Boardgames To Go 257 - Summer Season 2026

Opener: Thief's Market

Closer: 3D printing and game aids/enhancements

During the summer I always get in plenty of gaming…but not always with my normal game group. Often I'm away on vacation, or at a game convention. Or they are. Regardless, it means I get together with those local friends a little less often, and I miss it. Of course I enjoy going on my own vacations, but it'll also be nice when things get back to normal. This shouldn't shock anyone…I'm very much a "back to normal" kind of guy. This episode is normal in the sense that it's just me, talking about stuff that interests me…possibly more than it interests others!

Between last time & this the Spiel des Jahres and other prizes were announced: Jinxo, Rebirth, and Mookie Island. All great games. This year I watched the awards ceremony live on YouTube, which was "simulcast" in AI-translated English voiceover. At least I think that's how that worked. BGG was the host for the English broadcast, and I think there were other options, e.g. in Portuguese. Very cool.

Also, as much as I feel I already know about the SdJ organization and its awards, I still learned a lot from listening to the audio versions of Oliver Kinne's outstanding game journalism on the subject. These are short and easy to take in. Highly recommended for anyone who is avid about our hobby. I think it's required reading/listening for anyone who has a podcast or blog or video show about boardgaming.


https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/06/09/spiel-des-jahres-th...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYYEXheFKkA
Similarly useful were Ben Maddox's outstanding interviews of the nominated designers. He did this on his excellent 5 Games for Doomsday podcast, which is also available on YouTube (the way of podcasts, these days… sigh). If you listen to one, listen to the Donald X Vaccarino interview. If you listen to two, add the Reiner Knizia one. But go ahead and listen to all of them. Really worthwhile. Kudos to these other game journalists, Ben & Oliver!

After that I talk about what makes "a Mark Johnson game," because I sometimes hear that folks are surprised I play any long, complicated games at all. I do, and I also play new games. This goes to explain some of why I do, and which ones I enjoy.



-Mark