This week on the SnakesCast, we turn the focus on designers from Canada, many of whom are friends and visitors at the café. Today, Friday June 22nd 2018, we look at Toronto-based designers, including Paul Tseng, Steve Tassie, Jonathan Moriarty, Eric M. Lang (now in Singapore), Daryl Andrews and Christopher Chung. We also look at game designers' nights and how key they can be in the development process.

Canadian Board Games, Part 3 - Toronto designers and designers' nights

This week on the SnakesCast, we turn the focus on designers from Canada, many of whom are friends and visitors at the café. Today, Wednesday June 20th 2018, we discuss games by Scott Abbott, Chris Haney, Laura Robinson, Paul Toyne, Tom Quinn, Ted Quinn, Mark Sherry, and Conor McGoey.

Canadian Board Games, Part 2 - Classics from Canada

This week on the SnakesCast, we turn the focus on designers from Canada, many of whom are friends and visitors at the café. Today, Monday June 18th 2018, we discuss games by Daryl Andrews, Christopher Chung, Jay Cormier and Sen-Foong Lim.

Canadian Board Games, Part 1 - We stand on guard for games

Choose your cards carefully this week on the SnakesCast, as we take a close look at trick-taking games. Today, Friday June 15th 2018, we discuss some other games, look at the use of theme in trick-taking games, and talk about where the mechanism could go in the future.

Trick-Taking Games, Part 3 - Looking towards potential evolution

Choose your cards carefully this week on the SnakesCast, as we take a close look at trick-taking games. Today, Wednesday June 13th 2018, we continue by looking at some excellent examples of contemporary trick-taking games, and start observing things that may have been inspired by them.

Trick-Taking Games, Part 2 - Contemporary examples

Choose your cards carefully this week on the SnakesCast, as we take a close look at trick-taking games. Today, Monday June 11th 2018, we begin by asking what trick-taking is, where it came from, giving some examples of well-known games, and looking at why we think it is not more prevalent in modern board gaming.

Trick-Taking Games, Part 1 - What is trick-taking?

This week's SnakesCast examines gaming without speaking, whether that is a part of the game, or ways of teaching and learning a game without speech. Today, Friday June 8th 2018, we finish up the week by discussing some more games that could be good for non-verbal gaming, and looking at other non-verbal scenarios and language barriers, as well as some suggestions of how to overcome them.

Non-verbal Gaming, Part 3 - Further examples of non-verbal communication in gaming

This week's SnakesCast examines gaming without speaking, whether that is a part of the game, or ways of teaching and learning a game without speech. Today, Wednesday June 6th 2018, we continue by talking about methods of teaching games without speaking, and also games that would not be too difficult to teach that way.

Non-verbal Gaming, Part 2 - Teaching games without speaking

This week's SnakesCast examines gaming without speaking, whether that is a part of the game, or ways of teaching and learning a game without speech. Today, Monday June 4th 2018, we begin by talking about games in which at least one player - if not all of them - is not allowed to speak.

Non-verbal Gaming, Part 1 - Games in which at least one player doesn't speak

We look at one of the most divisive questions in gaming this week on the SnakesCast: "How important is theme?" Today, Friday June 1st 2018, we finish up the week by discussing a few games that have some theme that is not central to the game, talking about emergent storytelling in games, and examine using theme to help learn and teach games.

How Important is Theme in Games?, Part 3 - What about games that do something different?

The world of tabletop games is a lot bigger than most people realize. In fact it's so big that the idea of investigating it can actually be kind of intimidating. When you see all those games you've never heard of, with rules and concepts and themes you've never seen before in a game, it's hard to know where to start.The answer is: start with the SnakesCast. Every week, we'll bring you ten or fifteen minutes' worth of banter about what makes these games worth playing. With a different theme every episode and a rotating cast of both gurus and non-gurus from Toronto's premiere boardgame café, we'll show you just how much there is to play with out there.

Hope to hear more from this great podcast!

Great podcast

Good, nuanced discussions divided into three short segments, each focused on a different aspect of a larger theme within gaming. Not talking about what games are out or should be played, not talking about the latest cons and released, not doing reviews, but digging deeper but casually deeper into the reasons we play, the way we play, and what we can do to improve our gaming experience. All maybe I would like a bit more is clearer reference to games they mention as being good or bad within the theme they are talking about in case I’d like to look it up, or a list maybe in the episode notes, but that’s just a small nitpick and generally the conversations are intelligent and thoughtful. And not very long, which is great!

Generally good discussion about the nature of gaming

The world of tabletop games is a lot bigger than most people realize. In fact it's so big that the idea of investigating it can actually be kind of intimidating. When you see all those games you've never heard of, with rules and concepts and themes you've never seen before in a game, it's hard to know where to start.<br>The answer is: start with the SnakesCast. Every week, we'll bring you ten or fifteen minutes' worth of banter about what makes these games worth playing. With a different theme every episode and a rotating cast of both gurus and non-gurus from Toronto's premiere boardgame café, we'll show you just how much there is to play with out there.

The SnakesCast

One of the best things about working at Snakes and Lattes is the huge variety of guests you get to meet, and all their wildly varying tastes in games. It can be a challenge though, especially when part of the group wants something intense and stabby, while some of them are clearly uncomfortable with that idea. What's a game guru to do? The secret is that not all stabbing is created equal. Listen and find out all about it.

Guru Voodoo: Stabby, Yet Not Stabby

Collectible Card Games (or CCGs) dominated the hobby game scene during the 1990s, and while they're not as prominent as they used to be, they're still a unique and fascinating type of game. Instead of buying a complete copy, you collect the cards in random packs, like sports cards. Then, when you want to play, you select a few dozen cards from your collection and pit them against your opponents.

Game Spotlight: Collectible Games

When you buy a video game, chances are you'll play through it once and then never again. When you buy a book, you might read it a second time years later, but you know it'll end the same way it did last time. Board games are different. You never know how they'll end, because that's up to the players. Of course, not all games can hold up to repeated plays. Some of them get old and repetitive. But how much of a problem is this, really?

Replayability

Most people would say that a good game has to be fun. But does a good game have to be fair? For a lot of players, the feeling that a game is unfair can really suck the enjoyment out of it. But different players have wildly different opinions about whether certain games are fair or not. As long as nobody's actually cheating or breaking the rules, what makes a game fair or unfair, and how does that affect the experience of playing it?

That's Not Fair!

We look at one of the most divisive questions in gaming this week on the SnakesCast: "How important is theme?" Today, Wednesday May 30th 2018, we continue the discussion by talking about whether we think themes should be applied at times, overused themes, and discuss games where theme can emerge even if it's not the focus.

How Important is Theme in Games?, Part 2 - Should theme always be applied?

We look at one of the most divisive questions in gaming this week on the SnakesCast: "How important is theme?" Today, Monday May 28th 2018, we start by discussing the nature of theme, how it applies both to gaming and gamers, and its importance to us personally.

How Important is Theme in Games?, Part 1 - What is theme and do we like it?

We offer our thoughts on building your own home game library this week on the SnakesCast, from the gateway and accessible games to the deep and complex ones. Today, Friday May 11th 2018, we finish by talking about some heavy games we want in our collection, some solitaire games to start out playing solo, and ways you might want to enhance your games with additional components.

Building Your Home Collection, Part 3 - The bigger games

We offer our thoughts on building your own home game library this week on the SnakesCast, from the gateway and accessible games to the deep and complex ones. Today, Wednesday May 9th 2018, we discuss games you might want to have for those who are interested in slightly more advanced games, and we also touch on methods of protecting your games, and games that you might want to put on display at home.

Building Your Home Collection, Part 2 - Next steps

We offer our thoughts on building your own home game library this week on the SnakesCast, from the gateway and accessible games to the deep and complex ones. Today, Monday May 7th 2018, we begin by looking at the games you might consider for your first purchases - or games you might add to a collection to appeal to people who are new to the hobby.

Building Your Home Collection, Part 1 - Where to start

This week, the SnakesCast looks at games featuring detectives, criminals and clues, as we turn our attention to games featuring murder mysteries. Today, Wednesday February 7th 2018, we look at some variations on the Clue theme that add something different to the game, and which will appeal to Clue fans. We also discuss why Sherlock Holmes is so common in games, while other detectives such as Hercule Poirot might not be.

Murder Mystery Games, Part 2 - Elementary, My Dear Poirot

Happy Holidays! 2017 is almost over, and as we see the year out, we are going to look back on the year's board game releases. Today, Wednesday December 27th 2017, we turn our focus to the games that are our bread and butter - those that are perfect candidates to go on the wall of a board game café.

2017 Retrospective, Part 2 - Café games

On your own? Waiting for friends, or for another game to finish? You can still enjoy board gaming, as the SnakesCast examines this week as we discuss solitaire games. Today, Wednesday November 15th 2017, we continue by talking about some great games with one-player options. We also discuss the importance of win and loss states, and how solitaire play compares to video gaming.

Solitaire Games, Part 2 - Some great examples of solo games

On your own? Waiting for friends, or for another game to finish? You can still enjoy board gaming, as the SnakesCast examines this week as we discuss solitaire games. Today, Monday November 13th 2017, we begin by asking why you might play games by yourself, and what kinds of game there are for a single player.

Solitaire Games, Part 1 - What do you mean you can play board games by yourself?

This week, we look at board gaming's greatest line in the sand, as the SnakesCast examines the difference between Euro and Amerithrash games. Today, Wednesday October 18th 2017, we check out the other side of the coin and define Amerithrash games - also known as American-style games.

Euro vs. Amerithrash, Part 2 - Defining Amerithrash (or American-style games)

This week, we look at board gaming's greatest line in the sand, as the SnakesCast examines the difference between Euro and Amerithrash games. Today, Monday October 16th 2017, we begin this discussion with a definition as we ask the question: what defines a Euro, or European-style game?

Euro vs. Amerithrash, Part 1 - What is a Euro game?

Looking closely at your options is important this week as we look at visual-spatial games, particularly examining examples that work for two players. Today, Monday August 7th 2017, we begin by defining visual-spatial games as we mean to discuss them, and talking about some accessible examples of such games.

Visual-spatial games, Part 1 - What do we mean by visual-spatial?

This week on the SnakesCast, we are time-travelling back 65 million years to walk with the dinosaurs. Today, Monday June 5th 2017, we are sad to find that we time-travelled into the meteor strike that rendered the dinosaurs extinct and took our episode with it! The audio exists, but will take quite a while to restore, as it has been blasted into disordered 12-second fragments! When it is successfully restored, we will replace this episode with the real thing! However, please join us on Wednesday and Friday for business as usual, and our apologies for the missing link.

Dinosaurs, Part 0 - The Meteor Strike

The best podcast episodes on non-current politics. Covering topics such as universal basic income, democracy, poverty & justice and more. For anyone interested in learning more about politics that affect that world, not just now, but in the longer term. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Non-Current Politics Podcasts

The best podcast episodes on global issues affecting everyone. Covering topics such as the #metoo movement, climate change, the impact of technology and some of the biggest global issues facing us right now. For anyone interested in learning more about the world, and some of the issues we're facing, pick an episode below and start listening! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!