Rahdo Talks Through

And now, the final episode of the Rahdo Talks Through podcast. But still, keep your questions coming to questions@rahdo.com and in the future they're going to be answered in the monthly Rahdo Ramble show which you can find at https://patreon.com/rahdo or https://youtube.com/rahdo/join :) •••Game/show Q&A►►► 6:12 Politics vs boardgaming? 24:23 Big games in small boxes? 35:47 Games that surprised me? 42:34 My videos misleading by accident? 51:39 Can the podcast continue? 1:03:25 Star Trek Frontiers as a solo game? 1:10:09 Asymmetric player powers a bad thing? 1:16:33 Ranking game art objectively? 1:32:40 Jen appearing on camera? 1:39:39 Board game glitches? 1:43:36 Boardgame design compared to videogame design? 1:46:57 Game ranking loops? 1:49:48 Fave "weeknight" games? 1:53:48 How much does RTT sponsorship cost? 1:55:33 What will I miss most about RTT? 1:57:40 Puerto Rico 1897? 2:07:15 Boardgame resale scene is dead? 2:20:56 Runthroughs not capturing the feel of the game? 2:24:30 Paulo taking on more channel responsibilities? 2:29:00 Best recent co-ops? 2:36:38 A smarter way to buy games? 2:55:16 What big games would choose to play 30 times in 3 months? 3:08:07 What could make us like war games? •••Personal Q&A►►► 3:12:12 A final chicken update? 3:22:14 Next RV adventure plans? 3:34:30 My optimistic view of humanity's future? 3:59:42 The future of boardgames? 4:05:09 Rahdo retirement? 4:13:43 Colonoscopy? 4:16:15 Finding meaning in what we do? 4:23:46 Bad TV that should make a comeback? 4:37:25 What book would we write? 4:40:23 Downsides of RV life? 4:45:15 Chicken resiliency? 4:47:05 Don't stop submitting questions! 4:48:57 Platform holders influence on videogame development? 4:50:26 Rather meet great great great great grandparents or grandkids? 4:52:00 Who should voice our dogs in animated feature film? 4:54:42 Dog dreams? 4:56:05 Can we finally reveal the postal/nintendo crime story? 4:58:00 DOGGOS! 4:59:08 Jen's final words of wisdom

In this extended ep, there was some big catchup on outstanding audience requestions, so there's a TON of games discussed in the pre- and post-shows!

Ray was away, which made everyone sad, but OTOH it gave us the chance to let loose!

16 games this month, and man was i chatty!

2023 was a great year for games, but there's always going to be a few misses here and there!

Ray is MIA for this episode, but there's still plenty of chitchat in the pre-show with catching up on a bunch of audience requests :)

With the weekly recap show ending the other day, here's the final audio recap of recapping... 12 games of note for your ear holes, one last time! :)

As always, keep the questions coming to questions@rahdo.com !! :) •••Game/show Q&A►►► 1:36 Improving my final thoughts? 9:35 Exit surveys? 22:52 Feld City collection? 26:59 Marrakesh Nomads vs Camels? 32:00 How I rank hidden gems? 47:21 Alternatives to pre-ordering? 1:02:39 Mr. Beast & boardgames? 1:11:01 How the boardgames biz doing? 1:13:46 Are my runthroughs misleading? 1:24:22 Influential board game artists? 1:37:32 Managing my BGG collection? 1:43:39 Boardgames fan demographics? 1:53:24 Normalizing unhealthy boardgame habits? 2:03:20 More conventions in our future? 2:05:45 Throwing games in the trash? •••Personal Q&A►►► 2:08:50 Roadtrip to BGG Con? 2:19:08 Does Jen think I'm a bad driver? 2:23:57 Future evolution of the Rahdo channel? 2:39:32 Retirement advice? 3:04:29 Must-see RV spots in the USA? 3:07:01 Jen's Glass work on the road? 3:09:38 Video game industry morality? 3:27:16 Reconciling my violent video games & my carebear-ism? 3:47:33 UBI and inflation? 3:58:20 Ridin' with Biden? 4:01:08 AOC lies?

This week Ray, Ruel, Chris and I are talking about games we REALLY should enjoy this much! :)

Ray tries out a new and very fun board game trivia game on the guys, and you can play along as well, plus the latest R&R list! :)

There's a bunch more travel games in the post show, and some more fun chitchat in the pre-show :)

We're back from our epic travel, so let's talk about travel games!

Sponsored by https://www.arcanewonders.com/product/world-wonders-mundo-expansion/ See our World Wonders runthrough at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkwiImlG41U And now... an episode outlining the games we played in March 2024. 0:00 Sponsored segment 2:21 Intro 3:02 16. Isle of Night https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/412997/isle-of-night 7:11 15. Colors of Kasane https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/159355/colors-of-kasane 9:35 14. Siege of Valeria https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/345888/siege-valeria 13:37 13. Gun It https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/randyo/gun-it-a-cooperative-car-thriller 19:35 12. Sankore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCA52xRfwOk 22:54 11. Heroes of the Sanctum https://youtu.be/d1uG0KWdEBY 26:44 10. One-Hit Heroes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMjMbH7ValM 30:03 9. Caldera Park https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/367047/caldera-park 33:26 8. Salton Sea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sv2MWD5cP4 37:54 7. Tiny Epic Game of Thrones https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/409978/tiny-epic-game-of-thrones 43:49 6. Comet https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/381078/comet 48:47 5. Cat Packs https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/404417/cat-packs 51:45 4. Horror on the Orient Express https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/394897/horror-on-the-orient-express-the-board-game 55:07 3. AI 100% Human https://twitch.tv/videos/2084048439 59:51 2. Inheritors https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/367476/inheritors 1:04:55 1. Windmill Valley https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/403441/windmill-valley 1:08:22 Outro

Okay, time for the audio-only version of the "new games" section of the last 6 weeks of recaps, for folks who want to learn about cool new games on the go! The games mentioned talked about are: • Ziggurat https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/415197/ziggurat or https://www.mindware.orientaltrading.com/ziggurat-a1-14194073.fltr • Spectacular https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/415147/spectacular • Citizens of the Spark https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/415465/citizens-spark • Life in Reterra https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/415513/life-reterra • Kokeshi https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/415507/kokeshi • Barcelona: Passeig de Gracia https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/415314/barcelona-passeig-de-gracia • Skulls of Sedlec: Expansion Collection III https://gamefound.com/en/projects/button-shy-games/button-shy-2024-reprint-campaign • Brink https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/415078/brink • Tropicalla https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/415188/tropicalia • Lords of Worlds https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/415182/lords-worlds • Gardlings https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/416059/gardlings • AI 100% Human https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/416086/ai-100-human • Architects of Amytis https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/415910/architects-amytis • Inori https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/415938/inori • Kyoto no Neko https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/417155/kyoto-no-neko • Adulthood https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/416780/adulthood • Rebirth https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/417197/rebirth • Chateau Combo https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/416851/chateau-combo • Eat Zem All https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/416790/eat-zem-all • Mythwind: Friends & Family https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/417508/mythwind-friends-family • Everbloom https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/369897/everbloom • Harmony https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/417599/harmony • God of War: The Board Game https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/417357/god-war-board-game • Neko Syndicate https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/415792/neko-syndicate • SETI https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/418059/seti-search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence • Don't Starve https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/418146/dont-starve-the-board-game • Super https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/418036/super

In addition to the top 12 that ray, chris, ruel and I came up with, in the post show I do a full top10 to update my engine building list from a year ago! :)

It was a decade ago that I did my original top 10 engine building games list, so it's about time for an update! :)

Here's the extended edition of the latest R&R, where there's some chitchat catching up after a long absence as well as a whole bunch more spring themed games int he post show!

Hey everybody, spring is in the air and so Ruel, Ray, Chris and I are counting down the best spring games (and getting into a debate about one of them!)

As always, keep the questions coming to questions@rahdo.com !! :) 0:00 Intro •••Game/show Q&A►►► 1:15 Why don't I like Earthborne Rangers? 6:34 Heavy co-ops? 12:16 Contributor enthusiasm list? 18:26 How can I enjoy a war game? 26:14 Games ideal for 3+? 34:22 Expeditions variant? 36:20 Private objectives? 37:34 Shared control in competitive games? 46:15 Theme love overcoming mechanism hate? 51:41 Game pivot moments? 55:10 What makes a interesting game choice? 57:16 BGstats app? 58:30 BGG weight system hidden? 1:05:50 Andor strategy? 1:11:06 Other causes for viewer dropoff? 1:18:13 Why did I hate Bob Ross: Art of Chill? 1:23:17 Am I too hard on myself? 1:27:32 Final thoughts value vs runthrough? 1:34:09 Proper way to watch my channel? 1:36:45 Are top10's healthy? 1:39:15 Event conveyor belts? 1:40:33 Why aren't decks pre-shuffled? 1:43:58 Cheating? 1:56:10 What's a normal game collection size & gameplay rate? 2:01:43 Dealing with rude gamers? •••Personal Q&A►►► 2:08:30 Dune Part 2? 2:11:50 RV'ing back east? 2:15:44 Returning to the UK? 2:17:24 Final chapter of the Baja trip? 3:48:48 Road trip pictures?

Wow, having Dr Finn on for this extended episode led to some of the best behind-the-scenes stories we've heard on the show yet, plus in the post show we've got a bunch of additional filler games to talk about! :)

It's the best filler games, with special guest Steve Finn, the king of the filler! :)

This leap year must have really kicked in because it's the most games Jen and I have played in a month in a LOOONG time! :)

As always, keep the questions coming to questions@rahdo.com !! :) 0:00 Intro•••Game/show Q&A►►► 0:18 Most played game of the last 10 years? 1:33 Most played expansion of the last 10 years? 5:22 How to fix BGG ranking system? 10:52 Favorite game complexity level? 13:17 Best boss job in the boardgame industry? 20:33 Best binge game? 22:21 Boardgame culling regrets? 27:52 Who would I have join the Rahdo crew next? 28:55 Most fun game to teach? 31:01 Ever rage quit a game? 32:55 Should ever game have a solo mode? 34:10 Pub developed solo modes vs fan made ones? 36:52 Why do pubs not implement obvious solo modes? 39:48 Do I rank games based on play count experience? 40:44 Changing BGG ranking system to account for different player couts? 43:30 Boardgame academic research? 49:00 Some of my runthroughs have disappeared? 52:03 Reviewers favoring shorter games? 1:01:19 Yunnan 2nd edition sounds like it rocks! 1:02:14 Best 3p minimum games? 1:10:04 Misleading audience by accident? 1:16:33 Are boardgame rulebooks getting better or worse? 1:18:42 Getting recognized irl? 1:23:27 Rahdo recap format? 1:25:58 Revisiting old top10 topics? 1:31:29 How are the channel contributors received? 1:37:36 Playtesters vs casual players vs competitive players? 1:42:33 What do backers of the show want? 1:48:36 Playing co-op games multi-hand? 1:54:46 Only future games or past games? 2:04:25 Why do I rank older games higher? 2:21:10 Jen burning out on games? 2:35:12 Why don't we see more stuff like Tzolkin gears? 2:39:53 Would we ever go back to Escape Room games? 2:44:23 Are there other genres we've tired of? 2:45:55 How to avoid gateway game disasters? •••Personal Q&A►►► 2:56:28 How's the RV size for us? 3:08:00 Why do audiences expect media creation for free? 3:15:03 Reconciling eating meat and concern for the planet? 3:23:39 New Zealand vs Japan vs Iceland? 3:25:24 Scotland vs Ireland vs Wales? 3:26:52 Recommendations for traveling the Oregon coast? 3:29:40 How are our eyes holding up? 3:32:47 Jen's future plans for Gamer Glass? 3:35:20 Pictures of our travels? 3:36:29 RVing in Europe? 3:43:39 Best food we've had on the road? 3:55:38 DOGGOS!!

Okay folks, here's 39 more games to talk about that I've discovered over the last 6 weeks and that I think sound fantastic! :)

In addition to the top10 couples game countdown, we've got board game tales of romance and plenty of other fun goings on this extended edition! :)

This time we've got Raina of Pandasaurus and 1 Minute Boardgames to help us count down the 10 best games for couples! :)

5 new games Grant tells us about, including one that's never been announced anywhere before! :)

Wow, this is one of the worst months ever for games played that I didn't like! Not a great way to start 2024!

As always, keep the questions coming to questions@rahdo.com !! :) 0:00 Intro •••Game/show Q&A►►► 0:40 If I can only one 1 game from every year? 14:26 Critiquing Earth? 26:47 Analyzing the stats of 2023? 37:19 Best of 2023 I haven't played? 40:37 Multi-hand co-op? 51:04 How to learn games? 53:11 Board game media ignoring theme? 59:53 Board game media over-emphasizing innovation? 1:05:07 Isn't Tapestry too cutthroat for a carebear? 1:10:12 How much Rahdo on the Rahdo channel? 1:18:42 Board game testing and balance? 1:23:56 Opponents determine my action strength? 1:26:03 El Burro vs La Granja? 1:2917 Crossing Oceans runthrough? 1:30:36 New version of Yunnan? 1:32:42 New games not as good as old games? 1:36:44 Old filming style vs new filming style? 1:40:08 Which heavy game would I play? 1:41:23 Solo categorization? 1:47:00 What are the Rahdo contributor's day jobs? 1:54:23 Board game dilemmas? 2:02:38 Outdated mechanisms? 2:03:45 Boardgame design commandments? 2:05:57 Shorter vs longer game length? 2:14:45 More board game dilemmas? •••Personal Q&A►►► 2:31:18 RV trip travelogue update? 3:23:55 Renting while we're on the road? 3:26:05 RVing vs returning to Europe? 3:28:33 How any American tourists have we run into? 3:29:31 Jen's glass while we're on the road? 3:31:22 UK govt euthanizing pitbulls? 3:32:49 Why do we get to attached to our pets? 3:36:59 Gaza? 3:38:03 Doggos!!! 3:39:55 What politician is so bad we'd vote for Trump over them? 3:43:26 Outro

In addition to the party game countdown, we talk to Grant Lyon about his meteoric rise to TikTok boardgame stardom, getting his YouTube channel shutdown, and a LOT of talk about culling games! :)

We're talking about our favourite party games and there's a wide range of stuff to go over with something for everybody!

Apologies for the extreme lateness on this. Back in September I said I'd start making audio podcasts of the new games section of the recap, and then I went on a road trip and forgot all about it! So here I am a few months later with 2 hours of amazing games to tell you abotu while you're on the move. In the future I'll try to do one of these a month! :)

All the really cool stuff happened in the extended edition pre & post show segments this week! :)

Today we're talking about 10 must see games coming this year :)

And now, a countdown of my 10 most anticiapted game for 2024! 0:00 Intro 2:14 10. Sankore https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/382518/sankore-pride-mansa-musa 4:20 9. Cities https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/402676/cities 5:51 8. Raas: Dance of Love https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/358912/raas-dance-love 8:06 7. Cascadia: Rolling Hills & Rivers https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/407318/cascadia-rolling-rivers 9:55 6. Neodreams https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/379582/neodreams 11:27 5. Daitoshi https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/402677/daitoshi 13:39 4. Windmill Valley https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/403441/windmill-valley 14:56 3. Kathmandu https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/409031/kathmandu 15:58 2. Civolution https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/400602/civolution 17:29 1. Imperium: Horizons https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/367518/imperium-horizons 19:02 Outro

In this month's episode, Grant goes through a rollercoaster ride of emotion as well as tells us about 5 great games! :)

0:00 Sponsored segment 1:32 Intro 2:20 10. Scholars of the South Tigris https://youtu.be/pu4l0g6OMjM 6:20 9. Starry Night Sky https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/368519/starry-night-sky 8:16 8. Trolls & Princesses https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/371873/trolls-princesses 10:50 7. Amygdala https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/360879/amygdala 16:44 6. Kutna Hora https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUF4Y_gSS1g 20:24 5. Explorers of Navoria (sponsored) https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/371932/explorers-navoria 23:47 4. Witchtsone: Full Moon https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/353890/witchstone-full-moon 25:44 3. Evacuation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K44FoxN-DjQ 26:51 2. Galileo Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDEqytOkNlQ 29:00 1. Marrakesh: Camels & Nomads https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/396446/marrakesh-camels-nomads 32:27 Outro

Happy holidays everybody! Here's the audio version of my yearly best of the year countdown! :)

Ruel, Chris, Ray and I join forces with Cole Wehrle (designer of Root and others) plus all of the contributors to the channel to bring you the best games of the year, according to us!

Not only do we count down the 16 best agmes of the year, but Cole Wehrle does a very engaging and insightful interview with the gang!

As always, keep the questions coming to questions@rahdo.com !! :) 0:00 Intro •••Game/show Q&A►►► •••Personal Q&A►►►

In additon to our top5 Stonemaier Games countdown (including Jamey Stegmaier's #1 game he's published) and the Jamey interview, we've got a lot of other fun stuff in this extended edition... the first one with Ray as a regular co-host (very excited!)

In this R&R, we're joined by special guest Jamey Stegmaier, the head of Stonemaier games, to talk about the 5 best games they've published (in our collective opinion) and then do some Q&A with him afterwards!

A video ranking all the games we played in the month of November! 0:00 Sponsored segment 1:11 Intro2:42 17. Last Light https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/315727/last-light 7:42 16. High Society https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/220/high-society 11:50 15. Clever 4Ever https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/366162/clever-4ever 12:38 14. Doppelt So Clever https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/269210/twice-clever 15:28 13. Cthulhu: Death May Die https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/253344/cthulhu-death-may-die 18:27 12. Bazaars of Ubar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTE9XcUYxSs 20:48 11. Chroma Mix https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/382241/chroma-mix 24:08 10. Arcana Rising https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/309408/arcana-rising 27:00 9. Pirates of Maracaibo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBVv89VrHMw 29:09 8. Great Western Trail: New Zealand https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/380607/great-western-trail-new-zealand 31:29 7. Aqua https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/403468/aqua-biodiversity-oceans 33:56 6. Tiny Epic Cthulhu (sponsored) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSe_V8EhgbI 36:15 5. Firefighters on Duty (sponsored) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er2LZ4Sm1o0 38:28 4. Aldebaran Duel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff1OIT4MTeQ 40:13 3. Ark Nova: Marine Worlds https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/368966/ark-nova- marine-worlds 43:56 2. Cascadia: Landmarks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxFAyqblcIM 45:43 1. Age of Civilization https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/264647/age-civilization 49:25 Outro

Grant has been playing a LOT of games lately, and here's his fave five, plus a home tour bonus!

As always, keep the questions coming to questions@rahdo.com !! :) 0:00 Intro •••Game/show Q&A►►► 0:54 Proper player count? 9:20 Kickstarter bubble? 14:03 Earthborne Rangers? 16:01 Deeper commentary? 19:22 Audience reaction to contributors? 22:44 Adjusting to solo gaming? 26:40 Dropping viewership? 32:36 Dice Tower West 2024? 33:29 Theme I'd pass on? 36:22 Smaller game conventions? 38:45 Most varied designer? 40:40 Reviewer designed games? 43:54 Do I want to design? 45:00 Alternate ways to rank games? 51:41 Dealing with board game fatigue? •••Personal Q&A►►► 1:03:06 Safety while RVing? 1:11:00 Arc of history? 1:22:44 Media bias? 1:31:17 Biggest strawman ever? 1:34:15 Travel vlog videos? 1:37:58 Jen's fave Star Trek? 1:40:11 No inner monologue? 1:45:36 Across the Spider-Verse? 1:47:23 Best place in the universe? 1:53:22 Hard pet healthcare decisions? 1:57:57 Motorcycle experiences? 2:03:22 Roca news? 2:04:51 New Beatles song? 2:07:24 Custom GPTs? 2:12:47 AI in board games? 2:14:09 AI predictions? 2:17:11 Doggos!

In the latest R&R&R, we talk about our favourite food-themed games, with a special guest and me appearing live in the episode!

In this extended video, we get to know Ray from the OP, do some this or that, and extended our countdown lists mightily!

Today we've got over 2 hours of fun chitchat about games, boardgame media, and rahdo runsthrough branded sports gear, and we're joined by Daniel and Ash from Shelfside! :)

Today we're joined by Daniel and Ash from Shelfside to talk about our favourite Ameritrash (i.e. heavily thematic) games :)

Hey everybody, here's a new episode ranking all the games we played in the month of October! 1:10 10. HEAT: PEDAL TO THE METAL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfNPP-P5Cfk 3:49 9. HENS https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/348447/hens 7:26 8. TIPPERARY https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/378983/tipperary 11:21 7. CALIMALA: INTRIGUE (sponsored) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffL_fFJD4pc 15:17 6. CRITTER KITCHEN (sponsored) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1d9KBHIrtY 19:13 5. ALPUJARRAS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUBL4aflzBk 21:45 4. ESCAPE ROOM TYCOON (sponsored) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8rAarh-Bl8 23:33 3. BOOKS OF TIME https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndfNo1Zpois&t=1s 27:31 2. UNDERGROVE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmn5u9UZdNk 33:01 1. WONDROUS CREATURES (sponsored)