First Player Token, a short board game review show

61:10

78. Gaming Across Ages and Abilities with Dylan Kistler

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2026/10/02

Text us your thoughts about this episode. I met Dylan Kistler when I was working at Vanderbilt University and he was an undergraduate student there. Given our shared interests in games and education, we crossed paths several times, and we've stayed in touch since we both moved on from Vanderbilt. Dylan has launched a game publishing company, Kistler Games, that specializes in games that "empower players of diverse abilities, ages, and gaming experience to play together." Dylan reached out af...

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23:09

77. Trio

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2026/09/01

Text us your thoughts about this episode. In this episode, we learn how three is the magic number in Trio! Trio is a card game designed by Kaya Miyano and published by Happy Camper Games. It handles six players, it comes in a super portable small box, it plays in like 15 or 20 minutes, and it's easy to teach. As a result, it's now one of my go-to games to bring to family gatherings. I have thoughts about Trio, and so do the 12-year-old and 4-year-old! Episode Links Buy Trio on Amazon. ...

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36:25

76. The Games of 2016

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2026/08/02

Text us your thoughts about this episode. On this episode of the First Player Token podcast, we time travel back a decade and take a look at our most played games of 2016! Which of these favorites from ten years ago still get played? Which ones should I dust off and bring to game night for the first time in forever? Music: "Open Road" and "Summer of Paradise" by Purple Planet. Podcast Links: Order a First Player Token coffee mug. Visit the First Player Token website. Join the FPT Facebook gr...

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24:19

75. Fit to Print

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2026/07/08

Text us your thoughts about this episode. In this episode, we grab our press passes and hustle to meet our newspaper’s printing deadline in Fit to Print! In Fit to Print, a 2023 game designed by Peter McPherson with art by Ian O’Toole and published by Flatout Games, players take on the role of reporters and editors at the various newspapers in Thistleville, one of those charming woodland towns with adorable anthropomorphic animals. The game is played over three rounds—Friday, Saturday,...

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13:13

74. Flipships (First Play)

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2026/06/01

Text us your thoughts about this episode. Usually when I review and recommend a board game here on the podcast, I’ve played that game at least ten times. That way I know the game well and I know it has some staying power. But sometimes, I try a game that's new to me and it really grabs me. So here’s a FIRST PLAY review of an older game that I think you might like! Today we’ll take a look at Flipships, a 2017 cooperative dexterity game for 2to 4 players designed by Kane Klenko with art ...

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40:18

73. Game Cabin in the Woods

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2026/05/01

Text us your thoughts about this episode. In this episode, we spend a weekend in a cabin in the woods and play a whole lot of board games! A few friends and I recently spent a weekend playing board games at a cabin we rented in Cedars of Lebanon State Park. We played the board games that don’t fit into normal game nights! Most ran about three hours long, some longer. These are the crunchy, brain-burning games that some of us love to play, and in this episode of the podcast, I report out on t...

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10:43

72. Club Spooky (First Play)

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2026/04/01

Usually when I review and recommend a board game here on the podcast, I’ve played that game at least ten times. That way I know the game well and I know it has some staying power. That means I usually review older games, but I like to play new games, too. So here’s a FIRST PLAY review of a new game that I think you might like! Today we’ll take a look at Club Spooky, a 2-to-4-player game designed and illustrated by Connor Wake and published by Always Awake Games. Episode Links: Pre-order Club ...

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28:30

71. Gaming with a Three-Year-Old

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2026/03/01

In this episode, we put the spotlight on the preschooler with twelve games that are fun to play with a three-year-old! I’ve been on a quest to find board games that the three-year-old can play and enjoy and that don’t drive the rest of us crazy. On this episode, I’m going to share an update about that quest and point listeners to a few games that we’ve found work well for our family of five—including the three-year-old. Episode Resources Buy Hoot Owl Hoot on Amazon. Buy Go Go Little Pen...

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40:49

70. Unmatched 2025 Tournament (Part 2)

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2026/02/02

In this episode, we complete our quest to find out which fictional character is the ultimate fighter in our 2025 Unmatched tournament! To run the tournament, I identified our 16 most-played Unmatched heroes, then set up some brackets to pit them against each other. A few episodes ago, I reported on the first half of the tournament: the first-round games that whittled our list of heroes to the Elite 8. Today, I’m excited to share the second half of the tournament! As a reminder, the hero...

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7:18

69. Imhotep

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2025/12/15

In this episode, we travel back to ancient Egypt, build some pyramids, and compete to be the pharaoh’s favorite architect in Imhotep. Imhotep was said to be the architect of the step pyramid in Djoser, rising 200 feet tall, the earliest colossal stone building in Egypt. Imhotep is also a 2016 game for two to four players designed by Phil Walker-Harding and published by KOSMOS, in which players step into the sandals of the original Imhotep to build pyramids and obelisks and other great m...

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37:10

Unmatched 2025 Tournament (Part 1)

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2025/10/04

It just was over two years ago when we covered the game system called Unmatched here on the podcast. In Unmatched by Restoration Games, two players battle, each with a different hero that has their own unique deck of 30 cards for attack and defense. When we covered Unmatched here on the podcast in 2023, we only had six heroes in our collection for our battles. But now, two years later, we have a lot more than six Unmatched heroes! I think we’re up to 25 characters, drawn from eight different ...

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27:18

65. Wingspan (2025)

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2025/08/01

In this episode, we grab our binoculars and our field guides to go birdwatching in Wingspan. Wingspan is a 2019 game designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and published by Stonemaier Games. Most days, if you ask me what my favorite board game is, I'll tell you it's Wingspan. It's my most played game, and it's the one that Emily and I are most likely to pull out and enjoy after the kids go to bed. We first covered the game on the podcast back in 2020. That was five years ago! In this episode, E...

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20:57

Parks (Encore)

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2025/05/15

Our last episode on second editions of the games Santorini and Tortuga 1667 reminded me about another second edition of a family favorite game that’s out now: Parks designed by Henry Audubon and published by Keymaster Games. We covered the first edition of Parks way back on episode 7 of the podcast, and I thought I would reshare that episode here on the podcast feed in honor of the new edition of Parks. In this episode, I’m changing things up a bit and recommending a great board game fo...

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16:33

62. Back to the Island(s)

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2025/05/01

In this episode, we go back to the island in second editions of podcast favorites Santorini and Tortuga 1667! Santorini: Pantheon Edition takes the original Santorini and its “Golden Fleece” expansion and presents them in a new package with revised rules and upgraded components. The teenager and I have been playing it regularly since we got it, and we are loving it. When I heard about Tortuga 1667: Deluxe Edition, I was excited at the prospect of upgraded components for the game, ...

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13:44

61. Black Orchestra

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2025/04/01

In this episode, we conspire together to take out one of the worst evils of the 20th century in Black Orchestra! Black Orchestra is a 2016 cooperative game for 1 to 5 players designed by Phillip duBarry with art by Lucas Soriano published by Tabletop Tycoon. In Black Orchestra, players take on the role of conspirators in Nazi Germany working together to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The game is based on actual attempts by members of Hitler’s military and civilians to take out the man they s...

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8:55

60. Knarr

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2025/03/01

In this episode, we sail the high seas on our Viking ships to establish trading routes and not pillage in Knarr! Knarr is a 2023 game designed by Thomas Dupont with art by Antoine Carrion published in the US by Pandasaurus Games. Knarr celebrates the trading life of a Viking. In the game, players take on the role of Viking traders, recruiting crew to your ship, then sailing to distant lands to establish trade routes. Your trade routes will earn you victory points, as will the songs that...

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20:24

59. Keep the Faith

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2025/02/18

In this episode, we work together to tell the story of how a religion changes over the centuries in… Keep the Faith! Keep the Faith is a storytelling game for 2 to 5 players about religions in transition. Each player represents a sect within a fictional religion. Players collaboratively make up the story about the religion and how it changes over five hundred years, with a focus on how the material and observable aspects of the religion reflect or contradict the religion’s core values.&...

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9:58

58. Everdell Duo (First Play)

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2025/02/01

Today we have a FIRST PLAY review of Everdell Duo, a 2025 game designed by James and Clarissa Wilson with art by Andrew Bosley and Enggar Adirasa, published by Tabletop Tycoon. The game is a two-player version of the popular 2018 game Everdell, a game that launched a trend in board games featuring friendly anthropomorphic forest animals. Both games are set in the land of Everdell where the squirrels are woodcarvers, the badgers are innkeepers, and the hedgehogs are doctors. Everdell Duo is ...

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21:59

Jonathan Chaffer (Designer Interview)

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2024/11/01

In this bonus episode, I share an extended cut of my recent interview with Jonathan Chaffer, designer of the Holiday Hijinks series of 18-card escape room games. Jonathan had a lot to say about the design constraints he faced in creating these games, more than I could fit in last episode's review of the series. If you're interested in tabletop game design, I think you'll find this interesting.Links:Back the newest Holiday Hijinks games on Kickstarter.Order the original Holiday Hijinks games f...

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18:45

55. Holiday Hijinks

First Player Token, a short board game review show ·

2024/10/25

In this episode, we save Christmas and a lot of other holidays from potential catastrophe in Holiday Hijinks! Holiday Hijinks is a line of 18-card holiday-themed escape room games designed and illustrated by Jonathan Chaffer and published by Grand Gamers Guild. Each one offers the cooperative puzzle solving of an escape room in just 18 cards. There are nine games in the series currently, with names like The Cupid Crisis, The Turkey Trial, and The Groundhog Gambit. The newest Holiday Hijinks g...

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