PODCAST

Boardgames To Go

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson"s occasional & opinionated podcast about family strategy boardgames

leisure games

All Episodes

54:14

BGTG 88 - Dominion, Arkham Horror, Marrakech, and En...

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/11/20

This is a session report & feedback show . . . but without the feedback. The reason for that is that I had to record this podcast in the car. I say had to because I spent too much of my at-home podcasting time playing Dominion instead! I started playing this game on brettspielwelt, and then got my own set to play face-to-face games. Hype is a turnoff for me, even buzz makes me suspicious, but in

A fresh call for online games

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/11/03

As usual, your best bet to find me is on a play-by-web game. I've recently started the following, all of which can take more players as I write this. The password is the same as ever, BGTG.On Mabiweb: In the Year of the Dragon, Samuari, Kreta, In the Shadow of the EmperorOn Spielbyweb: Amun-Re, Hoity-Toity, Reef Encounter, SantiagoOn michaelshacht.net: Hansa (two of these)On Boardgamegeek: Tigris

Vicarious Essen

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/10/31

Essen is behind us now, and the Fairplay scouts & other reports are settling in on the better titles. Remember two years ago when I insisted I'd buy Die Saulen von Venedig? Then the mediocre reports came in, and I got to play it once. It wasn't a bad game, but it didn't shine for me. I didn't buy it. (Though I'll probably play it again some day.)This year the game that fits that description this

Essen photos

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/10/24

I mentioned it in the last podcast, and more than ever I recognize how influenced I am by the look of these games. I like reading the Essen first-impression reports, but I like seeing the photos even more. These days, you'd think you could do a search on "Essen spiel" in Flickr and find tons of photos, both from BGGers and average Germans who took photos & uploaded them. I've found a few that way

39:23

BGTG 87 - Essen Anticipation 2008

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/10/23

As promised, here's my annual episode running through the new Essen games that have caught my eye. There are games I'm pretty sure I want, others I'm pretty sure I don't, and a whole bunch I need to know more about first (hopefully by playing).Essen opens its doors to everyone tomorrow, and the press-only day has already started. Folks like me will be checking internet sites repeatedly through

Pre-Essen show

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/10/20

Essen is now right around the corner, but I'm going to try to squeeze in an "Essen Anticipation" show, as I've done in previous years. I got a few requests for this episode, and that's the best inspiration for doing it.-Mark

Anyone for Vinci?

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/09/16

This blog recently received a great comment from Tristan who re-listened to the 2.5-year old All About Vinci episode after finally getting to try the game in-person. Vinci is still a great favorite of mine, and now I'd like to see if any other listeners would like to join me in a play-by-web version. Now, I'll warn you that the website is all in German, so if you've never played pbw (or Vinci),

01:27:57

BGTG 86 - All About Harry's Grand Slam Baseball (with...

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/09/12

As promised, here's another All About show, my first in a long time. The way these shows work, I usually employ a guest, and the two of us talk about one game in great detail. This time, that guest is David Gullett, who you've heard on BGTG before, and the game we're talking about is Harry's Grand Slam Baseball.Now, HGSB is a rather small, light game to spend more than an hour talking about. That

Another "All About..." show is coming

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/09/11

Hurray! I've wanted to do another "All About" show for some time, and last night I recorded one. It wasn't about Big City, though, as I'd hinted in my last podcast (that's another I still want to do). No, for this one I got my buddy Dave Gullett (BGG's davebo, aka the Big Red Rock Eater) to share the mic with me and talk all about Harry's Grand Slam Baseball. That might seem a little game for a

42:41

BGTG 85 - SR & Feedback (with Rattlesnake, XiangQi,...

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/09/08

You're in luck. The carcast I recorded earlier about some games played at a recent Games Day was also destroyed accidentally, so I just had to re-record it at home. This way it ends up with better audio quality, and I got to tack on some recent email feedback, too.These are all games I played at a recent Games Day put on by LA's famous Stephanie. You've heard about her on other podcasts, and

A truly lost episode

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/09/04

Oops. I thought I'd finally get around to posting a carcast recorded more than a year ago after I'd played some business-themed games, comparing & contrasting all three of them. They were Shark, Buy Low Sell High (aka Palmyra), and one more I've forgotten. Well, it doesn't matter now because this apparently I deleted this recording I discarded when I was at a low ebb in my satisfaction with

Something else about Byzantium (and another car-cast)

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/08/19

One thing this blog is good for is correcting mistakes & omissions in my podcasts. After recording the recent one about Martin Wallace games, I forgot to mention the interesting and authentic-feeling arms races that happened in our complete 3-player game. Though Ryan & I both agreed that Mike was out to a big lead, we ran into trouble going after him during the middle & end of the game. Because

46:08

BGTG 84 - Martin Wallace games (Brass, Tinner's...

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/08/15

Two podcasts in less than a week?! Weird, I know. Not likely to be repeated soon, either. I just figured I might as well jump on the opportunity when I could.Also, I'd mentioned on this blog a couple weeks before that I was thinking of sharing my (changing) thoughts about Martin Wallace games, based on some recent plays of Brass, Tinner's Trail, and Byzantium. Martin's games are so popular on BGG

01:03:46

BGTG 83 - Aug 10, 2008 - Re-Introduction with my...

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/08/11

Though I'm too chicken to listen to it, anyone that wants to can go back into my archives to download BGTG #1. In that episode I tried to give an introduction to myself, describing my own likes & dislikes in games. It always helps to know those things about a game reviewer. You get to figure out how my opinions map to yours. Maybe you & I are on the same page, and the games I like are ones you'll

BGTG auction and my new appreciation for Martin Wallace

Boardgames To Go ·

2008/07/29

First of all, another podcast is coming. Somewhere I've got an old "car-cast" I did last year after our group had played several different business games. I'll post that soon. Before that I want to record my "re-introduction" episode. I believe I did an intro episode way back in BGTG #1, but I'm afraid to listen to it myself! Instead I think I'll redo the introduction, taking this opportunity to