Garrett's Games and Geekiness

Garrett's Games 312 - Aquileia and SdJ/KdJ Predictions

2012-05-21T03:48:10Z

Shelley and I sit down to talk about the Zoch game Aquileia, as well as our predictions about the Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres.

Garrett's Games 311 - Seeland, Re-review of Finca, and Alhambra Comments

2012-05-13T23:07:05Z

Shelley and I spend some time perusing the comments that came in regarding our discussion of Alhambra last week (thanks Eric, Guy and everyone on the BGG guild!), then delve into the Burkhardt/Kramer game Seeland (released domestically recently through Ravensburger), as well as doing a re-review of another game that uses a rondel-style mechanism, Finca from Rio Grande and by Sentker and Linde with which we implemented the El Razul expansion.

Garrett's Games 310 - Re-Review of Alhambra, Arkadia, and Vasco da Gama

2012-05-07T01:17:46Z

Shelley and I turn from the new game stack (which is rather short) to some older titles that may need a second look. Do these games hold up and still belong on our shelves? Listen and find out!

Alhambra (with the Diamonds, Bazaars, and Treasure Chest expansions) by Dirk Henn and Wolfgang Panning from Queen Games - ALSO discussed in episodes 121 and 212

Arkadia by Rudiger Dorn from Rio Grande Games - ALSO discussed in episodes 57, 136, 104, 79

Vasco da Gama by Paolo Mori from Lautapelit.fi (provided review copy) and Rio Grande ALSO discussed in episodes 188 and 200

Garrett's Games 309 - More Gathering Reviews: Würfel Bohnanza, Fauna, Zong Shi, 7 Wonders + Cities

2012-04-29T16:48:30Z

Shelley and come to you one final time from The Gathering of Friends with reviews of brand new and a bit older games.

Würfel Bohnanza by Uwe Rosenberg
Fauna by Friedemann Friese
Zong Shi by Kevin Nunn
7 Wonders + The Cities Expansion by Antoine Bauza
(during which Eric Burgess of Boardgame Babylon - www.boardgamebabylon.com - joins us briefly)

Garrett's Games 308 - The Village, Waka Waka, and more Lords of Waterdeep

2012-04-24T03:17:54Z

Shelley and I come to you from The Gathering of Friends to reflect a bit more on Lords of Waterdeep, then delve into two new games, one we liked (The Village) and one we didn't (Waka Waka).

Enjoy!

Garrett's Games 307 - Lords of Waterdeep and Step by Step

2012-04-15T20:15:11Z

This week Shelley and I delve into an Easy Play game and (shocking!!!) a game with the words Dungeons and Dragons on the cover! You should have seen the look on Shelley's face when I brought THAT last one out!

Games reviewed:

Step by Step by Bernhard Lach and Uwe Rapp from Schmidt Spiele (in their Easy Play line)

and

Lords of Waterdeep by Peter Lee and Rodney Thompson from Wizards of the Coast

Garrett's Games 306 - Africana and Zooloretto Wurfelspiel

2012-04-09T01:18:25Z

Shelley and I delve into two Michael Schacht games this week, and (the fanboy/girl that we are) we liked one and loved the other!

The Games:

Africana by Michael Schacht from Abacusspiele

Zooloretto Wurfelspiel by Michael Schacht from Abacusspiele

we also talk about doing re-reviews, mentioning the return to the table of Castles of Burgundy with new player mats. So which games do we need to make sure we re-review?

Enjoy the episode and drop me a line.

Garrett's Games 305 - Dungeon Petz and Toledo

2012-04-02T02:42:13Z

Shelley and I finally get the Essen 2011 release Dungeon Petz to the table from CGE/Z-Man and Vlaada Chivatil. Then, we turn to a back-catalog game - Toledo by Martin Wallace and from Mayfair - since we're heading to Spain over the summer!

Enjoy!

Garrett's Games 304 - Bull headed Games from Wolfgang Kramer

2012-03-26T02:06:57Z

Shelley and I spend some time talking about Wolfgang Kramer's group of 'bull head' games the began with

6 Nimmt (also known as Category 5 and Slide 5)

which led to the board game version called

Tanz der Hornochsen

which has then been followed by two card games

11 Nimmt

and the just-released

Bullenparty

I also take a few minutes at the end to reflect on last week's games

Santa Cruz and Castelli

now that I have played them with 4 players.

Garrett's Games 303 - Santa Cruz, Schlacht am Buffet, and Castelli

2012-03-19T02:28:58Z

Shelley and I spend this week talking about a couple of German-only titles (worth getting through amazon.de), as well as a new domestic release from Queen. Titles discussed:

Santa Cruz by Marcel-Andre Casasola Merkle and Hans im Glück
Schlacht am Buffet by Martin Wallace and Kosmos
Castelli by Gunter Burkhart and Queen

Enjoy, and make sure to listen to what happens to Shelley by the end of the episode!

Garrett's Games 302 - Fistful of Penguins and It Happens...

2012-03-11T22:37:42Z

Shelley and I try out two new(er) dice games and go on a couple of tangents about related games too. We discuss

Fistful of Penguins by Jonathan Franklin and Watsalpoag Games
It Happens... by Stephan Feld and Queen
and we mention
Roma by Stephan Feld and Queen
Tournay by Sebastien DuJardin, Xavier Georges, Alain Orban and Pearl/Z-Man Games

Garrett's Games 301 - Islas Canarias, China Maps, and Trapper

2012-03-05T00:38:51Z

Shelley and I are back with a short episode on some older games

Islas Canarias by Leo Colovini from Clementoni (first talked about on Episode 171)
Trapper by Kramer and Kiesling from Clementoni (first talked about on Episdoe 119)
and alternate maps from Michael Schacht for China/Web of Power

Enjoy!

Garrett's Games 300 - Paperclip Railways, Hawaii, and Contest Commentary

2012-02-21T04:59:24Z

It's finally here! Episode 300 finally makes its debut. Shelley and I spend some time discussing Paperclip Railways from Surprised Stare and Tony Boydell, as well as Hawaii from Rio Grande and Greg Daigle. THEN it's all about listener comments and the contest - tune in to find out who won!

Garrett's Games 300 Delayed a Week

2012-02-13T02:30:52Z

Shel and I take a week off because it's her birthday. We'll be back with the historic 300th episode next week!

Garrett's Games 299 - China as a 2-player plus listener comments

2012-02-06T04:44:41Z

Shel and I talk about the official 2-player variant that Michael Schacht has put out for China, then delve into some of your comment about the best of 2011.

Garrett's Games 298 - Contest, Cambria, Quebec, Kingdom Builder

2012-01-30T02:26:44Z

Shelley and I spend some time discussing "K" sounding items!

First, there's the CONTEST we are running for Episode 300. The following AMAZING publishers/distributors have graciously provided prizes:

Days of Wonder's Ticket to Ride Asia & India Map collections

Bezier Games' Beer & Pretzels (with 6th Player coasters) and Start Player

Dan Yarrington at Gamesalute.com and its affiliated publishers have contributed a HUGE bundle that includes
1x Fealty (from Asmadi Games)
1x Alien Frontiers (from Clever Mojo Games)
1x Carnival (from Dice Hate Me Games)
1x Yomi: Complete (from Sirlin Games)
1x Flash Duel 2nd Edition (from Sirlin Games)
1x Puzzle Strike with Upgrade Pack (from Sirlin Games)
1x Startup Fever (from Meetpoint)
1x Rallyman (from Rallyman)
1x Eleminis (from SmileyPop)

AND I'm contributing a copy of Eclipse, the Asmodee release from Essen. SO, send in your entries for the contest ASAP to make sure you are in the running for one of the 4 amazing prizes!

We also discuss
Cambria from Closet Nerd Games and Eric B. Vogel
Quebec from Le Scorpion Masque/Ystari and designed by Philippe Beaudoin and Pierre Poissant-Marquis
Kingdom Builder from Queen Games and designed by Donald X. Vaccarino

Garrett's Games 297 - Contest, Ticket to Ride India, China Maps, Stone Age Expansion, and Masters' Gallery

2012-01-22T20:44:54Z

Shelley and I go 'whole hog' into expansions this week, discussing:

The new Ticket to Ride India expansion from Alan Moon & Days of Wonder

Printed versions of expansion maps for Michael Schacht's China

The new Stone Age expansion

as well as Reiner Knizia's Masters' Gallery from Griffin Games.

Be sure to enter our contest for Episode 300 - which is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!

Garrett's Games 296 - Best of 2011

2012-01-15T04:58:57Z

Shelley and I sit down for a discussion of our (initial) favorites from 2011 Here's the list of games discussed (by category):

FELD
Castles of Burgundy
Trajan

HEAVIES
De Vulgaria Eloquentia
Vinhos
Florenza
Belfort

MEDIUM WEIGHTS
Asara
Crows
Principato
Casa Grande
Firenze
Sun, Sea, and Sand
Ticket to Ride Asia

CARD GAMES
Biblios
23
Stich-Meister

NEW FILLERS
Kingdom Builder
Paris Connection
Burdigala
Arriala
Cambria
Color Stox
Mondriaan 2020
Super Rhino!

Garrett's Games 295 - Skippity and MIL(1049)

2012-01-09T07:25:00Z

Shelley and I discuss two very different games this week, talking about Susan McKinley Ross's Skippity from Mindware, along with Firmino Martinez's release from HomoLudicus MIL (1049).

Garrett's Games 294 - Core Worlds + Stronghold Interview

2012-01-01T19:26:05Z

Shelley and I sit down over the Skype airways for an interview with Stronghold Game's Stephen Buonocore. Topics include Stronghold's history and game release choices, their latest releases including Core Worlds and Outpost, along with discussions of future releases including Merchant of Venus, Lost Temple, and Revolver.

Shelley and I then spend a bit more time talking about and reviewing Stronghold's deck building game Core Worlds by Andrew Parks.