Topic Discussions
Topic Discussions 358 posts
Reviews
Reviews 323 posts
Let me illustrate
Let me illustrate 24 posts
Women in Board Games
Women in Board Games 60 posts

Can you hear me?

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Language in tabletop games has been a topic for quite some time now. Many games aim to be language independent, using symbols and graphics, or colours and numbers to convey how the game works, instead of words. However, even language-independent games use some kind of language, which becomes only too clear when the symbols in a game have not been carefully chosen and just don’t make sense. So language is critical when playing games for many reasons, some of which I want to discuss in this article.

Assembly: Re-Sequence & Override (Saturday Review)

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It is with a sense of deja vu that you desperately type into the console in front of you in a frantic attempt to contact your colleague who, like yourself, has locked themselves into one of the bays on this vast manmade construct. It feels like you have been in this situation before, where both of you were trying to escape alive, as the station's AI was watching your every move and interfering where it could. As if with the help from your previous self, you manage to switch some of the station's functions to manual mode, making everything ten times harder. Now, every command you issue will have to be confirmed by your colleague, and the AI will be able to listen in. You know you have only so many commands before the AI will lock you in permanently, sealing your fate forever. Even though the situation feels very familiar, there is something very different. You notice robots on the station, and there is an additional safety mechanism that forces you to lock all bays in clockwise order. You are back on the Assembly space station, like you were before, but this time the Re-Sequence & Override expansion doubles the difficulty.

Another day in paradise

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It was around this time last year that I came back from my first visit to a UK tabletop games exhibition, all elated and happy. I had felt welcome and saw a lot of opportunities for the little venture I had in mind at the time. I spoke to a lot of people, looked at a lot of games, bought more than I probably should have and realized that I wanted to work a lot more in this wonderful industry. Of course, I'm talking about UK Games Expo, and I was back again this year, and it was even better - if that's possible.

Terra Mystica (Saturday Review)

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As witches fly overhead, giants stomp around the wastelands, swarmlings huddle in swamps, chaos magicians cause, well, chaos, halflings burrow the plains and engineers build their bridges from their mountains, you roll up your carpet and prepare to continue through the desert in your nomad way. As you consider the scene in front of you, something nags you. Engineers building bridges from mountains - that doesn't sit right somehow. Yet, that's not all. Suddenly the desert in front of you terraforms into a wasteland. Deserts aren't much of a laugh and wastelands don't seem much different, but terraforming in this fantasy setting seems completely out of place. You half expect a spaceship to land in front of you, when instead a giant places a dwelling in the newly created space. Not only that, they then proceed to convert the dwelling into a trading house. It is not clear what giants have to trade, but you consider it for a moment, before you decide to send one of your priests to advance on the cult track for air - because after all, everyone needs air to live. A moment later you realize that you're in a giant game of Terra Mystica by Z-Man Games.

Family gaming

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I think for many in the hobby, playing games is about having fun with other people - and that is no more so true when it comes to enjoying a game with the family. I absolutely love spending an evening solving crimes or building the best bird reserve there is, instead of sitting in front of the TV. It's great to play a quick mint tin game while we wait for our food in the pub on a family day out. There are many opportunities to play games with the family, and the games don't necessarily need to be family games.

The Hanging Gardens (Saturday Review)

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Strolling along the parterres, taking in the view of the stepped garden to one side and the water garden on the other, you relax and try to fully appreciate the immensity of this Wonder of the world. The whole arrangement is cleverly emphasized by carefully placed temples. The huge amount of work and dedication that has gone into this expansive and exquisitely manicured design, the countless shrubs, hedges and flowering plants, all add to the feeling that you are but a small creature in this giant world. Suddenly the zen-like peace is rudely interrupted by deafening noises, as you watch in disbelief as the water garden is bulldozed to the ground to make room for more parterres. Welcome to The Hanging Gardens by Hans im Glück, which are in constant change to score the gardener as many points as possible.

Who to see at UK Games Expo

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As you will know by now, UK Games Expo 2019 is just around the corner - a week on Friday, to be precise. So the question is who you should go and see on your visit - assuming you'll be there of course. There is no way that I can list all the over 400 exhibitors and their games, or mention all the events, seminars and other things that are going on at this amazing exhibition. However, I can focus on who I'm planning to see, bearing in mind that I'll only be there on the Sunday. So it's going to be a jam-packed day, but I just can't wait.

Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game (Saturday Review)

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The rain is relentless, pouring down in heavy sheets, making the city outside your office window appear like it is behind net curtains. The James River appears to be bubbling, but you haven't noticed any of it. You have spent the last few hours staring at your computer, checking various databases and cross-referencing intel. You drank at least six coffees, yet you're no further. Welcome to Detective by Portal Games where you're an officer in the recently created special unit of Antares. Your task is to solve curious cold cases, following up leads and doing other detective work, all against a mercilessly ticking clock.

Night, night

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I am very lucky to have a group of friends who live nearby and who all love playing tabletop games. We meet once a week, more or less, round each other's houses, taking turns to make sure nobody is the host all the time, bring snacks and drinks, so it doesn't get too expensive for anyone, and play a game or two, depending on how we feel and what we play. These games nights are very important to me, but not everyone is blessed with this opportunity, so I want to talk about what other options there are.

Sensor Ghosts (Saturday Review)

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Imagine the asteroid field scene from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, where our heroes risk their lives to try to get away by entering an asteroid field, then add the AI HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, which has gone mad and taken over the spaceship, forcing the crew to try and outwit it - and you basically end up with the gameplay of Sensor Ghosts, the new game by Wren Games, due to launch on Kickstarter on 28 May.