Podcast
Pick Up and Deliver
Hosted by Rattlebox Games- Network Feed · EN
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
Find show notes at RattleboxGames.com
30episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Teaching About Boardgames, part 1
3d ago00:27:59Tap to summarizeBrendan talks about his approach to teaching his class about Board Games and Community. (Well, he returns to this topic, really.) Join us, won’t you?Previous episodes about my teaching:Pick Up & Deliver 772: My Board Game Class (400 back)Pick Up & Deliver 366: My Board Game ClassGames we play:Monikers (2015)Beyond Balderdash (1993)Point Salad (2019)7 Wonders (2010)Carcassonne (2000)Dominion (2008)Lasers and FeelingsThe Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine (2019)Unlock! SeriesBurn the Fort (2023)Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest (2022)Games we might play:Yut Nori (500)Kalah (1940)Perudo (1800)Mexican Train (1994)Tablut (1700)What games would you use in a course? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.
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Reading Roundup, Q2 2026
1w ago00:24:40Tap to summarizeBrendan shares his thoughts about the books he read in April, May, and June of 2026. Join us, won’t you?ChallengerThe Kingdom of GodsDeath of a Gentle LadyThe Wind Through the KeyholeRapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, EmpathyThe Wizard HuntersSupergirl: Woman of TomorrowSystem CollapsePlatform DecayMr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour BookstoreImpostorThe Hobbit, or There and Back AgainThe Company of OwlsThe Birds That Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American WildernessThe StandWhat did you read in April, May, or June of 2026? Share your reading over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.
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Haunted Mansion; Nestlings; Velonimo; Camel (C)up (revisited)
1w ago00:22:47Tap to summarizeBrendan discusses three games he played for the first time recently, and one he dusted off. Join us, won’t you?Disney: The Haunted Mansion – Call of the Spirits Game (2020)Jaws (2019)Nestlings (2024)The Gardens (2022)Camel Up (2014) (6 years, 4 months, 13 days dusty)Ready Set Bet (2022)Hot Streak (2025)Animal Upon Animal (2005)Velonimo (2020)Fuji Flush (2016)What games have you tried lately? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.
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Emptying the Dust Bin, Mar-May 2026
2w ago00:27:44Tap to summarizeBrendan talks about the games he got out of the dust in the last couple months but did talk about in the podcast. Join us, won’t you?March 2026Axis & Allies: Guadalcanal (2 years, 5 months, 25 days dusty)Quest for El Dorado (1 year, 9 months, 11 days dusty)Hues and Cues (1 year, 1 month, 19 days dusty)Point Salad (1 year, 6 months, 19 days dusty)Woodcraft (2 years, 7 months, 16 days dusty)Rhino Hero (5 years, 5 months dusty)Can’t Stop (5 years, 8 months, 9 days dusty)April 2026None un-discussedMay 2026Heat: Pedal to the Metal (1 year, 2 months, 22 days dusty)Last Will (1 year, 1 month, 11 days dusty)Forest Shuffle (1 year, 9 months, 6 days dusty)Lost Ruins of Arnak (1 year, 11 days dusty)Lost Cities: The Board Game (1 year, 3 months, 4 days dusty)What games have you revisited lately? Share your plays over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.
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Adaptations
2w ago00:23:33Tap to summarizeBrendan talks about board games that have been adapted from published sources. Join us, won’t you?Previous episodes about this subject:Established Creative WorldsComic Book IPsGame Play by Paul BoothFlip the TableFeels like the textJaws (2019)Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle (2016)Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Board Game (2016)Game components evoke the gameBack to the Future: Back in Time (2020)Shark Island (2017)Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Game (2000)Game that feel like they take place in the text.The Expanse Board Game (2017)The Godfather: Corleone’s Empire (2017)5 best adaptationsLegendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game (2014)Dune (2019)Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game (2008)The Thing: The Boardgame (2022)Star Wars: Rebellion (2016)What adaptations do you like? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.
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Hellton Palace; Groundhog Day; Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper; Village Green (revisited)
3w ago00:22:44Tap to summarizeNo description available
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Top of the Stack, July 2026
3w ago00:18:34Tap to summarizeBrendan shares his gameplay achievements from June 2026, and looks ahead to July. Join us, won’t you?June 2026 Top of the StackNew Game – Struggle of Empires ✓Top 50 game – Glory to Rome ✓I’ve been meaning to play this – Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun XOne More – Bury Me In the Rift ✓Shelf of OpportunityGame StreaksJuly 2026 Top of the StackNew Game – LibertéTop 50 game – Dungeon PetzI’ve been meaning to play this – Fit to PrintOne More – The Fox ExperimentWhat did you play in June? Share your plays over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.
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Vacation Games
4w ago00:27:02Tap to summarizeBrendan shares some tales of his vacation to the Maritime provinces of Canada, shares the games he played there, and talks about what games the events he went to reminded him of.Games we played on the trip:Qwixx (2012)Lost Cities (1999)Cribbage (1630)Gin Rummy (1909)Game StoresBoard Room Game Cafe, HalifaxOrloj: The Prague Astronomical Clock (2025)Winter Rabbit (2025)Exor Games, CharlottetownNestlings (2024)Bird IslandRiverside (2021)Wingspan (2019)Wild: Serengeti (2022)Costa Rica (2016)Redwood (2023)Birdwatcher (2022)CeilidhRock Hard: 1977 (2024)Come Together (2022)On Tour (2019)HikingParks (2019)Trekking the National Parks (2014)Trailblazer: The John Muir Trail (2023)What games do you play on vacation? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in our guild #3269.
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Bogencon ’26 – Dune; Struggle of Empires (BG Espresso special)
Jun 1000:23:11Tap to summarizeBrendan shares his experience at a home-con he attends yearly, Bogencon. Join us, won’t you?The Board Game ShowRegular games for me:The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game (2025)Dice Miner (2021)Strike (2012)The Gang (2024)Games I dusted off:Chicken! (2023)Skull (2011)Glory to Rome (2005)Games I tried for the first timeDune (1984)Struggle of Empires (2004)What games have you tried lately? What are some of your favorite home-con games? Share your thoughts over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.
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Reading Roundup, Q1 2026
Jun 800:18:29Tap to summarizeBrendan shares his thoughts about the books he read in the first three months of 2026. Join us, won’t you?The Death of the Necromancer (Ile-Rien, #2)The Element of Fire (Ile-Rien #1)The Courage of Birds: And the Often Surprising Ways They Survive WinterSeven Surrenders (Terra Ignota, #2)For We Are Many (Bobiverse, #2)All These Worlds (Bobiverse, #3)Barrayar (Vorkosigan Saga, #7)The Warrior’s Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga, #2)The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6)The Mistress of SpicesThe Decagon House MurdersHowling Dark (The Sun Eater, #2)A Conventional Boy: A Laundry Files Novel (The Laundry Files Series)Escape from Yokai Land (Laundry Files, #6.5)What did you read in Q1 of 2026? Share your reads over on boardgamegeek in guild #3269.
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