Game Closet Chats

Let the fanfare ring out, the top ten games are here! We have arrived at the end of our ranking journey, folks. Here they are: the definitive top 10 games in the closet! Whose list do you agree with more? Start out 2021 right with this finale of Ranking the Closet!

We are getting so close to the end of ranking the top 100 games in the closet! Listen in as we go through the tweens and teens in this episode. Warning: We are getting into some of the legacy games we love and there will be spoilers!

Final three episodes of the year counting down! We get close to finishing up the rankings as we go through our numbers 21-30.

Bonus Christmas episode of Ranking the Closet! Listen in as we reveal the games that almost made it into the top 30 from the closet!

We have cracked into the top 50 games in the closet! Listen in as we continue to rank the closet.

We're back, and it's here! The final 10 before the final 50 also known as 51-60! Enjoy as we rank the next ten games from the closet.

Hello Everyone! We are back ranking the closet this week, and we are starting to get into the real gems! Listen along as we present our 61-70 games (and mostly get confused about what number we're on).

December is flying by, and so is this list! We are continuing to rank the closet as we reveal our picks for 71-80 this week.

We are back with our next batch of games from the closet!

Listen in as we work our way through the top 100 games from our collection.

I just hope our marriage can survive this!

This week we are starting to Rank the Closet! Listen along as we pick out the top 100 games in the Game Closet. We are starting with 91 - 100 in this episode.

Welcome to the first episode of our brand new segment: This Just In! We are going to bring you our thoughts as we chat about games new to our collection. This week we have an excellent addition to the Closet in PARKS. This game has beautiful art, wonderful components, and compelling game play. In case you can't tell, we really enjoyed it!

This week we are chatting about intellectual properties in board gaming. Does it really matter if you are playing as Iron Man or Rich Man in Metal Suit? What does an existing property bring to a game, if anything? We discuss these and more this week!

Hi Everyone! This week we are chatting about board game etiquette. What should you do to prepare for a game night? When does helping a new player tip over into taking their turn for them? Don't be a sore loser, but do bring some booze!

This week we are chatting about one of our absolute favorites... Nemesis from Awaken Realms!

Scary, tense, always cinematic this epic-sized game is not for the faint of heart (or those who see 3 boxes for one game and say 'No, thank you!'), but if you can hold on for the ride it is one you won't soon forget.

At the risk of being subpoenaed to give evidence in a copyright case this truly is Alien in a box!

Join use as we chat about changes to our programming in the coming months! We will be phasing out Then and Now in favor of a new segment about games new to the collection, This Just In! We also discuss our upcoming series of ranking the top 100 games in the closet!

Happy Halloween, Everyone!

This week we are forgoing our regular Than and Now segment to bring you a special Spooky Season chat. Listen in as we discuss all things spooky in this very special episode of Game Closet Chats!

Hello Everyone! This week we are chatting about escape rooms and escape room games. We are joined by a very special guest... Bianca's mom, Mary! Listen in as we discuss our experiences with escape rooms both professional and home made as well as the escape room in a box style games we have played.

This week we are chatting about Ravensburger's Villainous. Inhabit your favorite Disney villain as you defeat the pesky heroes (and your friends)! Listen along as we discuss our first experiences with this game, and also how we feel with a new perspective after a fresh play through. Will you be our guest? Or maybe just end up as some poor unfortunate soul? Find out this week on Then and Now!

We continue our conversation about Legacy games this week as we chat about Pandemic and Pandemic Legacy Seasons 1 & 2. Ridding the world of deadly disease has never been more serious than it is in these fantastic Legacy games! We discuss our time playing the original Pandemic, and our experiences with Season 1 (twice!) and Season 2. Join us in getting ready for Pandemic Legacy Season 0!

Starship Troopers in a box? It just may be! Listen in this week as we feature Xenoshyft Onslaught in this episode of Then and Now. We discuss the entry of this deck building base defense cooperative adventure game into our collection, and chat about what we think after a fresh play through. Spoliers: It's pretty darn good!

Welcome back, Everyone! This week we are starting a short series of chats about Legacy games. We. Love. These. Games. Betrayal at House on the Hill is an old favorite of ours, and Betrayal Legacy is a near perfect translation of the original game into a multi-play, story driven, card ripping, sticker applying great time!

This is the perfect time of year to curl up with a scary game where danger and betrayal (and madness) lurk in every tile and card!

Hello Everyone! Join us this week as we mine the mountains and cultivate the forests to let our dwarves live their best lives. We are discussing Caverna this week on Then and Now. Listen in as we chat  about how, and when, this game entered the collection, and how we feel about it after a fresh play through. Just shove the donkey over to make some room, and clean the ore dust out of your beard while you listen in!

Hello Everyone! This week we are chatting with our great friends, and fellow enthusiasts, Lauren and Larry. We are discussing how they entered the hobby, and also offer up some tips for those you are looking to get into the hobby as a new, or returning, gamer. Listen along as we dive deep into Larry's RPG past, and find out what pivotal thrift shop find landed Lauren into the maw of tabletop games!

Welcome to another episode of Then and Now! This week we are discussing the tile-laying, zoo tycoon-esque Barenpark. This is a great gateway game that entered the collection a number of years ago. Find out what we thought about it then, and what we think about it now after a fresh play through. Also, don't forget to go vote for your favorite Fat Bears!

This week we are chatting about the Kickstarting powerhouse staple publisher: CMON. Listen along as we discuss the CMON games in our collection: Masmorra, Rum and Bones, Blood Rage, Cthulu: Death May Die, Project ELITE, and Marvel United. We also wander into some fat bear discussions (https://www.livescience.com/fat-bear-week.html) and a preview of this week's Then and Now!

Welcome back to another episode of Then and Now! This week we are chatting about our experiences playing Oceans from Northstar Games. This is a relatively new addition to the closet, but we had played a previous iteration a few years ago: Evolution. Oceans is an engine/tableau building game that is gorgeous to look at, but is it as good (or bad) as we remember from our first play through? Listen in to find out as we talk about how we felt when this game entered the collection, pause to play it again, and come back with a fresh perspective.

Audio warning! We have a brand new setup that came together between the Then and Now segments, so when we come back from the play through we are quite a bit louder then when we ended the first segment.

Join us this week as we recall our adventures traveling through a land succumbing to the Wyrdness. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon published by Awaken Realms is a story driven exploration game in which you are following in the footsteps of Arthur himself. Listen in as we recall past mistakes and plan for future success!

Warning: light spoilers for first few chapters.

This week we are chatting about the deck building, colonizing, war-faring, producing, trading, researching, surveying game Eminent Domain! (I think I got them all in there)

Listen along as we talk about when we first played, take a break to play, and return with a fresh perspective.

This week as we reminisce about Geek Girl Con's amazingly fun event called Mystery Box Game! An engaging and thinky timed event where you and a group of strangers take on the task of making a game out of a bag of .... random stuff!

Listen along as we discuss the two every different experiences we had in 2018 and 2019. We'll talk about the things that went right and the things that went wrong. How hard or easy is it was to come up with a playable game in under two hours, and what it was like to collaborate with 3 random strangers! 

We topped 100 listens this week, and this is our 10th episode, and cats are cute, and games are good, and and and... a lot of excitement this week!!

Now that that is out of our system, this week we are chatting about Stone Age in our weekly Then and Now segment. This worker placement game published by Z-Man was our first introduction to the worker placement mechanic. Listen in as we discuss how this game entered the collection, what we thought about it when it did, and then we pause to play the game and come back to give you our fresh perspective.

All the things that make games interesting, unique, and drive their game play are on the list this week as we chat about game mechanics. Our discussion this week revolves around those mechanics in games we love, hate, and maybe are somewhat indifferent to. Is it dice rolling or dice placement that gets you interested? Is a constant reshuffling of the deck, or a timer deck what you love? Some spoilers this week for Pandemic Season 1 and the first TIME Stories scenario in this weeks chat as well, so be warned!

Listen along this week as Adam, Bianca, and Tiger talk about this amazingly thematic deck building game. Find an alien egg? Bring it on board! Feeling lonely and looking for a face hug? This game has that too! In this Then and Now segment the crew discusses what they remember about playing the game when it first came into the collection, take a break to give it a play, and come back to report on it now with a fresh perspective.

This week Adam and Bianca talk about real time games, and games with real time mechanics, as Tiger and Laszlo sleep the day away. Listen in as they discuss Project E.L.I.T.E., Kitchen Rush, Rival Restaurants, and Captain Sonar.

Listen in this week as Adam, Bianca, and the cats discuss this massive dungeon crawler from CMON! When this first entered the collection it was a big hit, but how do they feel about it now? Join in as the gang waxes nostalgic for Mice and Mystics, and discuss the evolution of dungeon crawling this week on Game Closet Chats: Then and Now.

Hello All!

In this Game Closet Chat, Adam and Bianca took some games on the road to test their playability on small tables. Tiger the Cat purrs along as they discuss small box games that don't fit as well as bigger games that you might not think would work. Also, big news about a new co-host is announced!

Grab a glass of wine and listen along as Adam, Bianca, and Tiger the cat talk about Viticulture by Stonemaier Games. In this week's Then and Now we will reminisce about Viticulture entering the collection, and then take a break while we play the game and come back with a fresh perspective. Who will grow their vineyard to be the envy of the Napa Valley? You'll have to listen to find out!

In this episode we discuss Pandasaurus Games', Dinosaur Island + Totally Liquid Expansion. We reminisce about our days as Dinosaur park tycoons before going back to the lab to concoct new dinosaurs to entertain our guests, while security keeps an eye out for hooligans and rampaging dinos!

F irst episode! First episode! Join us as we introduce ourselves and reminisce about where we started in gaming and where we are now. How many times can Bianca say 'mechanics'?

Games referenced: 

• Smash Up - Alderac Entertainment Group
• The Resistance - Indie Boards and Cards 
• Betrayal At House on the Hill - Avalon Hill 
• Castles of Mad King Ludwig - Bezier Games 
• Photosynthesis - Blue Orange 
• Project Elite - CMON 
• Nemesis - Awaken Realms