MeepleCore podcast

Host Tim Jennette (Metal Meeple), and co-hosts George Breden, James Fitzgerald, and Brian Jennette It's that magical time of year again when the entire board gaming world descends upon Essen, Germany...except for us, and collectively loses its mind!  Over one thousand games, hundreds of thousands of gamers, enough cardboard to build a small European nation!  That's right — SPIEL Essen 2026 is here! And while we may not actually be wandering the halls ourselves, that's not going to stop us from doing what we do best: digging through the massive list of new releases and figuring out which games deserve your attention. So, gather your game group, grab your dice, crank the meeples to eleven, and let the cardboard adventure begins... enjoy the show! Please subscribe, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, follow us on social media, and email us your questions! 

Host Tim Jennette (Metal Meeple), and co-hosts George Breden, James Fitzgerald, and Brian Jennette div:has([data-free-thinking-preview-answer=true])+:is(.text-message,.relative:has(>.text-message))]:-mt-2 grow"> What happens when a wildly popular video game makes the jump from the screen to the tabletop? In this episode, we sit down with the designers behind Wobbly Life: The Board Game, Adrian Adamescu and Karl Juhlke, to talk about how this quirky, chaotic video game was transformed into a board game experience. We dive into the creative process, the challenges of adapting a digital world into a tabletop adventure, and how they captured the humor, fun, and unpredictable moments that make Wobbly Life so special. Join us as we go behind the scenes to discover how Wobbly Life became a board game! So, gather your game group, grab your dice, crank the meeples to eleven, and let the cardboard adventure begins... enjoy the show! Please subscribe, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, follow us on social media, and email us your questions!  

Host Tim Jennette (Metal Meeple), and co-hosts George Breden, James Fitzgerald, and Brian Jennette In this episode, we're asking a pretty simple question… what actually makes a board game good? Is it the mechanics, the theme, the strategy, or just whether everyone at the table is having a good time? And while we're at it, we're tackling another big question in the hobby — do board games really need to be deluxified? Do we need metal coins, upgraded components, giant boxes, and enough miniatures to enlist a small army?  Also, a spicy discussion about Take That in board games! So, gather your game group, grab your dice, crank the meeples to eleven, and let the cardboard adventure begins... enjoy the show! Please subscribe, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, follow us on social media, and email us your questions!  

Host Tim Jennette (Metal Meeple), and co-hosts George Breden, James Fitzgerald, and Brian Jennette   Gen Con 2026… WE SURVIVED! We survived four day of hundreds of games, too much money spent, endless walking, questionable sleep, and enough cardboard to build a small house. We're breaking down everything — the games we played, the events we did, the coolest stuff we seen, and the absolute chaos that we got to enjoy...This is our Gen Con 2026 recap! So, gather your game group, grab your dice, crank the meeples to eleven, and let the cardboard adventure begins ... enjoy the show!   Please subscribe, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, follow us on social media, and email us your questions!  

Host Tim Jennette (Metal Meeple), and co-hosts George Breden, James Fitzgerald, and Brian Jennette. In a world... where shelf space no longer exists... one convention stands above them all. 70,000 gamers, Hundreds of publishers, More cardboard than should legally fit inside one building.  This... is Gen Con 2026!  In this episode we're previewing the biggest releases, the surprises, and the games that might have everyone sprinting across the exhibit hall Thursday morning Please subscribe, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, follow us on social media, and email us your questions!  

Host Tim Jennette (Metal Meeple), and co-hosts George Breden, James Fitzgerald, and Brian Jennette. In this episode, we're diving into three very different gaming experiences. From collecting seashells in Sanibel, to designing deadly dungeons in Stonespine Architects, to solving mysteries in Sudds and Malone.  So grab your dice, gather your game group, and let the cardboard adventure begin... enjoy the show! Please subscribe, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, follow us on social media, and email us your questions!  

Host Tim Jennette (Metal Meeple), and co-hosts George Breden, James Fitzgerald, and Brian Jennette.  The dice have been rolled. The wallets have been emptied and our backpacks are full of games. MeepleCore has returned from Origins 2026, and we're bringing tales of epic plays, surprise discoveries, convention chaos, and cardboard glory. So raise your meeples high - this is our Origins Game Fair experience episode.....enjoy the show!  Please subscribe, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, follow us on social media, and email us your questions!

Host Tim Jennette (Metal Meeple), and co-hosts George Breden, James Fitzgerald, and Brian Jennette.  In this episode we're digging beneath the hotness lists, past the award winners, and beyond the games everyone already knows. We're talking about hidden gems. Those incredible board games that somehow slipped under the radar but deserve a spot on your table. So dust off your shelves, open up your wish lists, and get ready to discover your next favorite game as we talk about over 40 hidden gems of board gaming.....enjoy the show!  Please subscribe, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, follow us on social media, and email us your questions!

Host Tim Jennette (Metal Meeple), and co-hosts George Breden, James Fitzgerald, and Brian Jennette. In this episode we're talking about our time at the LexiCon gaming convention in Lexington, Kentucky: the sights, the sounds, the cardboard-fueled chaos!  After that, we'll be giving our reviews for the board games: Rising Cultures, Pondscape, and Moon Colony Bloodbath. Please subscribe, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, follow us on social media, and email us your questions!

Host Tim Jennette (Metal Meeple), and co-hosts George Breden, James Fitzgerald, and Matt RoBear   Welcome to our 10th anniversary episode! Today we're diving into player interaction in board games - has it diminished over time, what types do we like and dislike, and where is the hobby headed... Then we dive into our reviews of Questline and Emberheart and if they deserve a spot on your table.  Please subscribe, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, follow us on social media, and email us your questions!