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
A continuation of the last episode!. Matt tries to reign in Marc, Ben, Jeff, and JR as they nagivate the difficult terrain of the outer
Ben Franklin said, apocryphally, that “beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”. As much as I enjoy beer, I
(Apologies for the audio quality. I’m investigating what went wrong.) Marc, Matt, and Orion discuss what makes co-op games unique, what problems can show up
Matt GM’s a game of Fantasy Flight’s Edge of the Empire Star Wars RPG system. Marc, Ben, Jeff, and JR nagivate the difficult terrain of
Co-op games have become very popular in the modern boardgaming hobby. Pandemic in particular was a huge success and has contributed to the growing popularity
I just realized the main irony of Friday. It would be a great game to have with you if you were stuck on a desert
We’ve got a beast of an episode today! Inspired by GenCon, the game conference behemoth, Marc, Matt, and Orion discuss some of the games announced
The name Seikatsu confuses me. The rulebook says that it is a Japanese word meaning “life”, but all of my life I have associated “katsu”
Hello, faithful readers! I’ve been talking about this a bit on the podcast and on social media before, but I want to put all the
It’s the kind of thing where you play it, and then wonder why no one had thought of it before. Quantum, above all else, is
Out of nowhere, Fantasy Flight announced earlier this week that Twilight Imperium 4th edition would be released later this year! Obviously I am very excited
I don’t think I’ll create any controversy by saying that the War on Terror is, and has been, a mess. A war of intelligence gathering
We’ve got a fun one for you today as I talk with Emil Larsen, designer of Burning Rome, a short tactical card game set in
I don’t like to take walks, much to the chagrin of my doctor, who tells me I should probably exercise, like, at all. Talk to
Yesterday the Thoughtful Gamer group went to Knight Moves, a local board game cafe, to try out some games we hadn’t played before. I had
I get a little fired up on this one. Recently I found out that some reviewers are charging money for reviews, and I make the
I drove over to Connecticut on Saturday to compete in my second and final Regionals for the season and had a great time as always.
Hello, readers! For those in the Boston area, I will be at the Knight Moves game cafe in Somerville for an evening of gaming on
One of my biggest pet peeves in board gaming is the oversized box. Companies compete for prominence on limited shelf space by putting their games
Our most heated debate yet! Join Marc, Matt, and Orion as we discuss the merits of Vlaada Chvatil’s massive adventure game: Mage Knight. Is it
If you’ve taken an economics 101 class you probably know the idea–the ‘homo economicus’ rational being that pursues their own self interest and makes economic
To those who have read the articles here or listened to the podcast, you will not be surprised to learn that I am a huge
Come hang out with Marc as he chills in the office and talks about what he’s been playing lately, what he wants to play soon,
A quick glance at the board and you’ll know exactly what kind of game Tzolk’in is. Right away. The kind of game covered in strange
Our friend Bubba stops by and we play two massive games with him! Falling Sky and Twilight Imperium are both great, very long games with
I once terrified a friend after a game of Space Alert. He had never played the game before, but the rest of us had, and
Come, relax, and hang out with Marc as he talks about what he’s been playing recently and what’s in store for the future of The
Marc and Matt got to play some unpublished and indie games, and they’re here to tell you all about them! We’ve got some good,
As I’ve mentioned before, I both love Netrunner and I am aggressively mediocre at it. But I do feel like I have a grasp of
It’s finally here! Our biggest podcast ever, and for good reason. Marc, Matt, Orion, Ben, and Amber discuss Marc’s 10 favorite games of all
Viticulture: Essential Edition is one of my favorite worker placement games of all time. Not only is it beautiful, but it’s easy to learn, sleek,
Machi Koro is a game of disappointment. I first heard about it a couple of years ago, and it was being touted as the next
In this episode, Marc and Matt discuss one of our most anticipated games of 2017: Near and Far. We give our first impressions of this beautiful
There’s something I find very satisfying about trivia games. Maybe I just need to prove to myself that the random scraps of knowledge I’ve accumulated
Almost to the end! Marc, Orion, Matt, Ben, and Amber discuss Marc’s 20th-11th favorite games of all time. It starts with a shocker and ends
I don’t remember how old I was–maybe 11 or 12, but one day my dad decided that I needed to learn how to play chess.
Viticulture: Essential Edition is one of the most polished, professional board game packages I’ve ever seen. From the perfectly sized box to the phenomenal graphic
Come on in, take your coat off, and chill for a bit. Listen to Marc, Matt, and Orion talk about the games they’ve been playing
It’s Memorial Day here in the states, and in true American fashion that means the consumption of a lot of beer and red meat. Hopefully,
Riftwalker, a card game from many-named designers Angela Hickman Newnham and Julian Leiberan-Titus, bent my mind in a most unusual way. Usually I’m able to
The journey continues. Soon we will arrive at the peak–those top 10 magnificent games, shrouded in mystery and emblazoned with greatness. For now, join
Alright, you’ve got a spiffy deck, maybe one you constructed yourself using our handy guide, or maybe you’re using one of our Terminal Directive starter
Hello, everyone! I have recently set up a BoardGameGeek guild for The Thoughtful Gamer that you can access here. This will be a great place
Orion and I had a lot of fun writing out our advice on Netrunner Strategy. So much fun, in fact, that we wrote far more
Join Marc and Orion as they discuss the newest deluxe expansion for Netrunner: Terminal Directive. They begin with a discussion of Netrunner itself and
Fantasy Flight’s Android: Netrunner has dominated my time and thoughts more than any other game the last few months. In fact, I don’t know if
Welcome to The Thoughful Gamer’s NETRUNNER WEEK! Get excited people, because we’re dedicating an entire week to the best 2-player asymmetric cyberpunk hacking card game
The human mind is sometimes very strange. While we’re incredibly rational and intelligent compared to other animals, our minds still often make all sorts of
The countdown continues! Marc, Matt, Orion, Ben, and Amber discuss Marc’s 40th-31st favorite games of all time. They’re all slightly better games than last
I originally intended this article to be about effective point scales and the BGG rating system, but a few posts on the boardgames subreddit have
I look down at the plastic spaceships launched in an attack in front of me, survey the rest of the board, and silently calculate costs.
Marc, Matt, and Orion dive deep to compare and contrast these two amazing games to find the areas in which they succeed, as well
What a weird game. I’m not sure why it’s become such a seemingly big hit among boardgamers. I see it recommended all the time as
So much western fantasy is dark these days. Game of Thrones, Dark Souls, The Witcher–all of it is brown and grey and violent. Above and
Join Marc, Matt, Orion, Ben, and Amber as they discuss Marc’s 50th-41st favorite board games of all time. There’s some heated disagreement here, but mostly a
After quickly reading through the “set-up” portion in the Millennium Blades rulebook, I found myself sitting in front of a stack of cards about five
I love The Castles of Burgundy. I think it’s just about the most perfect mid-level Euro game I can conceive of. It’s also one of
Marc and Matt discuss a situation that happened in a recent game of Dominant Species where Matt missed a very obvious play to his detriment.
Man, pre-human life was brutal. At least if Dominant Species is to be believed. This has got to be one of the meanest games I’ve
I’m going to be honest. Magic: The Gathering intimidates me. I first played the game in the salad days of my youth (ok, in college), and I
The following is a collection of mostly incomplete thoughts. I’m publishing this now in order to get the thoughts onto the page and to begin
Soon after playing the Firefly board game, I went back and revisited the great TV series for the n-th time. I couldn’t help myself. Playing
Get Scythe’d! Marc, Matt, Orion, and Ben discuss three of the hottest board games of the past couple of years. Will we feel the Rage
Scythe contains one of the most purely satisfying actions I’ve ever experienced in a board game. Picture this: a beautiful individual player board that shows
The other day I was perusing the top 100 list at BoardGameGeek and marveled at how many newer games seemed to have surged to the
Food Chain Magnate is maybe the funniest board game I’ve ever played. It doesn’t have single moments of hysterical laughter like you might find in
Hang around a modern board game hobbyist long enough and you’ll inevitably hear their critique of the behemoth of American board games: Monopoly. Central to
Splendor burst into the boardgaming scene a couple of years ago, becoming one of the most popular board game titles ever. To wit: right now
A long time ago, back in my boardgaming infancy, a friend of mine taught me the acclaimed card game Race for the Galaxy. I still
If there’s one thing I know about the world, it’s that there’s nothing better than spending your day watching people talk in front of powerpoint
Marc, Orion, Matt, and Wes recount their experiences at PAX East 2017. In this episode: Matt discovers his true calling as an artist, Orion plays
PAX East concluded yesterday, and I am completely exhausted. Fortunately, the internet tells me that today is National Napping Day, so I won’t feel so
With board games becoming more and more popular, I suspect many developers and publishers have spent a lot of time thinking about how to create
(Note: Twilight Struggle uses the words “turn” and “round” somewhat unintuitively. A round is one play by each player. A turn is comprised of a
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