Cardboard and Wine

We’re back! It’s been almost a year since our last episode. What did we miss? We’ll just say the first 30 episodes were Season 1, and like any TV show worth its salt, we wanted you to wait a year for the next season. Ok not really… we got busy, things got crazy, 2020 happened, … Continue reading 31 | Second Chance (The Game and Let’s Just Call This Season 2)

One of our most pleasant surprises over the past few months is discovering Button Shy Games, producers of microgames that consist of 18 cards (or fewer) and come in a minimalistic bi-fold wallet. Certainly the small footprint of these titles is welcome for those of us whose Kallax shelves runneth over. But how much gameplay … Continue reading 30 | Circle the Wagons and Sprawlopolis (Fit in Your Pocket)

When you pop the shrink on a Stonemaier game, you know you will be treated to premium components and thoughtful game design. Pair that with a quirky, unique dystopian theme, and we are certainly intrigued! In this episode, we share our thoughts on Euphoria and break into the cellar to take a look back at … Continue reading 29 | Euphoria (Dystopian Bliss)

When we saw the box art and components for Tiny Towns, it just looked like our type of game. There are plenty of wooden bits, oversized cards, friendly and approachable artwork, and a rulebook that’s streamlined and to the point. Maybe this game could scratch the same itch that Kingdomino scratched a year ago. Don … Continue reading 28 | Tiny Towns (Regular-Sized Meeples, Tiny Towns)

Who doesn’t love a peaceful game of economic development set in the Mediterranean? Find out if we do, this week on the show as we dive deep into the quintessential eurogame, Concordia! We also discuss the most recent version of the game, Concordia Venus as well as the expansion, Concordia Salsa. Also on the show, … Continue reading 27 | Concordia (Venus and Salsa Expansions, Oh My!)

If we look back over our gaming stats, most of our board gaming happens during the week. However, after a long day of work, dinner, and kid bedtimes, your brain and energy tank might be running on fumes. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing left for gaming though! In this episode, we explore some the best … Continue reading 26 | Favorite Weeknight Games (Most Days are Weekdays!)

There are few game mechanics more satisfying than trading sets of cubes for more better cubes. Even more fantastic is trading them for victory points! On a previous episode, we discussed our enjoyment of the cube-trading, perfect-for-a-weeknight, card game, Century Spice Road. Based on this, we couldn’t wait to get our hands on the Spice … Continue reading 25 | Century Eastern Wonders (Different, Yet Similar, Cube Trading)

The thing about Arboretum is that everyone seems to like it. We have friends who would rather walk across hot coals than play a Splotter game who rave about it. We’ve also received recommendations for Arboretum from some of our heaviest gaming partners. On top of this, the fact that it’s a small box card … Continue reading 24 | Arboretum (A Soothing Path of Tension)

We love birds. We also appreciate games that are beautifully and thoughtfully produced. So when Wingspan by Stonemaier Games was announced, we were all over it (meaning we broke our pact to not buy new games in 2019). This game has engine building, it’s a nature documentary, it has a giant dice tower shaped like a bird feeder (seriously). … Continue reading 23 | Wingspan (Bird Facts and Candy Eggs)

We’re still basking in the glow of four days of gaming at the Whose Turn Con in Durham, NC – and what a great time it was! In this episode, we discuss many of the great games we played there including: Dominant Species Concordia Space Base Trellis Sidereal Confluence Wingspan Keyforge Welcome To… Root Teotihuacan … Continue reading 22 | Whose Turn 2019 (A gaming con in our own backyard)

We played a LOT of games in 2018, which is great in so many ways. The only downside is that it makes choosing the top 5 REALLY HARD! This week on the show, we share our five favorite “new to us” board games of 2018… and there were a lot to choose from… so these … Continue reading 21 | Top 5 Games Played in 2018 (Simply the Best)

In our last episode of 2018, we try something new – the collectable card game, Keyforge! Neither of us have the time to track down the best cards and combos for traditional deck building games, but Keyforge suggests the promise of just purchasing a deck, opening it, and playing. Does it live up to the … Continue reading 20 | Keyforge (A Procedurally Generated Episode)

It’s the holiday season! We know the best (and most stressful) aspect of this time of year are showering the people you love with just the right gifts. And what better gift than sharing something YOU love – board games! With so many games out there, finding just the perfect one for the person in … Continue reading 19 | Cardboard and Wine Holiday Gift Guide 2018

If you’ve been within 10 miles of any board game media over the past several months, you have undoubtedly heard of Root, a game of war and direct conflict disguised by the most adorable meeples you’ve ever seen. Seriously – we never thought, in 2018, we could be wow’d by meeples, but these somehow are the … Continue reading 18 | Root First Impressions (Toast Warriors)

With Halloween fast approaching here in the United States, here’s a scary scenario for you: Take a look at your board game collection. So many great games and memories shared playing them. Now imagine you could only keep FIVE of them! That’s what we discuss on today’s episode. These are the five games we would … Continue reading 17 | What if You Could Only Keep Five Games? (A Frightening List!)

With a podcast called “Cardboard and Wine”, it was just a matter of time before we discussed Viticulture. In this episode, we dive deep into our thoughts on this gorgeous wine-themed game. We also spend some time comparing and contrasting Viticulture with the subject of our last episode, Vinhos. In addition, we share our favorite … Continue reading 16 | Viticulture (Just Add Wine)

Having a podcast called “Cardboard and Wine”, we often get asked when we are going to review Viticulture. Well, not this week (that’s next week’s show), but instead we take a deep dive into the “other” wine-themed game (that actually came first), Vinhos by Vital Lacerda. Like a fine Cabernet Sauvignon, Vinhos is beautifully complex, … Continue reading 15 | Vinhos (The “Other” Wine Game)

The Mind – is it a game? an activity? an experience? an experiment? It’s a game… it’s definitely a game. But with that out of the way, is the insane amount of buzz for such a simple card game justified? With the imminent Pandasaurus release of The Mind here in the United States, we place … Continue reading 14 | The Mind and Illusion (Why Didn’t I Think of That?)

We love a good theme, and New York Slice by Bézier Games may be the best, most thorough implementation of theme in a board game that we’ve seen. In this case, it’s pizza! From the awesome, photorealistic pizza tiles (thin slice, of course), to the menu rulebook, to the guest check scorepad, it’s pizza from … Continue reading 13 | New York Slice (Don’t Play When Hungry)

In this episode, we give a report from our first Dice Tower Con. In short, it was amazing. We met so many great people and played so many games! On this show, we’ll discuss 15 games from the con that were new to us including Ticket to Ride: New York, Giant Azul, Fox in the … Continue reading 12 | Dice Tower Con 2018 (Board gaming paradise!)

The best way to highlight how we feel about NMBR 9 is we decided to buy it about halfway through our first play with a friend’s copy. At least two other friends we have introduced it to have also gone out and purchased their own. So I guess don’t listen to this episode if you’re … Continue reading 11 | NMBR 9 (THS GM S FN)

We love our weekly game group, and we love winding down our day with a two player board game before bed. However, there’s just something special about getting away for a long weekend of board gaming with friends. In this week’s show, Josh gives a recap of his gaming getaway weekend in the mountains. Games … Continue reading 10 | Board Game Getaways (Fireflies, Dice Rolls, and Train Games)

You are a spice trader along the famed Spice Road, risking your life and fortune to trade two red cubes for a green and three yellows. Ok, so Century: Spice Road is a game where you collect cubes, which you trade in for better cubes, which you use to claim victory points. Typical Euro stuff … Continue reading 9 | Century: Spice Road (Trading Cubes for Other Cubes)

Terra Mystica in space! Whether that’s a good thing or not depends on how you feel about Terra Mystica or whether you’ve played it at all. It is tempting to avoid comparison altogether, though the designers have gone so far as to subtitle Gaia Project, “A Terra Mystica Game”. Which actually begs the question – … Continue reading 8 | Gaia Project (A Game of Currencies)

Kingdomino won the Spiel des Jahres – Game of the Year – in 2017, but is it any fun for our KIDS? Is it any fun for our heavy gaming FRIENDS? Is it any fun for US? Spoiler alert: yes, yes, and YES! This game is super fun. We love it more than we probably … Continue reading 7 | Kingdomino (Extra Shiny Tiles)

Are you an attention seeker? Then setup a game of Azul in your local coffee shop and see what happens. This game is gorgeous on whatever table you prefer to play on. The tiles, the boards, even the bag. But beautiful components a good game does not make. Is Azul a quality GAME? On this … Continue reading 6 | Azul (The Literal Tile-Laying Game)

It’s our first Listicle™ episode! Last year was a formative year of gaming for us; we played loads of new games and filled in our collection from the gaming gap brought on by graduate school and having babies. Even though it’s already April, we discuss our favorite “new to us” board games of 2017. It … Continue reading 5 | Top Five Games We Discovered in 2017 (Actually, Top 6!)

It’s Gloomhaven. What more can be said about the 7th Wonder of the World… or at least the 7th game ever to hit #1 on Board Game Geek? Well, we’ll take a half hour or so and see what we can add to the conversation. There are many things to enjoy about Gloomhaven: the extensively … Continue reading 4 | Gloomhaven (Adventures in Plano Boxes)

Way back in 2006, we placed our first board game order. Yesterday we received another game order in the mail, and we still get just as excited twelve years later to cut the shrink wrap off and punch out brand news games as we did way back when! In that very first game order was … Continue reading 3 | Lost Cities (Handshakes and Shuffling Bliss)

If binge-watching Netflix had a homolog in the board game world, it would be Pandemic Legacy. I mean, it’s even called “Season 1”, so besides providing obvious forecasting of intentions to continue monetizing the Pandemic cash cow, the title invites you to jump in and consume. Consume we did. In this episode, we provide our … Continue reading 2 | Pandemic Legacy (Do We Toss it in the Trash Now?)

It’s not every day that we’re drawn to a game JUST because of how it looks on the table, but Sagrada was one of those games. The dice and player boards are stunning, but does the gameplay live up to the flashy components? We discuss, this week on the show! The star of the show … Continue reading 1 | Sagrada (Fun with Grozing Pliers)

Welcome to Cardboard and Wine, a podcast about life and the board games we love. We are a wife and husband duo who love playing games with friends, family, and especially each other. In this episode, we introduce ourselves and what Cardboard and Wine is all about. Grab a glass, pull up a chair, and … Continue reading 0 | Greetings and Salutations (It’s Episode Zero!)