A review-heavy episode this time around with discussions of Strasbourg, Divinare and The Hunger Games: District 12. It’s been a long time since we started our competition for another Stefan Feld game – The Speicherstadt – but we finally have a winner. There’s also a new competition to win Antoine Bauza’s excellent card game Hanabi.

You can download the episode here, subscribe on iTunes, or listen to it below:

The Royal Society has descended upon Essen and we’ve been spending money and playing games just so we can bring you this special update. (And maybe a bit because it’s fun…).

This episode’s even more shambolic than usual as it was recorded in a hotel room sat on two beds and huddled around the microphone balanced on a chair and we discuss so many games only a fool would try and list them here. So it includes P.I., Courtier, Escape, Lady Alice, P.I., Coup, Love Letter, Suburbia, Snowdonia, and a few dozen more first impressions.

Also, since recording the episode I’ve been able to play Tzolk’in and so far it stands out as the big “gamer’s game” of the show, especially of those that had the usual pre-show hype. Hopefully we’ll be able to get a review together in the near future.

You can download the episode here, subscribe on iTunes, or listen to it below:

Show notes will be posted later, but for now there’s the last day of gaming about to get underway!

As the Royal Society prepares to land in Essen (or Dusseldorf, and then get the train to Essen), here’s a podcast all about Essen. Lloyd and Paul along with new host Adam go through their Essen preview lists ranging from short and snappy games such as Hanabi, Rumble in the Dungeon and Love Letter through to meatier games like Archipelago and Article 27.

The theme of British people going abroad is continued through to the full review of D-Day Dice, the game that was a recent Kickstarter mega-success.

Just in time to listen to before the show (what better in-flight entertainment can be had?), you can download the episode here, subscribe on iTunes, or listen to it below:

Full show notes are available on the episode’s page.

In a small change to the usual format, we have no news this episode but as well as reviews of Panic Station and the Kennerspiel winner Village we do have a report on Game Camp and the UK Games Expo. Plus there’s a new interview segment with Tony Boydell of Surprised Stare Games where we discuss the history of the company as well as some of his games including Paperclip Railways and the upcoming Snowdonia.

There’s also another chance to enter our competition to win a copy of Stefan Feld’s The Speicherstadt sponsored by Board Game Guru.

You can download the episode here, subscribe on iTunes, or listen to it below:

Full show notes are available on the episode’s page.

We have the usual news and updates including a look at some of the Origins award winners, plus reviews of Martin Wallace’s Ankh-Morpork and Reiner Knizia’s Pinguïn Party.

Following the nominations for the Spiel des Jahres awards we go into a bit of a discussion about the games and make semi-random (or maybe completely random) predictions for the winners for the main prize and the Kennerspiel – expert game – category, paying more attention to K2 (which we reviewed in episode 9) and Village (which we’ll be reviewing soon).

Finally we have a new competition to win a copy of Stefan Feld’s The Speicherstadt sponsored by Board Game Guru.

You can download the episode here, subscribe on iTunes, or listen to it below:

Full show notes are available on the episode’s page.

A short news section this episode, including a semi-regular Hobbit update, and a couple of reviews including the “I am Spartacus” card game Pax and the rondel-in-disguise game Walnut Grove. We discuss the Voice of Experience review contest and we also have the winner of our Hab & Gut competition sponsored by Board Game Guru

You can download the episode here or listen to it below:

Full show notes are available on the episode’s page.

We have a small crop of games that we either had a glimpse of or just completed missed from Essen 2011 including Hawaii, Power Grid: First Sparks and Hasbro’s innovative Risk Legacy. There also a ton of news featuring both Hasbro and Hobbit movie tie-ins and a second chance to win a copy of Hab und Gut sponsored by Board Game Guru.

You can download the episode here or listen to it below:

Full show notes are available on the episode’s page.

It’s been a while, but Episode 10 has made it out of captivity. We have many many new voices this time around, including Martin Griffiths, Paul Arneil, John Bandettini and Jeff Clark, plus a second episode for Lloyd Boman. And I hang around to press record and stop when appropriate, of course.

It may take us a while to get the new format flowing please so bear with us. And unfortunately there’s a bit more background noise and a few more clunks and thumps than usual, especially in the reviews section, which should be easy to iron out once I get used to everyone’s speaking volumes.

There’s still the usual news, reviews and chats, though, plus the results of our competition for Mord im Arosa and a new contest to win a copy of Hab und Gut sponsored by Board Game Guru.

You can download the episode here or listen to it below:

Full show notes are available on the episode’s page.

Hot(ish) on the heels of episode 8 comes episode 9 of the Royal Society of Gamers podcast. We have news of a couple of expansions, expansions and more expansions, some bad puns about Goa, and an update on the latest target for Games Workshop’s lawyers. We also have a change of personnel with one new host and one going so far as leaving the country to get away from us all.

We review the mountain climbing game of K2 with it’s new expansion K2: Broad Peak, Z-man’s take-that trick-taking game Lords of Scotland, and a classic euro Princes of Florence.

Treasure hunters features Crokinole – a pieces of treasure if ever there was one – and in New Gaming Worlds we have news of a few heavyweight releases on the horizon, plus the dodgy version of Dominion

And finally there’s an extension of our competition to win another overlooked gem: Mord im Arosa.

You can download the episode here or listen to it below:

Full show notes are available on the episode’s page.

We’ve finally done it… Episode 8 of the Royal Society of Gamers podcast is up and ready to download and listen to. We have news of a couple of reprints, a sequel, and a retired household name.

We review the sneaky Nefarious, the mighty Eclipse, and the dicey classic Can’t Stop.

Plus in our Treasure Hunter section we cover a game you may not of thought of giving a second glance: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All that and our biggest surprises (of the gaming kind), biggest disappointments (of the gaming kind), and favourite games (of the, erm, gaming kind) of 2011.

And finally there’s a competition to win another overlooked gem: Mord im Arosa.

You can download the episode here or listen to it below:

Full show notes are available on the episode’s page.

You can listen to episode 7 below or or download it here.

You can listen to the second of our Essen special episodes below or download it here.

Note that we recorded the episode whilst travelling on the cross-channel ferry from Calais to Dover so the sound quality is not up to our usual regal standards. The content is as top-notch as ever, of course.

You can listen to the episode below or download it here.

We also have the winner of our competition for a A Castle For All Seasons and a new contest to win a game that we’ll pick up at Essen.

You can play the podcast from here:

Or download episode 6 here.

We also have the winner of our competition for Travel Blog and a new competition to win the fantastic A Castle For All Seasons. More details in the episode 5 shownotes.

You can play the podcast from here:

Or download episode 5 here. We also have bonus material available in the form of a Royal Society Debate.

You can play the podcast from here:

Or download episode 4 here.

There’s also a bonus section available where we recommend some of our favourite gateway games to introduce to new players. You can download the gateway games discussion here.

You can play the podcast from here:

Or download the RSOG podcast episode 3 here.

You can play the podcast from here:

Or download the RSOG podcast episode 2 here.

For full details of all the topics in the podcast check out the episode 1 show notes.

You can play the podcast from here:

Or download the RSOG podcast episode 1 here.