Last weekend team SU&SD defended the world from aliens, had an international incident with the USA and almost dissolved the United Nations, all from the safety of a town hall in South London. This experience came courtesy of the Megagame Makers, an English society of game designers who specialise in the supermassive. It was an astonishing day, and so of course we had to make this supermassive video in tribute (WARNING: it also contains megaswears, so keep megakids away).

We're hugely proud of this one. Enjoy, everybody. And our overwhelming thanks to the association of Megagamers to hosting us for the day.

(Donor note! This is the first of our super-videos, promised in the stretch goals of our first donation season. We know some of you wanted videos in the old SU&SD style. Don't worry! We've got those coming too. :D -- Team SU&SD)

An astonishing thing has happened! We've again succeeded at dispatching literally thousands of Gold Club packs around the world, full of limited edition jokes, swag, downloads and behind-the-scenes tidbits. If you've not received yours yet, you will soon.

If you feel like supporting the work we do and getting some swag mailed to your doorstep, donations are now open for next season, which will close June 30th! That's last season's bag you can see up there. Doesn't it look nice? Go on. Treat yourself, and help us spread the good word about board gaming!

ALSO, we've a question for you. Quinns, Paul, Matt, Mike and Brendan will be attending Gen Con '14 in America's fashionable state of Indiana. To help cover the flights we're considering selling a very limited number of seats at a sit-down dinner with us at the convention, as well as an intimate gaming session. If you're breathtakingly wealthy and this excites you, please say so using the forms stuck right there in the pledge levels.

Thanks again, everybody.

-- Team SU&SD

Matt Lees: Paul, do you like temples?

Paul Dean: I don’t really know much about temples and I don’t come across them much in Lewisham. The last templeish thing I saw was the Grand Lodge of the Freemasons in San Francisco. It had some pretty unusual sculptures outside and I was too scared to go in, so I took some photos really quickly and then scurried off.

Matt: How many points do you think it was worth?

Paul: Pardon?

Matt: How many points? How many levels was it? Are they winning?

Paul: Oh I get it, this is a Babel review.

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Quinns: This week's news is brought to you by Poolside.fm, whose smooth jams have had my soul vibrating like a sex toy since I got up. Try not to watch the accompanying video feed, though. Not because it's bad, but because it will kneecap your productivity.

Hmm. I wanted to start with our smoothest story, but when you're writing about board games that's like trying to pick the straightest banana from the bunch. Let's go with Board Game Geek's preview (almost a review, really) of upcoming game Istanbul, seen above. A game of making money and being a boss under a sweltering sun.

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Are you ready for the most half-arsed impersonation of explorers Lewis & Clark the internet has ever seen? We've got you covered. We've also got a lengthy review of much-hyped board game Lewis & Clark, on the off chance you come here for the board game reviews.

It's an interesting game, though. In a year when fantastic eurogames are coming thick and fast, like hail in the Great Plains, this one looks pretty enough to make a name for itself. But does it have that frontier spirit? Quinns will let you know. Probably. Assuming he doesn't get distracted and start talking about sodding Timeline again.

Depending on the weather, what we've had for breakfast and whether Quinns has won a game of it recently, Cosmic Encounter will sometimes be SU&SD's official favourite game. We've reviewed it before, chatted about it endlessly and played it even more than that. So of course now it's back in stock Quinns had to spread the love to the mighty Eurogamer, who published his review this morning.

It starts well:

"I want you to imagine poker. It's not untrue to call poker a perfect game. It's also not untrue to call it occasionally boring and exhausting, and to disapprove of its chapped mathematical underbelly.

"Now, imagine if poker was made for gamers. Imagine if it was wildly inventive, with a mean streak and a wicked sense of humour. Best of all, imagine if it was a different, surprising game every single time you sat down to play. Or don't imagine, and pay £40 for this set of linen-finished cards, plastic UFOs that stack like poker chips and gorgeously illustrated aliens. Odds are, you'll be very glad you did."

...But then quickly descends into him getting overexcited and just listing aliens. Do you have your copy yet, readers?

Fwssh-pop! A new Shut Up & Sit Down podcast has dropped out of hyperspace and awaits you in our podcast section, its hull slick with enthusiasm, and its bulbous cargo bays heaving with games. In this episode Paul and Quinns are joined by Mike, Reference Pear's personal assistant, to discuss the ludicrous architecture of Ugg-Tect, shapely card game Pairs, the somewhat astonishing Monikers, as well as a sneak preview of this week's Lewis & Clark review.

From there, the podcast slingshots along the Kessel run to arrive at a lengthy discussion of Fantasy Flight's new Star Wars RPG, answers a few of your questions, and leaves as quickly as it came, accompanied by the musical stylings of Mr. Jesse James.

But your memories... will last a lifetime. They'll also need to be disinfected, so please mail them to us in a self-addressed envelope.

Quinns: Good evening board-babies! Welcome to a sexy, late-nite edition of the news, posted two whole hours later than usual because I was doing my laundry. Oh, yeah. Mmm. Give it to me! This one goes out to that very special lady at the laundry place. The one with the knees that go all the way round.

We begin with a double-bill of new card games with "Shinobi" in the title. I've got a lot of time for shinobis because, like me, they're smooth operators who move with skill and grace in the dead of night*. First off is Shinobi Clans (box art above left, same card above right), a game of dispatching ninjas to protect, assassinate or even equip vulnerable dignitaries. But before we get to that, can I just comment on how much blood is on the cover?! It's like a pipe burst. I can only conclude that the accompanying shinobi is hoisting that helmet out of harm's way.

What a sensible shinobi. I'd want him in my clan.

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