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Episode 67 - Year-End Countdown 202401 Dec 202401:35:08

The end of the year draws nigh, so of course we have to do a year-end countdown. All five of us - even the near-mythical Jayson - have prepared a list of our five favorite games from The Year That Was - enjoy!

  • We argue about what a game's name means because of a (missing?) apostrophe
  • Frank teaches Jayson the lore of the Mothman
  • All of Frank's choices are, for once, board games!
  • The same cannot be said for Joe.
  • We are definitely NOT starting The Ascent of Role-Playing Games, but here are some TTRPGs that we like and you might want to check out:

Also, we're bringing our Discord server back, and there's been more activity in the last week that we've seen in a long time! Come along and chat with us and some other like-minded game nerds!

As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 66,2 - Party Games, Part 201 Nov 202400:50:29

Happy post-Halloween! Now that everyone's hopped up on sugar (and/or in a sugar crash coma), let's finish our discussion of party games! Come along as we discuss:

  • Mike's greatest weakness - a limited knowledge of Campbell's Soup varieties!
  • What game company was founded because of a flooded salmon boat?
  • "They're Belgian, but that's French enough." (We're sorry.)
  • A mercifully brief digression into Marcel Proust's 7-volume À la recherche du temps perdu.

And a few video/picture links we mention along the way:

As always, thank you for listening. We return you now to our monthly begging for an iTunes review. We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 60 - Wildlife Games, Part 102 Feb 202400:53:06

Wildlife games! They're full of adorable meeples, heartwarming themes, and...interesting mechanics (which lead to some differences of opinion between us and the mainstream). Come join us as we talk about: 

Thanks as always for listening! If you have a few extra minutes, we'd love it if you could give us an iTunes review. Please leave one if you can - it helps us a lot!

We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy holidays!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 59 - Looking Ahead to 202402 Jan 202401:07:20

Happy New Year, everybody! To kick things off right, here's an episode looking at all the cool games we're hoping to play in 2024. It's full of plenty of laughter, largely because of the maniacal giggling of Curtis, our newest cohost! Among the things we're laughing at:

Thanks as always for listening! If you have a few extra minutes, we'd love it if you could give us an iTunes review. Please leave one if you can - it helps us a lot!

We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy holidays!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 58.2 - 2023 Year-End Wrap-Up, Part 201 Dec 202301:07:37

Happy December, everybody! It's time to conclude our year-end wrap-up episode, during which we each count down our top 5 games or game-related things from the year that was, from #5 to #1. We covered our #4 and #5 entries last month, so here are our top 3 from 2023, including several unexpected entries. You'll also hear:

Thanks as always for listening! If you have a few extra minutes, we'd love it if you could give us an iTunes review. Please leave one if you can - it helps us a lot!

We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. (We've decided to leave Twitter, or rather X.) Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy holidays!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 58 - 2023 Year-End Wrap-Up, Part 102 Nov 202300:56:00

Welcome, everybody! It's time once again for our year-end wrap-up episode, during which we each count down our top 5 games or game-related things from the year that was, from #5 to #1.

...or rather, from #5 to #4 this episode, with the rest coming next month, because BOY, do we like to talk about games. Highlights (and/or lowlights) include:

Thanks as always for listening! If you have a few extra minutes, we'd love it if you could give us an iTunes review. Please leave one if you can - it helps us a lot!

We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky (new!) or @ascentofgames on Twitter (for as long as Twitter still exists). Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 57 - Hotel Lovecraft01 Oct 202301:10:46

Happy spooky season, everybody! It's October, which means it's time for a horror game playthrough. This time, Frank brings us Hotel Lovecraft, an audio-powered paragraph-style game from Story Master's Tales. We've trimmed the game down to make for a reasonable episode length - and we got a few rules wrong along the way, to be honest - but hopefully you'll find it entertaining!

  • Frank and Sandi's character develops a taste for blood. (Metaphorically. (We think.))
  • Mike introduces us to the concept of a "comfort knife."
  • We are all very bad at Egyptian mythology. Except Mike.

Thanks as always for listening! If you have a few extra minutes, we'd love it if you could give us an iTunes review. Please leave one if you can - it helps us a lot!

We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter (for as long as Twitter still exists). Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 56 - Vagrantsong Interview with Kyle Rowan01 Sep 202300:47:36

It's time for another game designer interview! Kyle Rowan is the lead game designer at Wyrd Games and the main brain behind last year's smash hit Vagrantsong. In addition to talking about how Vagrantsong came to be and the exciting pair of expansions coming up on Kickstarter, we discuss:

If you want to hear our original take on Vagrantsong, it's in Episode 44, Part 2. And if you want to follow Kyle on "the socials," he's @rowanoake on Bluesky and The Platform Formerly Known As Twitter.

As for us, we appreciate your listening as always, and would love to get an iTunes review if you have a few minutes to leave one. We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter (for as long as Twitter still exists). Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 55.2 - Science Games, Part 201 Aug 202300:56:39

We're back with even more SCIENCE! The nerdery continues as we discuss more recent science-themed board games, and offer such tidbits as:

  • "BoardGameGeek - full of lies." - Joe Streeky, 2023
  • A brief digression on the interior starship lighting design of Picard season 3.
  • The cards in Space Race mix English and iconography, but for why?
  • The overarching threat of an all-Phil Eklund episode
  • Frank's last minute addition this month is Expedition Zetta, with space exploration plus intrigue and romance!

Thanks as always for listening! If you have a few extra minutes and are willing to help us with our scientific research, we're trying to study the effects of an iTunes review on our number of listeners. Please leave one if you can!

We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter (for as long as Twitter still exists). Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 55 - Science Games, Part 101 Jul 202300:57:04

SCIENCE!

It's certainly closer to our areas of expertise than sports. In fact, Mike (a science teacher) says a lot of impressive-sounding science words when discussing various games, which some of you may understand. In addition:

  • Smog plumes!
  • Didja ever notice that most "evolution" boardgames are actually "intelligent design" boardgames?
  • The most terrifying game board - oh, I'm sorry, "math map" - ever.
  • Frank says, "It's a decent game for people who like that crap."
  • Best score track ever?

Thanks as always for listening! If you have a few extra minutes and are willing to help us with our scientific research, we're trying to study the effects of an iTunes review on our number of listeners. Please leave one if you can!

We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter (for as long as Twitter still exists). Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 54 - Sports Games02 Jun 202301:13:40

WARNING: This episode is cursed. We had to record it (or parts of it) no less than three times, and we still had Frank drop out unexpectedly for a few minutes. (Don't worry, he didn't say anything important.) But it's here now, and it's full of sports games! Rotisserie Baseball! Electric Football!! SO MUCH GOLF!!!

Thanks as always for listning! If you have a few extra minutes and a generous heart, why not leave us an iTunes review? It really helps us find new listeners We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter (for as long as Twitter still exists). Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 53.2 - Paragraph Games Revisited, Part 202 May 202300:55:33

More paragraphs! More stories! More smart-assery! More great quotes like:

Welcome to all of our new listeners, and welcome back to our returning friends! If you have a few extra minutes and a generous heart, why not leave us an iTunes review? It really helps us find new listeners We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter as long as Twitter still exists. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 66 - Party Games, Part 101 Oct 202400:54:53

Hi folks! We're back this month to talk about party games, though the last week or so hasn't been as much fun as we'd like. Between scheduling issues and hurricane-induced power outages, this episode was a bit rushed; as a result, it's ended up a bit on the short side, so we hope you'll forgive us. Also, instead of begging for an iTunes review this month, we'd like to ask that you donate what you can to the American Red Cross or another reputable charity providing relief to those battered by Hurricane Helene. All of us are doing fine, but there are a lot of people out there that need help.

Meanwhile, in brighter news:

As always, thank you for listening. We'd love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 53- Paragraph Games Revisited, Part 102 Apr 202300:58:24

To listen to our new episode, read paragraph 234. To listen to our original paragraph games episode, read paragraph 191.

234: You listen to a podcast in which:

As always, we'd love it if you took the time to write us an iTunes review, as it really helps us find new listeners We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter as long as Twitter still exists. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 52.2 - Expansions, Part 202 Mar 202300:44:05

If this is the expansion to our first expansions episode, does that make it an Expansionception?

  • We find Joe's definition of Hell.
  • Mike and Joe dislike the Venus Next expansion for several reasons, but mostly because they're 12 years old.
  • Frank introduces us to The Death Book, an essential expansion which has no effect on the rules or play of the game.

As always, we'd love it if you took the time to write us an iTunes review, as it really helps us find new listeners We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter as long as Twitter still exists. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 52 - Expansions, Part 101 Feb 202300:54:42

Hi folks! Are you enjoying our podcast? Do you want even MORE of our podcast? Good, because here's the first part of our Expansion episode, wherein we talk about the first, worst, and best game expansions in our experience. Discussions include:

As always, we'd love it if you took the time to write us an iTunes review, as it really helps us find new listeners We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter as long as Twitter still exists. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 51 - Looking Forward to 202302 Jan 202301:26:49

Happy New Year! Last month, we took a look back at our favorite gaming things from 2022; this month, we're talking about some of the games we're looking forward to in 2023. Contents include, but are not limited to:

  • Jayson sounds very, very sad post-sinus surgery (but he's doing fine now, promise). Donations of giant mecha or plastic miniatures should be sent to Jayson. Donations of cash should be sent to the podcast.
  • Brian has some serious questions for past Brian.
  • We explore the value of self-examination in anime combat.
  • Mike is egregiously behind on his essential videogaming requirements.
  • Joe teaches us about the Russian fox experiment; Mike has objections.
  • Frank names his "best computer game ever made;" Brian has objections.
  • Jodorowsky's TRON?!?

As always, we'd love it if you took the time to write us an iTunes review, as it really helps us find new listeners We'd also love to have you visit our website (although Podbean has made some recent changes to it that mean some stuff isn't in the right place at the moment) and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter as long as Twitter still exists. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 50 - Year-End Wrap-Up 202201 Dec 202201:07:54

50 episodes? Who'da thunk it??? Regardless, thank you for your support, whether you've been with us since the beginning or are just joining us for the first time. We wouldn't keep doing this without you!

This month, we take a look back at our favorite gaming things from 2022 - mostly, but not exclusively, board games. Among them:

  • Jayson says, "I don't know anything about this game, but I'm gonna wait in this big line to get a copy!" (Turns out to have been a good decision.)
  • Many of the games on our individual lists are met with, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that one." So lots of good games and poor memories.
  • We admire the sheer breadth of T.C. Petty III's game design skills.
  • Check those eBay listings carefully before buying, kids! (Also, don't soak your board games in ouzo.)
  • Joe unwisely chooses to introduce a game designed by "a bunch of French people".
  • Can a Kickstarter stretch goal be too big? Oh, yes.
  • 4 out of 5 Ascenters call this the best game of 2022! (Frank is, as usual, Frank.)

Join us next month for the start of our next 50-episode run!

As always, we'd love it if you took the time to write us an iTunes review, as it really helps us find new listeners We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter as long as Twitter still exists. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 49.2 - Batteries Still Included, Part 202 Nov 202200:44:15

Happy day-after-Halloween!

First off, next month will be EPISODE 50, and we'd love to hear about anything you'd like us to cover in that momentous episode. Whether it's a game or a topic you've always wanted us to cover, or something we're all terribly wrong about, email us and let us know! Or, if you like, record a question or comment, send it to us, and we may include it in the episode!

This month, we conclude our update to Episode 3 with a look at some more recent app-enabled board games. In this episode:

  • Mike and Frank exchange points.
  • Brian complains about his car troubles. (All better now, thanks!)
  • What game does Frank call his "Kingdom Death killer"?
  • A new game from...Restoration Hardware?!?
  • Mike brags about his big, imposing tower.
  • Frank gives us two last-minute additions, even more last-minuter than usual.
  • We discuss the merits of audio narration for story games (e.g., Forteller audio).

More to come next month! 

As always, we'd love it if you took the time to write us an iTunes review, as it really helps us find new listeners We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 49 - Batteries Included Redux, Part 102 Oct 202200:51:45

It's a blast from the past with an eye towards the future, as we look back at the new developments in computer-assisted and app-enabled board games since way back in Episode 3. In this episode:

  • Frank risks death...possibly by crossbow.
  • Space.
  • What is the minimum that a board game needs to qualify as "app enabled"? (Joe says "a timer with music, but it gets FASTER.")
  • We posit the existence of mirror-universe Brian and Jayson
  • Jayson knows more about the future of a game than Frank!

More to come next month! Also, we're coming up on EPISODE 50, and we'd love to hear about anything you'd like us to cover in that momentous episode. Whether it's a game or a topic you've always wanted us to cover, or something we're all terribly wrong about, write in to let us know! Or, if you like, record a question or comment, send it to us, and we may include it in the episode!

In the meantime, if you'd be kind enough to write us an iTunes review it'd help us out a great deal. We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 48 - Roll and Move Games, Part 201 Sep 202200:43:42

More rolling! More moving! More Sandi! Less Careers! It's part two of Roll-and-Move Games, wherein you can hear about:

Next month, we'll be revisiting another older episode and talking about new developments in the genre. In the meantime, if you'd be kind enough to write us an iTunes review it'd help us out a great deal. We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 47 - Roll and Move Games, Part 102 Aug 202200:54:26

We've threatened it long enough, so we hope you're prepared for this - it's the Roll-and-Move episode! (Well, the first half of it, anyway...we have a lot to say.) Sandi fills in for the absent Joe as we discuss:

We'll be back next month with more roll-and-move games, but (probably) less Careers. In the meantime, if you'd be kind enough to write us an iTunes review it'd help us out a great deal. We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. For example, are these two-part episodes working for you, or would you prefer a single longer episode on a single topic? As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 46 - Deck Builders Revisited, Part 201 Jul 202200:47:23

Hello again! A lot of what's going on in the world right now is Not Fun, but we're going to soldier on and return to our our look at deck-building games and what's happened in the genre since our first episode ever. This one may, at times, sound like the Renegade Games episode, but we promise we're not sponsored by them. (Not that we'd turn down some money from them, mind you...)

In this episode, we discuss:

Stay tuned for a brand new topic next month! Will it be the long-dreaded Roll and Move episode? Tune in to find out! In the meantime, if you'd be kind enough to write us an iTunes review it'd help us out a great deal. We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 65 - 2-Player Fighting and War Games02 Sep 202401:14:49

Remember way back in Episode 33, when we talked about two-player games but excluded fighting and war games because there were too many? Now is when we finally talk about the fighty ones! Join us as:

As always, thank you for listening. If you have the time to give us an iTunes review, please do - it really helps us grow!

We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 45 - Deck Builders Revisited, Part 102 Jun 202200:47:12

Hi folks! It's time to jump in the Wayback Machine, revisit our very first episode, and see what's changed in the world of deckbuilders since 2018! Don't worry, we still have plenty of ideas for new episodes, but we're going to look back at older episodes occasionally to see what we missed the first time around and what new hotness has been released in the interim.

And, as seems to be usual lately, we've cut this episode in two because we don't know how to shut up. As a consolation prize, here's a picture of the adorable Altiplano llama, which SOME people just don't know how to appreciate.

Stay tuned for the back half of this episode next month! If you miss us before then, writing an iTunes review will help keep us fresh in your memory. We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 44B - Boss Battlers, Part 202 May 202201:03:27

And now, the thrilling conclusion of our Boss Battlers episode. Featuring:

  • Even more games that we've talked about a lot before...but also some new ones!
  • What dramatic moment did The Little Mermaid (the Disney movie) borrow from "The Call of Cthulhu" (the Lovecraft story)?
  • A not-Diablo, a not-Shadow of the Colossus, a not-Zelda, and a game that's ACTUALLY based on a video game.
  • What game was received by Frank's game group like "a five-day-old haddock"?
  • And what may be our most divisive difference of opinion yet, leading to a 20-minute discussion about what each of us really wants out of our story games.

Disagreements aside, we'll be back again next month to talk about even more games - and I promise there won't be nearly as many repeat visitors! In the meantime, maybe you could leave us an iTunes review? We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 44 - Boss Battlers, Part 101 Apr 202201:02:37

Happy April! No fooling from us, just the first half of a loooong episode about Boss Battlers. Featuring:

  • Frank telling us about an obscure game that's long out of print...or is it?
  • Brian revealing his woeful ignorance of anime, which amuses Jayson no end
  • Joe spending the entire episode trolling Frank (with an assist from Jayson)
  • The proud history of farting monsters and the world's oldest known written joke.

You might also enjoy these links:

Come back next month to hear the rest! In the meantime, maybe you could leave us an iTunes review? We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them. As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 43 - Pick-Up and Deliver Games02 Mar 202201:09:11

Hi folks! We're here again to deliver unto you a podcast episode about pick-up-and-deliver games! In addition to the insightful (?) game information you've come to expect from us, this episode includes:

If you liked this episode, maybe you could pick up our spirits by delivering us an iTunes review. (See what we did there?) We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - however you prefer to share your opinions with us. As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments. Stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 42 - Word Games02 Feb 202200:55:07

Welcome to February! In honor of the shortest month, we've created a "lightning round" on the topic of our favorite word games. We hope you find some new favorites, and/or tell us about some of your current ones!

Referenced in this episode:

As usual, we'd love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next, or maybe give us an iTunes review. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - however you prefer to share your opinions with us. As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments. Happy new year, and stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 41A - The Addendum22 Jan 202200:16:08

As promised, here's a little bit of bonus content from our 2021 wrap-up episode, with a little commentary on the games we DIDN'T discuss in that episode, as well as a look ahead games we're especially looking forward to in 2022.

Included in this mini-sode:

Blah blah blah website blah blah Facebook blah blah Twitter blah blah blah iTunes review. 

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 41 - The 2021 Year-End Wrap-Up02 Jan 202201:05:32

Happy New Year! We mean it this time...no, really...please?

This month we're taking a look back at the good times in 2021 - yes, there were some - as we discuss our favorite games from the past year. We also have some additional material on the games we DIDN'T discuss, as well as a look ahead to 2022, but Your Humble Editor is tired enough that that's going to be released as a special bonus episode in a week or so in order to keep THIS episode from being any later than it already is.

Included in this episode:

  • "Hey, guys...that's not how frogs work." (Well, Mike, the frogs aren't the only thing that's a mile high...) Possibly the weirdest game we've discussed all year, and Frank didn't even pick it! 
  • Joe confuses an episode of this podcast - which he was in - with Shut Up & Sit Down. (If only their subscribers and sponsors would do the same!)
  • Mike's insane Initiative journal (WARNING - spoilers, and an F-bomb, within!)
  • Did you just say "Slurp Gerblers"? (Yes, and we wish they hadn't.)
  • What top game is described as having "Frenchiness"? (It's totally a word, shut up.)
  • We TOTALLY all remembered the excellent Dune Imperium. 

Plus a few links to things that are mentioned in this episode, but exist outside it:

As usual, we'd love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - however you prefer to share your opinions with us. As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments. Happy new year, and stay safe out there!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 40 - Spatial Arrangement Games02 Dec 202101:19:34

Happy winter holiday(s) of your choice! If you're having trouble fitting everything you need to do this month into your calendar, listening to our discussion of spatial arrangement games...well, probably won't help, but hopefully it'll at least be entertaining, and might even provide some last-minute gift ideas.

We ask and answer many questions in this episode:

  • How many times (and how many ways) can we say "tetrominos" in one episode? (With "cromulent" coming a close second.)
  • What game does Joe describe as "like you're making a stained glass window of anger and rage"?
  • "Mommy, where do meeples come from?"
  • How do you build a city out of forced labor?
  • Remember when the boxes of the Alea Big Box series of games were considered big?
  • What's the board game equivalent of a Metroidvania? (Whatever it is, Frank threatened to knife us over it.)
  • What does it take to get Frank to say something nice about Asmodee?

And here are some pictures that might help supplement our audio-only descriptions of these games:

All this, plus Mike's dog Samus crashing the ending...more or less literally. Enjoy!

As usual, we'd love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - however you prefer to share your opinions with us. And if you have the time to leave us a review on iTunes, we'd be very grateful indeed!

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 39 - Simultaneous Selection Games02 Nov 202101:19:18

Hi folks! We're back to talk about the cumbersomely-named "simultaneous selection games," which covers everything from Rock-Paper-Scissors (and its ancient antecedents) to Gloomhaven. Your Humble Editor had a pretty rough month, so the audio on this one may likewise be a bit rougher than usual, but hopefully it's not too bad. Thanks for understanding!

Featured in this episode:

  • Mike tries to explain the difference between Rock-Paper-Scissors and Diplomacy, and the rest of us do NOT get it.
  • Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock did NOT originate on The Big Bang Theory, thankyouverymuch.
  • We learn about a very colorful remake of the Star Fleet Battle Manual.
  • We discuss some of the many, many Lost Worlds gamebooks(and related series) that were released in the 1980s. (And that page isn't even an exhaustive list...)
  • Mike introduces a game about which literally everything he remembers is wrong.
  • Joe practices for a future in which he testifies before Congress.

As usual, we'd love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - however you prefer to share your opinions with us. And if you have the time to leave us a review on iTunes, we'd be very grateful indeed!

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 38 - Time Travel Games02 Oct 202101:14:09

For a lot of us, the past year and a half has been kind of a wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey blur. To celebrate (?) that, here's an episode on some games that use time travel as a mechanic, not just a theme. Sadly, Jayson was not able to join us for recording in this particular timeline, but we talk about him anyway. Learn what game Frank thought was so bad, he destroyed it "for the good of the world." Some visuals we mention in our audio show include:

And given that we're enormous nerds, we talk about a lot of time travel stuff other than board games, including:

Whether in the past or the future - or even RIGHT NOW - we'd love to have you visit our website and let us know what episodes we should record next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - however you prefer to share your opinions with us. And if you have the time - time, get it? - to leave us a review on iTunes, we'd be very grateful indeed!

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 64 - Deep Dive: Vlaada Chvátil02 Aug 202401:09:39

It's time for another deep dive - this time into the collected works of Czech game guru Vlaada Chvátil (whose name we hope we pronounced mostly right most of the time, but no promises). Join us as:

As always, thank you for listening. If you have the time to give us an iTunes review, please do - it really helps us grow!

We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 37 - Games You Shouldn‘t Play02 Sep 202101:01:23

Hey, you know how we mostly talk about games we like on this show? Well, here's a change of pace for you! That's right, here's an entire episode on games we think you shouldn't play - either because they're unplayable as written, wracked by production errors, or just really, really bad. Don't give up hope, though - we do have recommendations for better games that we think you should play instead. Listen along as:

  • None of us can remember which of Fast Food Franchise and Food Chain Magnate is which.
  • Mike is very annoyed that he didn't get to play one of the games you should never play.
  • The ritual of Throwing A Die, and its origin in...[checks notes]...boring goat-fondling? 
  • When the nicest thing you can say about a game company is, "They make really nice bags."
  • Was this Kickstarter a troll, a money-laundering scheme, or just a series of really terrible ideas? The world may never know.

And, of course, we have plenty of other random links and stuff!

We'd love to have you visit our website and let us know what episodes we should record next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - however you prefer to share your opinions with us. And if you have the time to leave us a review on iTunes, we'd be very grateful indeed!

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 36 - Tech Trees and Skill Trees02 Aug 202101:08:56

Hi! It's us again! (Well, "us" minus Mike but plus Sandi.) This month we're talking about tech trees and skill trees, two similar sets of mechanics that Frank has been a little obsessed with lately. There are lots of 4X games and lots of dungeon-crawling campaign games, plus a few others we snuck in here and there. Plus more opinions, sass, and stories about Sandi's crossbow!

We've added a bunch of new options to our Upcoming Episodes poll at our website, so please swing by and place your votes! Of, of course, you could comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofgames on Twitter - whatever your little social media heart desires. And if it desires to leave us a review on iTunes, our little social media hearts would be very grateful indeed!

By the way, this is the Sidereal Confluence card Joe is describing at around 25:05, and this is the original (and obviously much clearer) version.

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 35 - Worker Placement Games02 Jul 202101:25:53

It's been a long time, but this episode was recorded with us all live in the same room! In other words, we were all WORKING in the same PLACE, which may give you a hint as to the topic of this episode (if you haven't, you know, read the title already). We learned fun things like what game Sandi would rather bleed from the eyes than play, what game makes Joe feel like "a giant, raging jerk the entire game," and that Brian still can't get his co-hosts' names right.

Also, have some non-audio content:

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 34 - Out of the Lockdown02 Jun 202101:06:16

We're playing board games again! In the same physical space as each other! Vaccinations - another win for science! In this episode, we discuss the games that we're most looking forward to playing - on a real physical table in someone's house! Also, we ask timeless questions like:

  • What game does Frank describe as "Wheel of Fortune, the legacy board game"? 
  • What game does Brian describe as "the most Frank Branham game I've ever heard of"?
  • How many different ways can we mispronounce Corey Konieczka's name in one episode?
  • How many different ways can we mispronounce Leder Games in one episode?
  • And who recorded the best rock cover of a Saturday morning cartoon theme song? The Who? The Ramones? Or someone else entirely?

In addition:

  • Mike has achieved a dubious achievement!
  • We take a (mercifully brief) digression into the history of JRPGs.
  • Brian reveals his mean side, which he's never actually hidden.
  • We add another X and create the first 5X game! (Conceptually, at least.)
  • We start a new competition, and Jayson immediately comes up with a way to beat us at it.

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 33 - Two-Player Games02 May 202101:09:23

We recorded this back on Valentine's Day, but it's taken us this long to release it, so...well, enjoy some two-player games for Cinco de Mayo, maybe? In this episode:

  • Sandi has a crossbow!
  • Frank tells us about a game that made him bleed. (This is not related to Sandi having a crossbow...yet.)
  • Mike single-handedly revolutionizes the history of agriculture, and thus civilization itself!
  • Brian forgets Frank's name.
  • Jayson points out a very...European ad for Klask.

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 32 - Roll and Write Games02 Apr 202101:12:30

Roll and Write games! Yet another surprisingly contentious topic, but we went ahead anyway. This definitely wasn't planned as an April Fool's episode, but I have to admit we get a little foolish at a couple points here. (Also, apologies for Mike's audio, as he was fighting with an uncooperative dishwasher.)

  • Mike reveals the depth of his Avengers lore when he tells us about Thanos and his "Power Gems of Destiny"
  • Frank makes a joke about Hunger Games Yahtzee, only to discover the existence of Battle Yahtzee: Alien vs Predator
  • We (again) discuss the amazing Sid Sackson's classic A Gamut of Games
  • Joe does math! (Or, rather, makes Wolfram Alpha do math for him)
  • We invoke the wrath of mighty Tetrises - a cruel and angry god indeed
  • We discuss the surprisingly diverse game designs of Hjalmar Hach and Lorenzo Silva
  • Frank doesn't know what's wrong with Brian. (How much time do you have, Frank?)

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 31B - Good Tie-In Games, Part202 Mar 202100:46:26

We're back to talk some more about some of our favorite tie-in games (and slightly less about Jodorowsky's Dune). We continue our tradition of not knowing what the heck we're talking about, as an off-mic Sandi corrects Frank's gross misunderstanding of the Witcher's fundamental nature. This episode also encompasses virtually all of Jayson's childhood (and, indeed, adulthood), plus some commentary from the rest of us, including some discussions on some franchises that we wish WOULD have a good board game, but don't.

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 31 - Good Tie-In Games, Part 102 Feb 202100:58:00

It turns out we REALLY like talking about the universes and stories that we love. So much so that this episode on book/TV/movie tie-in games has grown to expand into two episodes, mostly because we won't shut up. Hopefully this experiment doesn't drive you too crazy.

It also turns out that, while we like these things, we don't know as much about them as we should. For example:

  • Jayson talks about Conan for 20 minutes, but doesn't know what is best in life.
  • Brian raves about Tolkien games, but cannot distinguish between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (games).
  • Frank loves Toho monster movies, but cannot identify Megalon. (He also has some math issues.)
  • Joe takes a brief tangent on Jodorowsky's Dune and suddenly thinks the podcast is a TV show. Then things get weird. (I'm very sorry.) 

Other items of interest in this episode include:

  • This will be no surprise to our regular listeners, but Frank owns many, many board games.
  • Joe began his foray into board game design at a very young age.
  • Brian gets slightly maniacal at the pace of the episode.

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 30 - Games with Changing Boards02 Jan 202101:17:09

Happy New Year! Congratulations on surviving 2020 with enough mental fortitude to listen to a podcast about board games! To celebrate the (hopefully positive) change in the calendar, we're talking about games where the board changes as you play. You'll hear us say things like:

  • "Sometimes you just wanna go punch your friends in the face."
  • "In 2003, Mayfair Games produced a tiny little bundle of hate."
  •  "Yahtzee, with punching." (I'm sensing a theme here...)
  • "Hey Culligan Man!"

Other items of interest in this episode include:

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 29 - 2020 Year-End Wrap-Up04 Dec 202001:11:18

2020 - what a year, huh? After everything else it's thrown at us, it managed to give us a last-minute technical glitch that made this episode several days late. We're sorry - thanks for bearing with us!

Amazingly, we were still able to come up with an hour's worth of discussion about good things that happened in 2020, as well as a glimpse at what we're hoping will make 2021 a better year (not that it has a high bar to clear there).

  • Mike convinces Frank to spend some money for a change.
  • Jayson fails to find the origin of "Vril," which originated in an obscure novel by the man who brought you "It was a dark and stormy night" (not to mention "the pen is mightier than the sword").
  • Frank abandons board games for computer games (although to be fair, they include some excellent computer games).
  • We get a nice rant from Joe - we haven't had one of those in a while!
  • And a potentially exciting surprise announcement that even WE weren't expecting!

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 63 - Turn Order02 Jul 202401:07:20

Hello all! We have a lot of games to get through this month, so everybody please take your turn promptly. But how do we know whose turn it is? Listen and find out!

  • Mike happily admits that he would rather watch crappy anime than good movies and TV.
  • Brian explains the original rules to History of the World about four times, and eventually gets them right.
  • Frank has many game designer shrines in his house.
  • We do our research live on the air, making corrections as we go!

As always, thank you for listening. Not to rush you, but it is your turn to give us an iTunes review, so please do so!

We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 28 - Negotiation Games02 Nov 202001:16:48

We'll make you a deal - you download and listen to this episode, and we'll tell you about some of our favorite (and least favorite) negotiation games. As an added bonus, we've gotten our sound quality back to something that should be close to our pre-COVID levels, and we'll throw that in for free. (Thanks to Craig Shipman at the Third Floor Wars podcast for the suggestion that got us there - if you're at all interested in miniature skirmish gaming, that is a show you will definitely want to check out!)

We also answer some age-old questions:

  • Who is Dan Baden's b*tch, and how did he earn that title?
  • What game does Frank call "The Box of Being Mean To Each Other"?
  • And, of course, what combination of Dune rules do we play with?
    • Advanced Faction Abilities: Yes
    • Collections Bonus: Yes
    • Advanced Combat: No
    • Expanded Treachery: No
    • Diversified Victory: No
    • Main Leaders: No
    • Playing with Two or Three: God no, why would you do that?

A few other items of interest from this month:

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 27 - Heartbreakers, Part 202 Oct 202000:52:00

We're back, having survived another month of the heartbreak that is 2020, to talk about more of the games that also broke our hearts. The audio continues to be noisy, for which we continue to apologize, but we have a cunning plan in place to improve things for next month. Thank you for your patience, and stay tuned!

Some elements of interest from this month:

What are the games that broke your heart? And why are we all (but especially Frank) wrong about the ones on our list? Please let us know. And please fill out the Future Episodes poll on our homepage if you haven't already!

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 26 - Heartbreakers, Part 101 Sep 202000:54:54

Hi, folks. This month, we...we...

I'm sorry. I'll get it together. Give me a minute. (Blows nose noisily.)

This month we're talking about the games that broke our hearts...the ones we really, really wanted to love, but that ended up just making us miserable. (Almost as miserable as our continued COVID-caused audio deficiencies, for which we continue to apologize.) Among our melancholy memories:

  • Brian gets all noir up in here.
  • A game board worthy of a third-grade book report.
  • Some gorgeous miniatures from a lousy game.
  • Some other thematically identical gorgeous miniatures from a different game, which we have not identified as lousy.
  • Jayson reminds Mike of a game he hated so much that he blocked it from his memory.

What games do you think Part 2 will hold? What are the games that broke your heart? Please let us know!

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

Thank you for listening!

Episode 25 - Racing Games03 Aug 202000:56:47

Well, we came in last this month, but this episode has finally arrived - time to discuss racing games! (Although, as we mention at the end, almost all games can be defined as racing games in one way or another.) Sadly, we are still limited by lockdown audio quality, but hopefully you still find it listenable. Thanks for bearing with us!

 

In this episode:

As always, we appreciate your listening and would love to hear your comments on any or all of these items, and especially a review on iTunes if you have the time and inclination!

Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

 

The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

 

Thank you for listening!

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