Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Plays Well With Two

Nidavawhat? Kristen and Spin put on their Dwarf helmets and get to work recruiting the best army money can buy in this bidding/set collection board game. Stick around for some ruminations on game expansions too!

April was a busy, busy month for Kristen and Spin. Not a lot of games played, but some great new finds and surprises... and LOTS of new additions. Stay dialed in, though, because there's also a (hopefully) exciting new announcement about something coming soon for Plays Well with Two! 

Kristen and Spin brave the heights as Sherpas setting up base camps and collecting sets of animals in Nanga Parbat, a two player game by Steve Finn. This semi-abstract game comes in a small box but is chock full of strategy... but will the lure of animeeples and the promise of a thirty-minute playing time be enough to help this game reach the highest peaks of our collection, or will it be left behind at base camp? 

What do you prefer, a pile of cardboard or pixels on a screen? The pandemic has people flooding sites finding a place to game. Will the fad stick? Kristen and Spin discuss the pros and cons of playing board games online and the major platforms where they can be played: BrettSpielWelt, Yucata, BoardGameArena, and Steam.

What happens when a game about fantasy heroes defending a town from monsters loves a word game very much? Spell Smashers. Kristen and Spin picked up this unique card-driven spelling/monster bashing hybrid for half off. Did they stumble on hidden treasure, or do the cards spell "wasted money"? Listen and find out! 

Kristen and Spin take a looks at three more roll and writes. Yes, there are some we hadn't played yet! Be excited! Taking a look at Lanterns Dice, Bravo! and Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers. Be charmed and shout Bravo! while lighting lanterns ... OK, that fell apart. Should you add these into your collection? Do you hoard them like we do? Will one get a rating of 10??? 😲 Listen to find out now!

It's roundup time again! Kristen and Spin discuss what we played last month. The surprises, the disappointments, and the "did we really play Cubitos that many times?"

Top 10 time!!! What board games made only for two players are the best? Lots of games tout as being playable with 2 but these ones are MADE for only 2. Which ones should you check out? Does your favorite make the list? Which ones are we missing? SPOILERS: Games mentioned in the episode (not in order) are Kero, Memoir 44, Nanga Parbat, Klask, Keyforge, Magic, Watergate, Seastead, Stratego, Othello, Backgammon, Claim, Fox and the Forest, Santorini, Mancala and more!

Game companies using popular IP to make special editions of beloved games? This is the way. Kristen and Spin look at 2015's Carcassonne: Star Wars Edition. The task at hand in everyone's favorite galaxy far, far away is to build trade routes, assemble asteroid fields, and fight for control of planets as one of five classic characters, with some unique twists on the classic Carcassonne game formula. Is the force with this twist on the beloved tile-layer, or will a tie-in edition of the game have failed us for the last time? 

ENGINE... BUILDERS... INNNNNN... SPAAAAAAACCCCCEEEE. John D. Clair's Space Base is going under the eye of Kristen and Spin today. Chewing gum-sized cards, tossing dice, and a surprisingly pleasing aesthetic definitely look like things that appeal to us, but is Space Base's beauty more than just skin deep?  Then,  we discuss what, exactly, a welcoming game is. 

Kristen and Spin saw this game at Dice Tower West two years ago and were intrigued -- a game where you get to roll dice and use them as supports to build a tower, cool spells, and meeples (that can also be used to hold up the tower if necessary)? We were in. Unfortunately... we also forgot the name. Years later, we found a copy of this game in the clearance section and jumped at the chance to play it. Will this game build on the promise that your hosts saw at Dice Tower West, or will it crumble under its own weight?

If you've been to your Friendly Local Game Store lately, you've probably seen Cubitos- that weird game with a block of cheese wearing lederhosen on the front of it. What you might not know is that this is a game by John D. Clair, designer of several of Kristen and Spin's favorite games. Get ready for dice rolling, highly variable cards, and luck pushing in this racing game. Is Cubitos ready to race... or does it stumble at the finish line? Come for the review, and stay for Spin making an extremely tortured cheese metaphor! 

Check out the abstract area control board game CTRL (Control). Purchased from Target clearance, will the colorful cubes stack up or was it discounted for a reason? Come find out if it Plays Well With Two!

Take a nice autumn stroll through the leaves in the Bosk board game. In this area control nature game, landscape trees and then help the leaves fall across the board to claim the most spots to be victorious! Grab your pumpkin spice and chill in this relaxing tree game review.

We've got a large game collection (about 400 games), but how does it rank on BoardGameGeek.com? Spin gives Kristen the top 10 games per BGG, then the lowest 10. Do you like data and numbers? We've got 'em for you!

Kristen and Spin look at Delve, a tile-laying dungeon-crawling treasure-snatching board game. Is this game precious treasure, or does it get left for the dungeon yetis? That's not all, though... we take a look over our additions, subtractions, plays, Game(s) of the Month, and Dishonorable Mentions for February 2021.

Are you into super-tight, limited engine builders? If you answered yes, this episode is for you! Res Arcana, from Sand Castle Games in 2019, is all of that wrapped up in a fantasy theme. Spoiler but board games we both love this much don’t come around too often!

Travel with us under the sea to labs, octopods, submarines, research and more with the OctoDice roll and write board game ... was it worth pulling out of the bargain bin? Should we have left it? Is it both??? Find out now!

From the sun-scarred, radiation-glowing badlands emerges ... a review of Wasteland Express Delivery Service. Drive your armored, cobbled-together rigs from settlement to settlement, get $crap, upgrade your truck, and pick up and deliver essentials for survival. Will this game survive Kristen and Spin's scrutiny, or will it simply be a board game that was picked up by us and delivered to the Sale Shelf? And to that you say, "But those Game Trayz, though!"

A game table divided in our newest two player game Curious Cargo. Get you factory up and running with tile laying to load and offload cargo from trucks. One of us loved it and the other wanted to flip the table ... find out which is which! Also this episode, we introduce a new Roundup segment. In Roundup, we take a look at our stats and plays from January. What new games did we play? What were our favorites? Big disappointment? Find all that out and more! ..... Games mentioned in this epiosde: Curious Cargo, Deus, Dune: Imperium, Dinosaur Tea Party, Kero, Cacao, The Crew, Kingdomino, and more!

.... warning ⚠️ negative review alert! Hear a married couple complain about the latest flip and fill board game that they got to the table ... Stronghold's Ripple Rush. The bargain bin strikes again!

War. War never changes. Now that we have that out of the way, will Kristen, an avowed Fallout-disliker, end up feeling S.P.E.C.I.A.L after exploring the wastes? Will Spin want to abandon this game for the raiders to pick over? Climb out of the vault, take your Rad-Away, and take a listen!

Ever go bargain bin diving? Excited to get board games 50%, 75%, etc. off? When games are so expensive, the allure of a deal can be overwhelming. And sometimes (most times?) you find out there was a reason it didn't sell at full price. In Bargain or Bust, a married couple will be looking at games purchased for a steal to see if it was worth it or not. In this episode, find out if the roll and write Patchwork Doodle is a bargain or a bust.

See fiefs fill out and fur fly as Kristen and Spin take a look at Bunny Kingdom, a 2017 drafting/area control board game from the legendary Richard Garfield. Will a game that has been criticized in the past as being too cutthroat for our usually soft-and-fluffy hosts jump into their good graces like a jackrabbit, or will it leave them drooping like the ears of a lop? 

Spin flies solo on a review of Call to Adventure from Brotherwise Games. Will the allure of creating intriguing heroes, casting some runes, and learning some Names be enough to give this game a space on our shelves, or will the game be scrapped as a one-off?

Married couple reviews the hot board game Dune: Imperium. Will Dune fans like it? What about Dune dunces? Does it play well with 2? How about 3? Listen to see if you need to add this spice to your board game cupboard.

We're kicking off our revamped podcast with a bang! A married couple compares their Top 10 two-player board games! What will be missing? How much crossover will there be?

Find out all of the changes coming to the podcast. Might have noticed some changes .... come find out what that's about! Goodbye, Cardboard Mama. Hello, Plays Well With Two!

Cardboard Mama and The Husband discuss their top ten board games released in 2020, their biggest gaming surprises and disappointments of the year, and break down their gameplay stats for the year. See if your favorite card game made it!

Gifts! It's that time of year again, and we have some big ideas for what board, card and dice games to get for toddlers, newer players, and seasoned gamers alike. Can't forget those stockings either! We will help you fill those as well .... 4:18 -- Games for Toddlers; 10:35 -- Games for Newbies / Families; 42:12 -- Games for Gamers; 1:05:00 -- Stocking Stuffers

Cardboard Mama and The Husband review Reiner Knizia's polyonimo legacy board game My City. Did the game deserve the nomination for the 2020 SDJ (kind of like the Oscar's for board games)? The answer is Yes. Listen to find out why! Spoiler free review until you reach the 13:30 mark. You've been warned!

Cardboard Mama and The Husband take the $100 board game challenge. If your entire collection turned to dust and you only had $100 to spend, what would you get? One big, expensive game? Lots of stocking stuffer card games? Whose collection would you want to buy? Hard choices abound in this episode!

Married couple gives first impressions of the board game Set A Watch. An RPG-feeling dice, card game with monster slaying and some cool ideas. Do you have what it takes to kill hordes of monsters armed with 3 dice and limited abilities? It is your turn to sit out at camp? Does the game earn its keep and survive to set a watch another day in our collection?

“Wouldn't you like to see something strange … Come with us and you will see” … Cardboard Mama and The Husband's top 10 board and card games to ring in Halloween. Looking for something to bring to the table this month? Look no further! Also, it is the first combined top 10 list! **** Spoilers: Games discussed include Mansions of Madness, Horrified, The Bloody Inn, Mystery Rummy, Broom Service, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Nightfall, Hocus Pocus and more! Bonus Unnecessary Expansion segment on the best Halloween books for kids! Happy Halloween!

In this episode, Cardboard Mama and The Husband take a look at some board games that might not be the newest ... but they're new to us. Games discussed include City of Spies: Estoril 1942, Deep Sea Adventure, Kingdomino, Sunflower Valley, Take Stock, and Whistle Stop.

We're finally done! The last Culling the Collection Episode! Cardboard Mama and The Husband's monumental task is at an end, with this episode focusing on the final letters of the alphabet. Games from T-Z are discussed and their fate determined. 

Is this thing still going on? YES IT IS. Cardboard Mama and The Husband continue to work through their collection, possibly making some controversial cuts along the way. Part Four starts with S and ends with... S. How many games will stay put in their cozy homes on our shelves, how many will migrate to the infamous Shelf of Reckoning, to be played one more time, and how many are heading to new homes as auctions/trades/et cetera? There's only one way to find out....

The Husband suggested that the board game collection needs a trim.  Cardboard Mama jumped on the suggestion, and we're doin' it with the  microphone turned on! ... then we realized we would need to break it  down into multiple episodes. Welcome to the THIRD installment! This  episode has games from Nagaraja to Rum and Bones: Second Tide. We're sure you've gotta know... which games stay and which games go (and which games will find themselves on the Shelf of Reckoning, to be played one time to determine their fate)? Find out today.... 

The Husband suggested that the board game collection needs a trim. Cardboard Mama jumped on the suggestion, and we're doin' it with the microphone turned on! ... then we realized we would need to break it down into multiple episodes. Welcome to the second installment! This episode has games from Galaxy Trucker to Mystery Rummy. Which board games stay, which ones have a new home on the Shelf of Reckoning (gets one more play before final decision) and which ones are we saying goodbye to? Find out now!

The Husband suggested that the board game collection needs a trim. Cardboard Mama jumped on the suggestion, and we're doin' it with the microphone turned on! ... then, an hour and a half of recording in, we realized that maybe doing it in one go was too ambitious. This episode has games from 13 Clues through Fuse. Which board games stay, which ones have a new home on the Shelf of Reckoning (gets one more play before final decision) and which ones are we saying goodbye to? Find out now!

Married couple plays the newest board game in the Evolution universe Oceans! How does life under the sea stack up? Is there room for both games on your shelf? Will you even want to play Evolution again? These questions and more answered in this episode!

Married couple discusses their top ten board games that make them angry even after culling them from the collection. Was it game play related? Had a bad session? Paid too much? Will there be crossover? All your questions (probably not all) will be answered! .... SPOILERS .... Games mentioned: Fireball Island, Mexica, Brave Rats, Embers of Memory: A Throne of Glass Game, Ticket to Ride: Rails and Sails, Jungle Cruise, Avenue, Attack!, and more...

Married couple does quick reviews / first impressions of four board games. Listen about a roll and write, an abstract fishing game, a Prospero Hall game and an exploration push your luck game. What do we think? Listen and find out!

Cardboard Mama discusses tiebreakers in board games. Shared victory anyone?

Married couple goes through their top ten board games that have tile laying / tile placement. What will come out on top? How much crossover will there be? ... Games mentioned include but are not limited to (not in order): Traintopia, Galaxy Trucker, Carpe Diem, Carcassonne, Kingdomino, Acquire, Castles of Burgundy, Isle of Skye, Alhambra

Married couple gives opinion on the Stefan Feld euro board game Carpe Diem from 2018. Where does it rank against other Felds? Other tile-laying games? Alea games in general? Come find out!

Married couple gives thoughts on the new flip and fill / roll and write Welcome To New Las Vegas board game. Should you buy it if you already own Welcome To? Find out now!

Married couple gives thoughts on the new tile laying board game Traintopia. Is it a train game? Is it like Carcassonne? It is worth your time? Find out!

What steps can you take to make sure your kid becomes a board gamer? One mom discusses what she is doing and the expectations we have to have them playing games out of the womb.