Flip the Table (general)
Most board game shows focus on the latest-and-greatest, or time-tested classics. We have taken it upon ourselves to comb our local charity shops and salvage stores for the other stuff...join us as we review cheesy, weird, and obscure board games for your entertainment.

We demand you stop, collaborate, and listen to this episode of Flip the Table, where we dive into the endless complexity of the Vanilla Ice Electronic Rap Game! Featuring the "Electronic Beat Box Microphone," players cover up pictures of Vanilla Ice using harshly colored rhyming words while jockeying for position on a thin piece of 1990's-era cardboard. Complete a stanza, and not only do you score big points, you get the pleasure of rapping your frankenrhyme for everyone at the table! Does the panel have what it takes to spit hot fire and rap like ninjas, or will we simply fade into obscurity? To the extreme!

Direct download: FlipTheTable062.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:31pm EDT

Once again, we attempt to lift up some rocks while we stand on our heads as we return to the Star Wars universe! In Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game, you and up to 5 other rebels invade a partially constructed Death Star, using a combination of plucky astromech droids and the awesome power of The Force to plant enough heavy explosives to blow it to kingdom come. But be careful! A VHS-based Darth Vader and a single wandering Stormtrooper seek to thwart your efforts (because good is dumb)...and the Dark Side of The Force may prove too seductive for one of your well-intentioned friends. Is a 3D board and a blurry Darth Vader enough to set this apart from other VHS games? Plus, we ask a Very Important Question about scenes from Star Wars too awesome for theaters. Download now!

Direct download: FlipTheTable061.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:03pm EDT

In an instance of obvious pandering to Internet cat worship, this week we're covering the Thundercats board game from 1985! We take on the roles of anthropomorphic feline space travelers who brave mutant attacks and library-like forests in a race to finish the final battle by ourselves and snatch the glory from our fellow travelers. Is there fun to be had in this game, or are we chasing a mysterious red dot that was never really there? Download, HO!

Direct download: FlipTheTable060.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:48pm EDT

Though some of this week's panel are teetotalers, that will not stop us from reviewing this 1987 classic about everyone's favorite Boston bar! The Cheers board game, based on the situation comedy of the same name, pits the patrons and staff against each-other in a hybrid trivia/dexterity game. Is the brutal "Normie's Olympics" too much of a challenge for even the most sober of panelists? Will this TSR-produced classic deliver on the implied promise of dungeons and/or dragons in a Boston pub? Pull up a stool and join us, won't you?

Direct download: FlipTheTable059.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:39pm EDT

It's another sportsball-themed episode as we take on two games featuring America's Non-MMA Pastime, the historic game of Baseball. First, we attempt to screen out the shouts of angry parents as we play The Approved Little League Game from the 1960's...a chart-based simulator featuring all the high-octane thrills of choosing how many pitches not to swing at. Then, it's The Baseball Card Game, a team-branded rummy style game which has the guts to implicitly claim its own definitiveness by having a starkly-worded title. Just how much pine tar and cork is needed to fix these games? Download now to find out!

Direct download: FlipTheTable058.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:19pm EDT

Let the wondrous, futuristic technology of magnetic tape transmitting images into a cathode ray tube transport you into the world of Isaac Asimov's Robots! In this deduction game, players take the role of futuristic gumshoes solving an attempted murder. Pay close attention to the VHS tape as well as randomly drawn clues to figure out whotriedtodunit. Was it a filthy "Earther," filled with discontent about their living conditions and a hatred of the sun, or was it a smug "Spacer," living in their ivory tower in the stars with their better robots and their extreme germophobia? Plus, in the Battle of Wits, we try to figure out which Asimov plotline is real, and which is a futuristic fantasy.

Direct download: FlipTheTable057.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:24am EDT

Hi, therrre! Even a note from Epstein's Mother won't excuse you from listening to this week's Flip the Table, as we explore the extended canon of the Welcome Back, Kotter board game. Ben and Niki join us as we roll and move our way through a dirty Brooklyn classroom, trying to string together a single sentence while under the watchful eye of a loveable, mustachioed mentor/poker player. Will this title inspire us to achieve greater things and transcend our sweathog status, or will we be children left behind?

Direct download: FlipTheTable056.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:37pm EDT

Happy 2nd BANCE-iversary to Flip the Table! We're kicking off our 3rd year with one of the biggest IPs in the world of gaming as we take on Pokemon...but not the good kind like you want. In Pokemon Master Trainer, players race to accumulate tiny, adorable monsters as they build up power for the final battle at Indigo Plateau. Collect all 3 of a Pokemon's evolutionary levels and enjoy a massive bonus. But is it enough to take down Team Rocket in the end, or will you be left crying like a kid with a prematurely unplugged link cable? Plus, in the Battle of Wits, the panel struggles to name a single Pokemon correctly. 

Direct download: FlipTheTable055.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:19pm EDT

In the early eighties, Steven Spielberg brought to life a pop culture phenomenon with a few simple ingredients...namely, a Speak & Spell, a saw blade, some Reese's Pieces, and a yearning for home. However, if you blend a bit of Roll & Move into the mix, you get the E.T. board game by Parker Brothers. This blockbuster tie-in pits players against each-other in an epic duel of helpfulness as they compete to assist E.T. in building his communicator device and fleeing Earth's horrible, smog-filled atmosphere. It's a co-petitive title which requires significant blind-luck skills, and a dash of ESP...but does the experience take us to the sky on its magic bike, or does it deserve to be buried in the desert?

Direct download: FlipTheTable054.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:41pm EDT

The game show boom of the early-to-mid 2000's featured lots of push-your-luck, big money shows...but only one was hosted by Danny Tanner. Contributing Flipsters Ben and Niki join us for a look at the 1 vs. 100 DVD game, a party game where one lucky player competes for huge stacks of DVD cash while everyone else tries to spoil it for them. Answering questions keeps you in the game while you try to outlast "The Mob" on your way up the ladder. Is it fun enough to keep playing until your inevitable defeat, or should you just take your pretend money and run? Much like any prime time game show, we'll drag the answer out over two commercial breaks...

Direct download: FlipTheTable053.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:15pm EDT