77 episodes

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

The Ascent of Board Games The Ascent of Board Games

    • Leisure
    • 4.9 • 15 Ratings

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

    Episode 63 - Turn Order

    Episode 63 - Turn Order

    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!
    Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
    Email: ascentofboardgames@gmail.com
    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, 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!

    • 1 hr 7 min
    Episode 62.2 - Kingdom Death: Monster Deep Dive, Part 2

    Episode 62.2 - Kingdom Death: Monster Deep Dive, Part 2

    Welcome back! This month, we're concluding our deep dive into  Kingdom Death: Monster. This episode focuses more on who should consider KD:M (and who shouldn't), the logistics of getting it to the table, and what impacts it's had on the board game industry.
    Start playing KD:M so you can look forward to building things like this!
    If you prefer miniatures like this, maybe consider Gatefall instead.
    Frank tells Joe that he's wrong about his own opinion.
    And we argue about glue.
    What do you think about the deep dive format - does it work for you, or do you prefer the old style of talking about a bunch of different games in each episode? If you enjoy the deep dives, what game would you like us to dive into next?
    As always, thank you for listening! If you have a few extra minutes, we'd love it if you could give us an iTunes review to help 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 @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
    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, 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
    Episode 62 - Kingdom Death: Monster Deep Dive, part 1

    Episode 62 - Kingdom Death: Monster Deep Dive, part 1

    Buckle in - we decided to try something a little different this month (and next month, because as usual we can't shut up once we get started). We're doing a deep dive on a single game, and we're starting with the legendary Kingdom Death: Monster.
    If you're interested in the game, you can look forward to two episodes full of discussion and commentary! If not...well, it's a great time to catch up on some older episodes, amirite?
    Either way, please let us know what you think - do you want to hear more of these deep dives or not? If so, what games would you like us to dive into next?
    For a close (and potentially disturbing and/or sexy) look at the KD:M miniatures, check out KDM Collector.
    You can even see a model based on game creator Adam Poots!
    As always, thank you for listening! If you have a few extra minutes, we'd love it if you could give us an iTunes review to help 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 @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
    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, 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!

    • 54 min
    Episode 61 - Non-Verbal Communication Games

    Episode 61 - Non-Verbal Communication Games

    Let's talk about not talking! This month, we discuss games in which you have to use things other than words to communicate with your teammates. Highlights include:
    Charades may be older than we thought, but maybe not as old as BGG says it is.
    Frank's favorite part of Inkognito
    We delve into the historical era of...2009?...as Frank breaks the rules again to bring us a game that is literally bonkers.
    Mike serves his new AI overlords by promoting their game.
    Bad news - Joe has been murdered! Good news - he pronounces a Polish game name almost perfectly!
    Is comparing single-digit numbers really math?
    As always, thank you for listening! If you have a few extra minutes, we'd love it if you could give us an iTunes review to help 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 @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
    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, 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!

    • 58 min
    Episode 60.2 - Wildlife Games, Part 2

    Episode 60.2 - Wildlife Games, Part 2

    We're back with more adorable animals (and some that you may not think of as adorable, but that's just, like, your opinion, man). This month's selection includes:
    Scythe With Wolves, or, The Dangers of Peer Pressure
    A lovely, solid game that just feels a little...icky
    Mike gets to make a picture panorama!
    The fox experiment that inspired The Fox Experiment
    The search for lost species that inspired The Search for Lost Species
    And an octopus escape room!
    As always, thank you for listening! If you have a few extra minutes, we'd love it if you could give us an iTunes review to help 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 @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
    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, 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!

    • 56 min
    Episode 60 - Wildlife Games, Part 1

    Episode 60 - Wildlife Games, Part 1

    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: 
    Big chonky animeeples!
    We stump Frank on a Phil Eklund game, which turns out to not belong in this episode at all.
    Possibly the most useless insert ever to darken a game box.
    Contrariwise, here are some very GOOD component storage tools.
    Why does Mike hate birds? Their eggs are so pretty!
    Why does Joe hate zoos? Their Arks are so Nova!
    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!
    Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
    Email: ascentofboardgames@gmail.com
    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, 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

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
15 Ratings

15 Ratings

hofzinsers ,

Qualified and Unique

This quickly became my favorite board game pod. Gamers taking games that have enough experience their perspectives matter. Sprinkled with history and crunch and we have a winner. Great content!!

cstaufer ,

Top notch podcast

I’m a big of fan of the board game content that the Ascent of Boardgames panel produces on a regular basis.

The format is currently a history of x genre of game. What I find fascinating is this groups’ ability to find random games that you’ve probably never heard of relating to the current topic.

Vastly superior to other board gaming podcasts that I listen to.

Definitely worth your time, and a must check out.

paleitman ,

Great podcast with extremely intelligent insight

AoB is my go-to to get a really deep understanding of what makes games work (or not!) The content is very approachable and covers a wide variety of types of games. It helps me understand the underpinnings of the games I love, and has suggestions for more I'd like to try.

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