Karuba (Digital Eyes)

In the jungle, the mighty jungle, there is no lion, but a bunch of four, intrepid explorers trying to make their way through. The paths they cut into the vegetation will cross each other and wind their way almost aimlessly from the edge of the forest to finally emerge at four different temples and each explorer is trying to get to their specific temple. It's not clear why each explorer has their heart set on only one, specific destination, but that's how it goes in Karuba by HABA.

Above and beyond (Topic Discussion)

Good customer service is always welcome and nobody likes bad service. In fact, we're more likely to complain about bad service than we are to praise good service. In this article, I'm trying to redress the balance a little and talk about the good customer service I have come across in the board game hobby and give some extra praise to those companies who have gone above and beyond.

15 Days (Saturday Review)

The seasons had been disrupted, a clear indication that climate change was taking its toll. Animal migrations were affected and everything was out of sync. We had to do everything we could to restore order in the world and make everything right again. However, we only had 15 Days by ThunderGryph Games.

Representation matters (Topic Discussion)

White, straight, cis men are everywhere - not just in board games. I'm one of them. My voice doesn't add anything new. My experiences may be unique to me, but they're probably not much different to those of every other white cis man. I may not be rich or live in luxury and I feel that I have put in the work to get to where I am in my life, but I have grown up with privilege - and that privilege has given me a headstart and opened up opportunities to me that others won't have had. However, this article isn't about me. It's about why we need more representation, more diversity and more voices from a wide range of backgrounds and it focuses on the board game community specifically.

Terraforming Mars (Digital Eyes)

We were on Mars. Our colonization team had arrived. The mission of our corporation was to make this planet inhabitable and do so in the most economical and efficient way possible. There were many challenges ahead, but we had a great mix of engineers, researchers, technicians, managers and construction workers and everyone was fully committed to our goal. We were fully aware that this project would take us a number of generations and we were ready to begin Terraforming Mars by Stronghold Games.

Feeling it (Topic Discussion)

If you have followed me for a while, you probably know that I like to have metal coins in games, instead of cardboard chits or paper money. Recently, I purchased the wonderful Iron Clays poker chips when I bought the deluxe edition of Brass: Birmingham and I must admit, I really like those as well. In this article, I want to talk about how board game components can change the enjoyment of a game - for better, or worse.

UFO Wave (Saturday Review)

We had reached the planet Earth. There were many of us who had been watching the people of Earth for a long time, sometimes interacting with humans, sometimes influencing events on the planet. We had come from different worlds, many light-years away, because we felt mankind was an interesting species and we wanted to help them become a great people. We just had to be careful, as we had been spotted, and it was time for another UFO Wave by Paradigm Games.

Go with it (Topic Discussion)

Playing a game for the first time is often quite an undertaking, unless the game is quite light. There is a lot to learn and take in and the first few turns can feel a bit awkward, because you don't really know what you're doing. You have a vague idea of what you're trying to achieve, but how you get there is usually unclear. In this article, I want to look at the expectations people often have of a first play.

Animal Alliance (Saturday Review)

It was unheard of, but here they were: cats and dogs working as a team. They were busily scouring the village green for toys to take home or return to the Lost & Found. It was really hard to believe and when you looked closer, things weren't quite as peaceful as they seemed - and they were even stranger than you could imagine. The cats and dogs weren't all working together as one big pack or clowder. No. One cat and one dog were working together as a pair against all the other cat and dog teams. They had formed an Animal Alliance by Atikin Games

Spreading the love (Topic Discussion)

When you really enjoy something, when you have something that you get a lot out of, that makes you happy or otherwise has a positive impact on you, you probably want to share that joy with others. For me, board games are one of those things that I really love and want to share with others. It's something that has been shared with me, that one of my friends introduced me to and it's wonderful when I can spread this love even wider. In this article, I want to talk about how I have been able to introduce others to the wonderful hobby of board games.