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The Spiel


Contact email: [stephen@thespiel.net] OR [dave@thespiel.net]
Home page: www.thespiel.net
RSS Feed: MP3 version http://www.thespiel.net/spiel-mp3.xml Enhanced version http://www.thespiel.net/feed.xml

Description


http://www.thespiel.net/images/thespiel-itunes.jpg

The Spiel is a show about games and the people who love them. Each episode, we review and discuss a new board game or card game from our massive collection. We also highlight overlooked classics, give tips on deals and collecting, and play a stump-the-band style quiz, the Game Sommelier, trying to match the right game with the right crowd. Games are great catalysts for interaction, imagination, and just plain fun. Fun is quirky little beast. It's hard to pin down, but we know it when we see it or play it. The Spiel takes a long hard look at fun and games by having fun playing games. Our goal is to expose our audience to the widest variety of games and to show you how to have fun with the greatest variety of games.

Segments


  • News and Notes
  • The List (playing one or two games off of our list of unplayed games)
  • Backshelf Spotlight (highlighting older or less well-known games)
  • Truckloads of Goober (highlighting a game with copious or cool bits (or "goober"))
  • Game Sommelier or: Right Game, Right Crowd (Challenges to pick five game picks to match a set of odd needs)
  • Mailbag (user comments and letters)
  • Notes from the OCD (Obsessive Collector's Desk) (occasional)

Every episode also has a secret link between the two games listed in the Back-Shelf Spotlight segment. Those who guess the correct link can win a prize (usually two custom dice with "The Spiel" logo).

Host


Contributors


  • Mark Weaver (Episodes 8, 9, 47)
  • Walter Hunt (Episode 37)
  • Simon Wilcock (Episode 39)
  • David Schuth (Episodes 42, 47)
  • Jason Ober (Episode 47)

Tech Guy


  • Stephen Conway

Networks


Related pages


Episodes


The Spiel #47 - 26.2 (Marathon!) http://thespiel.net/?q=node/182

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.

The Spiel #46 - Stoned http://thespiel.net/?q=node/178

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.

The Spiel #45 - Chicago Dogs and Duck Heads http://thespiel.net/?q=node/177

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

The Spiel #44 - Finger Flicking Good http://thespiel.net/?q=node/173

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!

The Spiel #43 - Unwrapped: 2007 Holiday Gift Guide http://thespiel.net/?q=node/172

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!

The Spiel #42 - Yo! Hemp Chicken http://thespiel.net/?q=node/167

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.

The Spiel #41 - Boo! http://thespiel.net/?q=node/160

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.

The Spiel #40 - Board Game at the End of the Universe http://thespiel.net/?q=node/150

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.

The Spiel #39 - Changelings http://thespiel.net/?q=node/142

Wonder Twin powers, activate! We play Blue Moon City, a board game based on a card game and Caylus Magna Carta, a card game based on a board game, plus we discuss the risks and rewards of changing classic games in reprints.

The Spiel #38 - Valhalla or Bust! http://thespiel.net/?q=node/135

Y is for Yggdrasil. We load our longboats and set sail in search of adventure on the stormy North seas, playing Fire & Axe and Vikings. Surely, an episode worthy of the sagas!

The Spiel #37 - Off The Map http://thespiel.net/?q=node/127

Cue the Indiana Jones music.We build routes for a very lazy London Passenger in On the Underground and globe trot from Cypress to Taiwan in 10 Days in Asia.

The Spiel #36 - Gen Con 2007 Part 2 http://thespiel.net/?q=node/121

This time it's personal! You've heard the interviews (well most of them!), now hear from us. We give our report on our event, the Spiel-a-thon, panel discussions, Dealer's room hits and misses, and a game book that is not to be missed!

The Spiel #35 - Gen Con 2007 Part 1 http://thespiel.net/?q=node/118

Global geeks, global games. From Israeli brainteasers and Italian game publishers to carved dice from little Polish elves, part one of our convention coverage includes over a dozen interviews. Part Two will be released a week from today.

The Spiel #34 - Bullet Barons http://thespiel.net/?q=node/111

Click, Click, Boom! Our nerves of steel are put to the test playing Russian Roulette in Kablamo! and bidding for a coal powered empire in Industria.

The Spiel #33 - Origins 2007 http://thespiel.net/?q=node/104

Wood burning, Richard Borg, and dismembered robots. We take an inside look at Origins International Game Expo.

The Spiel #32 - Spiel des Schpiel http://thespiel.net/?q=node/99

And the winner is... We play all five games nominated for the Spiel des Jahres (German Game of the Year) and then we try to predict the winner.

The Spiel #31 - Samurai Slum Lords http://thespiel.net/?q=node/88

Sayonara, squatters. We play Shogun and Landlord, proving that the best evictions often come at the end of a katana (or a tower full of little wooden cubes).

The Spiel #30 - The Golden Hippo http://thespiel.net/?q=node/81

Skullduggery! Sometimes sneaky is better than strong. We fight over carcasses in Scavenger Hunt and pilfer treasure from lost tombs in Incan Gold.

The Spiel #29 - My Hacienda For A Vowel! http://thespiel.net/?q=node/75

Fire up those branding irons! There's livestock to round up and words to bluff or spell when we play Hacienda and Letterhead.

The Spiel #28 - Listener's Choice http://thespiel.net/?q=node/69

Turn the tables! We let you call the shots. From The List to The Game Sommelier, every segment in the show comes from listener suggestions and submissions.

The Spiel #27 - Diceversary http://thespiel.net/?q=node/67

The Spiel is one year old! To celebrate, we roll our way through two games with loads of dice: Battleground Fantasy Warfare, and To Court the King.

The Spiel #26 - Machiavelli's Mullet http://thespiel.net/?q=node/62

Business in the front, party in the back. We plot and scheme to elect the Pope in The Prince, spaz out combining cornrows in Wig Out, and nibble our way from plankton to sharks in Chomp.

The Spiel #25 - You Look Marbleous! http://thespiel.net/?q=node/57

Driven to abstraction. From archaeology to pachinko in less than two hours, we play Mykerinos and Marvin Marvel's Marvelous Marble Machine, two fast fun abstract strategy games.

The Spiel #24 - Sic Transit Gloria http://thespiel.net/?q=node/50

I didn't know Gloria was sick. Ancient Rome is crumbling as the Goths swarm down from the north. We play Senators racing to escape the Eternal City in Gloria Mundi, the first collaborative effort from James Ernest and Rio Grande Games.

The Spiel #23 - Tony Danza & Co. http://thespiel.net/?q=node/45

Cue the laugh track. We play Conquistadors in Pizarro & Co. and Capitalist pigs in I'm the Boss, two games that lead to big deals and big piles of cashola.

The Spiel #22 - You Bet Your Asp http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/20

Bet like an Egyptian. We get a good dose of corruption, cash, and deadly crocodile gods playing Wits & Wagers and Cleopatra & the Society of Architects.

The Spiel #21 - Ewe Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/11

Lou Ferrigno, eat your heart out! It doesn't take gamma rays to make us see green, just two sets of horribly organized rules. We play Shear Panic and Marvel Heroes. One's a keeper, the other's a dud.

The Spiel #20 - Lore & Ladders http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/6

Chock full of goobery goodness! We click with Lexio, a Korean tile game with Chinese roots, and charge head long into Battle Lore, waging table top fantasy battles with hundreds of miniatures.

The Spiel #19 - Cold Fusion http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/8

Recycle, reuse, replay! We warm up with a Mah Jongg variant called Forbidden and then tap into Power Grid, a game where garbage and wind can lead to vitctory.

The Spiel #18 - Wrap It Up 2006 Holiday Gift Guide http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/23

A special holiday game gift guide! Over 50 game recommendations for gamers of all ages and games of all flavors.

The Spiel #17 - I Coulda Been a Contenda! http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/22

All class, no bums. We play two prize fighting games: Buccaneer and Aqua Romana, both runners up for the 2006 Spiel des Jahres, the German Game of the Year.

The Spiel #16 - In The Cards http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/24

Shuffle up, and deal! We look back 400 years to play Scopa, a classic card game that feels modern and then play Parlay, the secret love-child of Scrabble and Poker.

The Spiel #15 - Mmm... Brains! http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/25

George Romero would be proud. First we hack our way through waves of the living dead in Zombies Widescreen Edition and then we play poker as zombies in Dead Money. Just remember to aim for the head!

The Spiel #14 - Nosferatu http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/26

Grab your garlic and wooden stakes, we take a trip through Transylvania to play Vampire Hunter and Dawn Under. Who says the undead are no fun?

The Spiel #13 - Expand-o-Matic http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/27

But wait, there's more! Our first all expansion edition. We play cards with green haired punk hobbits in Blue Moon and take on a weather changing beaver in Spirits of Niagara.

The Spiel #12 - Going Postal http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/28

Strap on the mailbag and hitch up the wagon! We deliver our verdict on Thurn & Taxis, the 2006 Spiel de Jahres winner, and Big Top, a circus themed variant of a card game classic.

The Spiel #11 - Gen Con Part 2 - Rio Grande http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/29

A Rio Grande Games extravaganza! Listen for a play test report on five new games from Rio and then our interview with Jay Tummelson, the founder of the company and architect of the euro game revolution.

The Spiel #10 - Gen Con Part 1 http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/30

Nerd up! Put on your badges and head for the dealers room, we're going to give you a geek's eye view of Gen Con, the world's largest game convention.

The Spiel #9 - Myth & Match http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/31

Release the Kraken! We take an in-depth look at Mare Nostrum with the Mythology Expansion and go for a
short cruise with Reiner Knizia's Loot.

The Spiel #8 - Whodunnit?! http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/32

Put on your Deerstalker and massage those grey cells, we dive into three mystery games: Inkognito, Mystery on the Nile, and 221 B Baker St.

The Spiel #7 - Power to the Meeples! http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/33

Serfs up! Get ready for guild power struggles and try to keep your farmers our of prison. We take on Flandern 1302 and Carcassonne: The Tower, two medieval themed games where the peasants, the meeples, take center stage.

The Spiel #6 - Monkey Pirates http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/34

Two bargains, one steal. From the high seas to ancient jungle temples, we fight our way through Tortuga and strike gold with Monkey Mission.

The Spiel #5 - Renaissance Rockets http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/35

We play our way from the past to the future, covering Klaus Teuber's Anno 1503 and Richard Garfield's Rocketville. Two great designers, but alas, only one great game.

The Spiel #4 - Cheese Canister http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/36

We circle the wagons to play Go West and then head for Sid Sackson's Bazaar. The title, you ask? Dave has a Lactaid moment discussing dice games.

The Spiel #3 - Cry Havoc http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/37

Let slip the dogs of war. We play a card game that combines an early Renaissance war with poker. Seriously. We're not kidding. We also play Clippers. Be glad it was us and not you!

The Spiel #2 - King Me http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/38

Crack open that bottle of Cabernet and pass the Camembert! We play and discuss Louis XIV, an influence based, tile-flipping game from Alea/Rio Grande Games. Truckloads of Goober makes its debut with Britannia.

The Spiel #1 - Second Pilot http://thespiel.net/drupal/?q=node/39

The original pilot for the Spiel was lost, so this is our fresh start! You'll find out who's behind the Spiel and why we're doing this. We discuss/review Trias & King of the Beasts, the two latest games off The List, our decade old challenge is to play down our ever-growing list of unplayed games. We also discuss new game releases, and introduce several new segments including the Backshelf Spotlight, Truckloads of Goober, and the Game Sommelier.

see also podcast

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