Great Big Table

In this return episode of the Great Big Table Podcast, Adrienne and Jim talk about some of the things that they have learned while running a successful community game night for the past seven years. We discuss what it means to be in community around the gaming table and some things that might help you expand the role of gaming in your wider community.Some of the games we mention in this episode include: TopiaryCardline: AnimalsFaunaDownload the episode: GBT-EP009-Growing-Your-Game-Night-Community-Final.mp3Subscribe to the podcast: via RSSSubscribe to the podcast: via iTunesSend us an Email: podcast@greatbigtable.comFollow us on Twitter: Jim: @greatbigtable                                 Adrienne: @babytoolkitLeave us a voicemail: (401) It is big or (401) 484-7244This episode of the Great Big Table is released under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives 3.0 license.The My favorite game console is a table and chairs image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license by Daniel Solis. If you like the image, head over to Daniel's blog, danielsolis.com, and buy the t-shirt. If you buy a t-shirt, tell Daniel that the Great Big Table podcast sent you. Daniel has an amazing blog with many interesting thoughts about gaming. Check it out.***Great Big Table is a late-night conversation between two Midwestern geeks with dreams of world domination through board games. It's not a great plan, but it's our plan and we're sticking to it. Join as we plot to put a meeple in every pot- or at least on every table. We slipped the bonds of our robot masters, so the only opinions represented here are our own. We are however in league with Amazon, so a percentage of every purchase made through our links goes into our onshore accounts (thanks!). Some games have been provided by publishers for review while we picked up others for a buck or two at a thrift store or yard sale. Others are from our own collections or games we played with friends and strangers. You should be proud of yourself for reading all this small print- we are!

I've been able to finally resurrect the rest of the audio interviews that Adrienne and I conducted at Gen Con 2014. I really enjoyed some of the insights that the publishers gave into the growth of the industry and how to be good advocates for the hobby. A case in point is this great interview with Luke Warren, the Public Relations Director for North Star Games. Luke gave us an overview of the games that North Star Games currently has out including its first foray into a the full on strategy game side of the board games market. Luke also gave some insight as to why North Star Games was venturing into this space as well as offering some ideas on why games like Ticket to Ride, by Days of Wonder, and North Star Games' own Wits and Wagers are good games to use to introduce people into our hobby.The North Star Games titles that we mentioned or discussed in this episode include:EvolutionHappy BirthdayCrappy BirthdayWits and WagersWits and Wagers PartyClubs   Download the episode: GBT-EPGEN14-4-North-Star-Games.mp3 Subscribe to the podcast: via RSSSubscribe to the podcast: via iTunesSend us an Email: podcast@greatbigtable.comFollow us on Twitter: @greatbigtableLeave us a voicemail: (401) It is big or (401) 484-7244This episode of the Great Big Table is released under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives 3.0 license.The My favorite game console is a table and chairs image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license by Daniel Solis. If you like the image, head over to Daniel's blog, danielsolis.com, and buy the t-shirt. If you buy a t-shirt, tell Daniel that the Great Big Table podcast sent you. Daniel has an amazing blog with many interesting thoughts about gaming. Check it out.***Great Big Table is a late-night conversation between two Midwestern geeks with dreams of world domination through board games. It's not a great plan, but it's our plan and we're sticking to it. Join as we plot to put a meeple in every pot- or at least on every table. We slipped the bonds of our robot masters, so the only opinions represented here are our own. We are however in league with Amazon, so a percentage of every purchase made through our links goes into our onshore accounts (thanks!). Some games have been provided by publishers for review while we picked up others for a buck or two at a thrift store or yard sale. Others are from our own collections or games we played with friends and strangers. You should be proud of yourself for reading all this small print- we are!

At Gen Con, we were very fortunate to spend some time with game publishers and designers.In another of those Gen Con conversations, we spoke with R&R Games' President and CEO, Frank DiLorenzo. R&R Games is known for great gateway games, popular party games (like the Times Up series), and heavier strategy games like Coal Baron and New Haven. They are also the publisher of 2013 Spiel des Jahres (German Game of the Year) winner, Hanabi. We spent some time talking about a wide swath of games offered by R&R Games and had a great time. The R&R Games titles that we mentioned or discussed in this episode include:Times UpGet a LifeGuess the Mess (Board Game Geek Link)Strike a PoseHearts of AttractionPlucking PairsHide and Seek SafariFlea CircusSpectaculumIgor: The Monster Making GameIgor: The Life of the PartyHanabiR&R Games' version of Deluxe Hanabi - Coming in OctoberCoal BaronNew Haven QinHome Stretch1st & Goal Download the episode: GBT-EPGEN14-3-RnR-Games.mp3 Subscribe to the podcast: via RSSSubscribe to the podcast: via iTunesSend us an Email: podcast@greatbigtable.comFollow us on Twitter: @greatbigtableLeave us a voicemail: (401) It is big or (401) 484-7244This episode of the Great Big Table is released under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives 3.0 license.The My favorite game console is a table and chairs image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license by Daniel Solis. If you like the image, head over to Daniel's blog, danielsolis.com, and buy the t-shirt. If you buy a t-shirt, tell Daniel that the Great Big Table podcast sent you. Daniel has an amazing blog with many interesting thoughts about gaming. Check it out.***Great Big Table is a late-night conversation between two Midwestern geeks with dreams of world domination through board games. It's not a great plan, but it's our plan and we're sticking to it. Join as we plot to put a meeple in every pot- or at least on every table. We slipped the bonds of our robot masters, so the only opinions represented here are our own. We are however in league with Amazon, so a percentage of every purchase made through our links goes into our onshore accounts (thanks!). Some games have been provided by publishers for review while we picked up others for a buck or two at a thrift store or yard sale. Others are from our own collections or games we played with friends and strangers. You should be proud of yourself for reading all this small print- we are!

At Gen Con, we were very fortunate to spend some time with game publishers and designers.In the second of those conversations, we spoke with Mindtwister USA's National Marketing Director, Jesse Den Herder. Mindtwister is probably best known for its beautifully crafted, five-in-a-row, abstract game, Pentago. We had a great time talking with Jesse about some of Mindtwister's games and really enjoyed hearing his ideas about the possible demographic roots to the recent surge in the popularity of board games.The Mindtwister USA games that we discussed in this episode include:Fandooble Pentago LEPentago CE (with travel case)Pentago (classic wooden design) Pentago multi playerDownload the episode: GBT-EPGEN14-2-MindTwister-USA.mp3Subscribe to the podcast: via RSSSubscribe to the podcast: via iTunesSend us an Email: podcast@greatbigtable.comFollow us on Twitter: @greatbigtableLeave us a voicemail: (401) It is big or (401) 484-7244This episode of the Great Big Table is released under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives 3.0 license.The My favorite game console is a table and chairs image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license by Daniel Solis. If you like the image, head over to Daniel's blog, danielsolis.com, and buy the t-shirt. If you buy a t-shirt, tell Daniel that the Great Big Table podcast sent you. Daniel has an amazing blog with many interesting thoughts about gaming. Check it out.***Great Big Table is a late-night conversation between two Midwestern geeks with dreams of world domination through board games. It's not a great plan, but it's our plan and we're sticking to it. Join as we plot to put a meeple in every pot- or at least on every table. We slipped the bonds of our robot masters, so the only opinions represented here are our own. We are however in league with Amazon, so a percentage of every purchase made through our links goes into our onshore accounts (thanks!). Some games have been provided by publishers for review while we picked up others for a buck or two at a thrift store or yard sale. Others are from our own collections or games we played with friends and strangers. You should be proud of yourself for reading all this small print- we are!

At Gen Con, we were very fortunate to spend some time with game publishers and designers.In the first of those conversations, we meet HABA USA President Lea Culliton. This year's Gen Con is HABA USA's first time as an exhibitor. We were delighted to see this iconic family and children's game publisher joining the Family Pavillion.Join us as we discuss some of the newest games in HABA USA's lineup.The HABA games that we discussed in this episode include:Shiver-stone CastleAnimal Upon AnimalMy Very First Games: Animal Upon AnimalAnimal Upon Animal: Small and Yet Great! (Travel game)Pizzeria Allegro (Link to HABA USA)Pirate’s Blast My Very First Games: Feeling and Touching My Very First Games: First Orchard Dancing Eggs Plucky PilotsA surprise hit for HABA USA at Gen Con, that we actually didn't cover in our interview with Lea, was Rhino Hero. Rhino Hero is a dexterity game where you build a skyscraper out of cards while moving a rhinoceros superhero up the levels. You are trying to be the player with the fewest cards left in your hand when the whole thing comes tumbling down. Jim has played this in public on a couple of occasions now and it always garners a lot of interest. (Board Game Geek link)  Download the episode: GBT-EPGEN14-1-Haba-USA.mp3Subscribe to the podcast: via RSSSubscribe to the podcast: via iTunesSend us an Email: podcast@greatbigtable.comFollow us on Twitter: @greatbigtableLeave us a voicemail: (401) It is big or (401) 484-7244This episode of the Great Big Table is released under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives 3.0 license.The My favorite game console is a table and chairs image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license by Daniel Solis. If you like the image, head over to Daniel's blog, danielsolis.com, and buy the t-shirt. If you buy a t-shirt, tell Daniel that the Great Big Table podcast sent you. Daniel has an amazing blog with many interesting thoughts about gaming. Check it out.***Great Big Table is a late-night conversation between two Midwestern geeks with dreams of world domination through board games. It's not a great plan, but it's our plan and we're sticking to it. Join as we plot to put a meeple in every pot- or at least on every table. We slipped the bonds of our robot masters, so the only opinions represented here are our own. We are however in league with Amazon, so a percentage of every purchase made through our links goes into our onshore accounts (thanks!). Some games have been provided by publishers for review while we picked up others for a buck or two at a thrift store or yard sale. Others are from our own collections or games we played with friends and strangers. You should be proud of yourself for reading all this small print- we are!

In this very special episode of Great Big Table, we're joined by one of our favorite gaming podcasts, The Party Gamecast Featuring the Party Game Cast, to spend way too much time discussing the game that started it all for Adrienne and I, Therapy:The Game.The Party Gamecast was kind enough to send us an audio review of a copy of Therapy that they found lying around and we thought it would be fun to record a DVD commentary style track to intersperse throughout their review.We had a blast doing it. We also want thank the Party Gamecast for taking the time to record this review. And... we hope you all like it. Look in the feed, soon, for episode 005a which will be the unbroken up version of the Party Gamecast's review of Therapy that they sent us.Some of the games we mention in this episode include: Loaded QuestionsSay Anything The Game of ScruplesThe Game of Things Therapy: The GameDownload the episode: GBT-EP005-Therapy-with-the-Party-Game-Cast-Final.mp3Subscribe to the podcast: via RSSSubscribe to the podcast: via iTunesSend us an Email: podcast@greatbigtable.comFollow us on Twitter: @greatbigtableLeave us a voicemail: (401) It is big or (401) 484-7244This episode of the Great Big Table is released under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives 3.0 license.The My favorite game console is a table and chairs image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license by Daniel Solis. If you like the image, head over to Daniel's blog, danielsolis.com, and buy the t-shirt. If you buy a t-shirt, tell Daniel that the Great Big Table podcast sent you. Daniel has an amazing blog with many interesting thoughts about gaming. Check it out.***Great Big Table is a late-night conversation between two Midwestern geeks with dreams of world domination through board games. It's not a great plan, but it's our plan and we're sticking to it. Join as we plot to put a meeple in every pot- or at least on every table. We slipped the bonds of our robot masters, so the only opinions represented here are our own. We are however in league with Amazon, so a percentage of every purchase made through our links goes into our onshore accounts (thanks!). Some games have been provided by publishers for review while we picked up others for a buck or two at a thrift store or yard sale. Others are from our own collections or games we played with friends and strangers. You should be proud of yourself for reading all this small print- we are!

It's over six months late, but we finally get around to wrapping up our Extra Life weekend long board gaming event that raised money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. We played twenty four hours of board games across three days and raised over two thousand dollars for charity (over $2000!). We're very proud of what we accomplished in our first year and are looking forward to more success as we continue this annual event in our community.Mostly, Jim spends this episode grasping for that word for the structured play mat that you play cards to in popular hobby games and stages an intervention for Adrienne's recent addiction.Thank you to all our Extra Life supporters. We have amazing and generous friends, fans, and family members. We wouldn't have been successful without all of your support. Some of the games we talk about this episode include:7 WondersAction Castle and the other Parsley games (they're like $5 a piece)Are you a werewolf? (the cheaper, basic verion) / Ultimate Werewolf (the more expensive deluxe version)Alien FrontiersCan't StopCosmic EncounterDownfall of Pompei EleminisEscape: The Curse of the TempleFill the Barn Flash Point: Fire RescueFlower FallGlory to RomeGot 'Em!Liar's DiceMonopoly DealPerudo PitPitchcarRace for the Galaxy Rattle SnakeSan Juan The Secret Garden (out of print, Board Game Geek page)TherapyWits and Wagers: Party ZoolorettoDownload the episode: GBT-EP004-Extra-Life-Wrapup-Final.mp3 Subscribe to the podcast: via RSSSubscribe to the podcast: via iTunesSend us an Email: podcast@greatbigtable.comFollow us on Twitter: @greatbigtable Leave us a voicemail: (401) It is big or (401) 484-7244This episode of the Great Big Table is released under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives 3.0 license.The My favorite game console is a table and chairs image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license by Daniel Solis. If you like the image, head over to Daniel's blog, danielsolis.com, and buy the t-shirt. If you buy a t-shirt, tell Daniel that the Great Big Table podcast sent you. Daniel has an amazing blog with many interesting thoughts about gaming. Check it out.The music for this episode is "Vox vs. Uke" by unreal_dm (featuring Mind Map That!) and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. You can hear more of unreal_dm's wonderful music creations at ccmixter.org/people/unreal_dm.***Great Big Table is a late-night conversation between two Midwestern geeks with dreams of world domination through board games. It's not a great plan, but it's our plan and we're sticking to it. Join as we plot to put a meeple in every pot- or at least on every table. We slipped the bonds of our robot masters, so the only opinions represented here are our own. We are however in league with Amazon, so a percentage of every purchase made through our links goes into our onshore accounts (thanks!). Some games have been provided by publishers for review while we picked up others for a buck or two at a thrift store or yard sale. Others are from our own collections or games we played with friends and strangers. You should be proud of yourself for reading all this small print- we are!

It's been a long time coming (sorry about that), but we've finally been able to edit the episode that we recorded over two months ago. In this episode we talk about our new voice mail system (401-ItIsBig), about our Extra Life team, about some of our thrift store finds and flops and we run down some of the games we've played.The Great Big Table Extra Life team page can be found at www.extra-life.org/team/greatbigtable . Please spread the word about what we're doing, join the team, support a team member or start a team of your own with your family, gaming group, co-workers, church, or friendly local gaming store.  All that and we harness the Internet to brainstorm ways to find, or create, gamers with whom to play more games.So, saddle up and check out the show. Some additional links from the show:The Ted Talk (about the enthusiastic follower) that we discussed: Derek Sivers' How to Start a Movement.Chris Norwood (aka Gamer Chris): gamerchris.com Chris' Extra Life team: Exploring Games with Kids Paul Owen's Man Overboard blog: paulowengames.blogspot.comJason Moslander's Games with Two blog: gameswithtwo.blogspot.comLegends Family and Hobby Games (Vincennes, IN) facebook: www.facebook.com/legendsgamesSome of the games we talk about this episode include:Battle LineCan't StopDixitDominoesDouble Discoveries (Trap the Cap / Game of Goose) - Out of Print, link goes to Board Game Geek page.EleminisGot 'EmHikeIdentikJungle SpeedLeader 1Lost CitiesMonopoly DealPitRallymanThe ResistanceReverse CharadesSave the Whales -  Out of Print, link goes to Board Game Geek page.Say AnythingS'getti ScatterTherapy - Out of Print, link goes to Board Game Geek page.Times Up: Title RecallWerewolfWise and OtherwiseWitch Trial -  Out of Print, link goes to Board Game Geek page.Wits & WagersDownload the episode: GBT-EP003-Finding-a-Game-Group-Final.mp3Subscribe to the podcast: via RSSSubscribe to the podcast: via iTunesThis episode of the Great Big Table is released under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives 3.0 license.The My favorite game console is a table and chairs image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license by Daniel Solis. If you like the image, head over to Daniel's blog, danielsolis.com, and buy the t-shirt. If you buy a t-shirt, tell Daniel that the Great Big Table podcast sent you. Daniel has an amazing blog with many interesting thoughts about gaming. Check it out.The music for this episode is "Vox vs. Uke" by unreal_dm (featuring Mind Map That!) and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. You can hear more of unreal_dm's wonderful music creations at ccmixter.org/people/unreal_dm.***Great Big Table is a late-night conversation between two Midwestern geeks with dreams of world domination through board games. It's not a great plan, but it's our plan and we're sticking to it. Join as we plot to put a meeple in every pot- or at least on every table. We slipped the bonds of our robot masters, so the only opinions represented here are our own. We are however in league with Amazon, so a percentage of every purchase made through our links goes into our onshore accounts (thanks!). Some games have been provided by publishers for review while we picked up others for a buck or two at a thrift store or yard sale. Others are from our own collections or games we played with friends and strangers. Our church also received donated games to its community game collection from Legends Family and Hobby Games.  All of which are disclosed as such in the podcast. Give yourself a pat on the back if you've made it this far. You should be proud of yourself for reading all this small print- we are!