Videos 27 - Shut Up & Sit Down

15 Great Games to Fill Your Table This Christmas

What are the very best card and board games to play with coworkers and family this holiday? Games that are actually FUN – that you could bring to a party as a great gift for cheap, or tuck in the stocking for Christmas Eve?

Quinns will be writing a piece next week about games more suited to those who already love the hobby, but as part of our ongoing mission to convince the world that board games are great, we wanted to put together an easy resource for the question we seem to get almost all the time: “What game should I buy to play with my family?”

If you’ve been linked to this by someone else who loves board games, hello! We’ve put this list together as both a video and a written list. Enjoy!

Matt: Greetings Holiday Humans, it’s time to mildly panic as you realise that family will soon descend upon you like a flock of seagulls to a discarded ice-cream. Rather than trying to explain your job to relatives to the point that you might have a mental breakdown, we’d recommend playing board games instead.

These are the 15 best big-family games: all play with at least 6 people, and most can handle 8. In no particular order, let’s go!

This time last year, Matt published his review of the enormous, decadent game of Gloomhaven. But since (a) it remains a superb game, (b) Quinns hadn’t played it, and (c) it was the only way Matt could make progress in his campaign, this week we decided to break it out on our Twitch channel.

Be sure to tune in on the 6th of December, when we’ll be streaming Pretzel Games’ excellent Men at Work. But then, that’s only a short game, so perhaps you can also expect a surprise or two…

Remember Roland Wright from our review of Welcome To? Well, he’s only done it again.

Railroad Ink should be arriving in shops any week now, and that’s cause for celebration. This game of rails, roads and mounting desperation makes its competitors look like amateur hour. The only questions remaining are (a) should you buy the Red or Blue edition, and (b) when can we expect an expansion?

Have a great weekend, everybody.

In yesterday’s Twitch stream, masculinity was stretched to its very limits. Bandanas? Check. Beer? Check. Punching a warehouse full of bad dudes right in the mouth? Check.

The game we’re playing is Street Masters, which has a new expansion (as well as the base game) on Kickstarter RIGHT NOW. If you’re in the mood for some dumb, schlocky fun, Street Masters is precisely the kind of smart dumb fun that we can get behind.

If you’d like to watch the video and our gut-busting Twitch commenters at the same time, the stream will be available here for the next couple of months. Oh, and look forward to more co-op combat in a couple of weeks, because on the 22nd of November we’ll be streaming Gloomhaven, and Quinns will be doing his best to make a permanent impact on Matt’s campaign.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

The Champion of the Wild is the most fun we’ve had all month. How will an ibex fare versus a shed? How far can a beetle travel down a slip-n-slide? Literally nobody knows, but it’s up to your friends to guess, and your fate is in their hands.

Fair warning: This is a small-press indie game, and stocks are low! You can order the game direct from the above link (which should have the best international shipping rates), as well as from these UK retailers.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

This week our Twitch page was the site of a grand experiment. It’s no secret that Memoir ’44 is one of our favourite games. 5 years ago we even made a video showcasing its amazing 4 vs 4 Operation Overlord expansion. Well, this week we tried 1 vs 100, as Quinns took on the wobbly hivemind of Twitch chat!

Huge thanks to everyone who took part, and for Efka of No Pun Included for acting as Twitch’s supreme commander. Our live stream will be back in a couple of weeks on the 8th of November, with Matt and Quinns whupping some punks in a game of Street Masters. See some of you there!

This was one of our favourite shows from SHUX 2018. Quinns ran a game of the Star Trek Adventures RPG, something we’ve wanted to do ever since our review.

“These are the adventures of the Star Ship Canada. It’s continuing mission: For crew-members Paul, Matt and Pip not to embarrass the Federation.”

Is the resulting story the worst Star Trek episode ever made? You be the judge.

More than two years ago Quinns reviewed the classic game of Brass, but ultimately came away disappointed (and wet, and riding high on sugar).

Today, it’s time for round 2! Introducing Brass: Birmingham, a collaboration between Roxley Games and original designer Martin Wallace, this is the sequel to Brass.

Will this industrial revolution bring progress, or once again grind our reviewers’ gears? Click play, and find out.

Oh no! Someone (Matt) has been leaving body parts all around London town, and it’s up to “the police” (Quinns and Paul) to BUST HIS CHOPS.

We did a video review of Letters from Whitechapel, but the superior sequel, Whitehall Mystery, only got a written review. Since it’s our favourite hidden movement game, we leapt at the chance to show it off on our new Twitch channel. And what fun we had!

Enjoy, everybody.

A long time ago in a forest far, far away…

This week we’re proud to present our review of Root, which is surely the board game industry’s new beau. A grand, inventive game of cat and mouse, as well fox and bird, and – should you buy the Riverfolk expansion – beaver and lizard.

As Quinns says in the review, everybody involved in this production needs to take a bow. But should you buy it? Click play and find out…

15 Great Games to Fill Your Table This Christmas

SU&SD Play… Gloomhaven!

Review: Railroad Ink

SU&SD Play… Street Masters!

Review: The Champion of the Wild

SU&SD Play… Memoir ’44 vs. Twitch!

SU&SD Play… the Star Trek Adventures RPG!

Review – Brass: Birmingham

SU&SD Play… Whitehall Mystery!

Review: Root (and the Riverfolk Expansion!)

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