Board Gamers Anonymous

Episode 589 – Roll for Initiative…With Strangers!

This week, Chris is joined by our good friend Chris Rodriguez from Board Games for the Better to tackle something almost every gamer has experienced at some point: the anxiety of sitting down at a table with people you don’t know.

Whether you’re walking into a local game night for the first time, looking for a seat at a convention, or trying to find a new gaming group, playing with strangers can be intimidating. Chris and Chris talk about the challenges of putting yourself out there, finding a group where you feel comfortable, recognizing a welcoming table, and getting past that initial awkwardness so you can actually enjoy the reason you showed up in the first place—the games!

And there are plenty of games to talk about this week.

Roll for Preview

Chris previews Everdell Journeys, a new standalone adventure in the world of Everdell that takes the familiar woodland setting in a new direction, and Drillers, a deck-building and resource-management game about piloting mechs deeper and deeper into an abandoned mine in search of valuable minerals—while making sure you can still get back out.

Chris Rodriguez checks out Legendary: A DC Deck-Building Game, which brings DC's superheroes, villains, Masterminds, and Schemes to Upper Deck's Legendary system, including new elements such as Sidekicks and the Hope and Fear Tracker.

Roll for Review

Chris takes a seat at the infernal poker table with Hell of a Deal, a cooperative, Texas Hold'em-inspired game where players take on cheating bosses from Hell, use some questionable tricks of their own, and ultimately hope to beat the Devil himself.

Chris Rodriguez covers three games: Mountain Goats Legacy, which expands the dice-rolling mountain-climbing game into an evolving, fully resettable legacy experience with new powers, hazards, and challenges; Fairy, a tiny push-your-luck prediction game about guessing whether the next card will be higher, lower, the same suit, or a fairy; and Panda Panda, a quick set-collection card game where you're manipulating your hand, watching your opponents, and trying to be the first to yell “Panda Panda!” with the right combination of cards.

Then, Roll for Initiative…With Strangers! How do you get past the anxiety of joining a table full of people you've never met? How do you find the right group for you? And, for those of us already sitting comfortably at the table, what can we do to make it easier for the next person looking for a friendly seat?

If you haven’t yet, check out the recently updated BGA website at www.boardgamersanonymous.com.

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Episode 588: 13 Years of BGA — Taking on the BGG Top 100

Board Gamers Anonymous is officially 13 years old! To celebrate, Chris is joined by Tim and Game Master Dave, together on the podcast for the very first time, for a special look at the BoardGameGeek Top 100 games.

All three of us are diving into the list and giving our hot takes: the games that deserve their spots, the ones that should be higher, the ones we can't believe are still there, and the sacred cows we're willing to knock down a few pegs. After 13 years of talking board games, we've accumulated plenty of opinions, and we're not keeping them to ourselves.

Most importantly, a huge thank you to all of the friends who have been part of BGA over the years (especially Anthony) and to every listener who has downloaded an episode, shared the show, sent us a message, argued with one of our lists, or kept coming back week after week. And an extra special thank you to our Patreon backers, whose support helps make BGA possible. We couldn't have made it to 13 years without all of you.

Here's to 13 years of Board Gamers Anonymous, and plenty more games, debates, rankings, and questionable opinions still to come!

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Episode 587: The Clue Is…10 Games That Keep You Guessing

The clue is…a great game night! Chris and Tim count down 10 games built around giving clues, deciphering hints, and guessing the right words or numbers. Some clues will lead straight to the answer, while others may leave everyone wondering what their teammates were thinking.

In Roll for Preview, Chris checks out DC Deck-Building Game: Green Lantern Corps, while Tim heads Abroad. Then, in Roll for Review, Chris puts the pedal to the prehistoric metal with Dino Racer, and Tim shares his thoughts on Whistle Mountain, Rebirth, and Hoplomachus: Origins.

If you haven’t yet, check out the recently updated BGA website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.boardgamersanonymous.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/bganonymous.bsky.social), and our website (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.boardgamersanonymous.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

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Chris is joined by Game Master Dave for an episode packed with previews, reviews, and a dive into the world of solitaire gaming.

Roll for Preview: Chris checks out Reiner Knizia’s Medici Traders, a tile auction game that brings a new spin to the classic Medici system, while Dave digs into Drillers.

Roll for Review: Chris stomps into King of Tokyo: Godzilla, while Dave tackles Lumberjacks with Rocket Launchers, Hot Streak, and Flip 7.

Then it’s time for Solitaire Game Commander Dave! Dave takes command of the table to explore solo gaming, including Agricola, Master of Britain, B-17: Queen of the Skies, and The Hunters: German U-Boats at War, 1939–43. What makes these games work when there’s nobody sitting across the table from you, and what can modern solo games learn from them?

Auctions, drilling, kaiju, lumberjacks, horse racing, card games, and commanding an entire table by yourself- it’s another week of Board Gamers Anonymous!

If you haven’t yet, check out the recently updated BGA website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.boardgamersanonymous.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/bganonymous.bsky.social), and our website (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.boardgamersanonymous.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).
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Gen Con 2026 Postgame Report!

Gen Con is in the books, and Chris and Tim are breaking down the biggest news, announcements, and games coming out of another record-breaking year in Indianapolis. More than 74,000 gamers showed up and brought rain, leaking roofs, tornado warnings, and plenty of tabletop chaos with them.

We cover the growing presence of massive IPs like Dungeons & Dragons, World of Warcraft, Star Wars, Stormlight Archive, and Dungeon Crawler Carl before diving into the games that caught our attention, including Entropy, Gruntz, Drillers, Kokeshi, Layers, Three Witches, Thunder Road: Ignition, The Lord of the Rings: The King’s Gambit, and more.

Then it’s Roll for Review, with Tim hitting the table with Moon Colony Bloodbath, Finspan, and more.

The crowds were bigger, the announcements were louder, and somehow the cardboard survived. It’s our Gen Con 2026 Postgame Report!

If you haven’t yet, check out the recently updated BGA website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.boardgamersanonymous.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to connect with us on Facebook (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/boardgamersanonymous⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/bganonymous.bsky.social), and our website (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.boardgamersanonymous.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).
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