Pass, Play, or Purchase

We're finally back! Join us as we take a look at Just One, a popular party game that exudes simplicity. Will that simplicity make it a pass, play or purchase though?

For the first time, we are excited to welcome guests to our podcast! Our friends Bori and Brandon joined us for a conversation about differences in board game tastes and preferences, and what criteria they consider when deciding whether to purchase a board game.

Might is right in this unconventional board game by the designer who created Root. Whether you choose to be the Chancellor ruling with an iron fist or an Exile striving toward your own Vision, Oath challenges players with its variable goals and ever-shifting map, creating an unusual and fantastical area-control epic. If you like this board game review, give us a rating. We appreciate the support!

Learn to play quantum trick-taking in Cat in the Box and hear our summary of how this board game packs a punch in a small box.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to receive visions from the other side? The board game Mysterium offers 1-6 psychics the opportunity to cooperate with another player in the role of a ghost to solve a murder mystery. While you're working to identify the culprit, location and weapon, that's where the similarities to Clue end. See photos on our Instagram @passplaypurchase and X (formerly known as Twitter) @passplayorpurch.

We made it to Episode 50! Join us as we tell a tale about Tales of the Arabian Nights. Like with any adventure we have some goofs along the way, but ultimately come to a conclusion as to whether or not this "legendary" story game lives up to the promise. As always, join us on X (here), or our Instagram for more of our boardgaming adventures!

We're finally back! We go back to being kids and seeing who can build the best Fort (Leder Games style)! Join us as Kevin struggles with how much is ok to spend on a game and expansion and Liane makes a case for animals. And as always, join us on X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, and Threads!

This 2023 Kickstarter board game sets up 2-5 players for a lively 40-60 minutes of competitive dumpling set collection as Chinese zodiac animals. Hungry yet?! Kevin and Liane give a quick synposis and deliver their rating as to whether this game is a Pass, a Play, or a Purchase.

We couldn't resist the tactile satisfaction of dropping tetriminoes into a Connect 4-esque tower! In this episode, Kevin and Liane review the 2021 "Tetris" tabletop game and summarize the similarities and differences with the classic video game. See photos on Instagram @passplaypurchase and Twitter @passplayorpurch.

Take turns being the Sexy Single in search of the perfect mate in "Master Dater," a hilarious and definitely NSFW party game from the creators of "Joking Hazard." With thousands of combinations of Heads and Bodies, your ideal match is sure to be out there and may be a shockingly good time. Kevin and Liane give a quick summary and evaluate whether they would rate this game a Pass, a Play, or a Purchase. Check out (PG-rated) photos on Instagram at @passplaypurchase and Twitter at @passplayorpurch.

Flick and write your way to victory in this compact game for 1-4 players that combines dexterity and strategy against the backdrop of the Sonoran Desert. Will Liane's general lack of coordination and Kevin's hesitation about games with consumables lower our rating of Sonora, or will the game's unique mechanics push it over the top in a good way? Listen to our quick rundown and review to find out whether we rated this game a Pass, a Play or a Purchase. See photos on our Instagram @passplaypurchase and Twitter @passplayorpurch.

If you like bidding games that entice you to push your luck, the simple but competitive small box game "No Thanks!" might be worth checking out. Listen for a quick run down of how to play, plus Kevin and Liane's individual reviews of the pros and words of caution. See photos on our Instagram @passplaypurchase and Twitter @passplayorpurch.

We review the 2021 board game from Ravensburger that pits the infamous Alien against 1-5 players cooperating as crew members to complete objectives before they lose all hope. How long can they evade their fate aboard the Nostromo? Listen to our take and see whether we rated this game a Pass, a Play or a Purchase.

Compete to develop the Red Planet in this engine-building mashup of OG Terraforming Mars and Race for the Galaxy. Bring on all the maths. Do you rate this game a Pass, Play or Purchase? Let us know in the comments and leave us a review if you like what we do. Happy 2023!

Make beer, serve nobles and turn your humble tavern into a victory point engine in this modular board game by Wolfgang Warsch, who also designed The Quacks of Quedlinburg. Get a glimpse into all five modules of the base version and hear why we gave this Euro one of our most glowing reviews yet. For photos, check out our Instagram @passplaypurchase and Twitter @passplayorpurch.

Today we take a look at a recently released game - Long Shot the Dice Game! We see how much horsepower this horse racing game has in it's compact box and decide if it's a pass, play, or purchase. Definitely check out our Instagram for some pictures, and of course feel free to join us on Twitter.

In this episode, we look at the 2019 edition of Klask! Join us as we start figuring out if it's a board game, how much athleticism is involved, and if the onomatopoeia is accurate... This is definitely one that you should check out for visuals coming soon to our Instagram, and we encourage you to join us on Twitter to see what we're up to.

We look at a combo in today's episode, the classic game of Dominion and it's most recent expansion Allies! Sorry in advance, we know Duchys cost 5 and are worth 3, and Kevin gets to overuse phrases "if you will" as he shakes off the rust from the podcasting break... At the end of the day though, join us in finding out if this expansion is a pass, play, or purchase! Also join us on our Instagram and Twitter for more. Thanks!

Join us as we take a look at this co-op pirate-themed game, discuss the nuances of looting vs. rescuing, and decide if the treasure is a pass, play, or purchase!

We look at One Night Ultimate Werewolf to see if this is an ultimate party game! Join us as we have another set of differing opinions here, maybe another set of playthroughs are warranted... As always, we hope you also join us on our Instagram and Twitter to see what we're up to!

What if you could travel backwards or forwards in time and change the course of history? The board game T.I.M.E. Stories puts you and three friends in the hot seat as agents on a mission and challenges you to use your powers of observation and deduction to solve scenarios. Sounds like a cool premise, but what did we think of the actual gameplay and mechanics? Hear our quick rundown of the rules and find out whether we rated this cooperative adventure game a Pass, Play or Purchase. See photos on our Instagram @passplaypurchase and message us there or on Twitter @passplayorpurch.

We're back kicking off our 2nd year with a look at It's A Wonderful World and one of its expansions, Corruption & Ascension! Join us as we break down this engine (building game) to see if it's a pass, play, or purchase! Have a game you want us to review? DM us on Instagram @passplaypurchase or on Twitter @passplayorpurch!

It's been one year of podcasting for us! On that note, we do our best to take a look at this competitive push your luck game as we stumble over some words but ultimately decide as always if this Android Netrunner themed game is a pass, play, or purchase!

Join us as we talk about The Emerald Flame while trying our hardest not to talk tooooo much about it! This was one of our more adventurous reviews as we review this puzzling adventure, but at the end is it a pass, play or purchase? In the interest of keeping things spoiler free, we won't have too much on our Instagram (here), or our Twitter (here).

Join us as we look back at Vault Wars, a bidding game where you acquire loot, junk, money, and victory points! Of course, we also decide whether this auction is game is a pass, play, or purchase!

We're back after a break (and shaking off the rust)! Join us as we take a look at Fantasy Flight's Arkham Horror - The Card Game which focuses on deckbuilding to tackle the mysteries of Cthulu. Will this game horrify us in a way that makes us pass, play, or purchase? As always, join us on our Twitter or Instagram to see what we're up to and for more information.

We review "Flash Point," a cooperative game for 2-6 players who act as firefighters trying to rescue Persons of Interest before the building collapses. Find and save the people and pets of the household, remove hazardous materials, drive the fire truck around to aim the fire hose at the flames, and work together to save the day! We talk about our play experiences and whether we rate this game a Pass, Play or Purchase. Look for photos on our Instagram @passplaypurchase and Twitter @passplayorpurch.

Join Kevin and Liane as they figure out if they're on the same wavelength about the popular board game Wavelength! Check out photos on our Instagram and Twitter. If you like what you hear, please give us an honest review and share our podcast with your friends.

Join us as we review Takenoko, an older game featuring 2 beloved miniatures - the Gardener and the Giant Panda. In reviewing their epic struggle between growing bamboo and eating bamboo, we struggle with whether this one is a pass, play or purchase for us. As always, check us out on our Instagram or Twitter for more!

Join us as we take a look at Spirit Island, a critically acclaimed co-op "settler destruction" game from R. Eric Reuss and Greater Than Games. At least for one of our friends it's a 10/10, but does that mean it's a purchase? We do our best to take a quick rundown on this strategic boardgame, and always welcome you to check out more on our Instagram & Twitter

Happy new year! Join us as we build a stable of Unstable Unicorns in this lighthearted "take that" card game. The narwhals can come too! Check out the colorful artwork on our Instagram @passplaypurchase and Twitter @passplayorpurch.

We pick our favorites out of all the games we played in 2021, and give mini reviews of each. And...that's a wrap for 2021! Thank you to all of our listeners for the support. We're looking forward to more gaming next year! Have a game that you'd like us to review in 2022? DM us on Instagram @passplaypurchase or Twitter @passplayorpurch.

Join us as we review Marvel Villainous: Infinite Power, a new twist on the popular Disney game from Ravensburger where you can play as Hela, Taskmaster, Ultron, Killmonger or Thanos, and strive to rule the universe! Find out how this asymmetrical hand management game stacks up against the Disney original and whether we rate it a pass, play, or purchase. As always, check out our Instagram or Twitter for more of the latest from us!

We're back after a break! Also, sorry for the background noise, this was a tough one to record... Join us though as we check out both versions of The Crew - The Quest for Planet Nine and Mission Deep Sea. We figure out if this card-based co-op is a pass, play, or purchase! As always, check out our Instagram or Twitter for more of the latest from us!

In this episode we look at The Game by Steffen Benndorf and published by Pandasaurus Games. It came out a while back, but we want to see how it has withstood the test of time as a quick-to-play co-op card-based game! As always, we encourage you to check out our Instagram here or to follow us on Twitter here for more of what we're up to.

We take a look at Res Arcana by Tom Lehmann! This is a relatively quick engine builder, card management game where you play as a mage trying to rule the lands with victory points. Join us as we take a quick look and as always, decide if it's a pass, play, or purchase! We also welcome you to check out our Instagram & Twitter!

We're back and sort of hopping in on the spooky Halloween theme, we take a look at Shadow Hunters, an out-of-print game by Yasutaka Ikeda and published by Z-Man Games. Because of its rarity, we set aside our traditional pass/play/purchase (don't worry we still come to terms with a decision at the end) and just dive into what makes this game of potential interest. As always, check us out on our Instagram or our Twitter for more on us and the games we play!

In this episode we take a look at C.V., a game by Filip Milunski where you and your friends compete to live your best life (determined by victory points of course) and build a story of your journey from a young adult to old age.

We attempt to stop Bandido from escaping! (And also briefly cover the COVID-19 edition here as well.) Join us as we take a look at this quick card (or tile...) laying cooperative game and see if it's a pass, play, or purchase!

We take a look at "Llama" by Reiner Knizia, published by Amigo! This is a fairly simple card-based game where you want to avoid taking points and especially avoid those Llamas! Join us as we dig into it and try to figure out where it lands on our pass, play, or purchase spectrum.

We're back with another dice game: Age of War! This game by Reiner Knizia is a quick to play dice game where you battle fellow players to be the Daimyo with the most victory points. Let's find out if this simple game is a pass, play, or purchase for Kevin and Liane. As always, we welcome you to join and interact with us on Instagram or Twitter!

We take a look at Roll for the Galaxy, a dice-based variant from the Race for the Galaxy collection from Rio Grande Games. Roll your dice, assign your workers, and develop, settle and ship your way to the most victory points as you build your space empire tableau! Take a listen as Kevin explains his 180-degree change-of-heart for this game and we discuss the surprising depth of strategy in this minimalistic game. Follow us on Instagram @passplaypurchase and Twitter @passplayorpurch for more gaming enthusiasm!

We take a look at the dexterity based game Menara! This neat construction-style cooperative game has you reaching new heights, which has Liane reaching deep down to try and complete her words of caution regarding this. We hope you check out our Instagram for pictures here and as always feel free to join us on Twitter @passplayorpurch!

We take a look at Mr. Jack Pocket by Hurrican Games and stack up the physical copy vs. the app. This is a surprisingly tight game for 2 players (or 1 vs. AI for the app), but is it enough to win us over? Join us as we have some discussion on it and get into our feelings about 2 player games, especially where apparently couples don't have to game together to stay together...

We take a look at a great collaboration between Disney and Ravensburger - Villainous. Join us as we take a look at the base game while putting it in context with some of the expansions. Also, Liane shows a little Disney pride while Kevin totally forgets the word "nostalgia" for a bit. In the end though, will it end up being a pass, play, or purchase?

We look at an oldie but goodie - Ghost Stories! This co-op combat game has a lot to offer for players with so much design flexibility. Join us as we take a look at it and see how it has aged. Also feel free to check out pictures on our Instagram or give us some feedback on our Twitter @passplayorpurch. As always thank you for listening, can't believe we're already 10 episodes in!

We take a look at a variation on the original Bohnanza by Uwe Rosenberg - Ladies & Gangsters. It's actually 2 separate games in 1 box, so we have double the things to decide on in this review! Also, we try to expand our vocabulary a little bit since we have to say the word "beans" so many times... See photos of Ladies & Gangsters and follow us for even more board game enthusiasm on Instagram @passplaypurchase and now on Twitter @passplayorpurch!

We adventure through the hard to find board game Obsession and attempt to rebuild our family's reputation and greatness. In this review, Liane finds herself unable to continue describing how she feels about the game - join us to find out if this is a pass, play, or purchase!

Get a quick feel of our journey to help fellow board gamers find that next game so they can decide if it's a Pass, Play, or Purchase!

We look at a board game where blending in is a good thing! Join us as we take a look at The Chameleon, a social deduction game where all but one player knows what the secret word is and try to corner the Chameleon as the Chameleon tries to escape detection...or at least figure out what the secret word is. As always we encourage you to check out some pictures on our Instagram @passplaypurchase.

In this episode we look at an expansion to the popular board game Dead of Winter. Unlike many expansions, this one turns a cooperative game into a team vs. team setup and turns the player count up to 11! Join us to find out if this addition is a pass, play, or purchase! As always, feel free to check out our Instagram as well for pictures @passplaypurchase!