45: Streamable games, big-name licenses, and that X factor (guest: The Op's Pat Marino)

Jun 24, 2020

We talk (non-roll-and-write) board games that are perfect for streaming to your friends, and we delve into how a game company like The Op works with so many big-name licenses (Marvel, Harry Potter, and...um, Golden Girls).

Plus, what is that X factor that makes a game really great? And Mike Zipkin gives impressions on Nintendo's Clubhouse Games.

Here's a full list of games discussed on the show:

Intro

• Star Wars: Dark Side Rising
• Harry Potter: Death Eaters Rising
• Die Hard: The Nakatomi Tower Heist
• Monopoly
• Yahtzee
• Scrabble
• Trivial Pursuit
• Telestrations
• Clubhouse Games
• Russian Railroads
• Grand Austria Hotel

Christina's topic: Streamable non-roll-and-write games

• Blank Slate
• Just One
• Hues and Cues
• Codenames
• MonsDRAWsity
• Telestrations: Upside Drawn
• Telestrations

Shoe's topic: Game design when working with different licenses

• Courth of the Dead: Mourner's Call
• Scooby-Doo: Escape from the Haunted Mansion
• The Shining: Escape from Overlook Hotel
• Monopoly Hallmark Channel Board Game
• Unlock!
• Munchkin
• Codenames
• Match-o-Rama
• Quests of Yore: Barley's Edition

Pat's topic: That X-factor in gaming

• Russian Railroads
• Just One
• Codenames
• Hansa Teutonica
• The Gallerist
• Kanban
• Terraforming Mars
• The Quacks of Quedlinberg
• Hues and Cues
• Court of the Dead: Mourner's Call
• Tiny Towns
• Medium

Mike's topic: Nintendo's Clubhouse Games

• Clubhouse Games
• Chess
• Checkers
• Yacht Dice
• Mancala
• Shogi
• Go
• Connect 4
• Uno
• Hanafuda
• Texas Hold 'Em
• Ludo
• War
• Takoyaki
• Air Hockey
• Darts
• Bowling

Final thoughts

• Blank Slate
• Court of the Dead: Mourner's Call
• The Batman Who Laughs Rising
• Plankton Rising
• Quests of Yore: Barley's Edition
• Forgotten Waters
• Era: Medieval Age
• The Shipwreck Arcana
• Smartphone Inc.