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FAMILY FRIENDLY VIDEOS AND PODCAST ABOUT THE TABLETOP GAMING HOBBY

Welcome to This Board Game Life

  • Rob and Mark discuss the news, some recent games that they played and then discuss how they have been pleasantly surprised with IP games lately. Games discussed in this episode include: Mountain Goats: Legacy, The Game Makers, Kingdom Crossing, Luthier, Planet Unknown and Space Base.

    Published On: September 2nd, 2026
  • Mark and Rob discuss the news, recent gaming, and some of the surprise hidden costs of a crowdfunding campaign. Enjoy! Games discussed in this episode include: Star Trek Chrono-Trek, Star Trek: Captain's Chair – To Boldly Go, Jump Masters!, Night at the Zoo, Ostia, Shadow Hunters, Mountain Goats: Legacy, Dragons of Etchinstone and Camel Up (Second Edition).

    Published On: August 19th, 2026
  • Rob and Mark talk about recent news, recent gaming, and have the Gen Con 2026 debrief. Games discussed in this episode include: Pandemic Legacy: Season 2, Sniper Elite: The Board Game, Cover Your Assets, Zombicide: White Death – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Timecrash, Mountain Goats: Legacy, Architects of the West Kingdom, Viscounts of the West Kingdom, Magical Athlete, Escape: The Curse of the Temple

    Published On: August 5th, 2026

Recent Video Releases

Check them out on our YouTube channel!

  • Rob from This Board Game Life unboxes Assemble!, a compact little card game he picked up at Gen Con 2026 during the AEG Big Game Night event. Join him as he cracks open the tiny box, walks through the components, and flips through the hero cards, rules sheet, and first player token. Rob also explores the clever box design and shows off the artwork and card quality along the way. Assemble! is a fast-paced, team-building card game for 2–4 players where you draft, play, and position cards to build the ultimate squad of heroes inspired by classic archetypes from across fandom. Each hero brings a distinct role, and the real fun comes from combining them in new ways to unlock abilities and create powerful synergies. As the game evolves, you'll adapt your strategy, watch what your opponents are assembling, and aim to build the strongest team by the end. Playable in just 10–15 minutes, it's a quick and clever game from designers Remo Conzadori and Stefano Negro, published by AEG in 2026. Assemble! Designer: Remo Conzadori Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group | 2026 2–4 players | 10–15 min | Ages 10+ 00:00 Intro 00:40 Game Description 02:00 Opening The Box 02:29 Rules Overview 04:01 Components 04:45 Card Details 05:35 Box Storage 06:22 Final Thoughts https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/468063/assemble

    Published On: August 31st, 2026
  • In this video, Rob from This Board Game Life unboxes Honeypot, a game he picked up at the AEG Big Game Night event during Gen Con 2026. He walks through everything inside the box, from the rulebook and punch-out tokens to the secret cache folders and the massive deck of cards. Along the way, Rob explains the different card types, scoring symbols, and how the drafting and passing works, plus a few fun stories from the event where he got to meet designer Joseph Z. Chen. Honeypot is a quick and simple "I Stack, You Choose" card game for 1–6 players, playing in about 15–30 minutes. You take on the role of secret agent bears trying to gather the best intel and spy supplies without getting stung, arranging secret caches to tempt your opponents while sifting through the ones passed to you. It's a highly interactive set collection puzzle with a huge deck that keeps every round fresh, featuring delightful artwork by Kwanchai Moriya. From the team behind Calico, Cascadia, and the Point Salad series, it's easy to teach and perfect to share with friends and family. Honeypot Designer: Joseph Z. Chen Publisher: Flatout Games | 2026 1–6 players | 15–30 min | Ages 10+ 00:00 Intro 02:37 Components 03:00 Rule Book 04:58 Card Folders 05:20 Player Cards 06:59 Card Types 09:00 Final Thoughts https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/458391/honeypot

    Published On: August 30th, 2026
  • Join Rob from This Board Game Life as he unboxes JumbleJack, the game he picked up at AEG's Big Game Night during Gen Con 2026. In this video, Rob walks through everything in the box, from the rulebook and the magnetic pirate doll to the pirate accessories, the identity cards, and the player rings. He shows off how the doll gets dressed and breaks down how the different clothing combinations come together. Take a peek inside to see exactly what you get with this light, higher-player-count deduction game. JumbleJack is a high-energy deduction party game set around a cursed pirate ritual, designed by Emanuele Briano and published by Alderac Entertainment Group in 2026 for 4–8 players. Each player has a hidden identity defined by a unique combination of Hat, Hook, Cape, and Sword, and the goal is to dress the JumbleJack Doll to match the player it's handed to. Players debate, accuse, and track who has what before chanting "JUM… BLE… JACK!" and pointing to decide who faces the ritual. If the Doll ends up matching your secret identity exactly, you're cursed and lose, so bluffing, memory, and timing all come into play as you try to avoid being the match. JumbleJack Designer: Emanuele Briano Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group | 2026 4–8 players | 30–45 min | Ages 10+ 00:00 Intro 00:36 Game Description 02:01 Rule Book 02:40 The Doll 03:20 Pirate Clothes 05:10 Rings And Cards 06:20 Identity Cards 07:30 Ring Setup 08:37 Final Thoughts https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/468065/jumblejack

    Published On: August 29th, 2026
  • Join Rob from This Board Game Life as he unbags the goodie bag he picked up at the Gen Con AEG Big Game Night 2026. He walks through each of the four games he played at the event, showing off the components, player counts, and play times, and points out a couple of promo flyers tucked inside the bag too. Stick around for a look at everything included and find out which titles caught his eye. The bag features a mix of AEG and Flat Out Games titles for a range of group sizes. Jumblejack is a 4–8 player hidden-identity deduction game built around a poseable pirate doll with magnetic accessories like a cape, hook hand, hat, and sword. Assemble is a small, light card game about building the ultimate team of heroes, while Word Hype is a word-guessing party game for 2–10 players in the vein of Codenames. Rounding it out is Honeypot, a 1–6 player game from designer Joseph Chen, plus flyers for upcoming Kickstarter titles Electrify and Whisper Stone. 00:00 Intro 02:24 Jumblejack 02:49 Assemble 03:34 Word Hype 04:34 Honeypot 05:24 Electrify 06:35 Final Thoughts

    Published On: August 28th, 2026
  • Join Rob as he unboxes Papyria, the latest release from designer Bernd Eisenstein, picked up fresh from Gen Con. In this video, Rob walks through everything in the box — from the 12-page rulebook and its component overview to the tiles, the two-layer mouse mat-style board, and all the wooden and cardboard pieces inside. He gives a close look at the artwork, the quality, and the wide range of actions and scoring options the game has to offer. Take a peek at what's packed into this one before it hits your table. Papyria takes players to Mesopotamia around 1500 BC, along the fertile banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, where great cultures flourished thanks to writing, the wheel, and lively trade. Playable by 1–4 players over 90–120 minutes, the game has you exploring the region to build an extensive network of canals, discover inventions, develop mines, and construct temples, sanctuaries, and cities. On your turn you move your wanderer or ship and choose two of three possible actions, producing lapis and papyrus, gathering tiles, and building up your civilization. Once the end-game conditions are met, several final scorings determine who has created the most impressive legacy — and claims the win. 00:00 Intro 01:07 Game Description 02:23 Rule Book 04:25 Punching Boards 07:17 Game Board 07:51 Components 09:32 Final Thoughts https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/438534/papyria

    Published On: August 26th, 2026
  • Join Mark as he unboxes Thunder Road: Ignition from Restoration Games, along with the Fallen Tower promotional road board. In this video, Mark walks through everything in the box, including the dashboards, cars, dice, pit stop tokens, and the double-sided road tiles. He punches out the components on camera and shows off the new terrain features and curved roads, giving you a close-up look at how it all comes together. Tune in to see what's inside this streamlined take on Thunder Road! Thunder Road: Ignition is a standalone game that uses the core game system from Thunder Road: Vendetta, tweaked to deliver a familiar yet new, streamlined play experience. It features shorter road boards, new rubble terrain, barricades, and curved roads, and can also be used as an expansion to Thunder Road: Vendetta. Designed by Noah Cohen and Rob Daviau and published by Restoration Games in 2026, it plays 2–4 players in about 25–45 minutes. 00:00 Intro 01:44 Box Overview 02:20 Rule Book 03:46 Road Tiles 06:49 Curved Roads 08:52 Hazard Tiles 10:20 Cars and Dice 13:21 Player Boards 16:59 Fallen Tower 17:32 Final Thoughts https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/464729/thunder-road-ignition

    Published On: August 22nd, 2026

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