417Gamer Podcast Episode 42: The One with MoonCityCon '25

·58 min·3 clips

Rio Grande Games sent a shopping cart full of boxes for Moon City Con.

1. Hobby Gaming Network’s 417 Gamer Podcast episode 42 centers on Moon City Con 2025 and four recent games: Tower Up, Rebirth, Tiny Laser Heist, and Butterfly Garden. 2. Rick and Andrea host the episode, and they name Rio Grande Games, MetaGames, Village Meeple, and several volunteers because those groups shaped the convention and the game picks. 3. The episode asks whether Moon City Con 2025 succeeded, and the answer is framed through setup, events, vendors, donations, and the seven favorite moments they choose at the end. 4. Tower Up from Monolith Games and designed by Frank Critton is described as a construction game with black, white, brown, and gray floors that stack into skyscrapers. 5. Rick explains that Tower Up uses cards for resources and vehicle symbols, and those symbols move bulldozers, cranes, steamrollers, and dump trucks up player boards. 6. He also details the building rules: place a floor adjacent to another building, match colors down the tower, and roof one building with your player color. 7. The Tower Up segment adds the five-borough goals, four building colors, and park scoring, all of which feed endgame money totals. 8. Rebirth by Reiner Knizia and Mighty Board is introduced through the Scotland map, with cathedrals, castles, farms, and city spaces on a hex grid. 9. Andrea describes how leaf and lightning tiles score for themselves and adjacent spaces, while houses score when cities complete. 10. They also explain that cathedrals stay as endgame cards, castles can be stolen, and city majorities decide point values. 11. Tiny Laser Heist is presented as a dexterity game with a cube room, rubber-band lasers, jewel pedestals, and stacked locks. 12. Rick says the beginner setup uses five lasers, and he describes the rule that lasers cannot touch each other. 13. The heist system includes a mastermind, three lock colors, player hand cards, and loot cards tied to how many locks protect each gem. 14. Andrea adds that take-that cards can force odd conditions like using one eye or the off hand, which changes the difficulty mid-round. 15. Butterfly Garden from Capstone Games and Reiner Knizia is described as a hex-tile game where butterflies move toward flower beds. 16. Rick says the butterflies follow paths on hexagonal tiles with three weaving routes, and he and Andrea note that the two-player version felt less compelling than a fuller table. 17. Moon City Con 2025 setup is described as the smoothest they have managed, with recurring volunteers, a good banner placement, and strong help from Hilton Garden Inn staff. 18. The convention hall also featured repeated praise for the tables and chairs, busy Saturday attendance, and the fact that people were still gaming near midnight. 19. Listeners who enjoy board-game convention logistics, lighter-to-medium Eurogames, and convention-runner stories will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners who want a tight single-game review or dislike long convention recaps may skip it.

As heard by us

A warm Moon City Con 2025 recap, anchored by four recent game impressions and lively table talk.

The episode centers on Moon City Con 2025 and starts with four recent plays: Tower Up, Rebirth, Tiny Laser Heist, and Butterfly Gardens. That setup gives Rick and Andrea space to compare notes on each game before they move into the convention recap they helped run.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a Moon City Con 2025 recap with four recent games in the mix.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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