2025 Year in Review

In some ways, the origin story of the podcast can be traced back to Sentinels of the Multiverse. Upon arriving in Kingston, Mark was at a games event at someone's home, and he saw that someone had brought a then-complete set (this was a few expansions ago) of Sentinels. He knew that this person, namely Walker, was a person worth knowing. It therefore seemed fitting that on one of Mark's last days in Kingston that he, Walker, Huey, Dewey, and Louis play Sentinels. Games Played Last Week: 02:38 -Zenith (Grégory Grard & Mathieu Roussel, PlayPunk, 2025) 08:18 -Race for the Galaxy (Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande Games, 2007) 11:20 -Don't L.L.A.M.A. Dice (Reiner Knizia, AMIGO, 2021) 12:19 -Word Traveler (Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance, Office Dog, 2024) 16:05 -Sentinels of the Multiverse (Christopher Badell, Paul Bender, & Adam Rebottaro, Greater Than Games, 2011) 19:30 -The Druids of Edora (Stefan Feld, alea, 2025) 24:50 -The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship (Matt Leacock, Z-Man Games, 2025) 27:58 -Toy Battle (Paolo Mori & Alessandro Zucchini, Repos Production, 2025) 31:43 -MicroMacro: Kids - Crazy City Park (Johannes Sich, Edition Spielwiese, 2025) 32:50 -Concept Kids: Animals (Gaëtan Beaujannot & Alain Rivollet, Repos Production, 2018) 33:51 -Tumblin' Dice (Carey Grayson, Randy Nash, and Rick Soued, Eagle-Gryphon Games, 2004) 2025 in Review 35:45 Top 10 57:42 Game of the Year 1:00:18 Special Categories Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"One day I was sitting in a gazebo, and there was a plaque on the gazebo and it said, 'This gazebo was built by the town in 1863.' That is in the middle of the Civil War. And the whole town built a gazebo. What was that town meeting like? 'All right, everyone, first order of business, we have all the telegrams from Gettysburg with the war dead. Let’s see here. Okay, everyone’s husband and brother and… everyone died. Okay. Josiah, you had something?' 'Yes, I do. How’d you like to be indoors and out of doors all at once? Ever walk into the park with your betrothed and it starts to rain, but you still want to hold hands? Well, may I introduce you to, and my condolences again to everyone, the gazebo!'" -John Mulaney, "Kid Gorgeous at Studio City" Games Played Last Week: 01:29 -Coyote (Spartaco Albertarelli, New Games Order, 2015) 04:07 -Tapple Mini (NPD Toys, The Op Games, 2025) 07:17 -Die fiesen 7 (Jacques Zeimet, Drei Hasen in der Abendsonne, 2015) 09:41 -Manila (Franz-Benno Delonge, Zoch Verlag, 2005) 14:17 -G.I. JOE Deck-Building Game (T.C. Petty III, Renegade Game Studios, 2021) 16:56 -The Gang (John Cooper and Kory Heath, KOSMOS, 2024) 20:29 -Trickadee (Rob Newton, Coin Flip Games, 2025) 24:26 -Spicy (Győri Zoltán Gábor, HeidelBÄR Games, 2020) 28:13 -Good Puppers, Too! (Chris Cieslik, Asmadi Games, 2025) 33:40 -Cross Bronx Expressway (Non-Breaking Space, GMT Games, 2025) News (and why it doesn't matter): 46:47 Dire Wolf and Tabletop Playground 48:01 New games from Badgers from Mars! Regicide Inferno, Regicide Crown Duels, and Viking Rush 49:07 Show news: guest hosts in early 2026 50:27 Feature Game: Gazebo (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2025) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"I thought the Rococo was the name of the ship in Aliens." "No, that's Sulaco. Rococo is the statute targeting organized crime." "No, that's RICO. Rococo is the hot beverage made with chocolate." "No, that's cocoa. Rococo is what you put on walls to give them texture." "No, that's stucco. Rococo is a kind of shortened note in music." "No, that's staccato..." 1:10 AYURIS: Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2024) Games Played Last Week: 4:38 -Regicide (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, & Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2020) 5:54 -The Crew: Mission Deep Sea (Thomas Sing, KOSMOS, 2021) 8:54 -Men-Nefer (Germán P. Millán, Ludonova, 2024) 12:49 -Philharmonix (Faris Suhaimi, Archona Games, 2025) 20:20 -Galactic Cruise (T.K. King, Dennis Northcott, and Koltin Thompson, Kinson Key Games, 2025) 26:51 -Kinfire Council (Kevin Wilson, Incredible Dream Studios, 2025) 36:08 -La Pâtisserie Rococo (Stefan Malz & Louis Malz, Eagle-Gryphon Games, 2025) News (and why it doesn't matter): 43:32 Leviathan Wilds: Shattered Peak expansion in 2026 43:56 Take no longer to be published by Leder Games 44:37 Queen of Spies by Liz Davidson and David Thompson 45:29 Topic: Racing Games Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You gotta read the fine print, always. Anyone dealing with a supernatural entity--whether a djinn or deity, gremlin or god--has to be conscious of the exceptions. It's simple enough--if the wizard handing you a fantastical creature tells you not to feed it, you just don't feed it. Similarly, if someone promises not to kill you *in a certain way*, MacBeth can tell you that's more of a threat than a guarantee. Games Played Last Week: 01:18 -Autobahn (Fabio Lopiano and Nestore Mangone, Alley Cat Games, 2022) 05:55 -Sidereal Confluence: Bifurcation (TauCeti Deichmann, WizKids, 2022) 12:46 -Origin Story (Jamey Stegmaier & Pete Wissinger, Stonemaier Games, 2025) 15:12 -Bargain Hunter (Uwe Rosenberg, Valley Games, 1998) 17:11 -KINGs: TRICKTAKERs (Hiroken, Joyple Games, 2023) 18:39 -Inkling (John Keyworth, Osprey Games, 2011) 20:47 -In the Shadows: Resistance in France 1943-1944 (Daniel Bullock & Joe Schmidt, GMT Games, 2025) 26:13 -Riftbound (Uncredited, Riot Games, 2025) 32:46 -Regicide Legacy (Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, and Andy Richdale, Badgers from Mars, 2025) 34:33 -Lancaster: Big Box (Matthias Cramer & Wolfgang Panning, Queen Games, 2015) News (and why it doesn't matter): 39:44 Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Game by Cryptozoic 42:30 Reiner Knizia's Rheinlander reprint by 25th Century Games 44:33 Feature Game: Covenant (Germán P. Millán, Devir, 2025) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yes, it’s Tapple! The toy sensation that’s sweeping the nation! Only $14.95 at participating stores! Get one today! Warning: Pregnant women, the elderly, and children under 10 should avoid prolonged exposure to Tapple. Caution: Tapple may suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds. Tapple contains a liquid core, which, if exposed due to rupture, should not be touched, inhaled, or looked at. If Tapple begins to smoke, get away immediately. Seek shelter and cover head. Ingredients of Tapple include an unknown glowing green substance which fell to Earth, presumably from outer space. Do not taunt Tapple. -Saturday Night Live 0216 AYURIS: Leviathan Wilds (Justin Kemppainen, Moon Crab Games, 2024) Games Played Last Week: 04:01 -Tapple Mini (NPD Toys, The Op Games, 2025) 07:53 -Faiyum (Friedemann Friese, 2F-Spiele, 2020) 13:30 -Ayar: Children of the Sun (Mandela Fernandez-Grandon & Fabio Lopiano, Osprey Games, 2025) 16:10 -Wriggle Roulette (Bruno Faidutti & Jun Sasaki, Oink Games, 2025) 19:52 -Pick 'n Packers (Kaoru Arishima, Oink Games, 2025) 23:07 -Galactic Renaissance: 5th Player (Christian Martinez, Matagot, 2024) 27:49 -The Crew: Mission Deep Sea (Thomas Sing, KOSMOS, 2021) 29:27 -No Loose Ends (Taiki Shinzawa, GameHead, 2025) 30:11 -Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon (Fabio Lopiano & Nestore Mangone, Sorry We Are French, 2024) News (and why it doesn't matter): 33:45 Earth Reborn return news: West Coast expansion with Play to Z 36:19 Topic: Omnibus Questions Epsilon Bet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before Dr. Reiner Knizia invented areas, everyone and everything was simultaneously co-located and yet distant all at the same time. It was primordial chaos. Movement was effectively impossible, as Xeno demonstrated; then Knizia did don his Bow-Tie of Delineation of Time and Space and constrained and liberated us all at once with his invention of areas. Games Played Last Week: 00:53 -Dungeons & Dragons: Builders of Baldur's Gate (Matthew Dunstan, WizKids, 2025) 11:40 -Keyflower (Sebastien Bleasdale & Richard Breese, R&D Games, 2012) 15:36 -I'm Out (Masato Uesugi, CMYK, 2025) 20:01 -No Thanks! (Thorsten Gimmler, CMYK, 2025) 25:18 -My Very First Games: Let's Be Veterinarians (Kristin Mückel, HABA, 2024) 27:30 -The Quest for El Dorado: The Golden Temples (Reiner Knizia, Ravensburger, 2019) 31:55 -Peloponnes (Bernd Eisenstein, Irongames, 2009) News (and why it doesn't matter): 37:48 Renegade reprint of Lords of Waterdeep (with expansion) 39:29 Renegade G.I. Joe Heroscape 43:06 Render unto us your questions! Ask us anything for Omnibus Questions 43:26 Feature Game: The Hobbit: There and Back Again (Reiner Knizia, Office Dog, 2025) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While Mark is perhaps disappointed at the typical tragic dearth of questions related to Macross and Terry Bogard, and Walker secretly yearns to be granted naming rights to a listener's offspring (protip: don't let him), SVWAG answers all* of your questions! *by which we mean some. 01:21 AYURIS: Cascadero (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2024) Games Played Last Week: 03:09 -Cerebria: The Inside World (Richard Amann, Viktor Peter, István Pócsi, Frigyes Schőberl, Nick Shaw, & Dávid Turczi, Mindclash Games, 2018) 09:41 -Captain's Gambit: Kings of Infinite Space (AC Atienza, Alvin Lee, and Mitchell Loewen, Cloudfall Interactive Studios, 2020) 14:27 -Iliad (Reiner Knizia, Bitewing Games, 2025) 19:37 -Floral (James Newman, Edition Spielwiese, 2024) 21:59 -Yomi 2: Road to Morningstar (David Sirlin, Sirlin Games, 2025) 28:58 -Tribune (Karl-Heinz Schmiel, Spielworxx, 2021) 31:46 -Windmill Valley: Blooming Sails (Dani Garcia, Board&Dice, 2025) 35:39 -Ada's Dream (Toni López, Ally Cat Games, 2025) 40:02 -D.E.I.: Divide et Impera (Tommaso Battista, Ludus Magnus Studio, 2022) 42:45 -Molly House (Jo Kelly & Cole Wehrle, Wehrlegig Games, 2025) News (and why it doesn't matter): 50:59 How much The Gang is too much The Gang? 7-10 player expansion 52:27 The Judge in Circuit by Francis Tresham 53:48 Topic: Omnibus Questions Epsilon Aleph Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our effort to answer all of your Omnibus Questions, sadly we cannot enlist the assistance of notable Canadian Keanu Reeves. In an interview with Stephen Colbert--as a joke after Keanu said something profound--he was asked, "What do you think happens when we die, Keanu Reeves?" After a pause, and the audience's laughter, Keanu said, "I know that that the ones who love us will miss us." I SAY DAYUM, KEANU Games Played Last Week: 01:07 -Dogs of War Second Edition (Paolo Mori, Play to Z, 2026) 11:30 -Ostia (Totsuca Chuo, uchibacoya, 2022) 21:14 -SCOUT (Kei Kajino, Oink Games, 2019) 23:12 -Valheim: The Board Game (Ole Steiness, MOOD Publishing, 2025) 30:18 -Lunar Skyline (Charlie McCarron, Dead Alive Games, 2025) 38:57 -Thebai (Dávid Turczi, Bioard&Dice, 2025) 45:58 -Wilmot's Warehouse (Ricky Haggett, Richard Hogg, and David King, CMYK, 2024) 49:04 -Fairy Tale (Satoshi Nakamura, What's Your Game?, 2008) News (and why it doesn't matter): 53:37 Render unto us your questions! Ask us anything for Omnibus Questions 54:10 Tigris & Euphrates to be reprinted by 25th Century games, art by Ian O'Toole 55:57 Mage Knight: Apocalypse Dragon expansion; cards will not match, changed font 1:00:08 Will Riftbound be generally available? 1:00:57 Please support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/svwag 1:01:51 Feature Game: Wonderland's War (Tim Eisner, Ben Eisner, and Ian Moss, Druid City Games, 2022) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We deliver this episode despite the officially mandated period of public mourning due to Toronto's setbacks in basesball. In Canada, public mourning is characterized by donning black jean jackets and swapping our Tragically Hip for the more down-tempo Blue Rodeo, to say nothing of abstaining from boardgaming. Please don't turn us in for violating federal law. We might get banned from Tim Horton's. 01:44 AYURIS: An Age Contrived (Chris Matthew, Bellows Intent, 2024) Games Played Last Week: 04:56 -X-ODUS: Rise of the Corruption (Second Edition) (Francisco Velasco E., Szilágyi L. Gábor, Yann Hilaire, Romain Lesiuk, & Bernardo Rippe, Bored Game Ink, 2026) 14:29 -Voidfall (Nigel Buckle & Dávid Turczi, Mindclash Games, 2023) 20:42 -Raising Robots: Friends (Brett Sobol & Seth Van Orden, Nauvoo Games, 2025) 24:03 -1490 Doom (Barrett Stanley, Buer Games, 2025) 30:23 -Natera: New Beginning (Eric Fugere & Hugo Tremblay-Ledoux, Horizon Games, 2025) 34:35 -Deck EXPRESS: Southern Railway (J Simmons, Pigeonhole Games, 2022) 38:07 -No Thanks! (Thorsten Gimmler, CMYK, 2025) 44:08 -I'm Out (Masato Uesugi, CMYK, 2025) 47:42 -Floral (James Newman, Edition Spielwiese, 2024) 52:56 -INK (Kasper Lapp, Final Score Games, 2025) News (and why it doesn't matter): 57:13 Render unto us your questions! Ask us anything for Omnibus Questions 58:08 Blue Orange Games' Got Five! 58:44 Topic: Listener Hot Takes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"'Frederick Chopin was a Polish composer in the Romantic style who wrote primarily for the piano.' I guess this is sort of interesting, as most facts are. But history has shown us that *facts are not what most humans believe.* They are not that which motivates most men and women to love to or to crime. Now COMPARE this statement: 'Frederick Chopin was a Polish composer in the Romantic style who was obsessed with ladybugs, often letting dozens of them gallop over his neck, arms, and long, tapering fingers while playing the piano.' Obviously the lie is so much more compelling. It also explains how Chopin finally got rid of his aphid problem." -John Hodgman, "The Areas of My Expertise" Games Played Last Week: 01:28 -Phoenix New Horizon (Jorge J. Barroso, Devir, 2024) 11:35 -Sweet Lands (Totsuca Chuo, uchibacoya, 2025) 23:42 -Voidfall (Nigel Buckle & Dávid Turczi, Mindclash Games, 2023) 29:35 -KINGs: TRICKTAKERs (Hiroken, Joyple Games, 2023) 32:58 -Yokai Septet (Muneyuki Yokouchi, Ninja Star Games, 2018) 36:56 -Origin Story (Jamey Stegmaier & Pete Wissinger, Stonemaier Games, 2025) 45:03 -Keep the Heroes Out!: Boss Battles (Luís Brueh, Brueh Games, 2024) 48:26 -Things in Rings (Peter C. Hayward, Allplay, 2024) News (and why it doesn't matter): 54:26 Burned available on Gamecrafter's Crowdsale 54:49 Legacy of Mars' audacious release plan: 4 plays in base game 56:17 Did you observe Arkhipov Day on Oct. 27th? Celebrate Vasili Arkhipov and his having saved the human race! 56:56 Feature Game: Luthier (Dave Beck & Abe Burson, Paverson Games, 2025) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices