The Spiel

Robot cheetahs, dentures, musical failure, D&D resources, pooping Amazons, and board games galore. Join our cavalcade of misfit nerds for a freewheeling conversation spanning the wide world of geekdom. And be ready to laugh! A lot.

In Ethnos players vie for control of a fantasy realm by collecting and playing sets of cards. The game offers challenging decisions through simple to learn but innovative mechanics. Ethnos is familiar yet fresh - tense and interactive to the end.

Codenames: Duet offers a tense two player transformation of the original. You and your partner must contact 15 agents using a grid of word cards and a very limited number of clues. The big problem is each of you only know half the agents in play!

In Photosynthesis, each player tends a colorful cardboard forest, soaking in sunlight as it moves around the board. The game is beautiful inside and out - a wonder to behold on the table and its simple, elegant mechanisms provide hours of challenging fun.

Word Slam is a team-based word guessing game that forces each team to use a fixed set of words as clues. The word you want is never there, so the game pushes you to be creative with the words provided - to find freedom inside the limits imposed.

Custom Heroes is an innovative twist on traditional climbing card games. You get to play with the makeup of the deck itself! Using transparent cards, you can make a low card high, turn a card wild, and more. Get rid of your cards 1st to score big and win.

In Planetarium, cosmic forces are your playthings. You and your fellow players shape an entire solar system. Will the system support life or be filled with gas giants or barren radioactive moons? It’s up to you to decide.

Fuji Flush is a wonderfully simple card game. Your goal is to flush all the number cards from your hand, one card at a time. It's a game about strength in numbers. And the more people you play with, the more fun the game becomes.

Gen Con is a grand gathering of all things geek. Every slice of the nerd pie is here. This means everyone's Gen Con is different. This is the story of our Gen Con - a tale packed with guests, discussions of over 30 games, interviews, and lots of laughs.

Few know that mole rats make the best astronauts. Your team of "ratstronauts" is facing a huge crisis - a space station being overrun by intergalactic snakes! Can you gather the right supplies and get to the escape pod? Just don't forget the duct tape!

Cottage Garden is a tile laying game that plays like an interactive puzzle. Your goal is to paint with peonies and petunias, planting and arranging the right mix of flower and foliage to create a relaxing and glorious garden in the limited space you have.

Tricky Trunks embraces two simple ideas: find the pattern, collect plastic balls BUT... no hands allowed! Use this kooky elephant head instead. The game is a joy to play and most emphatically Major Fun!

Every adventurer has a story. In Roll Player, you craft a hero for the ages, one die roll at a time. Part puzzle, part press your luck, Roll Player offers fun decisions even if you can't tell an orc from an elf or a scimitar from a Bohemian earspoon!

Picassimo is a party game where players create, disassemble and reassemble works of art. You’ll draw on a 6 part canvas and then mix up the parts. Hopefully someone can still see the essence of the drawing and guess the subject of your art!

Lorenzo de Medici was Florence's favorite son and father of the Renaissance. But he didn't do it alone. Guide your family to power by sending your family to sponsor new developments. But beware the Pope. Show your faith or risk the wrath of the Church!

Being King isn't easy. Some subjects like the forest, some like the swamp. It's your job to make sure they all have a place in your realm. Kingdomino mixes the classic tile laying game with several simple, clever modern twists.

In Black Orchestra, you are a member of a conspiracy that plots to kill Hitler before and during WW 2. You do this by gaining enough motivation and courage to go through with the deed without drawing too much suspicion to yourself and your compatriots.

Tak comes to us from writer Patrick Rothfuss and designer James Ernest. Tak is universal, simple, elegant and accessible. A game that you can play anywhere, with anyone. A game that is beautiful because HOW you play matters as much as winning or losing.

1885. A bomb explodes in Parliament. Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes have 7 days to build a case to prove the innocence or guilt of a young man. Collect sets of evidence by selecting actions on character cards from Doyle's novels. May the best detective win!

Game of Trains is a fast fun card game. Your futuristic train can't leave the station until all the cars are arranged from low to high. The artwork includes tons of nerdy references but the game itself is easy enough for your grandma to play and enjoy.