Mark Johnson
@boardgamestogo.bsky.social
Host of the long-running BoardgamesToGo & WargamesToGo podcasts. Proud parent of trans & cis daughters.🏳️⚧️👩🏽🤝👩🏼 Discord: https://discord.gg/vxEG9bMPdx
BoardgamesToGo.com
BoardgamesToGo.com
Games played in September. It was an unusual month—these are almost all online, inc a bunch played live with friends & audio. Great to play Pergamon and Bohnanza again.
October 4, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Games played in September. It was an unusual month—these are almost all online, inc a bunch played live with friends & audio. Great to play Pergamon and Bohnanza again.
Organized another online game day for listeners of my podcast. Another fun time with some great titles & friends.
September 14, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Organized another online game day for listeners of my podcast. Another fun time with some great titles & friends.
A lighter month of August for in-person gaming. I really loved getting to play Die Fugger and Krass Kariert again. Endeavor Deep Sea is another standout. The Hunt just barely kept my wargaming alive.
September 2, 2025 at 4:06 AM
A lighter month of August for in-person gaming. I really loved getting to play Die Fugger and Krass Kariert again. Endeavor Deep Sea is another standout. The Hunt just barely kept my wargaming alive.
And here are the games I played online in July. Mostly BGA, of course, but I’m enjoying getting back into BSW for its unique games (Tuscany, Notre Dame, Qwinto). Still some Yucata, too (eg GAH, Maori).
August 1, 2025 at 6:39 PM
And here are the games I played online in July. Mostly BGA, of course, but I’m enjoying getting back into BSW for its unique games (Tuscany, Notre Dame, Qwinto). Still some Yucata, too (eg GAH, Maori).
The in-person games I played in July. All but one of these were at EsCon, since summer con season interrupted my regular game group.
August 1, 2025 at 6:37 PM
The in-person games I played in July. All but one of these were at EsCon, since summer con season interrupted my regular game group.
Small Fjords by @grailgames.bsky.social is a slick, little package. Quality packaging & components similar to Oink, but a little larger which permits more inside. I just played the solo variant to this 2-player version, but may end up liking it that way the best.
July 26, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Small Fjords by @grailgames.bsky.social is a slick, little package. Quality packaging & components similar to Oink, but a little larger which permits more inside. I just played the solo variant to this 2-player version, but may end up liking it that way the best.
I loved this entire system Leonardi invented. Still do. I’ve owned the WW1 original, the WW2 and jet fighter sequels, and then X-Wing vs TIE. Then the Lost World Series brought it down to a fun, RPG-ish personal scale. And back up to Battlemechs.
July 20, 2025 at 1:03 PM
I loved this entire system Leonardi invented. Still do. I’ve owned the WW1 original, the WW2 and jet fighter sequels, and then X-Wing vs TIE. Then the Lost World Series brought it down to a fun, RPG-ish personal scale. And back up to Battlemechs.
I've been enjoying these whippersnappers and their newfangled podcast for a while. Now I was able to join them for a game day. Then was able to talk about a classic boardgame on their show as a guest!
Today's podcast episode features the Reiner Knizia classic, Tigris & Euphrates.
Mark Johnson from @boardgamestogo.bsky.social joins us and we also discuss Tycoon: India 1981 and Castles of Tuscany.
Listen here: spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/1bSiq79lZUb
#boardgames
Mark Johnson from @boardgamestogo.bsky.social joins us and we also discuss Tycoon: India 1981 and Castles of Tuscany.
Listen here: spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/1bSiq79lZUb
#boardgames
July 14, 2025 at 5:35 PM
I've been enjoying these whippersnappers and their newfangled podcast for a while. Now I was able to join them for a game day. Then was able to talk about a classic boardgame on their show as a guest!
Had a great time at EsCon as always. Good friends, good games, and a “mini event” of our own. This time it was a focus on Rudiger Dorn games. We called it the Dornücopia! Whoever won a game was adorned The Great Dornholio
July 13, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Had a great time at EsCon as always. Good friends, good games, and a “mini event” of our own. This time it was a focus on Rudiger Dorn games. We called it the Dornücopia! Whoever won a game was adorned The Great Dornholio
Who remembers when BGG had an online implementation of Tigris & Euphrates? I’d love to find an archived screenshot.
July 10, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Who remembers when BGG had an online implementation of Tigris & Euphrates? I’d love to find an archived screenshot.
Wonderful bonus game night where we played all three Kenner noms Looot!, Faraway, and Endeavor Deep Sea. Plus the little trick-taker Prey. A friend joined us who hasn’t been available for many months (new parent!).
June 19, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Wonderful bonus game night where we played all three Kenner noms Looot!, Faraway, and Endeavor Deep Sea. Plus the little trick-taker Prey. A friend joined us who hasn’t been available for many months (new parent!).
You’re going to need a bigger boat.
June 8, 2025 at 3:18 AM
You’re going to need a bigger boat.
Mostly online gaming last month, thanks to a dedicated "mini-con" event I hosted, plus a 2-week vacation later. Besides the SdJ & Kenner nominees I get to play this way, my standouts for the month are Space Empires 4X, Thurn und Taxis, Billabong, and Planet Unknown.
June 2, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Mostly online gaming last month, thanks to a dedicated "mini-con" event I hosted, plus a 2-week vacation later. Besides the SdJ & Kenner nominees I get to play this way, my standouts for the month are Space Empires 4X, Thurn und Taxis, Billabong, and Planet Unknown.
Spoke with a retired German couple on our vacation in Norway. They were shocked that I knew where Regensburg was. Then shocked that I knew about the Spiel des Jahres, Catan, and Bohnanza. This never happens when I travel! Their favorite card game is Wizard, inc with anniversary edition expansion.
May 28, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Spoke with a retired German couple on our vacation in Norway. They were shocked that I knew where Regensburg was. Then shocked that I knew about the Spiel des Jahres, Catan, and Bohnanza. This never happens when I travel! Their favorite card game is Wizard, inc with anniversary edition expansion.
Another good episode. I agree 100% that El Grande was the designers’ “sideways” (good word) approach at a dudes-on-the-map conquest game. And though the medieval court theme was pasted-on, the result was something that bears a cynical resemblance to real-life conflicts of influence, rather than arms
In the latest episode of Cult of the Old @mattthr.bsky.social, @sanildefanso.bsky.social and I throw cubes into a giant castle and vie for control in El Grande
open.spotify.com/episode/3S4W...
open.spotify.com/episode/3S4W...
Cult of the Old - El Grande
Cult of the Old · Episode
open.spotify.com
May 4, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Another good episode. I agree 100% that El Grande was the designers’ “sideways” (good word) approach at a dudes-on-the-map conquest game. And though the medieval court theme was pasted-on, the result was something that bears a cynical resemblance to real-life conflicts of influence, rather than arms
A great 12-hour day of games onlinewith friends, all while voice chatting over Discord. (A silver lining from our shared pandemic experience in the past.) Had folks from SoCal, Norcal, Texas, Massachusetts, Virginia, and North Carolina. Will do it again someday.
May 4, 2025 at 4:44 AM
A great 12-hour day of games onlinewith friends, all while voice chatting over Discord. (A silver lining from our shared pandemic experience in the past.) Had folks from SoCal, Norcal, Texas, Massachusetts, Virginia, and North Carolina. Will do it again someday.
Online Game Day (mini-con) for my podcast listeners is underway. So far we've played Odin, Tigris & Euphrates, Saint Petersburg, and now starting River City Glassworks. Join us on the BGTG Discord server discord.gg/8ahVR9pATh
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May 3, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Online Game Day (mini-con) for my podcast listeners is underway. So far we've played Odin, Tigris & Euphrates, Saint Petersburg, and now starting River City Glassworks. Join us on the BGTG Discord server discord.gg/8ahVR9pATh
I'm catching up on some boardgame podcasts, including Cult of the Old, a favorite of mine. Nice to see this dive into classic games as well as hobby favorites. Great to point out how we can overlook how polished this design is, from the tile mix to the board design to the physical productions.
Our newest episode of Cult of the Old is up now. This episode we talk about a little game called Scrabble. Always a pleasure to sit behind the mic with @giantbrain.co.uk and @mattthr.bsky.social, who I think make me sound much more insightful than usual.
Cult of the Old
Podcast · cultoftheolduk · Every episode of Cult of the Old your hosts Iain McAllister, Nate Owens, and Matt Thrower focus on a title from the history of tabletop games. They’ll look at the impact of ...
open.spotify.com
April 29, 2025 at 8:08 PM
I'm catching up on some boardgame podcasts, including Cult of the Old, a favorite of mine. Nice to see this dive into classic games as well as hobby favorites. Great to point out how we can overlook how polished this design is, from the tile mix to the board design to the physical productions.
Great weekend of gaming. Even squeezed a couple wargame-ish titles in there.
April 20, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Great weekend of gaming. Even squeezed a couple wargame-ish titles in there.
I came here to make this very point, but designer Matt Leacock beat me to the punch! I am so happy to have re-discovered Chris Farrell's substack, Illuminating Games. His writing & analysis is the sharpest I've enjoyed in the boardgaming hobby for a long, long time. 100% recommended.
Boardgamers, do yourself a favor and check out Illuminating Games. Chris Farrell provides in-depth analysis of a surprisingly wide variety of games every week.
This week: Molly House, Slay the Spire meets AI, and more.
This week: Molly House, Slay the Spire meets AI, and more.
Molly House, Up Front, general Sturm und Drang, Slay the Spire
Week of April 14th, 2025
chrisfarrell317.substack.com
April 20, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I came here to make this very point, but designer Matt Leacock beat me to the punch! I am so happy to have re-discovered Chris Farrell's substack, Illuminating Games. His writing & analysis is the sharpest I've enjoyed in the boardgaming hobby for a long, long time. 100% recommended.
Tried this again with recommended house rules from BGG. Wow, the Empire steamrolled us good guys! That Death Star was operational.
April 12, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Tried this again with recommended house rules from BGG. Wow, the Empire steamrolled us good guys! That Death Star was operational.
On May 3 I’m hosting a day of online gaming (realtime) for any of my podcast listeners. I’ll be online from 9am Pacific on BGA, as well as my Discord server.
discord.gg/hQQf2Mh9gf
discord.gg/hQQf2Mh9gf
April 12, 2025 at 8:15 PM
On May 3 I’m hosting a day of online gaming (realtime) for any of my podcast listeners. I’ll be online from 9am Pacific on BGA, as well as my Discord server.
discord.gg/hQQf2Mh9gf
discord.gg/hQQf2Mh9gf
Great turnout today at Santa Clarita #HandsOff, with lots of sympathetic drivers honking their support for us. I came away inspired and ready to do it again. Some of my favorite signs:
This Is The Government Our Founders Warned Us About
Embarassed. Ashamed. So Sorry World
Congress DO Something
This Is The Government Our Founders Warned Us About
Embarassed. Ashamed. So Sorry World
Congress DO Something
Santa Clarita, CA today. Getting in Good Trouble #handsoff
April 6, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Great turnout today at Santa Clarita #HandsOff, with lots of sympathetic drivers honking their support for us. I came away inspired and ready to do it again. Some of my favorite signs:
This Is The Government Our Founders Warned Us About
Embarassed. Ashamed. So Sorry World
Congress DO Something
This Is The Government Our Founders Warned Us About
Embarassed. Ashamed. So Sorry World
Congress DO Something
Not sure how these games get sorted in this monthly BGstats report, but it’s a decent sampling of a big month of March for me. Dice Tower West to start the month, and two good local game group sessions to end it.
April 1, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Not sure how these games get sorted in this monthly BGstats report, but it’s a decent sampling of a big month of March for me. Dice Tower West to start the month, and two good local game group sessions to end it.
The podcast episode #240 for April wraps up the game cover art contest, then I discuss my time at Dice Tower West.
boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/352...
boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/352...
Boardgames To Go Season 21 (2025)
As I type this, early in the year, I've made plans for the anniversary episode to be for March. On March 3, 2005, I released the first episode of the Boardgames To Go podcast. That was an experiment, ...
boardgamegeek.com
April 1, 2025 at 2:29 PM
The podcast episode #240 for April wraps up the game cover art contest, then I discuss my time at Dice Tower West.
boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/352...
boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/352...