You know me. I love to give credit where credit is due. While reading the book, Who’s in the Game? by Terri Tolles Patkin, I came across an interesting variant to Operation; Operation: Brain Surgery. I immediately had to look into this. Operation debuted in 1968. It hasn’t really changed in the past 30+ years, other than the “funatomy” parts. No new gameplay was offered until 2002 with the debut of Brain Surgery. Since then, it has had a few other variants on the brand: Pet Scan, Botched Operation, & most recently Junior.

Anyway, I went on Board Game Geek and looked into this weird sounding Operation Brain Surgery, and you should, too. It is Cavity Sam’s head, just his head. You are a brain surgeon trying to find head themed funatomy parts like Train of Thought, Bright Idea, Cat’s Got Your Tongue, etc. And to find them, well, you put your hand into his head. Dig around using only feel in search of the correct new funatomy parts. I am sure this is 100% medically accurate.

So, gather your fellow medical buffs, and let’s dig into Sam’s head in Operation Brain Surgery.

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In 2010, Hasbro released five games in this U-Build series. I was only familiar with the Monopoly version, so I was excited to try U-Build Mouse Trap, a variant of the 1963 staple.

U-Build Mouse Trap arrived, procured from eBay, and the kids and I sat down that evening to play it. I had done very little research into it because I wanted to go into it with no expectations. We opened the box to discover it was filled with a lot of building blocks similar to, but not, Lego. We sat around the table, and set to work building the game and playing it. Let’s see how it went.

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A few weeks ago, I had professor and author Marco Arnaudo on the show. We talked about his amazing book, Tabletop Revolution. One of the many games I bought because this book was A Universal Truth. It was in the card games section. Marco talked about how cards have evolved from their rudimentary beginnings as just a suit and a number to multi-use, multi-functional components. He mentioned A Universal Truth: The Strategic Game of Courtship, designed by Patrick Einheber, self-published by Danger Toad Games via The Game Crafter.

What drew me to this game truly was Marco talking about how Patrick used every inch, every side, every bit of the card to move the game forward.

As happened many times while I was reading Tabletop Revolution, I put my copy down, picked up my phone, and immediately did some digging into A Universal Truth. I reached out to the designer, who graciously mailed me a copy. When it arrived, Edward and I carefully tore into it.

In A Universal Truth, you and your coworkers are trying to woo your loved one. To do this, you must meet or exceed all of their requirements: affection, social amity, accomplishments, and of course money. That is just the basic version of the game. I will explain more later in the episode. So, put on your ascot and monocle, gather your coworkers, and see who can court their love first in A Universal Truth.

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Just a routine reading of Board Game Geek put me onto the release of today’s focus game, King of Tokyo: Duel. There was a banner ad on the homepage. From there, a quick click over to my local game shop webpage allowed me to preorder the game. I did not need any more information. It was King of Tokyo. It was designed by Richard Garfield. It was two-player.

Upon further inspection, it appeared to be a tug of war style game. It had the established characters. Well, my copy arrived. I went to get it. Edward and I sat down to play it.

King of Tokyo Duel sets you and your opponent in a mano a mano battle over Tokyo. As with the original game, there are multiple ways to win: knock the other monster out, get both the star and building markers into your spotlight zone, or one of the markers reaches the last space on your side of the board.

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My family loves this game. My sister has not yet played it because it's a little over her skill level. But my mom, dad and I love this game. We have played this game dozens of times. When it comes to the expansion (which I will talk about later), we have only played it a few times.

In Chili Mafia, you are a mob boss building gangs of various chili peppers. You can either build a gang of different peppers, or one of similar peppers. Both have their benefits. The game ends when the cards run out. The gang worth the most points wins!

So, gather your gang, and let's get into the review for “Chili Mafia”

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In this episode, I’m joined by Brian Reynolds, one of the founders of The Bridge Teachers. We dive into his secret weapon for Two Truths and a Lie, the art of playing Monopoly by the rules, and the challenge of teaching Bridge to a 6-year-old, and that’s just the beginning.

Brian also shares an online comic recommendation and a book that’s now on my list to read. Plus, his wife makes a few surprise appearances, she could hear us through the wall and couldn’t resist chiming in to keep him honest.

All this and more. Thanks for listening!

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In a past episode, our guest Camilla Zamboni mentioned The Tabletop Revolution, a fascinating book by fellow professor Marco Arnaudo. In it, Prof. Arnaudo explores the dramatic evolution of board games—how mechanics have transformed from simple numbered cards to dynamic, multi-functional game elements. We dive into this revolution, celebrating classics like Acquire—a game so essential that Prof. Arnaudo calls it "foundational." (And honestly, he's right—everyone should play it!) Plus, we squeeze in a fun Planes, Trains, and Automobiles shoutout along the way. He also talks about donating some games to the Lilly Library. To find out how many, keep listening.

Get the book HERE!

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Last year at Geekway to the West, the local gaming convention here in St. Louis that you have heard me talk about a lot, fellow game designer and past guest on this show, Phill Wamser and I sat down and played this one evening after a long day in the booth. We were surprised by the feel of the cards, but other than that, we played two or three games back to back without really realizing it. As soon as we realized it, we decided we like this elegant game design!

In Sea Salt & Pepper, you are trying to collect duos of animals or boats, collections of sea creatures, and mermaids to score seven or more points as fast as you can to catch your opponents off guard. Push too long and your opponents might score more than you, or steal a card ruining your hand. All of this is beautifully illustrated with origami creations that bring this aquatic world to life!

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