Which Game First: A Board Game Podcast

Which Game First
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  • GAMES
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Which Game First: A Board Game 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. NOV 14

    Haiclue | Hydroracers | Crypt

    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 invent definitions one random word at a time in HaiclueNext: We’re ace pilots in gambling our way to the finish line in Hydroracers: The Schneider Trophy EpicAnd lastly: We send our servants in first as we hunt for ancient treasure in Crypt Haiclue Designed by: Will LeafPublished by: Tiger Board Games (2019)Players: 2 – 12Ages: 14 & upPlaying time: 30 minutes In Haiclue, players combine random word tiles to make clues. Each round, every player uses 15 random word tiles to make a clue for one of the four words in the center of the table. When everyone has finished, the group reads the clues out loud, and everyone guesses which of the four words belongs to each player. If a player guesses correctly, they score a point for themselves and a point for the author of the clue. Play 6 rounds, add up points, declare the winner, if there is a tie, you play another entire game for the tiebreaker. Just kidding. The winner is the winner and everyone is haiclueless. Hydroracers: The Schneider Trophy Epic Designed by: Emmanuel AlbisserPublished by: Platypus Games (2022)Players: 1 – 4Ages: 14 & upPlaying time: 30 – 60 minutes Hydroracers is a game of fast races interspersed with preparation phases where each nation improves its aircraft. We played the basic version of the game, which is just the race. So we did not delve into the more complex versions of the game having to deal with aircraft improvement and development. From 1913 to 1931, the Schneider Trophy took place. Four nations (England, Italy, France and the United States) competed with daring and technique in extremely dangerous speed races. Races: each player takes a turn to play a card from their hand and move forward on the circuit, and every player has the same hand of cards to play. Beware going too fast around corners, because if you are going too fast, your aircraft will suffer damage.  That damage can carry forward from the first race to the last, so be careful about suffering too much damage in the early laps. Drafting behind other planes will help your speed, while being out in first will cause you to slow a bit from the headwinds. Each pilot has a special ability, which also impacts how efficiently an airplane moves. And a betting phase: you will place bets on who you think will win a lap. Collect coins and those coins translate to victory points. The pilot with the most VPs at the end of round 3 is the winner, and gets to invest their winnings in the 1929 stock market, a wise play for any shrewd investor. Crypt Designed by: Jeff Chin, Andrew NergerPublished by: Allplay, R2i Games (2018)Players: 1 – 4Ages: 14 & upPlaying time: 25 minutes Crypt is a dice and card game featuring an auction mechanic, a set collection mechanic, and of course the luck of the roll of the dice. Each player has a set of servants, represented by 3 6-sided dice. On your turn you will place your servant dice on treasure cards, choosing any value on each die. If you place multiple dice on a treasure card, the values of the dice must be the same. Choosing a higher value can ward off your opponents, but it also increases the odds that your servant will become exhausted. After everyone has placed their servant dice, everyone rolls.

    51 min

  2. OCT 27

    The Shipwreck Arcana | Metro | 12 Chip Trick

    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 try to dodge drowning by outsmarting fate in The Shipwreck ArcanaNext: We lay down tracks for the longest ride we can in MetroAnd lastly: We hope for 21 as we let them fall where they may in 12 Chip Trick The Shipwreck Arcana Designed by: Kevin BishopPublished by: Meromorph Games (2017)Players: 2 – 5Ages: 12 & upPlaying time: 10 – 30 minutes The Shipwreck Arcana is a co-operative game of deduction, evaluation, and logic. In turn, players draw two fate tiles from the pick bag. They are numbered 1-7, and there are three of each tile in the bag. A slate of cards are turned face up in the center of the table. Each card has a condition. For example, a card might read: if the sum of your fates is 11 or more, place one of the tiles here. And another card might read: if the difference between your fate tiles is four or more, place one of them here. So the player is going to place one of the two tiles underneath the card if it qualifies. Then the other players collectively discuss and deduce the other fate tile that the player is holding on to. No talking allowed by the active player (of course). Guess correctly, and the players will score a point for being right. Guess incorrectly, and the players will earn a doom point for being wrong. As doom builds up, the cards themselves fade, becoming one-time powers to help the players while new cards cycle in from the deck. Get to 7 fate points before you get 7 doom points. Everyone is going to either sink or swim together as you try desperately to avoid a shipwreck. Metro Designed by: Dirk HennPublished by: Queen Games (1997)Players: 2 – 6Ages: 8 & upPlaying time: 30 minutes Metro is a tile placement game where you are trying to get your trains to complete the longest routes in the city, and you will place tiles of winding tracks to do so. One at a time, players will put square tiles onto the board to form rail lines. Instead, the object of the game is to make the rail lines as long as possible. Players start with a number of trains ringing the board. Whenever a tile placement connects a train to a station (either on the edge or the center of the board), that train is removed and the player scores one point for each tile that the route crosses, which can cause one tile to score multiple times if the track loops around. However, players score double for city connections, which are the stations in the center of the board. The game ends when all tiles are placed, whomever has the most points is the winner, riding the rail to victory! 12 Chip Trick Designed by: RootPublished by: Mandoo Games (2023)Players: 2 – 4Ages: 8 & upPlaying time: 20 minutes 12 Chip Trick is a trick-taking game where players are dealt a hand of 4 chips. We played a 3-player game, so these are the rules for that version. The game also has rules for 2 and 4 players. In a 3 person game, there are a total of 12 chips, numbered 1-12. Each player receives 4 chips in their hand. The chips numbered 1-3 and 10-12 are green, and the ones numbered 4-9 are red. One at a time, a player will play one chip in the center. Once all 3 players have played, the collection phase begins. The player who threw the highest number will choose a chip,

    41 min

  3. OCT 1

    Castle Combo | Harmonies | Time Masters

    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 get our palace staff running smoothly one flipped card at a time in Castle ComboNext: We provide a rainbowy paradise for our furry and feathered friends in HarmoniesAnd lastly: We’re race for knowledge to beat our fellow mages in the great tournament called Time Masters Castle Combo Designed by: Grégory Grard, Mathieu RousselPublished by: Catch Up Games (2024)Players: 2 – 5Ages: 10 & upPlaying time: ~ 25 minutes Castle Combo is a tableau building card game, where players are trying to put together various characters in a kingdom to maximize the kingdom’s productivity. A player can take up to 4 actions on a turn in this order: 1) use a key, 2) buy a card, 3) place the card onto their tableau, 4) activate any immediate special abilities. The community market of cards to choose from consists of a row of 3 cards with characters from the upper part of town, plus there is a second row of three cards populated with characters from the lower part of town.  A player can only purchase a card from one of the rows. But if they would rather switch rows to choose from, just use a key and you can suddenly choose from the other row.  Or if you like the row you are in, but not the cards, use a key to sweep the cards away, and choose from 3 new ones. Once purchased, the card is placed on the player’s tableau. They will build a 3×3 grid – maximizing the placement of the cards so that they trigger effects when the other cards are placed in the same row, or the same column, or perhaps just anywhere on the grid. The idea is to maximize the synergies, and unlock as many VP’s as possible.  When everyone has placed nine cards, the game is over! Count the VP’s  – overthrow the king, assume the throne, and become the tyrant you’ve always dreamed of. Harmonies Designed by: Johan BenvenutoPublished by: Libellud (2024)Players: 1 – 4Ages: 10 & upPlaying time: ~ 30 minutes Harmonies is a tile placement game where players are crafting beautiful landscapes, populated with exotic animals.  In turn, players will be drafting one of 6 landscape cards. Each landscape card contains:  first – a pattern for placing landscape tiles on the player’s tableau – and second – the card will have a type of animal on it, perhaps several of that type of animal.  Each card is unique. To build a pattern, the player will choose one of 6 sets of tiles.  There are 3 tiles in each set, randomly chosen.  There are 6 types of landscape: fields, mountains, rivers, trees, the ground, and towns Place the tiles on the tableau to complete the pattern, and then populate the land with one of your animals from that card.  A player may have no more than 4 pattern cards at a time. If all the animals are placed from the card, the card is removed, opening a new space for a fresh card. Play until a player has only 2 hexes left on their tableau, and that signals the final turn for everyone. Animals are points, and certain terrain patterns are points. Most points wins, and wins a prize – they get to play the harmonica. Time Masters Designed by: Nicholas Bodart, Pierre-Emmanuel LegrainPublished by: MushrooM Games (2014)Players: 2 –...

    38 min

  4. SEP 16

    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

  5. AUG 26

    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

  6. AUG 1

    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

  7. JUL 19

    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

  8. JUL 7

    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
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About

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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