Meeple Nation Board Game Podcast · Meeple Nation

MN Episode 568: Games with Modular Boards.

·50 min·5 clips

Nathan has played Dead Cells 10 times despite a 12-page FAQ and glaring misprints.

The shelf question carries this one. Meeple Nation wraps its modular board discussion by talking through games the panel does not own, then sliding into owned but unplayed Mage Knight, with the usual table memories, rules talk, and gentle buying math. Andy is back, which gives the opening a loose feel as they talk missed episodes, being sick, and Doug not being there. The list never feels like homework. It turns into a conversation about which games might go in a cart, which are better borrowed, and which ones would probably just join the shelf of shame. Nemesis is the story that sticks. One play took longer to set up and put away than it took to play, because the group died in about 15 minutes. The table clearly enjoys that. It gets even funnier beside another Nemesis memory, when SaltCon prep ran until roughly 3 a.m. They needed an early morning, but everyone was still working through a game meant to help Logan teach a playthrough at SaltCon. The takeaway stays practical. Nemesis is fun, but it can run long, and with Doug and Logan already owning it, another copy feels unnecessary. Then Mage Knight comes in. One speaker owns the original and several expansions, while Douglas owns the Ultimate Edition, still in shrink; the original copy is also still unplayed. That pretty much tells the story. He still wants to get it to the table during a push to play new games, while another speaker has played it, liked it, and thought it worked best at two players. The shelf of shame joke fits because the whole segment sounds like friends sorting through weight, access, ambition, and guilt in real time. The modular board theme keeps the episode from wandering too far. These games have boards that help sell the fantasy, but ownership still comes down to setup, real chances to play, and whether someone nearby already has the box.

As heard by us

A candid shelf check on modular-board games the hosts still have not brought home.

Meeple Nation closes its modular-board discussion by circling back to the games the hosts still have not bought, and why they keep staying on the shelf.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want the honest why-bother-or-buy-it take on modular-board games.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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