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.

43: Unwrapped 2007 Holiday Gift Guide Release Date: November 26, 2007 Running Time: 97 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Say no to lame gifts. Give a game instead. We recommend over 50 games in twelve different categories to fit almost any person or budget. With this great list, you might even make a wish list of your own!

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

42: Yo! Hemp Chicken Release Date: November 12, 2007 Running Time: 101 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Baby needs a new pair of shoes. We build a casino empire in Vegas Showdown and climb the long ladder from Hemp Chicken to Dragon in the modern card classic Tichu.

News & Notes: Mayfair Games Price Floor, Kingsburg
The List: Tichu, Vegas Showdown
Name That Game: Win Archaeology from Adventureland Games & Vegas Showdown from Time Well Spent
Backshelf Spotlight: Pueblo, Craps
Truckloads of Goober: Klondike
Game Sommelier: Five games for a library to get people interested in games
Mail Bag: Sommelier response, Nomic, game length, Das Spiel for Dave

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

41: Boo! Release Date: October 29, 2007 Running Time: 97 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Everything's better with Zombies. From a shooting gallery with garlic grenades to our very own zombie baseball team, we shamble our way through Vampire and Zombie Fluxx, two games that include a festival of undeadly delights.

News & Notes: Gravediggers, Last Night on Earth, CHITAG
The List: Zombie Fluxx, Vampire
Name That Game: Win a copy of Archaeology from Adventureland Games
Backshelf Spotlight: Anathema, Frog Juice
Truckloads of Goober: All Wound Up
Game Sommelier: Five games for a Dad to play with his kids at Halloween
Mail Bag: Goober is profitable, Twilight Imperium responses

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

40: Board Game at the End of the Universe Release Date: October 15, 2007 Running Time: 117 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Don't Panic. But get comfortable. Grab a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster from the bar settle in for our take on Twilight Imperium, a game of galactic conquest whose play time could be measured in light years.

News & Notes: Star Craft Swag, Game Prices, Utopia, Adam Spielt Closes
The List: Twilight Imperium
Name That Game: Win a copy of Ricochet Robots from Time Well Spent
Backshelf Spotlight: Master Labyrinth, Ricochet Robots
Truckloads of Goober: Abbey of the Wandering Books
Game Sommelier: Five game reprints to try or avoid
Mail Bag: World's Greatest Dice Roll

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.