
Advertise on podcast: Cult of the Old
Rating
4.6from
This podcast has
36 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
cultoftheoldukExplicit
No
Date created
2023/03/26
Latest episode
2026/10/12
Average duration
66 min.
Release period
42 days
Description
Every episode of Cult of the Old your hosts Iain McAllister, Nate Owens, and Matt Thrower focus on a title from the history of tabletop games. They’ll look at the impact of the game at the time, their own critical impressions, the games ongoing influence on the modern hobby, and whether or not they would still recommend it!
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Check latest episodes from Cult of the Old podcast
Cult of the Old - Codenames
2026/10/12
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
Sometimes this cast paints us into a corner. There are games we would love to cover but we have to wait for the inexorable passage of time for those titles to become just that little bit older to fit into our self imposed limits of a ‘decade or more’. Our game this episode has just passed that venerable mark allowing for us to dive into it, especially given it has just had a bit of a refresh.
Just over 10 years ago our game this episode, burst onto the scene bringing new life to the ‘party game’ genre. A simple seeming puzzle of word connections created by one of the most diverse designers ever, Vlaada Chvatil. See if you can work out what we mean as we make the connections between the past and the future with Codenames.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Galaxy Trucker - Episode Link
Through the Ages - Episode Link
Codenames: Pictures
Codenames: Duet
Taboo
Password - TV Show and game
Captain Sonar
Worldspanner Factions - The Giant Brain
Hardback
Paperback
Apples to Apples
Res Arcana
Arcs
Cards Against Humanity
Just One
Decrypto
So Clover
The Chameleon
Whirly Derby
Mage Knight
Sebaton
Tash Kalar
Space Alert
Alibis
French Toast
Fiction
Dominion - Episode Link
Blood on the Clocktower
Dixit - Episode Link
Other Mentions
Guardian Interview
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/sep/26/vlaada-chvatil-codenames-board-game-market-czech-phone
Tabletop Gaming Magazine Interview
https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/features/the-making-of-codenames-with-designer-vlaada-chvatil/
10000 dollar pyramid
Jackbox party games
Big Potato Games
Czech Games Edition
All Play
Codenames App
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
BlueSky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Join our Discord
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Bohnanza
2026/09/21
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
This Episode
We all begin by just playing games, but then the thought grabs you ‘what if I can do better?” From scribbled notes in a dog eared notebook, to early prototypes with questionable art assets, these initial journeys into design can stop at the kitchen table. For the few that push through, the rewards of seeing your work finally in print can be the end of the story. For fewer still it is the spark of a career.
In 1997 an unassuming box of cards became the megaphone announcement of a new designer on the scene. With odd art depicting anthropomorphised legumes, and cartoon pulses, this trading game spawned numerous expansions and is still widely available until this day. It led to a long career for its designer Uwe Rosenberg. Let’s dig up some opinions and plant our flags in the bean trading game that is Bohnanza.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Catan - Episode Link
Citadels - Episode Link
Civilisation
Freight Train
Mega Civilisation
Pit
Mamma Mia
Scout
Agricola
Patchwork
Cosmic Encounter
Trade on the Tigris
Lords of Vegas
Zoo Vadis
I’m The Boss
Other Mentions
Airecon
Uwe Rosenberg interview
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
BlueSky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Jenga
2026/08/31
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
What are we looking at this cast
It is easy to forget that the board games world does not stop at the borders of board game geek. Since the dawn of the modern era, that arguably started with Catan, there has been an attitude amongst some that games in the mainstream like Monopoly and Cluedo are mere trifles. Games that are not worth considering when we have such highly crafted artisan experiences to nourish us.
But games are old, much older than the modern expression of them. From the egyptian game of Senet to the scratched in the sand boards of Mancala and its many variants, simple but engaging games are woven into the fundamental DNA of the modern expression of tabletop gaming. Today we are covering one of those games, or at least it feels like one of those games. Arriving on the scene via a toy company in the early 80s, this game feels like something much older and elemental. A stacking game defined almost entirely by the imperfections in its production that has sold 95 million copies worldwide. We are going to take a block and put it on top, in Jenga.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Carrom
Crokinole
Tak
Pitchcar
Draughts
Hnefatafal
Latrunucli
Ker Plunk
Pick up sticks
Jacks
Knucklebones
Twister
Junk Art
Rhino Hero
Nekojima
Tetris Tumble
Can’t Stop
King of Tokyo
Men At Work
El Grande
Villa Paletti
Bandu
Riff Raff
Dread
Star Crossed
Icarus
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
BlueSky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Join our Discord
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Lords of Vegas
2026/08/10
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
Let me take you back dear listeners. Way back. A time before gin joints, and speakeasies, when the saloon was king. The west keened a golden siren call to thousands of prospectors some struck it rich, others did not return, and America was forever changed. Although it was California that most flocked to, a little further east, and a century or two later, another place would become synonymous with the idea of striking it rich. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Las Vegas has become a mecca for those looking to make their fortune, but the house always wins. Although it would be interesting to go as far back as the Wild West to look at something like Poker, that is not the aim of my preamble today. Nor is it to look at any of the numerous parlour games become gamblers laments that have taken up residence in the glitzy casinos of Las Vegas. No today we look at a game that asks you to invest in Vegas before it was Vegas. To have the vision to construct strange churches to greed and avarice in the middle of the desert. To truly become Lords of Vegas.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Camden
Chinatown
Waterfall Park
Acquire
Catan - Episode Link
Monopoly - Episode Link
Other Mentions
Mike Selinker accusations
Cheapass Gamestf
Fortress Ameritrash
Iain’s Lords of Vegas Americana Review
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
BlueSky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Innovation
2026/07/20
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
Games can be many things. They can be journeys back in time, a window to nostalgia or a new and exciting arrangement of ideas. They can range in tone from light to dark. Climb in complexity from breezy to fiendishly complicated. They can be laden with components, stacked high with plastic, or they can be, like our next game, a deceptively simple set of cards.
This game is, by most people’s measure, a bit of an ugly mess of graphic design, but that hasn’t stopped it getting a cult following. Like many games we have covered over our first 3 seasons, it stamped its designer's name on the history of the hobby. Join us as we look at a game where every card makes you do a second take. It’s time for Innovation.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Glory to Rome
Mottainai
Uchornia
Impulse
Sidereal Confluence
Innovation Ultimate
Doomtown
7th Sea
Netrunner
Magic the Gathering
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
BlueSky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - The Castles of Burgundy
2026/06/29
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
It’s the fourth season of Cult of the Old and we have a new 10 episode arc for you covering games, big and small, but all interesting.
We begin this season with a game that defined a genre, the point salad. A heady mix of random chance, manipulated fate, and multiple paths to glorious points heaven gave us one of the classics of the 2010s. It may be as dry as the desert, but it carved a path through the next couple of decades with remakes, upgrades, reissues, and spinoffs. Come and sip a glass of fine wine with us as we construct the Castles of Burgundy.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Battlestar Galactica - Episode Link
Nexus Ops
Cosmic Encounter - Episode Link
Puerto Rico - Episode Link
Alien Frontiers
Kingsburg
Lords of Vegas
Catan - Episode Link
Wingspan
In the Year of the Dragon
Notre Dame
Power Grid - Episode Link
Ark Nova
Sanctuary
Agricola - Episode Link
Other Mentions
Fortress Ameritrash
Branson Board Game Cafe
Awaken Realms
BGA version
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
BlueSky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Through the Ages
2025/06/23
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
Dear listeners, it is once again time for us to part ways. As we come to the end of our third season, let us reflect on the games we have covered. From the family friendly Ticket to Ride, to the genre defining titles like El Grande and Dominion, and the brutal chance of Blood Bowl we have covered a wide range of genre, mechanism, and complexity. However, no game this season has the reputation for sheer scale and difficulty of our final title.
Not only did our last title this season establish its designer as a powerful voice, but it took a venerable genre and turned it inside out. The civilisation style of board games is almost as old as the hobby, and our final title took this genre, stripped out a lot of the fundamentals and made a game that took the world by storm. Join us for one last time this season as we go Through the Ages.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Pandemic
Mage Knight
Codenames
Francis Tresham Civilisation
Mega Civilisation
Prophecy
Sid Meier’s Civilisation
New Leaders
Through the Ages App
Can’t Stop - Playte Version
Flip 7
FFG Civilisation
Mare Nostrum
Imperium
Six Sojourns - Eight Minute Empire
Carta Impera Victoria
Civilisation: A New Dawn
Innovation
Ark Nova
Other Mentions
Matt Leacock
Boardgame Arena
Digital Antiquarian
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
BlueSky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Blood Bowl
2025/06/09
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
Nate: Well Iain we are almost at the end of the season
Iain: That’s right Nate and the teams have all to play for
N: Teams?
I: Yes Nate, teams. In no other sport do we get to see the sheer physicality and natural brutality brought out in such a glorious manner
N: This isn’t a sports podcast Iain, it’s a board game podcast
I: Can’t it be both?
N: I guess it could. If we covered a board game from at least 10 years ago that happens to be focused on sport
I: How about a fantasy sport?
N: Tell me more Iain
I: Well Nate, let me tell you about a sport that is not only an allegory for the animosity between many fantasy races but also stands as one of the icons of the British gaming scene.
N: Is it from a famous British Publisher?
I: You took the words right out of my mouth Nate
N: Meat Loaf?
I: No thanks I’ve eaten.
N: Enough of this, let’s get on with the show
I: You’re right Nate, let’s tell these fine folks about Blood Bowl.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Warhammer
Epic 40k
Warhammer 40k
Necromunda
Warhammer Quest
Space Hulk
Monsters of the Midway
Football Strategy Avalon Games
Terror of the Lichemaster (warhammer campaign)
Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game
Mordheim
Gorkamorka
Dune
Blitz Bowl
Dreadball
Blood Bowl: Team Manager
Kaos Ball
Other Mentions
Games Workshop Ltd.
Tabletop Simulator Mod we used
Beastie Boys - License to ill
American History X
The Producers
TSR
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Bluesky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Power Grid
2025/05/26
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
Sometimes you hear about games by reputation. The epic length of Twilight Imperium, the complexity of Vita Lacerda designs, the seemingly simple mechanisms behind the games of Reiner Knizia. These reputations can attract or repel in equal measure, and sometimes they are undeserved. The folklore around some games can be a hindrance to their uptake. However some folk tales are firmly based in reality.
The game we are covering tonight is one of those games that I knew by reputation alone. Dry, excruciating downtime, with very little in the way of redeeming features. Despite that description this is a game that has always been available, an evergreen in more ways than one. Now that I have played the game, what do I think? We will get to that. As to what my fellow hosts think, well they are in the ring and ready to fight over the classic that is Power Grid.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Ticket to Ride - Episode Link
Imperial
Railway Rivals
McMulti
Playboss
Age of Steam
City of Big Shoulders
Chicago Express
Bohnanza
Puerto Rico - Episode Link
Fearsome Floors
Plum Island Horror
Fish, Flip, and Frikadelen
504
Ark Nova
Seti
Thebes
Red November
Patchwork
Ra
Modern Art - Episode Link
Fishing
Other Mentions
Brettspielwelt
The story of Power Grid - https://opinionatedgamers.com/2016/07/11/funkenschlag-at-fifteen-the-story-of-power-grid/
Team Links
Websites you can find the cast on
There Will Be Games
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Bluesky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Memoir 44
2025/05/12
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
A large part of the culture of the tabletop hobby is tied up with games emulating history. From HG Wells’ Little Wars to the early days of Avalon Hill and the modern expressions of the form in GMT Games, wargames are undoubtedly a large part of tabletop gaming’s history and present. We have covered one of the icons of this genre with Twilight Struggle in Season 1, a game that sat atop the BGG rankings for many years.
Our next game this season has never had such an accolade, but has still been a massive presence over the years. Taking the more complicated wargames that were available at the time and distilling them into a fast card driven experience, it crossed the aisle into more mainstream hobby gaming. Soon it was on gamers shelves everywhere and spawned numerous, and we do mean numerous, expansions, campaign books and more. Pull up a chair and reminisce with us as we look back at Memoir 44.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Twilight Struggle
Ticket to Ride
Battlecry
Commands & Colours Ancients
Commands & Colours Napoleonic
Commands & Colours series
We the People
Combat Commander
Heroscape
Star Wars Queen’s Gambit
Battlelore
Netrunner
Samurai Battles
Other Mentions
Vassal
Richard Borg Interview
Team Links
Websites you can find the cast on
There Will Be Games
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Bluesky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - El Grande
2025/04/28
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
Over the last two and half seasons of Cult of the Old we have covered some absolute classics. From the brutal farming of Agricola that kicked off our very first season to Catan that began our second we have looked at games venerable and revered, and some that are just past their prime Some of those games still hold their place in the hobby, but many have been surpassed as designers take the original ideas and improve on them ten fold.
This is not the case for the game we are covering tonight.
Hitting the scene in 1995, the same year as Catan, our next title quickly became a watch word for area control. Though many games have followed in this Grand Dames footsteps, none have managed the combination of simple mechanisms, devilish decisions, and twists of fate that this title nailed. Pick up your caballeros and send them into the depths of the Castillo as we explore El Grande.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Catan - Episode Link
Civilisation
Risk
Go
6 Nimmt
Heimlich & Co
Torres
Tikal
Heroquest
Villa paletti
San Marco
Mission Red Planet
Race for the Galaxy
Dominion - Episode Link
Arcs
Root
Chaos in the Old World
Kemet
Wallenstein
Shogun
Other Mentions
Rio Grande Games
Z-Man Games
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Bluesky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Scrabble
2025/04/14
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
The three of us on this cast are purveyors of words. We use them to communicate our thoughts on games in the written or audio form. In doing so we hope to convey the emotions, feeling, and mechanisms behind games we love and loathe.
Words have a long history of association with games. From Victorian parlour games to modern expressions of the form in games like Codenames and Paperback Adventures. Of course here on Cult of the Old we are not interested in the modern expressions so much as the origins of word games.
We aren’t going to go back as far as the Victorians this episode. We are instead going to go back to the early 20th century. Then a game that was originally called Criss-Cross words was brought to a wider audience. It is then when it took on its modern name which you will already be familiar with. Scrabble.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Codenames
Paperback Adventures
Kriegspiel
Monopoly - Episode Link
Tigris & Euphrates - Episode Link
Anagrams
Go
So Clover
Upwords
Boggle
Acquire
Letter Jam
Other Mentions
Words with Friends
Rosemary’s Baby
Sneakers
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Bluesky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Dixit
2025/03/31
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
Games come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. As consumers and critics of the form we try and categorise, quantify, and contemplate the flaws and virtues of these forms. We have tackled many games over the first two seasons of Cult of The Old from the heavier economic stylings of Brass, the negotiation heavy stylings of Cosmic Encounter, and the gentle , if grim, farming of Agricola. One category we haven’t touched on so far is that of the party game.
These games tend to take a large number of players and lie at the lighter end of the mechanical spectrum. Although not the originator of this style of game, the title we are covering today is arguably one of the most influential. Coming in a blockbuster year of titles it was the lightest of that crop to make a mark, and it didn’t really take off properly until a couple of years later. A game that allows the players to express themselves through art, interpretation and surreal imagery. Welcome to the dream world of Dixit.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Stella on BGA
Apples to Apples
Cards Against Humanity
Balderdash
Charades
Monopoly - Episode Link
Telestrations
Time’s Up
Fictionary
Mysterium
Dixit Journey
Dixit Odyssey
Once Upon A Time
Old Hellfire Club
Scrawl
Medium
The Chameleon
Spyfall
Pictionary
Codenames
So Clover
Decrypto
Concept
Other Mentions
Dixit online - Tixid
Blankety Blank
Catchphrase
Call my Bluff
Team Links
Websites you can find the cast on
There Will Be Games
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Twitter
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Dominion
2025/03/17
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
Many of the games we have covered over 3 seasons have an important place in the hobby landscape. From Catan at the birth of the modern board game renaissance, to the success of Monopoly, and the influence of Agricola we have covered many big titles.
The game we are covering this episode has one of the farthest reaching impacts of anything we have covered so far. Coming out in 2008 this box of cards took the hobby world by storm, spawning numerous expansions and countless imitators. The mechanism it spawned is still everywhere in the hobby, and continues to be innovated upon. Let’s get shuffling and dealing as we dive into the phenomenon that was, and is, Dominion.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mentions during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Magic: The gathering
St. Petersburg
Netrunner - Episode Link
Pandemic - Episode Link
Ascension
Star Realms
Arctic Scavengers
Thunderstone
Tanto Cuore
Shards of Infinity
Race for the Galaxy
Star Wars Unlimited
Arkham Horror LCG
Puzzle Strike
Undaunted Series
Dune: Imperium
Automobiles
Tyrants of the Underdark
Gloomhaven
Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Clank
Battlestar Galactica
Cosmic Encounter
Dixit
Star Wars: Deckbuilding Game
Millennium Blades
Ruthless
Quacks of Quedlinburg
Other Mentions
Diana Jones Award
Gathering of Friends
Fortress Ameritrash
Team Links
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Bluesky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Cult of the Old - Tigris & Euphrates
2025/03/03
Welcome to the latest episode of Cult of the Old!
Each episode your hosts Iain McAllister, Matt Thrower, and Nate Owens are going to turn back the clock to look at games that are at least 10 years old. They’ll give their own critical impressions, tell you about the history of the game and its impact, and what relevance these games still have in the modern hobby landscape.
Amongst the thousands of games that are released each year into the tabletop hobby, it can be hard to stand out as a designer. Your name rings out less than the games you make, making it hard to carve a space for yourself, let alone a career. For the designer of our next game, this has not been a problem. Dr Reiner Knizia was designing games before the hobby as we think of it today existed and is regarded as one of the best of all time.
How do you know what games are his best though? Which game shows off that particular Knizia magic? When did he come to the attention of the wider community? Well the game we are covering on this episode is considered by some to be his masterpiece. A game that sat at the top of the BGG rankings for several years, has been reprinted numerous times, and is the perfect example of some of Knizia’s most famous design tropes. Let’s dip into the refreshing water of Tigris & Euphrates.
Show Links
Below are links to the games and anything else that the team mention during the course of the cast. We will be linking to BGG for games, designers, artists, and publishers as that is a good place to start for raw information about the game in question.
Games Mentioned
Catan - Episode Link
El Grande
Risk
Axis & Allies
Diplomacy
Civilization
Acquire
Go
Modern Art - Episode Link
Ra
Taj Mahal
Lord of the Rings
Lost Cities
Samurai
Amun-Re
Through the Desert
Revenge of the B-Movie
Yellow & Yangtze
Race for the Galaxy
Puerto Rico - Episode Link
Dune
Gest of Robin Hood
Hex
Carcassonne
Babylonia
Quest for El Dorado
Blue moon
Other Mentions
Deutscher Spiele Preis
Tigris & Euphrates video part 1 - other parts can be found from there
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRCub6Xxng0
Team Links
Websites you can find the cast on
Iain
The Giant Brain
Bluesky
Matt
Bluesky
Nate
Bluesky
Instagram
Support us on Patreon
Email us at [email protected]
Podcast reviews
Read Cult of the Old podcast reviews
PeterWC1989 2026/06/29
Fantastic, one of the best
A magnificent board game podcast. The hosts are intelligent, erudite, thoughtful, charming, and fun. Wish we got an episode every week, but it’s alway...
PretzelJim 2025/09/02
The podcast I didn’t know I needed.
This podcast is SO good. It is my favorite board game podcast, I can’t wait to see what games they cover next season!
jfjfjfjfjtjfjvjjfkskskfkf 2023/04/13
Boardgaming’s Sage Voices
It’s still early, but the first two episodes promise a wealth of information on boardgaming’s heavy hitters, games that changed the direction of the h...
Cappster_ 2023/04/13
Entertaining History of Board Games
Cult of the Old is the most informative board gaming podcast out there. They take deep dives and explore the history of some of the most popular games...
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