I Was On A Podcast
It was not my own podcast (that’s tomorrow). But rather the delightful “We’re Not Wizards” podcast, which was truly an all-around fun time. I do
It was not my own podcast (that’s tomorrow). But rather the delightful “We’re Not Wizards” podcast, which was truly an all-around fun time. I do
I give the rundown of three digital card games that I’ve enjoyed quite a bit: Monster Slayers, Slay The Spire, and Age of Rivals. All
Late-stage prototype pictured below. Art is final; graphic design isn’t. Pumpkin Patch: Bad Seeds will be on Kickstarter in the first half of July. Pumpkin
At long last we’ve reached the conclusion of the 2018 countdown. Marc, Matt, and Orion talk about the best of the best. The cream of
The Supertall Kickstarter is online until 6/30 Straight off their rousing success with Sprawlopolis, a genuinely great cooperative puzzle game, Button Shy is now kickstarting
The news that Netrunner is going to be cancelled was kind of a blow to me. Fantasy Flight had just released the new core set.
Marc, Orion, and Matt sit down with Eric Reuss, designer of Spirit Island. This is one of our longest podcasts ever, but it might be
The Kickstarter culture in board gaming has always felt a bit odd to me. I don’t avoid it completely. I’ve backed a couple of Red
I had the pleasure of sitting down (digitally) with David Libby, designer of the solo card game Anxiety to talk about the game design and his
Marc’s fighting off a cold but that won’t stop him! Orion and Matt join to count down some truly excellent games and fail to stay
Anxiety? It sucks. 0/10. Do not recommend. Oh, wait, I’m reviewing the game called Anxiety here. That’s a different story. I first heard of this
As I mentioned in my first impression, Gloomhaven is remarkable not necessarily because it’s particularly innovative, but because it seems to do everything it wants
Marc, Matt, and Orion are joined by Trey Chambers, designer of Argent: The Consortium, Harvest, and Empyreal: Spells and Steam (now on kickstarter!). We hit
I find that modern board gamers tend to have a strange relationship with the classic abstract strategy games. By nearly any measure both Chess and
Special for our list-aficionado fans out there–another list! The middlest of the best games ever, or something like that. Marc, Matt, and Orion talk about
Marc, Orion, and Matt talk about “hindered communication” games, where you’re trying to communicate something to another person with an arbitrary barrier in the way.
Alright, people. I’ve got to be honest here. I’ve staked my reputation here on blunt honesty, so I’m just going to say it: when I
We’re creeping down the list to better and better games. Marc, Matt, Orion, and Ben talk through some of Marc’s favorite games ever. This time
I’m a bit of a Resistance apologist. It was one of the first modern board games I really enjoyed. I’ve played it easily over 100
We’re doing a double-countdown live-cast! Find out what my 80-41st favorite games of all time are with plenty of disagreement and debate–guaranteed. 8:30 pm EST
I’ve got a weird relationship with this Sanderson guy, the remarkably prolific, super popular fantasy author known for his robust magic systems. Ben, who you’ll
Prompted by a discussion in the Thoughtful Gamer discord channel, Marc, Orion, and Matt explore the nature of language, games, and aqueousness as they discuss
One summer in my childhood my friend and I got obsessed with Soul Calibur 2 for the Gamecube. It was my first true experience with
Avid readers may recall my somewhat controversial review for Hunt For The Ring, where I talked about the fine line deduction games walk between giving too
The countdown has returned! Marc has expanded the list to 100 games this time, so there’s double the fun. In this installment Marc and Orion
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
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
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
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
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!
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 –
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,
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,
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
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
The house always had a funerial sense about it–the smell of camellias mixed with stale cigarette smoke when I was young; the sense of void
Marc and Orion sit down to talk about all they played at the Granite Games Summit in Nashua, NH. It was a wonderful convention and
I chat with Matt from Mountaintop Games about his first game design: The Primary, which is a light area control game based around the US primary election
Marc, Matt, Orion, and Ben join up to talk about two of their favorite real-time games: Space Alert and Captain Sonar. What makes them so
There I was in my game room, at the table with three friends, furrowing my brow and trying to figure out how on earth we
Hello, everyone–exciting news. To commemorate the 1 year anniversary of The Thoughtful Gamer I’ll be doing an AMA (“ask me anything”) on r/boardgames on the
Greetings! I’m here with another quick update on what games I’ve been playing recently and what’s in store in the next couple of weeks. Get
I just spent the weekend down in Connecticut at “Connclave” playing games non-stop. I know you’re all immensely jealous about that fact, so I’m here
This week’s podcast is a wonderful discussion with Jason Perez, a psychotherapist from the Every Night Is Game Night podcast, about depression and mental health. We
I recognize that I’m not the most prolific board game player out there. I try to limit my purchases to games I’m almost certain I’ll
I couldn’t quite believe it when I found out that I haven’t actually reviewed Castles of Burgundy before. I suppose I was remembering the strategy
Longtime listeners will know that Matt frequently tries to sabotage this podcast by talking about hockey. Well, back when me, Orion, and Matt were doing
I’m ⅔ of the way done with this article and I’m realizing that this is less a structured argument and more a collection of loosely
Join Marc, Orion, Matt, and Wes in a hidden movement cage fight! The old Fantasy Flight standard goes up against the new hotness. Which one
A few years ago a ridiculous joke-game showed up at Origins called “Win, Lose, Banana”. The name of the game, helpfully, also functions as a
People love narratives. We love not just the narratives we get in the form of designed stories in books and TV and movies. We love
Hey, all. This one’s me talking about how I’ve organized my life recently to be more productive. I also discuss some very early first impressions
I finally did it. I’d held out a long time, content with plastic baggies and ad hoc organization. But Gloomhaven was too much for me.
This is an odd one. Marc, Orion, Matt, and Wes talk about the differences between board games and video games as media and how their
At the risk of outing myself as a gamer who doesn’t play “enough” games, let’s talk about my gaming stats for 2017. I started logging
“Cult of the new” is an unfortunate phrase I hear a lot around the board game community to describe behavior where people get excited only
Hello faithful readers! The Thoughtful Gamer’s patreon campaign has been going along splendidly. I’m both surprised and delighted by how much support I’ve seen through
Marc discusses his experience with Twilight Imperium 4th Edition and goes over the news of the day, which includes why bad graphic design led to
The sales pitch for Captain Sonar is ridiculously compelling. A real time game about battling submarine crews? Sold. Who doesn’t want to play that? Submarine
Marc and Orion are on an island. They’ve also been playing a lot of Spirit Island. Chill with the sounds of the ocean and people
Once, in the Ancient Times of board games (about 10 years ago), from the exotic lands of Germany, a game called Agricola was made. It
Hello, everyone. Check out this interview with Gamechurch I did at PAX Unplugged. There will be more interviews once per day for a week or so,
It’s a MEGA-PODCAST where Marc, Orion, and Matt look over 2017 and all of the great (and not so great) games we’ve played. We’ve had
Hello, faithful readers. I’ve posted a quick review of 2017 and some goals for 2018 over on my Patreon page. I think 2017 has been a
You stare at the grid of faces. Some are human. Others–robots. It doesn’t matter. All that matters are the faces, and the names. Is the
Sometimes weeks are hard. This has been one of those weeks. But I want to try to turn it into something positive. If you want
Marc quizzes his wife Amber on her theory of “social manipulation” in board games, which desperately needs a new name because that sounds really evil.
I’m writing this down here and now so you all can bother me in the future if I renege: I will never try to make
No specific theme this time, just some thoughts on Patreon, Gloomhaven, The Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Terraforming Mars, Hollandspiele, social deduction games, and board
How can this not be a first impression? Has anyone ever finished Gloomhaven? It’s so big and so immense in its scope that I fear
As we enter the advertising onslaught that we call the “holiday season”, I’d like to both shamelessly use this time to recommend some cool games
Marc and Orion talk about, perhaps, their favorite genre of board game, the illustrious card-driven wargame (CDG). From 1993’s We The People to 2016’s Star
It feels like games season, with all of the sales and PAX Unplugged literally overflowing my game room shelves (I’ve resorted to stacking games on
Is love at first sight possible with board games? I say yes, and I can prove it. It’s happened to me twice before. I open
Marc, Matt, Orion, Ben, Wes, and Bubba reminisce about PAX Unplugged and all of the great games they played and great times they had. I
Back in highschool my friends determined that my future career path was going to be a critic. It didn’t so much matter what I’d be
The Thoughtful Gamer heads off to PAX Unplugged tomorrow morning, and we’d love to see you there. Marc talks about his plans at the convention,
I think Matt (who you know from the podcast) put it best: Fantasy Fight’s Descent 2nd Edition is a fun game despite itself. Dungeon crawling
The group finds themselves in a gun and axe fight. Matt tries to reign in Marc, Ben, Jeff, and JR as they nagivate the difficult
I don’t think I’m alone when I say that Ignacy Trzewiczek is one of the most interesting characters in the modern board gaming world. He
Marc, Orion, Matt, and Wes talk about five different board game themes and ideas that may be impossible to design. Can they be done well?
Prolific game designer Bruno Faidutti is quoted on the cover of The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design: “I wish I had a book like
Our plans come to fruition! Matt tries to reign in Marc, Ben, Jeff, and JR as they nagivate the difficult terrain of the outer rim
Writing a strategy guide for Dominion is hard. The modular nature of the game and the fact that there are now hundreds of different kingdom
The pinnacle of Dominion week at The Thoughtful Gamer. Join Marc, Matt, Orion, Ben, and Bubba as we count down our collective favorite 10 dominion
Marc – Dominion is somewhat notorious for having a ton of expansions. There are a lot of them–no denying that. But they’re also quite fun
This week at The Thoughtful Gamer we’re celebrating what I would say is unequivocally a modern classic in board gaming–Dominion. Below is my review of
Have you been enjoying the reviews and discussions here at The Thoughtful Gamer? Well, now you can help keep the lights on, as it were,
For some reason today is a day of reflection for me. I suppose it’s because I’m preparing to launch on Patreon and trying to line
Hello, everyone. I was interviewed by two different board game people over the past few weeks, and now both interviews have been posted. I spoke
I sit down with Luca from Board To Death to talk about his new 80’s cyberpunk racing game – Neon Knights. It’s a mid-weight racing
I’ve been learning and playing a lot of new games recently, but none of them have made the impression that Concordia has after only one
The hard part, of course, is that this kind of post is now cliche.(1) It’s also tremendously hard to formulate. I mean, what’s my point
Marc, Matt, and Orion answer some questions from listeners. Learn about our favorite movies, how we see The Thoughtful Gamer fitting into the board game
I have this theory, supported by some evidence, that game designers have to harbor a bit of cruelty for the participants in their games in
Join Marc as he discusses the near future of The Thoughtful Gamer. October and November are shaping up to be a very exciting time. If
The worst part of being a critic is reviewing derivative, mediocre works. It’s a strange problem that often causes division between the critic and their
In this episode, Michael and I confront the age-old question: how much of a podcast can be made up of tangents before the tangents become
I wanted to have a review of it up today, but the book “Characteristics of Games” has been so good so far that I keep
Don’t miss any new reviews, articles, or podcasts. Subscribe below.