Life in Reterra

12/21/202412/21/2024 - Stephen Conway Leave a comment

Release: 12/21/24 | Download: Enhanced | MP3

Run Time: 39 min | Subscribe: Enhanced | MP3 | RSS

The world today, the civilization we know, will fade one day soon. And over time, the planet will reclaim much of what was once ours.

But that is not the end for us. Humans are resilient. When the world shifts, we adapt. We evolve. We survive.

And so, years later, new communities are now rising up, rebuilding on our ruins, rediscovering relics and knowledge. Each player plants the seed of a new society across asphalt, forests, deserts, grasslands, and the sea. How will you improve and enhance your cozy little corner of civilization? Your choices will shape Life in Reterra. Can you craft a new way of living where everyone in your community can thrive?

In Life in Reterra players build a new world on top of the old, placing terrain tiles and buildings to form communities. Buildings will unlock new rules and scoring potential and the very shape of the lands you create will help your new society succeed.

Life in Reterra

D: Eric Lang, Ken Gruhl
P: Hasbro
2-4 pl | 30 min | ages 10+ | MSRP $30 | BGG Entry
Time to teach & learn: 5 minutes

Music credits include:

Wild World | Vintage Lounge Orchestra | the song

Wild World | Scary Pockets w/ Rett Madison | the song

Flip 7

12/19/202412/19/2024 - Stephen Conway Leave a comment

Release: 12/19/24 | Download: Enhanced | MP3

Run Time: 23 min | Subscribe: Enhanced | MP3 | RSS

Imagine the love child of blackjack and rummy raised with the doting influence of its uncle stud poker. That’s Flip 7. Try to assemble a set of 7 cards one by one each round in a race to rake in big points. This is press your luck at its finest. The choice seems simple: hit or stand. Stand to play it safe And bank your points. Hit to extend your set and your score. But is the risk worth the reward? A single matching card will bust you back to nothing!

Flip 7

D: Eric Olsen
P: The OP
3+ pl | 15-20 min | ages 8+ | MSRP $14 | BGG Entry
Time to teach & learn: 3 minutes

Music credits include:

Seven Come Eleven | Pee Wee King & His Band | the song

Blue Seven | Sonny Rollins | the song

Tiny Laser Heist

12/17/2024 - Stephen Conway

Release: 12/17/24 | Download: Enhanced | MP3

Run Time: 256 min | Subscribe: Enhanced | MP3 | RSS

The big new exhibit at the Museum features four famous jewels from around the world. Crowds flock to see them sparkle every day. After tonight, though, there wont be a single gem left in the place.

Teams of expert burglars have come to town with one goal in mind: a robbery for the ages. Which crew leader can bring together the right combination of skilled help to make this one last big score? Can you disarm the locks and carefully move the gems between the alarms while avoiding the unknown obstacles other thieves might put in your way? The clock is ticking… can you pull off an epic tiny laser heist?

Tiny Laser Heist is a semi cooperative dexterity game where players attempt to rob gems from a mini 3d museum using tiny hands to manipulate locks and avoid tripping elastic lasers guarding each room. For each gem you steal you and your team will earn big bucks but beware people who aren’t on your team can play cards to make your job even harder!

Tiny Laser Heist

D: Evan Katz, Josh Roberts
A: Alina Lytnytnova
P: Very Special Games
3-6 pl | 30 min | ages 8+ | MSRP $50 | BGG Entry
Time to teach & learn: 3-4 minutes

Music credits include:

It Takes A Thief | Dave Grusin | the song

Thief in the Night | Percy Sledge | the song

DroPolter

10/31/202412/17/2024 - Stephen Conway

Release: 10/31/24 | Download: Enhanced | MP3

Run Time: 256 min | Subscribe: Enhanced | MP3 | RSS

In the wee hours of the darkest night it comes. That pesky ghost bumping thumping and booing its way into your room. It isn’t scary, but it sure is annoying. Who can sleep with all that racket? Tonight, though, you are ready! You have all your lucky charms held tight in one fist. If you can drop them in just the right order, you can nab the ghost and send it to bed!

DroPolter: Ghost vs Palm Muscle is a whimsically absurd dexterity game. Drop the right combination of charms and grab the ghost to earn a bell. Collect five bells to win. Be careful, though. The bells you earn, you keep in your hand as you play. If you drop them, you lose those points!

DroPolter

D: Paul Schulz
A: Rie Komatsuzaki, Jun Sasaki
P: Oink Games, Pixie Games
2-5 pl | 10-15 min | ages 6+ | MSRP $23 | BGG Entry
Time to teach & learn: 2 minutes

Full show notes on all the segments are available at The Spie l.

Music credits include:

Holidays of Ghosts – Adobe Music

Buck’s Polka | by Buck Owens | the song

Autobahn Queens – Adobe Music

Wärst du doch in Dusseldorf gebleiben | by Dorthe | the song

Polka Face | Weird Al | the song

Strip Polka | by The Libertine Bells | the song

Got Caught in Amsterdam | Adobe Music

Goodbye Amsterdam | by Tim Easton | the song

Amsterdam | by Guster | the song

Mojo

08/29/202408/29/2024 - Stephen Conway

Release: 8/29/24 | Download: Enhanced | MP3

Run Time: 105 min | Subscribe: Enhanced | MP3 | RSS

Mojo in the African American practice of Hoodoo is a prayer in a bag – a spell or charm that can provide protection and good luck… or sometimes the opposite. In this game, Mojo is a card that carries the same kind of mixed blessing. Everyone starts with eight cards and wants to shed as many as they can. If you end the round, you grab the Mojo and hope you’ve created the lowest score. If so, that Mojo is good luck. If not, your score will pay the price.

Mojo

D: Antoni Guillen
A: Christine Alcouffe
P: Flying Games, 25th Century
3-8 pl | 20-30 min | ages 8+ | MSRP $15 | BGG Entry
Time to teach & learn: 2-3 minutes

Full show notes on all the segments are available at The Spie l.

Music credits include:

Got My Mojo Working | Ann Cole with the Suburbans | the song

Min trollmoj funkar | Peps Person | the song

Mojo Hanna | Little Esther Phillips | the song

Mojo Jojo | Roger L Jackson

Go Monkey Go | Devo | the song

Butts on Things

06/17/202406/17/2024 - Stephen Conway Leave a comment

Release: 6/17/24 | Download: Enhanced | MP3

Run Time: 20 min | Subscribe: Enhanced | MP3 | RSS

Fun begins at the ends in Butts on Things. Collect as many cards with keisters by pairing posteriors on the tails of any row or column on the table. It might be a juicy set of peaches, a burger with a nice set of buns, or a cactus with a caboose that cant stop. You’ll be over the moon when you find a way to cap off any line with a nice set of cans. You should also be on the lookout for the dumptruck. When it shows, get off your duff and snag a buttload of cards.

Butts on Things

D: Tim Roediger
A: Brian Cook
P: Gamewright
2-4 pl | 15 min | ages 8+ | MSRP $12.99 | BGG Entry
Time to teach & learn: 3 minutes

Full show notes on all the segments are available at The Spie l.

Music credits include:

Bertha Butt Boogie | The Jimmy Castor Bunch | the song

Booty Butt | Ray Charles | the song

Baby Got Back | Richard Cheese | the song

Fit To Print

06/14/202406/15/2024 - Stephen Conway Leave a comment

Release: 6/15/24 | Download: Enhanced | MP3

Run Time: 82 min | Subscribe: Enhanced | MP3 | RSS

Thistleville is a small place, but there’s something newsworthy happening around every corner.

Authorities Suspect Fowl Play in Missing Hen Case

Foxes Trot at Local Dance

Rats Ruin Restaurant Rep

Local newspapers are scrambling to scoop the up the latest stories and bring daily editions to critter citizens from all across the town.

You are an editor of one such paper, working hard to layout your edition and get it onto newsstands with the best combination of stories, photos, and ads. No layout will be perfect but you have three days and three editions to publish, grabbing the best tiles from a sea of stories on the table hoping to fill each front page with all the news that is Fit to Print.

Fit To Print

D: Peter McPherson
A: Ian O’Toole
P: Flatout Games
1-6 Pl | 15-30 min | ages 10+ | MSRP 39.99 | BGG Entry
Time to Teach/Learn: 5 minutes

Full show notes on all the segments are available at The Spie l.

Music credits include:

Typewriter Song | the song

Squirrel Run | the song

The History of Arab | the song

Sides

06/13/202406/13/2024 - Stephen Conway Leave a comment

Release: 6/13/24 | Download: Enhanced | MP3

Run Time: 43 min | Subscribe: Enhanced | MP3 | RSS

Sides is a hilarious cooperative party game. In many ways it is the love child of Name That Tune and Password.

Playing as a team, how many magic words can you all score before you run out of letters? You do this together… but you do it by picking sides.

A line of seven letters sits before you. One side is a team of two, the Investigators. They must guess a magic word based on clues the Witnesses give. Only only clue is allowed at a time and the clue must begin with the letter at the end of either side of the line. “My clue is 7 letters long and begins with B.”

Investigators who listen closely each round have access to way more information than that one single clue, though, because the witnesses must openly discuss and debate whose clue works best.

Two groups, one team. Two letters, one magic word. Do your best to see things from many different sides.

Sides

Designer: Cédrick Caumont, François Romain

Art / Graphic Design: Cédrick Caumont, Adrien Journel

Publisher: Captain Games

2-9 players | 30 minutes | ages 10+ | MSRP $22 | BGG Listing

Time to teach/learn: 3-4 minutes

Full show notes on all the segments are available at The Spie l.

Music credits include:

I Write the B Sides | Eels | the song

On the Sunny Side of the Street | Louis Prima | the song

Walk on the Wild Side | Texas Lightning | the song

Nekojima

04/30/202404/30/2024 - Stephen Conway Leave a comment

Release: 4/30/24 | Download: Enhanced | MP3

Run Time: 80 min | Subscribe: Enhanced | MP3 | RSS

There are dog shows and cat shows, but have you ever heard of a fish show? Goldfish fans from across the land compete each year to display the most sensational swimmer. It takes talent and planning to create the most pleasing arrangement of colorful scales. Can you win Best in Show with your finest fish?

Nekojima

Designer: Karen Nguyen, David Carmona

Artist: Gilles Warmoes

Publisher: Unfriendly Games | Hachette | BGG Entry

1-5 players 15 minutes ages 7+ MSRP $36.99

Time to teach/learn: 3-4 minutes