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PODCAST

The Ascent of Board Games

The Ascent of Board Games

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

leisure games

All Episodes

01:11:18

Episode 29 - 2020 Year-End Wrap-Up

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/12/04

2020 - what a year, huh? After everything else it's thrown at us, it managed to give us a last-minute technical glitch that made this episode several days late. We're sorry - thanks for bearing with us! Amazingly, we were still able to come up with an hour's worth of discussion about good things that happened in 2020, as well as a glimpse at what we're hoping will make 2021 a better year (not that it has a high bar to clear there). Mike convinces Frank to spend some money for a change. Jayson fails

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01:16:48

Episode 28 - Negotiation Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/11/02

We'll make you a deal - you download and listen to this episode, and we'll tell you about some of our favorite (and least favorite) negotiation games. As an added bonus, we've gotten our sound quality back to something that should be close to our pre-COVID levels, and we'll throw that in for free. (Thanks to Craig Shipman at the Third Floor Wars podcast for the suggestion that got us there - if you're at all interested in miniature skirmish gaming, that is a show you will definitely want to check

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52:00

Episode 27 - Heartbreakers, Part 2

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/10/02

We're back, having survived another month of the heartbreak that is 2020, to talk about more of the games that also broke our hearts. The audio continues to be noisy, for which we continue to apologize, but we have a cunning plan in place to improve things for next month. Thank you for your patience, and stay tuned! Some elements of interest from this month: Read the marvelous short story that inspired a heartbreaking board game. Some more terrible box cover art which a reprint managed to make even

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54:54

Episode 26 - Heartbreakers, Part 1

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/09/01

Hi, folks. This month, we...we... I'm sorry. I'll get it together. Give me a minute. (Blows nose noisily.) This month we're talking about the games that broke our hearts...the ones we really, really wanted to love, but that ended up just making us miserable. (Almost as miserable as our continued COVID-caused audio deficiencies, for which we continue to apologize.) Among our melancholy memories: Brian gets all noir up in here. A game board worthy of a third-grade book report. Some gorgeous miniatures

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56:47

Episode 25 - Racing Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/08/03

Well, we came in last this month, but this episode has finally arrived - time to discuss racing games! (Although, as we mention at the end, almost all games can be defined as racing games in one way or another.) Sadly, we are still limited by lockdown audio quality, but hopefully you still find it listenable. Thanks for bearing with us! In this episode: The world's oldest recorded trash talk. ("Observe my three!") If you want a groovy new copy of ancient board game, these guys can help. A pair of

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52:38

Episode 24 - Real-Time Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/07/02

No more taking turns - this month we discuss real-time games! Unfortunately, we are still limited by lockdown audio quality, but hopefully you still find it listenable. Thanks for bearing with us! In this episode: Brian is a little bit punchy and/or stir crazy, and also has a little bit of a cold. (Just a cold, we promise.) A discussion on Zoom meeting etiquette. We discuss Edgar Cayce - clairvoyant, nutritionist, game designer. Who is going to reissue a WKRP-in-Cincinnati-themed version

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01:02:21

Episode 23 - Games in the Time of Coronavirus

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/06/02

With everything that's going on right now, it hardly seems important to post up a podcast of five guys rambling about games, but as the late, great Freddie Mercury sang, the show must go on. So here's our first episode recorded since the coronavirus lockdown began. Sorry about the audio quality - between the lower-quality equipment we had to use and some problems with Zoom's recording process, I'm just glad that we have a more-or-less audible episode. There's no particular theme to this show, other

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01:11:49

Episode 22 - Skirmish Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/05/02

Okay kids, it's time for a good clean fight as we talk about our favorite skirmish games! This is the last episode we recorded before we all went into lockdown, so next month may be a little different...but we'll see how it goes. In the interim, stay safe, wash your hands, and try to get some games in (Tabletop Simulator is a lifesaver in times like these). We discover that the "father of science fiction" may also have been the father of miniature wargaming. (Here's a link to a nice article on this

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56:08

Episode 21 - Hidden Traitor Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/04/02

Hi folks! We were originally planning to do some April Fools silliness for this episode, but given everything that's going on right now, it didn't really seem like a good time. So relax, stay at home, and listen to us talk about Hidden Traitor games. Oh, and wash your dang hands. Yes, again. We start the episode with a weird television tie-in game, and end it with...well, a weird television tie-in game. We learn that, once again, Oink Games came up with a clever idea that was then re-used in a much

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01:02:47

Episode 20 - Drafting Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/03/02

Happy March! It's time to discuss drafts, and not the ones that may be sending winter chills through a not-quite-sealed door. Nope, this is about picking the best options for you from a hand of cards, and then passing your unwanted dross to your neighbor. Richard Garfield shows up at the beginning and the end of the episode We talk about the early history of drafting in card games, as well as an interesting set of draft-specific Magic cards that Joe couldn't remember the name of (it was

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59:46

Episode 19 - Programmed Action

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/02/01

It's February, and we're releasing a new episode, just as we planned to do several months ago. Speaking of planning things in advance, this month we're talking about programmed action games! Join us as... We discuss a smartphone app for a very old game (with a very old-school website) A discussion of Yaquinto's Album Games requires Frank and Brian to explain to the younglings what an "album" is... We drool over Lego Super Robo Rally and River Dragons Giant and Mechs vs. Minions (which, contrary to

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34:29

Rob Daviau talks RETURN TO DARK TOWER!

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/01/10

Bonus episode time! The amazing Rob Daviau (@robdaviau on Twitter) returns to tell us about Return to Dark Tower, which will be live on Kickstarter on January 14 (less than a week away)! This promises to be an amazing, high-tech game combining two great design talents (Rob and Isaac Childress of Gloomhaven fame) with a substantial chunk of technological wizardry and a healthy dollop of nostalgia. Rob also drops a few tidbits about Pandemic Legacy: Season 3 (!) and Cthulhu: Death May Die as a bonus

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01:17:01

Episode 18 - 2019 Year-End Wrap-Up

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2020/01/02

Happy New Year! As we start 2020, we take some time to look back at our favorite games and gaming-related events, moments, trends, and other stuff. Frank calls an item on Brian's list "the best game ever made"? (At least today.) Jayson shares a story of gamers being excellent to each other (or at least to him). Brian talks about a bunch of stuff, including Dicebreaker and Malifaux Third Edition. Mike (of course) talks about Arkham Horror: The Card Game. Again. Keep an eye out for some additional

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48:22

Episode 17 - Solitaire Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2019/12/02

As the holidays draw near, it's time for a smaller and more intimate podcast crew (also because Mike and Jayson were both traveling). Sandi returns to help us discuss solitaire games, for those times when you are just sick of dealing with people. We discover two engravings from the late 17th century that show the first evidence of a formal solitaire game. It's even older than Cracker Barrel! The mere mention of Vlaada Chvatil's name renders us briefly incapable of saying words. Sandi asks what

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56:19

Black Friday Bonus Episode

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2019/11/29

Surprise! We're back with another random bonus episode, this one in honor of Black Friday (which, at least in the United States, is the day on which shoppers go out of their minds, retailers take out massive ads promoting tiny discounts, and the Christmas shopping season officially begins). In case you're doing any shopping, we wanted to suggest some games for the non-gamers in your life, to help you bring them into the fold. So in this episode we take a brief run through all of our previous

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51:46

Episode 16 - Halloween Special

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2019/10/31

Boo! Episode 16 is here a day early, because Halloween! To celebrate our favorite holiday, we play The Gothic Game, an extremely random game of murder and mayhem set in the Otranto Castle and Spa (try the deep-exfoliating moat!). It's a wild ride featuring dangerous snakes, bad prunes, Frank's wife Sandi, and a last-minute twist that determines the ultimate winner! Because the game was relatively short (and also, let's be honest, maybe not the most exciting thing to listen to), we also included a

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01:03:47

Episode 15 - Adventure Games (complete episode)

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2019/10/02

It's Episode 15, Adventure Games, now complete in one file. It turns out that there wasn't quite as much material left for Part 2 as I thought, and also that I accidentally uploaded Part 1 as an unnecessarily large stereo file, so it seemed best to just replace the whole thing. Apologies to those of you who have already downloaded and listened to Part 1; you can skip to 1:03:39 to pick up with the new material. This month: Frank and Brian tell the younglings about the Dark Times. We discuss the

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51:05

Episode 14 - Press and/or Push Your Luck

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2019/09/01

We're continuing our second year of podcasting - can we keep this up, or are we just pushing (or is it pressing?) our luck? Either way, we don't plan on stopping, so here's an episode of us discussing games in which you have to press and/or push your luck. In this episode: We learn that the podcast feeds off of Brian's pain. We introduce you to Feats and Fables, the D&D actual-play podcast that Joe and Mike are part of. We discover that John Scarne (great card magician, author, and Paul Newman's

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01:30:54

Episode 13 - Legacy Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2019/08/02

It's our anniversary - we've been doing this podcast thing for a whole year! To celebrate, we're doing an episode on legacy games, and as a special treat for you (and for us!), we are joined by a very special guest - Rob Daviau, the man behind the legacy game craze (and a lot of other great games besides)! In this episode: Rob tells us about the original inspirations behind Risk Legacy, the person who knew that Pandemic Legacy would be a trilogy before Season 1 was even published, and the brand new

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01:16:34

Episode 12 - Hidden Teams

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2019/07/02

Hello again, listeners! In Episode 12, we're talking about Hidden Teams games, sometimes referred to as Social Deduction games. Are you a werewolf, a cylon, a terrorist, a bad cop, The Thing From Another World, and/or Hitler? Doesn't matter to us, we're just glad you're listening. (Except for Hitler. That guy was really a jerk.) Join us as: We learn about the Tibetan Memory Trick Frank makes a gratuitous Kierkegaard reference Mike uses "Zeitgeist" more or less correctly Joe's role as resident

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