At first, the podcast appears relatively novel. There are few programs within the board gaming hobby which offer substantive analysis. Mike and Mark display thoughtful critiques throughout multiple episodes. The problem isn’t that they — mostly Mark — get reflexively sidetracked by political commentary. The problem is: their commentary is politically juvenile. They — mostly Mark — possess the kind of boiler plate, deconstructionist talking points you would expect from a first-year political science major. It’s tired and unimaginative. It’s cookie cutter rhetoric we have all heard a thousand times across every possible topic. It’s genuflecting shows of virtue that are amplified across Board Game Geek ad naseum. Yet, we are assured that these “conversations” aren’t happening often enough. In their effort to carve out a “social commentary” niche, they wind up making the show passé and redundant. It’s unnecessary. It’s bland. And — to top it off — it’s incorrect. False anthropology does not equal “cultural respect”. A sad case study in wasted potential.

Honest reviews, good timestamps, eclectic tastes. This isn’t focused only on heavy or light ganes, they give airspace to everything from crunchy euros to breezy dexterity games. If advocating for cultural respect and representation in gaming is too “woke” for you, take a nap. Yes, it’s a little pretentious at times but so am I, so I give it 4 instead of 5 stars.

These guys provide the kind of board game analysis I want. They bring up specific features about games that they like or dislike and explain how those features impact the play experience. The reviews are very insightful and intelligent. Marks extremely cringe politics really spoil it.

Mark is one of the most thoughtful critics of boardgames and the hobby as a whole. His understanding of boardgames and mechanics, matched with his ability to put them into words, is top notch. Is he overly pedantic? Sometimes. But most of the time he is just the right amount of pedantic. And then Walker is the balm that soothes my ears afterwards. Without him the show wouldn’t work. Probably the best reviewers out there and are not afraid to share their opinions about bad games. In a hobby with 1000s of new games coming out each year, most are going to be bad and these two will let you know about them.

Don’t know what’s up with the 1-2 star reviews, these people clearly lack good taste. The hosts have great dynamics between them, they’re both incredibly articulate, intelligent and insightful- which is a rarity in board gaming media, I noticed. They show itself is both entertaining and informative. Keep going guys, you’re doing great. Thank you for your work.

If you enjoy listening to someone pleasure themselves to the sound of their own voice, then this is just the podcast for you. Between the not funny monkey-jokes, random Norse mythology opinions, pretentious pronunciations of names and places, simple-minded summaries of game theme and mechanics, or just he self aggrandizing back-patting, it’s all you can do you muddle through to the end of an episode. There are quite literally 100s of better ways to get your gaming info. Dropping a full KS of Kingdom Death Monster onto your face comes to mind. At least the concussion could lead to forgetting having listened.

Pretentious woke cretins that bag on everything. I couldn’t find 2 more unlikeable dudes if I tried. Only 1 star because I couldn’t give it 0.

If you don’t like board games (or you just like hearing people complain about games for an hour) this is the podcast for you!

Decent podcast. They are entertaining. They recently added obnoxious ads to the show. They are not relevant to the content and the sound levels are offensive. Had to unfollow them. Its a shame.

There’s lots of online sources of boardgame commentary and critique; I find SVWAG has the highest concentration of useful commentary. It’s focused on games

Humorous, rarely pretentious, thoughtful games criticism. Good production values. Keep up the great work! I don’t mind the progressive commentary on the political aspect of games.

SVWAG has really grown on me. They are easily the most thoughtful & articulate boardgame commentators, describing the different characteristics a game can have and what they personally like/don’t like about those characteristics. They discuss theme & mechanisms, but the main focus is on how the game feels to play and why it feels that way.

I have been looking for a good board game podcast for awhile. This one was recommended to me by a friend. After a few episodes I am not quite sure how I feel about SVWAG. On one hand I really appreciate their knowledge and experience about the hobby. Their analysis about good mechanics (or lack there of) is very insightful. It doesn’t hurt that their tastes usually align with mine. I’ve seen several negative reviews complaining about their progressive politics which doesn’t bother me. My main gripe is the tone of one of the hosts. I thought Mark had a bad day on the latest episode and went back to other episodes and found the same bombastic, acidic attitude. At best, he sounds like the guy at your FLGS who makes fun of the games you like - at worst he sounds like a condescending talk-radio host screaming into the abyss while Mike tries to calm him down. There are a few glimmers of self-aware sarcasm where I suspect Mark is in on the joke but most of the time he just comes off as the “sweaty try-hard” that he constantly bemoans. Like I said, I agree with most of his points. He just doesn’t sound like he is having any fun.

If you are interested in hearing left wing political demagoguery intertwined into an excellent podcast about board games, then this the podcast for you. When on topic these gentlemen provide an excellent and engaging podcast. However, I listen to board game podcasts to get away from political partisanship and I will sadly no longer listen to an otherwise excellent podcast.

It’s an ok show. My board gaming tastes couldn’t be farther away from these guys, but I’m glad they share what they love. Still searching for some more diverse voices though so it’s adieu gents.

I’m getting fatigued by board game podcast with hosts who can’t stop making woke comments about games. Also, I have very little in common with these two, so their opinions on games isn’t valuable to me. Moving on.

I can describe the amount of content and quality of that content in one word, a word that I cannot use for other podcasts as they don’t have the legal qualifications to deserve it, nor the extensive vocabulary and craftsmanship to justify this word in full. This podcast, my friends, can only be described as…Deluxified. Oh hey there’s a rapid knocking at the door, excuse me.

Don't waste your time here. There are far better board game podcasts. Every episode be prepared to hear anti-white nonsense, the words “problematic, cultural appropriation, colonization, privileged” etc.. etc. Walker’s not as bad but Mark is a train wreck of misplaced white male guilt and insecurity.

If during the pandemic, you’ve missed the local guy at your FLGS who makes fun of the games you like, look no further. Mark projects an extreme “too cool for school” vibe, likes to bash games he’s never played, especially if they’ve gotten a lot of praise from around the board game community.

I’ve listened for a couple of years and can’t say it was time we’ll spent. The duo seems more concerned with hearing their own voices rather than provide much value to listeners. Their opinions are too often so narrow and without much consideration for the needs of more common gamers.

Never has a podcast so correctly titled itself. While the banter is sometimes passably entertaining, almost every opinion expressed is incredibly, laughably terrible.

I listen to this boardgame podcast as well as The Dice Tower and the Secret Cabal. Ive tried a few others, but SVWAG is my favorite. I often don’t share their opinions on the enjoyment of particular games, but I love the way they review them.

This week…if you don’t think the art in nu-Descent looks “heroic” youre a racist. Luckily, youre a white man Mark, so I can give you the bad rating you deserve and you cant say its because youre an oppressed minority. At the very least, even if you wont stop for us, stop dragging down your partner. Good job on waking people up enough to give you 1s. I hope they continue.

As a non-white immigrant, I wish you would stop talking about politics and focused on games.

These guys are obviously passionate about the hobby but Mark reminds me of the kid in school who would memorize words from the thesaurus to later awkwardly wedge them into conversations to try and sound more intelligent, mispronunciation and all. It is wonderful, however, to not hear every game gushed over and I appreciate most of the honest, albeit often long winded, critiques of poor designs.

I listen to a few boardgaming pods. Board Game Barrage, Game Brain, Board Game Snobs...they’re all really good but nothing beats Mark and Walker. I don’t always agree with their views but I’m always entertained with hearing them break down if a game is for them or not.

Matt and Mork really know their stuff.

Michael and Mark are what I would consider the most reliable source of board game news and review put there right now. You can tell they really try to not misinform and be as objective as possible in their reviews. This is important, especially, because board games are not cheap! And when you have a reviewer who gives their subjective opinion (or worse yet, their monetarily incentivized opinions) it can lead to me getting a game out on the table, playing it, and realizing, this is not the game I was expecting. So, I personally really value SVWAG being objective and presenting the good with the bad Bc it really helps inform my decisions when purchasing and such.

I listen to this podcast every week. I appreciate the differences and similarities between the two hosts, and the respectful and thoughtful insights they bring with their own opinions, as well as those of their co-host. They often disagree about the games they talk about, and always find common ground. The ‘News, and why it doesn’t/sometimes matters’ section, especially in the last year, can include opinions on individual designers or companies that are not living up to - in the hosts minds - the fair and inclusive hobby and greater society they are hoping for. They noted early on that, as individuals with their own podcast and a large audience of listeners, not speaking about these issues would be tacitly condoning what they believe to be racist or sexist behavior, and I applaud the fact that they bring up these issues and share their opinions. These are obviously matters of import to the hosts, and I see it as their attempt to improve and make more inclusive the hobby they love so much. And they’re generally 3 minutes or less, so short rants, if they could even be described as such.

One host can’t contain his desire to make societal commentary and it’s wearisome. Every week he blathers on about either his aversion to any art that depicts a woman with a bust-line larger than a b-cup, an overly enthusiastic review of anything with a female designer or any other topic regarding the current inquisitional zeitgeist. The other fellow while likely a lovely chap that I would happily sit down and play a game with is just not gifted verbally and is painful to listen to. If you want to hear about flicking games, the proper pronunciation of anything French or the word “fantastic” uttered ad nauseam then this is your podcast. And then I unsubscribed. He’s unbelievably pompous.

Mark Bigney needs to seriously stop with all the virtue signalling. It is insulting to the LARGE majority of people who do not need that correction at all, much less EVERY show AND the people that you act like you champion...as if they are so weak that they can't make it in life without you dispensing justice. It's pretty bad when you make Rahdo look tame. It's a real shame because I enjoy the show otherwise and Mike is great. EDIT: Unsubscribed. When he said with a straight face about *pirate* stereotypes and how women were deplicted in this stereotype; I could retreive my eyes after the roll. What a shame as I had so much respect for his opinion on games and to see him in this kind of state now...it is just really sad.

Edit 2/19/21: This is my favorite board game podcast. Walker and Bigney are well prepared, knowledgeable and honest. They work very well together as cohosts and seem to genuinely get along. The show moves along quickly and they make frequent reference to the mechanical predecessors and development history of the games they discuss. Bigney does not shy away from controversies and important issues within the industry. His opinions on these topics are reliably well thought out and helpful. Many, many BG podcasts/ YT channels seem to avoid naming names and leveling due criticism towards games/ KS projects they haven’t enjoyed. The impact is that analog games as an experiential art form suffer from a lack of critical analysis and an abundance of cheerleaders (some paid, some volunteer). Unlike other podcasts, Walker and Bigney don’t feel the need to appease the sensitive in our hobby with preambles about how they respect all game designers and/or fans of a game. It’s an assumed that they’re delivering their honest thoughts about a game based on years and years of experience in the hobby. I cannot recommend this podcast enough to people who are into the hobby. Only recommendation: Try to paint a little bit better visual picture of the board game. Giving a sense of the relative spatiality of a game through audio will always be very hard, so this might just be a function of the medium. Prior review: Mark and Walker are insightful, honest and very well versed in the history of board games. This podcast does not cater to the “feel good” audience of board gamers who can’t handle harsh critique or a strong opinion. Snowflakes criticizing this podcast because conversation occasionally brushes up against politics or personal tastes with respect to social issues need to stop watching Fox News. Those angry about Mark’s vocabulary are the kind that struggle with their, they’re and there. Really, really great work, guys. Thank you so much for producing such high quality content. Current favorite board game podcasts in order: So Very Wrong About Games Board Gamers Anonymous Game Brain Board Game Barrage Shut Up and Sit Down No Pun Included Design: Ludology Board Game Design Lab The Game Design Round Table Nerdlab The Ascent of Board Games

Been a faithful listener for almost 2 years. Usually enjoy their talk, analysis, and banter on board games (I say usually because I still don’t get this whole cosmic frog thing). But they are clearly enthusiastic fans of the cancel culture, and that’s not what I’m looking for. Ironically that means I’m canceling Michael and Mark. I do wish them well.

Equal parts goofy, insightful

...for better or worse. Pros: They compile quality content. They talk about games in a way that feels increasingly rare, that is to say, winning them! I enjoyed at first but have increasingly wearied of it to the point of burnout because... Cons: sometimes the dynamic between them is all too familiar if you’ve spent time at the local game shop and some of the usual suspects that turn up there. Mark in particular, reminding me of a Philosophy BA that works at a GameStop and can use $10 words to describe why Dark Souls II is *actually* the fun one of the series. tl;dr - good content. They seem nice enough. Too much pretense and self-seriousness.

The podcast features great gaming insights and entertainment. It also features Mark Bigny holding forth in unnecessarily erudite descriptions of straightforward concepts to show off his vocabulary, complaining about the same three social issues every episode, and pretending to listen to his likeable co-host Walker, when Mark is really just waiting for his turn to speak. Lately, the latter features have begun to outstrip the former.

I’ll keep this short. I was drawn to the podcast by the description saying this was simply about board games and nothing more. No fluff. Less than 2 minutes into my first ever episode, I already realized this was a mistake. Political reprimanding of art was on the agenda. I’m out.

Not very good at all.

Smart, insightful, funny, great podcast

There is some okay content here. I like their news segment, however, I honestly found one of the hosts to be a bit pretentious and hard to like. I have listened to at least 15 episodes before giving up, as there are some shining parts in this show, just not enough for me to stick around.

I love listening to the lightning round-style reviews of the games they play every week and the deep dive into featured games and mechanics. The analysis that the hosts provide on why a game doesn’t stand out among the chaff or where it can improve is helpful and informative. However, I feel like one of the two hosts overshadows the other in terms of the amount of talking. There are also healthy amounts of digressions about “problematic” themes and artwork that really detract from the gaming discussion. The occasional rant is fine, but it comes up once or twice an episode. If the things I find negative about this podcast aren’t negatives for you, it will easily be a 5/5. The quality is high and the information is dense. Despite my issues, I listen almost every week.

It’s great to have deep analysis of some games alongside a quick summary of gaming news, aways with the legwork and context so you know the pedigree of upcoming games and the like. From Cthulhu Wars to the Phil Eklund Dilemma to Tapestry, they always seem to be covering the things I want to hear about, with a lot of thought given not just to the game dynamics but to the societal context in which they exist.

Smart, entertaining and generally spot-on with boardgame reviewing, but a bit too strong of a Politically Correct-ism theme-related (religion, history) “preaching” element that at least this reviewer does not appreciate, as more than likely not every listener has such strong views about PC in boardgames as the podcast creators.

I really like these guys! They are of course wrong but I do like them a lot. I’m using

Informative and full of thoughts on modern gaming you won’t find elsewhere. Yet too often it’s difficult to get through the sarcasm. One example is a recent episode in which one host ranted about not being impressed by the hundreds of games in someone’s basement game collection immediately followed by his humble brag of the number of games he’s given away that’s part of his “passive collection”. I love the thoughtfulness these guys bring to their podcast but don’t always love the cliquish thinly veiled contempt for anyone listening that might not agree with their assumptions.

I love these guys! I find their brand of humor consistently hilarious, and more importantly they get right to the topic and really dig into it and provide interesting and deep commentary. They freely share and clearly argue their opinons, usually in a hilarious self-deprecating fashion that makes me feel free to disagree. They don't just cover new releases; they are happy to dig into older classics as well, which is refreshing and really enjoyable. I love when they cover a game I actually know or am interested in because it's been around for a while, but haven't had a chance to play.

These guys have quickly rocketed up my list of gaming podcasts and are now pretty much the only show I'll listen to religiously, without fail. Our tastes don't necessarily align. Walker and Bigney play a few too many dudes on a map games whereas my tastes are solidly in the euro realm, but they make the conversation engaging even if its a game I don't much care about, and that's rare. Even if I see the focus of the show is on a game I am not interested in, the topic they will hit soon thereafter certainly will be. The show is irreverant and funny, but do not mistake that for two guys who care more about banter than content. These guys take this seriously and it shows in the production quality and professionalism. Highly recommended.

These guys put on a really fun show that is full of Insightful opinions and game discussion - one of the best out there for boardgames content, I look forward to it every week.

These two do a wonderful job providing insightful, humorous (not in a forceful obnoxious manner), and consistent content surrounding the world of board games. Thanks - appreciate your stuff.

Mark is fantastic at breaking down does and doesn’t work on board games and explaining why. I don’t always agree with his conclusions but he’s always insightful. Always look forward to next week’s episode. Great stuff.