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Normale Ansicht

Published — 27. Februar 2026 ⏭ Shelfside

Why Pope Tom Vasel couldn’t stop the 1517 Protestant Reformation

✇Shelfside
Von: Shelfside
27. Februar 2026 um 16:30

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Could the Dice Tower’s Tom Vasel actually stop the sweeping religious movement of the 16th century? You might have thought he was in this era, with BGG and the internet, but perhaps he’s been around for longer…

Games referenced: Red Cathedral, Sagrada, Yugioh, Biblios, Munchkin, Candyland, Catan

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Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/doyduh2

Stuff Used:

Kevin Macleod —Georgian Chant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICYH-bSLXms&list=PLfP6i5T0-DkJE9iy1r9ws8YPLxMzM0MLf

Destiny by Aylex
https://freetouse.com/music

Infraction — Discovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKaofBhPqhE&list=RDnKaofBhPqhE

#boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames
Published — 21. Februar 2026 ⏭ Shelfside

We played TI4 every month for a year

✇Shelfside
Von: Shelfside
21. Februar 2026 um 08:57

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In 2025, we challenged ourself to play Twilight Imperium 4 once a month for a year! And after 2025 (and some time after) passed, we have completed the journey! There has been 12 games completed, all with varying levels of expansions/modules. We got to play with Codex 4, Prophecy of Kings, Thunder’s Edge, and Twilight’s Fall. How did this Ameritrash Area Control hold up to this many playthroughs? Do we any observations about how Ti4 fits into the zeitgeist of board games? Is the increased weight and component bloat worth it for most matches of Twilight Imperium? What are the best galactic events to use? How many hours of twilight Imperium have we played at this point, and with what factions? Will we ever move onto other sci-fi area controls like Arcs and Eclipse?

Play Race to Kepler: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/conduitgames/race-to-kepler?ref=96q6hu

Table of Contents:
We finished the Challenge - (0:00)
The 12 Ti4 Games - (1:45)
Final Thoughts - (41:28)

Support us:
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Our Website!
https://www.shelfside.co/

Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
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Shelfside Social Media:
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Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/doyduh2

Stuff Used:
Kevin Macleod — Monkeys Spinning Monkeys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr42azVZi3o&list=RDpr42azVZi3o&start_radio=1

Kevin Macleod — Martys Gots a Plan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhRNWAbeBpE&list=RDRhRNWAbeBpE&start_radio=1

Infraction - War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03gYvNTWShg&list=RD03gYvNTWShg&start_radio=1

Infraction - Aliens (Raspberry Music)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H8kJBjdYvU&list=RD2H8kJBjdYvU&start_radio=1

Broke for Free - Something Elated
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rmfZul3_bQ&list=RD3rmfZul3_bQ&start_radio=1

#boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames
Published — 13. Februar 2026 ⏭ Shelfside

After 2 years , I finally share my John Company 2nd Edition thoughts

✇Shelfside
Von: Shelfside
13. Februar 2026 um 19:32

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I unveil my personal score for John Company 2nd Edition, one of the heaviest board games I’ve ever played. This popular game about the East India Company on the Indian subcontinent has fans galore, yet how do I feel about the portrayal of such an environment in a tabletop experience? After all, despite all of the praise on BGG, this isn’t a Cole Werhle game for just anyone. Does pretending to be a greedy British imperialist entertain me during game night? Or do I need more area control within my negotiation games? It’s a game that is extremely educational and requires a certain level of commitment to steer this dysfunctional company.

Games mentioned: Twilight Imperium 4, Bohnanza, Chinatown, Arcs, Root, Oath, Sidereal Confluence

Support us:
https://www.patreon.com/shelfside
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Our Website!
https://www.shelfside.co/

Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
https://amazon.com/shop/shelfside

Shelfside Social Media:
https://twitter.com/ShelfSideYT
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Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/doyduh2

#boardgames #tabletop #review
Published — 12. Februar 2026 ⏭ Shelfside

John Company: A Game of Administering Atrocities

✇Shelfside
Von: Shelfside
12. Februar 2026 um 16:30

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Cole Wehrle’s John Company has players taking on the roles of powerful English families utilizing the East India Company for personal gain, using its state sponsored monopoly to secure power to further their own greed. This extensively revised 2nd edition has new rules and components to better represent the Company’s insidious growth into the Indian subcontinent, and its highly dysfunctional modes of operation, requiring heavy amounts of negotiation and bribes. To get victory points, players retire family member pieces from their office cards, paying exorbitant amounts of money gained from unscrupulous exploitation. This satirical yet frank portrayal of British imperialism and globalization explores a deep involvement in horrific structures by making the players understand the processes of how the English involvement worked and why such pillaging was so blatantly done by these powerful interests.

Articles:
Luke Winkie’s “Board but Not Boring”
https://slate.com/human-interest/2024/01/best-board-games-root-cole-wehrle-john-company-molly-house.html
Cole Wehrle’s “Going into Empire”
https://wehrlegig.com/blogs/essays/going-into-empire
Cole Wehrle’s “Affective Networks At Play: Catan, COIN, And The Quiet Year”
https://analoggamestudies.org/2016/05/affective-networks-at-play-catan-coin-and-the-quiet-year/

Table of Contents:
Preamble (0:00)
How to Play (4:31)
An Empire’s Historical Process (11:19)
Not Really a Review (32:15)

Support us:
https://www.patreon.com/shelfside
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Our Website!
https://www.shelfside.co/

Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
https://amazon.com/shop/shelfside

Shelfside Social Media:
https://twitter.com/ShelfSideYT
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https://www.facebook.com/ShelfsideYT/
https://discord.gg/U7QQKqYT62

Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/doyduh2

#boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames
Published — 03. Februar 2026 ⏭ Shelfside

How Instagram Changed Board Gaming

✇Shelfside
Von: Shelfside
03. Februar 2026 um 20:29

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Social media has had a real impact on board game design! We’ve been 3 major trends throughout the last decade or so, whether or not a game has been kickstarted or not. From feels good outcomes, to drawing a lot of cards and seeing new information, instagram has definitely made things have better accuracy, or better first impressions. We can see this in many popular BGG games, whether or not they’re Euros, as this applies to campaign and Ameritrash games too! Even the 4x genre is left changed. But this isn’t a bad thing, it just means that the tabletop experience is changing, with the cream of the crop strategy gaming tending to rise to the top.

Table of Contents:
Intro - (0:00)
Insta-Plussing - (1:05)
Feels Good Gaming - (8:19)
Design Considerations - (15:03)
Discovery vs. Mastery Discussion w/BrotherMing - (17:01)
Aesthetics over Depth? - (20:32)
Final Thoughts - (22:08)
Quick word about TCGs - (26:18)

Games featured: Earth, Wingspan, Root, War of the Ring, Twilight Struggle, Thunder’s Edge, Twilight Imperium, Dune Imperium, Everdell, Wyrmspan, Finspan, Chess, Boop, Lords of Waterdeep, Splendor, Carcassone, El Grande, Yugioh, Sid Meier’s 2010 Civilization Revolution, Re;ACT, Dead of Winter, Hive, Shogu, Scythe, Puerto Rico, Nemesis Retaliation, Fate of the Fellowship, Terraforming Mars

Research: https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/memory-replay-prioritizes-high-reward-memories

Support us:
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Our Website!
https://www.shelfside.co/

Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
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Shelfside Social Media:
https://twitter.com/ShelfSideYT
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Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/doyduh2

#boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames
Published — 28. Januar 2026 ⏭ Shelfside

Race to Kepler Prototype Review — Accessible Deckbuilding meets Bidding!

✇Shelfside
Von: Shelfside
28. Januar 2026 um 16:30

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We review this upcoming sci-fi deck builder that features multiplayer bids for some central cards! In Race to Kepler, you construct and eject from your deck of initially 10 cards, ultimately trying to get to Kepler first to win. There’s plenty of tried and true deckbuilding tabletop mechanics, like trashing cards and combo-ing hard off of money cards. By mixing in these special titan cards with the bidding dynamic, Race to Kepler is trying to smooth over problems like multiplayer solitaire. But are there trade-offs from having a bid? Players also get to play a specific city, each with asymmetric abilities to spend your energy on. There’s not much take-that, and with open drafting, so this game is readily accessible to many!

Play Race to Kepler: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/conduitgames/race-to-kepler?ref=96q6hu

Games featured: Dune Imperium, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Aeon’s End, Tyrants of the Underdark, Dominion (1st and 2nd Edition)

Table of Contents:
Overview - (0:00)
How to Play - (1:38)
Pros - (3:43)
Cons - (14:11)
Recommender Score - (18:24)
Ashton's Personal Score - (21:28)

Support us:
https://www.patreon.com/shelfside
https://ko-fi.com/shelfside

Our Website!
https://www.shelfside.co/

Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
https://amazon.com/shop/shelfside

Shelfside Social Media:
https://twitter.com/ShelfSideYT
https://www.instagram.com/shelfsideboardgames/
https://www.facebook.com/ShelfsideYT/
https://discord.gg/U7QQKqYT62

Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/doyduh2

#boardgames #tabletop #review
Published — 22. Januar 2026 ⏭ Shelfside

Vantage | Shelfside Review

✇Shelfside
Von: Shelfside
22. Januar 2026 um 16:30

💾

We review the latest Stonemaier Game, Vantage! It is simultaneously not a campaign game but also one! It is also a tabletop game but also not in some ways! In Vantage, you play as an asymmetric character to explore an uncharted planet, attempting to complete your team’s mission. You will roll challenge dice and assign them to cards, in a bit of a Euro-style. You have narrative choices by opening the storybooks and discovering what happens to your character. The world of Vantage has many secrets, and a ridiculous amount of cards/art. But how does it hold up after many plays, like how it was intended to played? How does this compare to other cooperative games, or ones with a singular story?

Games featured: Eldritch Horror, Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion, Gloomhaven Buttons and Bugs, Tainted Grail, Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin, Mansions of Madness, Arkham Horror the Dunwich Legacy, Oath, The Elder Scrolls Betrayal of the Second Era

Table of Contents:
Overview - (0:00)
How to Play - (2:19)
Pros - (5:12)
SPOILER Pros - (14:17)
Cons - (18:11)
SPOILER Cons - (30:42)
Recommender Score - (45:18)
Alexander''s Personal Score - (55:09)
Ashton's Personal Score - (1:02:45)

Support us:
https://www.patreon.com/shelfside
https://ko-fi.com/shelfside

Our Website!
https://www.shelfside.co/

Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
https://amazon.com/shop/shelfside

Shelfside Social Media:
https://twitter.com/ShelfSideYT
https://www.instagram.com/shelfsideboardgames/
https://www.facebook.com/ShelfsideYT/
https://discord.gg/U7QQKqYT62

Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/doyduh2

#boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames
Published — 17. Januar 2026 ⏭ Shelfside

The Star Wars: Rebellion Expansion is AMAZING

✇Shelfside
Von: Shelfside
17. Januar 2026 um 16:30

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We finally got around to playing Rise of the Empire! This expansion for Star Wars: Rebellion took our enjoyment of base game and propelled it even further. The game still has the initial cat and mouse with the highly asymmetrical play, but the ameritrash combat system has been altered with tactic cards! You also get to do worker placement as some of the new leaders from Rogue One (the movie). In our two games, did the rebels win, or was the empire successful with the looming threat of the Death Star miniature?

Table of Contents:
Intro - (0:00)
Talking about new stuff - (3:57)
Talking about things we don't like - (8:51)
Scoring - (13:15)
Extras - (14:38)

Support us:
https://www.patreon.com/shelfside
https://ko-fi.com/shelfside

Our Website!
https://www.shelfside.co/

Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
https://amazon.com/shop/shelfside

Shelfside Social Media:
https://twitter.com/ShelfSideYT
https://www.instagram.com/shelfsideboardgames/
https://www.facebook.com/ShelfsideYT/
https://discord.gg/U7QQKqYT62

Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/doyduh2

#boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames
Published — 08. Januar 2026 ⏭ Shelfside

If American Psycho was about Card Game Players

✇Shelfside
Von: Shelfside
08. Januar 2026 um 16:30

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During a very important meeting, a bunch of players discuss some differences on sleeve choice. Perhaps some preferences get in the way. They're also known as TCG (trading card game) players.

Games mentioned: Magic the Gathering, Grand Archive

Sleeves used: Ultra Pro, Dragonsleeve, Player's Choice, Ultimate Katana Guard

Support us:
https://www.patreon.com/shelfside
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Our Website!
https://www.shelfside.co/

Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
https://amazon.com/shop/shelfside

Shelfside Social Media:
https://twitter.com/ShelfSideYT
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Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/doyduh2

#boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames
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