Shelley and I build some cars and set up star charts in two games from newer publishers:

Automania by Kenneth Minde and Kristian Ostby from Aporta Games

and

Ophiuchus by Emilio Zampa from Apokalypse Inc.

Mark Jackson joins me for a discussion of games played and statistics that he keeps of what everyone was playing over time back in 2007.

Shelley and I talk more about Agricola, then delve into two games that I haven't pulled off the shelves since...

Shelley and I enjoy 2 great games that would be fantastic for the entire family. The first is another great Amigo card game, while the second is a fun tile-drafting game from Stonemaier.

3 Sind Eine Zu Viel! by Christoph Behre and Reinhard Staupe from Amigo

and

Between Two Cities by Matthew O'Malley, Morten Monrad Pedersen, and Ben Rosset from Stonemaier and Morning Players

Shelley and I discuss what you might want to get your gamer friends for Christmas back in 2007 (any thoughts on our suggestions?) and talk about the contest we were running back then too!

Shelley joins me on the microphones as I rant a bit, spend more time talking Agricola, and resolve the Galaxy Trucker contest back in 2007.

Shelley and I tackle a couple of heavier R&R Games' titles

Rome: City of Marble by Brett Myers

and

Mombasa by Alexander Pfister

Meaty goodness! It's great to see Frank DeLorenzo continuing his journey into solid Euro titles!

Greg Parker joins me on the microphones for a conversation about some memorable titles from Essen 2007:

Agricola

League of Six

King of Siam

and many more.

Shelley and I try our hands at a Ticket to Ride expansion (Switzerland), as well as a couple games that you've never heard of again, a kids' game, and some latin-sounding title...Agri..?

Shelley and I have fun with two new Essen-released games from G3

Take a Train by Violetta Kijowska and Marcin Ropka

and

Stinky Business by Piotr Jesionek

Fun, card-based games that work well with multiple players.

Shelley and I tackle two meaty middle-weight games that are either just out or on their way from Stronghold Games!

Porta Nigra by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling (just out and #1 in the Great Designer Series)

and

My Village by Inka and Markus Brand (just announced that the entire Village series will be coming from Stronghold soon)

Filip Murmak was kind enough to join me on the mic over the Skype airwaves post-Essen 2007 for a discussion of CGE's latest releases and what we could expect from them in the future.

Shelley and I get to the mics after some initial plays of Essen 2007 games, reflecting on what we're enjoying and putting on the 'get rid of' pile back in 2007.

Shelley and I get two new Essen releases to the table, enjoying the meaty goodness of

Nippon by Paulo Soledade and Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro from What's Your Game

and

Royal Goods (or Oh My Goods!) by Alexander Pfsiter from Osterreichisches Spiele Museum (and soon from Lookout Games)

Two fantastic games that BGG.con attendees should make sure they play!

Erik Oliver my shepherd of games for a few years (and fellow gamer) joins us on the mics for a discussion of what attending Essen 2007 was like. Many games are discussed (some of which you might recognize still)!

Shelley and I continue our discussion of games released at Essen 2006 from our perspective (at the time) of one year later.

Looking for interesting filler between the meaty Essen releases? Well, here are 4 brand new card games that might be worth checking out!

Game of Trains by Alexey Konnov, Alexey Paltsev and Anatoliy Shklyarov from Brain Games

8-28 by Michael Hirtle, David Hoyt, and Colin Morgan from Zoch Verlag

Taste of Poland by Violetta Kijowska and Marcin Senior Ropka from Bomba Games

Witkacy by Maciej Poleszak and Michal Szewczyk from Bomba Games

Shelley and I re-enact the 1960 election (I played Nixon) and then discuss the previous year's Essen releases (2006) and how they had held up over the year.

Shelley and I get two of the lighter games from Essen to the table

Cornwall by Johannes Schmidauer-König from Schmidt

Gipfelstürmer by Friedemann Friese from Amigo

and we also talk a bit more about the Game Night with non-gamer families that was such a hit. Games quickly mentioned are

Codenames by Vlaada Chvatil

La Boca by Inka and Markus Brand

Loopin' Chewie

Hamsterrolle by Jacques Zeimet

Super Rhino by Scott Frisco and Steven Strumpf

and

The Game by Steffen Benndorf

Shelley couldn't join me for this episode, so I fly solo and discuss more of the games that had made the list for Essen 2007. See what gems you remember or duds that have gone the way of the dodo.