Ben and Jordan talk about recent plays of Inventions, Galactic Cruise, Twilight Imperium, Arcs, and Resist.  Plus, discussion about space games — what does the concept of space bring to a game, and what makes a game a SPACE GAME (as opposed to a game set in space). Notations to come ..read more

Ben and Paul talk about recent plays of Inventions, Terraforming Mars, and City of the Big Shoulders.  Then they do a deep dive about finger etiquette and games: why does it bother us, how do we address bad behavior, and what are the most common mistakes.  Shots will be fired.  Takes will be hot ..read more

Tom, Jordan, and Ben discuss games they had shrugged off but later came to love.  Plus, recent plays of Imperium Horizons, Legacies, and El Grande. 00:00 - Intro 00:06 - Legacies 26:11 - Avalon 29:14 - El Grande 34:14 - Franchise 39:31 - Second Wind Games 41:51 - Modern Art 46:26 - Imperium Horizons 54:37 - Dune Imperium: Uprising 01:02:22 - Android: Netrunner 01:08:42 - Black Angel 01:14:26 - A Feat for Odin 01:17:49 - Gold West 01:19:55 - Boonlake 01:22:06 - Great Western Trail: Argentina 01:30:40 - Skymines 01:39:48 - City of the Big Shoulders ..read more

Trey, Ben, and Dmitry review the 2024 release Let's Go To Japan. 0:00:00 Introduction Watch What Crappens wins Best Pop Culture Podcast The Traitors 0:08:48 Games on the Brain Baseball Highlights 2045 on Gamefound Star Wars: Unlimited Try online at Force Table Netrunner at Nullsignal.games Knarr Marrakesh Cuzco 00:51:30 Game Review: Let's Go to Japan Stationfall Santa Monica -  Find Etamar at kirbooloni.com -  Game Brain Facebook Group -  Instagram ..read more

Ben, Matt, and Paul sit down to talk about games they're going deep with (Root), and games that are brutalizing them (Cuzco).  And everything in between. 00:08:04 - Traitors & Avalon 00:14:10 - Root 00:39:34 - Franchise 00:50:36 - Netrunner 01:07:10 - Cuzco 01:25:00 - Dinosaur Gauge 01:29:49 - Legacies 01:36:52 - Lunar 01:38:00 - Tournament at Avalon, Mino Dice 01:40:00 - Boon Lake: Artifacts 01:43:45 - Shikoku 1889 ..read more

Special guest Jennifer Schlickbernd joins Trey to review Thunder Road: Vendetta and discuss starter modes in boardgames. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:02:35 Recent Plays Merkator Arborea Pirates of Maricaibo 20 Strong kCaloria launches on Kickstarter 0:27:10 Game Review: Thunder Road: Vendetta Car Wars (1981) Thunder Road (1986) The White Castle (2023) 0:56:45 Discussion - Learning Modes in Games Evacuation ThinkerThemer's review Revive Voidfall -  Find Etamar at kirbooloni.com -  Game Brain Facebook Group -  Instagram ..read more

Ben and Paul discuss recent plays of Bloodstones, Bruxelles 1893, and Apiary. Then they try to figure out what's the best way for a group to select a game to play. Is it a democratic process?  A dictatorial one? Or maybe just a roll of the dice. 15:47 - Apiary 19:22 - Horseless Carriage 23:20 - Bruxelles 1893: The Belle Epoque 36:03 - Bloodstones 51:55 - How to choose a game ..read more

Hosts Matt, Tom, Trey, and Ben unite for our list of the best boardgames of 2023! 0:00:00 Introduction 0:05:10 Contest Results Sol: Last Days of a Star 0:18:35 Game Brain's Top Boardgames of 2023 0:20:04 T16 Great Western Trail: New Zealand 0:25:20 T16 Inferno Guelphs and Ghibellines Vie for Tuscany, 1259-1261 0:27:30 T13 Bloodstones 0:29:00 T13 Scholars of the South Tigris 0:32:00 T13 Thunder Road: Vendetta 0:34:35 12 Apiary 0:37:10 11 Horseless Carriage 0:43:15 10 Rats of Wistar 0:46:15 9th Stationfall 0:50:08 8th Earthborne Rangers 0:54:50 7th White Castle 0:59:05 6th Kutná Hora: The Ci ..read more

Ben and Paul catch up on the games they played over the 2023 holiday break.  Afterwards they reflect on their favorite play sessions and new-to-them games.  Strangely enough, they seem to gravitate towards their favorite meltdowns, which is a commentary on something, not sure what. Games discussed include Marrakesh, Dude, K2, Age of Steam, and Manhattan Project 2: Minutes to Midnight. Timestamps to come ..read more

Trey, Tom,  and Ben review Evacuation as we evacuate 2023. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:05:22 Recent Plays Agricola Forbidden Stars Bloodstones Manhattan Project 2: Minutes to Midnight Daybreak Enter the contest to win a copy of Sol:Last Days of a Star email us at contact@gamebrainpod.com 0:51:10 Game Review: Evacuation The games of Vladimir Suchý -  Find Etamar at kirbooloni.com -  Game Brain Facebook Group -  Twitter -  Instagram ..read more