Episode 400 - Aves

Release Date: June 15, 2022

Download:  Enhanced  | MP3

Running Time:  180 min

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Seven fruits, seven feathers. The birds are playing a colorful game. When a red apple is eaten, a feather turns red. Eat a lime, a feather turns green. Can you be the first bird to collect all the colors and display them in your pretty plumage?

Aves is a card capturing / set collecting game with roots in the classics. It shares common ancestry with games like Gin Rummy and Scopa. It is also a game of simple, subtle, and sneaky strategies . Tune in to learn why we think Aves is a wonderfully accessible invitation to a lighter and brighter kind of fun.

This show also marks the 400th review episode of The Spiel!!

To celebrate, we invited Spielers from around the world to host seven different segments that have been part of the program over the past 16 years. This super sized show is filled with fan favorites, lots of laughs, and a ridiculous amount of board game hijinx. We hope you have as much fun listening as we did putting it together.

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Episode 399 - 7 Wonders: Architects

Release Date: May 31, 2022

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Running Time:  86 min

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Can you construct a Wonder so grand it will forever leave your mark on history? As the leader of an ancient nation, this is your goal.

7 Wonders Architects is a quick-playing game of card drafting and empire building. Players score points for creating their Wonder, as well as military, cultural, and scientific accomplishments.

Inspired by its wildly successful sibling (7 Wonders), Architects builds a different kind of fun - one that is open and approachable by a broader audience.

Listen in to explore the game and learn why we think Architects is a wonder in its own right.

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ALSO featured in this episode... Flicking Around with Bruce Voge! This installment features a Crokinole Board Buyer's Guide, chock full of great suggestions, insights, and advice whether you're just learning about the game or pondering adding a board to your game collection.

 

Episode 398 - Long Shot: The Dice Game

Release Date:  May 18, 2022

Download: PDF

Designers: Chris Handy

Publisher: Perplext

1-8 players  | 20-30 min  |  ages 10+  | 4-5 min to learn | MSRP $30

 

It’s going to be a great day at the track. Whether you’re here to bet on your favorite, cheer on the horse you own, or enjoy a mint julep in the stands, the excitement and anticipation builds as the field thunders around the last turn, headed for the home stretch!

Long Shot: The Dice Game is a roll-and-move-and-write game.

Each roll, a horse will gallop toward the finish line, dragging others along for the ride.

Each roll, you will have a chance to shape the outcome of the race and your fortunes with a variety of special actions: betting or buying horses, concessions, or equipment.

Will you play it safe to insure a solid payout or press your luck to cash in? Collect the most money to walk away the talk of the track.

Read on to explore this incredibly fun and flexible game.

Written review continues after the break.

Episode 397 - Boomerang

Release Date: May 9, 2022

Download:  Enhanced  | MP3

Running Time:  32 min

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The best way to travel is boomerang style. Pick a place to start and go! The farther you wander, the better the trip. Grab a bus, or train, a plane, a bike, or a boat to see and do as much as you can before your vacation ends. Spot native animals, collect souvenirs, hike the great outdoors, and experience fine dining. And don’t forget to take some great pictures along the way!

Boomerang is a draft-and-write card game. Pick a location card, mark sites you visit on your map, and pass your hand to the next player. Try to build the best trip over a series of seven cards balancing multiple ways to score with each new destination

The Boomerang family of games covers Australia, Europe, and the United States.Each game provides a common core of rules with surprising and fun continental differences.

Tune in to explore the game and learn how the entire series earns BOTH awards!

Episode 396 - Glow

Release Date: Apr. 29, 2022

Download:  Enhanced  | MP3

Running Time:  129 min

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There is a world beyond where color is a gift, not a given. Once a generation, darkness comes and drains the spectrum, washing the world in shadows. Once a generation, a chosen few are sent into the black to reclaim the light and return color to the land.

You have eight days to gather companions and collect shards of light. The journey will be arduous, BUT with careful plans... and a little luck, you could become a legend!

Glow is a dice driven card and board game. The success of your adventure will be measured by creating combinations of dice to trigger your companions' abilities and travel across the land.

Listen in to explore this playable storybook and learn why it has earned our Spiel of Approval.

ALSO FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE...  The amazing Bruce Voge joins us for a Game Night Grab Bag. The topic? Games about odd sports.

Episode 395 - Block Ness

Release Date:  Apr. 20, 2022

Download: PDF

Designers: Laurent Escoffier

Publisher: Blue Orange Games

2-4 players  | 15 min  |  ages 8+  | 3 min to learn | MSRP $28

 

Once home to a single very shy sea monster, Block Ness is now teeming with long bodied serpents! Each one is looking to stretch out and claim as much of the lake as it can. By twisting your monster’s undulating body over and around the others, can you create the longest serpent from head to tail?

Read on to explore the Block Ness and witness the monstrous mountain of Major Fun rising from the waves of its cardboard lake.

Written review continues after the break.

Episode 394 - Brian Boru

Release Date: Apr. 11, 2022

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Running Time:  109 min

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Brian Boru united Ireland and ended centuries of  Viking dominance.  Celebrated in story and song for a thousand years, Brian's legend is yours to explore in this trick-taking board game.

Round by round and town by town, you will play cards to secure the crown through might, cunning, and matrimony. Marriage is the right metaphor for this game. Brian Boru pairs a time-tested game element with modern design to offer many suprising and fun strategies. Can you grab history by the reins and take on the mantle of High King?

 Listen in for a deep dive into the game and learn why it has earned our Spiel of Approval!

 

Episode 393 - Hide N' Cheek

Release Date:  Mar. 29, 2022

Download: PDF

Designers: uncredited

Publisher: Big G Creative

2-4 players  | 15 min  |  ages 6+  | 2 min to learn | MSRP $20

 

You are a chipmunk. And you are one crafty little bugger. In your spare time you play a bluffing game with your friends. Deep in the forest, you take turns hiding acorns under some logs and one by one you and your pals get a chance to search. You might scare up a single nut or you could hit the motherlode. Any nuts you find get crammed into your chubby little cheeks! Do your best to avoid coming up empty or even worse, finding a bad nut! With a little luck, your cheeks will be the chunkiest. You might look silly, but you won't mind at all.. because you'll be crowned the Hide n' Cheek Champion!

Written review continues after the break.

Episode 392 - Three Sisters

Release Date: Mar. 16, 2022

Download:  Enhanced  | MP3

Running Time:  95 min

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The days reach out. Birds chatter and sing. Gentle rains linger.

The Spring thaw has come.

And from the ground, tiny hopes awaken, three seeds, Three Sisters, wearing green.

Three Sisters is a roll and write dice game where you plan, plant, nurture, and harvest a small farm over a single growing season.

Using techniques practiced by indigenous peoples for centuries, you grow corn, beans, and pumpkins, each one supporting the other. Will you start an orchard? Or tend a hive of bees? Perhaps a glorious stand of wildflowers? Each die you choose will shape your garden and the goods you can bring to market.

Listen in to explore the game and learn why we think Three Sisters is a game with soul.

Episode 391 - Pocket Paragons

Release Date: Mar. 7, 2022

Download:  Enhanced  | MP3

Running Time:  38 min

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Pocket Paragons is a what-beats-what card dueling game. Select a card; play it’s ability and try to anticipate your opponent’s next move. Duel one on one or in teams of three characters.

From Mata the Paladin to Sadoh the Ocean Queen, this is a world of high fantasy and high stakes. Seven cards separate you from glory or defeat.

Pocket Paragons is a duel distilled down to its very essence. A long game might take ten minutes! But don't be fooled into thinking speed means lack of strategy. There are fun and challenging decisions at the heart of every turn.

Listen in to explore the game and learn how the game earns BOTH our awards.

 

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