Shows / Pick Up and Deliver
Pick Up and Deliver
A brief podcast about hobby board games, recorded by English professor Brendan Riley on brief 15 minute walks around town. Join us for a stroll as we discuss mechanisms, gameplay, theory, and topics of the day.
Find show notes at RattleboxGames.com
Episodes
Pick Up and Deliver030: Top of the Stack, April 2018
Brendan shares his system for managing and tracking his gameplays, and introduces a new monthly segment, Top of the Stack. (Nod to Podcast of Nonsensical…
Pick Up and Deliver029: Games that burn your brain
Brendan shares his thoughts about what makes a game "burn your brain" and which games like that are his favorite ones.
Pick Up and Deliver028: Moral Ambiguity in Games
Brendan discusses the Annie Jacobsen book, Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America. He reflects on how…
Pick Up and Deliver027: Conference Gaming Roundup
Brendan discusses his gaming experiences at an academic conference last week. Not a deep episode, but a nice chat with a pal while out on a walk. Also…
Pick Up and Deliver026: Five Bad Gaming Experiences
In this episode, Brendan tells stories of five times his game experiences went wrong. A little bit of humor and a little bit of reflection help him recall…
Pick Up and Deliver025: Antoine Bauza
Brendan discusses another designer he enjoys who holds a prominent place in his collection. Today, it's Antoine Bauza.
Pick Up and Deliver024: Games for an Academic Conference
Brendan is preparing for an academic conference and thinking about what games he’ll bring to game night. What games would you bring for a group of academics…
Pick Up and Deliver023: Shootin' from the hip - REX: Final Days of an Empire
Brendan tries a new format we’re calling “Shootin’ from the Hip” in which he discusses a game in depth after having only played it one time. This episode’s…
Pick Up and Deliver022: Deductive and Inductive Reasoning
Brendan discusses the different kinds of reasoning games demand of us, and spends a bit of time thinking about the concept of deductive and inductive reasoning.
Pick Up and Deliver021: Martin Wallace
Brendan continues his "Top Designers in My Collection" series, exploring Martin Wallace.
Pick Up and Deliver020: Introducing the Hobby
Brendan has volunteered to serve as a guide for some newbies coming into the hobby. He reflects on the upcoming task.
Pick Up and Deliver019: Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle
Brendan offers some insights from this weekend of playing the deck-building game Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle.
Pick Up and Deliver018: A Bird in the Hand...
In this episode, Brendan explores the notion of value as we hold it in regards to games we own, houses we own, and in-game items we own.
Pick Up and Deliver017: Things I Like
Springing from a conversation on Board Game Geek about how to get your partner to play more games, Brendan talks about gaming with your partner, whether they…
Pick Up and Deliver016: On Collecting
Brendan discusses the nature of collecting board games, why one might enjoy assembling a collection, and what it's like to be a collector... or rather, a…
Pick Up and Deliver015: Deck Construction
Brendan talks about games where you build a deck before you play -- deck "construction."
Pick Up and Deliver014: Surprise!
Brendan talks about the delight (or agony) of being surprised when a game isn't what you expected it would be.
Pick Up and Deliver013: Shelf of Opportunity
In this episode, Brendan talks about his Shelf of Opportunity -- those games he owns but hasn't played yet -- and considers how a game ends up on that shelf…
Pick Up and Deliver012: On Kickstarter
Brendan discusses the basic economics of board game kickstarter projects and the two kinds of approaches most of these games fall into, as well as some…
Pick Up and Deliver011: Learning Games
In this episode, Brendan talks about the vagaries of teaching and learning board games. How do you like to learn games?
Pick Up and Deliver010: Vlaada Chvátil
Brendan discusses what Vlaada Chvátil games he owns and enjoys, and why he likes them.
Pick Up and Deliver009: On Swimming
After a long weekend helping to officiate a swim meet, Brendan ponders how the vagaries of a swim meet has parallels to board games. Join us!
Pick Up and Deliver008: Roll to Resolve
In this episode, Brendan talks about the role of dice in games he enjoys, and how his attitudes toward those games have changed.
Pick Up and Deliver007: On Being a Carebear
In this episode, "On Being a Carebear," Brendan explores the nuance and emotions of being a carebear player.
Pick Up and Deliver006: Deluge!
On this episode, Brendan discusses the recent snowfall in Chicagoland and games that make you deal with a deluge of problems or resources.
Pick Up and Deliver005: Permanent Decisions
Brendan discusses the way that permanent decisions in games like Pandemic: Legacy affect the narrative experience of gameplay. Games discussed: Gloomhaven…
Pick Up and Deliver004: Play Broadly or Deeply
In this episode, Brendan ponders the two kinds of gamers, people who play lots of different games (broadly) and people who play one game lots (deeply). Which…
Pick Up and Deliver003: Board Game Piracy
Brendan discusses some of the nuances and history of copyright and intellectual property and how that connects to the recent fracas about boardgame piracy.
Pick Up and Deliver002: Not Quite Enough
Brendan discusses the awesome feeling (in a board game) of not having quite enough resources to do what you want to do.
Pick Up and Deliver001: Ameritrash vs. Euro
Brendan shares his thoughts about the definitions of these two terms, and explains why they are somewhat outdated terms.