Welcome to our annual ranking of the good stuff. Within you will find us telling you about all the drams, tunes and games we really connected with this past year, all organized, categorized, ranked and presented with tidy little bows. This is the whole big cake of goodness, and you might want to cut and ingest a few slices at a time.

Then again . . . we know you guys. Just forget the forks and plates and dive right in. It’ll all be okay in the morning. Right?

LISTS

05:40 — Games 15 down to 11
28:49 — Whisk(e)y of the Year
49:19 — Games 10 down to 6
98:54 — Albums of the Year
131:29 — Games 5 down to 1

Just like John Ford filming a classic western, we brave the elements to bring you episode 101 in all it's Technicolor, widescreen glory. Winter may be wicked outside, but we're moseying down the trail, single malt in hand, and we're delivering the low down on a chuck wagon full of games, followed by a full dissection of what life's like on The Great Western Trail. Get 'em up.

CATTLE CALL:

01:37 -- Shirts & Other Business
06:06 -- The Lightning Trail Begins
06:44 -- Forged in Steel (Quick take)
08:35 -- Lorenzo Il Magnifico (Quick Take)
12:29 -- Inis (Quick Take)
20:13 -- Solarius Mission (Quick Take)
34:04 -- Kepler 3042 (Quick Take)
42:21 -- The BIOS:Genesis Rulebook (AARRRGGGHHHHH!)
45:28 -- Oracle of Delphi (Quick Take)
47:33 -- Guild Ball (Quick Take) - Last entry on the Lightning Trail
51:00 -- Bleeding Heart Pigeons - Is
55:09 -- Other spins (The Stones, Leonard Cohen, Thank You Scientist, Car Seat Headrest, L.A. Salami)
61:10 -- Clynelish 14 year old
70:24 -- The Great Western Trail (In-Depth)
133:35 -- The Crazy World of Lego Robotics

Well, we made it. Episode 100. An epic journey culminating in an epic show. Yea us!

Yep, this one's a long one, filled to the brim with hearty conversation. And while we do what we normally do, including covering two massive releases, Princes of the Renaissance and A Feast for Odin, we do take a few moments toward the end to acknowledge the milestone and heap some praise on ourselves (I mean, someone's gotta do it).

Thanks to everyone who listens because you're the people who really got us here. In other words, it's your fault. Seriously, thank you all for tuning in. We really dig this show, and we hope it makes your day when it lands in whatever podcast app you use. Thank You.

08:07 -- BGG CON 2016
20:00 -- Princes of the Renaissance (1st impressions)
48:03 -- In Search of James Hetfield -- The New Metallica Album!
56:13 -- A World Off Its Axis
65:27 -- A Feast for Odin (in-depth)
115:27 -- Episode 100! (Some Self-indulgence)
131:28 -- VH1's Behind the Podcast: The Hegemonic Years

Welcome to episode 99 of the podcast; a shorter, more concise episode this time out. Why? because your time is valuable and we care and it was definitely not because we were a little wiped out by time we recorded this week, because there's no reason to be wiped out trying to make a living and raise a family and live life. Nope.

Anyway, we have a Terraforming Mars session report along with an in-depth discussion on Haspelknecht. And some first impressions of A Feast for Odin to boot. All in about 90 minutes. You're welcome.

MENU:

04:15 -- T-Shirts?
09:35 -- Terraforming Mars: The Revenge! (session report)
21:40 -- A Feast for Odin (a Drool for Eric (1st impressions))
37:03 -- Atlanta
41:17 -- Haspelknecht (in-depth)

If you've ever been to the races, you may have seen a race where one of the horses goes off slowly. He doesn't stumble out of the gate; rather, he lollygags, taking in the sights, smelling the fresh cut of the infield, letting the pack get a dozen or so lengths ahead for the first part of the race. After a bit of this our boy decides to kick it into gear so he can see what all the fuss is about at the front of the pack. With luck he gets there before the race is done.

Well, this is kinda what we do in episode 98. We kick things off with one of our new-ish segments, which isn't fine-tuned to our usual perfection (ahem). But we soon catch up and start plowing through the field, challenging for the lead until the end. You can tell us if we've won or not.

GENERATIONS:

03:00 -- Thank You Jason Dinger
08:20 -- Wayback Machine - October 2013
22:44 -- Vinhos Deluxe (unboxing)
29:19 -- This Hobby's Done! No It Isn't! Yes It Is!, No! 
31:39 -- (a diverion) Doctors!
38:12 -- Back to the Hobby Question
56:30 -- Glengoyne 18 year old
68:23 -- Nick Cave Wants Your Soul - Skeleton Tree
83:33 -- Terraforming Mars (in Depth)

Well kids, Essen 2016 is right around the corner and it's that time of year when we tell you which games have us drooling. And we are crossing the streams with this one. It's dangerous, I know, but it has to be done.

In order to give you the bestest, biggest, baddest selection possible we are joining forces with Edward and Amanda from the Heavy Cardboard podcast. These lists are so good that we are broadcasting on both channels. Choose your poison and hide your wallets. Oh, and enjoy. Please.

Eric's back, and we're taking old games, new albums, dead presidents and adjective-less baristas. We also discuss how the world could have ended in 1962 if we were in charge. But hey, we weren't. So you're welcome.

More fun than you can fit in your crawl space. Especially when you have at least 14 baristas down there.

COFFEE:

03:25 -- Three Kingdoms Redux (session report)
34:58 -- New Tunes (fea. Ryley Walker, Angel Olsen, Lisa Hannigan, Metallica, The Tragically Hip & more)
49:52 -- The Wayback Machine -- Our Hot Games of September 2014
63:53 -- Baristas in the Crawl Space
66:45 -- 13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 (in-depth)

Welcome to episode 95 of the 'cast, another no-nonsense dissection of all things boardgaming. Right? Correct? Well, it is episode 95. I mean, you have to agree to that much. Really, you do. Okay fine. Still, it is an episode. It is.

Anyway, with Eric dividing his time between Patriots training camp and his historic run on the PGA tour, we welcome Marty back to the program for his second pinch-hit appearance. And we're throwing some off-the-beaten-path games at him (and you). C'mon somebody, hit that nasty sinking curve!

PITCH COUNT:

06:39 -- You Got Digital All Up in My Analog!
21:29 -- Argent: The Consortium (revisited)
36:09 -- City of Spies: Estoril 1942 (in-depth)
66:10 -- Nina & Pinta (in-depth)
120:40 -- Goodbye Hip

Do you like moving pictures? Do you like images streamed to your television? Do you like people talking about people talking about fascinating things? Do you like music, whisky, games? Fun. Do you like fun? Well, take a listen, then maybe sample some of what we discuss here, and you might just have more fun than you can stand. Or not. But hopefully.

Welcome to episode 94, chock full of many things considered.

ENTRIES:

05:45 -- A Little Thing About Social Justice Warriors
11:45 -- The Lowell Observatory
18:08 -- Stranger Things and Sing Street
24:44 -- The Tragically Hip
26:10 -- Giving it Away (Arkwright 1)
29:15 -- The Kindness of Listeners
30:30 -- The Pogues Irish Whiskey
36:08 -- Core Worlds (in depth)
69:55 -- Viking Dalliances
73:23 -- Game Expansions (overview)

Join us as we take a ride on that old Kickstarter highway, down to the alt-Euro land of Scythe in the years after the Great War. And this is the big one, Elizabeth! Filled to the brim with deluxe goodness and leaving a vapor trail of buzz and hype. 

Fair play, too, as Stonemaier Games offer up the safest bets in the crowdfunding arena. You're gonna get your game on time and it's gonna be pretty. Really pretty.

But does the game play safe or does it's soul rise to the level of it's blinged out exterior. We discuss, very much in-depth, right here in episode 93. Enjoy.

ACTIONS:

02:22 -- That Arkwright Thingy
12:41 -- Castles of Burgundy: The Card Game (in-depth)
32:08 -- Kilchoman, Machir Bay
39:25 -- Mystic Vale (1st impressions)
46:15 -- Scythe (really in-depth)