Joe (Allplay) and Nick (Bitewing Games) look back on 2025 and share their Top 10 Highlights of the Year as publishers and gamers.

Check out the Kickstarter for Gold Country and Totally Human.

Check out the Kickstarter for Mountain Goats: Legacy and Enchanted Ivy.

Subscribe to the Bitewing Games Newsletter.

Subscribe to the Allplay Newsletter (near the bottom of this page).

Nick shares 20 of his most anticipated board games of 2026!

Check out the Kickstarter for Gold Country and Totally Human here.

Preorder Moytura and Azure here.

Nick shares his 1st impressions of 5 new board games:

0:42 - Agent Avenue

5:13 - Altay: Dawn of Civilization

8:50 - The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game

12:34 - Nova Era

18:20 - SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Nick is coming to find that being a Reiner Knizia fan is much like being a fan of eating.  You're constantly hungry for more, and there's always new & exciting flavors to explore.  Today we'll sandwich Nidavellir between these hunks of Reiner bread as Nick shares his first impressions of the following:

0:56 - Whale Riders (the board game)
4:35 - Whale Riders: The Card Game
7:44 - Modern Art Card Game
10:12 - Nidavellir
13:09 - Royal Visit
16:08 - Yellow & Yangtze

Nick shares his insights and observations on Kickstarter board game bundles as Bitewing Games prepares their own bundle.  This episode will be particularly engaging for those who are interested or involved in the creation of board games (publishing, designing, etc.), so if you'd rather just skip to the big Reiner Knizia news then feel free to jump to 13:16 in the episode!

Nick is joined by his lovely wife, Camille, as they discuss their top 10 board games to play together.  Whether you have a SO, a friend, or a stranger willing to play a 2-player game with you, we think you'll find some killer suggestions within this discussion.

1:29 - Meet Camille
5:57 - About this list
7:53 - Cami's 1st pick
11:29 - Nick's Best Huge Sprawling Game
16:29 - Cami's favorite no brain required game & Nick's Most Prized Possession
20:46 - Nick's Best Cooperative Game
23:43 - Cami's next polyomino pick
25:08 - Nick's Most Addictive Game
28:48 - Cami's Chess-style preference
30:43 - Nick's Most Polarizing Game
34:43 - Cami's go-to card game
37:08 - Nick's Best Non-Confrontational Game
40:31 - Cami & Nick's Endlessly Entertaining Pick
44:17 - Nick's Best AP-Inducing Game(s) + Cami's similar alternative
50:13 - Cami's favorite classic
53:21 - Nick's Old Reliable Choice
56:03 - Cami's final pick
59:00 - Nick & Cami's Favorite New Game
1:06:11 - An exciting upcoming reveal... (Click here to follow along)

It's time for us to come clean and face the truth.... the best hobby is, in fact, tabletop gaming. Nick shares 10 reasons why! 

Let’s talk about the games that are leaving or entering my collection, and why!  For “surge” games, I’ll stick with titles that are not recent releases as I already cover those in my monthly New Release 1st Impressions series.

0:40 - PURGING Chill Vacation Games: PARKS & Tokaido
1:56 - SURGING The Knizian Flood: Ingenious, Yellow & Yangtze, Quo Vadis?
5:00 - PURGING Roll & Writes: Railroad Ink, Welcome To, On Tour
6:08 - SURGING Train Games: Age of Steam maps, Stephenson's Rocket expansion, Chicago Express
8:58 - PURGING Classics: Catan, Dixit, Clank!, Sushi Go!, Deep Sea Adventure
12:47 - SURGING Other Classics: Agricola, Bohnanza, Keyflower
14:16 - PURGING Old Friends: Dice Throne, Dragon Castle, Aerion

With some hot games getting a second print run and others making their initial splash, I've been able to try a fresh handful of new releases.  It's that time again to get candid with the cardboard by sharing my first impressions...

0:45 - The Search for Planet X
3:31 - Red Rising
9:57 - Blitzkrieg Nippon Expansion
12:36 - Railroad Ink Challenge (Lush Green and Shining Yellow Editions)
15:30 - Barrage
17:50 - How you can simultaneously support Bitewing Games and acquire 3 killer card games!

Welcome back to my Top 50 Board Games of All Time!  If you missed part 1 of this post, then head on over and check out games 50-26.  Today, we'll be finishing things out by discussing games 25-1.  That's right, the cream of the cream of the crop...

It’s that time of year once more, my friends!  Now that the cardboard dust of 2020 has settled, as we find ourselves in the calm before the storm of 2021 releases, I’ve been reflecting on all the tabletop games I’ve ever played.  

Within this mountain of ever growing titles, fifty designs have risen to the top.  These are the board games that have proven their quality over hours of play across many tables surrounded by friends, family, and strangers.  These are the games that I love and want to play more than any others.  Indeed, these are my current Top 50 Board Games of All Time.  In this episode, I'll be covering games 50-26.

In this podcast exclusive episode, Nick and Kyle are joined by a fellow dentist and gamer, Jacob Gowans, as they discuss the in’s and out’s of collections and gaming groups. 

Whether you are looking to add to your collection, cull your collection, make new gaming friends, or convert your friends into gamers, we’ve got you covered! At the end, we also share some recent and upcoming games we are currently excited about. And if you listen closely, you might even sneak away with some free dental advice. Cavities beware!

1:04 - Meet our guest, Jacob Gowans
4:33 - Growing a collection, finding your favorite new games
10:19 - Culling a collection
19:26 - Finding gamers to game with
26:24 - Growing the hobby by bringing in newcomers
38:30 - Games we've been playing recently
  39:00 - The Search for Planet X
  43:23 - Street Fighter: The Miniatures Game
  46:00 - Anachrony
  47:20 - Why no definitive Harry Potter game?
  49:31 - Oros
52:25 - Games we've been backing recently
  53:55 - Bear Raid, Factory Funner, Ghosts of Christmas; John Company: Second Edition
  55:13 - Cryptid Cafe
  56:33 - Don't Get Got (Shut Up & Sit Down Edition), Radlands, The Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Stellaris: Infinite Legacy
1:00:44 - Juicy nuggets of dental wisdom that nobody asked for

Watch out, this latest batch of board game first impressions might give you a bit of whiplash!
Nick shares his thoughts on the following recent(ish) releases:

0:53 - CloudAge
6:10 - Maracaibo
6:59 - The Shores of Tripoli
13:59 - Age of Steam: Deluxe Edition
15:52 - Lost Ruins of Arnak
16:44 - Sleeping Gods
19:50 - A War of Whispers

You can also read this episode at our Bitewing Games Blog.

Don't miss out on exciting updates regarding our upcoming bundle of three 20-minutes games!  Subscribe to the monthly Bitewing Games Newsletter.

After two plays, Nick shares his experience and impressions in this full preview of Merchants of Andromeda by Reiner Knizia and Robert Hovakimyan.

10 Games, 2 Saturdays, 1 Mission: Play until our brains are fried.  Nick shares his experiences and impressions of these 10 games hand-picked for maximum entertainment and played over the course of two gaming marathons.

1:10 - Beyond the Sun
2:05 - Stephenson's Rocket + Eastern US Expansion Map
3:34 - Lords of Vegas
4:44 - Hansa Teutonica Big Box
5:37 - Bristol 1350
6:55 - Social Grooming
9:00 - Galaxy Trucker
10:39 - Brass Birmingham
12:04 - Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy
15:26 - Soda Smugglers

To follow the above mentioned Social Grooming and Soda Smugglers as they come to Kickstarter, subscribe to our newsletter and follow Bitewing Games on social media!

🎵Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination!🎵

 That’s right, today we’re talking about the Willy Wonka of board games, Reiner Knizia, and my top 10 Knizia Games. 

At the end of this episode, I’ll be revealing even more juicy details about the two Knizia Games that will be part of our Kickstarter campaign later this year including the game titles and descriptions!  So let’s strap in and explore some of the best board games in the industry from the master designer himself…

2:45 - #10: High Society
4:58 - #9: Modern Art
6:14 - #8: Through the Desert / Blue Lagoon
9:37 - #7: Lost Cities
11:40 - #6: Stephenson's Rocket
13:03 - #5: The Quest for El Dorado
14:58 - #4: Babylonia / Samurai
18:24 - #3: My City
19:19 - #2: Ra
21:25 - #1: Tigris & Euphrates / Yellow & Yangtze
25:23 - Revealing the titles and descriptions of our Knizia Publications!!!

Be sure to subscribe to our monthly newsletter email so you don’t miss out on further reveals and the 2021 Kickstarter campaign of this killer filler bundle!

Welcome back to another episode of Tabletop Tastes: My Favorite Flavors in Board Games!  Today we’ll be taking a big gulp of why refreshing replayability is central to a board game’s vitality.

Games discussed include Pendulum, Calico, My City, Gugong, Hansa Teutonica, Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done, and Roll/Race for the Galaxy.

This latest batch of board game impressions has been a mixed bag at our table...  Nick shares his 1st impressions of the following:

0:46 - Dice Throne Adventures & Dice Throne Season 1 ReRolled
5:42 - Renature
8:15 - Under Falling Skies
10:21 - Hadara
11:39 - Schotten Totten 2
14:26 - Loot of Lima

You can also read this episode in blog form here:
https://bitewinggames.com/candid-cardboard:-new-release-1st-impressions-(march-2021)

2020 will be memorable for a lot of reasons, but at least it gave us a bunch of fantastic releases. Here are the Top 15 Board Games of 2020!

Note: If you prefer, you may also read this list on our blog.

0:33 - The what, why, and how of this list
5:50 - #15
6:55 - #14
8:22 - #13
11:20 - #12
12:39 - #11
14:20 - #10
16:39 - #9
18:19 - #8
19:33 - #7
20:41 - #6
21:52 - #5
22:50 - #4
24:40 - #3
27:19 - #2
29:20 - #1
32:55 - Remaining Contenders
38:06 - Best Art
39:08 - Best Production
40:18 - Best Expansion
41:55 - What's with our Home Page tease?!? - https://bitewinggames.com

Welcome to Tabletop Tastes: My favorite flavors in board games. Today, we search for purpose in potently mean games.

Games discussed include Cover Your Assets, Bus, Citadels, Catan, Tournament at Avalon, and Caylus 1303.

Kyle joins the podcast again as we share and discuss our Top 10 Family Games!  With Nick having a million cousins and Kyle doing nearly all his gaming with siblings, parents, and his spouse, we've put plenty of titles to the test with our "non-gamer" family members.

Find out which board games are guaranteed to please at your next family gathering!

1:10 - What do we mean by "Family Games?"
4:12 - Blokus
5:18 - Camel Up (Second Edition)
8:00 - Bohnanza
10:05 - Chinatown
13:18 - The Mind
15:15 - For Sale
18:03 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
21:57 - Crokinole, Klask
24:52 - Ticket to Ride
26:05 - Condottiere
28:52 - On Tour
30:25 - Wavelength
33:27 - Ethnos
36:28 - Kingdomino
38:05 - Love Letter
41:02 - 7 Wonders, Sushi Go Party
42:57 - My City
47:26 - Between Two Cities
50:26 - Codenames, Decrypto
52:10 - Another teaser for our upcoming publications!

Welcome to Tabletop Tastes: My favorite flavors in board games. Today, we consider how balanced games are just as important as balanced diets.

Games discussed include Pandemic, Forbidden Desert, Root, and Tapestry.

Read this episode in blog form here.

The hot new releases of 2020 continue to make it to our table! Nick shares his latest 1st impressions of Iwari, Dune: Imperium, Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers, Rococo Deluxe, and Beyond the Sun.

0:50 - Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers
3:34 - Iwari
4:55 - Rococo Deluxe Edition
8:10 - Dune: Imperium
11:16 - Beyond the Sun

You can also read this episode in blog post form here:  https://bitewinggames.com/candid-cardboard:-new-release-1st-impressions-(february-2021)

Does this puzzly head-to-head game crumble under the weight of its oppressive playstyle? Find out whether Curious Cargo is up your alley in this board game review!

Nick shares his Top 20 Board Games of 2024 as well as many other awards for what was a killer year for board gaming.

Welcome back to another episode of Tabletop Tastes: My favorite flavors in board games. Today, we gorge our thoughts upon the satisfaction of filling meals and filling turns.

Games discussed include Dune: Imperium, Pandemic, Flash Point: Fire Rescue, Catan, and Concordia.

Candid Cardboard is a monthly series containing genuine, blunt, and thoughtful opinions about board games that the folks at Bitewing Games have recently played!  Most often, these are first impressions of hot new releases.

In this episode, Nick shares his first impressions of recent releases including Sidereal Confluence (Remastered Edition), Sequoia, GPS, Mountain Goats, Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy, and Babylonia!

1:02 - Sidereal Confluence (Remastered Edition)
3:23 - Sequoia
4:31 - GPS
6:00 - Mountain Goats
7:00 - Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy
9:38 - Babylonia

Kyle joins Nick in sharing our 10 hot things we are currently most excited about in the board game industry.  These hot things span through specific board games, talented game designers, engaging mechanisms, and more!

  Additionally, we share the origins and purpose of Bitewing Games and peek behind the curtains of exciting plans to come!

  This episode does not exist in blog form, but if you prefer to read then you can learn plenty more about Bitewing Games and things we are hot on at BitewingGames.com

Welcome to Tabletop Tastes: My favorite flavors in board games. Today, we explore the importance of a dynamic arc in games (and snacks)!

  Games discussed include A Feast for Odin, Raiders of the North Sea, Dead Man's Cabal, and Babylonia.

  If reading is your preference, you can catch this episode in blog form after January 11 at https://bitewinggames.com/category/tabletop-tastes/

Welcome to the Bitewing Games Podcast!  Our mission is to create and share unique and evocative tabletop gaming experiences – or, in other words, board games that bite!  For hobbyist gamers, this podcast will help you to explore your own tastes in the hobby and perhaps discover your next favorite game that fits those tastes. For game designers, this podcast will offer you more tools to add to your utility belt and metrics to measure your projects by.

  In this episode, we'll take a look at 20 of the most anticipated board games of 2021 as well as publishers and designers you should keep on your radar.  Games will range from sprawling, epic Egyptian wars to family-friendly beetle wrestling.  All aboard the hype train!

  If reading is your preference, you can catch this episode in blog form at https://bitewinggames.com/category/game-list/

Note: This episode also exists in video form on YouTube.

Joe (Allplay) and Nick (Bitewing Games) discuss board game development. What is development? How do publishers take a design from signed prototype to published game? Best practices for board game development?

Subscribe to the Bitewing Games Newsletter: https://bitewinggames.com/subscribe/

Subscribe to the Allplay Newsletter (near the bottom of this page): https://www.allplay.com

Note: This episode also exists in video form on YouTube.

Joe (from Allplay) and Nick (from Bitewing Games) share insights and experiences of board game publishing! Get a peek behind the curtains of the board game industry. This series is meant to be both interesting to hobbyist gamers and helpful to other publishers, designers, and professionals in board games.

In this episode, Joe and Nick discuss board game conventions. What is their purpose? How do publishers make the most of them?

If you want to catch up on previous episodes, then head over to the YouTube playlist (link above)

Nick shares 18 of his most anticipated Board Games of 2025!

Preorder Iliad, Ichor, SILOS, EGO, and/or ORBIT here.

Subscribe to the Bitewing Games Newsletter here.

Nick revisits over 50 of the best board games of 2023 by categorizing them into lovers, keepers, dumpers, flingers, and seekers.

Don't miss out on a huge upcoming year for Bitewing Games! Be sure to subscribe to the Bitewing Games Newsletter.

Nick finishes his Top 100 Board Games of All Time list by sharing games 25-1 (plus how he would rank Bitewing's publications among his Top 100).

Check out SILOS, EGO, and ORBIT on Kickstarter!

Nick continues his Top 100 Board Games of All Time list by sharing games 50-26.

Check out Reiner Knizia's SHOCKING Confession Video.

Check out the Epic Knizia Project, now live on Kickstarter.

Nick continues his Top 100 Board Games of All Time list by sharing games 75-51.

Check out Reiner Knizia's SHOCKING Confession Video.

Check out the Epic Knizia Project, now live on Kickstarter.

Nick shares his Top 15 Board Games of 2025 as well as the best movie, best video game, best kids board game, and more!

Check out the Gold Country Kickstarter here.

Nick shares his Top 100 Board Games of All Time, starting with games 100-76!

Follow the Secret Epic Big Box Knizia Kickstarter Project, launching this month!

Nick shares his 1st impressions of board games he's been playing lately:

0:41 - Courtisans
3:43 - Ark Nova: Marine Worlds
7:42 - Klink
11:22 - Heat: Heavy Rain Expansion
13:55 - Expressions
17:46 - Things in Rings
21:48 - Arcs

Don't miss our Secret Epic Big Box Knizia Project launching in October! Subscribe to the Bitewing Games Newsletter to follow along.

Nick shares his 1st impressions of new-ish games he has been playing recently:

0:49 - Iki
3:27 - Palmyra (Buy Low Sell High)
6:12 - Harmonies
9:33 - A Message from the Stars
12:40 - Pax Penning
17:45 - Knarr

Check out our new releases (now shipping worldwide) including Cascadero, Cascadito, Spectral, and Trailblazers: Sasquatch Expansion.

Nick shares his first impressions of new-to-him board games he's been playing lately:

• Through the Desert: Bazaar Expansion - 0:45
• Innovation - 6:26
• Apiary - 11:13
• Wonder Bowling - 14:46
• Skyrise - 17:23
• London (Second Edition) - 25:22
• Great Plains - 27:50

Follow the Kickstarter page for Iliad and Ichor. Thanks for your support!

Nick is joined by the excellent Cardboard Philosophy podcast where they discuss their show, the Jazz Collection, and their prognosis of board games they've been playing lately.

Check out the Cardboard Philosophy Podcast here.

Check out the episode that Nick joined here.

Check out the Jazz Collection Kickstarter here.

Nick shares his 1st impressions of the following new(ish) board games:

0:42 - Galactic Renaissance
3:56 - Clash of the Gladiators
7:56 - Sol: Last Days of a Star
13:52 - Die Patin, Löwenherz
19:42 - Botanik
24:16 - Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West

Our Jazz Collection Kickstarter (Bebop, Shuffle & Swing, and Cat Blues) is now live! Check out the Kickstarter here.

Nick shares his first impressions of another big batch of Knizia games... from old classics to recent reskins!

0:52 - Penguin Party
3:41 - Genial Spezial
6:08 - Tatari
11:05 - City of the Living
16:34 - Keltis + New Ways, New Goals Expansion
19:06 - Keltis: Fun & Go
21:35 - Genesis
25:42 - Reif fur die Insel
29:23 - King's Road
32:54 - Money

Follow our upcoming Jazz Collection Kickstarter here.

Nick shares his first impressions of new-ish board games he's been playing lately:

0:42 - Strike
3:43 - Sobek: 2 Players
8:46 - Ingenious (2023 Edition)
11:35 - World Wonders
15:17 - Chomp
17:40 - Couture
20:06 - Marabunta

Follow  our jazz game Kickstarter project here.

Nick shares his Top 15 Board Games of 2023 and reveals the next big Kickstarter project coming from Bitewing Games.

Follow the Jazz Collection Kickstarter page here.

Learn more about Bebop here.

Learn more about Shuffle & Swing here.

Learn more about Cat Blues: The Big Gig here.

Nick shares his 1st impressions of 7 new board games including 5 trick takers, 3 two-players, and 1 solo game.

0:45 - Sail
2:48 - Patterns: A Mandala Game
5:39 - Undaunted: Battle of Britain
9:37 - Pies, Lunar, Mori, and Bacon
20:54 - Witchcraft! (also listen to my thoughts on Resist!)

Joe (Allplay) and Nick (Bitewing Games) have a meaty Q&A covering all kinds of topics from viewer/listener questions.

Subscribe to the Bitewing Games Newsletter. (https://bitewinggames.com/subscribe/) 

Subscribe to the Allplay Newsletter (near the bottom of this page). (https://www.allplay.com/)

Nick shares his 25 Most Anticipated Games of 2024 and leaks some teasers about Bitewing Games' next big reveals.

Preorder Cascadero, Cascadito, Spectral and/or Trailblazers: Sasquatch Expansion here.

Subscribe to the Bitewing Games Newsletter here to follow our upcoming Kickstarter project!