#345: Essen SPIEL 2025 Hype List

#345: Essen SPIEL 2025 Hype List

Author: Board Game Barrage October 16, 2025 Duration: 58:41

Not perturbed by Kellen's trip to Germany, we're all daydreaming about the motherlode of board game conventions, Essen SPIEL. There's a lot of games coming to the show, and because we're not going, and presumably you aren't either, we'll just tell you what's going to be there instead! The good stuff, anyway. Before we Germinate, we talk about Calimala, Tír na nÓg, and Typewriter.

02:42 - Calimala
09:42 - Tír na nÓg
16:15 - Typewriter
26:15 - Essen SPIEL 2025 Preview
28:49 - Mission: Red Planet (Third Edition)
31:18 - The Other Side of the Hill
33:29 - Severton
36:12 - Harvest Valley
38:11 - Pulitzer
39:26 - Echoes of Time
41:14 - Oopsie
42:55 - Feya's Swamp
43:46 - Baghdad: The City of Peace
45:25 - Ghost Lift
48:07 - Coming of Age
49:33 - The Presence
51:50 - Carnival of Sins
53:37 - The Republic of Rome: Remastered
55:22 - Theocratia

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Board Game Barrage is a weekly conversation with Kellen, Neilan, Mark, and Christina that feels like pulling up a chair at a lively game night. The discussion centers on the board games they’ve actually been playing, from the newest releases causing a stir to older titles that deserve another look. You’ll hear their distinct personalities and opinions clash and align as they debate strategies, dissect mechanics, and share those memorable, often hilarious moments that happen around the table. This isn’t a formal review show, but a genuine chronicle of their hobby. The heart of the podcast lies in its focus on the social experience of gaming-how to navigate different player styles, keep the atmosphere positive, and ultimately enjoy the company and the competition, regardless of who comes out on top. It’s about the shared stories that emerge from a box of cardboard and wood. Each episode is a deep dive into what makes games fun, frustrating, and fascinating, delivered with a blend of enthusiasm and friendly critique. Tune in to Board Game Barrage for an authentic, unscripted look at the modern board gaming landscape through the eyes of four dedicated friends who love to talk about what they play.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Board Game Barrage
Podcast Episodes
#298: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2023: 20-11 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:20
We're almost bursting at the seams, but there's room for a little more. It's the penultimate episode of our five part series, the Top 50 games of all-time! We're moving on to our 20th to 11th favourite games, which means…
#297: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2023: 30-21 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:31
It's a new year which is an awkward time to be right in the middle of something, but we're doing a thing here. It's part three of our Top 50 games of all-time! This week it's our 30th to 21st favourite games, and this is…
#296: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2023: 40-31 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:00
It's the second leg of the grand tour that is the top fifty. This week, we're doing our 40th to 31st favourite games ... of all time! It's almost like Christmas just keeps going! Grab a glass of sherry and join us by the…
#295: Top 50 Games of All-Time 2023: 50-41 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:50
It's tiiiiiiime! It's the top fifty! That's right, the much anticipated, much celebrated, much imitated (we definitely did it first) event of the season is here. We're counting down each of our favourite fifty games of a…
#294: We Played a Stack of Games! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:56
PAX Unplugged was a blast, and we played so much stuff that we're dying to tell you about - many of them with our beloved listeners. We braved the cold and the rain of Philadelphia, on the other side of the country, to b…
#293: The Great Epochs of Board Gaming [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:34
In what could be our most grandiose episode yet, we attempt to tame the wild history of all of board games. We traverse the timeline, unpacking what we consider to be the great epochs of the hobby, in an attempt to expla…
#292: Lightning Round [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:14
Uh oh, is that thunder? That must mean it's time for a lightning round - we're scooping up all the lovely questions and suggestions that just aren't big enough for the main event, and stuffing them in the blender. This w…
#291: Fantasy Draft: Reiner Knizia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:51
Drafts are back, baby. And not just any old draft, no, but to celebrate the return of the greatest game, we're drafting none other than the best of the only true and living doctor, Reiner Knizia. Who ends up with the bes…
#290: Stuck in the Mid With You [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:28
Are board games stuck? Not to be dramatic or anything, but it does seem like we keep circling the same ideas over and over again, right? We speculate on where we think the hobby is headed, and whether or not it needs a s…
#289: Essen SPIEL 2023 Hype List [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:28
It's almost time for Essen SPIEL 2023, the great German Mecca of our people - and while we're not going ourselves, that's not going to stop us yearning. We're hear to tell you about all the amazing games available at the…