Put Your Board Games On A Diet

Heavy board games are awesome. They’re also the easiest games to love in theory and never actually play. So we try something different: we put our biggest boxes and brain-burners on a diet and draft lighter replacement games that still scratch the same itch. We even keep score using the BoardGameGeek weight scale, because nothing says “game night” like competitive math. We start with a quick debrief on what’s been hitting the table lately, from tiny dexterity games like Grabble and Dro Polter to family-friendly card play with Collect and the addictive legacy pacing of My Island. Then we take a detour into Lovecraft with Miskatonic Tales: Journey to Innsmouth, breaking down what works in a choose-your-own-adventure campaign board game and what gets in the way, like heavy reading, awkward audio, and errata friction. Then the main event: our Biggest Loser board game edition. We pair heavyweight favorites with lighter alternatives, including Agricola to Harvest, Eldritch Horror to Tiny Epic Cthulhu, Root to Unmatched, Mage Knight to Dragons of Etchstone, Arc Nova to Wingspan, and Gloomhaven to Tales from the Red Dragon Inn. If you’ve been craving the feel of deep strategy without the all-night commitment, these swaps are built for your shelf and your schedule. Subscribe for more raw, unedited board game talk, share this with your group chat, and leave a review to help more gamers find us. What heavyweight game would you replace first, and what’s your go-to lighter substitute? Send us Fan Mail Support the show As always, come interact with us online, let us know if you have any feedback, and leave us a review/comment anywhere you get your favorite podcasts! https://www.instagram.com/operation_game_night_podcast/ Show your support for the OGN Crew by contributing to the OGN War Chest: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2396881/support