Joined by friend of the show Pip Warr, we delved into a world of monsters, fine wine, and terrifying levels of socioeconomic privilege. Quintin squeezes into the boots of a tired and possibly dangerous Dwarf, Pip is a Druid Dragonthing who doesn’t entirely understand humans, and Matt is just a terrible man who also unfortunately seems to have acquired a gun.

It’s time to rejoin the adventures of Badger Kennington, Mr. Balderk and Sean Dragonborn! Our group’s inevitable descent into “being the bad guys” continues apace.

As our team continues playtesting and preparing for the first of the year’s Big Reviews, here’s a cheeky appetiser! While Quinns was on holiday this month he filmed a couple of lightweight reviews on his favourite travel games, starting with the ever-entertaining Cockroach Poker. (Yes, we published an article about Cockroach Poker before, but in 2018 our written articles reach a fraction of the audience that our video reviews do. In other words, if a game’s absolutely awesome then us writing about it is basically the worst thing that could happen to it, so going forward you can expect us to occasionally re-visit a classic game in video format.) (And no, you’re not wrong, Quinns mentions Galaxy Trucker in this video but forgot to film that bit of the script. His waterlogged English brain was probably struggling with all that sunshine.)

In this episode our team of a tory, a crank and a lizard descend into their very first dungeon, the very engine room of D&D. What monsters will they fight? What puzzles will they overcome? And what treasure will they find? It’s easy to poke fun at D&D. It’s a lot harder to argue with the thrill of beating up a boss and taking his gold. Get ’em, Badger!

Surprise, it’s a re-review of Hive! Fortunately the last review barely talked about the game and wasn’t filmed in a totally ancient ruin. In more ways than one, it’s wonderful to think how far we’ve come.

This rather different D&D module is based around the hugely successful comic Rat Queens and was authored by its creator, the ineffable Kurtis Wiebe, so who better to ask to run this remarkable roleplaying event than the man himself? Yes, that’s right, Kurtis took the helm while Pip, Cynthia, Quinns and Matt went wild with his characters. Don’t worry, no canon interpretations were harmed during the making of this video. Our huge thanks again to Kurtis for flying in to make this happen, for doing a Q&A after and for being such a terrific convention guest. This is also a personal point of pride for me, as I assembled and organised most of this session, and it was a pleasure to bring some live roleplaying to SHUX.

Think you’ve seen it all? THINK AGAIN. Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant might have a silly name, but this hybrid sci-fi/negotiation/economic game is no joke. Whether you’re playing space-wasps, space-squids or space-school teachers, it’s going to demand every ounce of intelligence you can muster. Have you got what it takes? There’s actually a good chance you don’t.

Paul has been on the road of late and, since it’s never a bad idea to travel fast and light, he’s made sure to pack a few smaller games. Among them is the book-sized marvel that is Fugitive, but can a game so small stand out in a world of big boxes and flashy components? Can it compete with its big brothers? Here’s our definitive opinion.

As if it were needed, Jacob Jaskov’s Fog of Love is definitive proof that board games can be sexy, and it’s finally in shops the world over. But there’s more to this box than just sex! For example, there’s sometimes a troubling absence of sex. Sometimes there’s heartbreak. And sometimes, just sometimes, there’s true love.

This week, bookworm Paul wiggles his way into Ex Libris, the library-building game of hardbacks and homunculi, of novels and necromancy. What sort of collection will he build, what strange and wonderful assistants will employ and is he really as well-read as he claims to be?

Anyone who’s been following our RPG reviews will know that there’s a lot more to these games than D&D, and today we’re showing off an absolute belter: The World Wide Wrestling RPG. Contained in this one hour video is a one hour Wrestling TV special, and only one of our contestants can come out on top.

Are you ready for what might well be the silliest and most manic game of the year? This week, Matt and Quinns try out the ridiculous Magic Maze and then immediately lose themselves in the expansion, Maximum Security, which has a worryingly serious name for something that looks so bright and barmy.

Who remembers Quinns’ anciente video reviewe of 1812: The Invasion of Canada? Well, today we’ve got a redux for you! It’s our review of the latest game in that series, 878 Vikings, as well as the Viking Age expansion.

Who’s ready to make a sale? Bargain Quest is a game about running a shop in a fantasy world, and figuring out the best way to empty the pockets of doomed heroes. Though if they actually manage to slay the dragon? Well, that’s just free marketing.

If you were looking for one game to rule them all, War of the Ring might be it. This magical game has more than 200 plastic miniatures, 40 pages of rules and a depth that most board games could only dream of. But what will Matt and Quinns make of it? For one thing, this wouldn’t be the first time that Lord of the Rings was accused of being too long.

Who wants to play a game about manufacturing forks! Anybody? No? What if we were to tell you that Arkwright turns the manufacturing of bread, forks and lamps into a bruising war. What if we were to say that this game puts the very machinery of the industrial revolution in your hands, and allows you to grind your friends in its very cogs.

Please don your protective safety goggles! It’s time for some board game mad science. In a decision that some critics are calling “A fine move,” today SU&SD acts with unprecedented boldness to review three games in one video: 2017’s Century: Spice Road, 2018’s Century: Eastern Wonders and Century: From Sand to Sea, the game you can play if you own both previous games. Has designer Emerson Matsuuchi pulled it off? Will the boys be anticipating the third game in the series that releases next year? And what does all of this have to do with the Spice Girls?

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT! Container, the legendary contest of international shipping, has finally been reprinted. Inside this box are seven-inch resin container ships, it features a new module titled “The investment bank”, and we’ve finally discovered that this game is an utter car crash. What’s that you say? None of those sound like “good things”!? Pah, our viewers are philistines.

You know what’s rad? Radiation. You know what’s also rad? Adventures! Fallout: The Board Game has both, which might make it the best game ever made. If only there was some way to be sure… Wait, of course! We can use the ancient art of “the review”.

This week Paul and Quinns are excited to examine Lowlands, a svelte and confident sheep farming game in the style of venerable designer Uwe Rosenberg, BUT WITH A TWIST. At the end of the game your herds might wash away in a dreadful storm.

Did you think SU&SD only scoured new releases for the very best games? Oh goodness no. This week Paul examines Champions of Midgard, a 2015 game of running around a town, assembling a posse of dice and launching them at the biggest monster who's currently available. But wait! There's more! Paul's also spent some time with the Dark Mountain and Valhalla expansions. He's been high, and he's been low. And we'll tell you what else- he's had a very good time.

Are you a sharp enough architect to assemble three streets, speckle them with swimming pools, dab them with parkland and negotiate with real estate agents and contractors? You’re probably not, no. But you’ll have a great time trying.

Fill your camelbak with wine and dust of your helmet, we’re GOING FOR A RIDE! Please enjoy Paul, Matt and Quinns racing one another in Flamme Rouge, with a few features from the Peloton expansion.

A long time ago in a forest far, far away… This week we’re proud to present our review of Root, which is surely the board game industry’s new beau. A grand, inventive game of cat and mouse, as well fox and bird, and – should you buy the Riverfolk expansion – beaver and lizard. As Quinns says in the review, everybody involved in this production needs to take a bow.

Oh no! Someone (Matt) has been leaving body parts all around London town, and it’s up to “the police” (Quinns and Paul) to BUST HIS CHOPS. We did a video review of Letters from Whitechapel, but the superior sequel, Whitehall Mystery, only got a written review. Since it’s our favourite hidden movement game, we leapt at the chance to show it off on our new Twitch channel. And what fun we had!

More than two years ago Quinns reviewed the classic game of Brass, but ultimately came away disappointed (and wet, and riding high on sugar). Today, it’s time for round 2! Introducing Brass: Birmingham, a collaboration between Roxley Games and original designer Martin Wallace, this is the sequel to Brass. Will this industrial revolution bring progress, or once again grind our reviewers’ gears?

This was one of our favourite shows from SHUX 2018. Quinns ran a game of the Star Trek Adventures RPG, something we’ve wanted to do ever since our review. “These are the adventures of the Star Ship Canada. It’s continuing mission: For crew-members Paul, Matt and Pip not to embarrass the Federation.” Is the resulting story the worst Star Trek episode ever made? You be the judge.

t’s no secret that Memoir ’44 is one of our favourite games. 5 years ago we even made a video showcasing its amazing 4 vs 4 Operation Overlord expansion. Well, this week we tried 1 vs 100, as Quinns took on the wobbly hivemind of Twitch chat! Huge thanks to everyone who took part, and for Efka of No Pun Included for acting as Twitch’s supreme commander.

The Champion of the Wild is the most fun we’ve had all month. How will an ibex fare versus a shed? How far can a beetle travel down a slip-n-slide? Literally nobody knows, but it’s up to your friends to guess, and your fate is in their hands.

In yesterday’s Twitch stream, masculinity was stretched to its very limits. Bandanas? Check. Beer? Check. Punching a warehouse full of bad dudes right in the mouth? Check.

Remember Roland Wright from our review of Welcome To? Well, he’s only done it again. Railroad Ink should be arriving in shops any week now, and that’s cause for celebration. This game of rails, roads and mounting desperation makes its competitors look like amateur hour. The only questions remaining are (a) should you buy the Red or Blue edition, and (b) when can we expect an expansion?

This time last year, Matt published his review of the enormous, decadent game of Gloomhaven. But since (a) it remains a superb game, (b) Quinns hadn’t played it, and (c) it was the only way Matt could make progress in his campaign, this week we decided to break it out on our Twitch channel.

What are the very best card and board games to play with coworkers and family this holiday? Games that are actually FUN – that you could bring to a party as a great gift for cheap, or tuck in the stocking for Christmas Eve? it’s time to mildly panic as you realise that family will soon descend upon you like a flock of seagulls to a discarded ice-cream. Rather than trying to explain your job to relatives to the point that you might have a mental breakdown, we’d recommend playing board games instead. These are the 15 best big-family games: all play with at least 6 people, and most can handle 8. In no particular order, let’s go!

The choice of which game of play on our Twitch channel this week was a no-brainer. Which is to say, we knew we’d have no brains remaining after flying back from PAX Unplugged, so we chose a game that could be enjoyed by eight-year-olds. Men at Work is the next beautiful box coming out of Pretzel Games, makers of Flick ‘Em Up and Junk Art, and we love the heck out of it. And like those previous games, it functions as a lovely object, as well as a silly challenge, and – if you so choose – an arena where actual tactics can be deployed.

It seems this pair can’t quite agree on Keyforge. Is it fun, or not-fun? Is the business model good or bad? Is the universe a joke or a failure?