I know a good number of you are probably upset, or at least skeptical, right now because of how I’ve titled this article. But, if
Last week I attempted to classify asymmetry in games, and I think I was fairly successful at doing so (let me know if you have
Asymmetry’s all the rage these days. It gained traction with the promise of unique player experiences each game and has only been bolstered by the
When I, along with the rest of the world, began to realize that we’d be spending a lot more time at home in early 2020,
How much of the board game experience is basic arithmetic? I know that there are some people who actively reject any game that resembles a
This article is a loose continuation of some of the thoughts I offered here and here. I have a keen interest in how we analyze
This article is sort of a continuation of this article from last week, inspired by discussions on twitter mostly located here and here. I made
A little over a decade ago on a night like tonight I’m probably outside, briskly walking through the cool Pennsylvania evening, talking on the phone
This is part 2 in a series about economic concepts in board games. You can check out part 1, about Sidereal Confluence and trade, here.
After seeing the announcement for a new, super-deluxe version of Castles of Burgundy, I was prepared to sit down and write a screed. Sure, the
One of the most impressive feats of televised commentating I can remember was during the famous Go matches between Lee Sedol and the AlphaGo computer
Never Tell Me The Odds Star GIFfrom Never Tell Me The Odds GIFs Scenario 1: I’m playing a game of Pandemic and we’re reaching the
This is part 1 of a series where I explore how games illustrate economic concepts. I’ve got at least one more planned. After that, who
It strikes me as odd that there are so many board games with horror themes but no board game has ever come close to horrifying
When I wrote my article about theme a few months ago I made a quick remark about eurogames, asking, “I mean, from a literary-thematic point of
If there’s anything I’ve become more aware of in my nearly five(!) years of reviewing board games, it’s that I don’t need to feel obligated
The time has come for everyone to scramble for those last minute Christmas gifts to pile up under the tree and once again The Thoughtful
I don’t understand the thought process that leads to using established metrics in game reviews. That sounds pompous but I’m being earnest. I’m open to
I think a lot about how to review board games. It’s what I do. I’m a bit obsessive. This particular topic has been on my
I don’t know why, but the lesson game designers seemed to take from Dominion is that deckbuilding is cool, but it’s not random enough. Or
I’ve received some great comments in response to last week’s article about micro- and macro-theming. After considering them I don’t think I explained the idea
The way the word “theme” is often used in reference to board games isn’t particularly useful. I’m not here to dictate to people how they
Geoff Engelstein is one of the best people in board gaming at teasing out and explaining the complex factors that go into game design and
Lost Cities is a perfect example of Knizian elegance. It calls to mind a sort of dance or duet as opponents tip-toe around giving each
Over the last few weeks I’ve returned to Slay the Spire as my digital relaxation game of choice. It’s as brilliant and brutal as ever,
Alright, people, listen up. I don’t have many gaming pet peeves but this is the biggest one so pay attention. Can we stop calling games
I slept through the changing of the year, and it might as well have gone that way, what with the general consensus that 2020 was
The delightful variability the titular wonders bring in 7 Wonders is one of the most fun aspects of the game. I specifically remember the first
As of the time of writing this I’ve cracked the top 100 on Board Game Arena’s 7 Wonders rankings. I don’t know why I felt
Why? What’s the point? No, really, what’s the point of reviewing games? Why do I do this week in and week out? I could talk
I’m stretching the title of this series because disc golf is definitely a game, but rules were made to be broken, so here we go.
A few weeks ago I wrapped up a week-long debate camp for high school students. I’ve probably coached at 10 or so of these kinds
The board game design day at the Game Developer’s Conference has been a rousing success, if you’re judging it by its ability to produce quality
My first play of Spirit Island was a bloodbath. We were all new to the game, trying to wrangle these temperamental spirits while invaders poured
I have to admit, I was tempted to be a bit of a snob about The Quest For El Dorado, Reiner Knizia’s Spiel des Jahres-nominated
A common refrain in my game group is that Descent is fun despite itself. I think this is accurate. We certainly had a blast playing
I vaguely remember the first time I played Magic: the Gathering. I think it was on a camping trip with some family friends. I was
I’m not tied to a publisher, and from my Kickstarter Curmudgeon pieces it’s obvious I clearly don’t have any idea of what kind of marketing
I kind of liked not doing Kickstarter Curmudgeon last month, as scheduling things led to me simply not getting around to it. So when I
I keep seeing this question on social media and elsewhere and I can’t quite figure it out. Where’d we get the idea that surprise hit
Dear Publishers, I grow weary. I’m tired of yelling in frustration at your rulebooks. I’m fully willing to admit that the problem is partially my
Again my mind is on debate, community, and board games. If you read my article from last week you’ll have some idea of the state
A number of events in the past few weeks have led to me sitting here, writing this post without quite knowing where it’s going to
We’re in the dog days of August, and I guess that seasonal malaise affects board game marketing, because there were a surprising absence of interesting
Oh how time flies! It seems like only last week that I was grouching at a host of Kickstarter campaigns, though to be honest a
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.
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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,
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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