Reviews

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 could pull this off. The invaders had thoroughly taken over the island. We had actually … Continued

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 like, and I’ve become pretty good at doing that. I try to be careful about … Continued

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 guide I wrote and assumed I had reviewed it also. But alas! No classic Thoughtful … Continued

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 list of the components: three cards labeled win, lose, and banana. It’s the ultimate distillation … Continued

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. There were too many cards, too many bits, and I could never get the box … Continued

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 battling is, as a game concept, inversely as awesome as I imagine real life submarine … Continued

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 was about farming, and also about misery and existential dread. Agricola is a masterpiece for … Continued

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 a social deduction game. The Resistance was one of the first modern games I played … Continued