Board Game Player Profile – Update (Topic Discussion)

The last time I checked my board game player profile on Quantic Foundry was back in April 2020, so nearly a year ago. So I thought, it's time to run through the questions again and see if much has changed. You can check yours as well. Just follow the links at the bottom of this article.

Uranus! (Saturday Review)

Our peace had been shattered. We had been living underground for centuries, happily going about our daily chores. We had spread across many moons around the planet and were very content and happy until one day a meteor impacted and threatened everyone's lives. It was time for us to come above ground and start mining our moons for resources, so we could build new technologies that would save us. We were able to communicate with the other moons and co-ordinate our efforts, so we were hopeful. Yet, time was running out and we had to be quick and efficient if we wanted to escape our doom and flee to Uranus by The Dark Imp.

Relentless (Topic Discussion)

I have talked about house rules before, but what I want to talk about in this article is slightly different. When you play a game for the first time, or when you play a game you know with someone who plays it for the first time, the rules aren't always clear and it's possible someone misunderstands them. That's to be expected, but when you base your whole game, your whole strategy on your misunderstanding, then the game experience can really suffer. (This topic was inspired by the always wonderful Bez.)

Tapestry: Plans & Ploys (Digital Eyes)

We were at the dawn of a new civilization. We didn't know it yet, but we were going to embark on an exciting adventure that would offer us a lot of new opportunities, some challenging times and many new discoveries. It would take a very long time indeed, but we would not only master fire, but eventually reach the stars. We would explore the world and stamp our mark on it. We were ready to make a reality of our Plans & Ploys by Stonemaier Games.

Jacqui Davis (Let me illustrate)

Jacqui Davis was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved to the UK as a kid. After graduating with a 1st in Animation from Staffordshire University in 2012, she began freelancing. She is also known as the Logic Fairy and currently lives and works in Lytham-St-Annes, where she enjoys walks through the woods or ambles along the estuary. She paints everything from adorable animals to villainous wizards, bringing life to characters she is passionate about. She listens to a good audiobook or has a movie on in the background while painting, and when she is not painting she keeps the creative mojo going by doing a spot of writing.

The Emperor’s new games (Topic Discussion)

We all have a soft spot for the latest and greatest board game that's coming out next. After all, it'll be better and more wonderful than the game that came before it, or so we're told. We are entranced by the playthroughs, we gawp at the beautiful components and we imagine how much fun we'll have playing this amazing new game. Yet, sometimes these new games aren't actually that new and we're too blind to see it. So in this article, I want to explore what this means for us, as the board game buying public. (This topic was inspired by the always wonderful Bez.)

Under Falling Skies (Saturday Review)

The sky suddenly darkened above me. As I looked up, I saw the giant spaceship that was filling up more and more of my view. It towered above the skyscrapers like a huge saucer, dotted in lights and what seemed like openings. It was hard to make out, but it seemed to be bigger than downtown. Suddenly, small aircraft emerged from the spaceship's openings and started to descend. It felt like we were suddenly living Under Falling Skies by Czech Games Edition.

Change of interest (Topic Discussion)

Let's face it. The pandemic has made a huge impact on the world overall, including, of course, board games, which is what I want to focus on in this article. Without being able to meet in person, many of us have changed how we play games, while others have stopped playing board games altogether and turned to other forms of entertainment. All of that has directly impacted the design and development of new games and I want to try and evaluate what that impact is. (This topic was inspired by the always wonderful Bez.)

Love Letter (Saturday Review)

I had to get my message to the Princess. It was vitally important that she would hear this, but I had to be extremely careful. Many people were plotting against her, and against me, so nobody could be trusted. I had to try and get past the guards, the handmaiden and others to reach her. My heart was beating in my throat and my emotions were welling up. I tried to keep it together, because I was so close to delivering to her my Love Letter by Z-Man Games.

Nikita Sullivan (Let me illustrate)

Nikita Sullivan has always been a techie and surrounded by nerds. She has a BSc in Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence and after working as a software engineer, she became a freelance graphic designer. She always loved being creative, so decided to become a board game designer. It allowed her to learn a lot of new things while being creative every single day. Her games Tri To Win and Mini Memory Mischief were self-published and she has more coming up. Nikita also publishes The Indie Tabletop Newsletter and generally enjoys sharing her experiences with the online board game community, supporting them however she can.