A couple weeks ago, Crystal decided to recap her first ever play of Twilight Imperium live on Twitch! This is the podcast version (you can see the video version here).

Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal discuss some games they've played recently, including Dungeon Petz, The Downfall of Pompeii, and Majesty: For the Realm. We then talk about 2017 in board gaming, have our 2017 Blitzies, and tell you our top 10 games of 2017 in this double length episode!

In lieu of a normal podcast episode this week, Crystal and Ambie had a live stream where Crystal talked about her first ever play of Twilight Imperium!

by Ambie Valdés

For the first time in forever, Toby and I went to Gen Con! This year was the 50th anniversary, and all the badges were sold out, so there were a lot of people there. We definitely did not go in expecting to play many games, but we still managed to play a few games throughout the convention! We also don't usually buy many new games, so we were mostly there just to experience everything as a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The convention was overwhelming. Before this, the biggest board game convention I went to was 3,000 people, so it was a huge jump to go to the 60,000 people at Gen Con! Also, most of the conventions I'd been to were more focused on open gaming and didn't have many vendors, but half the convention center was dedicated to exhibitors. We walked through the Exhibitor Hall multiple times each day, and every time we'd see booths we hadn't seen before. I'm pretty sure we still didn't see everything there.

Ambie went to Gen Con for the first time ever and made a vlog about her time there!

Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal discuss some games they've played recently, including 1859, Rocky Road a la Mode, and T.I.M.E Stories: Lumen Fidei. We then talk about Gen Con and GenCant, including what we're excited about and some predictions we have. In this week's "Board Game Etymology" segment, Crystal discusses the origins of the word "hype."

Ambie and Crystal both went to Dice Tower Con this year and recorded their first ever vlog! It's in two parts. Part 1 is Tuesday through Thursday, and Part 2 is Friday through Sunday!

by Ambie Valdés

I just got back from my 4th Dice Tower Con ever! It was my first time as a Dice Tower contributor, but I was still able to play a bunch of games, as well as meet a lot of people and go to different events. I had a lot of fun!

Over the course of the 5 days (really 4 and a half, since we left after lunch on Sunday), I had 65 plays of 46 different games, 32 of which were new to me! Granted, a couple of those were demos or incomplete games, but I still got to get the feel of them. I also participated in my first megagame ever, Future Tense!

We were in line early for registration, a little before 9 am on Wednesday (Registration opened at 10). There were already quite a few people in line, but there were so many more that showed up afterwards. The hotel had free breakfast and coffee for us, which was pretty awesome. Also, the Dice Tower crew were giving out promos, and there was a table full of promos. I got a couple BattleCON promos, which is pretty exciting. Usually I don't own the games they have promos for, so I'm happy that these ones will get some use!

Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal talk about all the games they played at MeepleCon! We also announce our contest winners.

by Ambie Valdés

I went to MeepleCon in Las Vegas for the first time this year, and got to meet Cassadi and Crystal in person! This was the first time all three of us were even in the same state together, so it was a big deal for us. I had an awesome time playing games with Cassadi and Crystal and eating good food.

Since the MeepleCon library was only open from 10am to midnight each day, we took it easy and actualy slept a reasonable amount of time! I had 31 plays of 24 different games, 12 of which were new to me. We also played some craps at night, since we were in Vegas!

When we flew in Thursday night, Crystal and Cassadi were at the airport waiting for us! We got to visit Meepleville board game cafe to take a picture with the world's largest meeple. After giving away Blitzy the meepillow at Blitz Con, I had decided to make some more meepillows for the occassion.