Podcast by No Pun Included
Welcome back to the newly named board game podcast from the duo at No Pun Included! In this new iteration we're starting small and building up each episode, so if you've enjoyed this - there's more to come every second Friday. Today we're taking you through Efka's most anticipated board games of 2023, four board game reviews and lots of words from our listeners. If you'd like to write in about any of the games discussed or any topic that's dear to your heart: elaine@nopunincluded.com On to the timestamps: 2:13 Scout 19:14 Evergreen 29:03 Efka's Most Anticipated Games of 2023 45:13 Artisans of Splendent Vale 1:02:47 Write-ins 1:15:52 Ostia
Hey everybody - it's a calculator party! Bring out your Casios and we'll get down with spreadsheets like it's 1799. On today's podcast not only do we tackle the mini-beast that is Arkwright: The Card Game but give an early scoop on Mind MGMT and a brief glance at Murano: Light Masters. Timestamps: Murano: Light Masters - ( 03:04 ) Arkwright: The Card Game - ( 20:00 ) Mind MGMT - ( 37:35 ) If you enjoyed this episode, leave a comment on https://nopunincluded.com/podcast
Three board games enter, one board game leaves. But only having endured the harsh nature of Elaine's and Efka's critique. That's the No Pun Included podcast and it's back once again for the twenty ninth time. Timestamps: Dinosaur World - ( 06:50 ) Exit Advent Calendar: Mystery of the Ice Cave (no spoilers) - ( 28:31 ) Magnate: The First City - ( 41:16 ) You can find more of the No Pun Included podcast, and leave a comment on nopunincluded.com/podcast
Cult of the new? More like “cult of the game that I've already played but haven't played in ages and now there's a new version so I bought it again just so I could play it and not play the copy I already had!” That's right, today we discuss three board games that are renditions, re-editions, reimplementations or maybe just second editions. Timestamps: A Brief Note on our Too Many Bones Video - ( 00:55 ) Dinosaur Island: Rawr'N Write - ( 07:56 ) Mobile Markets: A Smartphone Inc Game - ( 30:59 ) Great Western Trail: Second Edition - ( 45:53 ) If you enjoyed this episode and would like to discuss any of the games featured on this episode, you can always leave a comment on our website: https://nopunincluded.com/podcast
Ah, rulebooks. Don't you just love sitting down with a cup of hot beverage and an arcane manual written by what you assume is a “game wizard” and spend four hours of your day trying to understand what exactly phrases like “spend your faucet token to activate the hyrdraulics action space” actually mean, to only inevitably give up and desperately search YouTube for a Watch it Played video? Well, this episode of the No Pun Included podcast is delivered to you by this exact feeling. Not all games in today's episode have bad rulebooks - but the ones that do excel at it. Timestamps: Sheepy Time - ( 04:00 ) Beast - ( 18:21 ) The Great Wall - ( 40:19 ) For more of the No Pun Included podcast visit https://nopunincluded.com/podcast where you can leave a comment if you'd like to discuss any of the games featured in this episode, or any terrible rulebooks you've encountered in your life.
What two things would you miss if you were to live on the moon? That's right, it's coffee, and the ability for sound to echo whilst you're doing a moonwalk in vacuum. With that tenuous link between this episode's board games established, I can tell you a little bit more what to expect from each. Luna Capital is yet another spin on the tableau building formula, Echoes brings something fresh by giving us our very first audio mystery game, and Coffee Traders is this episode's chunky boy, giving most euro games a run for their money in terms of complexity. Timestamps: Luna Capital - ( 08:35 ) Echoes - ( 24:23 ) Coffee Traders - ( 38:45 ) You can find more episodes on https://nopunincluded.com/podcast
Toot toot, the No Pun Included boat has docked, ready to unload three stormy board games into your harbour. Are these board games fresh as the fruit of the sea, or do they perhaps smell a bit fishy? Quick, someone take away the analogies from me because I'll starting waxing on about how we spill the board game guts. Oh no. It's too late - the board game guts - they are everywhere. Timestamps: Fleet: The Dice Game - ( 02:39 ) The Crew: Mission Deep Sea - ( 19:59 ) The Adventures of Robin Hood - ( 36:05 ) For more of the No Pun Included Podcast visit our home - https://nopunincluded.com/podcast
Following from our Reiner Knizia Special video, here's more Knizia games, this time, all out of print and all (hopefully) coming back soon. 07:51 - Tigris & Euphrates + Yellow & Yangtzee 32:57 - Ra 43:24 - Winner's Circle For more No Pun Included, visit https://nopunincluded.com
In todays episode we'll talk about two games that share a common ancestry: Destinies and Descent: Legends of the Dark. Fun fact, we mention comparing these two games at the end, and then totally forget to do that. But the comparison points should be clear as we go along. Timestaps: Destinies - ( 02:43 ) Minor Mechanical Destinies Spoilers - ( 16:29 ) Spoilers end at - ( 17:50 ) Descent: Legends in the Dark - ( 41:24 ) If you enjoyed this episode, visit https://nopunincluded.com/podcast
Hello cheese fans! Hope you brought your cheese along cause it's about to get stinky! Join us in this heatwave for another episode of the NPI Podcast where we'll indulge you in some board game talk. On today's episode we discuss: Summoner Wars ( 05:33 ) Khora: Rise of an Empire ( 22:17 ) Kemet: Blood and Sand ( 48:05 ) If you enjoyed this episode and want to find more, you should definitely visit our podcast home - https://nopunincluded.com/podcast
Today we discuss one game and one game only - Sleeping Gods. For more information, or to leave a comment, visit: nopunincluded.com/podcast A review copy of Sleeping Gods has been provided by the publisher Red Raven Games
In this episode we’ll discuss Overboss, a tile laying city builder masquerading as a pixelated fantasy game, Cubitos, a psychedelic game about racing cubes on an alien cube planet, and My City - a Reiner Knizia polyamino tile-laying legacy game. Overboss ( 02:48 ) Cubitos ( 20:50 ) My City ( 35:30 ) If you enjoyed this episode, leave a comment at https://nopunincluded.com/podcast
In this episode we’ll seize the farm in Carpe Diem, freeze on an alien world in Cryo and lay some track in Iberian Gauge. Carpe Diem ( 06:45 ) Cryo ( 23:18 ) Iberian Gauge ( 37:14 ) If you enjoyed the podcast and would like to leave a comment, visit its home at https://nopunincluded.com/podcast
In today's episode we discuss: Mandala ( 01:27 ) Honey Buzz ( 18:29 ) BattleCon: Remastered ( 35:16 ) Find more of the podcast, or leave a comment at https://nopunincluded.com/podcast
In this episode Elaine and Efka go over Hallertau, a game about rural hop farming, Nidavellir, a game of recruiting a fantasy dwarf army and Beyond the Sun, a game about space. 02:44 - NPI News 04:51 - Hallertau 27:46 - Nidavellir 42:58 - Beyond the Sun
On today's episode we have: Games We’ve Been Playing: Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game ( 7:44 ) Marvel Champions - A Brief Mention ( 11:15 ) Oceans ( 11:50 ) Curious Cargo ( 25:09 ) Under Falling Skies ( 36:20 ) Bonfire ( 43:01 ) Point Salad ( 53:21) Games We’re Looking Forward To ( 58:00 ) Efka Grumps A Game - Cartographers ( 59:22 ) Elaine Ungrumps A Game - Special Grump Edition ( 1:05:34 ) Puzzle Deduction One and Done Escape Room Segment IDVentures - The Unsolved Case of Holmes ( 1:13:53 ) Feature Review - The Search for Planet X ( 1:23:41 ) If you would like to get in touch with us or leave a comment - you can visit our podcast home on https://nopunincluded.com/podcast
For more info on the No Pun Included Podcast - please visit our homepage at https://nopunincluded.com/podcast Timestamps: NPI News ( 1:08 ) Games We’ve Been Playing ( 02:48 ) The King is Dead ( 03:32 ) Super Skill Pinball 4-Cade ( 08:26 ) Calico ( 22:57 ) Too Many Bones: Undertow ( 33:23 ) Games We’re Looking Forward To ( 43:51 ) Efka Grumps a Board Game ( 46:58 ) HeroQuest Elaine Ungrumps a Board Game ( 54:21 ) Puzzle Deduction One and Done Escape Room Segment ( 58:55 ) Star Wars Unlock Feature Review - Iwari ( 1:12:10 )
Wow, have we got an episode for you. Not only are we travelling in time (thematically, not literally)… not only are we discussing the Lithuanian word for ‘yuk’…not only are we escaping a rabbit hole…but we’re also having an argument. Actually, more than one. And Efka says the word ‘fart’ at some point too. What more could you want? NPI News ( 03:02 ) Games We’ve Been Playing ( 06:15 ) Tellstones: King’s Gambit ( 06:35 ) Root Digital ( 19:03 ) The Loop: Dr. Foo Strikes Back… Back… Back… ( 24:41 ) Glasgow ( 39:34 ) Mariposas ( 49:21 ) Efka Grumps About a Game ( 1:05:51 ) Meta Narratives Elaine Ungrumps a Board Game ( 1:12:39 ) Puzzle Deduction one and done Escape Room segment ( 1:17:30 ) In Pursuit of the White Rabbit Feature Review - The King is Dead - Second Edition ( 1:30:51 ) You can find Elizabeth Hargrave’s website at: https://www.elizhargrave.com/
Today’s episode is a little different. We recorded this one live as part of Virtually Expo, the online only version of UK Games Expo. Since we had a very strict one hour time slot, we had to truncate our longer format and revert to our previous “here’s three games we played, let’s talk about them” version of the podcast. Ah, but what games were discussed in this episode you might ask? Here’s a list with some time-stamps that will work perfectly with the video version and will be a little early for the audio one: Project Elite ( 4:27 ) Escape Room in a Box: Flashback ( 16:43 ) Oath ( 28:26 )
If someone had said to me I’d be able to visit a Tokyo fish market, a quaint English village green, New York, and Sherlock Holmes all in one day I’d have thought they were doing a silly. But you can - and from the comfort of your own living room - by listening to our latest podcast episode. And who knows, maybe in the future we’ll really be able to visit all these places in a day - or at least go to the pub again. NPI News ( 03:03 ) Games We’ve Been Playing ( 08:11 ) Tussie Mussie ( 08:20 ) Vilage Green ( 14:02 ) Tokyo Tsukiji Market ( 22:37 ) Fort ( 36:09 ) Gaslands ( 40:17 ) Highrise ( 53:44 ) Terramara ( 59:11 ) Edge of Darkness ( 01:07:51 ) Games We’re Looking Forward To ( 01:15:26 ) Efka Grumps About a Game ( 01:17:53 ) Ride the Rails Elaine Ungrumps about a Game ( 01:26:14 ) Puzzle Deduction one and done Escape Room segment ( 01:31:07 ) Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective - The Baker Street Irregulars Feature Review - Targi & Targi: The Expansion ( 01:42:06 )
Today’s episode is a treat because Undaunted: North Africa is just about the cleverest game NPI has put their mits on in a very long time. NPI News ( 04:40 ) Games We’ve Been Playing ( 06:43 ) - including Forgotten Waters, Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, High Rise, Empyreal: Spells & Steam and Sprawlopolis. Games We’re Looking Forward To ( 36:41 ) Efka Grumps About a Game ( 41:33 ) Plastic inserts Elaine Says Something Nice About a Game ( 47:25 ) Acquire retooled Escape Game of the Episode ( 51:46 ) including Unlock: Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Thread Murder from Heroic Adventures Feature Review - Undaunted: North Africa ( 1:02:33) If you enjoyed this episode, leave a comment below. Unlike our YouTube videos, there’s no other sensible way for you to have a nice chat with us, or maybe even some other listeners. Who knows? You might even find a friend.
Welcome back! If you’ve been enjoying the No Pun Included podcast - get ready for something bigger, longer, better. Episode Ten is a big change and we hope you're ready to fall in love with it all over again. NPI News ( 11:16 ) Games We’ve Been Playing ( 19:53 ) Efka Grumps about a Game ( 42:10 ) Escape Game of the Episode ( 50:39 ) Feature Review - Teotihuacan: The City of Gods ( 59:00)
In today’s episode Elaine and Efka discuss: The Crew - ( 02:53 ) Isle of Cats - ( 21:23 ) On Mars - ( 39:20 ) Board games emulating video games - ( 1:00:35 ) If you enjoyed the podcast and would like to leave a comment, visit our podcast home at https://nopunincluded.com/podcast
In today’s episode Elaine and Efka discuss: The burgundiest castles from The Castles of Burgundy - ( 02:32 ) Get in tune with each other via Wavelength - ( 18:47 ) And conduct a conversation on their favourite mode of transportation via Bus - ( 30:16 )
There are days when I am convinced of the magical nature of our podcast. Today is one of those days. Somehow we have managed to squeeze three very big games into what amounts just the same length of podcast. From a physics standpoint this is clearly impossible - and let’s face it - telling you how we do it would be giving away a very big industry secret. But by Jove, I think we've got it. Age of Steam: ( 04:35 ) - In theory, reprints of classic games are incredibly exciting because here’s a chance for people to rediscover something that was clearly good enough to be propelled by the industry for that long. In practice, imagine the dread of the reviewer when they realise that maybe this much beloved classic is… well. Let’s just leave it at that for now. You’ll have to listen to the podcast itself for more. Tainted Grail: ( 22:23 ) - Oh no! It’s 7th Continent all over again. But grimdark! Long time viewers will know that that much beloved game did not sit well with these beloved reviewers inspite of its popularity. Is there more to this different spin on the genre of a giant map full of choose your own adventure hotspots and survival mechanisms? That’s what we’re here to talk about. Cloudspire: ( 44:30 ) - Remember when you used to say things like “light as a cloud?” Well, forget about it because Cloudspire comes in at a hefty ten kilograms of neoprene matts, poker chips and custom dice in this voluptuous board game take on the MOBA genre of video games. With a ruleset that prompted this genuine response from your favourite podcast host. Mailbag: ( 1:00:48 ) - Listener Lambert sent in a swarm of questions about our time with Gloomhaven. We were perhaps a touch too brief in answering them, but everything has good reasons. Want to send us a question? Fire it to efka@nopunincluded.com Want to leave a comment? Visit us at http://nopunincluded.com/podcastarchives/episodeseven
In this episode Elaine and Efka return from Essen Spiel, the biggest board game convention not just in North Rhine-Westphalia, but also the world. Now that we've played some of the exciting releases - it's time to talk about them. Era: The Medieval Age: ( 02:30 ) Vast: The Mysterious Manor: ( 13:19 ) Expedition to Newdale: ( 27:50 ) Maracaibo: ( 43:05 ) Mailbag: ( 1:05:06 )
In this episode Elaine and Efka share some BIG NEWS (03:23 ) and talk about such potentially excellent board games as: Chocolate Factory ( 07:11 ) Sabotage ( 19:31 ) Irish Gauge ( 34:59 ) Tapestry ( 50:13 ) Don't forget to visit our Podcast website at http://nopunincluded.com/podcast and leave a comment!
Tune in to find out about critical darling Black Angel, surprise hit Watergate, follow up to the EXIT series and more! Rurik: Dawn of Kiev (07:43) QE (20:14) Adventure Games: The Dungeon (29:03) Black Angel (42:15) Watergate (1:03:07)
Alert! Alert! The sofas have run amok and it is up to our heroes, Efka and Elaine, to put all the sofa pieces back together. What treasures will we find in the crevices? What hidden board game gems are gathering dust under those pillows? Star Wars: Outer Rim ( 03:55 )- How did an ENTIRE galaxy get lost in the folds of our sofa? We will never find out, but at least we can tell you if this Star Wars themed bimble bimbled our fancy. Undaunted: Normandy ( 17:44 ) - The definitive accent pillow of today's podcast is this WW2 themed deck builder. And here’s us telling you why we think it's great and… why Efka just doesn't get on with it. 1846 ( 34:16 ) - Rounding out our game discussion is the one game that is definitely bigger than any sofa - 1846, which is just one flavour of the multifaceted genre of 18xx games. Find out how we felt about our first sit down onto board gaming's hardest cushions. Want to send us a question? Fire it to efka@nopunincluded.com
In our second episode we discuss a slew of games we played at UK Games Expo 2019 and there’s quite a few goodies we can’t wait to tell you about: Pandemic: Rapid Response (2:22) Copenhagen (17:40) Letter Jam (30:00) Blood on the Clocktower (38:57) And on a final note we’ve received quite a question in our mail bag but we’ll leave that for you to discover.
In our very first episode we talk about such dangerous games as: Concordia: Venus - bringing you the terror of the mighty Roman Empire and never knowing the right time to tribune. Tiny Towns which is so tiny you won’t even notice it creep up behind you and plunge a 4x4 grid into your back. Arkwright - giving Elaine the heebie jeebies with it’s theme of British industrialism, a.k.a - what is it that the British have done again? Gentes the most dangerous kind of game of all - a mediocre euro-game. If you enjoyed this episode, you can always leave a comment at http://nopunincluded.com/podcast
E-mail us your questions to: lastplacepodcast@gmail.com Music by bensound.com You can also subscribe to the Podcast via: RSS -http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:276389733/sounds.rss iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/last-place-podcast/id1188129703?mt=2 Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/nopunincluded Spotify - Stitcher - http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/efka-bladukas/last-place Boardgamegeek - https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepodcast/39563/last-place-podcast You can find Jon at https://www.youtube.com/JonGetsGames
Support No Pun Included on Kickstarter! You can find their campaign on https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/771073763/no-pun-included-season-2 Send in your questions to lastplacepodcast@gmail.com
Not only does this episode feature some lively discussion on balancing in the Gaia Project, but you also get to hear Efka's swan story. E-mail us your questions to: lastplacepodcast@gmail.com 3:53 - Palace of Mad King Ludwig 21:43 - Gaia Project 38:05 - 41:38 - Mailbag Music by bensound.com
What do space, Scotland and dreams have in common? Absolutely nothing but I'm drawing a tangential link between the three games discussed on the podcast to fill in this description. If that's not meta enough for you, I don't know what is. E-mail us your questions to: lastplacepodcast@gmail.com 3:20 - Clans of Caledonia 18:36 - Sidereal Confluence 31:31 - Keyper 47:02 - Mailbag Music by bensound.com You can also subscribe to the Podcast via: RSS -http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:276389733/sounds.rss iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/last-place-podcast/id1188129703?mt=2 Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/user-427588579 Stitcher - http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/efka-bladukas/last-place Boardgamegeek - https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepodcast/39563/last-place-podcast
Efka and Jon dissect some hot new Essen releases like they are bright eyed biology students not knowing any better. Will they find something horrible inside or is it all cardboard and roses? E-mail us your questions to: lastplacepodcast@gmail.com 2:24 - Charterstone 20:21 - Altiplano 39:07 - Transatlantic 54:00 - Mailbag Music by bensound.com
Efka and Jon's temporary replacement Elaine fill in a gap whilst Jon is busy moving house. There's some whistles that have gone rogue and need to be stopped before they multiply like bunnies and take over the world. There's also a funny story about the Queen. 1:53 - Whistlestop 14:45 - Princess Jing 30:07 - Bunny Kingdom 43:58 - Mailbag
Efka and Jon bring you all the hot games from Gen Con 2017 with lots and lots of space and also a circus. Email us with your questions at lastplacepodcast@gmail.com 2:50 - Twilight Imperium 4th Edition 21:21 - Meeple Circus 33:31 - Gaia Project: A Terra Mystica Game 50:48 - Mail Time
Efka and Jon prepare to die on Mars erecting the first martian dice forge against a fast approaching deadline. This is probably the most concise and nonsensical description we've ever crafted. Time codes: 01:45 - First Martians 24:47 - Dice Forge 36:43 - Dark Souls 49:46 - Deadline 58:39 - Mail Time
This time there's two Jons and Efka doesn't know what to do any more. Please send help or bears or 2 pounds of frozen squid. 00:00 - Intro (plus a special top ten list). 05:12 - Barrenpark 18:20 - Mask of Moai 34:43 - Shop'N'Time 48:52 - Mailbag
Efka is once, twice, three times excommunicated, Jon explains what makes Knizia Knizia and it turns out Superhot is Superstrange. You can find the new and very barren YouTube channel for Last Place at www.youtube.com/channel/UCIwJC1wj0sMvn72bn8cl0kg 4:09 - Lorenzo il Magnifico 16:42 - Wettlauf nach El Dorado (and Clank!) 34: 26 - Superhot: the Card Game
Efka revisits gams in a deception that screamed murder, Jon poops cubes in Yokohama and Elaine wonders about duels. You can find the new and very barren YouTube channel for Last Place at www.youtube.com/channel/UCIwJC1wj0sMvn72bn8cl0kg 3:00 - 7 Wonders: Duel 27:20 - Yokohama 49:06 - Deception - Murder in Hong Kong 1:04:24 - Mailbag (gams and board game clubs)
Efka borrows resources from the future in Anachrony, Jon trades workers back and forth in Ave Roma and once again they're trapped in a room in Exit: The Game. You can find the new and very barren YouTube channel for Last Place at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIwJC1wj0sMvn72bn8cl0kg 1:43 - Anachrony 19:19 - Ave Roma 35:58 - Exit: The Game 48:13 - Mailbag
Efka and Jon race cars around a factory, level up whilst guarding Atlantis and eventually die in a pit of acid being fired at by five hundred lasers. UPDATE: Due to a somewhat unclear rulebook for Room 25, we made an error in describing the game. You are indeed allowed to confer what actions you're going to take. No Pun Included's Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/771073763/no-pun-included-a-board-game-review-series
Efka introduces beavers to Mars which prompts a fastidious retreat called Solarius Mission. The key to understanding this is harvesting apples. To support us on the Golden Geek Awards, please follow this link: https://boardgamegeek.com/geekawards/boardgame
Jon takes up a job as a reporter and interviews Efka all things Gloomhaven. Then Railroad Revolution crashes the party like a train followed by the wrecking ball that is Unlock! It's a real mess.
Efka falls out of love with Seafall and Jon sails to all the Greek islands in this nautical themed episode of Last Place.
In the second episode of Last Place, Jon & Efka learn the perils of eleven hour long euro-games, become area control spaces and mess with the elder gods.
In the very first episode of Last Place, Jon & Efka learn how to pronounce Inis, assimilate themselves with Stalin in Not Alone and would possibly have a joke about Cottage Garden, but it's not very funny.
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