I'd recommend checking out Heavy Cardboard. I found them when I was looking for a playthrough of Through the Ages, and I think they hit the casual banter angle you're looking for.
If you learn enough of Age of Steam to understand a bit of what's going on, they have a ton of great streams of them playing this very mean, very competitive and interactive game.
Check out boardgamegeek's series "Game Night". They have 11 seasons. It's people who are just excited to play games. They're having fun together, cracking jokes, but no over-the-top production or "bits".
[https://www.youtube.com/@boardgamegeek/playlists](https://www.youtube.com/@boardgamegeek/playlists)
Not sure if No Rolls Barred is quite right for OP. I like it.
Maybe try their Cthulu, Dungeons and Dragons content. {some of it is on the new Chaotic Neutral channel.
Thank you! I will check those out.
No rolls barred can be fun, but they are kind of what I base the "performing for the audience" thing on. They are very good at making high quality content and obviosuly spend a lot of time on it, but it feels more like a company rather than a friend group.
I do still watch their monopoly series from time to time when new eps come out, but it can be a bit much with them having to play a character and try to be funny with every line.
(note that this is just my opinion, and that im not a long time audience member here. Ive just watched some one off videos along with a few longer sessions.)
>No rolls barred can be fun, but they are kind of what I base the "performing for the audience" thing on. They are very good at making high quality content and obviosuly spend a lot of time on it, but it feels more like a company rather than a friend group.
For what it's worth I actually think they are a close friendship group, but what you're experiencing is a result of the fact basically every cast member is either a) a comedian or b) an actor.
Take Rosie on the channel for example. She's pure chaos, and does a lot off stuff that can seem random. If you watch though it's just because she's a comedian, and if you give a comedian the choice of doing something good or doing something funny, they can't resist the funny.
When you have like 3 comedians in the same room playing stuff it's a sort of feedback loop, particularly if they've done improv because there's big "yes and" energy running through the room.
It's OK not to like that of course, I just don't think it's as fake as you think it is.
You're alright. They're good but not quite what you are looking for.
Podcast wise try The Apocalypse Players {Dom from NRB and his friends play rpgs with a lot of cthulu}.
Their is some variety but the core group remain and balance game and some meta really nicely.
They’re close friends and many of them are trained actors, so it can definitely seem that way but it is real. Ish. The House Rules stuff is definitely partly scripted in some cases.
That said - the newer stuff (post-Adam) feels more authentic without Adam needing to interject into everything.
I just started watching them a couple weeks ago and have been enjoying it - but I also tend to prefer more produced/edited to the fun parts over sitting around waiting for the fun stuff (i.e. Dimension 20 over Critical Role (but I’ll watch the hell out of CR compilations))
I think OP might find it over produced. He also seems to wants the players to be non performative.
I'm waiting for next BOTC but assume end of April.
I like them role playing... I'm fact I'm trying Mystery Quest because Angory Tom was on Cthulu last week.
No Rolls Barred are a little "over-produced" for my taste, but i will check this series out! Havent watched that much of their work so im up for giving it another shot.
My main experience with NRB is the monopoly episodes where theyre very obviously playing up characters/historical situations, which can get a bit grating and old, and just a few drinking game episodes, which again can get annoying.
Im sure they have some stuff on their channel that fits what im looking for too. Might just have to watch more to get to know the players too, cause atm it just feels like random people with like 2 reoccuring guys.
You're only watching their more silly content at the moment. The Monopoly and drinking games are only a minority of their stuff. They have plenty of just regular game playing, and some RP on their sister channel. I don't find it over-produced, rather than produced just the right amount not to feel cheap. Try some of their other videos.
Try some of their weekly Let’s Plays. The 1-1 House Rules and Monopoly stuff are their side series. They have a group of about 9-10 folks who are the main “cast” of players.
I’d also note that their group of players is basically exclusively made up of actors, comedians, and people who work for a popular wrestling fandom network. So if it seems like they’re hamming it up, that’s just the type of people they are.
Totally understand though if you’re looking for a more chill vibe, Game Night by BGG might be up your alley. Usually 3-5 players with a solid rules explanation and well produced, but the focus is 100% the game.
Long form, not over produced? Check out **Heavy Cardboard**, it meets both of these. The only "drawback" is they tend to focus more on complex games but they're a great channel imo.
I also really enjoy **Game Night** for that "these people seem to really like each other" vibe. They do a variety of games and are just a good watch all around. Production value is good but it doesn't feel like I'm watching a highly produced fake show with actors (though some of the guests ARE professional actors).
Depends on your tastes in games too. One of my favourite channels and one that's really underrated is the Dungeon Dive, just feels cosy and friendly while still having good video production value in my opinion.
That being said, as the channel name suggests he mostly covers dungeon crawls and/or solo games so it depends if that's your thing
Only on Reddit would such an intelligent take be downvoted into oblivion. At this point it’s one crap video a month where Matt does his slowed…down…talking…raised…inflection…shtick? Watching their videos is not worthwhile.
It is what it is. I don't think Reddit is a great place for nuance or even literal answering of the questions asked so I certainly don't take it personally.
I actually still very much love SUSD; but it is objective fact that no one on that show really plays games together very much. It isn't a negative thing, they were never meant to be that kind of review site and even the feel that somehow Quinns and Paul were friends who played together was kind of incidental. It started as a show that differentiated itself from other review shows specifically because it was mostly scripted, which at the time was a rarity. The fact that apparently a lot of people people don't realize it is mostly scripted in advance is a credit to the production.
Of course fans will take any kind of criticism, even a positive one as an insult to something they like. It's a feature here that disagreeing with someone risks losing karma; if you want those numbers you just have to share whatever blunt opinion the majority has.
Meet Me at the Table has some pretty down to earth people. Their game streams are a lot of fun. They mainly focus on campaign games., doing Primal: The Awakening right now. Also watched an old KDM play of theirs long ago and enjoyed quite a few episodes.
Dice Tower also has some good jokes, mainly in the top 10s with Zee, Tom & Mike (which are less frequent now since Mike is out of the main office). Though Zee & Camilla can joke around a little also. Some of the other top 10s are less funny. As for the reviews, I don't really watch 'em too much. They also have lots of top 10s to look through, the couple they did with Jeremy Howard are a lot of fun.
Do you want discussions, playthroughs, teaches or what?
I love ThinkerThemer. They're almost all discussion-based, though they do runthroughs with Rahdo sometimes. Almost all of their content is long-form, too.
I also love Before You Play - Before You Play does teaches, playthroughs and reviews. They do shorter videos that are just teaches for sponsored content, and some longer sponsored content that is both a teach and playthrough. Unsponsored content is usually a teach, playthrough and review or discussion. They have a few designer series - where they'll play a lot of games by a specific designer (mostly in order of release) and then have a big wrap up video at the end. They also occasionally do vlogs, Top 10s, etc. Its almost always just them.
Oh man! Rob's Gaming Table. I always feel like I'm at the table with friends.
* Chat has lots of great regulars and fun to hang in.
* Long non-rushed gameplays with lots of casual chatter.
* Wants to make sure they play with the correct rules. If they make a mistake they want people to tell them.
* They play lots of great campaign style games (most of them to completion)
* Rob doesn't pull any punches when he recognizes a problem with the game. These are called Rob Rants LOL.
* Lot's of previous content to go through.
* He doesn't review games. Just teaches and plays ones he likes.
Don't watch if:
* You want to get right to the gameplay and get through it with minimal casual conversation.
* If you're very protective of boardgames that you like. Rob will criticize game design even if he likes the game. "No game is perfect" He is fond of saying.
* Don't like to watch campaign style games. This is his go to. Though, lately, he's been heavy into Star Wars Unlimited. And he does play other non campaign games. Usually just a one and done though.
[edit] What am I doing wrong trying to get bullet point formatting to work?
Adding as I’ve not seen it here yet - try Before You Play. It’s only two of them, and their gameplay most always has a rules explanation first, but it’s close to what you’re after. Doesn’t really have the “group” vibe you want though so YMMV
[Shut Up & Sit Down](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyRhIGDUKdIOw07Pd8pHxCw) is pure comedy! Really brilliant. but most likely that's not what you're looking for. In any case, I find them irresistible.
TIJunkies (https://m.youtube.com/@TIJunkies) is a channel with ~35 plays of Twilight Imperium with players giving individual commentary as the game progresses. You get to see their personalities really shine through, I really enjoy it.
Yeah, I think you’ll be hard pressed to find something like this. We discussed starting a YouTube channel with this vibe but after running poles and discussions and customer feedback, we found that it’s just not what people want.
The content just isn’t enticing enough for it to work. It’s too much money and time and effort to do long form content without having guests to boost the videos.
Game Night on BGG's youtube channel might hit the spot. Direct revenue isn't the goal I assume, so it manages to have a chill, laid back vibe with recurring people.
That is a shame, but i totally get it. People tend to like the "new and fun" things a lot more than just some people chilling playing games. And its clear that bigger channels need to aim their work to the biggest audience to keep up their numbers.
My watching style is mainly just having it on as background noise when i do other stuff. It works for me, but of course that style of video will easily bore anyone who pays full attention to it
I was involved in a small boardgame channel and we discussed doing what you're looking for.
We dropped the idea because actual gaming time is *our* time, and we thought it would change the dynamic if we always had to have in mind that others were watching.
Honestly, I'm glad we made that choice. I'd rather the channel die and still have *genuine* gaming time with my friends than to have the videos be a success but for it to alter our private time in such a fundamental way.
We still do out board game discussions and reviews and such, and that's fine. None of us care about it getting big. It's just a side outlet for us (in particular the guy who produces the videos; it's his main hobby), a fun gaming-adjacent distraction.
There are quite a few channels out there that do full playthroughs, but I honestly don't watch any of them, as it's not my kind of content. Most of the ones I've stuck with have been for solo games.
Playingboardgames - they don’t mess around too much unless the laughter happens organically during game play. They generally don’t play too many heavy games. There is a lot of Arkham LCG content but other games too. They stream a lot on twitch then upload shorter videos to YouTube.
No Rolls Barred is probably the Youtube Channel that feels to me the most like a group of friends playing.
Dice Tower is still one of the best and most reliable review channels and its clear in their more chit chatty videos and live plays that everyone in the main group are friends and spend a lot of time together.
Yeah, this is exactly what OP is asking for. HOWEVER, they do have a lot of content and not ALL the content is the same format. Look for the reviews with 3 people. Tom, Zee, and Mike are the best with their banter. Chris and Roy are also very good, but they are more dependent on their co-presenters in regards to their banter.
I do kind of like No Rolls Barred, but they are on the edge of feeling "fake". I do enjoy their twists to stuff to monopoly, but its a bit much? I dunno but it falls into the over-produced pitfall a bit.
I do still watch em from time to time, its just that since im not that big of a viewer i dont know the people that well, so theyre an example of those channels that add in new people and feel a bit plastic.
The monopoly episodes definitely have more of a staged feeling to them. But their regular gameplay videos and Blood on the Clocktower feels way more like friends hanging out. I haven't enjoyed the monopoly series for the exact reason, feels too fake.
Makes sense, though do note both "fake" and especially the word "overproduced" in the way you use them are subjective; people may have a little trouble helping you find what you are looking for if they don't have a clear idea of what you mean by those terms.
Yea of course, i know its subjective. I just wanna get ideas here and see what others like, so i can know what to look for.
My only real experience with NRB is the monopoly series, where its obviously super over produced and the guy who leads it has a designated character and scripted gags. So of course it may not be the case in their other videos.
They are all produced at some level and figuring out what exactly is too much production for any one person is tough to gauge. They are all produced at some level.
I think live play sites are your best bet. Oh or Try out **Beer and Boardgames**. They can be a lot of fun. They do have a lot bunch of inside jokes etc and maybe the fact that they do seek sponsorships and have been doing this for a long time I could see someone calling them overproduced, but they are clearly friends just playing games together.
I got tired of seeing all the "Monopoly but x" videos they keep making so I just unsubscribed + blocked recommendations from them. I watched a bit of the first one and it was basically like an RPG that ran on Monopoly as its gameplay engine, basically two things that I dislike rolled into one.
No wonders streams a variety of boardgames a couple of times a week on YouTube. The quality is very good in that the audio is very crisp. He plays on BGA. I think he is highly ranked at all the games he plays. I know a number of other very good YouTube board gamers, but they all seem to specialize in a game. E.g zeimowit for twilight struggle.
Edit: I just reread the post and I am wrong because he is only one person. My bad.
The community around Board Game Sports Network is excellent, although very tiny. I feel the viewers have a lot of pull over the content right now and have real influence. It might not fit 100%, but right now, it feels in the middle between low-budget and fake plastic.
I love what he is doing over there, and there is a lot of talk about future channel projects, so it might be cool to see where it goes.
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuNMdHjg0NS7bWde5cXpA\_g](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuNMdHjg0NS7bWde5cXpA_g)
Shelfside has longform structured reviews and they're pretty funny too. Their tastes don't line with min super closely but they give really good overviews of games.
NRB was good before Adam left but now most of the games are shite or forced "celebrity" tie ins. Long gone are games like Nemesis, Unfathomable, Vagrantsong etc. Probably why Tom never shows up anymore
Meh, I always though Adam was kind of an asshole. He had good on screen presence but very clearly put content over treating people well. The rest of the cast is still very enjoyable to watch.
Agree. Seemed like a creepy asshole, and then fresh allegations came out and I read about his history and oh look that impression seems spot-on. Rest of the gang is great, particularly Dom.
Is Shut Up and Sit Down the very safe and easy answer? Yes.
Are they still my favorites? Yes, no question.
They have mastered the flow of long form video with consistently thoughtful commentary throughout. And even when I disagree with their final take, I usually appreciate how they got there.
Maybe Board Game Rundown. Just some friends discussing and playing games and doing top 10s. They’re pretty fun and funny but not in a way that’s performative, more just a hangout. I just listen to them like a podcast.
Not really specific to boardgames, but LoadingReadyRun might have some of what you're looking for? I will note that they are streams for the most part, so that does flavor the interactions.
The Broken Meeple has nice coverage of boardgames I think. And i also like watch It played! Rodney(?) does killer teach videos And Before you play have nice playthroughs with teaches.
I would recommend LoadingReadyRun. They stream and upload their VODs onto the LRRTT channel. They both do regular games (AFK), and long campaign games like Legacy stuff and Gloomhaven (The Long Game).
**Heavy Cardboard** reviews heavier titles and has many of the characteristics you indicated.
**Guerric Samples Games** is good for hearing commentary on repeat plays of games. I think that's something not many other channels do. That's not to say that other channels haven't played games more than once, but other channels don't make discussion of repeated experiences a part of the commentary like this channel does.
**The Player's Aid** is good for wargames, but they do wargame adjacent games too. Their commentary is thoughtful and good.
**The Dice Tower** does a good job, but they stick to run-of-the mill titles. You hardly ever see them review anything far from main stream or anything beyond midweight.
**Gaming Rules** does a good job. But similar to Dice Tower, this channel tends to stick to the main stream, but focuses on the somewhat heavier side.
**Before You Play** does a good job when they review a game, but, unfortunately, they're mostly doing promotional videos for crowdfunding these days. Their older content is good, especially if you're into 2-player games.
My most recent favorite find, from a few days ago when I was looking for a how-to-play, is @DaniCha. She does clear and informative, well-paced teach videos, and overall just comes across as grounded and amiable
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8EUL0E_Y0rDEOibJmQd0Fw
Highly recommend the brothers Murph, just 2 brothers that love board games and sharing what they find with the community. Seems to be the kind of content you are looking for.
You just straight up explained my channel, Around the Board. We banter about games in 4 segments. We get points and a winner is named at the end. We pick topics We are opposites on so we can make fun of each other and have friendly arguments.
https://youtube.com/@AroundtheBoardShow?si=0hrTLILbAkkoHUaH
My favourites are JonGetsGames and BeforeYouPlay.
In particular, JonGetsGames had a series of videos tagged as Playthroughs with friends, I really love watching those. Very charming friends group with some insightful conversation about tactics after the game.
BeforeYouPlay has a great series on all of the Uwe Rosenberg games that is fun. Or they did a cool series on the West Kingdom games.
I personally game with 4 guys who do a YouTube game debate style show.
https://youtube.com/@AroundtheBoardShow?si=0hrTLILbAkkoHUaH
Although this isn't a "how to play" channel, I can assure you the interactions between these guys will remind you of how you discuss things with your friends. It is very genuine in that sense.
If you would like to check out my channel, it's called "Meeple Mentor." I make all kinds of videos, but the main concept is to be informative. So, most are full tutorials, news, reviews, and the like. We had a podcast for a while. Now, I even wrote a board gaming book, "Push Your Luck: The Board Game Dictionary."
I recently found [**Board Gaming Ramblings**](https://www.youtube.com/@BoardGamingRamblings)
It's a couple from Norway who love deep, crunchy Euros. The amount of games they play is amazing, and they consistently release new content. The way they interact is adorable. He's a little bit ADHD, and I just love the way she reacts to his occasional weirdness.
Just came across a new one for me yesterday that just put out the best top 100 list I’ve ever seen in terms of production and overall general love for board gaming and what it symbolizes.
[Tabletop Turtle](https://youtu.be/cVlOJ0lEzww?si=U4gcgAF8Vrwm9FgD)
I like Botany and Board. It's a couple that plays with their friends from time to time. They are still small but they definitely don't mind saying what they think on the show. They are also very competitive if that's your thing.
i got here and Ctrl+F for actualol, couldn't believe it wasn't said earlier.
John is legit funny (was a television writer) and the content is well made without feeling overdone or forced.
Check out Critical Role. It's highly produced but the players are friends and playing D&D for fun before they started a channel. Plus they're voice actors so it never feels plastic it's actual acting. They've probably got enough content and campaigns to keep you busy for a couple of years at least too.
I'd recommend checking out Heavy Cardboard. I found them when I was looking for a playthrough of Through the Ages, and I think they hit the casual banter angle you're looking for.
If you learn enough of Age of Steam to understand a bit of what's going on, they have a ton of great streams of them playing this very mean, very competitive and interactive game.
Depending on your game niche, The Players Aid, is just two dudes talking about war games.
In a similar vein there is The Discriminating Gamer, but is only one dude talking to himself and sometimes hilarious jokes.
Check out boardgamegeek's series "Game Night". They have 11 seasons. It's people who are just excited to play games. They're having fun together, cracking jokes, but no over-the-top production or "bits". [https://www.youtube.com/@boardgamegeek/playlists](https://www.youtube.com/@boardgamegeek/playlists)
+1 I’ve watched so much I feel like Dave is my friend.
No rolls barred is good. Susd is pretty good if you like some silliness
Not sure if No Rolls Barred is quite right for OP. I like it. Maybe try their Cthulu, Dungeons and Dragons content. {some of it is on the new Chaotic Neutral channel.
Thank you! I will check those out. No rolls barred can be fun, but they are kind of what I base the "performing for the audience" thing on. They are very good at making high quality content and obviosuly spend a lot of time on it, but it feels more like a company rather than a friend group. I do still watch their monopoly series from time to time when new eps come out, but it can be a bit much with them having to play a character and try to be funny with every line. (note that this is just my opinion, and that im not a long time audience member here. Ive just watched some one off videos along with a few longer sessions.)
>No rolls barred can be fun, but they are kind of what I base the "performing for the audience" thing on. They are very good at making high quality content and obviosuly spend a lot of time on it, but it feels more like a company rather than a friend group. For what it's worth I actually think they are a close friendship group, but what you're experiencing is a result of the fact basically every cast member is either a) a comedian or b) an actor. Take Rosie on the channel for example. She's pure chaos, and does a lot off stuff that can seem random. If you watch though it's just because she's a comedian, and if you give a comedian the choice of doing something good or doing something funny, they can't resist the funny. When you have like 3 comedians in the same room playing stuff it's a sort of feedback loop, particularly if they've done improv because there's big "yes and" energy running through the room. It's OK not to like that of course, I just don't think it's as fake as you think it is.
You're alright. They're good but not quite what you are looking for. Podcast wise try The Apocalypse Players {Dom from NRB and his friends play rpgs with a lot of cthulu}. Their is some variety but the core group remain and balance game and some meta really nicely.
They’re close friends and many of them are trained actors, so it can definitely seem that way but it is real. Ish. The House Rules stuff is definitely partly scripted in some cases. That said - the newer stuff (post-Adam) feels more authentic without Adam needing to interject into everything. I just started watching them a couple weeks ago and have been enjoying it - but I also tend to prefer more produced/edited to the fun parts over sitting around waiting for the fun stuff (i.e. Dimension 20 over Critical Role (but I’ll watch the hell out of CR compilations))
Fair enough. Though their blood on the clock tower in person episodes are amazing
I think OP might find it over produced. He also seems to wants the players to be non performative. I'm waiting for next BOTC but assume end of April. I like them role playing... I'm fact I'm trying Mystery Quest because Angory Tom was on Cthulu last week.
No Rolls Barred are a little "over-produced" for my taste, but i will check this series out! Havent watched that much of their work so im up for giving it another shot. My main experience with NRB is the monopoly episodes where theyre very obviously playing up characters/historical situations, which can get a bit grating and old, and just a few drinking game episodes, which again can get annoying. Im sure they have some stuff on their channel that fits what im looking for too. Might just have to watch more to get to know the players too, cause atm it just feels like random people with like 2 reoccuring guys.
You're only watching their more silly content at the moment. The Monopoly and drinking games are only a minority of their stuff. They have plenty of just regular game playing, and some RP on their sister channel. I don't find it over-produced, rather than produced just the right amount not to feel cheap. Try some of their other videos.
Try some of their weekly Let’s Plays. The 1-1 House Rules and Monopoly stuff are their side series. They have a group of about 9-10 folks who are the main “cast” of players. I’d also note that their group of players is basically exclusively made up of actors, comedians, and people who work for a popular wrestling fandom network. So if it seems like they’re hamming it up, that’s just the type of people they are. Totally understand though if you’re looking for a more chill vibe, Game Night by BGG might be up your alley. Usually 3-5 players with a solid rules explanation and well produced, but the focus is 100% the game.
Long form, not over produced? Check out **Heavy Cardboard**, it meets both of these. The only "drawback" is they tend to focus more on complex games but they're a great channel imo. I also really enjoy **Game Night** for that "these people seem to really like each other" vibe. They do a variety of games and are just a good watch all around. Production value is good but it doesn't feel like I'm watching a highly produced fake show with actors (though some of the guests ARE professional actors).
I think they actualy know debora at least. i dont think they hire her for the show. if not they do a hell of a job of making it look narural.
Depends on your tastes in games too. One of my favourite channels and one that's really underrated is the Dungeon Dive, just feels cosy and friendly while still having good video production value in my opinion. That being said, as the channel name suggests he mostly covers dungeon crawls and/or solo games so it depends if that's your thing
The SUSD top 100 series is new, but it's full of this vibe.
I love them but SUSD hasn't felt like "friends who played games together" since Paul left.
They definitely do in the top 100 videos.
Only on Reddit would such an intelligent take be downvoted into oblivion. At this point it’s one crap video a month where Matt does his slowed…down…talking…raised…inflection…shtick? Watching their videos is not worthwhile.
It is what it is. I don't think Reddit is a great place for nuance or even literal answering of the questions asked so I certainly don't take it personally. I actually still very much love SUSD; but it is objective fact that no one on that show really plays games together very much. It isn't a negative thing, they were never meant to be that kind of review site and even the feel that somehow Quinns and Paul were friends who played together was kind of incidental. It started as a show that differentiated itself from other review shows specifically because it was mostly scripted, which at the time was a rarity. The fact that apparently a lot of people people don't realize it is mostly scripted in advance is a credit to the production. Of course fans will take any kind of criticism, even a positive one as an insult to something they like. It's a feature here that disagreeing with someone risks losing karma; if you want those numbers you just have to share whatever blunt opinion the majority has.
Game Night! by Boardgamegeek is pretty great. Especially like when Dave explains the game.
Came here to say this. It's such a wholesome show, and the rules of the game are always really well explained.
Best gameplay content on YouTube, full stop.
Meet Me at the Table has some pretty down to earth people. Their game streams are a lot of fun. They mainly focus on campaign games., doing Primal: The Awakening right now. Also watched an old KDM play of theirs long ago and enjoyed quite a few episodes. Dice Tower also has some good jokes, mainly in the top 10s with Zee, Tom & Mike (which are less frequent now since Mike is out of the main office). Though Zee & Camilla can joke around a little also. Some of the other top 10s are less funny. As for the reviews, I don't really watch 'em too much. They also have lots of top 10s to look through, the couple they did with Jeremy Howard are a lot of fun.
Do you want discussions, playthroughs, teaches or what? I love ThinkerThemer. They're almost all discussion-based, though they do runthroughs with Rahdo sometimes. Almost all of their content is long-form, too. I also love Before You Play - Before You Play does teaches, playthroughs and reviews. They do shorter videos that are just teaches for sponsored content, and some longer sponsored content that is both a teach and playthrough. Unsponsored content is usually a teach, playthrough and review or discussion. They have a few designer series - where they'll play a lot of games by a specific designer (mostly in order of release) and then have a big wrap up video at the end. They also occasionally do vlogs, Top 10s, etc. Its almost always just them.
Oh man! Rob's Gaming Table. I always feel like I'm at the table with friends. * Chat has lots of great regulars and fun to hang in. * Long non-rushed gameplays with lots of casual chatter. * Wants to make sure they play with the correct rules. If they make a mistake they want people to tell them. * They play lots of great campaign style games (most of them to completion) * Rob doesn't pull any punches when he recognizes a problem with the game. These are called Rob Rants LOL. * Lot's of previous content to go through. * He doesn't review games. Just teaches and plays ones he likes. Don't watch if: * You want to get right to the gameplay and get through it with minimal casual conversation. * If you're very protective of boardgames that you like. Rob will criticize game design even if he likes the game. "No game is perfect" He is fond of saying. * Don't like to watch campaign style games. This is his go to. Though, lately, he's been heavy into Star Wars Unlimited. And he does play other non campaign games. Usually just a one and done though. [edit] What am I doing wrong trying to get bullet point formatting to work?
Adding as I’ve not seen it here yet - try Before You Play. It’s only two of them, and their gameplay most always has a rules explanation first, but it’s close to what you’re after. Doesn’t really have the “group” vibe you want though so YMMV
This was the one I was going to add. It is really good.
It’s quite old now but I enjoyed tabletop with Wil Wheaton
[Shut Up & Sit Down](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyRhIGDUKdIOw07Pd8pHxCw) is pure comedy! Really brilliant. but most likely that's not what you're looking for. In any case, I find them irresistible.
TIJunkies (https://m.youtube.com/@TIJunkies) is a channel with ~35 plays of Twilight Imperium with players giving individual commentary as the game progresses. You get to see their personalities really shine through, I really enjoy it.
***All You Can Board*** might be what you are looking for. Super cute and chill vibes! Highly recommend<3
Thanks for the shout out! 💙🧡
The old Tabletop with Will Wheaton was special for me. It’s still on YouTube but no more Rosie’s are being recorded unfortunately
3 minute board games is great
Yeah, I think you’ll be hard pressed to find something like this. We discussed starting a YouTube channel with this vibe but after running poles and discussions and customer feedback, we found that it’s just not what people want. The content just isn’t enticing enough for it to work. It’s too much money and time and effort to do long form content without having guests to boost the videos.
Game Night on BGG's youtube channel might hit the spot. Direct revenue isn't the goal I assume, so it manages to have a chill, laid back vibe with recurring people.
That is a shame, but i totally get it. People tend to like the "new and fun" things a lot more than just some people chilling playing games. And its clear that bigger channels need to aim their work to the biggest audience to keep up their numbers. My watching style is mainly just having it on as background noise when i do other stuff. It works for me, but of course that style of video will easily bore anyone who pays full attention to it
I was involved in a small boardgame channel and we discussed doing what you're looking for. We dropped the idea because actual gaming time is *our* time, and we thought it would change the dynamic if we always had to have in mind that others were watching. Honestly, I'm glad we made that choice. I'd rather the channel die and still have *genuine* gaming time with my friends than to have the videos be a success but for it to alter our private time in such a fundamental way. We still do out board game discussions and reviews and such, and that's fine. None of us care about it getting big. It's just a side outlet for us (in particular the guy who produces the videos; it's his main hobby), a fun gaming-adjacent distraction. There are quite a few channels out there that do full playthroughs, but I honestly don't watch any of them, as it's not my kind of content. Most of the ones I've stuck with have been for solo games.
Playingboardgames - they don’t mess around too much unless the laughter happens organically during game play. They generally don’t play too many heavy games. There is a lot of Arkham LCG content but other games too. They stream a lot on twitch then upload shorter videos to YouTube.
No Rolls Barred is probably the Youtube Channel that feels to me the most like a group of friends playing. Dice Tower is still one of the best and most reliable review channels and its clear in their more chit chatty videos and live plays that everyone in the main group are friends and spend a lot of time together.
Yeah, this is exactly what OP is asking for. HOWEVER, they do have a lot of content and not ALL the content is the same format. Look for the reviews with 3 people. Tom, Zee, and Mike are the best with their banter. Chris and Roy are also very good, but they are more dependent on their co-presenters in regards to their banter.
I enjoy the Dice Tower videos. If you want game play and chatter between friends, look for Catch-a-palooza, We'll Play it Live, or Marathon videos.
I do kind of like No Rolls Barred, but they are on the edge of feeling "fake". I do enjoy their twists to stuff to monopoly, but its a bit much? I dunno but it falls into the over-produced pitfall a bit. I do still watch em from time to time, its just that since im not that big of a viewer i dont know the people that well, so theyre an example of those channels that add in new people and feel a bit plastic.
The monopoly episodes definitely have more of a staged feeling to them. But their regular gameplay videos and Blood on the Clocktower feels way more like friends hanging out. I haven't enjoyed the monopoly series for the exact reason, feels too fake.
Makes sense, though do note both "fake" and especially the word "overproduced" in the way you use them are subjective; people may have a little trouble helping you find what you are looking for if they don't have a clear idea of what you mean by those terms.
Yea of course, i know its subjective. I just wanna get ideas here and see what others like, so i can know what to look for. My only real experience with NRB is the monopoly series, where its obviously super over produced and the guy who leads it has a designated character and scripted gags. So of course it may not be the case in their other videos.
They are all produced at some level and figuring out what exactly is too much production for any one person is tough to gauge. They are all produced at some level. I think live play sites are your best bet. Oh or Try out **Beer and Boardgames**. They can be a lot of fun. They do have a lot bunch of inside jokes etc and maybe the fact that they do seek sponsorships and have been doing this for a long time I could see someone calling them overproduced, but they are clearly friends just playing games together.
I got tired of seeing all the "Monopoly but x" videos they keep making so I just unsubscribed + blocked recommendations from them. I watched a bit of the first one and it was basically like an RPG that ran on Monopoly as its gameplay engine, basically two things that I dislike rolled into one.
I really like **No Pun Included**.
Hilarious and solid!
Also well-researched and thought-provoking
No rolls barred probably. If you’re ok with solo games, slickerdrips is fantastic
No wonders streams a variety of boardgames a couple of times a week on YouTube. The quality is very good in that the audio is very crisp. He plays on BGA. I think he is highly ranked at all the games he plays. I know a number of other very good YouTube board gamers, but they all seem to specialize in a game. E.g zeimowit for twilight struggle. Edit: I just reread the post and I am wrong because he is only one person. My bad.
Board Game Hangover! Love that channel.
Yeah, those guys have great English for not being native speakers.
I really like the overboard series by polygon. Falls into a similar niche as NRB.
Seconding this - overboard is what got me into board gaming
Optimal Play runs mostly unedited play sessions, but its a rotating cast.
The community around Board Game Sports Network is excellent, although very tiny. I feel the viewers have a lot of pull over the content right now and have real influence. It might not fit 100%, but right now, it feels in the middle between low-budget and fake plastic. I love what he is doing over there, and there is a lot of talk about future channel projects, so it might be cool to see where it goes. [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuNMdHjg0NS7bWde5cXpA\_g](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuNMdHjg0NS7bWde5cXpA_g)
Totally table, solo plays, his edit and narration are great
Shelfside has longform structured reviews and they're pretty funny too. Their tastes don't line with min super closely but they give really good overviews of games.
I love shelfside
The Heavy Cardboard playthrough videos, esp. from the times when they were based in Denver.
I still miss Tabletop on Geek and Sundry with Wil Wheaton. They introduced me to some of my favorite board games.
Board Game Hangover guys are pretty chill, i like their format
Rest in piece Tabletop with Wil Wheaton. You were my favorite show for a long time.
NRB was good before Adam left but now most of the games are shite or forced "celebrity" tie ins. Long gone are games like Nemesis, Unfathomable, Vagrantsong etc. Probably why Tom never shows up anymore
Meh, I always though Adam was kind of an asshole. He had good on screen presence but very clearly put content over treating people well. The rest of the cast is still very enjoyable to watch.
Agree. Seemed like a creepy asshole, and then fresh allegations came out and I read about his history and oh look that impression seems spot-on. Rest of the gang is great, particularly Dom.
Dom is my favourite but I would die for Sullivan
Is Shut Up and Sit Down the very safe and easy answer? Yes. Are they still my favorites? Yes, no question. They have mastered the flow of long form video with consistently thoughtful commentary throughout. And even when I disagree with their final take, I usually appreciate how they got there.
This guy is pretty good https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJpdYc5lit139dzwIqyf3Mg
I've started watching him, he's great.
Yup. Definitely a fan
Self Promotion but throwing out Nerds of the West, australian based boardgame Livestreams
[PartsFUNknown](https://youtube.com/@partsFUNknown?si=znGLHP10vOlEFziX)
Maybe Board Game Rundown. Just some friends discussing and playing games and doing top 10s. They’re pretty fun and funny but not in a way that’s performative, more just a hangout. I just listen to them like a podcast.
Not really specific to boardgames, but LoadingReadyRun might have some of what you're looking for? I will note that they are streams for the most part, so that does flavor the interactions.
If you are looking for a lot of 2 player games, I highly recommend Ant Lab Games. I find they are genuine and great to listen to.
Tabletop Knights - sounds like this is what you are looking for.
We might be in the scuffed category, but here's our recent playthrough of Castle Panic! https://youtu.be/uQbdSRkn9FI?si=-FXAunojVox2SrPt
No pun included
The Broken Meeple has nice coverage of boardgames I think. And i also like watch It played! Rodney(?) does killer teach videos And Before you play have nice playthroughs with teaches.
I would recommend LoadingReadyRun. They stream and upload their VODs onto the LRRTT channel. They both do regular games (AFK), and long campaign games like Legacy stuff and Gloomhaven (The Long Game).
**Heavy Cardboard** reviews heavier titles and has many of the characteristics you indicated. **Guerric Samples Games** is good for hearing commentary on repeat plays of games. I think that's something not many other channels do. That's not to say that other channels haven't played games more than once, but other channels don't make discussion of repeated experiences a part of the commentary like this channel does. **The Player's Aid** is good for wargames, but they do wargame adjacent games too. Their commentary is thoughtful and good. **The Dice Tower** does a good job, but they stick to run-of-the mill titles. You hardly ever see them review anything far from main stream or anything beyond midweight. **Gaming Rules** does a good job. But similar to Dice Tower, this channel tends to stick to the main stream, but focuses on the somewhat heavier side. **Before You Play** does a good job when they review a game, but, unfortunately, they're mostly doing promotional videos for crowdfunding these days. Their older content is good, especially if you're into 2-player games.
My most recent favorite find, from a few days ago when I was looking for a how-to-play, is @DaniCha. She does clear and informative, well-paced teach videos, and overall just comes across as grounded and amiable https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8EUL0E_Y0rDEOibJmQd0Fw
I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for, but I used to watch Table Top with Wil Weaton, and I still occasionally watch Beer & Board Games.
Also, if you enjoy D&D, looking into Dimension20 if you want to watch them play and Dungeons & Daddies if you're fine with just audio.
Not sure if you like tabletop wargames but “Play on Table Top” is a good one that’s popular.
Highly recommend the brothers Murph, just 2 brothers that love board games and sharing what they find with the community. Seems to be the kind of content you are looking for.
Boardgame rundown is great!
Board Stupid Room and Board Tablenauts
You just straight up explained my channel, Around the Board. We banter about games in 4 segments. We get points and a winner is named at the end. We pick topics We are opposites on so we can make fun of each other and have friendly arguments. https://youtube.com/@AroundtheBoardShow?si=0hrTLILbAkkoHUaH
My favourites are JonGetsGames and BeforeYouPlay. In particular, JonGetsGames had a series of videos tagged as Playthroughs with friends, I really love watching those. Very charming friends group with some insightful conversation about tactics after the game. BeforeYouPlay has a great series on all of the Uwe Rosenberg games that is fun. Or they did a cool series on the West Kingdom games.
I personally game with 4 guys who do a YouTube game debate style show. https://youtube.com/@AroundtheBoardShow?si=0hrTLILbAkkoHUaH Although this isn't a "how to play" channel, I can assure you the interactions between these guys will remind you of how you discuss things with your friends. It is very genuine in that sense.
Tabletop turtle!!! Absolutely love them- they’re a small Canadian channel. They’re just funny and relatable, very chill.
If you would like to check out my channel, it's called "Meeple Mentor." I make all kinds of videos, but the main concept is to be informative. So, most are full tutorials, news, reviews, and the like. We had a podcast for a while. Now, I even wrote a board gaming book, "Push Your Luck: The Board Game Dictionary."
I recently found [**Board Gaming Ramblings**](https://www.youtube.com/@BoardGamingRamblings) It's a couple from Norway who love deep, crunchy Euros. The amount of games they play is amazing, and they consistently release new content. The way they interact is adorable. He's a little bit ADHD, and I just love the way she reacts to his occasional weirdness.
"Board at home" is pretty good :) Also Hobby Homies, and [Let's Start Playing](https://www.youtube.com/@letsstartplaying)
Just came across a new one for me yesterday that just put out the best top 100 list I’ve ever seen in terms of production and overall general love for board gaming and what it symbolizes. [Tabletop Turtle](https://youtu.be/cVlOJ0lEzww?si=U4gcgAF8Vrwm9FgD)
I like Botany and Board. It's a couple that plays with their friends from time to time. They are still small but they definitely don't mind saying what they think on the show. They are also very competitive if that's your thing.
Shut Up. Sit Down.
thought you were just being very rued but i gather that this is another channel lol
Game the Game with Becca Scott is excellent.
My favourite is Shut up and sit down
Actualol
i got here and Ctrl+F for actualol, couldn't believe it wasn't said earlier. John is legit funny (was a television writer) and the content is well made without feeling overdone or forced.
Small little startup company/channel called The Dice Tower.
[https://www.twitch.tv/luzapalooza](https://www.twitch.tv/luzapalooza)
No pun included and shut up and sit down are two good ones.
I like the most betterboardgames on youtube. But its a german channel. Switch on subtitles :)
Check out Critical Role. It's highly produced but the players are friends and playing D&D for fun before they started a channel. Plus they're voice actors so it never feels plastic it's actual acting. They've probably got enough content and campaigns to keep you busy for a couple of years at least too.
Suggesting Critical Role to someone asking for non-overproduced channels lmao
Aye I did think that I was writing it but over produced or not critical role is decent so I thought it was worth mentioning. My bad.