by Ambie Valdés

I went to MeepleCon in Las Vegas for the first time this year, and got to meet Cassadi and Crystal in person! This was the first time all three of us were even in the same state together, so it was a big deal for us. I had an awesome time playing games with Cassadi and Crystal and eating good food.

Since the MeepleCon library was only open from 10am to midnight each day, we took it easy and actualy slept a reasonable amount of time! I had 31 plays of 24 different games, 12 of which were new to me. We also played some craps at night, since we were in Vegas!

When we flew in Thursday night, Crystal and Cassadi were at the airport waiting for us! We got to visit Meepleville board game cafe to take a picture with the world's largest meeple. After giving away Blitzy the meepillow at Blitz Con, I had decided to make some more meepillows for the occassion.

by Ambie Valdés

Over President's Day this year, we decided to host our own board game convention in the Bay Area! My friends and I had been discussing starting our own convention for a while, since we had some difficult times at KublaCon with finding table space to play games. We decided to brand it with Board Game Blitz, since we could! This year, we were able to get a small conference room at a Holiday Inn in San Mateo, and we capped registration at 50 people. I had a really great time playing games all weekend and meeting a bunch of new friends!

Over the weekend, I had 33 game plays of 26 unique games. I got to play with over 20 different people, a lot of whom I had never played a game with before!

One of the awesome things about Blitz Con was that I was able to play a game with Crystal for the first time in person! Crystal flew in for the weekend, and we got to hang out for the whole convention!

Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal discuss some games they've played recently, including Rolling Stock, Power Grid: Deluxe, and Lotus. We then talk about some good two-player board games. In this week's "Board Game Etymology" segment, Crystal discusses the origins of the word "alliance."

Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal go off-format in this special episode and discuss their favorite games of 2016, as well as what they're looking forward to in 2017.

Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal discuss some games they've played recently, including 1860, Clank!, and Order of the Gilded Compass. We then have a special guest to talk with us about board games that are great for families. In this week's "Board Game Etymology" segment, Crystal discusses the origins of the word "game."

by Ambie Valdés

This year was my husband (Toby) and my first year at BGG.CON, and it was amazing. I tried out 53 distinct games, 49 of which were new to me (some were really quick dexterity games). I'm obviously not going to go over every game I played (you can see what I played here, but here are some highlights of the convention for me.

One of the best things at BGG.CON is the library. The library is HUGE. A whole conference room is filled with board games on all the walls, a lot of which are brand new games from Essen! There was also a section in the main hall with a lot of the hot games set up so that people could play them. Because BGG.CON is right after Essen, it was great for trying out all those games I've been hearing about the past month.

Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal discuss some games they've played recently, including Chicago & Northwestern, German Rails, Onami, and Legendary Encounters: A Firefly Deckbuilding Game. The "Accessory of the Week" segment is about school supplies that can help with gaming. We then discuss games that have to do with school. In this week's "Board Game Etymology" segment, Crystal discusses the origins of the word "rule." We also announce our contest winner!

by GenCanterpillar

When I was born a couple days ago, I learned that there was a board game convention made just for me! I guess it's more of a can'tvention though. For those of you who don't know, Gen Con is a huge board gaming convention held every year. But there's also GenCant (named after me, of course), which is for all those people and animals who can't attend Gen Con in person.

The first thing I did was get my badge. Apparently I'm a Very Important Guest! I must be, because I'm pictured on the badge!

Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal discuss some games they've played recently, including 18xx games, Seasons, and Awesome Kingdom. The "Accessory of the Week" segment is about accessories that help out with your drinks when you're gaming. We then discuss games that are "hot." In this week's "Board Game Etymology" segment, Crystal discusses the origins of the word "shelfie."