duel
[00:27:47] - Comparison
[00:33:29] - Other Two Player Games
[00:39:05] - Broader View