I've had enough of board games sitting on my shelf, gathering dust and taking up space. Rent isn't cheap in New York, so if a game wants to stay on my shelf, it needs to earn its keep. Is this a real podcast, or is it just an elaborate ploy to trick my friends into playing more board games? You'll have to tune in to find out. Welcome to Shelf Space.
Send all correspondence to shelf.heads@gmail.com
We bought a zoo! The gang plays Ark Nova, a game about building and managing competing zoos. Taylor talks about growing up as a "bug kid" and pitches yet another Wingspan spinoff game. Elena talks about raising tadpoles and petting wallabies.
31 Jan 2025
Tortuga 1667
Avast ye scallywags! The gang plays Tortuga 1667, a social deduction game about pirates and treasure. Graham goes on a heavily redacted tangent about shifts in the prestige television streaming space. Elena does her best impersonation of a human jukebox. Alex totally blacks out all of rules and setup, likely due to high levels of neuromicroplasticity. Taylor talks about cultivating and harvesting mass over the holidays, and Emma recalls her meatball burps.
16 Sept 2024
Patchwork
I hate Mondays. The gang plays Patchwork, a tile placement game about quilt patches and buttons. Taylor talks about tetrominoes and Garfield. Elena talks about Coraline and Monster House.
16 Aug 2024
Spirit Island
Aloha! The gang plays Spirit Island, a cooperative settler-destruction strategy game. Elena goes off about congestion pricing in NYC. Alex talks about his tragic backstory as a child chess prodigy. Taylor suggests replacing tech interviews with seeing how well interns grok board game rules.
16 Jul 2024
The Quacks of Quedlinburg
If it walks like a duck and it talks like a duck, it is probably from Quedlinburg. The gang plays The Quacks of Quedlinburg, a bag-builder, push-your-luck game about brewing potent potions. Elena talks about putting STEM boyfriends on PIPs. Taylor sounds super congested after a recent skirmish with COVID-19 and talks about shit about the Grammys. Lauren makes her podcast debut and talks about her struggles with the American healthcare system.
16 Jun 2024
Scythe: Automa
Welcome to the Taylor Show! The gang plays Scythe: Automa, an area control game that pits a single player against what could generously be called an AI. Taylor talks about the origins of the famed Cheese Phase. Taylor explains the rules using a clumsy Quidditch metaphor, which causes Taylor to lose his train of thought. Taylor talks about how much he likes being alone. Taylor has an existential crisis and Taylor struggles to maintain a consistent energy level. Taylor questions his life choices that led him to this point.
16 Apr 2024
Fire Sale II
Fire Sale II: Electric Boogaloo! The gang rapid reviews another smörgåsbord of games pulled from Taylor's Shelf of Shame. Alex and Elena pull a Freaky Friday. Taylor drinks too much dragon brandy and struggles with basic math. Sam, Noah, and (another) Taylor all make their Shelf Space debut.
16 Mar 2024
Mind MGMT
This podcast will self-destruct in 1 hour, 3 minutes, and 54 seconds. The gang plays Mind MGMT, an asymmetric hidden movement game based on a series of graphic novels with the same name. Emma and Elena discuss piercings, and Graham and Taylor share their childhood foot traumas [TRIGGER WARNING: FOOT GORE]. Alex reminisces about his time as a terminally online middle schooler.
Taylor hides some subliminal messaging in the final edit.
16 Feb 2024
Fog of Love
XOXO. This Valentine's Day Taylor and Elena play Fog of Love, an appropriately themed two-player card game. Taylor talks shit about board game cafes and Elena lives out her fantasy of being some sort of nurse/ogre hybrid.
16 Jan 2024
7 Wonders
Time is a flat circle. The gang plays 7 Wonders - a game of wood, ore, clay brick, stone, glass, papyrus, and textiles - before ordering 70 chicken nuggets from [REDACTED]. Emma talks about getting hacked and Patrick brags about his password manager. Alex pitches Tic-tac-toe and Graham contemplates slurping a [REDACTED]. Taylor and Elena talk shit about all their teacher friends.
16 Dec 2023
Dune: Imperium
Fear is the mind-killer. The gang plays Dune: Imperium, a game of politics, intrigue, alliances, war, and worms. Alex brings up veganism completely unprompted. Taylor talks about the yummy silica gel packets and Elena plays an audio file.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shelf-space-podcast/message
16 Nov 2023
Dune
The spice must flow. The gang plays Dune, a game of politics, intrigue, alliances, war, and worms. Graham and Emma negotiate the terms of their upcoming donut beer marathon. Alex and Taylor debate the differences between colonialism and imperialism. Elena calls out the British royal family.
00:00:00 Announcements
00:05:03 Preamble
00:12:56 Podcast proper
00:28:28 Not an ad for Huel
00:29:25 Ad-free content!
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shelf-space-podcast/message
16 Oct 2023
Fire Sale I
Fire Sale! Everything must go! The gang rapid reviews a smörgåsbord of games pulled from Taylor's Shelf of Shame. Elena talks about non-taxable fringe benefits, and Alex gets a crash course on the hit TV show Friends. Graham shows up late and has a bad time.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shelf-space-podcast/message
16 Sept 2023
Wonderword
Word up! The gang plays Wonderword, a word game only slightly more complicated than Hangman. Elena, Patrick, and his current fiancée (then-girlfriend) Natalie discuss the NYT Spelling Bee. Taylor narrowly prevents Alex from intentionally leaking his real Social Security Number on air and Graham shows up day drunk and late.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shelf-space-podcast/message
16 Aug 2023
Food Chain Magnate
Blast from the past! The gang plays Food Chain Magnate, a game that harkens back to a "simpler" time: the 1950s. Welcome to a world rife with burgers, pizza, capitalism, and labor violations. Taylor and Kate talk about Dutch Christmas traditions, Elena starts a waitress Ponzi scheme, and Alex and Graham discuss dead-end jobs, hiring, and more importantly firing employees.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shelf-space-podcast/message
16 Jul 2023
Cyclades
The gang plays Cyclades, a game about Greek gods, mythological monsters, and passive income. Taylor and Graham discuss compression algorithms, mutual exclusion, and Jon Hamm, while Elena and Kate woman-splain zaddies.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shelf-space-podcast/message
16 Jun 2023
Acquire
It's New Year's Eve 2022 and the gang is playing Acquire. The code monkeys (Taylor, Alex, and Graham) are joined by a future lawyer (Kate) and a padawan actuary (Patrick) to discuss mergers, acquisitions, poison pills, and the cinematography of Quentin Tarantino.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shelf-space-podcast/message
16 May 2023
Agricola
Taylor discusses Agricola with his vegan friend Alex and his roommate Elena.
Links
Agricola (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31260/agricola)
Lost Ruins of Arnak (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/312484/lost-ruins-arnak)
Puerto Rico (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3076/puerto-rico)
Agricola... after starving yourself two days (https://youtu.be/IWrKM_zLskQ)
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shelf-space-podcast/message
16 May 2023
Shelf Space Teaser
Move over Monopoly, there's a new game in town.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shelf-space-podcast/message
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
11 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 28 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
29
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
68
Contact Shelf Space
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Shelf Space?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
