Operation Game Night

Travis Smith, Jared Erickson, and Clay Gable get together to discuss the latest and greatest in board games in this weekly podcast. What's hot, what's hitting the table, featured discussions about board games and the board gaming culture, and the primary mission objective- to play more board games!

Operation Game Night is a leisure podcast hosted by Travis, Clay, & Jared, with 154 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Travis, Clay, & Jared hosts Operation Game Night, a leisure show with 154 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Operation Game Night

  2 Years of Operation Game Night: Our Favorite Episodes & What We're Playing Now

  Aug 19, 20261h 32m

  Two years, 130+ episodes, and more games than we can count — and we're celebrating with a full roundtable. Amanda Lee (emptynestboardmama) and Mike (TheMeepleThatLoses) join us to look back at the episodes that defined Operation Game Night's first two years and dig into everything hitting our tables right now. We run through a stacked "what we've been playing" segment: Pyradice (Amanda's dice-and-quarry pyramid builder), Six-Sided Seas and Tug of Roar from Inside Up Games, Kanō (the gorgeous paint-pot pattern game Mike says out-Harmonies Harmonies), Night at the Zoo from SETI designer Tomáš Holek, Wingspan Pocket, and the two heavy hitters — Reiner Knizia's Gold Country and the deck-builder Star Trek: Captain's Chair. From there we get nostalgic, counting down the episodes and moments that meant the most over two years of the show — the guests, the debates, the running jokes, and the games that started it all. Thank you to everyone who's listened, watched, argued with our rankings, and shown up for game night these last two years. Here's to what's next. Chapters: 0:00 Two years in — welcome back Amanda & Mike 2:29 The plan: plays, top 5 episodes, celebrating 2 years 2:51 What we've been playing 5:37 Pyradice, Six-Sided Seas & Tug of Roar (Amanda) 8:54 Night at the Zoo, Kanō & Wingspan Pocket (Mike) 18:07 Gold Country — Knizia via Bite Wing (Clay) 25:52 Star Trek: Captain's Chair — the solo deck-builder (Travis) 41:18 Our Top 5 OGN Episodes of All Time Let us know what your favorite episodes have been in the comments! We want to hear from our listeners! Send us a text with recommendations, weigh in on discussions, or just say hi! Mini Goldendoodles for sale Designer Mini GoldenDoodles offers top quality mini golden doodle puppies for sale. 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

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  Operation Game Night

  Peter C. Hayward & Baba Is You Board Game Design

  Aug 12, 20261h 35m

  We trade stories about the small games that save a night, from bluffing chaos at a wrestling convention to real-time trading frenzies that only work with the right group. Peter C. Hayward joins us to get honest about what makes a design worth releasing, how Baba Is You becomes a competitive board game, and why he built a board game career as a long-term plan to move to LA and write scripts. • Cockroach Poker as a near-perfect late-night bluffing game for non-gamers • Picking the right small box game for a new crowd • Triangulation as a low-rules word guessing team game • Stonk Market as a frenetic real-time trading party game • Mr. President as an overwhelming, fascinating solo simulation • Flip Seven With Vengeance and the “right level of mean” • My City vs My Island and why legacy arcs work • Designing around tension instead of theme or mechanics • Why “it functions” is not a good enough reason • Rolling Deep and the goal of making a game people remember • Baba Is You design breakthroughs for a 2-player abstract campaign • Risk aversion in creative industries and why ambition matters • Peter’s visa journey and the shift toward screenwriting • Things and Rings as a Zendo-inspired “vibes” deduction game • Reading habits as a trainable attention skill if you are listening to this podcast, do us a favor and subscribe to us on YouTube. If you're already subscribed, give us a like, leave us a comment, leave us a review go ahead and hit us up on Instagram if you want to do a collab Check out Peter's Blueprints for Life Podcast at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlK7TV83QHJ8vo6pfbgXA-DqiuaOQW-St&si=BZQU0ZAJ9EvzLjSs We want to hear from our listeners! Send us a text with recommendations, weigh in on discussions, or just say hi! 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

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  Operation Game Night

  Clearing The Shelf Of Opportunity (ft. Games Y Mas & Peter C. Hayward)

  Aug 5, 20261h 7m

  You know that moment when you look at your shelf and realize you’re collecting faster than you’re playing? We start there with Vic from the Games Y Mas podcast, breaking down the “pile of shame” pact that forces real table time and sparks honest mini-reviews of what’s been worth it and what hasn’t. From cozy roll-and-write vibes in Tend to the frustration of vague rulebooks, we talk about what makes a board game night land for different kinds of players. Then a happy accident changes the whole vibe: designer Peter C. Hayward drops into the call a week early and jumps right into the deep end. We dig into Coimbra, dice placement, and the bigger question behind so many euro games: do you feel motivated by victory points, or do you want clean win conditions and a satisfying finish line? That thread runs through everything from tiny solo card games like One for Sorrow to big favorites like Quest for El Dorado, Clank, and Lost Ruins of Arnak, including why Arnak feels so “perfectly developed” when the systems are tuned just right. We also go ambitious and weird with GMT’s Mr. President now in a digital Steam version, talk theme park obsession and Universal Studios stories, and close with a movie debrief that turns into a real conversation about what The Odyssey should be about. If you like tabletop gaming, game design talk, and pop culture that connects back to play, you’ll feel right at home. Subscribe, share this with a friend who has a shelf of opportunity, and leave a review with the one game you swear you’ll finally play next. We want to hear from our listeners! Send us a text with recommendations, weigh in on discussions, or just say hi! 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

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  Operation Game Night

  GameHead Games Wave 2 Sneak Peek

  Jul 29, 20261h 29m

  We catch up with Paul Solomon from GameHead Games, trade notes on recent plays, then dig deep into what Wave 1 taught him about selling small box board games that actually last. We break down the biggest hooks in GameHead Wave 2, from time-travel trick taking to semi-co-op scoring, plus Gen Con plans and a few spicy prototypes. • Paul’s family play of Ribbidi Flibbity as a Candyland alternative • Clayton’s thoughts on The Four Doors as a compact Matt Leacock co-op • Travis’s rundown of Gruntz as a fast skirmish with rock paper scissors combat • Components talk including cloth mats and why they can kill usability • GameHead Wave 1 takeaways including the impact of standout art and clear hooks • Trick To The Future overview including fuel rods, time travel, perfect journeys and nil play • Pet Quartet as a Coloretto-inspired game with “exactly one or four” scoring tension • Friendly Fishing’s core twist of scoring your own points plus the player to your left • Size-Wise as a teach-in-seconds party game about reading the room, not trivia • Wild Magic set collection pressure where the weakest color can get wiped • Gen Con promos, pins, and booth details for Gamehead • Pit Stop Rally preview where passing turns into an advantage • Lobby Snacks as a trick-taking game about winning without overspending • Gamehead’s long-term vision including a bigger-box Squirrel Scouts tease • Over the fence updates on movies, books, musicals, and baking a cake Like and subscribe, and we will catch you next week! We want to hear from our listeners! Send us a text with recommendations, weigh in on discussions, or just say hi! 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

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  Operation Game Night

  The Definitive Trick-Taking Game Ranking

  Jul 22, 20261h 16m

  Trick-taking games are everywhere right now, but not all of them earn a permanent spot on the shelf. We put Clay’s full taste on the record with a ranked list of 35 trick-taking games, from “still happy to play” to the titles that absolutely nail what we love about the genre: clean decisions, readable hands, and one great twist that changes everything without adding a rulebook’s worth of exceptions. Along the way, we warm up with recent plays that hit very different corners of tabletop gaming. Clay breaks down Game Makers, a big box board game about making board games, complete with a rotating wheel, resource timing, and contract fulfillment choices that constantly ask “keep this for scoring or spend it for upgrades?” Travis shares thoughts on First Giants and why some modern worker placement and set collection designs can be solid yet still struggle to stand out once you already own a few favorites. We also shout out Pictomania as a drawing party game that actually feels strategic, with speed, deduction, and scoring pressure baked into every round. Then we hit the main event: Clay’s definitive trick-taking ranking, including classics like Hearts and Spades, modern hits like Skull King and Cat In The Box, and why cooperative trick-taking games like The Crew are so satisfying when the whole table becomes your partner. The top spot goes to a story-driven Lord of the Rings co-op trick taker that keeps the mission magic and adds theme and progression for maximum payoff. Subscribe for more board game rankings, trick-taking game recommendations, and honest takes, and if you disagree with our list, share the episode and tell us your top three trick-taking games. We want to hear from our listeners! Send us a text with recommendations, weigh in on discussions, or just say hi! 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

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