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.
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
In this episode we talk about two of our favorite games by designer Eric Lang. First we discuss The Others: 7 Sins and then we chat about Arcadia Quest. In our Broader View, we debate the pros and cons of Kickstarter.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:41] - Eric Lang
[00:01:51] - The Others: 7 Sins
[00:21:30] - Arcadia Quest
[00:35:15] - Comparison
[00:44:25] - Other Games by Eric Lang
[00:45:46] - Broader View
Today we're talking about the dice placement games Sagrada and Roll Player. In our Broader View conversation, we talk about owning multiple games that do similar things in your collection.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:01:34] - Dice Placement
[00:01:59] - Sagrada
[00:18:56] - Roll Player
[00:36:07] - Comparison
[00:46:06] - Other Games
[00:49:42] - Broader View
Happy New Year! This first episode of 2018 is all about Battlestar Galactica. We look at and compare Battlestar Galactica the Board Game as well as Dark Moon, or as it was originally called, BSG Express. In our Broader View, we talk about Intellectual Property in games.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:56] - Battlestar Galactica (the show)
[00:02:15] - Battlestar Galactica (the board game)
[00:24:45] - Dark Moon
[00:38:03] - Comparison
[00:46:31] - Other Games
[00:49:35] - Broader View
Happy Holidays everyone! As we get ready to head home and spend some time with our families, we decided to talk about the family weight games Forbidden Island and Ticket to Ride. In our Broader View, we talk a bit more about playing games with our families over the holidays.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:50] - Family Games
[00:02:22] - Forbidden Island
[00:16:05] - Ticket to Ride
[00:32:06] - Comparison
[00:35:20] - Other Family Games
[00:39:15] - Broader View
The category for this episode is Area Control and we talk about Kemet and Scythe. In our Broader View, we start out trying to define the terms Ameritrash and Eurogame, but we end up spending more time just talking about the terms in general.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:02:20] - Area Control
[00:03:55] - Kemet
[00:24:27] - Scythe
[00:39:38] - Comparison
[00:46:59] - Other Area Control Games
[00:50:52] - Broader View
In this episode, we look at Worker Placement games and compare Agricola with Viticulture. In our Broader View, we give some advice about how to lose gracefully.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:45] - Worker Placement
[00:01:36] - Agricola
[00:19:26] - Viticulture
[00:38:22] - Comparison
[00:47:17] - Other Worker Placement Games
[00:51:29] - Broader View
In our (slightly late) Halloween episode, we take a look at two cooperative games with a traitor mechanic and a horror theme: Dead of Winter and Betrayal at House on the Hill. In our Broader View, we try to figure out why we love games even though they are flawed.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:01:44] - Horror Games
[00:02:22] - Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
[00:24:56] - Betrayal at House on the Hill
[00:43:05] - Comparison
[00:51:04] - Other Horror Games
[00:53:29] - Broader View
City Building is the theme of choice in this episode and we explore it by discussing the games Quadropolis and Suburbia. In our Broader View, we talk about selecting the right complexity level for your gaming group.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:44] - City Building
[00:02:45] - Quadropolis
[00:20:19] - Suburbia
[00:35:23] - Bonus Content: Suburbia vs. Castles of Mad King Ludwig
[00:39:10] - Comparison
[00:43:07] - Other City Building Games
[00:45:34] - Broader View
This episode is all about designer Bruno Cathala's games Five Tribes and Yamatai. In our Broader View, we talk a little bit about Analysis Paralysis.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:01:51] - Yamatai
[00:21:36] - An Apology to Bruno Cathala
[00:22:07] - Five Tribes
[00:39:30] - Comparison
[00:46:30] - Other Games by Bruno Cathala
[00:49:03] - Broader View
In our first episode we talk about Hidden Movement by comparing Fury of Dracula and Letters From Whitechapel. In our Broader View, we attempt to give some advice about teaching strategy when you are teaching a game.
[00:00:00] - Introduction
[00:00:42] - What is Hidden Movement?
[00:01:47] - Fury of Dracula
[00:21:20] - Letters From Whitechapel
[00:35:26] - Comparison
[00:43:08] - Other Hidden Movement Games
[00:47:28] - Broader View