I have always felt that the theme or setting of a game can really help with learning it. In a game about the Spice Routes, for example, it will be instinctively clear why there are mechanisms to exchange resources of different types with each other or for money. After all, that's what the spice trade was mainly about. However, a game's theme or set…

Rejoice, my friends! It’s time for our annual convention, where collectors from around the world gather to trade their tiny postal treasures. We must prepare our most beautiful and best-arranged collection and show it to the expert crowd. If we do well, we may walk away with the top prize at this year’s Stamp Swap by Paul Salomon from Stonemaier Ga…

Aye, let me tell ye, it's nae just another day in the engine room! There we were, mindin' our own business, when a ripple in time itself plucks me and three of me trusted crewmates right out of our own century! Next thing ye know, we're smack dab in the aftermath of the Battle of Wolf 359. We've got to deal w' snarlin' Klingon warriors, Romulan spi…

I know that some people hate player interaction. They prefer a multi-player solitaire experience, where they are in full control of their destiny. If they win, it's down to how well they played. However, I quite like player interaction, both negative and positive. Being able to form temporary alliances that are eventually broken or having a way of …

The spacefaring cultures were moving their forces through the gates and across the systems, changing the control in the clusters in the Reach. The balance of the court was also no longer guaranteed. Agents were making their influence known and securing their positions. It didn't take long for the first battles to start, damaging cities and spacepor…

I am a big fan of card games. Having grown up in Germany, a deck of cards was usually not far away. Playing trick-taking games was part of my youth, whether with the family or friends. I love card games in general and my love was rekindled when I was introduced to the modern hobby with games such as Citadels or Love Letter. I also found many new tr…

The seemingly endless lands lay in front of us. Ahead of us, we could see a small village where cute little dragons were tending stores. To our left, people were playing cards, closely watched by a row of playing cards and a rather angry-looking queen. Above us floated different spaceships, some delivering their wares to the small village, while ot…

One of the things that most competitive and many cooperative games have in common is some sort of turn order. You go first, then comes Bob and then it's my turn. Turn order might change throughout the game, but there is always someone whose turn it is. The more players there are, the more of an issue it can be, because the longer you have to wait f…

Our longships were ready to sail. The crew had just completed stowing all provisions and supplies for the long voyage ahead. We needed resources and building materials to develop our fjord and complete our port, altar and Jarl palace. But we were not alone. Vikings from other fjords had the same ambition to store up the most riches and be crowned J…

If you know me, you'll know that I love economic simulation games. I love trading stocks and shares. It feels great when I buy into someone else's company and ride their success to profit. It feels even better when my own company does well and I can take all the gains for myself, because nobody else believed it would do so well. Add to that my love…

The new town was going to be glorious. Here in this wasteland that had seen many battles, it was important to create defenses, while also ensuring there were enough shops and houses for the people. It was going to take some time and our initial focus was on building towers that would allow us to see invaders far into the distance. The towers would …

There are certain categories of games that I absolutely love. You will have heard about my recent escapades in the world of 18xx games and the excitement these types of games create for me. They offer me a good dose of brain training, while also being thematically enjoyable. Yet, there is another genre of games that I love: tile-laying games. So, i…

A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. Black holes are enormous and entirely ungovernable. They form when massive stars collapse on themselves at the end of their life. They grow by absorbing mass from their surroundings and if they absorb other stars or merge with other black hole…

The Age of Inception is all but over. People are starting to forget the stories that were passed down. Tabuhl's Tail, a sign of things to come, will soon return. While our memories fade, that most ancient of omens is ready to lighten the night sky once again. It is time for a few of us, whose memories are more vivid, to get ready for a new age, whe…

In Tir na-Nog, ethereal Queen Titania and Lord Oberon have finally decided to not only end their age-old rivalry, but also to get married. For the big day, they have invited delegations from all the vassal faeries to come together and celebrate the grand occasion. As a faerie noble yourself, you also received one of these invitations, but which rol…

You have risen early to prepare your stall at Tsukiji Market. It won't be long until the doors open and the aisles become a sea of people wanting to sample the wares. It's going to be tough. The quality and variety of fish and shellfish on your stand are outstanding and should speak for themselves, but you can't be sure until you have sold your who…

If you have spent a number of years reviewing board games, you will have seen how people keep bringing up the topic of how reviewers should not be biased and remain as objective as possible. Of course, reviewers, like all people, are always going to have biases and a review will never be objective. As this topic was recently discussed yet again, I …

The band of brave adventurers had finally arrived back in our town. They had returned jubilantly after clearing the local dungeons of the many monsters that had lurked in the deep caverns and tunnels. We celebrated with them because we no longer faced the threat of attacks. Not only that, now that the dungeons were clear of all dangers, we were abl…

Captain's Log - Stardate... well, nobody is really sure. After having been drawn into some sort of temporal disturbance, the Enterprise is now floating helplessly in space without thrust and only minimal power. Our viewscreens show the presence of another vessel. It isn't completely clear, but it looks like we have been transported into the afterma…

I love my game group. We've been playing board games for many. many years now. Over the years we learned many new ones and slowly established favourites, which would eventually get replaced by new favourites. It's very special to have a consistent group of people to play games with. One of the really special things I found is how we discover games …

Whether it is coins, keys, clover or rabbit feet, there are many items that, according to ancient superstitions, bring you luck and maybe even protect you from evil. You merely need to wear them around your neck or on a bracelet and their magic becomes active. Collectively, these items are known as Charms by Taiki Shinzawa from New Mill Industries.…

I think many of us like games that take an hour or two to play, maybe even longer. I guess that's at least true when you've got a game group you play regularly with. I love longer games, but I also love those quick games that take less than half an hour to learn and play. They're ideal to play before, after or even in between other games. They're a…

The forest is dark and eerie. A cold wind whistles through the branches and makes them creak and groan. The rustling of the leaves goes some way to hiding the noise of your prowling through the undergrowth. You have your prey in sight, but suddenly, at the same time as you break cover, other hunters reveal themselves. There is a moment of confusion…

As we were walking through the forest on a mild, damp spring morning, with the mist still rising and the trees and other plants slowly waking up as the sun was peeking over the horizon, we saw, to our great surprise, little creatures emerging from flowers and the hollows of the trees. Some wore cupule hats, while others had slung oak leaf ponchos o…

If you're a competitive person, you want to win. If you're a really competitive person, winning is your absolute goal. Competitive games will probably be your favourite, but even when you play cooperative games, you probably still try to do everything in your power to beat the game and take the win for the team. However, I don't think playing games…

We all had our different plans. Getting the right bills through the Senate was never easy. There would always be compromises and endless debates. We all wanted to further our own goals. The odd promise of a bribe, digging up dirt on the other parties' representatives and some last-minute voting changes all helped to get what your party wanted. At t…

The term Kulturgut is very hard to translate into English. In fact, I don't think there is a similar concept in the UK. "Cultural asset" doesn't really do it justice, because the term describes things that have a cultural value and need to be preserved. Literature is a type of Kulturgut for example. As a British person, you can easily see how the w…

Over the weekend during a hot July in Germany at a different, but much cooler location compared to last year, around 16,000 people attended the "big summer board game festival for gamers, geeks and the whole family", as the event describes itself. Located in my home city, the convention I am talking about is, of course, Berlin Brettspiel Con 2024. …

Vikings were known for plundering, but what many people forget is that they also did a lot of trade. In fact, the Viking Era saw an increase in trade in the English Channel, the North Sea and the Baltic. There was one vessel that was specifically made for the exchange of large quantities of goods. It was a cargo ship with a shorter hull than the co…

We had started in Florence when everyone was still fresh and raring to go. An endless sea of bicycles with teams sticking closely together had lined up at the starting line. The support teams had only done their last checks minutes before and everything was shiny and gleaming. Now, several thousand kilometres later, everyone started to show signs o…

There is an unwritten social contract that, when you choose to play a board game, you agree to play it to its conclusion. Everyone around the table expects to finish the game. Everyone wants to have an equal chance of winning. People want to be able to come back from behind and snatch their victory right on their last turn. I think that expectation…

The period of sakoku has only recently ended, and now with the Meiji Restoration in full swing, the country is investing heavily in new technologies. Locomotives have become the leading symbol of the nation's modernization. Across all four islands, new railway operations are created and entrepreneurs attempt to profit from the money being injected …

Games come in all shapes and sizes. Designers create them in different ways and with different intentions. Some games are an interesting mix of mechanisms, others are a passion project that tries to evoke certain emotions when people play them. Games can have simple rules with deep emergent gameplay or they can be rules-heavy. While some games take…

We made it! We finally decoded a very important ancient Mayan manuscript and found the temple described in the old document deep in the jungles of El Salvador. As we were standing at the entrance, we saw in front of us a very long paved road, leading to a circular pyramid. Each paving slab had a different symbol on it and we knew from the manuscrip…

Good games will have had a lot of time put into them to ensure they create the experience that the designer wanted. The rules will have been created with intent and purpose. Rules are the skeleton around which the muscles, sinews, skin and the whole living body of the game grows. Games are meant to be played by their rules, or at least that's what …

Howdy partner. Welcome to the Wild West, where there is gold to be found in them there hills. Only the most daring souls will find the riches. Mining is dangerous work. So helping your fellow human is the right thing to do, but getting repaid for your kindness is not guaranteed. I'll start you off with a pick-axe, some safety gear and a few sticks …

It is always a pleasure to arrive by train at Birmingham International train station, which not only gives you access to West Midland's main airport, but also to the amazing NEC. It is in this huge exhibition complex that the UK's largest hobby games convention takes place every year. The event welcomes tens of thousands of visitors over three days…

Artichokes come in two main forms: globe and Jerusalem. Both are lovely vegetables with many health benefits. As culinary ingredients, some love their wonderful flavour, while others hate them for the same reason. However, we want to talk about globe artichokes specifically here. So while you might love these wonderful green plants, as relatives of…

Space: an endless void with countless stars, some of which capable of harbouring a planet that can support life. On one of these Goldilocks planets far away from our own, life has indeed emerged. Yet, nothing is ever allowed to last. One day, the inevitable end will come. So in the meantime, life on this planet is competing for supremacy. They do n…

Another year has gone by in a flash and it's time again for me to start another convention season. Well, I say "season", but that's exaggerating it. I'm actually only attending two board game shows this year. I just can't afford to fly everywhere and spend time away from home. So I chose two events that I really enjoyed last year and that won't cos…

Build your reputation, they said. Complete voyages, defeat foes and gather treasures, they said. Visit the outpost to sell cargo and make repairs, they said. Having two sloops under my command was supposed to make this easy, but the truth was far from it. A pirate's life for me, my barnacle. It was a huge challenge from the start. It was almost imp…

Welcome, adventurer. You are about to embark on a very unique dungeon crawl. Sharpen your pencil and be brave. You are about to face an almost endless cave system stuffed to the brim with coins, treasure chests, spiders' webs, enemies and even the odd portal. So off you go, brave fellow, and descend the stairs into the amazing Paper App Dungeon by …

Hi, it’s Joe Slack here. I’ve written a few guest posts for Oliver in the past and I was delighted when he requested another guest blog, so here we go! Something I think about a lot as a game designer is how to create tension in a game as well as ensure that players feel a sense of progression as they play. Read the full article here: https://table…

After the battle of Wolf 359, the team consisting of Commander Riker, Lieutenant Commanders Data and Shelby and Lieutenant Worf on board the U.S.S. Enterprise were doing all they could to protect the ship against the invading Borg, led by Locutus of Borg, formerly Captain Picard of the Federation. It was a strange situation. The alien drones seemed…

Feeling stressed about your upcoming wedding? Why not sit down and relax, and maybe even get some inspiration from these wedding-themed board games! Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2024/05/07/get-inspired-for-your-wedding-with-board-games-topic-discussion/ Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠…

As the first two sons of Adam and Eve, a lot of responsibility had been laid upon our shoulders. We were a farmer and a shepherd who had to offer our harvested grains and livestock to God. We were never sure if either of us was in His favour. So we carried on and made wilder and wilder boasts about our gifts to Our Lord until it was too much and on…

I grew up at a time when "cowboys and Indians" were a popular topic in literature. Westerns, spaghetti or otherwise, were on television pretty much all the time. Similarly, Kung Fu films were regularly shown on the small screen. The jungles of India also often featured heavily. Board games often followed the same trend and portrayed these seemingly…

I had my camera ready. The tripod was weighed down to ensure I got a clear picture and the telescopic lens was attached to get me as close to the action as possible. It wasn't going to be easy because this creature was hard to find and very camera-shy. I was sure I was in the right spot though. There had been footprints in the ground, so there was …

I've written about my love of trick-taking games and the genre in general many times. Just check the archives... Now that my game group has also gotten into the genre, I've discovered more and more games that take this ancient card game mechanism to new heights. They apply new twists and add different mechanisms to create really exciting new titles…

They were very shy and very few people had seen one, but you and your friends had been lucky. One lived at the bottom of the garden of the McGregories at the end of the village. The old couple was completely unaware of the sneaking by both, the mythical creature and your group of pals. You really wanted to make friends with this little winged being…