Operation Game Night
Operation Game Night is a weekly podcast hosted by Travis Smith, Jared Erickson, and Clayton Gable. The three friends discuss the latest and greatest board games, what's hot, and what's hitting their table. Episodes include featured conversations about board games and board gaming culture. The show's main mission is simple: to play more board games.
Episodes
Barn Boy Games Turns Family Play Into A Business
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
An OGN Reunion Debrief!
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 surpr
We Stress-Test Game Night Scenarios (ft. Tim from Board Game Hot Takes)
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
Betting On Betting Games
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
The Great Board Game Cull
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 quic
Grab Bag: Testing The 8 Kinds Of Fun Against Board Games
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
Our Current Top 10 Board Games
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 sto
2 Years of Operation Game Night: Our Favorite Episodes & What We're Playing Now
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: Pyra
Peter C. Hayward & Baba Is You Board Game Design
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. • Cock
Clearing The Shelf Of Opportunity (ft. Games Y Mas & Peter C. Hayward)
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 mak
GameHead Games Wave 2 Sneak Peek
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• Cl
The Definitive Trick-Taking Game Ranking
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 exception
OGN's Game of the Year Watch
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
Travis is Back and Clay Has Opinions About 38 Games | June Deployment Report
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
Bärenpark In 30 Minutes
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 th
Convince me Catan is a Good Game
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 dra
A 40th Birthday Becomes A 20-Game Challenge
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 th
Speakeasy
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
A Whimsical Pirate Tea Game That Teaches Modern Board Game Basics
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 object
Coming of Age with Tiff!
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 a
Lairs with Tiff! Are the expansions actually essentials?
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
Crying in the Theater Seeing Sheep Detectives
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 Detect
Rolling for Recovery: Operation Tabletop's Fight Against Veteran Isolation
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 person
Clay's New Favorite Game!
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 product
Through The Desert by Reiner Knizia
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
Draughtnauts by LazArt Studios
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 mo
Foreplay On The Game Shelf
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
Drop Drive by Phase Shift Games
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 t
Mother-Approved Board Games
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 nig
Board Game Besties And Unexpected Dragon Smut
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 impressi
Board Game 20 Questions!
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 podcast
Take Time Turns Planning Into A Mind-Reading Challenge
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
The Lord of the Rings: Fate Of The Fellowship by Z-Man Games
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 g
Frozen Toes And Amish Marathon Runners
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
Coping With Board Game Burnout (or, Board Game Viagra)
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 t
Star Wars: Super Teams - A Racing Game for All Ages
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
Crits & Tricks: A Dice-Powered Trick-Taking Game With D&D Classes
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 admi
Project Hail Mary And Pokopia
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
How to Spend Your Tax Refund...On Board Games!
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 pre
Have Word Party Games Reached Saturation?
A good word game doesn’t need a complicated ruleset, it needs that moment where someone explains their clue and the whole table says, “Wait, your brain went THERE?” That’s the energy we chase here, and it’s why we’re talking about AllPlay’s Alibis, a cooperative word association party game built around linking two secret words with a single clue while everyone tries to identify the one “villain” c
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - The Board Game
Gotham does not care that you’re Batman. The city keeps boiling over, the press keeps watching, mutants keep swarming, and the clock keeps moving while you try to hold it all together with a bruised body and a shrinking margin for error.We talk through Batman: The Dark Knight Returns The Board Game with early impressions after Book One, starting with what it is at heart: a solo board game campaign
How One Piece On Netflix Turns Weird Into Heart
A rubber pirate chasing the “One Piece” sounds like a premise that should collapse under its own weirdness, but we can’t stop smiling while we watch it. We talk through Netflix’s live action One Piece series from the perspective of viewers who didn’t grow up on the anime or manga, and why that outsider angle actually helps. The costumes are bold, the characters are unapologetically odd, and the sh
Fives, Gachapon Trick, And Rebel Princess For Fans Of Clever Card Play
A great trick-taking game doesn’t need a thousand rules, it needs one twist that rewires your instincts. Clay and I sit down to debrief three modern trick-taking card games and what they teach us about design, tension, and the weird joy of trying to lose on purpose. If you love classic card games but keep chasing that “one more hand” feeling, this is a tight grab bag of ideas you can steal for you
Moon Colonization is not for the faint of heart
A board game where everything you build comes crashing down in front of your eyes is our kind of problem. Jared jumps back on the mic to talk through Moon Colony Bloodbath, the new standalone design from Donald X. Vaccarino, and why our table couldn’t stop laughing even as robots, hunger, and “paperwork” turned the moon into a meat grinder. We also catch up on why Jared’s been away and what it mea
A Quick State Of The Podcast OTF
One host, one hotel room, and zero room for pretending everything is perfectly on schedule. Travis checks in solo to share a quick state of Operation Game Night Podcast, give a real update on where Jared’s been, and say thank you to everyone who’s still listening, commenting, and sending messages even when life slows our posting down. If you’ve wondered why the Instagram reels went quiet or whethe
Dungeon Crawler Board Game Draft!
We build two complete dungeon crawlers through a 10-round draft, weighing combat feel, map design, AI, loot, campaign arcs, and components. One becomes a two-player ant colony crawl; the other a four-player zombie lab thriller with branching paths and giant bosses.• combat systems compared and chosen• dungeon layout tradeoffs and pacing• initiative options that shape tempo• enemy AI that stays fas
Playing Games to Strengthen Communities
We share how a simple board game day for a good cause sparked joy, trust, and belonging, then map easy paths for giving back without making it a heavy lift. From libraries to café shelves, we outline practical ways to turn your hobby into community impact.• why showing up in their space matters• quick, social games that work across ages• easing nerves when gaming with strangers• partnering with li
Our First D&D Campaign, Part 2
We finish our first Dungeons and Dragons campaign and unpack how four players grew from hesitant dice rollers into a confident party with distinct voices. Fantasy terms, party synergy, and a villain’s escape shaped how we think about storytelling, systems, and next steps.• choosing a dragonborn druid and finding agency through description• easing new players with passive perception and theater of
We Binge So You Don't Have To!
We swap stories from the fence about parenting phases, shrinking free time, and how we still find room for TV, books, and games. From Stranger Things to a warmer Westeros and a clever mystery book, we share what sticks when life won’t slow down.• juggling kids’ sports with late evenings and less downtime• coping with pre‑toddler meltdowns and shifting expectations• micro‑bingeing Stranger Things a
Cozy Stickerville by Unexpected Games
What if the most satisfying legacy campaign isn’t about winning at all, but about watching a small town come to life one sticker at a time? We dive into Cozy Stickerville from Unexpected Games and explore why this 10-session, 30-minute-per-year story-builder is winning hearts at family tables and weeknight game nights alike. With designer Corey Konieczka pivoting from space operas to small comfort
Twilight Imperium by Fantasy Flight Games (ft. Vic from Games Y Más)
Ten hours. Six players. One planet daring everyone to blink first. We sat down with our friend Vic Diaz from the Games EMoss podcast to unpack why Twilight Imperium turns a day-long session into a story you’ll retell for years—equal parts senate brawl, star-spanning war, and social chess.We start with the core loop that makes this galaxy tick: strategy cards that set initiative and shape your roun
3 Witches from Allplay
A three-player card game that dares to say “only three” and actually earns it. We sat down with Three Witches from Allplay and found a lean, tense trick taker that turns familiar rules into a focused 2v1 puzzle. One player steps into the role of lead witch, laying two cards each trick—one face up to set pressure, one face down to hold power—while the two lesser witches coordinate to beat the total
Overplayed and Underplayed Board Game Themes
Tired of yet another cozy mushroom harvest or another horde of shambling minis? We take a scalpel to today’s most overused board game themes—nature deluges, zombie burnout, Cthulhu overload, space saturation, and farm fatigue—and talk about why they once worked, why they’re stale now, and what could replace them without losing the fun. Along the way, we dig into how theme shapes mechanics, who fee
Hercules The 12 Labors by Envy Born Games
The moment the Hydra spawns a second die, you realize this isn’t just another solo dice chucker. We dive into Hercules and the 12 Labors, a compact, gold-trimmed card-and-dice battler that turns Greek myth into a tight sequence of allocation puzzles, track pressure, and mood-driven twists. We unpack how the design forces smart choices: spend a die permanently to power a life-saving boon, or keep y
It's a Quick Games Roundup! (Yeehaw)
Eight games. One wild ride. We corral a posse of quick, high-impact titles you can teach in minutes and replay all night, from clever card shedders to a pocket-sized area control gem and a fresh twist on roll-and-writes. If your game night needs fast starts, tight decisions, and big table moments, this roundup delivers.We kick off with Trio, a compact deduction game that turns “show me your lowest
Donuts & Downsizing
A friendly debate about donut etiquette spirals into a funny, honest look at indulgence, shame, and small comforts. We pivot to downsizing a board game collection, handheld story games, coaching youth wrestling, and the media that keeps our spirits up.• donut orders and the unspoken dozen rule• cost, value, and the myth of donut shame• using background audio to calm pets• moving logistics and cutt
Gazebo by Reiner Knizia & Bitewing Games
A calm garden on the table, a knife fight under the hood. We’re diving into Gazebo, the newly tuned abstract from Reiner Knizia and Bitewing Games, to unpack how a simple one-tile turn creates tempo races, bold steals, and those delicious patio flips. We lay out the core loop—build nooks, deploy gazebos, protect with large nooks—and show how merges can rip control away in a single, perfectly timed
Star Wars: Battle of Hoth from Days of Wonder
We put Star Wars: Battle of Hoth on the table, compare it to Memoir ’44, and test how well the Hoth theme holds up under fast, card-driven tactics. Quick scenarios, clean rules, and cinematic moments make this a strong gateway war game with a few thematic misses.• how command cards drive three-lane tactics• why snowspeeders vs AT-ATs feel iconic• where leader cards underdeliver on theme• scenario
Regicide Legacy by Badgers From Mars
A classic card battler grows fangs when you turn it into a legacy campaign. We unpack how Regicide Legacy transforms a tight solo-friendly system into twelve tough chapters with mercenaries, sleeves, and exact-damage recruits that make every decision feel earned. The best part: you don’t need the original to jump in. The first chapter onboards fast, the mat and iconography remove bookkeeping, and
Do Stats Make Games Better?
We break down a year of board gaming through data, stories, and the people who make play matter. From family tables to BGA marathons, we share what 564 plays reveal about habits, favorites, and how tracking changes the way we choose games.• why logging plays reduces recency bias• BG Stats features, costs and BGA syncing• weekend bursts and Wine Wednesday rhythm• top playing partners led by family•
We Bought Too Many Games & a Pizza Oven...No Regrets
Holiday chaos meets game night comfort, and it turns out that’s the perfect combo. We swap stories from six Christmases, a last-minute MC gig, and a road trip wedding that turned into a used-game treasure hunt—then zero in on the party games and house rules that kept friends and family engaged without a heavy teach. If your living room is full and attention spans are short, this playbook is for yo
Why We Keep Playing Board Games
Ever wonder why some hobbies fade while others become part of your identity? We open the door to our game closets and our calendars to unpack why board gaming keeps its grip—through job changes, parenting, and a hundred other distractions—when so many pursuits don’t.We start with the quiet truth: unstructured hangouts can be hard. A board game solves for that by giving the room a shared focus, a f
The Best Reiner Knizia Game for Every Table (Chosen by Knizia)
What if you could choose the perfect board game for any table, every time? We sit down with Dr. Reiner Knizia and put his legendary catalog to the test—throwing real game-night scenarios at him and asking for exact recommendations.From quick pre-dinner games like Money, to onboarding video-game players with My City, to big holiday tables where LAMA shines, Knizia explains why simple rules create t
OTF: Holiday Fun with Mike & Tiff
The plan was simple: hop the fence and talk about life beyond the table. What followed was a tour of real projects, real rest, and the stories that keep us curious. Mike is in the final stretch of transforming a 1950s metal trailer into a cozy home, complete with a shipping container for laundry now and a dream board game room later. That sparks a candid moment about trimming a 375-game collection
Special Ops: Holiday Grab Bag of Games!
Looking for fresh games that actually hit the table? We dig into a stack of recent plays that span fast fillers, tight two-player duels, a chewy co-op, a welcoming auction classic, and even a solo RPG you can toss in your bag. The throughline is simple: clear rules, meaningful choices, and sessions short enough to replay right away.We start with Bohemians, a sleeper deckbuilder that remixes After
Debrief: Tag Team from Scorpion Masqué
A duel that teaches itself, bites fast, and still makes you sweat—Tag Team brings auto-battler energy to the tabletop without the bloat. We break down how two fighters per side, a locked deck order, and a single placement choice each round can produce real drama in under fifteen minutes. With 12 asymmetric fighters—tanks that soak, glass cannons that spike, and a rage-fueled shapeshifter chasing a
Special Ops: Publishers On A Hot Streak
What makes a board game leap off the shelf and onto the table, again and again? We dig into the publishers whose choices—production quality, component feel, rule clarity, art direction, and smart release strategies—turned solid designs into go-to weeknight plays and all-day favorites. From lavish dice trays and neoprene to tight, small-box curation, this conversation unpacks how labels build trust
Special Ops: 2025's Noteworthy "New-to-Us" Games (ft. Tiff from @Tiffs.Board.Games)
We swap stories with Tiffany from Tiffs Board Games and share the best “new to us” plays that defined our year, from gentle family co-ops to solo epics and evergreen euros. The thread that ties them together is clean design, strong arc, and table moments that stick.• Victorian engine-building and gossip in Obsession • Family laughs and tension in First Orchard • Trinket Trove’s turn-order bidding
Special Ops: The Knizia Mount Rushmore (ft. Nick Murray from Bitewing Games)
What if you had to carve Reiner Knizia’s legacy into stone—just four games to represent a career that spans genres, decades, and thousands of tables? We are pumped to be joined by Bitewing Games’ Nick Murray to help us do exactly that, starting wide with party‑ready card games, heavyweight strategy, and auction masterclasses, then narrowing to a final four that balance impact, accessibility, and p
Special Ops: A Rookie’s Ride Through PAX Unplugged
A first-timer’s crash course at PAX Unplugged turns from chaos to clarity after a late badge pickup, an impulse buying spree, and an anchor meetup with designer Paul Solomon at the Game Head booth. We share hard-won tips on planning, scheduling, demoing smart, and making the most of crowded play spaces and overwhelming choices.• arriving late on Friday and missing badge pickup • early Saturday pus
OTF: Talkin' Turkey and Texts to the Void
We roast the perfect smoked turkey, rescue a podcast from broken texts, and marathon board games until the table begs for mercy. Retro hardware meets Switch advice, while a koi dilemma becomes a quiet lesson in stewardship and starting fresh.• Brining, drying, buttering and aromatics for smoked turkey• MLEM highlights and Pinatas’ second-to-last trick strategy• Magical Athlete chaos and playful st
Joint Ops: OGN Takes Over Games Y Mas for Thanksgiving
A podcast takeover with heart, dice, and a little chaos: we hijacked Games Y Mas to say thanks and to build your holiday game bag with confidence. We start by unpacking the three mechanics that made our year brighter—deck building for agency and momentum, push your luck for laughs and energy, and RPG-style progression for that sweet feeling of earned growth—then connect them to real games that wor
Debrief: We Played Dungeons and Dragons!
The road was quiet, the horses were not, and our dice had other plans. We jumped into Dungeons & Dragons 5e with a veteran DM guiding us through a one-shot that quickly became a masterclass in what makes tabletop role-playing so compelling: real choices, shared imagination, and the wild variance of a d20. From a dwarf fighter built to tank to a half-orc monk chasing precision, our party learne
Special Ops: Jerry’s Board Game Comeback
Jerry returns with stories of a surprise Azul date night, a rediscovered $100 Vegas mini-game, and fresh takes on gateway games that can coax non-gamers into regular play. We swap strategies for The Quest for El Dorado, pitch Redwood for photographers, and plot the path to Arnak.• Azul wins as a fast, colorful date night gateway• Travel-sized components and the power of quick replays• Ruins and tr
Special Ops: Civilization Board Game Draft...Ants Are Cool!
We draft two original civilization board games with only $30 and 10 rounds, forcing bold choices on theme, mechanics, designer, art, publisher, box size, player count, and length. One becomes an insect super-civ of tech and diplomacy, the other a two-player city builder about climate resilience.• rules of the $30, 10-round Civ game draft• insect colony vs environmental adaptation sub-themes• tech
OTF: Game Night Off The Rails
We pivot from a planned board game origin to a candid catch-up on leadership growth, masculine archetypes, stadium joy, and sobering screen stories. Between a Steelers defensive explosion and a YMCA Wi-Fi meltdown, we land on what helps friendships and teams thrive.• origin story mix-up and light chaos• leader development course insights and self-awareness• archetypes of mature masculinity and pra
Debrief: The Hobbit: There And Back Again, A Roll-And-Write By Reiner Knizia
We share first impressions of The Hobbit: There and Back Again, a roll-and-write that blends dice drafting with a story you can feel across eight evolving chapters. From dwarf paths to riddles in the dark, we highlight why the theme lands, where solo stumbles, and how table tempo creates tension.• components, setup, and how drafting works• chapter variety and how goals change• path drawing, bread,
Debrief: Falcons- the US Air Force Academy Board Game
We debrief Falcons, the U.S. Air Force Academy board game, walking through how it plays, where it shines, and who will love it most. Theme and art carry a brisk time-track system, with competitions and events adding light strategy and table banter.• time-track movement around the Terrazzo• academics, training, action cards and how they interact• competitions with simultaneous reveals and odd secon
Debrief: Origin Story by Stonemaier Games
We unpack how Origin Story fuses classic trick-taking with character-building powers, letting you charge abilities with stamina and choose between hero or villain scoring for sharp, thematic pivots. We weigh the balance of chaos and control across player counts, praise the production, and flag who will love this design.• core must-follow trick-taking with love as trump• story cards that grant powe
Special Ops: We Pitch Netflix's Catan Adaptations (ft. Vic from Games Y Más)
A streaming giant just picked up one of the most beloved board games on Earth, and our imaginations ran wild. We set out to answer a big question: how do you turn Catan’s trade, tension, and that pesky robber into stories worth binging? With friend of the show Vic from Games Y Más, we pitch three directions that could each anchor a different corner of Netflix’s slate.First up, an animated family a
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