Telestrations: Sketching Out a Good Time

What are games for? Are they to challenge us? Yes, which is why Chess has been around for ages. Are they to tweak our imagination? Of course, through great thematic games like Survive and Scotland Yard. But what is the primary purpose of games? Why do we really play games in the first place? Why, […]

Blokus: More than Just Tabletop Tetris

It’s easy to mistake Blokus as the board game version of Tetris on appearance alone. It’s full of brightly coloured blocks arranged in varying assortments which must be configured within proper spaces. But Blokus really is its own game and has strategy and gameplay all its own. While Tetris is about compacting these bricks into […]

Small World Underground: A Step Below the Original

I love Small World. I love the theme, the artwork, the variable player powers, the strategies. I love all of the expansions. So when I heard that a whole new base game with a new board set in a subterranean world with all new races and powers was going to be released, I was very […]

7 Wonders – Leaders: Adds Personality

Seven Wonders is probably the most popular new game of the past year. It has that ability to really catch people and pull them in, and so it caught on with gamer groups really well. But for as much as I loved that other people love it, I myself wanted to love it more. Well […]

Pandemic – On the Brink: Because Four Deadly Viruses Just Weren’t Enough

The Black Death ravages the middle east as the Red Tide covers eastern Asia. The Blue Flu sweeps across North America and most of Europe while the Yellow Fever hits South America and Africa hard. Crowds hush as the CDC spokesman gets up to the podium to make their press statement: “Saving the world from […]

My Ten Favourite Small World Races

10. Cultists Rounding out my list at #10 is the cultists. I didn’t think I would like the cultists. Perhaps because of the darker theme they invoke, I’m not sure. But they are really quite cool and quite powerful. The Cultists can actually summon Cthulhu( though they don’t actually call him Cthulhu in the game), […]

Cosmic Encounter: Intergalactic Excellence

Some games are great because they have interesting and airtight mechanics. Some games are great because their components and artwork is top notch. But the best games are the ones which can provide a great social experience. These are the games which are remembered by the longest, the ones which provide the most fun, produce […]

Dixit: To Be a Party Game or Not to Be a Party Game

Party Games are those types of games which are designed for groups of people, no matter who those people are. They are aimed towards making people laugh and have a good time. As such, they tend to follow certain formulas or common characteristics. They usually have goofy names (Balderdash) or themes (Cranium), and can allow […]

7 Wonders: A Colossal Hit

Sometimes new games being introduced to a group will strike just the right chord and become an instant hit. Seven Wonders certainly didn’t have to go through three ages to gain popularity. It became one of these instant hit games and captured the attention of all who were there for the inaugural game. It has […]

Ticket to Ride – Alvin & Dexter: Jumping the Alien Dino-Shark?

When the legendary Fonz leaped over that great lion of the sea while on those slender, wooden skis, he unknowingly created a phrase which would permeate other television shows, book series’, movie franchises, and yes, even board games. It is a term which defines the point at which one of these franchises goes down hill […]

Survive! Escape from Atlantis: A Classic Resurfaces

As many great new games as there have been which have came onto the scene over the last decade, there’s still something about those old classics. There’s a certain intangible quality from those very thematic games of the eighties through games like Scotland Yard, Fireball Island, and, of course,Survive. They really take the imaginary aspect […]

Tobago: X Marks the Fun

Within the realms of board game geekdom, there are games which are considered vastly more popular than others. This may seem weird to those people who don’t know much about board games beyond Monopoly or even those who think that more serious board gamers just play Catan. But within board game circles, there are varying […]

Carcassonne – Abbey & Mayor: Farms? Where we’re going we don’t need farms.

Carcassonne’s plethora of expansions each seem to have their own purpose. Inns & Cathedrals was meant to add more risk into the game while Traders & Builders added more rewards for growing and finishing cities. Princess & Dragon added a destructive element to the game while The Tower provided a more combative experience. The purpose […]

Small World – Be Not Afraid…: Pygmies, Pixies, and Ghosts, Oh My!

Small World has proven to be a very expandable game since it can incorporate many more races and powers without really affecting the games gestalt. Be Not Afraid is another excellent expansion which adds many more fantastic races and powers and is perhaps Small World’s best expansion to date. Be Not Afraid goes a little […]

Scotland Yard: The Thrill of the Chase

Board games are great, though sometimes they can all start to feel the same. There are some games, however, which can rise above this and give a unique texture to your gaming experience. Scotland Yard is such a game. Scotland Yard adds the element of a tense, thrilling chase to your gaming group,. Even though […]