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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

79:06

Episode 75 Part 2 - Computer Games to Board Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2025/11/01

More opinions on computer games that have been converted into board games!Among our conversations: Which of us played a demo of Civilization: A New Dawn and didn't like it? The answer may shock you! We disagree on many things, but we all agree on...post-apocalyptic child labor? What's up with This Room? A game box that Jayson's doctor won't allow him to lift. What have we missed? What's your favorite board game version of a video game? How are we wrong? Come visit our Discord server to chat with

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66:13

Episode 75 - Computer Games to Board Games, Part 1

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2025/10/01

Yes, we're back again, this time to talk about board games that were converted from computer games. Some of them are excellent...some are just cash grabs. Listen on to find out which is which! Also, if you want to make this episode a drinking game, take a drink every time we say "...but the minis are gorgeous!" (Not responsible for liver damage.)We discuss: What kind of board game could be based on the world's first "cathode ray tube amusement device"? (Hint: none.) 60% of us remember Zaxxon - do

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60:15

Episode 74 - Richard Garfield Deep Dive

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2025/09/01

An episode without Frank? But what about all the history? Well, thankfully, history in this case starts in around 1993, with the publication of Magic: The Gathering, because we're reviewing the career of its designer, Richard Garfield.We discuss: Not one, but two of Garfield's notable ancestors. An interview where he talks about how MtG has drifted away from what he wanted it to be, along with some rather salacious stories from the early days of Wizards of the Coast. A Usenet post from WotC

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43:15

Episode 73.2 - Trick-Taking Games, Part 2

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2025/08/01

We're back to finish our discussion of trick-taking games, covering the end of the creative surge around 2000 and then the new resurgence of clever designs that we've seen since 2019. Like last month's episode, this one is a bit on the shorter side, but we promise to make up for it next month!We discuss: A game so complicated that Frank can't keep track of what cards have been played - and he (and Sandi) designed it! Why does Mike think that this game is "peak trick-taking"? The answer may

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42:35

Episode 73 - Trick-Taking Games, Part 1

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2025/07/01

Why hello there! This month is the first part of our discussion about the wonderful world of trick-taking games, starting with the old classics and covering the first part of their resurgence in the 1990s. The rest of the topic, including the second (current) surge of clever new designs, will come next month. This could realistically have been a single episode, but for various uninteresting logistical reasons, we're splitting it into two, each of which is slightly shorter than usual. (Think of them

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01:15:24

Episode 72 - Games With a Message

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2025/06/02

Welcome back, everyone! This month we're talking about games with a social or political message. It's not JUST because it's Pride Month in the USA, and it's not JUST because tariffs are currently wreaking havoc on the entire board game industry...but it's not NOT because of those things, either. Many links follow: Amabel Holland's great video about, among other things, the REAL origins of Monopoly The games that made Jayson say, "It's awful. I hate this company. I hate it so much." KamSandwich

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01:13:37

Episode 71.2 - Role-Playing Games, Part 2

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2025/05/02

We're back, and so is Brian's voice! And we simply have to tell you about a bunch MORE role-playing games that have interesting mechanics. We talk about games where characters don't trust each other, or perhaps do but shouldn't. We give a lot of love to Bully Pulpit Games and Rowan, Rook, & Decard, because they do consistently great work. We talk about a bunch of great GMless, no-prep games, and you can see several of them being played by our friends at Third Floor Wars: Zhenya's Wonder

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01:10:46

Episode 71- Role-Playing Games, Part 1

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2025/04/01

I know, I know, we said we weren't going to do the Ascent of Role-Playing Games thing. And we're not! But there ARE a bunch of role-playing games that have some interesting mechanics, and we're going to be talking about those this month and next. (If you don't like it, join our Discord server so you can vote against it the next time we run a poll!)Brian's voice is absolutely shot to hell after weeks of coughing - apologies for making you hear it. "I don't know how we played this game before

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01:01:44

Episode 70 - Auction Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2025/03/02

That's right, folks, it's episode 70! Do I hear 75? No? Episode 70, going once, going twice...sold to the discerning podcast listener!IS Jayson actually Agent 47? Probably not. Forget we said anything. Frank calling out Reiner Knizia within 4 minutes of the episode start "What is fish?" Help us, Jane Austen! Is this the first Eurogame? What happens when you take the auctions out of a game that's all about auctions? What is a Dutch Auction, and should anyone be offended by the term? Frank

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01:20:46

Episode 69 - Sex Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2025/02/01

This is episode 69. We're discussing sex games. We're sorry. (Except Joe...Joe isn't sorry at all.) Sandi has joined us to try to provide a little bit of maturity to the topic; we'll let you decide if she succeeded.This is an adults-only episode (and we mean it this time), but we won't be offended if you decide to give this one a miss. Just come back next month, please? I promise we won't do it again. We find a series of weird connections between sex games and big wargaming companies - Columbia

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56:35

Episode 68 - Looking Ahead to 2025

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2025/01/01

Well, we made it to 2025, technically. What new board games are coming out to give us hope for the future?Frank describes one of his choices as "big...sprawling...French..." Joe is unhappy with Mike's love/hate relationship with Tales of the Arabian Nights Has Joe made The Ultimate Crowdfunding Mistake? Will Frank go 3-for-3 on Fantasy Name: Dramatic Subtitle? The delightful Deep Regrets teaser trailer that sold Jayson on the game Are we wrong in some way? (Almost certainly.) Do you want to tell

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01:35:08

Episode 67 - Year-End Countdown 2024

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2024/12/01

The end of the year draws nigh, so of course we have to do a year-end countdown. All five of us - even the near-mythical Jayson - have prepared a list of our five favorite games from The Year That Was - enjoy!We argue about what a game's name means because of a (missing?) apostrophe Frank teaches Jayson the lore of the Mothman All of Frank's choices are, for once, board games! The same cannot be said for Joe. We are definitely NOT starting The Ascent of Role-Playing Games, but here are some TTRPGs

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50:29

Episode 66,2 - Party Games, Part 2

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2024/11/01

Happy post-Halloween! Now that everyone's hopped up on sugar (and/or in a sugar crash coma), let's finish our discussion of party games! Come along as we discuss:Mike's greatest weakness - a limited knowledge of Campbell's Soup varieties! What game company was founded because of a flooded salmon boat? "They're Belgian, but that's French enough." (We're sorry.) A mercifully brief digression into Marcel Proust's 7-volume À la recherche du temps perdu. And a few video/picture links we mention along

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54:53

Episode 66 - Party Games, Part 1

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2024/10/01

Hi folks! We're back this month to talk about party games, though the last week or so hasn't been as much fun as we'd like. Between scheduling issues and hurricane-induced power outages, this episode was a bit rushed; as a result, it's ended up a bit on the short side, so we hope you'll forgive us. Also, instead of begging for an iTunes review this month, we'd like to ask that you donate what you can to the American Red Cross or another reputable charity providing relief to those battered by

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01:14:49

Episode 65 - 2-Player Fighting and War Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2024/09/02

Remember way back in Episode 33, when we talked about two-player games but excluded fighting and war games because there were too many? Now is when we finally talk about the fighty ones! Join us as:Brian's tongue stops working. We talk about chess - good chess channels on YouTube, weird chess games on forums, and absolutely bonkers chess games on the computer. We look back at an early first-person shooter - in book form. We haggle about the intricacies of the Avalon Hill game complexity scale. And

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01:09:39

Episode 64 - Deep Dive: Vlaada Chvátil

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2024/08/02

It's time for another deep dive - this time into the collected works of Czech game guru Vlaada Chvátil (whose name we hope we pronounced mostly right most of the time, but no promises). Join us as:We examine some of the...questionable design choices of Vlaada's first board game. We talk about the metallic composition of these famously flimsy early miniatures. We learn that Frank likes Talisman, and Mike dislikes that. Brian gratuitously quotes Walt Whitman. We talk about excellent digital versions

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01:07:20

Episode 63 - Turn Order

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2024/07/02

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

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53:53

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

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2024/06/01

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

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54:57

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

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2024/05/02

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

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58:27

Episode 61 - Non-Verbal Communication Games

The Ascent of Board Games ·

2024/04/02

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

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