The game featured in this episode, "Settlers of Catan", is a real game, and the concept of "wood for sheep" has been a running joke among regular players of the game since its inception.
Sheldon is disappointed to discover that a Mr. Spock cardboard stand-up he ordered is a portrayal of Zachary Quinto's Spock not Leonard Nimoy's Spock. According to Bill Prady, the co-creator of The Big Bang Theory (2007), approval from Paramount, J.J. Abrams (producer of the new Star Trek series) and Zachary Quinto was required in order to mock Spock.
This episode marks the 100th episode of the show, which began airing on September 24 2007, with the pilot episode.
In this episode, Penny tells Leonard about how she acted in a rendition of Anne Frank above a bowling alley. Kaley Cuoco formerly starred in 8 Simple Rules (2002), in which her character (Bridget) also stars as Anne Frank.
Penny says that she and Leonard broke up almost two years ago. This episode aired almost one year and 9 months after The Wheaton Recurrence (2010), the episode where they broke up, so almost the same amount of time has passed in real life.