The Ascent of Board Games

The Ascent of Board Games
  • 4.9 (17)
  • Games
  • Updated Monthly

A monthly podcast dedicated to the history, evolution, present state, and future potential of our favorite board games.

  1. Jun 1

    Episode 81, Part 1 - Fantasy Flight Games: The Rise

    Hi folks! We're back (yes, even including Jayson!) with an episode that's a little different than our usual - do let us know what you think! This month and next month, we're doing a different kind of deep dive. Rather than specifically looking at a single game mechanic or designer, we're looking at a game company - in this case, Fantasy Flight Games. Not to give anything away, but the fact that this episode is subtitled "The Rise" might give you a moment's pause about next month's episode... Have you ever wanted to read a novel set in one of FFG's game universes? Well, they released some anyway. Diskwars: The Mess FFG made a movie! Rotten Tomatoes has it at 8%, so you know we need to set up a watch party on Discord... The War of the Ring Collector's Edition is mighty hard to find these days, but you can still get the only slightly less cool Two Decades Limited Edition. Frank says the first edition of this FFG product had "one fatal flaw - it's a terrible game." Are you - or were you - a Fantasy Flight Fan? Are there other game companies you'd like us to give this kind of treatment to? Was this a terrible idea? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and 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! Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com Email: ascentofboardgames@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/ And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames 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!

    45 min

  2. May 1

    Episode 80 - Antoine Bauza Deep Dive

    Episode 80 - who'da thunk it? Thank you so much for sticking with us over (gulp) almost eight years of our nonsense. (Don't do the math - lots of two-part episodes have ruined that.)  This month, we take a deep dive into the game designs of Antoine Bauza, a talented designer with an eclectic repertoire that ranges from a few all-time classics (including one that's currently in the BGG top 20) to some lighter games to some that the Ascent crew are...let's say "divided on the merits of." (By which we mean "Brian likes this game and no one else does.") How many game designers have released two Spiel des Jahres-winning games in one year? (Hint: this episode is about one of them.) Joe says "I love the bejeezus out of this game." We have to talk about Conan without Jayson. Brian still woefully misunderstands Attack on Titan. What's your favorite Bauza title? What other game developers do we need to dive deep on? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and 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! Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com Email: ascentofboardgames@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/ And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames 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!

    59 min

  3. Apr 1

    Episode 79.2 - Sandbox Games, Part 2

    We're back to wrap up our discussion on "sandbox games," and this part stretches the definition a bit; there's at least one game here where it's not the map that's bigger than you can explore in one game, but the rule set itself. (Yes, it's a Frank special.) What game does Joe describe as "a beautiful mess"? Frank is doing things in his new obsession and all he can say is "...and apparently, this matters." What are your favorite sandbox games? What have we left off our list? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and 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! Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com Email: ascentofboardgames@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/ And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames 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!

    53 min

  4. Mar 2

    Episode 79 - Sandbox Games, Part 1

    This month, we're here to talk about what we're calling "sandbox games" - games that have bigger maps and/or more content than you can possibly explore in a single game, but which aren't built as long campaign or legacy games. Thus, you need to take some notes and carry information - and, in some cases, rules - from one game to the next. Also, one brief apology: Your Humble Editor has been quite sick these last few weeks, and thus this episode is, let us say, more "lightly edited" than usual. I think I've gotten most of the myriad sniffles, cat noises, drink slurping, and other background noise, but it's still not up to my usual standards. Mea culpa. We definitely remembered the first game on our list before we started. Yup. A couple of games with shaky debuts but stellar sequels. CORRECTION: Around 25:50, Frank refers to Lands of Galzyr as a "very Swedish game," but the game and its publisher are in fact Finnish. Our apologies! Thanks to eagle-eyed listener @raaf on Discord for straightening us out! Glowy LED buildings! What do they do? We don't know! You can hear just how shot my voice currently is at the very end of the episode, so...yay? What are your favorite sandbox games? Which ones do you think we'll discuss next month? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and 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! Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com Email: ascentofboardgames@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/ And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames 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!

    50 min

  5. Feb 1

    Episode 78 - Alternate Victory Conditions

    HOO boy, this one has been an odyssey. Between computer hardware failures, file corruption, ice storms, and assorted other real-world chaos, it's a bit of a surprise that this episode made it out at all, much less on time. But it's here! Join us as we talk about games where one or more players are looking to win the game in a completely different way from everyone else. Is Joe the first person ever to compare the Bene Gesserit to Babe Ruth? We think so. High praise: This game is "A fun expenditure of human time." We digress briefly into discussing Jubensha, the Chinese LARPy RPG craze that's making its way to the U.S. We learn of yet another massive gap in Mike's geek culture experience. Frank tells us about "Nemesis - the party game!" Do you have any favorite examples of games with weird alternate victory conditions? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and 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! Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com Email: ascentofboardgames@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/ And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames 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!

    1h 10m

  6. Jan 2

    Episode 77 - Looking Ahead to 2026

    Well, now that THAT's over with (THAT being the year 2025), it's time to see what we're looking forward to in 2026. A list made of our hopes and dreams for the new year, shared with all of our beloved listeners. We've discovered Frank's weakness. (It's Mothra.) Brian really loves early-stage concept art. Frank reveals Mike's perfect game - a Legacy game comprised entirely of stickers. "When in doubt, kill a Nazi." Not a board game, but a fun set of puzzles for people who like word searches that quickly get out of hand. What are you looking forward to playing in 2026? What are we overlooking? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and 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! Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com Email: ascentofboardgames@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/ And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames 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!

    1h 6m

  7. 12/02/2025

    Episode 76 - 2025 Year in Review

    As we head into the last days of 2025, it's time for our traditional look back at our favorite games and game-related events of the last 12 months. Discussions include: The best game shipping wrapper we've ever seen. A really impressive deck-builder that you can't get for love or money... ...or CAN you?  A game box even bigger than last month's! Blood on the Clocktower, but solitaire...and on a PC? Frank cheats and adds a computer game to his list, as usual...but so does Mike?!? What have we missed? What was your favorite board game of 2025? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and 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! Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com Email: ascentofboardgames@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/ And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames 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!

    1h 18m

  8. 11/01/2025

    Episode 75 Part 2 - Computer Games to Board Games

    More opinions on computer games that have been converted into board games! Among our conversations: Which of us played a demo of Civilization: A New Dawn and didn't like it? The answer may shock you! We disagree on many things, but we all agree on...post-apocalyptic child labor? What's up with This Room? A game box that Jayson's doctor won't allow him to lift. What have we missed? What's your favorite board game version of a video game? How are we wrong? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and 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! Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com Email: ascentofboardgames@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/ And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames 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!

    1h 19m
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4.9
out of 5
17 Ratings

About

A monthly podcast dedicated to the history, evolution, present state, and future potential of our favorite board games.

Information

  • Creator
    The Ascent of Board Games
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2023 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Ascent of Board Games

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