Release Date: May 16, 2011 Running Time:  146 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version  MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

True Colors. Grab your brush, step up to the easel and join us for a review of Pastiche, a game about mixing paints to create famous works of art.

News & Notes: Alien Frontiers translated, Nedderman Custom Dice, Lancaster
The List:  Pastiche
Back Shelf Spotlight:  Masterpiece
Truckloads of Goober:  Back-of-the-board art
Playbill:  Munchkin Zombies
Game Sommelier:  5 games to use on a reality TV show for gamers
Mail Bag:  Periodic Table dice, Toruro on Pagat, Sommelier feedback

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

Release Date: May 2, 2011 Running Time:  157 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version  MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

From Hell. Slip into the foggy gaslit streets with us for an in-depth review of Letters from Whitechapel, a game where players try to plan or prevent Jack the Ripper's killing spree.

News & Notes: Hasbro woes, Deadwood, Uncle Chestnut's Table Gype
The List:  Letters from Whitechapel
Table Talk:  The Game of Great Detectives - Sherlock Holmes
Back Shelf Spotlight:  Bakerstreet
Game Sommelier:  5 games Tom & Eric (The Dice Tower) are terrible at but love to play
Mail Bag:  yucata.de, TableCon, dice pics

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

Release Date: Apr. 18, 2011 Running Time:  161 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version  MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Unleashed. We celebrate 5 years of The Spiel by wagging The Long Tail of gaming, reviewing 9 old obscure and off-the-wall games.

News & Notes: boardga.me, Show Business, Upper Deck: Evolution
The List:  Irondale
Playbill:  R.U.M.B.L.
Back Shelf Spotlight:  Muzundrum, Senet, Image
Truckloads of Goober:  Astron, Sinking of the Titanic, Lie Detector, Robot Quiz
Game Sommelier:  5 games that are more fun to lose
Mail Bag:  Sommelier suggestions, Shapeways dice, Catapult

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

Release Date: April 4, 2011 Running Time:  138 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version  MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

It's not easy being green. We delve into a treasure trove of fantasy themed games including Defenders of the Realm and Thunderstone: Dragonspire.

News & Notes: Fortune & Glory, Artus, SdJ Scholarship, 2010 industry report
The List:  Defenders of the Realm
Playbill:  Thunderstone: Dragonspire
Back Shelf Spotlight:  Advanced Heroquest
Truckloads of Goober:  Catan Tables
Game Sommelier:  5 games where people can jump in late
Mail Bag:  Sommelier responses, Studio Descartes, Robo Derby Express

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

Release Date: Mar. 21, 2011 Running Time:  126 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version  MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

What's the rumpus? We dive into the dark waters of international smuggling for a review of Cargo Noir plus three other brand new titles: Nightfall, Chronicle and Shake 'n Take.

News & Notes: Hike, Mirror Mirror, Winter Tales
The List:  Cargo Noir
Playbill:  Nightfall
Table Talk:  Chronicle
The Kid's Table:  Shake 'n Take
Game Sommelier:  5 gamerly games improvised from classic games
Mail Bag:  Lost die, Balloon Tardis, Dave turns 28

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

Release Date: Mar. 7, 2011 Running Time:  156 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version  MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Synchronize your watches. We fire up the TARDIS for a time travel adventure, including a review of the clock winding brain burner Khronos, a look back at a classic Doctor Who title, and a dive into the history of the sand timer.

News & Notes: Guards! Guards!, Awful Green Things, China Daily article
The List:  Khronos
Back Shelf Spotlight:  Doctor Who: The Game of Time & Space
A History of Games in 100 Objects:  The Sand Timer
Game Sommelier:  5 games improved by removing dice
Mail Bag:  Ludology, Uno float pics, German game company map

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

Release Date: Feb. 21, 2011 Running Time:  155 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version  MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

We the people. We break out the powdered wigs to review Founding Fathers, a game where players write or rewrite history by creating the Constitution.

News & Notes: Cheapass Games, English Fauna, Bits, Mohenjo-Daro
The List:  Founding Fathers
Truckloads of Goober:  Carcassonne anniversary items, Secret of Monte Cristo
Designer's Workbench:  Games as simulations
Game Sommelier:  5 potentially offensive games
Mail Bag:  Moons are not planets, Facebook Q&A

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

Release Date: Feb. 7, 2011 Running Time:  103 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Island hoppers. We travel to Samoa, Atlantis and Scotland to review Hotel Samoa, Survive: Escape from Atlantis and Glen More.

News & Notes: Qwarriors, King of Tokyo, Geekway to the West
The List:  Hotel Samoa
Table Talk:  Glen More
Back Shelf Spotlight:  Survive: Escape from Atlantis
Game Sommelier:  5 games to connect Uno and Mah Jongg
Mail Bag:  Gong cases for Crokinole, Toruro-Booray connection

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

Release Date: Jan. 24, 2011 Running Time:  140 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Everything old is new again. We review Rowboat, TZQ, Shokoba, and Booray: four card games that seek to adapt or reacquaint us with the classics Spades, Mah Jongg, Scopa, and Bourré.

News & Notes: Uno turns 40, Alvin & Dexter, 1955, Boardgameinfo.com
The List:  Rowboat, Tien Zi Que
Back Shelf Spotlight:  Shokoba, Booray
Game Sommelier:  5 games to connect Rattus and Last Call
Mail Bag:  Plague movie, Spiel interview, tile bags, and a bet

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

Release Date: January 10, 2011 Sudoku Puzzle Print, Play Along, Win a Prize! Download: Scribbler #8  |  Solution Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Who needs numbers? We have games.

Your job is to fill in the Sudoku grid using the game components provided.

Good luck!

Send your solution to dave@thespiel.net.  PRIZE DEADLINE: Jan. 19, 2011

Download the puzzle using the links above.