Category: Podcasts

Objective Bias – why reviews are always subjective (Topic Discussion)

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If you have spent a number of years reviewing board games, you will have seen how people keep bringing up the topic of how reviewers should not be biased and remain as objective as possible. Of course, reviewers, like all people, are always going to have biases and a review will never be objective. As this topic was recently discussed yet again, I wanted to share my thoughts on bias and subjectivity in my writing.

Loot Dispute (Saturday Review)

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The band of brave adventurers had finally arrived back in our town. They had returned jubilantly after clearing the local dungeons of the many monsters that had lurked in the deep caverns and tunnels. We celebrated with them because we no longer faced the threat of attacks. Not only that, now that the dungeons were clear of all dangers, we were able to scour them for treasure. The only problem was how to divide the riches we would find. It was clear, there was going to be a lot of Loot Dispute by Jeffrey D. Allers from Gold Seal Games.

Star Trek: Away Missions – Captain Kirk: Federation Expansion (Saturday Review)

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Captain's Log - Stardate... well, nobody is really sure. After having been drawn into some sort of temporal disturbance, the Enterprise is now floating helplessly in space without thrust and only minimal power. Our viewscreens show the presence of another vessel. It isn't completely clear, but it looks like we have been transported into the aftermath of a massive battle. To find out what we are dealing with, Spock, McCoy, Chekov and myself, the captain, have decided to beam across and investigate. I know this is going to be our first of many Star Trek: Away Missions - Captain Kirk: Federation Expansion by Andrew Haught, Mike Haught and Phil Yates from Gale Force Nine.

Joint Excitement – discovering games together (Topic Discussion)

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I love my game group. We've been playing board games for many. many years now. Over the years we learned many new ones and slowly established favourites, which would eventually get replaced by new favourites. It's very special to have a consistent group of people to play games with. One of the really special things I found is how we discover games together and I want to write about it in this article.

Charms (Saturday Review)

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Whether it is coins, keys, clover or rabbit feet, there are many items that, according to ancient superstitions, bring you luck and maybe even protect you from evil. You merely need to wear them around your neck or on a bracelet and their magic becomes active. Collectively, these items are known as Charms by Taiki Shinzawa from New Mill Industries.

In Between Games – quick games while you wait (Topic Discussion)

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I think many of us like games that take an hour or two to play, maybe even longer. I guess that's at least true when you've got a game group you play regularly with. I love longer games, but I also love those quick games that take less than half an hour to learn and play. They're ideal to play before, after or even in between other games. They're also perfect for game groups, because you can play them while you wait for others to arrive, after some people have left or in between other games, while some of you freshen themselves up. So in this article, I want to look at these "in-between" games.

Prey Another Day (Saturday Review)

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The forest is dark and eerie. A cold wind whistles through the branches and makes them creak and groan. The rustling of the leaves goes some way to hiding the noise of your prowling through the undergrowth. You have your prey in sight, but suddenly, at the same time as you break cover, other hunters reveal themselves. There is a moment of confusion which our shared victim uses to their advantage to escape to safety. It looks like we are all going hungry today and we all have to accept that we will have to Prey Another Day by Matthew Dunstan and Brett J. Gilbert from Pegasus Spiele.

Pixies (Saturday Review)

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As we were walking through the forest on a mild, damp spring morning, with the mist still rising and the trees and other plants slowly waking up as the sun was peeking over the horizon, we saw, to our great surprise, little creatures emerging from flowers and the hollows of the trees. Some wore cupule hats, while others had slung oak leaf ponchos over their bodies. We even spotted some with little string instruments made from walnut halves. They were magical to behold as they walked along the forest floor and formed little groupings, three side-by-side and three deep. These were clearly Pixies by Johannes Goupy from Bombyx.

Not for the Win – games aren’t necessarily about winning (Topic Discussion)

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If you're a competitive person, you want to win. If you're a really competitive person, winning is your absolute goal. Competitive games will probably be your favourite, but even when you play cooperative games, you probably still try to do everything in your power to beat the game and take the win for the team. However, I don't think playing games is necessarily about winning. There are many other benefits of enjoying a board game together that I want to talk about in this article.

Hidden Agendas (Saturday Review)

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We all had our different plans. Getting the right bills through the Senate was never easy. There would always be compromises and endless debates. We all wanted to further our own goals. The odd promise of a bribe, digging up dirt on the other parties' representatives and some last-minute voting changes all helped to get what your party wanted. At the end of the day, we all had our own Hidden Agendas by Josh Rossman from Big Boom Games.