Shelley and I check out the new tile-laying family game from Mayfair/Lookout, then check out the latest Ticket to Ride Map Collection.

Isle of Skye by Alexander Pfister and Andreas Pelikan from Mayfair/Lookout

and

Ticket to Ride Map Collection 5: United Kingdom and Pennsylvania by Alan Moon and from Days of Wonder/Asmodee

Enjoy!

Shelley and I build competing theaters and send missions to the bottom of the world in

Shakespeare by Hervé Rigal from Ystari

and

Antarctica by Charles Chevallier from Argentum Verlag

Enjoy!

Shelley and I go through our Top 10 lighter and Top 10 heavier games, hear what many listeners posted as their favorites, resolve our Episode 500 Contest, and listen to a few GREAT audio recordings from listeners!

I will put up Geeklists for our Top Games, but our #1 for each of the lists were the same:

Light Games: Between Two Cities from Stonemaier Games

Heavier Games: Bretagne from Placentia Games

Shelley and I try two games that involve light...one that's lighter, the other that's rather heavy.

Bretagne by Marco Pozzi from Placentia Games

and

Lanterns by Christopher Chung from Foxtrot Games

both of which are solid, interesting games that we MAY be discussing next week during our Top 10 Games of 2015 on EPISODE 500!!!!

Shelley and I re-play the games discussed on Episode 1 (Elasund and Mesopotamia), then spend some time discussing an older favorite, Kings Progress.

Shelley and I comment and answer listener queries, then revisit Episode 1 of the podcast.

Shelley and I check out two games from Taiwan this week, delving into

Dadocheng by Eason Kao and Tsai Huei-Chiang from Soso Games

and

Burano by Yu-Chen Tseng and Eros Lin from EmperorS4 Games

both members of the Taiwan Boardgame Design group

Shelley and I get goofy on the mics and enjoy listening and commenting on what you listeners have to say.

Shelley and I get the 2-player-only extravaganza to the table this week, trying out

Hengist by Uwe Rosenberg from Mayfair/Lookout

Trambahn by Helmut Ohley from Mayfair/Lookout

and

7 Wonders Duel by Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala from Repos/Asmodee

Shelley and I discuss more games during a snowy winter in 2008.

Familiar designers on tap with Reiner Knizia and Cwali's own Corne van Moorsel, along with one of the last really good Adlung games from Michael Rieneck who has since gone on to design Cuba, Pillars of the Earth, and last year's Grog Island.

Shelley and I finally get a chance to sit down and tackle some of the heavier titles that we picked up at Essen. This week it's the meaty designs of Spielworxx.

Haithabu by Wolfgang Heidenheim and Andreas Molter

and

Dilluvia Project by Alexandre Garcia

Two games I'm not sure if anyone is still playing (or even remembers), but we were talking about them at the beginning of 2008.

Gangster from Amigo

The Circle from C4/Creative Cell (their only published game...)

Shelley and I get Ystari's Amyitis and Amigo/Mind the Move's Il Principe to the table for discussion.

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.