53: Reds & Feds Release Date: April 28, 2008 Running Time: 127 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Stand down from DEFCON 2! We rewrite history, replaying the Cold War not once, but twice in this superpower sized episode. We tackle Twilight Struggle and Cold War: CIA v KGB.

News & Notes: Merlin's Company, Online Hive Tournament
The List: Twilight Struggle, Cold War: CIA vs KGB
Name That Game: Win Portrayal
Backshelf Spotlight: Conspiracy, Elkfest
Truckloads of Goober: Wadjet
Game Sommelier: Five games to match anniversary year themes.
Mail Bag: Sommelier redux, Abbot's puzzle, Mr. Maura Kalusky

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

52: Noble Niblicks Release Date: April 14, 2008 Running Time: 108 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Break out your nine iron and flibberty-gibbets. The Spiel turns two! We take on Coppertwaddle a medieval card game with a rich (fake) history and we roll our way through Box of Golf in all its wooden splendour.

News & Notes: Stone Age, Rapscallion, España 1936, Dave's Database
The List: Coppertwaddle, Box of Golf
Name That Game: Win Qwirkle, Mosquito Tiles, Spiel dice, & a mystery game!
Backshelf Spotlight: Luck Plus, Password
Truckloads of Goober: Mouse Chaos
Game Sommelier: Five alternatives to Diplomacy that play in 2 hours.
Mail Bag: Mike Selinker upcoming games, Listener's Choice, Exactly!

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

51: Take Me Out To Olympus Release Date: March 31, 2008 Running Time: 108 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Play ball! But forget the steroids; we've got Divine Intervention. Just in time for Spring Training, we play Pizza Box Baseball, a light card-driven simulation. Then we ascend to the heavens to protect four mythical races in Age of Gods.

News & Notes: Ticket to Ride Card Game, Kaleidos, Web Site issues
The List: Age of Gods, Pizza Box Baseball
Name That Game: Win Mosquito Expansion or Hive from John Yianni, the designer
Backshelf Spotlight: Mexica, The American Dream Game
Truckloads of Goober: Descent
Game Sommelier: Five games with themes that keep people from trying them
Mail Bag: Geekway to the West, Northeast Wars, Felix errata

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

50: It's In The Bag Release Date: March 17, 2008 Running Time: 98 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Much better than a pig in a poke. We reach into our bag of tricks and find two light but surprising little games: the abstract award-winning Qwirkle and the latest from German designer Freidemann Freise, Felix the Cat in the Sack.

News & Notes: Gary Gygax R.I.P., Expansions galore, Yetisburg
The List: Qwirkle, Felix, the Cat in the Sack
Name That Game: Win Qwirkle from Mindware
Backshelf Spotlight: Bucket King, Krieg & Frieden
Truckloads of Goober: Roads & Boats
Game Sommelier: Five games for musicians to play during session breaks
Mail Bag: Geek lists, game logging

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

49: Great Wall of Dice Release Date: March 3, 2008 Running Time: 96 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Barbarians at the gates? Get rolling! We build a small but great wall in Chang Cheng and use dice to hire advisors to protect His Majesty's realm in Kingsburg.

News & Notes: GenCon Chapter 11, FFG-GW, Days of Wonder prices
New Sponsor: Gateplay.com
The List: Chang Cheng, Kingsburg
Name That Game: Win Knowbody Knows from Uncle Rez and Rage from Fundex
Backshelf Spotlight: Saboteur, Careers
Truckloads of Goober: Mr. Gameshow
Game Sommelier: Five games with some luck for strategy purists
Mail Bag: Ubongo extreme, curling love, and Mosquito tiles

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

48: Worker Bees Release Date: February 18, 2008 Running Time: 100 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Roll up your sleeves. Time to get your hands dirty. We chop wood and cut stone to build Kingsbridge Cathedral in Pillars of the Earth and send our swarms out to surround Queen bees in the strategy classic Hive.

News & Notes: On the Dot, Metropolys, Aquaretto, no more Talisman
The List: Hive, Pillars of the Earth
Name That Game: Win Knowbody Knows from Uncle Rez Games
Backshelf Spotlight: Torres, Iron Dragon
Truckloads of Goober: Fat Demons (Dicke Damonen)
Notes from the OCD: Build a database for your game collection
Mail Bag: Game Storm and MavenCon

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

47: 26.2 (Marathon!) Release Date: January 21, 2008 Running Time: 94 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Not miles... hours! 24 of them. We set out to play games for 24 consecutive hours in order to get our unplayed list of games below 200. This episode was recorded as we played and documents the events of our day including session reports on a truckload of games both large and small.

Games Played: Ruse & Bruise, Unspeakable Words, Notre Dame, Weinhandler, Modern Art, Krone & Schwert, Augsburg 1520, Cash N Guns, Four Dragons, Digging, Quo Vadis, Lifeboats, Quao, El Capitan, Diceoku, Archaeology, Ballot Bots, Mister Bill, Pompeii, Showbiz Shuffle

Winter Break: The Spiel takes a week off February 4th. We'll be back Feb. 18th!

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

46: Stoned Release Date: January 7, 2008 Running Time: 128 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Woah! Five games, five designers... all in one box. The stars align for us to play Stonehenge: The Anthology Board Game. We review all five games, each by a different renowned designer.

News & Notes: 24 hour Game Marathon, Diplomacy, Winter Break
The List: Stonehenge: The Anthology Board Game
Name That Game: Win Archaeology from Adventureland Games
Backshelf Spotlight: Grass, Druidenwalzer
Game Sommelier: Five New Year's Resolutions for Gamers
Mail Bag: Archaeology 2nd printing, Game Waves for cheap

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

45: Chicago Dogs & Duck Heads Release Date: December 24, 2007 Running Time: 93 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Holiday hodge-podge. Reports and interviews from CHITAG (Chicago Toy & Game Fair) plus a review of Piratenbillard, a game where players use duck headed mallets to pop cannon balls across a wooden grid.

News & Notes: 24 hour game marathon, CHITAG report
CHITAG Interviews: Quelf (Wiggity Bang), Knowbody Knows (Uncle Rez), Portrayal (Brain Cog), Big Sunday (Randolph Rose), Amuse Amaze (HL Games), Celebrity (G5)
The List: Piratenbillard
Name That Game: Win Archaeology from Adventureland Games
Game Sommelier: Five games guaranteed to be re-gifted
Mail Bag: Tipp-Kick, Agricola Animeeples, GITHOT

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

44: Finger Flicking Good Release Date: December 10, 2007 Running Time: 90 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Crack your knuckles and loosen up. We knock heads and little plastic men in our first Subbuteo Table Soccer match and then twist our fingers into pretzels balancing little foam balls playing Handy. Arthritis here we come!

News & Notes: Dicecapades, Robot Martini deal, Knucklebones Magazine for sale
The List: Subbuteo Table Soccer, Handy
Name That Game: Win Tumblin' Dice Jr. from Time Well Spent
Backshelf Spotlight: Twister, Crokinole
Truckloads of Goober: Battleground: Crossbows & Catapults
Game Sommelier: Five game expansions that improve/enhance the original
Mail Bag: Secret Santa, Poll results, Stephen's "research" skills

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.