The Shipwreck Arcana Review
I was walking through the Expo Hall at PAX East when I saw it. A small package, but alluring, with its milky-white…exterior. Okay, I can’t do this. Sometimes you sit down to write a board game review and can’t think … Continued
Podcast Episode 29: PAX East 2018
PAX East expanded to 4 days from 3, and that means we got even more games played this year, including an absolute GEM of a game from CGE. We also rant about Jimmy Johns and, frankly, get extremely silly. Also, … Continued
The One Question You Should Ask After Every Game
I am truly blessed with a great group of friends to play games with. If you listen to The Thoughtful Gamer podcast, you’ve heard from pretty much all of them. Frequently after playing games we’ll have an informal debrief of … Continued
Tabletop Gaming Manual Review
I have one of those fuzzy childhood memories of visiting my grandparents house and finding what I think was some kind of children’s encyclopedia. It was a delight to my knowledge-hungry child self. I remember learning all kinds of fun … Continued
Top 100 Livestream Tuesday At 8pm EST!
Hello, everyone! As you may know, we livestream all of our main podcast recordings to our Patreon Supporters, and it’s been a ton of fun! But as I’m going to be counting down my top 100 games, I wanted to … Continued
Desk-side Talks With Marc #12: Rulebook Rant, Good Resources, Small Games, and Upcoming Livestreams
I’ve got a wide assortment of topics today, from rulebook pet peeves to disappointing card games to an exciting livestream announcement. Happy Friday! 0:29 – Problems With Rulebooks 6:19 – Consider Supporting Meeple Like Us 7:11 – Great Resource: Stonemaier … Continued
How To Survive A Gaming Convention
I think I’ve finally got it. I just returned from PAX East and I’m not even particularly tired, though I feel general fatigue setting in, so maybe there will be a delayed effect. This is different from years past, when … Continued
Podcast Episode 28: How To Not Be Awful At Board Games
Ever feel like you’re just not doing as well as you should at games? Want that secret sauce so you can beat your friends? Marc, Orion, Matt, Matt’s secret brother Dave, and another Matt who we call Bubba are here … Continued
Great GDC 2018 Board Game Presentations
In 2017 the Game Developers Conference hosted a number of board game designers and publishers for the first time to talk about tabletop games. Across the board the talks were wonderful, and you can see my thoughts about them here. … Continued
Lisboa First Impression
Lisboa, Portuguese eurogame master Vital Lacerda’s newest design, is a visual and mechanical smorgasboard–a hodgepodge of player incentives, feedback loops, and iconography teetering on the brink of “too much!” Until, of course, you play through your first game. Then, thinking … Continued