Just because it's a thing you do, we  offer up our 2nd annual discussion and ranking of the games we encountered for the first time this year, along with the best whisky and music enjoyed whilst playing.

You'll hear thrilling descriptions of game from two lists, each 17 games long. Why 17? We don't ask "why" here at the PCP, we merely forge ahead and trounce the Goblins. We also add in top fives (or more) in whisky and music. We suggest you sample the wares and create your own pairings.

Also, since this is a spoiler free time of year, individual games will not be listed in the times below. However, in the next few days we will post our lists in our BGG Guild (https://www.boardgamegeek.com/guild/1805) which you will be able to peruse at your lesiure.

SECTORS:

05:57 -- Games 11-17 (or so), and disappoinments
40:48 -- Whiskies of the Year
52:01 -- Games 6-10 (or thereabouts)
90:16 -- The Albums You Need to Hear
110:05 -- Games 1-5 (exactly)

It's Splotter time on the old podcast. We've been spending quite a bit of time organizing and reorganizing our fledgling food empires and we're taking a little coffee break so we can tell you how it's all going. Join us and find out if schlepping drinks and flipping burgers is more fun than you remember.

MENU:

07:47 -- 2015 World Whiskey of the Year: Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye
17:43 -- Neanderthal, et al.
21:10 -- Food Chain Magnate (in-depth review)
77:03 -- Music (Samantha Crain, City and Colour, Joanna Newsom)
85:40 -- The Gallerist Postponed (we need another hour on this one)

And as promised, part two of our Essen games extravaganza; AKA, the good stuff. Nothing more to say than listen in and hold on to your wallets.

INGREDIENTS

01:03 -- The Bloody Inn
08:05 -- Grand Austria Hotel
16:53 -- 504
21:28 -- Shakespeare
31:33 -- Food Chain Magnate
45:42 -- Bretagne
60:55 -- Lignum
80:18 -- Nippon

Despite the prospect of ever orbiting schedules we have somehow collided for a long moment to record another installment of As the Podcast Turns, Essen edition. Yea us! In fact, what we recorded was so long that this will be the first of two concurrent releases today. And yeah, we know you know how to use the pause button, but it actually makes the editing job easier.

Last week we attended a small con in Bellevue that focuses on getting the most recent Essen releases to the table. A couple hundred folks attend and there seems to be at least one copy of each Essen title available to play. Much cheaper and more intimate than a trip to Germany

Between us we put in over 80 hours playing our most anticipated games. We then rushed home through a torrential downpour to tell you about it (or was it to get soaked taking our kids out Halloween night?). Anyway, sit back and enjoy the first half of our Essen game coverage. Maybe grab some strudel while you're at it.

We have come to the crossroads here at the 'cast. The external forces of life, real and imagined, have conspired against us. We are against the ropes and down on one knee, a significant cut upon the brow, bloodied, the referee close to the end of his count.  We're not sure there's anywhere to go from here and you can listen in as we consider our options.

We also get to a good selection of games, getting in depth on a few, but quick and concise overall, back in the land of reasonable show lengths

TIMES:

02:15 -- The Hard Stuff: Down for the Count???
23:30 -- Furniture for Games
27:28 -- Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game
32:58 -- Istanbul
42:20 -- Roads & Boats
48:25 -- Clinic
54:25 -- The Voyages of Marco Polo
58:19 -- Murano
62:37 -- Gold West
67:40 -- Steampunk Rally
75:23 -- The Secret Question
77:30 -- Kickstarter Grumbles

Three Kingdoms Redux is currently the 2156th ranked game on Board Game Geek. It's a game we've been playing this month, one that's been on our radar for quite a while, and in this episode we're going to do our longest single game review telling you why that ranking is approximately 2150 places off.

Also, we've discovered another fine game about to hit Kickstarter, World's Fair 1893. This one has demanded to be on our table more than we expected, and we could see it garnering some silverware in 2016.

Add to this a bottle of Whisky and a handful of light games played just before recording and you have our longest episode yet (On a side note, we plan to reverse this length trend as we slouch on toward episode 100).

ATTRACTIONS:

04:44 -- Sixes &Sevens: Light Game Deathmatch (Discoveries, Mottainai, Flip City, Welcome to the Dungeon, Traders of Osaka)
19:30 -- Practicing Guitar
21:00 -- World's Fair 1893 (in-depth KS preview)
59:17 -- The Bottle of Guilt: Ardbeg Auriverdes
70:22 -- Transition
71:21 -- Three Kingdoms Redux (in-depth review)

Someone recently commented that our podcasts are almost as long as Wagner's operas. Well, seeing as we take that as a challenge, this one's epic! Sweeping! Cinematic! In 70 mm Technicolor!

After some short reviews and music talk, and  spin-offs of Eric's "When Things Went Bad" segments, we launch into our annual Essen preview. These are the games we're hoping will take some money out of our pockets. Do we play it safe? Can we find something unique, something off the radar? And how many of these games will even be available to us?

Gotta say, this is a long one, but I sure enjoyed the listen while editing.

LISTS:

03:05 -- Starfighter (review)
23:49 -- Secret Question #8
24:17 -- Tides of Time (review)
30:20 -- Bountytown
52:05 -- Music: Destroyer, Matt Pond PA, Joe Henry
64:50 -- Essen Preview, How We Do
67:10 -- A Wife's Wisdom and When Things are Forgotten
69:40 -- Shout Out Louisville
71:40 -- More Wisdom?
75:45 -- List Making & Expansion Desires
78:57 -- Essen & Beyond, 5th Choices
86:10 -- 4th Choices
95:17 -- 3rd Choices
105:00 -- 2nd Choices
112:40 -- 1st Choices
121:26 -- Honorable Mentions

Guess what kids? We've been playing games. Lots of games. New games, old games, good games, bad games, even unpublished games (like Gil Hova's upcoming charmer, The Networks). Yea games!

And now, through the miracle of the Interent, you can follow along and listen to what we think of all these games we've played. It's kinda like a sing-a-long, with that bouncy ball hopping around above the words, except we don't have video, so it's really not like that at all.

FOLLOW THE BALL:

01:50 -- Six Degrees of Aggravation
07:16 -- The Networks (Review)
53:35 -- Yellow Spot Irish Whiskey
60:54 -- We played Gen Con games at Sasquatch
63:05 -- Starfighter
69:00 -- Codenames
72:11 -- Spyfall
75:58 -- Discoveries
77:00 -- Secret Question #7
79:15 -- Viceroy
80:50 -- Isle of Skye
82:14 -- New York, 1901
86:15 -- Rattle, Battle, Grab the Loot
94:33 -- Ty Con 2015 (the Seconding)
97:37 -- Kohle & Kolonie (mini-review)

Here at Punching Cardboard headquarters there is always the difference between what plans are made and what plans are realized. Here it is, our 75th show. The plan was to record something a little out of the ordinary for episode 75; the realization is our typical fare with some humor, conversation and opinions on games, whisky and music.

Still, we think that’s pretty good. After all, we wouldn’t have made it to episode 75 if we didn’t feel we were doing good things, and we wouldn’t have kept going if you all weren’t listening (Yep, we’re throwing you guys under the bus).

So if you’ve been around for a good while, thanks for putting our ‘cast into your rotation. And if you’re just coming to the party, welcome. We hope you’ll all stay on board for this ride. We may not record too many special episodes over the next 75, but we’ll probably realize 75 more episodes. Just imagine, Episode 150 — Caverna 2: the Agricola Field Recordings! (remastered edition). You know you want it. So do we. Let’s have fun together.

TRACK LISTING:

01:50 — Tame Impala / Jason Isbell
07:16 – – (Upcoming Games)
07:47 — We Give Phil Eklund All Our Money
12:14 — “Kingdom Builder? This About Kingdom Builder?”
14:00 — Thanks for the games
17:38 — (What We’ve Been Playing / Buying)
17:45 — Trambahn
22:20 — Mage Knight Expansion Troubles?
25:14 — King of New York / Sheriff of Nottingham / Citadels
29:16 — The BenRiach Septendecim, 17 year old Peated
34:13 — Barony
66:13 — Secret Question #6

Welcome to episode 74. Inside you will find a lengthy discussion about games that we have played more than any others, a tasting report on a new single malt, and a few new music recommendations.

But to top it off Jim spends about a half hour talking to Richard "Doc" Diosi of Mercury games about their upcoming reprint of Princes of the Renaissance.

So sit back and pour a wee dram and enjoy.

HEADLINES

03:45 -- Madeira Revisited
16:32 -- Interview with Richard "Doc" Diosi (Mercury Games)
27:23 -- Princes of the Renaissance
50:36 -- anCnoc 12 year old single malt
58:45 -- Tame Impala, Jason Isbell, Little Steven
68;33 -- Defend Your Ten (Our top ten most played games)
117:20 -- True Confessions
119:00 -- The Secret Q (we almost forgot)

Despite this week's title our episode is so Germanic that we might have been better off sipping some hefe-weizen rather than our drams of 18 year old Aberlour.

We open with an examination of a fan created copy of the German-only Kashgar and close with a look at making German autos with Kraftwagen. Many hard consonants and guttural utterings can be found in between, including talk about something called Kickstarter.

Wir Sind Das Podcast!!!

01:50 -- Kashgar: Händler der Seidenstraße
28:22 -- 3x1 results
34:30 -- Kickstarter Follies
45:30 -- Aberlour 18 year old
50:35 -- Last week's Secret Q: Our Response
65:00 -- Secret Question #4
67:37 -- Kamasi Washington, The Epic
72:45 -- Kraftwagen

You want a discussion about a lot of board games? You've come to the right place. We make good on our promise to catch up on what we've been playing, which results in some "near" reviews of several games.

Plenty of cardboard related talk in this one. And a Green Spot toast to some deserving new champions who have a very large cup to carry around all Summer.

BOXSCORE:

00:30 -- Captain Serious and the Showtime Kid (Duncan Keith too.)
04:19 -- Business
09:55 -- Bring on the Cavalcade of Games
10:15 -- Oh No, It's the Watch Patrol!
18:00 -- Rune Age
22:03 -- Chimera
37:24 -- Lewis & Clark
50:56 -- Depth to Length, a Litany
62:25 -- The Secret Question (#3)
64:54 -- Dungeon Lords (You Will Play This Game)

We are undeterred. We are punk and grunge and garage. We are sweating and drinking and fumbling about in the studio for show notes. We are tired but persistent. We are Rune Age and Noir. We are Heatstroke, coming to a venue near you and turning it up to 11.

All that and a long discussion of a new classic, Keyflower.

ON THE DIALS:

04:14 -- I'm Playing Baseball.
07:00 -- Noir: Black Box Edition (review, sorta)
20:45 -- Laphroaig, 18 years old.
28:09 -- Use a Nice Glass, Please
29:35 -- To Spark the Interest
38:04 -- Audiophile Corner (The Phantom Band, Mikal Cronin, Torres (MacKenzie Scott), Phosphorescent)
47:00 -- The Secret Question
52:30 -- 3x1: The Geeklist and Update
55:25 -- Keyflower (review)
99:15 -- Input Randomness

Well, this one certainly got away from us, didn't it? Our docket looked thin with a new idea, a few apologies, a clarification of mission, and a few game summaries, but somehow we reached the two hour mark.

I guess we didn't expect our summaries to become full blown reviews, and we also forgot to factor in the fun we were having. I imagine not recording in three weeks played a role as well. Just more of us to love, I guess.

THE DOCKET:

02:05 -- Sylvion (review)
33:30 -- All Apologies
40:00 -- Ardbeg Corryvreckkan
52:11 -- Secret Question #1
59:55 -- The Hitchhikers Guide to Punching Cardboard (Mission Statement)
72:55 -- Future Scheduling
74:57 -- Asgard (unexpected review)

The interesting thing about our show is that the vast majority of the time we are in agreeance about most everything we cover. Yet, we are sometimes defined by the very few feisty arguments that have graced this program (and you can't see the smiles on our faces when we record these).

Will this be a defining episode? Quite possibly, as we do come down on very opposite sides of one of our 3x3 entrants. Rest assured, no podcasters we're injured in the making of this episode (We quite enjoyed ourselves), and we put Mayweather and Pacquiao to shame.

ROUNDS:

01:09 -- Green Spot
09:39 -- No Business
11:25 -- Future Spins
18:05 -- Trains: Rising Sun and Other Deck Builders
22:43 -- First Things Went Bad, Then Good (Lords of Scotland, Onirim)
29:50 -- Love Letter Batman Bar Etiquette
31:41 -- Whiskey and Pancakes
32:40 -- How is That 3x3 Coming Along?
40:15 -- 1714: The Case of the Catalans (Impressions, Main Event)
95:20 -- MTG and Little League

Today we head back in time, and without the help of a TARDIS.

We drink some finely aged Scotch and discuss a finely aged band, and then we dart back to the beginning of the 20th Century and explore the great age of yellow journalism. But it all still seems so modern, so we head for the way way back machine and go play with a couple of ancient civilizations in the Mediterranean.

It's just all so historical. Maybe more than we can fathom, but we go anyway, because it's what we do. Come along for the ride.

HISTORIES:

05:20 -- Ardbeg Uigeadail
12:03 -- The Waterboys, Modern Blues
19:36 -- Baseball Highlights Expansion News
22:37 -- Penny Press (impressions)
45:20 -- Polis: Fight for the Hegemony (in-depth)
107:10 -- Fight the Power!!

Oh man, did we pack this show. We threw everything at this one. I even think I saw a kitchen sink fly by.

We give you a little something to drink, a little something to listen to, something to watch, a couple things to play, stuff that went bad, annoying stuff, some oil, water, vinegar: Everything you like or hate about us is in this one.

Forgive us for we know not what we do.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN:

01:37 -- 3x3 Challenge Update (play along)
05:38 -- We Don't Just Go Along With the Crowd
07:48 -- Aberlour A'Bunadh
15:10 -- Courtney Barnett: Sometimes I Sit and Think . . . 
25:18 -- Everybody Plays!!!
29:45 -- The Proper Use of Facebook
30:33 -- Daredevil
34:45 -- Arboretum (review)
55:55 -- When Things Went Bad (music edition)
58:10 -- ZhanGuo (review)

While we considered continuing the remote podcasting with a trip on Route 66, we decided to return to the studio instead and get back to some normalcy. A little Whisky, a little music, a lot of games, and a new challenge await you in this magical land. We hope you enjoy your visit.

ROADMAP:

02:58 -- Some Thank Yous
08:01 -- Balvenie Doublewood
11:27 -- The Baseball Project
16:08 -- Kick (starting) the Spring Lull
18:35 -- Lord of the Rings LCG
27:07 -- Lords Of Xidit
40:36 -- The 3x3 Challenge
77:07 -- ZhanGuo Will Have to Wait

Our second and final installment from our live Gamestorm sessions. Recorded first on the day, but a very difficult edit deems it airs last. A number of creative people grace the microphones, and we are joined by Jason Hancock of The Docking Bay 94: The Game Reviewers podcast in this joint effort. Film, fiction and gaming all feature here, with a special discussion of the new game March of the Ants. 

For those who're looking for our regular programming, we hope you enjoy this diversion. And never fear, our regularly scheduled programming will return in Episode 66.

TIMES:

07:08 -- J. R. Ralls (Citizen George) & Robert LaCosse
12:48 -- Knob Creek
19:00 -- Rhiannon Louve
25:16 -- Michael Mindes (TMG Games)
35:44 -- "Lindsey Stirling is so awesome!"
45:38 -- Dave Howell (Penny Gems)
55:30 -- Tim Eisner & Ryan Sisher (March of the Ants), Special Interviewer: Kate Reid
70:50 -- The Mindes Returns

Welcome to our first remote broadcast, recorded live at Gamestorm in Vancouver Washington, Saturday, the 21st of March. This is a loose affair featuring two very witty guests, Mike Selinker (Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Betrayal at the House on the Hill, and many others) and Michael Mindes (Owner of Tasty Minstrel Games).

After a false start, we get the buttons pushed correctly and the levels set as best we can, and we settle in to a lively conversation of many things board games and some things not. There's a fair bit of chatter in the background as this was recorded in the midst of a reception, but if you pretend you pulled up a bar stool and were eavesdropping on a fun exchange, then all will be well? We enjoyed this immensely and we hope you do as well.

We're smoking peat, greasing wheels, shooting sparks, and slapping applesauce in episode 63. We begin slowly and end with a beginning, all out-takes included. The whisky's a little smoky and the language a little salty, but we get our kicks in this one. All that and some serious examination of a couple of heavyweight games. Please enjoy responsibly.

SPELLS:

02:00 -- Peat Monster!
10:30 -- Hand. Cannot. Erase. (Steven Wilson)
17:25 -- Bono Feld
19:05 -- Kanban (revisited in full)
51:15 -- Oh So Heavy???
58:00 -- A Baseball Highlights Afternoon Special.
61:30 -- Argent: The Consortium (pre-review. to be revisited)
104:50 -- To Begin at the Beginning (Schedules, Gamestorm, Brian DePalma, Minecraft, Requests, Pics, and etc).

Welcome to the quiet little village of Episode 62. Here, at the local pub you can enjoy a fine dram of single malt whisky, prepared with loving care by the town vicar, whilst listening to the locals spin tales of their mining exploits on Mars. What more could you ask for?

DRILLING SCHEDULE:

01:15 -- Cthulhu Approved Whisky: HP, Dark Origins
09:50 -- Old Fun February: Fail
23:02 -- Evil Tower of Cubes
31:12 -- Super Motherload (review)
58:55 -- Gamestorm Plans?????

You want a game you can bring home to your spouse and play on a cold snowy evening, just the two of you, a nice fire going, a little wine. When things go good, shall we say.

But you also want that game to shine when you have company, when you slap it on the table, when you show your friends just who's daddy you are. Yep, you want a game that covers the range of players indicated on it's enticing linen box, a game that does more than sit on your shelf, taunting you over the money you spent, knowing that . . . um . . . um, yeah.

Well, we discuss scalability and let you know about 19 games that fit the bill. Listen forth.?

TIPPING THE SCALES

02:47 -- Ardbeg Again
05:30 -- Music Reviews (Cracker and Blue Rodeo)
13:40 -- Playing New Games in Old Fun February -- Super Motherload
17:40 -- Railroads and Peppers
20:25 -- ZhanGuo
24:30 -- Eric Won't Play Dungeon Petz!
27:50 -- Scales Defined
30:00 -- Up the Scale
46:48 -- Down the Scale
60:45 -- Working Across the Player Count (Games listed in the Tags)

You asked for it, and you got it. We take a deep look at Deus in this episode, a game that has divided our opinions like no other before it and quite possibly none that will come after. And then we go deeper, exploring the depths of Stefan Feld's oceanic research labs in Aquasphere, because we all live in some sort of colorful submarine. With robots. And Crystals. And a laser barrier between us and our point salad.

TIMES:

06:45 Deus (review)
42:25 Aquasphere (review / impressions)

Welcome to this week's episode of Punching Health Care. We get all medical in this bad boy, finding cures for what ails you with Bad Medicine and saving the world (not) in Pandemic: the Cure. We also toss in some musical cures for KatyPerryItis that will have Kanye West's head spinning (there's probably a cure for that too). It's all about theme, baby!

APPOINTMENTS:

06:50 -- Bad Medicine (preview)
37:08 -- January's Music Selections
41:45 -- Pandemic: The Cure (review)
58:00 -- Co-ops and Difficulty

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in two weeks but Baseball Highlights: 2045 reported to Punching Cardboard yesterday, so we're getting a jump on the action. We've got cyborgs, we've got robots, we've got naturals, and we've got a card game with a fairly unique take on the sport of baseball that should allow access for anyone with even a passing interest.

We also discuss (ahem!) the avalanche of games either hitting the table or pending, and whether this is a good thing or not (Eric: Yes! - Jim: NO!). All this and a short preview of 1714: The Case of the Catalans lie ahead. Tread carefully (except with the Baseball part because that is a gentile, pastoral sport).

INNINGS:

00:42 -- Powers, John's Lane Release
05:18 -- They Were Just There Not to Get Fined
14:49 -- Too Many Games (Argue: Fight)!
31:09 -- New Dice For Quantum
33:45 -- Game Weight. 1714: The Case of the Catalans (preview)
39:16 -- Baseball Highlights: 2045 (review)
75:42 -- The Two Stories of Kickstarter

We spend a lovely day out on the farm, wandering the fields and picking packs of yellow, red, blue, green orange, black, white, brown, some clear glittery, and (I won't alliterate anymore) peppers. We're in Scoville, USA and we're making chili.

We also talk the best music from 2014, our Kickstarter habits, game addiction, and upcoming cons. Uh-oh, Eric's eyes are watering. He must have forgotten to wash his hands after handling his peppers.

TIMING:

06:18 -- Big Box Mania
07:35 -- Ardbeg: Build Your Collection
08:14 -- Technology Moves Ahead
10:06 -- Top 5 Albums of 2014
20:49 -- Gen Con and Other Possibilities
24:40 -- Eric Does Orleans
26:30 -- Addiction Trumps Virus
29:20 -- All Our Kickstarters
34:46 -- Scoville (review)

Takin' the heavy down a notch or four from last week, we're controlling areas in Londonderry and rollin' bones in space for episode 56. Still, there's plenty of meat in these titles, and plenty of flavor bringing us back for more.

Thank you, sir, may I have another.

TIMELINESS:

02:22 -- GlenDronach, The Original 12 Year-old
05:50 -- Bidness
09:45 -- Playing From The Shelf Challenge
12:53 -- The Punchies!
15:25 -- GameStorm & Other Possible Appearances
19:43 -- The Walled City: Londonderry & Borderlands (review)
53:10 -- Roll for the Galaxy (review)

Welcome to Episode 55, the Director's cut. Yup, this is a long one. To be fair, We are covering the mammoth known as Arkwright, and we devote well over an hour to this beast alone. We also drink a little Jameson and sew a few quilts just to keep ourselves honest. Might be a rant in there too (just a little one).

TIMER:

02:40 -- Jameson
05:10 -- You mean there's more football!?
08:53 -- Patchwork (review)
20:32 -- Refusing to buy Star Realms expansion
25:20 -- Arkwright (review)

Hello and welcome to 2015, Punching Cardboard style! Well, an approximation of our style as we are admittedly a little off our game after this holiday break. I mean, we're hustling all over the place, trying to make the plays, but it's like the balls taking funny hops or something.

Anyway, forgive the extra long rules explanations as we delve into a couple of mid-weight, short-playing games: Akrotiri and Lagoon: Land of Druids.

TIMES:

02:40 -- Redbreast 15 Year-old Irish Pure Pot Still
08:48 -- Game Trayz
18:00 -- Akrotiri (review)
53:00 -- We Will Play Kill Shakespeare and Other Tales
59:35 -- Lagoon: Land of Druids (review)