The State of Games, Ep. 154 – The One About the Top 5 Games EVER

We love when listeners get involved with the podcast and, because of comments and feedback from all of you, this podcast was magical. We’ve revisited our favorite games of all time occasionally but never within the context of a listener-curated list. And, oh, what an incredibly varied list it was! It just goes to show that all of you love so many different games in this hobby and that, dear listeners, is a truly wonderful thing. Happy listening! Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 151 – The One About the Axis of Not Misrepresenting Your Product

When TC volunteers to handle an upcoming topic and tackle the show notes I never say no. Not only is it a welcome break for me but it’s inevitably like that ol’ box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get. This time around it ended up with all three of us talking about best and worst of game aesthetics for about an hour, but the conversation was far more engaging and encompassing than I expected. We start at the fall of the video game industry in 1983 and don’t let up until we’ve covered the latest all-flash and no-substance projects on Kickstarter. So break out your smoking jackets, it’s... Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 147: The One About the Pros and Woes of Cons

Every year we travel to Charlottesville, Va. to visit one of our favorite board game conventions, PrezCon. Although we had just as much fun as we usually do we also played fewer games, so we had the idea to extend our conversation on this podcast to talk about our feelings about other shows we attend throughout the year. Over three hours later, and completely exhausted after talks of GenCon housing woes, body odor attacks, registration nightmares at Origins and such, we realized that might have been a tad ambitious. Our mistake is your gain, though – this episode is bursting at the seams. Enjoy! Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 146: The One About Expanding Your World

Love ’em or hate ’em, board game expansions are a huge part of the industry. Some companies survive just on expansions for their most popular titles, which can sometimes lead to consumer fatigue. They can often feel like cash grabs, but on occasion an expansion is released that not only provides more content for a game – it also makes that game better. So settle in Dear Listeners – we’re here to separate the suck from the essentials, all just for you. Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 145: The One About One-Hour Wonders

If there’s one thing that’s awesome about board gaming it’s that we are spoiled for choice when it comes to variety. There are great card games that play in about 15 minutes, meaty Euros that burn your brain for 2 hours, or Ameritrash juggernauts that might take you a full day to play. But there’s also this super sweet spot in gaming where a certain type of game exists – one that plays in about an hour, isn’t overly-taxing, and yet makes you feel smart, fulfilled, and like you’ve just experienced something truly magical. These are the one-hour wonders, and herein we craft our ode. Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 143: The One About Holiday Road

It’s been almost a month since our last episode, but the holidays seemed to ambush us this year, keeping us busy and away from our microphones! It certainly hasn’t been an uneventful month, however, as we all managed to get together in Dover, Delaware for our traditional Dice Hate Me Holiday gathering with good food, grand festivities, and gaming galore. So gather round, Dear Listeners, and ring in the New Year with your good friends from The State of Games. May 2018 be filled with peace, love, and games! Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 142: The One About Unplugging

November is usually the time when gaming conventions come to a close and the holidays kick into high gear. For the past few years, only one con has ruled the November calendar – BGGCon. This year, however, a new contender reared its head, and in Philadelphia, PA! Thus, PAX Unplugged was born. And it was huge. And we all went to it. And we ate pretzels and brats and drank our Yeungling and played our games and T.C. actually bought things and all manner of unheard of activities ensued. This… this is our story. Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 140: The One About Getting in the Spirit

I LOVE HALLOWEEN. I almost celebrate Halloween more than I celebrate Christmas. Which is why it’s a bit of a shock that we haven’t done more Halloween-centric State of Games in the past few years. Well, all that obviously needed to change, so we drafted a little help from Keith Ferguson to really dig into the spirit of the holiday. I’ll just say that this is in my top 5 episodes that we’ve ever done; I hope you all have as much fun listening to it as we did recording it. Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 137: The One About Getting Critical

It’s been awhile since we really dove headlong into the nature of game reviews and critical thinking (way back in Episode 32!), so we thought it would be a good idea to revisit the topic since things have been a little bit… crazy, lately. Besides, we really didn’t have a choice since the DHM 7th Anniversary grand prize winner Lee McConnell got to come on the podcast AND pick the topic! In the end, though, it turned in a deeply satisfying and timely discussion, so join us and let us know your thoughts. Enjoy! Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 135: The One About Tactics vs. Strategy

It’s always awesome to have a long-time friend and podcast listener on the show, and it’s even better when that guest throws down with TC on a serious game topic! I’ve known Van Ryder Games founder AJ Porfirio for almost as long as Kickstarter has been around, and yet he’s never been on the show. After a controversial tweet last week, I figured he was due, if only to give us all an amazing opportunity to talk all this tactics and strategy kerfluffle through! Read More  Read More