The one with all the reviews

This week we finally get round to doing all those reviews we have been putting off for so long!

In no particular order we look at:

The Board Game Book 

The Game Designers 

Microbrew

Vektorace 

Heropath: Dragon Roar 

Also just to add this podcast was recorded a few weeks ago prior to a lot of the social distancing measures being enforced in the UK. Apologies if any of our comments seem flippant or insensitive. We are staying home and staying safe and we hope you are too. 

Secondly we had some audio issues I suspect caused by the baby monitor. I have tried to correct these but occasionally there is still buzzing, and on other occasions it sounds like we are underwater. Hopefully it isn't too distracting.

Top 10

We have been gone a long time. There is no excuse really, other than we have a baby and baby's are hard work and tiring.

We decided to do something a little different (and a lot longer) for our comeback episode - a top 10!

I must admit I don't really believe in top 10's. I don't think its possible to objectively rank entertainment into a list - but we have done it anyway! Using pub meeples ranking engine.


Despite not being a believer in top 10s it was really fun to record this episode and just talk about all our favourite games - one of the very reasons we started this podcast in the first place!

If you can't face sitting through the episode our top 10s were as follows:

Becky's top 10:

Game	Becky Ranking	Kelly Ranking
Battlestar Galactica	1	1
Pandemic	2	29
Star Realms	3	4
Carcassonne	4	3
One Night Ultimate Werewolf	5	2
Sagrada	6	92
Last Will	7	8
Pandemic Legacy: Season 1	8	44
NMBR 9	9	59
Burgle Bros.	10	77

Kelly's top 10:

Game	Becky Ranking	Kelly Ranking
Battlestar Galactica	1	1
One Night Ultimate Werewolf	5	2
Carcassonne	4	3
Star Realms	3	4
That's Pretty Clever	14	5
The Castles of Burgundy	12	6
Scythe	11	7
Last Will	7	8
Stone Age	35	9
High Society	24	10

Joint top 10:

Game	Becky	Kelly	Average
Battlestar Galactica	1	1	1
One Night Ultimate Werewolf	5	2	3.5
Carcassonne	4	3	3.5
Star Realms	3	4	3.5
Last Will	7	8	7.5
The Castles of Burgundy	12	6	9
Scythe	11	7	9
That's Pretty Clever	14	5	9.5
Great Western Trail	16	11	13.5
Wingspan	18	12	15

UKGE 2019

This week we are covering our one day experience of the UK Games Expo 2019. We discuss what it is like to take a 4 month old baby to a convention plus the games we got to demo there including Maki Stack, Ticket to Ride London, Overbooked, Medium and Dice Hospital.



We also discuss some of the games we have been playing recently, namely Wingspan and Kitchen Rush.

Wibbell ++

This episode we are attempting a proper review!

We are covering the amazing Wibbell ++, a deck of cards for word games! We discuss the new deluxe version and the core games that can be played with it as well as our thoughts about the system in general. For more info check out www.stuffbybez.com/.




We also talk about a few of the games we have been playing recently including Splendor, High Society, For Sale, Star Realms Frontiers, Cobra Paw and Slam it.

More Board Game Apps

We are back again and we have actually been playing some games! This episode we discuss Legacy of Dragonholt (no spoilers), Batman Gotham City Chronicals and Ganz Schön Clever.

Asides from real board games we have also been playing a lot of app board games at the moment, so unsurprisingly that is this episodes pillow talk.

We discuss some of the app games we have been playing recently as well as what makes a good app game, online play vs pass n play, the benefits and pitfalls of app gaming and why the wooden blocks app isn't a board game app.

Long term listeners might also remember we covered this topic back in episode 2! A fact I forget to mention the entire episode but if you are interested in what we thought about board game apps back in May 2017 go check it out (it's so old its got our old logo!)

Christmas Special 2019

Since we are so late with our Christmas special it only seemed fitting to release it on April fools day! This episode was recorded 30th December 2018 - it really has taken me 4 months to get round to editing it, that not a joke!

We discuss the games we got to play with our families over Christmas including Confident?, Strictly Come Dancing Board Game, Santa Banta, Skull, Quixx, Azul, Welcome To.., Machi Koro, and High Society.


We also discuss what makes a good Christmas game and why are board games are so popular at Christmas, all useful and relevant stuff for April.

Gaming with Baby

We had a baby!

Surprisingly enough it has got in the way of us both playing board games and recording podcasts.

This episode we talk about how having a baby has affected our gaming and what kind of games might be suitable for playing when there is a newborn baby around.

Also I know that our last episode released was episode 66. I hope to get the missing Christmas special episode out soon!

View this post on Instagram

It’s taken 3 weeks but we are finally up to playing a game! #boardgames

A post shared by Board Games In Bed (@boardgamesinbed) on Mar 3, 2019 at 11:15am PST

Moving your Collection

It's been embarrassingly long since we last did a podcast, but between moving house and babies life has definitely been getting in the way.

Fortunately we have still been managing to squeeze in some gaming during that time, so we do have a few games to talk about including  El Grande, Santorini, Pillars of the Earth, Loony Quest and Last Will.

We also talk about moving house - including what its like to have to pack up your entire games collection and say goodbye to inbuilt shelving! First world problems I know!

Hopefully the next episode will be out a little sooner than it took the last one to come out but we will see!

Escape Room Games

OK so its been more like 4 weeks than 2 weeks since the last one! But we are back with another episode (that may or may not have been recorded over 2 weeks ago)

This time we are talking about a current passion - Escape Room games! The only thing we have been playing a lot of recently!

We mention the excellent Escape This Podcast A LOT this episode so be sure to check out them. http://www.escapethispodcast.com/

We also talk about Mark Robers youtube video on how to beat escape rooms, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwgaTYOx0RI

Finally we mention a print and play escape room that @Merchm3nt recommended us on twitter https://www.escape-team.com/ - we have yet to check it out but that doesn't mean you shouldn't!

We also talk about some of the other games we have been playing recently including Cockroach Poker, World Championship Russian Roulette, Sushi Go and Quixx.

Designer Games

This week we are discussing something we don't usually mention on our podcast - designers! We love games but don't always pay attention to the people that make them.

This week we are discussing why we should be paying more attention as well as some of the reasons we don't.

We also discuss some of the games we have been playing recently including Modern Art, Mountains of Madness, Majesty for the Realm, Descent, Strike and BSG (of course).

Campaign Games

Much like getting this podcast out, it can some times be a struggle to organise a games day with friends.

Make it the same group of friends and a regular intervals and that challenge gets even harder. Despite this there is something about campaign games that makes it worth the effort.

This week we are discussing some of our on going campaign games as well as discussing some we have enjoyed in the past focusing on Descent, Near and Far and Pandemic Legacy.




We also discuss some of the games we played this week including Majesty: For the Realm, Clank, Strike and World Championship Russian Roulette.

Jigsaw Puzzles

This week we are doing a one of mini episode on puzzles (mostly because we haven't been playing a lot of board games)


We discuss how similar jigsaw puzzles are to board games and discuss a review puzzle we received recently from Buzzed Puzzles - check out their new take on jigsaw puzzles at their website - www.buzzedpuzzles.com/about.php

Is this puzzle too risqué for instagram?

A post shared by Becky Crothers (@boardgamesinbed) on Aug 16, 2018 at 3:19pm PDT

Dice dice baby

This week is all about dice and the many different ways dice are used in board games.

We discuss the perception that dice games are high luck and low strategy and the different ways games mitigate the luck of the dice, using a few case studies of games we have played this week including Dice Forge, Champions of Midgard, Roll Player and Strike (as well as talking about a few other favourites from our collection).

We also discuss some of the games we played in the week including Santorini, New York Slice and 5 Player Splendor. We also share some exciting news with you which may explain why we haven't played as many games recently! 

To learn more about Carcassonne the board game visit www.carcassonnecentral.com

And if you are interested in purchasing your own case for Splendor check out 3d.firedrake.org/#Splendor

Too many games?

This week it was my birthday! And I was lucky enough to receive a number of games as gifts from family friends for which I was very grateful. But it's also brought about a mini existential crisis about the size of our board game collection - do we now have too many games?

Please note I fully appreciate that this is a ridiculous issue to have, there are plenty of people in the world with real problems and having too much of a good thing is not a real problem - but this is a podcast about board games so that's what we are talking about!

We also discuss the games we played this week including Clank, Skrike and Oh My Goods.

Forgotten Games

Apologises this weeks podcast is so late- we had some technical issues which caused it to be delayed by a week and then the extra four days is just lazyness on my part (its too hot).

Hopefully you haven't forgotten about us because this week we are discussing our forgotten games- games we like but that just haven't made it off the shelf in over a year. We discuss three different games this has happened to (Cacao, Machi Koro and Forbidden Island) and the different reasons that have kept them on the shelf.

We also discuss some other games we have played this week including Age of Sigmar and Battlestar Galactica.
Our discussion of BSG lasts 7 minutes and its account of our last game- if you haven't played BSG before (or even if you have) it might not make loads of sense and you might want to skip it! Its on from 10.45 - 17.45.

For more information about Inside Voices including the fellowship program check out www.insidevoicesnetwork.com/news/

Long Distance Gaming

One of the great things about board gaming is that it brings us closer together and gives you a chance to interact face to face with friends and family.

But what about those times when you can't help being apart. Is it possible to get that same board game experience remotely.

This weeks episode is all about how you could play board games long distance including ways of playing real board games when your apart and some digital substitutions.

We also discuss some of the games we played remotely with each other this week including NMBR 9, Legacy of Dragonholt, Star Realms, Carcassonne and Stone Age.

If you are curious about the Ludology episode I kept talking about, listen to it here: http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-177-ai-ai-captain

Once upon a podcast...

We have hardly played any games this week so to make up for it we are playing a game on the podcast!

This weeks pillow talk is all about story telling games. We discuss what counts as a story telling game, what we do and don't like about them and even have a go at Faybell - the story telling game from the Wibbell++ system.


We also discuss the other games we played that week including Escape Room in a Box, a wedding escape game and Legacy of Dragonholt.

KonMari the Collection

This week we are discussing getting rid of our games!

There comes a point in most gamers lives where your shelves are full and you have to make a choice - move to a bigger house or cull your collection to make space for new games!

We recently used the KonMari method to reduce the size of our games collection. (Though moving house is also on the cards!)

We discuss how this worked as well as some other methods of selecting which games to keep or say goodbye to, as well as what peoples motivations for having a collection might be. 

We also discuss the games we have been playing in the week including Harvest Dice, Ghost Stories, Burgle Bros., Zombie Doctor, Lotus, Hearts, Legacy of Dragonholt, The Mind, Herbaceous, Ex Libris and Agricola: Family Edition.

For more info on Zombie Doctor check out their website www.zombiedoctor.co.uk/

UKGE 2018

It's now been a week since UKGE and it already feels like forever ago!

Kelly and I had so much to talk about at the end of each night we ended up splitting the episode into 3 parts - a part for each day.

Our first day see us easing into the convention with a few demo games including War of the Buttons, When I Dream, Pioneers, Logan Stones and Harvest Dice and then having a late night with a epic game of BSG.



On day two we play even more games including High Society, One Week and One Night Ultimate Werewolf, Rumplestiltskin, Legacy of Dragonholt, Fruitti di Mare, Startups and Q bitz.

We also take a break from gaming to attend (and participate in) a comedy board game quiz - This Game is Broken's live show and try our luck in Paul Grogan's charity raffle.



The final day has as jumping on few final demos including 5 Minute Chase, Pikoko, Chronicals of Crime, Pictomania, Wordsy, Legendary Inventors, Kanagawa and Spirt Island.

We also recap our experiences of the whole convention and compare it to previous years.


Once again we had another fantastic year at UKGE, it's certainly a high point of the year for us and something we look forward to. We are happy to see the convention grow and grow and would recommend you attend next year if you get the chance!

Retheming Games

Following our recent logo change we are talking this week about retheming games - does it bring games to a wider audience - or is it just a corporate cash grab?




We also discuss the games we have been playing this week including Splendor, Citadels, Pocket Mars and Descent Shadows of Nerekhall.