BROADCASTS.com

b"Please join us on the\\xa0Boardgames To Go discord server\\xa0where you can chat online with other podcast listeners. Openers:\\xa0Voyages Closers:\\xa0Virtual Flea Markets (VFMs) at game conventions and other events It'll be no surprise to any listener that I care about the Spiel des Jahres. In addition to its decades-long strong & beneficial effect on our boardgaming hobby, these awards are a better predictor for me than any other. Predictor of what? Of the games I'll actually continue to own and play with family & friends. True, they skew more toward lighter games, but that's ok with family. And truthfully, that's the preference of myself and several of my longtime gaming friends, too. If you only know the SdJ from recent years when it homed-in on the lightest games, more about parties than strategy, then I'd forgive your feeling that these aren't an award process that means much to a hobbyist. I'm thinking of recent winners like\\xa0Just One,\\xa0Pictures,\\xa0MicroMacro Crime City, and even\\xa0Dorfromantik. However, while you may long for the days when the award was bestowed on more gamer-ish titles like\\xa0Tikal,\\xa0Torres, and\\xa0El Grande, my own personal highlights are the titles in between those two groupings. I'm thinking of\\xa0Catan,\\xa0Thurn und Taxis,\\xa0Carcassonne,\\xa0Dominion,\\xa0Hanabi,\\xa0Dominion,\\xa0Ticket to Ride, or\\xa0Alhambra. Not only the winners, too--I've learned to pay attention to the other nominees and recommended list of games, too. Just last weekend my friends Davebo and Jeff were visiting. Along with some other local gamers we played a lot of great titles, but guess what was on the table, pulled from my collection:\\xa0Luxor\\xa0and\\xa0Imhotep, two fantastic nominees that were merely overshadowed by the steamroller winners those years (Azul\\xa0and\\xa0Codenames, respectively). The titles nominated for Spiel des Jahres are\\xa0Captain Flip,\\xa0In the Footsteps of Darwin, and\\xa0Sky Team.\\xa0In addition to these nominations, the SdJ jury recommended the following six titles:\\xa0Harmonies,\\xa0Passt nicht!,\\xa0Phantom Ink,\\xa0Sch\\xe4tz it if you can,\\xa0Trekking Through History, and\\xa0Trio. \\xa0\\xa0 Then for the Kenners the nominees went to\\xa0Daybreak,\\xa0The Guild of Merchant Explorers, and\\xa0Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West.\\xa0Plus the recommended list:\\xa0Bier Pioniere,\\xa0Botanicus,\\xa0Forest Shuffle, and\\xa0Ritual. \\xa0\\xa0 I think it's July 21 when we'll hear which games are the ultimate winners, but do take a look at the other nominees and recommended games. There's a good chance you'll enjoy those games, too, maybe even more than the winner. -Mark"