Operation Game Night

EXPLORE

Society & Culture

© 2024 PodJoint

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts221/v4/ab/ce/17/abce1763-c177-64f3-1e6b-608d8db0678e/mza_5178544819369979062.jpg/600x600bb.jpg

Operation Game Night

Travis, Clay, & Jared

100 episodes

4 days ago

What if you could choose the perfect board game for any table, every time? We sit down with Dr. Reiner Knizia and put his legendary catalog to the test—throwing real game-night scenarios at him and asking for exact recommendations. From quick pre-dinner games like Money, to onboarding video-game players with My City, to big holiday tables where LAMA shines, Knizia explains why simple rules create the best decisions. He shares go-to picks for teens (The Quest for El Dorado), competitive famili...

Show more...

All content for Operation Game Night is the property of Travis, Clay, & Jared and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

What if you could choose the perfect board game for any table, every time? We sit down with Dr. Reiner Knizia and put his legendary catalog to the test—throwing real game-night scenarios at him and asking for exact recommendations. From quick pre-dinner games like Money, to onboarding video-game players with My City, to big holiday tables where LAMA shines, Knizia explains why simple rules create the best decisions. He shares go-to picks for teens (The Quest for El Dorado), competitive famili...

Show more...

Episodes (20/100)

Operation Game Night

The Best Reiner Knizia Game for Every Table (Chosen by Knizia)

What if you could choose the perfect board game for any table, every time? We sit down with Dr. Reiner Knizia and put his legendary catalog to the test—throwing real game-night scenarios at him and asking for exact recommendations. From quick pre-dinner games like Money, to onboarding video-game players with My City, to big holiday tables where LAMA shines, Knizia explains why simple rules create the best decisions. He shares go-to picks for teens (The Quest for El Dorado), competitive famili...

5 days ago

32 minutes

Operation Game Night

OTF: Holiday Fun with Mike & Tiff

The plan was simple: hop the fence and talk about life beyond the table. What followed was a tour of real projects, real rest, and the stories that keep us curious. Mike is in the final stretch of transforming a 1950s metal trailer into a cozy home, complete with a shipping container for laundry now and a dream board game room later. That sparks a candid moment about trimming a 375-game collection to something that fits the life we want, not the shelves we have. Holidays feel different this ...

1 week ago

26 minutes

Operation Game Night

Special Ops: Holiday Grab Bag of Games!

Looking for fresh games that actually hit the table? We dig into a stack of recent plays that span fast fillers, tight two-player duels, a chewy co-op, a welcoming auction classic, and even a solo RPG you can toss in your bag. The throughline is simple: clear rules, meaningful choices, and sessions short enough to replay right away. We start with Bohemians, a sleeper deckbuilder that remixes After Us’ symbol-chaining puzzle with a bohemian artist theme that finally makes the mechanisms sing....

1 week ago

48 minutes

Operation Game Night

Debrief: Tag Team from Scorpion Masqué

A duel that teaches itself, bites fast, and still makes you sweat—Tag Team brings auto-battler energy to the tabletop without the bloat. We break down how two fighters per side, a locked deck order, and a single placement choice each round can produce real drama in under fifteen minutes. With 12 asymmetric fighters—tanks that soak, glass cannons that spike, and a rage-fueled shapeshifter chasing a late-game flip—the game rewards timing, foresight, and a little nerve. We walk through the core...

2 weeks ago

16 minutes

Operation Game Night

Special Ops: Publishers On A Hot Streak

What makes a board game leap off the shelf and onto the table, again and again? We dig into the publishers whose choices—production quality, component feel, rule clarity, art direction, and smart release strategies—turned solid designs into go-to weeknight plays and all-day favorites. From lavish dice trays and neoprene to tight, small-box curation, this conversation unpacks how labels build trust, reduce friction, and create onramps that welcome newcomers without alienating veterans. We sta...

2 weeks ago

26 minutes

Operation Game Night

Special Ops: 2025's Noteworthy "New-to-Us" Games (ft. Tiff from @Tiffs.Board.Games)

We swap stories with Tiffany from Tiffs Board Games and share the best “new to us” plays that defined our year, from gentle family co-ops to solo epics and evergreen euros. The thread that ties them together is clean design, strong arc, and table moments that stick. • Victorian engine-building and gossip in Obsession • Family laughs and tension in First Orchard • Trinket Trove’s turn-order bidding and quick teach • Rebirth as a clean, scalable Knizia tile-layer • Cast...

3 weeks ago

53 minutes

Operation Game Night

Special Ops: The Knizia Mount Rushmore (ft. Nick Murray from Bitewing Games)

What if you had to carve Reiner Knizia’s legacy into stone—just four games to represent a career that spans genres, decades, and thousands of tables? We are pumped to be joined by Bitewing Games’ Nick Murray to help us do exactly that, starting wide with party‑ready card games, heavyweight strategy, and auction masterclasses, then narrowing to a final four that balance impact, accessibility, and pure design brilliance. We revisit Essen stories and the reality of publishing while putting big ...

3 weeks ago

1 hour 19 minutes

Operation Game Night

Special Ops: A Rookie’s Ride Through PAX Unplugged

A first-timer’s crash course at PAX Unplugged turns from chaos to clarity after a late badge pickup, an impulse buying spree, and an anchor meetup with designer Paul Solomon at the Game Head booth. We share hard-won tips on planning, scheduling, demoing smart, and making the most of crowded play spaces and overwhelming choices. • arriving late on Friday and missing badge pickup • early Saturday push, exploring vendors outside the expo hall • expo hall overload, impulse spending, ...

1 month ago

22 minutes

Operation Game Night

OTF: Talkin' Turkey and Texts to the Void

We roast the perfect smoked turkey, rescue a podcast from broken texts, and marathon board games until the table begs for mercy. Retro hardware meets Switch advice, while a koi dilemma becomes a quiet lesson in stewardship and starting fresh. • Brining, drying, buttering and aromatics for smoked turkey • MLEM highlights and Pinatas’ second-to-last trick strategy • Magical Athlete chaos and playful stakes with a pickle bet • Flip Seven’s quick teach and score-tracking tips • Analog Pocket nos...

1 month ago

30 minutes

Operation Game Night

Joint Ops: OGN Takes Over Games Y Mas for Thanksgiving

A podcast takeover with heart, dice, and a little chaos: we hijacked Games Y Mas to say thanks and to build your holiday game bag with confidence. We start by unpacking the three mechanics that made our year brighter—deck building for agency and momentum, push your luck for laughs and energy, and RPG-style progression for that sweet feeling of earned growth—then connect them to real games that work at actual tables with actual families. Jared makes a spirited case for deck building, from Arn...

1 month ago

35 minutes

Operation Game Night

Debrief: We Played Dungeons and Dragons!

The road was quiet, the horses were not, and our dice had other plans. We jumped into Dungeons & Dragons 5e with a veteran DM guiding us through a one-shot that quickly became a masterclass in what makes tabletop role-playing so compelling: real choices, shared imagination, and the wild variance of a d20. From a dwarf fighter built to tank to a half-orc monk chasing precision, our party learned how character ideas collide with probability—and why that tension is half the fun. We break do...

1 month ago

25 minutes

Operation Game Night

Special Ops: Jerry’s Board Game Comeback

Jerry returns with stories of a surprise Azul date night, a rediscovered $100 Vegas mini-game, and fresh takes on gateway games that can coax non-gamers into regular play. We swap strategies for The Quest for El Dorado, pitch Redwood for photographers, and plot the path to Arnak. • Azul wins as a fast, colorful date night gateway • Travel-sized components and the power of quick replays • Ruins and trick-taking nostalgia with upgrades • The $100 World Series mini-game and what to do with it •...

1 month ago

22 minutes

Operation Game Night

Special Ops: Civilization Board Game Draft...Ants Are Cool!

We draft two original civilization board games with only $30 and 10 rounds, forcing bold choices on theme, mechanics, designer, art, publisher, box size, player count, and length. One becomes an insect super-civ of tech and diplomacy, the other a two-player city builder about climate resilience. • rules of the $30, 10-round Civ game draft • insect colony vs environmental adaptation sub-themes • tech trees and diplomacy vs resource management and city building • designer picks and why reputat...

1 month ago

30 minutes

Operation Game Night

OTF: Game Night Off The Rails

We pivot from a planned board game origin to a candid catch-up on leadership growth, masculine archetypes, stadium joy, and sobering screen stories. Between a Steelers defensive explosion and a YMCA Wi-Fi meltdown, we land on what helps friendships and teams thrive. • origin story mix-up and light chaos • leader development course insights and self-awareness • archetypes of mature masculinity and practical feedback • Steelers defensive resurgence and stadium renaming • Halloween hot dogs, fa...

1 month ago

19 minutes

Operation Game Night

Debrief: The Hobbit: There And Back Again, A Roll-And-Write By Reiner Knizia

We share first impressions of The Hobbit: There and Back Again, a roll-and-write that blends dice drafting with a story you can feel across eight evolving chapters. From dwarf paths to riddles in the dark, we highlight why the theme lands, where solo stumbles, and how table tempo creates tension. • components, setup, and how drafting works • chapter variety and how goals change • path drawing, bread, swords, and first‑to bonuses • gollum puzzle chapter and ring scoring • storm pass risk and ...

1 month ago

24 minutes

Operation Game Night

Debrief: Falcons- the US Air Force Academy Board Game

We debrief Falcons, the U.S. Air Force Academy board game, walking through how it plays, where it shines, and who will love it most. Theme and art carry a brisk time-track system, with competitions and events adding light strategy and table banter. • time-track movement around the Terrazzo • academics, training, action cards and how they interact • competitions with simultaneous reveals and odd second-place wins • character tokens as hidden points and tie-breaks • milestone challenges of Rec...

2 months ago

22 minutes

Operation Game Night

Debrief: Origin Story by Stonemaier Games

We unpack how Origin Story fuses classic trick-taking with character-building powers, letting you charge abilities with stamina and choose between hero or villain scoring for sharp, thematic pivots. We weigh the balance of chaos and control across player counts, praise the production, and flag who will love this design. • core must-follow trick-taking with love as trump • story cards that grant powers and reshape hands • stamina as a pre-round budget to charge abilities • hero or villain ide...

2 months ago

20 minutes

Operation Game Night

Special Ops: We Pitch Netflix's Catan Adaptations (ft. Vic from Games Y Más)

A streaming giant just picked up one of the most beloved board games on Earth, and our imaginations ran wild. We set out to answer a big question: how do you turn Catan’s trade, tension, and that pesky robber into stories worth binging? With friend of the show Vic from Games Y Más, we pitch three directions that could each anchor a different corner of Netflix’s slate. First up, an animated family adventure in the spirit of Toy Story and Wreck-It Ralph, where forgotten classics like Chess, Mo...

2 months ago

21 minutes

Operation Game Night

OTF: Jared Returns From The Crypt!

A foggy graveyard, rattling dice, and a familiar voice rising from the crypt—Jared’s back, and we’re cracking open a night of stories that blend family life, hobby joy, and the kind of plans that keep a gaming calendar buzzing. We kick off with life updates, a very sweaty “fall” in Alabama, and a detour into adaptive spooky video games that learn your habits and dial up the tension. From there, we trade kitchen war stories about a pizza stone gone rogue and the humble fixes that turn hosting ...

2 months ago

22 minutes

Operation Game Night

Debrief: Money! by Reiner Knizia

We break down Money! by Reiner Knizia, a quick blind-bidding card game where scoring thresholds and trio bonuses create sharp, swingy decisions. We compare it to High Society and other Knizia auctions, talk player counts, and share who should consider adding it to a shelf. • core rules overview and scoring thresholds • trio bonuses and their swing potential • blind bidding and market swap decisions • reading opponents and timing value shifts • three player flow versus larger groups • compari...

2 months ago

16 minutes