It is the near future. Computer consciousness has burgeoned to become inescapable. Entire cities have surrendered to become automatons to be used by the Machines for their nefarious purposes. In other words, Deckers is a 100% factual, serious work of documentary. I’m surprised that it wasn’t published by GMT. Deckers, from Richard Wilkins (AKA Ricky […]
At Gen Con this year, I had a chance to play the new version of Not Alone—actually titled Not Alone: Remastered Edition—at the Luma Games booth. Apparently, the original version came out in 2016, but this one had evaded my radar. Not Alone is a One vs Many game of cat and mouse set in […]
A lot of board gamers were the nerds in high school, the kids the jocks would stick in lockers for grins. As a result, there’s a decent amount of “I don’t like sportball” snobbery in the hobby, but despite that, there are a lot of board gamers who also like sports, and when the two […]
AI is a hot topic nowadays, with discussions ranging from its capabilities to spur innovation to the danger of it escaping its sandbox and inciting the machine apocalypse. Thus, AEG’s 2026 release of Into the Machine, designed by Kasper Lapp, could not be more timely. Into the Machine humorously answers the question of what happens […]
With many board game designs, the mechanics come first, and the theme—for example, space or nature—is often “pasted on” afterwards. Not so with Kano, the recent release from Matogot. Here, it seems the beautiful art by traditional Japanese artist Jun Sato and its incorporation into Emakimonos came first and was followed by the tile-laying abstract […]
There are some wild hotels in the world. Igloo hotels, castles, caves, and treehouses are just the start. Compared to the hotel room that used to be a crane (still works, you can move the crane to change your view) or a renovated giant wine barrel, a treehouse starts to feel downright boring. How about […]
If you threw the bluffing game Sheriff of Nottingham into a pot with Sushi Go! and stirred them around, you’d get Honeypot—a set collection game with a bit of push-your-luck bluffing. Honeypot was not a game I would have picked up on its own, but because my family is already familiar with those mechanics and […]
I despise the word “impossible” in the two-player board game design space. It’s “impossible” to make an 18xx game at two players. It’s “impossible” to make an area control game with two players. It’s “impossible” to make a hidden roles game with two players. When a designer or design team aims to tackle the “impossible,” […]
When it comes to movie sequels, people can be divided on whether they make a franchise better or dilute it. There are countless movies that had a great entry into the world of cinema, only to release a subpar effort as a sequel, thereby diluting the brand. Yet it’s hard to ignore the fact that […]
When I hear the words “hot air balloon” and “panorama” used to describe a board game, I expect a game with gorgeous table presence, breathtaking views, and a serene, cohesive aesthetic. PARKS, by Henry Audubon, promises beautiful scenery, and it delivers. While I didn’t expect Panorama to have artwork as gorgeous as PARKS, I did […]
Earlier this year, I was introduced to the solo card game Mini Rogue. Published by Nuts Publishing, this delving game has you exploring a mini dungeon, trying to make your way to the bottom level. Hot on the heels of its Kickstarter delivery, a new standalone expansion has been released. Mini Rogue: The Council adds […]
Back in the aughts, I spent an embarrassing amount of time playing a building simulator that placed you on the banks of a river in BCE, building rich civilizations that eventually created impressive ziggurats and pyramids. Assyria gives me the same vibe, in a board game I can whisk on and off the table in […]
To attempt to write a thematic intro for Papyria would be as silly as attempting to do so for The Castles of Burgundy (CoB). Papyria invokes the feel of ancient Mesopotamia in the same way that CoB immerses players in medieval France—i.e., other than some papyri and sheep, respectively, not all that much. I bother […]
Edwin Starr wrote an anti-war song in the 1970s with the famous chorus: “War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” This was likely in response to the Vietnam War, and it’s hard to argue that the chorus is wrong. Now, I don’t know Edwin, but I wonder if he ever played any good war […]
The village of Buttonville is undoubtedly the most glorious village of all time, aside from one small problem: There’s no one there! In The Glorious Guilds of Buttonville, you slip into the role of a guild master and recruit new residents—quirky inventors, cunning traders, and fearless guards—to transform the sleepy little town into a place […]
Stonemaier Games recently acquired the rights to the classic white box game Tokaido and its follow-up Namiji. Tokaido is well known and loved around my house, as we have the collector’s edition that was on Kickstarter a while ago. But it’s been over a decade since that game first debuted. When Stonemaier’s version of Namiji […]
Life and work are stressful; that’s why we need vacations that can clear the mind and invigorate our spirits with a sense of adventure, such as gem collecting in a sea of giant glowing jellyfish. Or how about being shrunken to insect size to explore wooded lands atop a galloping mouse? Such are two of […]
This hobby uses a lot of common mechanisms and themes, so it’s exciting when someone brings something new to the table. Viking Route does that, not with its theme of Vikings sailing around doing Viking things, but with the use of magnets. Viking Route is a one- to four-player game that plays in about an […]
I remember in 2018 when Welcome To… was released, and it reignited the roll and write craze (even though it was a flip and write). We started seeing all kinds of “X and Write” games, some amazing, others… better left on the shelf. But while the deluge of roll and write games has slowed down […]
My family consists of my wife, my 10-year-old daughter, my 16-year-old son, and my 19-year-old son—and my mother-in-law joins in when she’s around, too. Finding a game that everyone across those wide age gaps and varying board game experience can play and genuinely enjoy is always a challenge. Usually, the most effective hits are easy […]
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