The Gateway Gamers Podcast

09/30/2026

Happy International Podcast Day! (Yes, it’s a thing.)

So happy and proud of our little podcast and how much it’s evolved over the years while somehow continuing to chug along.

Be sure to give us a listen wherever you get your podcasts! And we’re looking to expand into some guest episodes soon, so if you have an idea, a game you’d love to hear us cover, or just want to come hang out with us, reach out!

Here’s to many more episodes, questionable opinions, and us somehow still doing this thing.

09/04/2026

The newest episode of The Gateway Gamers Podcast is all about Disney Villainous: Success at Any Cost from Ravensburger!

Bryan Marvel is joined by super special guest Rp Walsh and are breaking down the newest expandalone featuring Hector De La Cruz from Coco and Prince Hans from Frozen. We talk about how each villain plays, their unique objectives and abilities, and whether this new box is worth adding to your Villainous collection.

And that’s not all.

We also talk about the upcoming Kickstarter for Rollacrit’s Bag of Holding, coming soon. We take a look at what’s on the horizon and why tabletop gamers might want to keep an eye on this one.

If you love Disney, Villainous, board games, tabletop gaming, or just enjoy watching us argue about cardboard, this one is for you.

Who are you choosing: Hector De La Cruz or Prince Hans?

Listen to the newest episode of The Gateway Gamers Podcast where you listen to podcasts and let us know what you think.



Ravensburger Rollacrit

09/03/2026

Landfall from Very Special Games

🎮 1 -2 players (3-4 w/ expansion)
⏰ 30 - 45 mins
👶🏻ages 12+
🧩 abstract strategy, territory building

Build your paradise. Then push your opponent off it.

The goal is simple: be the first player to complete a Mountain, Valley, and Plain. The problem is that the island is shared, so your tiles are also your opponents tiles, your plans opportunities, and throwing your opponent’s piece across the island is a necessary strategy.

The components are super satisfying. The island pieces are chunky and feel great on the table, and moving the little volcanoes around is an experience (explosion noises a mandatory house rule).

The shaky ground expansion adds 3–4 player options, along with new movement powers and more ways to score, which gives the game even more options and makes it a must if you really enjoy the base game.

My very small gripe is that I wish the Oasis scoring tiles were player colored. It’s a completely unnecessary complaint, but I’m a very visual person and it bothers me more than it should.

Overall, I love the chess like feel of this one. There’s a lot of planning, blocking, and tossing while the island builds and looks great on the table.

It feels like one of those games you could leave sitting on the coffee table and pull out whenever you have guests and time to kill.

08/27/2026

And with Valkyrie finally complete, I am officially DONE assembling every Marvel Crisis Protocol figure I own… so far

Now comes the hard part: actually playing the game and painting all of them.

I’m probably going to half ass speed paint most of these, but honestly, I’m fine with that. The assembling has been such a fun little project, and there’s something weirdly satisfying about seeing the whole collection finally built.

Now… who wants to teach me how to actually play?



Atomic Mass Games

08/23/2026

It’s been a minute since I’ve played an IP tie in that feels MUCH more focused on the fans of the IP than gamers.

Rise of the Wingleader is clearly designed to bring fans of the book series to the table. I actually found it on a Barnes & Noble endcap dedicated to the series, which tells you exactly who this game is for.

And honestly? That’s not a bad thing. It’s a super digestible push your luck/bidding game that plays quick and would make a great gateway game for someone who isn’t in the hobby.

But for me, it falls flat. At 3–4 players, it’s decent, quick fun, but there just isn’t a ton going on. Solo is even worse. It’s literally impossible to lose unless you’re actively trying.

The components are fantastic, though. The gold on the cards looks great, and the dragon pieces and cardstock feel high quality.

Overall, I think fans of the series will get much more out of Rise of the Wingleader than hobby gamers will. It’s a solid gateway game, but there’s not much here beyond the IP for me.

Do you buy games just for the IP?

08/12/2026

NEW EPISODE IS OUT FOR YOUR EAR HOLES!

Bryan is flying solo this time and diving headfirst into the world of LEGO board games from Asmodee!

First, a quick trip through the history of LEGO games before getting into three recent releases:

🧱 Brick Like This!
🐒 Monkey Palace
🐉 LEGO NINJAGO: Destiny’s Bounty Adventure

Which one deserves a spot on your game shelf? Bryan breaks down all three, talks about what makes them tick, and gives his thoughts on where they fit into the world of gateway games and LEGO gaming.

Give it a listen wherever you get your podcasts, and let us know which LEGO game you’re playing!

08/09/2026

Morning coffee and learning new games, does it get any better?

08/07/2026

Bigfoot and Robin Hood took on Mothman tonight in a solo run of Unmatched: Tales to Amaze.
They got their asses kicked 😂

08/06/2026

Some great thrift finds today!
Only grabbed a few but it’s fun seeing what’s out there.

08/05/2026

New episode for your ear holes, covering Magicsl Athlete from CMYK games.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gateway-gamers/id1564298651?i=1000779642614

The Gateway Gamers · Episode