Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic Conflict

  Cosmic Encounter is a game that has had many versions and may expansions over its 37 year history. However Fantasy Flight’s latest version really seems to be the definitive edition, which has up to five expansions thus far. The first to be released was the excellent Cosmic Incursion Expansion. Today I will be looking […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Backgammon: Famous Yet Unknown

It’s hard for me not to relate Backgammon to chess. After all, both are games which exist in the public domain, both have been around for centuries, and both are included among the most fundamental and historic of all board games. However despite backgammon’s fame and notoriety, I feel like very few people are actually […]

Empire Builder: Back to the Beginning

All gaming hobbyists can usually pinpoint their gateway game, that game which opened the doors for them into the wider world of board gaming. For many people. This is usually a game like Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne or Ticket to Ride. While Risk was the game which gave me a taste for better board games, […]

Battleship: Going Off the Grid

Battleship is a classic game which some people consider a hit while many other think of it as a miss. Many critics of Battleship argue that the game is pointless, since its really just a pen and pencil game. They argue that the grid system which is the basis of the game’s makeup could be […]

Trivial Pursuit: No Knowledge is Useless Knowledge

Is any knowledge useless knowledge? Is there anything that we will learn that has absolutely no value to us? I do not believe so. Trivial facts may not be useful in a purely utilitarian way, but they can be an indicator that the person who knows these facts has both their eyes and ears open […]

Scrabble: A Game of Quones and Kwyjibos

Scrabble’s position in the board game world is truly an enigma (9 points); a query (17 points, much better) if you will. Its viewed by much of the general public as being a game of elitists; a game for the more intelligent among us. But by board game snobs, its considered one of the pedestrian, […]

Acquire: The Forgotten Classic

There are many classic boards which are beloved in the memories of almost all who played them in the past; games which are passed down from generation to generation and whose names live in the lexicon of popular culture. Most of these games were released decades ago and have only grown in stature since then […]

Diplomacy: How to Stab Friends and Infuriate People

In all forms of art and entertainment, be it film, music, visual art or even board games, there comes along a piece of work which is set high above the rest and stands apart from the usual. Diplomacy is such a piece of work. This gaming masterpiece was released in the late fifties just after […]

Clue: Solving the Secret of a Sixty Year Success

Clue has been around for more than sixty years and it still holds a place as one of the most popular board games in the world. So why it this? What is it about Clue which keeps its notoriety secure? What is the answer to this puzzling enigma? Clue is a game of deduction mystery. […]

Eurorails: Building Victory with Crayons

Eurorails My friend Matt invited me over a few years ago to try out this new board game he had learned. It was called Eurorails. At this time, I had never settled Catan or built Carcassonne and I really didn’t know much about board games beyond the usual suspects. Well, I was enamored. I fell […]

The Farming Game: Harvest the Fun

The Farming Game Theme is usually an important part of a board game. Themes allow players to take on different roles depending on the game they are playing. In Monopoly, they have the chance to be a high-finance real estate tycoon. In Clue they get to pretend that they are a homicide detective. And in […]

Risk: The True Gateway Game

Risk Many talk about Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride as being ‘gateway games’, meaning games which open the doors of the board gaming world to many and give them a taste for games which go beyond Monopoly and The Game of Life.  Risk has been around for over 50 years now and is […]