Cosmoctopus (Saturday Review)

Welcome, everyone. It is wonderful to see so many of you here today. The hour is near and the gaze of the Great Inky One is upon us. We have to be strong and stay true to the cause. It is time to show our dedication, fellow followers. It is time to hail the mighty Cosmoctopus by Henry Audubon from Lucky Duck Games.

Flamecraft (Saturday Review)

Once upon a time in a magical village where artisan dragons worked at the butcher's to sell meat, the ironmonger to make metalware or in enchanting shops to bake bread it was your role, as a Flamekeeper, to find the perfect shop for each dragon. You would visit these shops to gain items or enchant the shops to grow your reputation. Only the best Flamekeeper could become master of the Flamecraft by Manny Vega from Lucky Duck Games.

General Orders: World War II (Saturday Review)

The mountains provided great vantage points for both sides. We could easily see what the enemy was doing, but so could they. Providing air support was going to be impossible because of the terrain, but we were still considering paradrops to get troops far into the enemy's territory. It would all come down to tactics, because we had only been given General Orders: World War II by Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson from Osprey Games.

Tricky tricks – trick-taking and other games (Topic Discussion)

Growing up in Germany, I started playing traditional trick-taking games like Skat or Doppelkopf from a relatively young age. I'm used to the idea of suits, trump, following suit, taking tricks, gleaning information from what cards others play and much more. Traditional trick-taking games sort of have their own language. So I love to see modern games developing this mechanism further and incorporating it into other mechanisms, creating completely new game experiences.

Junk Forts (Saturday Review)

Get your friends together, grab some bits from the local junkyard and assemble everything into the best stronghold you can, to be crowned champion of the Junk Forts by Matthew Dunstan and Brett J. Gilbert from Inside the Box Board Games.

Brian Boru: High King of Ireland (Saturday Review)

It is the 11th century AD and the Vikings regularly invade our lands, while my domestic rivals try to forcefully take territory from me, without much luck. My military prowess is well known and I prove myself again and again, while also forging political alliances by strategically arranging marriages between my family members and other important houses. I even have time to rebuild the many monasteries in my realm, bringing the Church and its wealth onto my side. My name is Brian Boru: High King of Ireland by Peer Sylvester from Osprey Games.

Six Greetings Card Games (Saturday Review)

Sending someone a letter seems to have become a thing of the past and sending people postcards is mostly restricted to when you've gone away on holiday - but it's been ages since many of us have done that. However, many of us love sharing games with others, so it would be amazing if you could send someone a card that's also a game and even add a little message. Well, that's exactly what Six Greetings Card Games by Ellie Dix from The Dark Imp does.

Dwellings of Eldervale (Saturday Review)

We were still trying to understand the special powers of the 8 elemental realms and how our dragon, wizard and warriors could take advantage of each and how we could impose our dominance over the other factions in this growing world. Each realm also had a giant monster that would wreak death and cause havoc amongst us, if we couldn't work out how to defeat it first or control it and steer it in our favour. We didn't have much time to build our Dwellings of Eldervale by Luke Laurie from Breaking Games.

Dominant Species: Marine (Saturday Review)

Around sixty million years ago on Earth, dinosaurs reigned supreme on land, but at sea, a giant struggle was still unfolding. Creatures were slowly adapting to the changes in their watery habitat and hoping to be victors in this fight for survival. The threat of a giant meteor striking the Earth was increasing all the time, so it was a race to become the Dominant Species: Marine by Chad Jensen from GMT Games.

Top 5 Board Games of 2021 (Saturday Review)

Yes, it's the time of year again where I list the 5 board games that I think were the best in 2021. The games don't necessarily have to have been published this year, but as long as I have played them in 2021, they qualify to appear on this list. Of course, as is now custom on the Tabletop Games Blog, the #1 game will receive the exclusive and prestigious Top Table Award. I know you're already at the edge of your seat to find out who got the coveted trophy, but let me list the top 5 board games of 2021 in reverse order, to raise the excitement even further and make you wait a little bit longer.