Operation Game Night

Episodes

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  A Local Game Store Gets A Second Life 22.10.2026 1h 27m

  We go from cooperative poker boss fights to instant-teach party games, then zoom out to the real work of keeping a friendly local game store alive. CJ joins to tell the story behind Let’s Play Games and Hobbies in Hanover, Pennsylvania - and he has managed taking over a game store with his full time job. • Hell Of A Deal as a cooperative poker-style boss battler with action-based betting chips • Managing souls, folding decisions, and the temptation track as the core tension • Wor...
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  The Benevolent Board Game Dictator Method 14.10.2026 1h 20m

  Twenty people show up for game night, dinner ends, and everyone looks at the game shelf like it’s a bomb that might go off. We’ve lived that nightmare, so we lay out a real, tested blueprint for running a big board game night with multiple tables without letting it turn into chaos. We start with quick debriefs on two small-box wins: Collect! by CMON, a light card game with slick powers and shifting displays, and Grabble by CMYK, a ridiculous handful of trinkets that somehow turns into three ...
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  Barn Boy Games Turns Family Play Into A Business 08.10.2026 58m

  How do you turn a goofy argument like “Is a stop sign taller than an emu?” into a party game people can learn in seconds and replay for years? We sit down with Kerry and Ryan from Barn Boy Games out of Lancaster, PA to talk about their first Kickstarter board game, Height Fight, and the long, messy, surprisingly thoughtful road from homemade prototypes to a retail-ready product. We start with quick hits from our own tables, from the relaxing solo puzzle of Enchanted Ivy to a conversation-spa...
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  An OGN Reunion Debrief! 30.09.2026 48m

  A board game weekend can go one of two ways: the table clicks and everyone rides the momentum, or you bog down in rules, downtime, and “maybe next time.” We just got back from a Colorado Springs hang, and we’re sharing the exact mix that worked, plus the honest reactions when a game is clever but your brain still bounces off it. We start with Reforest, a small box tableau builder that packs a surprisingly puzzly decision space. From there we sprint into lighter, faster wins like Tiny Mountai...
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  We Stress-Test Game Night Scenarios (ft. Tim from Board Game Hot Takes) 23.09.2026 1h 20m

  A Golden Geek Award winner joins us, and we do what any responsible board game podcast would do: we immediately test whether he can actually host a great game night. Tim from Board Game Hot Takes stops by for a full debrief plus a rapid-fire hosting quiz built around real life situations that every board gamer runs into sooner or later. We start at the table with Misfit Heroes and its card crafting style setup that creates hilarious hybrid characters while keeping the gameplay in quick, sati...
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  Betting On Betting Games 16.09.2026 1h 23m

  We had a question stuck in our heads: can you make a board game betting episode that actually feels like a bet? So we built a weird little experiment where we “bet on betting games” by turning five racing betting games into one meta race, powered by our own head-to-head choices. Think pub meeple-style matchups, but the results move games forward on a track while we sweat our $100 bet slips. We put Hot Streak, Camel Up, Ready Set Bet, Downforce, and Long Shot The Dice Game on the starting lin...
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  The Great Board Game Cull 09.09.2026 1h 21m

  Your board game shelf can either fuel game night or quietly smother it. We sit down to talk about the messy, satisfying work of board game culling: how we decide what stays, what gets sold, and what gets donated when our collections start feeling heavier than our actual playtime. We start with a bright spot: Wingspan Pocket, a streamlined card version that delivers the engine-building fun in a quick 25 to 30 minutes. From there, we get into the real-world logistics of offloading games, inclu...
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  Grab Bag: Testing The 8 Kinds Of Fun Against Board Games 02.09.2026 1h 8m

  A single game store run turns into the most relatable tabletop gaming story possible: we drive out for one small box, get hit by the shopping bug, and walk out with expensive choices we absolutely did not need. Then we put one of them on the table and it completely redeems itself. We break down why Ready Set Bet High Roller Edition feels like the “real” version of the experience, how the oversized production changes readability and table energy, and why betting games keep winning crowds even ...
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  Our Current Top 10 Board Games 27.08.2026 1h 17m

  We celebrate two years of Operation Game Night by ranking our current top 10 board games and owning the messy reality behind how those lists actually get made. We also debrief what hit the table this week, then zoom out on why table time, audience, and life constraints shape our tastes more than hype ever will. • remembering impossible face-down tiles in Wilmot’s Warehouse by building a shared story • using Wavelength to spark sharp clues and even sharper table talk at a birthday ...
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  2 Years of Operation Game Night: Our Favorite Episodes & What We're Playing Now 19.08.2026 1h 31m

  Two years, 130+ episodes, and more games than we can count — and we're celebrating with a full roundtable. Amanda Lee (emptynestboardmama) and Mike (TheMeepleThatLoses) join us to look back at the episodes that defined Operation Game Night's first two years and dig into everything hitting our tables right now. We run through a stacked "what we've been playing" segment: Pyradice (Amanda's dice-and-quarry pyramid builder), Six-Sided Seas and Tug of Roar from Inside Up Games, Kanō (the gorgeous...
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  Peter C. Hayward & Baba Is You Board Game Design 12.08.2026 1h 34m

  We trade stories about the small games that save a night, from bluffing chaos at a wrestling convention to real-time trading frenzies that only work with the right group. Peter C. Hayward joins us to get honest about what makes a design worth releasing, how Baba Is You becomes a competitive board game, and why he built a board game career as a long-term plan to move to LA and write scripts. • Cockroach Poker as a near-perfect late-night bluffing game for non-gamers • Picking the r...
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  Clearing The Shelf Of Opportunity (ft. Games Y Mas & Peter C. Hayward) 05.08.2026 1h 7m

  You know that moment when you look at your shelf and realize you’re collecting faster than you’re playing? We start there with Vic from the Games Y Mas podcast, breaking down the “pile of shame” pact that forces real table time and sparks honest mini-reviews of what’s been worth it and what hasn’t. From cozy roll-and-write vibes in Tend to the frustration of vague rulebooks, we talk about what makes a board game night land for different kinds of players. Then a happy accident changes the who...
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  GameHead Games Wave 2 Sneak Peek 29.07.2026 1h 29m

  We catch up with Paul Solomon from GameHead Games, trade notes on recent plays, then dig deep into what Wave 1 taught him about selling small box board games that actually last. We break down the biggest hooks in GameHead Wave 2, from time-travel trick taking to semi-co-op scoring, plus Gen Con plans and a few spicy prototypes. • Paul’s family play of Ribbidi Flibbity as a Candyland alternative • Clayton’s thoughts on The Four Doors as a compact Matt Leacock co-op • Travis’s rundown of Gruntz...
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  The Definitive Trick-Taking Game Ranking 22.07.2026 1h 15m

  Trick-taking games are everywhere right now, but not all of them earn a permanent spot on the shelf. We put Clay’s full taste on the record with a ranked list of 35 trick-taking games, from “still happy to play” to the titles that absolutely nail what we love about the genre: clean decisions, readable hands, and one great twist that changes everything without adding a rulebook’s worth of exceptions. Along the way, we warm up with recent plays that hit very different corners of tabletop gamin...
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  OGN's Game of the Year Watch 15.07.2026 1h 7m

  A lot of games feel fun for one night and then vanish into the shelf. We wanted to figure out the opposite: the board games that keep tugging at your brain weeks later, the ones you actually want to play again instead of just admiring the box. We start by debriefing what we played recently, including Harvest and why its planting and harvesting rhythm feels so satisfying even when you get absolutely thwomped. Clayton breaks down quick hitters like Excalibur, Pick A Pepper, Tag Team, and Mind ...
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  Travis is Back and Clay Has Opinions About 38 Games | June Deployment Report 08.07.2026 1h 9m

  They're back. Travis survived the move. Clay survived a month without his leader. The long form format is officially back by popular demand — and to celebrate, Clay drops a full military-tier deployment report on 38 games across 69 plays in June. Plus: Travis debriefs on Lairs and Deep Regrets (Lovecraftian push-your-luck fishing game — yes it's as good as it sounds), a shoutout to Jared playing Root and Skull King somewhere overseas, Clay's new job with the National Wrestling Coaches Associa...
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  Bärenpark In 30 Minutes 29.06.2026 20m

  New Zealand has no wild bears, which is exactly why we end up talking about building the best bear zoo we can. Clay and Sam dig into Baron Park, the Phil Walker-Harding tile-laying board game that turns Tetris-style polyomino pieces into a fast, satisfying puzzle you can teach to almost anyone. If you love games that reward smart placement without burying you in rules, this one keeps delivering that “one more turn” feeling. We walk through how the game actually flows: place a tile, cover an ...
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  Convince me Catan is a Good Game 24.06.2026 27m

  Catan has a weird superpower: it’s one of the most loved gateway board games and one of the most mocked “I’m too serious for this” targets. We lean into that tension and ask the honest question: is Settlers of Catan actually good, or are we just remembering 1995 with rose-colored glasses? Clay brings the frustration many hobby gamers feel, like three-hour runtimes, dead turns, and trading that drags. Sam joins us bright and early from New Zealand to make the case that the problem usually isn’...
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  A 40th Birthday Becomes A 20-Game Challenge 22.06.2026 18m

  We trade the usual birthday expectations for a weeklong board game celebration as Mike turns 40 and brings a list of 20 games he wants on the table. We break down what makes the list work, which titles he’s most hyped to play, and why having a partner who truly loves the hobby changes everything. •building a 20-game birthday week list that’s realistic to play •who’s joining the sessions and how the week is structured •early plays and quick hits like Druids of Edora and Dunu...
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  Speakeasy 17.06.2026 21m

  A five-hour learning game sounds like a warning label, but Speakeasy has the rare kind of weight that makes us lean in instead of bounce. I’m Clay, and I’m joined by Mike from Meeple That Loses on Instagram to talk through Vital Lacerda’s Speakeasy board game and why it’s hitting so hard for fans of heavy eurogames, worker placement, and deep “efficiency puzzle” planning. We dig into what makes the theme actually work: Prohibition-era Manhattan, building distilleries, running rum across the ...