Topic Discussions
Topic Discussions 358 posts
Reviews
Reviews 328 posts
Let me illustrate
Let me illustrate 24 posts
Women in Board Games
Women in Board Games 60 posts

Min-maxing (Topic Discussion)

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When I play board games with my games group, I'm usually more competitive than I would otherwise be. I want to win and try to find the most efficient way to get the most points. However, I know that I'm not usually very good at spotting where the points in a game come from, unless maybe when the theme of the game is really good and guides me to victory. At the same time, others in my games group are usually very good and seem to approach games in a very analytical and victory points focused way. In this article, I want to look at how this type of approach might work and see if it'll help me learn anything from it.

Bots Up (Saturday Review)

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With a loud "Bang!" the head flew off, followed by a "leg-splosion" that severed both legs, leaving only the body and the left arm. It wasn't pretty. Yet, you knew you could turn it all around. There were still plenty of options. You just had to duck and dive and try and swap body parts with another robot to boost your own. You were sure that in the end you would be a Bots Up.

Keturah Ariel Nailah Bobo (Let me illustrate)

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Keturah Ariel Nailah Bobo was born in Toledo, Ohio with strong family roots in Detroit, MI. Keturah grew up with parents that instilled in her the importance of individuality and creativity. Keturah graduated from Columbus College of Art and Design with a bachelors degree in fine arts. Columbus, Ohio is a melting pot of culture and artistic freedom that has nurtured Keturah’s growing body of work.

Gamer types (Topic Discussion)

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Let's have a little fun and see if we can somehow classify the people we play board games with. Don't worry, the article is tongue-in-cheek. I'm not trying to label people in a certain way. We're all unique and different and we change over time. Yet, I do reckon you will probably see yourself or one of your board game friends in one of the groupings in this article. Oh, and by the way, we're all gamers - whatever games we like to play. We're all here to have fun.

Cracker Games (Saturday Review)

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I know, it's not yet Christmas, but bear with me on this one. Cracker Games by The Dark Imp is going to be on Kickstarter on 1 September 2020 and is scheduled to reach backers in December, before Christmas. So, yes, lead times are a bit longer. However, even if you're not in the mood for the festive season, the Cracker Games are worth checking out, as you'll see in my review below.

Iacta alea est (Topic Discussion)

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Luck, chance, randomness - there are many names for introducing a bit of chaos into a board game. Dice rolling, a deck of cards or maybe a dexterity element can all introduce an unpredictable outcome that makes a game less predictable. In this article, I don't want to investigate at what point randomness becomes too much, or whether chance in games is fun, but instead I want to look at the different forms of randomness you can find in modern board games.

Don’t Get Got (Saturday Review)

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"Guess what?" I asked - but there was no reply. The other player just looked at me - suspiciously. "Guess what?" I asked, this time with more feeling. Yet, there was still no reply. The other player tilted their head and squinted at me. "Guess what?" I tried for the third time. The other player started to open their mouth, but then thought better of it. It was going to be harder than I thought. The other player clearly knew what to do so they Don't Get Got by Big Potato Games.

Critical reviews (Topic Discussion)

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I always wondered what the difference is between a reviewer and a critic, or even a review and a critique. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes they're describing two different things, but very often they seem to be used for things that have a lot of overlap and are very similar in many ways. In this article, I'm trying to grapple with those terms and decide for myself what I think they mean.

Viticulture: Essential Edition (Saturday Review)

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The irrigation system was ready, but there was still work to be done on the trellises. The windmill, cottage and tasting room were still just ruins and only the first third of the wine cellar was accessible. The crush pads were all clean and ready to receive the first harvest of grapes, yet the fields were still bare. Orders for some red and white wine had already come in and two types of grapes were ready to be planted. It was the beginning of a vineyard that was going to be splendid. Mama and Papa were looking forward to putting the work in and creating a heritage that would make the family name proud. At the same time, it was daunting, because they knew nothing about Viticulture by Stonemaier Games.