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 DeliverDive; Civilization; The Godfather: Corleone’s Empire; Set (revisited)
Brendan shares his thoughts about three games he tried for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you? Dive (2021) Civilization (1980) The Godfather…
Pick Up and DeliverReading Roundup, Q3
Brendan shares his feedback on some of the books he read in August, September, and October of 2025. Join us, won’t you? The Future Carl’s Doomsday Scenario…
Pick Up and DeliverBonsai; Crystallo; Rise of Augustus; Take 5 (revisited)
Brendan talks about three games he played for the first time recently, and one game he revisited. Join us, won’t you? Bonsai (2023) Crystallo (2018) Rise of…
Pick Up and DeliverReiner Knizia (Great Designers)
Brendan contemplates a series of game duels to compare Reiner Knizia games. Join us, won’t you?Comparative Duels: Ra (1999) vs High Society (1995) Schotten…
Pick Up and DeliverCarnival of Monsters; LotR: The Duel; Splendor Duel; Mystic Vale revisited
Brendan talks about his first impressions of three games he tried recently, and share the experience of revisiting one dusty game. Join us, won’t you? Carnival…
Pick Up and DeliverSept ’25 – Feb ’26 Movie Roundup
Brendan talks about the movies he watched in the last six months that weren’t horror movies or Christmas movies. Join us, won’t you? Mickey 17 (2025) Mickey 7…
Pick Up and DeliverLa Pâtisserie Rococo; Endurance; The Hobbit; Strike (revisited)
Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried recently for the first time. Join us, won’t you? La Pâtisserie Rococo (2026) Rococo (2013)…
Pick Up and DeliverTop of the Stack, March 2026
Brendan shares his experience playing games in February of 2026. Join us, won’t you? February 2026 Top of the Stack New Game – Dive✓ Top 50 game – Brian Boru✓…
Pick Up and DeliverNew to Me Games Roundup, part 3
Brendan finishes stampeding through games he tried in 2025 but hasn’t talked about on the podcast, yet. Join us for this first of three episodes to wrap up the…
Pick Up and DeliverBest Games of 2024
Brendan shares his favorite 2024 games, and some superlatives. Join us, won’t you? Top 5 Games of 2024 Unconscious Mind (2024) Kinfire Delve Resafa (2024)…
Pick Up and DeliverPick Up & Deliver 802: Take Time; Moa; 1902 Méliès; Space Base (revisited)
Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried for the first time recently, and one he dusted off. Join us, won’t you? Take Time (2025) Moa…
Pick Up and DeliverTop of the Stack, Feb 2026
Brendan shares his game plays from January, and talks about his plans for February. Join us, won’t you? Top of the Stack, January 2026 New Game – La Patisserie…
Pick Up and DeliverSeason 8 Finale
Brendan reflects on Season 8 and his plans. Join us, won’t you? More intentional game design Plan more games Struggle of Empires (2004) Twilight Imperium…
Pick Up and DeliverTop of the Stack, January 2026
Brendan talks about his game plays in December of 2025, and his plans for 2026. Join us, won’t you? Top of the Stack, December 2025 NEW GAME – 1902 Méliès…
Pick Up and DeliverNew to Me Games Roundup, part 2
Brendan continues his hellride through games he tried this year but hasn’t talked about on the podcast, yet. Join us for this first of three episodes to wrap…
Pick Up and DeliverNew to Me Games Roundup, part 1
Brendan blasts through games he tried this year but hasn’t talked about on the podcast, yet. Join us for this first of three episodes to wrap up the year…
Pick Up and DeliverFromage; Cities; The Scarlet Pimpernel; Machi Koro revisited
Brendan talks about three games he tried recently for the first time, and one game he dusted off. Join us, won’t you? Fromage (2024) Cities (2024) Machi Koro…
Pick Up and DeliverPick Up & Deliver 795: Spooky Movie Roundup ’25, part 2
Brendan reflects on the second half of the spooky movies he watched during the spooky season of 2025. Join us, won’t you? (See also: Part 1) PG: Psycho Goreman…
Pick Up and DeliverSpooky Movie Roundup '25, part 1
Brendan reflects on half of the spooky movies he watched during the spooky season of 2025. Join us, won’t you? 28 Years Later Pet Sematary Final Destination…
Pick Up and DeliverTop of the Stack, Dec 2025
Brendan shares his stats and experiences from November of 2025 and looks forward to December. Join us, won’t you? Top of the Stack, November 2025 NEW GAME –…
Pick Up and DeliverSaltfjord; Up or Down?; Collapsible D; Mountains of Madness (revisited)
Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried recently. Join us, won’t you? Saltfjord (2024) The Magnificent (2019) Up or Down? (2024) Mountains…
Pick Up and DeliverLook Back at 2005 & 2006
Brendan looks back at the games that came out in 2005 and 2006 to see which games are the best games. Join us, won’t you?Top 5 from 2005-2006 Mission: Red…
Pick Up and DeliverTop of the Stack, Nov 2025
Brendan shares his stats and experiences from October of 2025 and looks forward to November. Join us, won’t you? Top of the Stack, October 2025 NEW GAME –…
Pick Up and DeliverLibra Games (Astrology Files)
Brendan talks about what games Libra gamers might like or be good at. Join us, won’t you? Previous Astrology Files episodes Allure.com’s “12 Zodiac Signs…
Pick Up and DeliverDark Gothic, Whale Riders, Vantage, Love Letter (revisited)
Brendan discusses three games he tried for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you? A Touch of Evil: Dark Gothic (2014) Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game…
Pick Up and DeliverJuly / August 2025 Movie Roundup
Brendan talks about the movies he watched in July and August of 2025. Join us, won’t you?JULY 2025 Trainwreck: Poop Cruise (2025) Perseverance: Castaway…
Pick Up and DeliverFantasy Flight Games Catalog, Summer 2010
Brendan talks a bit about what he finds in the Fantasy Flight Games 2010 Summer Catalog. Join us for this look back at the state of FFG 15 years ago, won’t…
Pick Up and DeliverRiver Valley Glassworks, Endeavor: Deep Sea, A Place for All My Books, Victoriana (revisited)
Brendan chats a bit about three games he tried for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you? River Valley Glassworks (2024) Canvas (2021) Sushi Go! (2013)…
Pick Up and DeliverDice Game Extravaganza
Brendan talks about dice games he likes and why he likes them. Join us, won’t you? “Pure” dice games Perudo (1800) Qwixx (2012) Las Vegas (2012) Yahtzee…
Pick Up and Deliver4 Things I Like About... Spirit Island
Brendan shares his thoughts about the crunchy cooperative game, Spirit Island. Join us, won’t you? Spirit Island (2017) Extremely customizable Mage Knight…
Pick Up and DeliverTop of the Stack, October 2025
Brendan shares his stats and experiences from September of 2025 and looks forward to October. Join us, won’t you? Top of the Stack, September 2025 NEW GAME –…
Pick Up and DeliverFountains; Ready Set Bet; Raas: A Dance of Love; Dice Miner (revisited)
Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried out recently, and one he dusted off. Join us, won’t you? Fountains (2025) The Gardens (2022)…
Pick Up and DeliverReading Roundup, Q2 2025
Brendan shares his reading list from April, May, and June of 2025. Join us, won’t you? The Hand of Oberon The Hearse You Rode In On Deadline (2017) The Strange…
Pick Up and DeliverEmptying the Dust Bin, May / June ’25
Brendan talks for a few minutes at a time about each of the games he dusted off in April and May of 2025 but hadn’t talked about yet.May dusty games A Study in…
Pick Up and DeliverUmbrella; High Rise; Stellarion; Lost Cities (revisited)
Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried recently. Join us, won’t you? Umbrella (2024) High Rise (2020) Lost Cities (1999) (revisited)…
Pick Up and DeliverCelebrating 7
Brendan shares his favorite games that have the number 7 in the title. Join us, won’t you? Flip 7 (2024) Las Vegas (2012) Dead Man’s Draw (2014) The 7th…
Pick Up and DeliverClobberin’ Games
Brendan pontificates on what makes a game a ‘Clobberin’ game. When will it likely be fun to win or lose at a game? Join us, won’t you? The Great Zimbabwe…
Pick Up and DeliverMonstrDRAWsity; Skip-Bo; Conquest of Pangea; Magic Rabbit (revisited)
Brendan shares his thoughts about three games he tried for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you? MonsDRAWsity (2020) Telestrations (2009) Skip-Bo (1967)…
Pick Up and DeliverTop of the Stack, September 2025
Brendan shares his games played in August 2025 and his plans for September. Join us, won’t you? Top of the Stack, August 2025 NEW GAME – The Mirroring of Mary…
Pick Up and DeliverJune 2025 Movie Round Up
Brendan shares his thoughts about seven movies he watched in June of 2025. Join us, won’t you? Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster (2025) Titan: The OceanGate…
Pick Up and DeliverMy Board Game Class (400 back)
Brendan talks about the games he uses in his board game class. Join us, won’t you? Pick Up & Deliver 366: My Board Game Class Easy to Start Beyond Balderdash…
Pick Up and DeliverUnconscious Mind; Skyway Robbery; Piggy Piggy; Return to Dark Tower (revisited)
Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried recently. Join us, won’t you? Unconscious Mind (2024) Skyway Robbery (2015) Return to Dark Tower…
Pick Up and DeliverThe Great Outdoors (Themestorm)
Brendan recommends some games to go with the theme “the great outdoors.” Join us, won’t you? Themestorms Visiting National Parks and similar venues PARKS…
Pick Up and DeliverGencon 2025 Roundup
Brendan shares his thoughts and delights from Gencon 2025. Join us, won’t you? Gencon Roundups Reign of Dragoness (2022) Marsh Hallow (2025) Raas: A Dance of…
Pick Up and DeliverWondrous Creatures; Kinfire Delve; Animal Upon Animal; Nusfjord (revisited)
Brendan talks about three games he tried recently for the first time, and one he dusted off. Join us, won’t you? Wondrous Creatures (2024) Kinfire Delve…
Pick Up and DeliverColorado Games
Brendan gives a ‘post trip report’ of his games played on his visit to Colorado. Join us, won’t you? Pick Up & Deliver 765: Have Games, Will Travel Didn’t…
Pick Up and DeliverTop of the Stack, August 2025
Brendan shares his plays from July and his plans for August. Join us, won’t you? Top of the Stack, July 2025 NEW GAME – Wondrous Creatures✓ SHELF CLEARER –…
Pick Up and DeliverHave Games, Will Travel, 2
Brendan talks a bit about the games he plans to bring on his trip to Colorado, and why he chose them. Join us, won’t you? Pick Up & Deliver 140: Have Games…
Pick Up and DeliverFeed the Kraken; Fresco; Sir Ocelot’s Cave; Cloud City (revisited)
Brendan shares his thoughts about three games he tried for the first time recently. Join us, won’t you? Feed the Kraken (2022) Secret Hitler (2016) Fresco…
Pick Up and DeliverRevisiting “Games with Tracks” (400 back)
Brendan looks back 400 episodes and sees that he was talking about games with tracks. So he revisits that subject. Pick Up & Deliver 363: Games with Tracks 400…
Pick Up and DeliverUwe Rosenberg (Great Designers)
Brendan shares some thoughts about one of his favorite game designers, Uwe Rosenberg. Join us, won’t you? The Great Designers series Farm games Agricola (2007)…
Pick Up and DeliverArcs; Evidence: Hush Money; Sorcerer City; Nucleum (revisited)
Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he played for the first time recently, and one he revisited. Join us, won’t you? Arcs (2024) Pax Pamir…
Pick Up and DeliverMay 2025 Movie Roundup
Brendan shares his thoughts about the movies he watched in May of 2025, and the games that would be good to play alongside those movies. Micmacs (2009) Stuffed…
Pick Up and DeliverEmptying the Dust Bin, March & April, 2025
Brendan talks about the games he dusted off in March and April of 2025 but didn’t get a chance to talk about again. Join us, won’t you?March dusty games –…
Pick Up and DeliverIn the Year of the Dragon; Parade; Evenfall; Hardback (revisited)
Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried recently. Join us, won’t you? In the Year of the Dragon: 10th Anniversary (2017) Beijing (2026)…
Pick Up and Deliver4 Things I like about Revive
Brendan shares things he likes a lot about Revive, from Aporta games. Distinct player factions 7 Wonders (2010) Shared map with interaction Mosaic: A Story of…
Pick Up and DeliverGreat First Plays!
Springing from a great conversation over on the PU&D Guild forums on Boardgamegeek, Brendan reflects on what makes for a great first play. Join us, won’t you?…
Pick Up and DeliverXenoshyft: Dreadmire; Aeroplanes; Valeria: Card Kingdoms; Concordia Venus (revisited)
Brendan shares his first impressions of three games he tried recently for the first time. Join us, won’t you? XenoShyft: Dreadmire (2017) Aeroplanes: Aviation…
Pick Up and DeliverTop of the Stack, July 2025
Brendan shares a summary of his plays in June and his plans for July. Join us, won’t you? June Top of the Stack TOTAL For the Year so far: 15/18 NEW GAME –…
Pick Up and DeliverCancer gamers (Astrology Files)
Brendan talks about what games Cancer gamers might like or be good at. Join us, won’t you? Sea and Shore Le Havre (2008) A Feast for Odin (2016) Nusfjord…