Tasty Minstrel Games (tmg) Podcast

Kevin Burkhardsmeier, or Burky as he is better known, is a modern day Jack of All Trades. A mason, a master chef, a playwright, an entrepreneur...the list goes on. He has found success in the board game world with his fantastic creation, the Game Topper, which is making people happy all around the world.  I am fortunate he joined me for this episode, and even more fortunate to call him my friend.

Dan King has been reviewing games for a long time now, and I am lucky enough to call him my friend. He is excited about attending Gen Con once again and he couldn't wait to tell me about the games he expects to grab at the show.

Peter Shirey is a great friend of mine, and he might be the one guy who has seen the movie Jaws more than me. He quit his job with UPS after working for them for over two decades to pursue a career in the boardgame industry. He now works for CMON (Cool Mini or Not) and has published two games of his own. He has a unique look at the industry, and he was kind enough to sit down and talk with me about it.

I get Anthony on (once again) to talk about 5 things that I think are interesting and "hot" about the board game hobby right now!

Michael and I share a love for boardgames and wrestling, and this will be our second podcast where we talk about both. Our plan is to offer our predictions on the PPV's as they occur, and also talk about the games we are playing and the new ones coming down the pipe.

Barry Doublet is a bit of a "jack of all trades" when it comes to the boardgame world. He was kind enough to battle our different time zones to chat with me about his life as a gamer and how the gaming hobby might be a little different in his home country of France.

Zach Glasar is the COO of Frog God Games and has several author credits to his name. He is also a rabid consumer of all things D&D and loves everything about the hobby. He was kind enough to sit down with me once again to discuss the hobby and FGG's new release, The City of Brass!

I talk with Michael Fox, the designer of Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr, a game with a theme unlike anything else I have ever played. Michael is a dear friend and I appreciated him taking the time to talk to me about it. Also, he spent some time talking to me about the (then) upcoming wrestling PPV, Money in the Bank - this is the second half of the episode, so I can understand this not being an interest for some of my listeners, so you can feel free to skip the second half if you like.

Everyone gives the same basic advice - stay hydrated, use hand sanitizer, wear comfortable shoes...this is all well and good. Lance and Anthony have attended about 50 gaming conventions between the two of them, and want to give you the advice that might be a little off the beaten path.

I sit down with the President of TMG and our resident Manager of Logistics, Daniel and Aaron respectively, and we talk about our favorite 5 themes for boardgames.

A little over a year ago I finally took the plunge into the Warhammer miniature battles hobby, and my friend JD was kind enough to help me down the rabbit hole so I was good and hooked. He joined me to talk about the hobby, and how easy it is to get started!

Daniel, our President of Fun and Happiness, went to Tokyo Game Fair and had a blast - but now he is back, and has a lot to share!

The CEO joins me for a good hour as we talk about TMG, the games he doesn't like to play, and the rigors of designing his own game. 

Zach Glazar left a lucrative job in politics to follow his passion of his youth, D&D and RPG's. As the COO of Frog God Games, he spearheads countless projects bring monsters, dungeons, and worlds alive for thousands of players. He was kind enough to spend some of his precious time with me to talk about the world of publishing, and share a few stories of the bygone era of D&D with me.

Lance and Anthony Racano take a little bit of time to review Homesteaders, a TMG launch title from 2009 that is being reprinted for the companies 10th anniversary.

Michael sits in with me to talk about his successes, his blunders, and how the industry may have changed after being a boardgame publisher for nearly a decade.

in 2009, Seth Jaffee and Michael Mindes founded Tasty Minstrel Games. Now, almost 10 years later, the beginnings of the anniversary extravaganza can finally be revealed!

Anthony and I offer up some constructive criticism for the boardgame industry and how we would like to see it change in the future!

Daniel and Aaron were given a mission by me. Think of the top 5 boardgames everyone needs to play at least once before they shuffle off the mortal coil. Do you agree with our choices? Do you think you know of a game or two that should have been on our lists? Let us know!

Daniel Hadlock joins me to discuss his martial arts background (how did we get talking about that again?) and discuss our methods to having a successful and fun game night.