Exploring uncharted lands is not a new concept in the realm of board games. It’s an excellent way to create initial buy-in as players discover a world evolving over time. A Wayfarer’s Tale is designed by James Emmerson and illustrated by collaborator Tristam Rossin. They have visited this thematic space before. Earlier releases from the […]
I have been loving the Knizia Renaissance we’re currently living through. With publishers like Bitewing Games, 25th Century Games, and Allplay revitalizing and reprinting Knizia classics, has me giddy. Knowing hidden gems are coming back into print and being given much-needed facelifts is exactly what we need in this hobby of continued excess and over-production. […]
This is a story of a time long ago—a time of myth and legend. When the ancient gods were petty and cruel, and plagued mankind with suffering—oh sorry, wrong script. Walking around GenCon last year, I saw advertising from Rush of Ikorr everywhere. Seemed like most people had a Rush of Ikorr lanyard, even. Given […]
Stone Age is a classic gateway Eurogame. Everdell sits in the top 50 games on BoardGameGeek.com. So surely a game called Everstone has to have some merit, right? Ugh, intros are hard. What really drew me to try Everstone: Discovering Ignis, was first-time designer Sam McDavitt’s description of multi-use cards, use of a Scythe-like action-selection […]
In a gaming world where there are a few prominent themes, it’s nice when something new comes along. I remember seeing bottles of colored sand at beach towns when I was younger, so the theme of Sand Art brought back some positive memories. Sand Art is a game by Kory Jordan and published by 25th […]
What the Queen wants, the Queen gets. We say this in my house a lot, mostly referring to our cat. In true feline fashion, she believes this is her house, the other day, actually, but I digress. That’s not the queen we are here to talk about. In Peninsula, the queen wants a botanical garden […]
Yokohama’s debut in 2016 marked it as a rare Japanese-themed board game by a Japanese Designer (Hisashi Hayashi) to qualify as a top 200 game on Board Game Geek. Its primary mechanism of contract fulfillment wasn’t entirely novel, but it brilliantly merged it with mancala-style worker-placement, variable board setup, multiple ways to score, and just […]
When I first saw the new edition of Parks at Gen Con in summer 2025, I was dismissive. I am a longtime fan of the original Parks, as well as the Nightfall expansion and I often play. With the new version, the iconic National Parks poster art was gone. The game trays (meant to look […]
There have been several hit automobile-based racing games these past few years, and while the gameplay for these is usually fine, the theming does absolutely nothing for me. I’m the type of person who if asked, “What kind of vehicle was the culprit driving?” would answer, “A white one.” Enter Orbit, a racing game without […]
Here at BGQ, we love Clans of Caledonia. So much so, in fact, that it was our Game of the Year in 2017. Don’t ask us, though. It’s printed right on the side of the game box! So with an expansion recently released, we were itching to whip out our Clans of Caledonias and bolt […]
Fantasy Realms holds the distinction of the most played game in my collection. This is partly because it’s a go-to travel game; I have played it on trains, and I have played it on planes. I’ve played it in many a house, though never with a mouse. Fantasy Realms is also an adaptable filler, satisfactorily […]
The 2026 Winter Olympics have put fresh attention on winter sports. From the flashy ones like ski jumping and snowboarding to the elegant ones like figure skating. There are also some that get recognized with a sort of, ‘oh yeah, that’s an Olympic sport isn’t it?’ I feel like biathlon falls into this latter category. […]
Reiner Knizia is a designer I hold a lot of reverence for, even when some of his titles can feel underbaked and simultaneously overwrought. However, with the help of publisher Bitewing Games, some of Knizia’s lesser-developed titles are being reimagined and reworked to bring them up to the caliber they should have been from the […]
Viticulture is a worker placement game that, in this reviewer’s opinion, has aged like a fine … product that ages well. Despite being released over a decade ago, it still feels fresh and interesting, thanks in part to the strength of its core mechanisms, but also to the sheer amount of iteration performed on it […]
Osprey Games is back with another Fabio Lopiano and Mandela Fernández-Grandon collaboration. Last year brought us Sankoré, which made my top ten of the year. Adding to the team, yet again, is Ian O’Toole with the illustration work. This release follows the tradition of capturing a moment in history and allowing players to dabble in […]
We’ve got a special shipping opportunity for you. See this crate? Yeah, the one wrapped in tin foil, well, I need you to get this to Star Base 12 by Saturday night without anything exploding. Why would it explode? Erm… no particular reason. Just, uh, don’t bump it, okay? And I wouldn’t store anything too […]
There I was, enjoying my retirement, sipping on ice water, watching some Star Trek, when our fearless leader dropped a cryptic note in our Discord: “Any Wingspan fans?” Here’s a transcript of our conversation that followed. Me: “I am a Wingspan fan.” Tony: “You are also retired, no? ☺️” Me: “I am retired, but you […]
Vineyard has maybe the most bizarre thematic dissonance of any game I’ve played in 2025. On the surface, it’s a game about rival winemakers competing to export the best merlot or whatever. However, further inspection reveals that players actually own the same vineyard but are still competing to have the best wine. But actually, players […]
We talk casually about genetics and inherited traits. Literal physical traits like the color of mom’s eyes, and intangibles like dad’s love of gaming. Genetics as a whole isn’t something that is confined to discussions by white coated scientists anymore. It’s in our everyday vocabulary. We ask doctors to look for inherited disease markers, and […]
Baseball fans are sickos. If you know a baseball fan, you know this. If you are a baseball fan, you have elaborate rituals you perform in private to help Jhonkensy Noel out of a slump. You know, sicko stuff. Baseball fans are the reason there are hordes of nerds with spreadsheets running actual sports teams […]
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