Ride Home Rants
Ride Home Rants
From Tic-Tac-Toe to Cards Against Humanity: Exploring the Games That Bring Us Together
Games reveal who we truly are. In this lively, sometimes heated conversation with guests Matt Landowski and Tony Bogan, we explore the classic pastimes that define our social gatherings and family reunions.
The humble board game sparks surprising passion as we debate the merits of simplicity versus strategy. Matt champions tic-tac-toe for its accessibility and Tony confesses his complicated relationship with Monopoly—a game that simultaneously tops his "favorite" and "most hated" lists. We explore how these tabletop classics have evolved over generations, with Monopoly's marketing genius creating everything from NFL editions to electronic banking versions.
When the conversation shifts outdoors, volleyball emerges as the unexpected star. Our guests share stories of intense backyard matches complete with celebratory spikes, trash talk, and the occasional bloody nose. The unanimous preference for beach over grass volleyball (despite finding sand in unexpected places months later) reveals how we're willing to sacrifice comfort for the perfect playing experience.
Card games provide some of the episode's most revealing moments, especially when discussing Cards Against Humanity's ability to transform gatherings. The shocking revelation about Uno potentially becoming a Vegas casino game prompts predictions of heated confrontations on the gaming floor—highlighting how even the simplest games can ignite our competitive spirits.
Whether you're a strategic chess player, a casual cornhole enthusiast, or someone who's flipped a Monopoly board in frustration, this episode celebrates the universal truth that games don't just fill time—they reveal character, create memories, and sometimes even test relationships. Join us for laughs, revelations, and perhaps a new appreciation for the games that bring us together.
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Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home Rants podcast. This is, as always, your host, mike Bonham. I have a great episode for us today and a couple of guys on here. We're going to sit and we're going to talk about all things games indoor, board games outdoor, anything that has to do with having fun. We're going to talk about that today. I'm going to let these gentlemen introduce themselves. Guys, I need your name. What's your favorite flavor of margarita and what type of cheese do you like on your cheeseburger? And Lando, we're going to start with you, hey everyone.
Speaker 2:This is Matt Landowski. Here I'm going to say strawberry margarita with a little cheddar cheese on my burger.
Speaker 1:Cheddar cheese on my burger. Haven't had him on a while but he's been a staple of the roundtables here, but Tony.
Speaker 3:Hey guys, my name's Tony Bogan I, as far as margaritas goes, my favorite flavor, I know Matt took strawberries, so I'm going to go agave and then I'm going to have, as far as burgers goes, mozzarella.
Speaker 1:Mozzarella. That's not bad for a burger. I'm more of just a lime margarita guy. You know, just don't give me, I don't need anything flashy. Give me a lime margarita If it's frozen, even better. Just don't give me. I don't need anything flashy. Give me a lime margarita If it's frozen, even better. And cheese, I mean, you can't go wrong with cheese on a cheeseburger, but I'm a big Pepper Jack kind of guy on a burger. Give that a little bit of kick there to the burger. Can't go wrong with that at all.
Speaker 1:But we're not here to talk about food and margaritas, even though I could talk about that all day. We're going talk about that all day. We're gonna talk about all things board games and outdoor games and lando. Let's start with you. What's your favorite board game to play?
Speaker 2:board game.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna go with tic-tac-toe, tic-tac-toe wow, real old school with tic-tac-toe, but that way, I keep it simple man play it anywhere. You can draw that up anywhere like you don't. Actually, it's a cheap game. Man Need a pencil and some paper. I don't have to. I don't even need paper, just something to write on. Tony, what about you? Board games?
Speaker 3:Board games oh man, A Monopoly, Monopoly man, it's Monopoly.
Speaker 1:That's an eight-hour game right there alone and it'll break up a family for sure. Solid options on that one. Tic-tac-toe I didn't even think of tic-tac-toe as a board game For me. I was a big chutes and ladders guy growing up back in the day. Monopoly's not bad. I just don't have that kind of time to stay in on a game that always ends with somebody flipping a table in my family and getting upset. So I'd have to say shoots and ladders. That was a big one for me, tony. For you, the best outdoor game would that be cornhole lawn, bocce or horseshoes.
Speaker 3:Cornhole, Cornhole. Okay, I've never played bocce ball before, or horseshoes, so I'm going to go with the default answer cornhole.
Speaker 1:They're all kind of you know this question. You know all of these games have the same mentality, basically just in different formats. Horseshoes and bocce are basically the same game. Uh once just played with uh balls and the other ones played with, you know, the horseshoes and the poles and sticks and that and then cornhole. I mean it's kind of the same same concept of the game. But l what about you with outdoor games?
Speaker 2:I'm going to go with bocce. I was actually in a bocce tournament a couple weeks ago. Nice Funny. You say that we lost first round, but it was a blast man, I really enjoyed it. Yeah, I'm going to go with bocce on that one though.
Speaker 1:Yeah bocce, I one, though. Yeah bocce, I gotta go bocce and stick with my italian roots on that one. Bocce bob a big cornhole guy too, but can't go wrong with bocce. We used to back in college. We the the fraternity house I was in, was up on a hill and we would call it extreme bocce because we had no idea where those balls were gonna go, rolling down the hill and everything like that and then trying to throw it uphill. So we called it extreme bocce is how we played it. We made our own game out of it, but you're definitely going to go bocce ball for me on that one, ready. Okay, now, lando, if you're playing one of these games here, this is pretty all day written all over it. Which one are you picking? Is it checkers or is it chess?
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm going to go with checkers. I'm a simple guy that chess is. I don't know all the rules. I'm going to be dead honest with you right now. I played one time in fifth grade and got my ass whooped. I've really never been back since. Maybe one day in the future, We'll see.
Speaker 1:We'll see if we can't get you to play some chess. Yeah, I've played chess. I used to have an all-glass chess set growing up. I like it. It's a very complex game. But yeah, checkers, I mean, there's something nostalgic about checkers for me and playing that. I don't know, that's a, that's a coin flip for me, because I played a lot of chess growing up. Me and my buddies would play all the time. But yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's. It's a complex game, I'll give you that. And you know I don't win a lot when I play it. You know I'm not that tactical about it. I don't really care that much, obviously, um, but uh, tony, what about you checkers or chess?
Speaker 1:I'm going with checkers, checkers, yeah, so I mean checkers, I mean when you can play it at aacker Barrel and they have the big game sitting out right there with the big things. I mean you really can't go wrong with that. You get some good food, you get to play some little bit of checkers while you're waiting for it. I mean you can't go wrong with checkers, it's fun for everybody, absolutely.
Speaker 3:Chess causes me to think too much.
Speaker 1:Not trying to overstimulate and think too much. I get it, but Tony, do you think badminton is harder to play than volleyball? For an outdoor game?
Speaker 3:I'd say it's about the same. Honestly, I know with badminton you got a little birdie there, but badminton can be just as intense, if not more intense than volleyball. So I'd say it's about the same.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good one there. What about you, Lando?
Speaker 2:Volleyball. Volleyball is pretty dang intense, man. It gets real intense. Yeah, some backyard volleyball man. Somebody might you know leave with a cup of the bloody nose, or Somebody might you know leave with a cup of the bloody nose, or something. Man you know? You know how Volleyball? I think of that. What's that movie, meet the Parents, where Ben Stiller comes up and just spikes the ball?
Speaker 3:right, oh, no Like, if I spike somebody, I'm doing a celebration on them. I don't care who it is, I'll either hit them with the too small or strapped in.
Speaker 1:See, I'm just so competitive is the problem with me? I mean badminton, that birdie, that kid I don't know what it is with the hand-eye coordination with me I can never hit that damn thing. But volleyball, you bet your ass I'm playing for. Keeps back home for the 4th of July at this bar that's on the river. It's changed names so many times. I think it's called the Crooked Dock. Now they have a beach volleyball court right out back on their patio area. They have big tournaments every 4th of July. People train year-round for this tournament on their patio area. They have big tournaments every 4th of July. People train year-round for this tournament. It's supposed to be something fun. 4th of July festivities yay, we're all out having fun. People just go ham for this tournament. It's intense. We had a water volleyball back in college as a Greek week event.
Speaker 1:And, tony, I'm with you. I'm celebrating. I'm that showboat. I don't care if I'm spiking it on you. You know something's coming. I'm going to be hitting you with something. I'm pumping my chest. I'm. You know I'm. It doesn't matter that that's just me. I'm very competitive and I talk a lot of shit when I play anything at any game. I don't care what it is it, can it give me tic-tac-toe and I'll you know I'm just a shit talker, that's it's just my high school play.
Speaker 3:If my high school had a boys volleyball team, I would have have played for sure.
Speaker 1:It's actually getting more popular now around the United States, I think, with high school and stuff A lot more schools have a male volleyball and all boys volleyball program too as well, which I think is good for the sport in general. You don't see it a lot, but it's definitely growing.
Speaker 2:Those beach volleyball players are badass man.
Speaker 3:They are unbelievable athletes, you're running around hot sand all day.
Speaker 1:Covered in sand. It's tough to walk in sand, let alone running around and and trying to be coordinated enough to play uh, play some volleyball. Yeah, I give beach volleyball players all the credit in the world just for the the condition that they have to be to be able to play that sport. I, yeah, I would have to give the edge to volleyball on that one, just because of the sheer athleticism that you're going to need to play, especially if you're getting to beach volleyball.
Speaker 3:It's one of the only sports I was actually ever really good at. I follow football, baseball and basketball, but volleyball is where it's at for me.
Speaker 1:Hey, everybody has their niche. I was a swimmer man, so I get it. You know what I mean. Everyone has their sport. I played football, baseball, basketball. People are shocked when they're just like how are you not good at basketball? You're 6'5", how are you not good at basketball? I'm just not. I don't know how else to say this, other than I'm just not. There's just I don't know what, how else to say this, other than I'm just that stereotypical white guy Like I can't. I can't jump, I'm pretty slow.
Speaker 1:Uh, I tried out for my eighth grade basketball team and literally the coach told me the only reason he was keeping me on was to block shots and get rebounds. He didn't care if I ended the season with zero points. All he wanted me to do was block shots and get rebounds. That was it. I knew my role and I executed flawlessly In a 10-game season, making it to the championship. I finished with 11 total points, 118 blocks and 100 rebounds. Wow, that's unbelievable man Out out of almost every game I played.
Speaker 1:I just knew my role. I wasn't there to be flashy. I was getting the board and I was just tossing it to somebody else. There was no keeping the ball for me and dunk either. I could dunk uh that teed up in the uh in the semifinals, because back then in eighth grade you weren't allowed to dunk. It was and it was in the semifinals and I had a breakaway and I I saw my opportunity, I took it. I two hand threw it down and got teed up and then got benched for the rest of the game. We're getting teed up.
Speaker 3:Did you never head tap anyone?
Speaker 1:What's that?
Speaker 3:Never head tap anyone.
Speaker 1:All the time. Man, Dude, I was a menace. If you can't, I was chasing people down. I was pitting stuff against the boards. That was. My job was to block shots. I was the no. No, no, that was my job was to block shots.
Speaker 3:I was the Dikembe. No, no, no, that was me. No, I was. I've been hitting the two short. If I get a board and I lay it up over you, I'm hitting either the two short or I'm hitting the head tap.
Speaker 1:I get it, tony, back to board games here. What board game do you?
Speaker 3:hate to play man, also Monopoly, also Monopoly, because it takes forever. I don't like to lose at Monopoly. I think I had at one point, I think I had a big lead or something. I ended up blowing it and losing one year. Oh, shit. I love Monopoly and hate it at the same time.
Speaker 1:I love hate game. I think, lando. What about you A board game you hate to play?
Speaker 2:Hate. I honestly haven't played board games since I've been a kid, except for Yahtzee. I play a little Yahtzee with my girlfriend every once in a while. I call it like a date night or something. We'll play a little Yahtzee, or cards or something. I really don't hate any games. I don't think that's a tough one for me.
Speaker 1:I don't know that I have to.
Speaker 2:What's a game that would take a while, like I can't think of one that's on my head, but that would probably irritate me the most Because I'm just, you know, play for a little bit, get it done, you know.
Speaker 1:If there's any of them, I'd have to say Monaco.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember playing that as a kid.
Speaker 1:I didn't have enough attention span for that one. I definitely don't have the attention span for Monopoly. I don't hate any games, but yeah, Monopoly, it just takes too damn long for me. I can't do it.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you what they marketed. They marketed the hell out of it.
Speaker 3:Absolutely Like you see it. So much with the McDonald's promos.
Speaker 1:Yep, there's so many different versions of this damn game. Like I remember, even back in college, a girl I was dating at the time she had a Monopoly where they gave you debit cards. What, yeah, you had a debit card, they didn't give you cash. You had a debit card that you had to swipe the, the purchase shit like and all your properties, and that I was like this is intense. And then all the spinoffs where there's a different theme for every every day. They had the nfl monopoly where you're basically buying franchises and stuff like that. I mean it just, whoever invented this game is a marketing genius for sure, but yeah, it just it takes too damn long for me. All right, lando, if someone is having a cookout, what is the one outdoor game they have to play with their guests?
Speaker 2:oh uh, I have two and I'm gonna get. Well, my first one's always cornhole. You gotta have the cornhole, right, oh yeah? But um, I'm gonna go with can jam, also tangent. Can jam, your plate, can jam, can Jam, can Jam you ever play?
Speaker 3:Can Jam, I've never heard of it, I have.
Speaker 2:I play Can Jam. Yeah, it's like a can on each side and there's probably like so many feet in between Two teams one on each side and then you got to throw the Frisbee into the little slot in the can or you got to put it in the top of the can. Okay, but it's fun, man. Man, it's a blast.
Speaker 1:It sounds like it's gonna start out fun and then that's gonna get real intense, real quick. Yes, and that's. There's no denying that. Like I, I'll take that to my grave. I never played the game first. I'm hearing about it, but like that sounds like, yeah, we're gonna start out, it's gonna be fun, and then the competition's gonna get heated up and then it's just gonna end and get heated real quick. Uh, but, tony, what about you going to a cookout? What's one game they have to have for the guests?
Speaker 3:oh uh. One game that's played whenever I've been at a cookout and I am not good at this game Spades.
Speaker 1:Spades. We're going with card games. Okay yeah, cookouts, I mean.
Speaker 3:And also Cards Against Humanity too. That's something I can't play. Cards Against Humanity you hate. Is that what you said? No, I like Cards.
Speaker 1:Against Humanity. Okay, that's good. That's literally leading us to the next thing I was going to talk about was cards against humanity.
Speaker 2:uh, but um that's a wild game right there it's just not for the faint of heart.
Speaker 1:We're, we're gonna, we're gonna dive into this here in a minute here. But, like you know, for me from cookouts if I even have one, you know what I obviously have the cornhole set up. Um, I need to get, uh, a bocce set to have that for me. Uh, growing up, we've always, you know, growing up in an italian family, we've always played bocce. Um, for me, you know, I mean, hillbilly horseshoes is one of those fun games. It's kind of where you have like the two golf balls that are attached to the string and you have the PVC pipe and there's three different rungs. Each rung is a different point. If you hook the balls on there. That's one for me. I mean, I'd have to say 4-0 would have to be set up for any cookout that I'm going to.
Speaker 1:Never really thought about cards, though for cookouts, but I guess every family function I have is cookouts at my parents' house now and we're always ending up playing cards, somehow, somehow, someway. We're always playing cards. But, tony, since you brought it upards Against Humanity, you kind of mentioned it there. You know, yay or nay on Cards Against Humanity yay, of course.
Speaker 3:Yay for Cards Against Humanity yeah, lando.
Speaker 1:What about you? Is that a yay or nay on Cards Against Humanity?
Speaker 1:yay, you guys get some good laughs there you do hell right after, like even in college and right after we made a drinking game out of Yay, go ahead and get some good laughs there. You do Even in college and right after we made a drinking game out of Cards Against Humanity. It's a fun game to play. When you start adding alcohol and booze to it, it gets weird real quick. Some of the stuff that happens. It's one of those games that if you're not laughing and having a good time while you're playing that game, like there's something wrong with you, in my opinion, like it's just one of those games that just has to. Like it puts a smile on everybody's face. And again, like Monopoly whoever came up with this game there? Monopoly, whoever came up with this game.
Speaker 1:There's so many spin-offs on this game and it's a marketing genius for a card game and I don't know I haven't played it in a while. Might have to try to find my card to get to man of the Set and break that out, because I feel like that's just a fun night for me now and as a comedian, it gives me material when you're thinking about that stuff too as well. But card games for me is something I like to do. I'm a big Euchre guy. Either you two play Dabble in any Euchre.
Speaker 2:I've heard of it. I never really got a chance to play it, though, but okay tony, what about you euchre guy?
Speaker 3:uh, I've played euchre.
Speaker 1:That's something I'm not good at either and we my wife and I will throw down on euchre. We, we play for keeps when it comes to euchre. We, we love that game. It's so much fun. It's kind of like spades in in a way, um, but yeah, I've, we've always been big euchre players, uh, for us, and I feel like we've we've talked about this a lot here, so we'll make this one real quick here, and I think I know where you're going with this one, tony, but monopoly overrated or underrated.
Speaker 3:I would have to say that it's honestly underrated, believe it or not. That's why Monopoly bias didn't work, though.
Speaker 1:Lando.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I'm going to say, I'm going to say I really don't have an opinion On it because I never really Played too long Of a game with Monopoly. I always called it quits, you know the kid and stuff. It was just too long of a game and my attention span wasn't there for that.
Speaker 1:So I'm going overrated on this just because of the sheer length of this game. I mean, I'm pretty sure I have a game on pause from back when I was a kid, that you know. It's just one of those games that just never ends, it seems like. But, Lando, is beach or grass volleyball better for an outdoor game?
Speaker 2:Oh, beach for sure, brother, beach for sure, yeah, all right. No beach for sure, brother Beach for sure, yeah, all right. No doubt there, man. I mean, if I have the choice, I'm going to the beach, brother. You know what I mean Getting in the sand diving around all that good stuff.
Speaker 1:I'm not mad at that answer at all, lando at all.
Speaker 2:And I tell you what man? Sand doesn't hurt as much as grass and dirt man. Yeah, sand's got a lot more cushion to it. I know I'm diving out there, there's no doubt about it, Tony.
Speaker 1:what about you? Beach or grass?
Speaker 3:Sand for sure, because you can dive, it doesn't hurt as much, although I did kind of hurt myself a little bit diving in a sand game, but I was okay, toughed it out and my team ended up winning.
Speaker 1:so the only thing I would you know advocate for for grass is you're not covered in sand For like three to five Business days After a beach. You still find sand In you, no matter where you're at it, just After being in the beach and anywhere that. But yeah, I've definitely Go to beach volleyball For sure.
Speaker 3:I've had times that Went months and somehow Still found sand. Yeah, yeah, I've definitely gone beach volleyball, for sure. I've had times that I went months and somehow still found sand.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sand is just sand. Yeah, I could have a whole show about how much I hate sand, but we're going to round out this episode here. Tony and I want you to rate these games from best to worst. Connect four life uh, shoots and ladders Hmm.
Speaker 3:Life is best connect for and then shoots and ladders is worse only because I haven't really played it.
Speaker 1:Got you, lando. What's your top three there?
Speaker 2:I'm going to go Connect Four Chutes and Ladders Life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's my order, joe. Connect Four Chutes and Ladders, and then Life.
Speaker 2:I never played Life. I damn wouldn't have. Well, I guess I play it every day, but as of right now.
Speaker 1:but we live the game on a daily basis. Yes, but yeah, I mean Connect Four. I'm a big Connect Four guy. You know you go to David Buster's. They have the big Connect Four things there. I'm always gravitating to that. Chutes and Ladders, you know, like I said, we were playing Chutes and ladders. You know, like I said, I grew up playing shoots and ladders a lot and then life is just one of those games like it almost feels personal at the end of it, like you can. Like you almost feel like you actually screwed your life up. You know what I mean. Like in the support game for sure. Uh, that was. That's all the questions we have. You guys have any honorable mentions of games that we didn't questions? We have. You guys have any honorable mentions of games that we didn't mention that you would want to talk about here? To kind of round out the episode.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna, I'm gonna go. If you're ever at the beach, you get a chance to play Polish Frisbee. Play Polish Frisbee, so there's two poles on each side and there's space in between so many yards or whatever, and then you put a beer On top of the pole, on each pole, and you gotta knock it down with the frisbee, okay. And then if you knock the beer down, you can catch it. But you gotta catch it with one hand. You gotta have a beer in your other hand. It can get pretty wild. Man diving Is it a drinking game? I mean it can be.
Speaker 1:yeah, I'm on board with it. I'm just trying to get the facts about this game.
Speaker 2:I don't even know if that's the right name for it, but we always call it Polish Frisbee. I get it. It makes sense. You got two poles. It's a heck of a time, man. It's a heck of a time I got you, tony.
Speaker 1:What about you? Any games that we didn't mention here, that you?
Speaker 3:want to talk about shoot man um uno uno. I heard it's actually gonna be a legit game out in vegas that you you're taking the words out of my mouth.
Speaker 1:Whoever came up with putting Uno in casinos in Vegas. You're a sociopath, because that game gets heated more than anything. I know there's going to be people like I throw hands for Uno for fun. You're going to add money to the equation oh, I'm throwing it down for that. There's going to be riots at these casinos in Vegas that have who know that's crazy. My mind Blows my mind that they're they're deciding that that's a good idea. We're going to bring Udo to Vegas. That's just wow, and yeah, that that would be the only one.
Speaker 1:I was going to mention Uno. There was a game. It's similar. It's a card game Used to play all the time Skippo. Same concept as Uno. It's a smidge different. It's a bigger deck, not a lot of reverses and wild cards, playing with numbers and everything like that. It's a fun game. It's very eerily similar to to Uno. Need more than two people to play that game, though it can take a while if it's just two of you because you're dealing the whole deck. So the more people in that game, the more fun it is. But that would be my honorable mention. But that is actually going to do it for this week's episode of the Ride Home Rants podcast. I want to thank both my guests here, matt Lando Landowski and Tony Bogan, for joining and getting to talk all things games here for our little game show and, as always, if you enjoyed the show, be a friend, tell a friend. If you didn't tell them anyways, because they might like it just because you did, that's going to do it for me and I will see y'all next week.
