Which Game First: A Board Game Podcast

Which Game First
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Which Game First: A Board Game Podcast Podcast

We all know that board games are the cornerstone of every great civilization. Now finally, as never before, there’s a podcast that can help you discover which games to play! Celeste DeAngelis hosts the panel of intrepid game explorers and designers Mike Grenier, Ed Povilaitis, Evan Bernstein and Joe Unfried. Each episode they explore the hilariously huge world of board gaming, unearthing the gems and the junk.

  1. 16 SEPT

    Dungeon Scrawlers | Flutter | Engaging 24 Game

    Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out! First: We find out if the dry erase pen is mightier than the sword in: Dungeon ScrawlersNext: We put the petals to the meadow in: FlutterAnd lastly: We make the numbers sing before we hear the DING in: Engaging 24 Game Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Scrawlers – Heroes of Waterdeep Designed by: Vangelis Bagiartakis, Konstantinos KaragiannisPublished by: WizKids (2023)Players: 2 – 4Ages: 10 & upPlaying time: 15 minutes In Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Scrawlers – Heroes of Waterdeep, is a race game set inside a maze, where opponents must fight monsters and gather treasure and complete encounters inside rooms throughout the dungeon. Players pick one of five available classes, each with their own special ability! Players will each use the same dry-erase dungeon map. Starting with their marker on the “start” space, when the game begins they speed through the maze using a single, unbroken line. Along the way, they have to face challenges that earn them points: fill in a monster to defeat them, circle a treasure to take it, trace a spell to cast it, and more! The game ends when time runs out or someone defeats the final boss, and whoever has the most points wins.  So scrawl, while you crawl, but do not fall, and keep your eye on the ball. Flutter Designed by: Matt BahntgePublished by: Phase Shift Games (2024)Players: 2 – 5Ages: 8 & upPlaying time: 45 minutes Flutter is a tile placement game where players are trying to collect the most pollen by laying tiles with matching flower petal colors. On a player’s turn, they will choose one tile from one of five stacks. One of the stacks will be free to choose, but other stacks will have cost to them. You can buy one of those tiles by paying pedal points of the appropriate color that matches the butterfly on the tile. With each turn, a player will place a uniquely shaped tile, aiming to match the correct petals colors at the corners of each tile, and thereby growing flowers. Growing flowers earns players pedals of the same color of the flower they grew. Players will spend their petal tokens when they enclose a previously laid tile, supplying the tile’s pollinator with all the flowers it needs, earning pollen. Pollen points are the VP’s. And if you manage to enclose a tile with your bee token on it … bonus points! When one of the five stacks of tiles is emptied, the game comes to an end. The player with the most pollen at the end of the game will be crowned the winner and earn the admiration of all the pollinators in the meadow! Engaging 24 Game Designed by:  (uncredited)Published by: LinglePlayers: any numberAges: 6 & upPlaying time: (not listed) Engaging 24 Game is a math game. 4 d12’s are rolled, and players must then find a combination among the dice that equals 24.   For example, if the numbers 1, 4, 9, and 12 are rolled on the 4 dice, you could come up with this solution:  4×9 is 36, x1 is still 36, then subtract 12 from 36, and you end up with 24. Once you have it figured out, ring the bell in the center of the table, present your answer, and win the round. Play as many rounds as you like. Before long,

    51 min

  2. 26 AUG

    The Mother Road: Route 66 | Foundations of Rome | Mount Drago

    Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out! First up: We press the gas pedal and our luck in The Mother Road: Route 66Next: We build up rome and our architectural reputations in Foundations of RomeAnd lastly: We race our winged beasts across peaks on card power in Mount Drago The Mother Road: Route 66 Designed by: Sid Sackson, Rick SouedPublished by: Eagle-Gryphon Games (2022)Players: 1 – 4Ages: 9 & upPlaying time: 20 – 40 minutes The Mother Road: Route 66 is a press-your-luck race on that famous stretch of road, Route 66. On their turn, players will roll 4 dice, and divide the rolls up into pairs. The player then uses the results to move the cars of those numbers. So if you roll say a 4 a 4 a 3 a 3, you can choose to make those a pair of 7’s , or a 8 and a 6. You would then choose to move the 7 car twice, or the 8 car plus the 6 car one space each. It is a press of your luck game, so feel free to keep rolling until you choose to stop and mark your positions on the lines, OR crash the car on RT 66 by making a roll where you can’t move your cars anymore, and start over. The goal is to be the first player to move your car to the end of the number line, and score the most points. Players who are close enough to the end of the line can possibly score second place points on that line. Once 6 of the number lines are completed, the game ends and points are totaled. Player with the highest total wins, and becomes King of the Road! Foundations of Rome Designed by: Emerson MatsuuchiPublished by: Arcane Wonders (2022)Players: 2 – 4 (5)Ages: 13 & upPlaying time: 60 – 90 minutes Foundations of Rome is a city-building board game which puts you into the role of an architect competing to own land and build magnificent structures!  Players are randomly assigned starting positions on the city grid. And take 1 of 3 actions on their turn: * Take Income – get 5 coins + extra coins for buildings they control in the city * Buy a Lot – from the market, pay the coin, some are more expensive than others (on a line) * Construct a Building – if you own the spaces, you can build a building up that size lot. A player can also build over a building they already built, so long as it is at least one size bigger. This continues for 3 rounds. At the end of each round, players score for citizens, score building bonuses, and collect coins. Some icons allow for a player to score points on buildings adjacent to theirs – basically using other players’ buildings to enhance their scores. And of course, there are BONUS points available for having the highest totals in these categories. The player with the most glory points is appointed leader of the new Senate, and wins the game, and who knows they might just take a stab at becoming the new Ceaser. Oh wait, bad joke, too soon? Mount Drago Designed by: Leo ColoviniPublished by: Schmidt Spiele (2011)Players: 2 – 5Ages: 8 & upPlaying time: 30 minutes Mount Draco is a sort of hybrid  – it’s a race game, but not really, and it’s a worker placement game, but not really. A bit hard to pinpoint, but regardless, here’s how it goes.

    44 min

  3. 1 AUG

    Fromage | GrumbleStone | Con Sonar!

    Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out! First up: We seek tangy prestige as we age cream to stinky perfection in FromageNext: We take rock monsters to polyominoes heights in GrumbleStoneAnd lastly: We sneak our watery way to radioactive victory in Con Sonar! Fromage Designed by: Matthew O’Malley, Ben RossetPublished by: Road To Infamy Games (R2i Games) (2024)Players: 1 – 4Ages: 14 & upPlaying time: 30 – 45 minutes Fromage is a worker placement game where players are French cheesemakers in the early 20th century making, aging, and selling artisanal cheeses.  The game board is a giant circle, divided into 4 sections. Once players place their workers into the quadrant that is facing them, the board will then rotate clockwise so that a new quarter wedge of the board is facing them. Place one of your workers in the resource gathering area of the wedge facing you, and then place another worker in the area to make cheese. As the board rotates, if any of your workers that you placed are now facing you, you retrieve those workers. Workers placed will take 1, 2, or 3 turns to be retrieved. Each of the 4 sections of the board have different rules for how to score for the cheeses you make. Players may also collect resources to unlock extra abilities and bonuses to use throughout the game. And may collect livestock and fruit to unlock bonus cheese points. Score Prestige Points by selling cheese to the four locations, and by efficiently managing and upgrading your creamery. Become the most prestigious cheesemaker in all of France by running a highly successful creamery and crafting exceptional cheese, and the winner gets to claim victory using an outrageous French accent! GrumbleStone Designed by: Josh McBridePublished by: Blue Fox Games (2024)Players: 1 – 4Ages: 8 & upPlaying time: 25 – 40 minutes Grumblestone is a tile placement game where players are golems, each with their own special abilities, fighting it out versus other golems in a test for supremacy. TUMBLE- roll both six sided dice and assign the results on to a grid RUMBLE- activate the symbols in the row and column GRUMBLE- buy polyominoes and enhance your grid The results of the dice placement will result in players dealing damage, repairing their golem, enhancing the defense of their golem, and gaining points to purchase new polyominoes.  Fill in one of your rows or columns completely to unleash your golems special power, and then fill in both a row and a column to unleash their superpower! And whatever you do, try not to CRUMBLE… The last Golem standing wins the game and becomes “King of the Mountains”… so Tumble Rumble Grumble try to to Crumble and always remain Humble. Con Sonar! Designed by: Christian BoutinPublished by: Exequor Studios (2011)Players: 2 – 6Ages: 12 & upPlaying time: 10 – 30 minutes Con Sonar! is a card game where your goal is to sink more enemy submarines than the other players, while making sure your own subs survive.  12 submarines are placed on the “firing solution” board at the beginning of the game. The board ranges from the numbers 1 through 8. Players play a fleet card to move a submarine up or down t...

    45 min

  4. 19 JUL

    Trailblazers | Tiny Turbo Cars | Junior Executive

    Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out! First up: We shuffle up and deal a path to the great outdoors in TrailblazersNext: We peel out and puzzle our way to the finish line in Tiny Turbo CarsAnd lastly: We wheel and deal our way ahead of the other kids on the block in Junior Executive Trailblazers Designed by: Ryan CourtneyPublished by: Bitewing Games (2023)Players: 1 – 8Ages: 8 & upPlaying time: 30 minutes Trailblazers is a card drafting game where players are gutsy folks who pave and brave the trails of the great outdoors.  Players are competing to earn the most points by building biking, hiking, and kayaking loops from their campsites of the matching trail type. So this game is all about completing those LOOPS. Each round, players are dealt eight trail cards where they’ll draft two cards, arrange those cards in their personal area, and pass their hand to the next player three times. Cards must either be placed adjacent to or overlapping other cards. While players can push their luck by aiming to construct long and elaborate trails, only closed loops that start and end at a matching campsite will score points. Players also compete to fulfill “First To” and “End Game” goal cards.  After four rounds, the game ends and the player with the most points from closed loops and goal cards wins, blazing new trails while everyone else goes off the rails! Tiny Turbo Cars Designed by: Hjalmar Hach, Alessandro Manuini, Jonathan Panada, Laura Severino, Giulia TamagniPublished by: Horrible Guild (2022)Players: 2 – 4Ages: 8 & upPlaying time: 30 – 45 minutes Tiny Turbo Cars is a race game in which you program the movements of your tiny toy car, with a sliding puzzle acting as your remote controller. At the beginning of each round, players have to work their way through their sliding puzzle controllers simultaneously, trying to create the sequence of actions they want their car to perform during the round. Each symbol on the puzzle corresponds to one of the possible actions — but only the two middle rows of commands on your controllers will be applied, so there’s room for maneuvers, but be quick! The first player to put down their controller will be the first to move their car during the round. Each player then executes the program they created, and the sooner you play during a round, the safer you are that your actions will actually play out as planned rather than crashing into unexpected obstacles…or other cars! But trying to be quick might also increase your chances of making mistakes, and every time you take damage, you lose battery power, which will slow you down. But hey, mistakes happen, right? You can always recharge and be back in the race. The winner is the player who makes it across the finish line first, and/or the farthest. Ladies and gentlemen, start your tiny engines!  Vroom! Junior Executive Designed by: (Uncredited)Published by: Whitman (1955)Players: 2 – 4Ages: 7 – 12Playing time: (not listed) Junior Executive is a “play money game” game where players are kids in charge of a company that makes one of these products: toys, ice cream, soda pop, or candy. Players each start with $2000 of capital. Each player must start the game by obtaining a truck, which a player can buy for $1k and then take a loan out for another $1k,

    48 min

  5. 7 JUL

    Looot | The Fox Experiment | Billabong

    Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out! First up: We ravage the English countryside to build our Viking homesteads in LoootNext up: We attempt to raise strong and loveable kits for SCIENCE! in The Fox ExperimentAnd lastly: We spring into action in a furious dash and bring the thunder from down under in Billabong Looot Designed by: Charles Chevallier, Laurent EscoffierPublished by: Gigamic (2024)Players: 2 – 4Ages: 10 & upPlaying time: 35 minutes Looot is a worker placement and tile collection game where you are a Viking, gathering resources and capturing buildings to develop your fjord.  In turn, players will place their Viking on a hex max, and will take whatever resource exists on that space. Vikings can only be placed next to another Viking, or a longship. The resource is then placed on that player’s personal tableau, anywhere they like.  The player’s tableau also will have a few construction sites, such as a port and an altar, which require the placement of the correct resources adjacent to that building. Along the way, Vikings can capture special buildings such as houses, watchtowers, and castles.  If a player places a longship on their tableau, they must be completed, or you will earn negative points for any uncompleted longships. Trophies can also be collected for additional victory points. So store up the most riches, add up your victory points once all of your Vikings have been placed, the most VP wins and is crowned Jarl of the Vikings! The Fox Experiment Designed by: Jeff Fraser, Elizabeth HargravePublished by: Pandasaurus Games (2023)Players: 1 – 4 + expansion for 5 – 6Ages: 10 & upPlaying time: 75 minutes In 1958, Demitri Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut started an experiment on domestication. From a large group of foxes, they selected the ones that reacted to humans with more curiosity and less aggression. In each generation, they selected only the friendliest pups to become parents — hoping to recreate the process that originally led to domestication thousands of years ago. The experiment made stunning progress. Even though the foxes were chosen only for their friendliness, they soon started to get many of the physical traits that we associate with domesticated animals — like spots, floppy ears, and curly tails. As communication opened up, the foxes made major contributions to our understanding of how these traits are expressed. The experiment continues to this day. In The Fox Experiment, you’ll breed your own domesticated foxes. In each round you’ll select a pair of fox parents who have certain traits. You’ll gain those specific trait dice, roll them, then try to move them around to make complete trait symbols which you’ll then mark off on your pup card. You’ll then gain trait tokens depending on how many traits you marked off which you’ll use to upgrade tracks on your personal player board. At the end of the round, the previous generation of foxes will be cleared and all of the new pups will be moved to the kennel — thus becoming candidates to be chosen as parents in the next round. The game ends after 5 rounds and you’ll gain points for pleasing patrons (end of game scoring bonuses), studies completed (personal player objectives), if you ever won the friendliest fox award, upgrades on your personal player board, and extra tokens. The player with the most points wins!

    44 min

  6. 20 JUN

    Whale to Look | MLEM: Space Agency | Rage

    Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out! First up: We cruise for Orca sightings on a card filled sea in Whale to LookNext: It’s 2075 and we’re cats in charge of the planet and it’s future in MLEM: Space Agency And lastly: We test our trick taking skill and our friendships in Rage Whale to Look Designed by: Bruno Faidutti, Jun SasakiPublished by: Oink Games (2023)Players: 2 – 5Ages: 9 & upPlaying time: 30 minutes Whale to Look is an investigation and deduction game where players are captains of boats, leading their boats of tourists into the ocean to look for whales and orcas. Each captain controls 3 boats.  One boat will have 1 tourist, another has 2, and the third boat has 3 tourists. On their turn a captain will use one of their investigation markers to take a peek at one of the 12 face-down fish cards. Investigating means you have to move one of your three boats on to an area car. area cards are the areas among the fish cards where boats go to try and find the whale and the orca. An area card can only hold a max of 3 boats. Once all players are done moving, the fish cards are turned over. Each area card counts the total value of the 4 fish cards around them. The area with the highest amount of fish sees the Whale. The area with the least sees the orca. Each tourist in a boat that sees the whale or the orca is worth a point, with bonus points available if your boat lowered its anchor. Play 2 rounds, highest point total wins, and the winner gets to holler and whale MLEM: Space Agency Designed by: Reiner KniziaPublished by: Rebel Studio (2024)Players: 1 – 5Ages: 8 & upPlaying time: 30 – 60 minutes MLEM Space Agency is a press your luck dice game, where players are cat astronauts trying to reach the depths of space and safely land on planets and moons. Play starts by each player loading one of their cats into the rocket (one rocket holds all the player’s cats, so it’s a shared journey) but there is only one captain, the cat placed in the lead position on the ship. Each cat has a special ability. On their turn, the captain rolls six 6-sided dice. The faces of the dice are 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, and a boost symbol. Roll all the dice, and decide which dice to use, depending on where the rocket is in space. Each space along the path can utilize only certain numbers or the boost symbol, and in order not to crash the ship, you have to utilize at least one of the dice matching the particular space on the rocket’s path. Along the journey, the rocket will pass by planets and moons, and at the end of each successful roll, the players must decide if this is a good spot for their cat to leave the rocket to land on the planet of the moon. Or they might want to continue the journey deeper into space to find bigger scores. Game ends when a player places their last cat, or if the rocket crashes 10 times. Add up the points, declare victory, and then go lie down in the sun for a nap. Rage Designed by: (Uncredited)Published by: AMIGO (1983)Players: 2 – 10Ages: 10 & upPlaying time: 45 minutes Rage is a trick taking game that takes place over 10 hands, with the hand size shrinking by one each time, until the final one-card hand. Players use the deck of zero through fifteen in six...

    42 min

  7. 27 MAY

    Streets | Amun-Re | Trick of the Rails

    Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out! First up: We’re trying our hand at urban development one tile at a time in StreetsNext: We show the gods how much our royal blood cares about them in Amen-ReAnd lastly: It’s 1830 as we invest our cards in the future of steam engines in Trick of the Rails Streets Designed by: Haakon GaarderPublished by: Sinister Fish Games (2021)Players: 1 – 5Ages: 10 & upPlaying time: 30 – 60 minutes Streets is a hand management and tile placement game where players are investors creating attractive new streets in a growing city, investing in new businesses and homes. Valuations are affected by the other buildings in the street, so smart placement is essential to maximize profit. Players start with three building tiles in their hand. There are 4 sets (colors) along with wildcards.  When a player places a building onto a street, they will receive a number of matching meeples as shown on the bottom edge of the tile. Place the matching people on the tile as well as an ownership marker. Buildings can only be placed in a way that it connects to an existing street, either in line with an existing street, or perpendicular to the existing street. A street can have a maximum of 5 buildings. When a street is closed off by having a perpendicular street on both of its ends, that street then scores. Collect your money and remove any ownership tags on that street. Any meeples on that street will move onto the perpendicular street. You have limited ownership markers, so be careful about running out of them.  To earn the most money and win the game you need to manage your limited investment funds cleverly, planning ahead while keeping your mind open to fresh opportunities. The city is populated by hipsters, families, shoppers and tourists, each with their own preferred building type. Cleverly located properties can benefit from the growing crowds of people who further increase the value of the buildings they visit. The player with the most money at the end of the game is the winner, while all other players get kicked to the curb. Amun-Re: 20th Anniversary Edition Designed by: Reiner KniziaPublished by: Alley Cat Games (2023)Players: 2 – 5Ages: 12 & upPlaying time: 60 – 90 minutes Amun-Re is an area control and resource management game where The players are leaders of a royal Egyptian family, who are choosing their sites to control and to build their pyramids in thanks to Amun-Re and the other gods for their bounty. In Amun-Re, each pharaoh wants to build the most pyramids. To accomplish this, they must first acquire a province where they can trade and farm by bidding on it.  Try to get the province you want for the lowest possible price. Some provinces grant automatic bonuses when you win them. With their profits, they can buy power cards, bricks, and farmers. Place farmers in provinces you control, and you’ll get money at the end of every turn. Place bricks in provinces to build up pyramids. 3 bricks equals 1 pyramid.  After the purchasing and placement of resources, players then make an offering to Amun-Re.  You silently choose a number of coins to make, then all cards are revealed, and add up all the offerings together. The higher the number, the more money per farmer players get. Sometimes players want the number to be smaller – depending on the provinces they own – so their contributions might be very small. At the end of each round,

    44 min

  8. 8 MAY

    Bristol 1350 | Blueprints of Mad King Ludwig | Goats' Day Out

    Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out! First: We try to catch the last cart out of town as we scramble away from black death in Bristol 1350  Next: We draft rather unique castles to please a picky regent in Blueprints of Mad King Ludwig And lastly: It’s party time as we gobble up all the trash in our neighborhood in Goat’s Day Out.  Bristol 1350 Designed by: Travis HancockPublished by: Facade Games (2021)Players: 1 – 9Ages: 13 & upPlaying time: 20 – 40 minutes Bristol 1350 is a race against your opponents, as the dreaded Black Death has descended upon the town of Bristol, and you are racing down the streets in one of the three available apple carts, desperate to escape into the safety of the countryside. Each player’s meeple starts on one of three carts, and starts the game with two symptom cards, which are always kept secret. The cards are numbered 1 to 4. During the game, you may have to get new symptom cards, and if they add up to 6, you are plagued! Each player gets a remedy card as well, Remedies help the players with special actions during the race out of town. Six Dice are then rolled, which will act as the movement for the carts, plus if two or more rats of the same color as the cart is rolled, all players in that cart add a symptom card to their hand, combine all players cards in the cart, reshuffle, and redeal two cards to each player in the cart. let’s hope you don’t have 6 or more after the redealing. Take one of three actions per turn: reroll two dice, draw a new remedy, or move inside your cart or to another cart. If you leave town with a plagued villager on your cart, you will catch the plague. You must do whatever is necessary to make sure that doesn’t happen! If your cart is the first to leave the town and it is full of only healthy villagers when you leave, you and your fellow cart-mates successfully escape and win the game, to live another day in the healthy world that used to be Bristol circa 1350! Blueprints of Mad King Ludwig Designed by: Ted AlspachPublished by: Bézier Games (2024)Players: 1 – 5Ages: 15 & upPlaying time: 60 minutes Blueprints of Mad King Ludwig is a flip and sketch strategy game, where you are an architect in the time of Mad King Ludwig, trying to test your architectural skills to impress the mad king, as you draw the most extravagant blueprints for his next castle! Select rooms to add to your castle’s floor plan. As you complete rooms’ entrances by connecting them to other rooms, earn new abilities such as adding or removing entrances, earning new bonus cards, and taking extra turns. Keep your eye on the King’s favors to beat out your opponents for public goals, as well as create courtyards and moats around your castle for some massive points to get ahead!  The player who sketches the castle most suited to the whims of King Ludwig takes the royal victory, and is duly rewarded with now having to build this palace which is most likely, unbuildable! Goats’ Day Out Designed by: Rebecca Bleau, Nicholas CravottaPublished by: ThinkFun (2023)Players: 2 – 5Ages: 8 & upPlaying time: 30 – 60 minutes Goats’ Day Out is a tile drafting and tableau building game, where each player is a hungry hungry goat. Plates of food scraps, old clothing, and other equally delicious edibles are passed around on plates in front of you,

    47 min
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We all know that board games are the cornerstone of every great civilization. Now finally, as never before, there’s a podcast that can help you discover which games to play! Celeste DeAngelis hosts the panel of intrepid game explorers and designers Mike Grenier, Ed Povilaitis, Evan Bernstein and Joe Unfried. Each episode they explore the hilariously huge world of board gaming, unearthing the gems and the junk.

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