Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and discussions with a personal touch

We were still trying to understand the special powers of the 8 elemental realms and how our dragon, wizard and warriors could take advantage of each and how we could impose our dominance over the other factions in this growing world. Each realm also had a giant monster that would wreak death and cause havoc amongst us, if we couldn't work out how to defeat it first or control it and steer it in ou...

The idea that variability and replayability in board games have the same meaning is understandable, but of course, even though the two terms are related, they are independent of each other. Just because there is a lot of variability in a game doesn't mean that you'll want to play it over and over again and that it will feel different every time. Similarly, a game that is highly replayable, offerin...

It was quiet in the deep, dark wood. Everything was still and nothing stirred - but everyone was ready. The cats had taken up their position in every clearing, six birds were waiting patiently by their roost in one corner of the forest, the racoon had taken cover deep in the woods and the crows were biding their time in a handful of clearings of their choice. The moment was near. It was time to de...

The longer you have been part of the board game hobby, the more you are used to various terminology and conventions. You will also have become more accustomed to the way rulebooks describe games and how to read them to get the most out of them. However, if you're still new to the hobby then some things may not be obvious. In this article, I want to look at some of these terms and conventions that...

You were proud of your large library and your hard-working group of scribes was continually adding new tomes, with wonderfully decorative lettering and illustrations. However, you only had so much gold and the best scribes weren't cheap, but you had to somehow continue growing your collection of books to keep the bishop happy and outdo other abbots who were vying for influence. So you persevered a...

Albert Pinilla is an illustrator born in Barcelona. He is the co-creator and illustrator of the card game We Can Play: Women Who Changed The World and co-creator of the game publisher Julibert . He has also illustrated books such as The Interactive Constitution and Climate Change, the Choice Is Ours and has illustrated children's board games for companies such as Jumbo Disset , Goula , Nathan and...

After setting up a board game and explaining the rules, if necessary, the next step usually is to decide who starts. Different games decide this differently, so in this article, I want to discuss the various ways in which board games choose the first player and I will also touch on games where the first player changes from round to round. Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2...

Around sixty million years ago on Earth, dinosaurs reigned supreme on land, but at sea, a giant struggle was still unfolding. Creatures were slowly adapting to the changes in their watery habitat and hoping to be victors in this fight for survival. The threat of a giant meteor striking the Earth was increasing all the time, so it was a race to become the Dominant Species: Marine by Chad Jensen fro...

Sometimes I get asked to recommend games for someone to play. As you can imagine, that's never easy and my first question tends to be what other games they have already played. If they're completely new to the hobby, I usually ask how many people they intend to play with, whether they're a competitive group, how long they're happy to play for. It's also sometimes good to find out what sort of film...

Spice, the final frontier. These are the adventures of the Houses Atreides and Harkonnen and the Imperium their five-round mission to explore Arrakis , to seek out new territories and new Spice Blows , to boldly go where no Fremen has gone before. This is Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy by Bill Eberle , Jack Kittredge , Peter Olotka , Greg Olotka and Jack Reda from Gale Force Nine . Read th...

I have mentioned it on this blog before, but my favourite way of being taught a new game is by diving right in. Teach me only the absolute minimum, just so I roughly know what sort of game we're playing and get an outline of what I'm trying to achieve and then let me start taking my turn. It's the sort of style of teaching that Paul Grogan of Gaming Rules advocates and it's probably the best optio...

Oh no! Wizard Pebbledash ’s assistants, Kevin and Annabelle , are missing! Of course, it is our task to find them and return them home safely. We are a motley crew of four daring adventurers of all shapes and sizes. Some of us have brave hearts, others have strong minds and there are some here who have a keen eye, but all of us are in high spirits and ready to face the dangers ahead of us. So off...

I want to continue my series on how to teach board games to others by talking about how you can learn the game yourself or ask others to learn it for themselves. After all, you can't teach others until you know how to play it yourself and you're a better teacher if you've actually played the game yourself. Also, sometimes it's actually fun to learn a game and not always a big onus to expect others...

We had pulled off the heist of the century and everyone was still buzzing, pumped with adrenaline. We had made it safely back to our hideout and now it was time to divvy up the loot. We were about to count out cash, gold, gems, paintings and microfilms when the boss came up with a crazy idea. "Let's play Blackjack," they said, "and sort out who gets what that way." They even gave it a name. They c...

Let me start by wishing you a Happy New Year. We all somehow made it into 2022, probably a little worse for wear, but we made it nonetheless. The world has changed a lot, but there are still many moments of positivity and hope. I don't want to make predictions about what might happen to us all in the future, but instead, I want to focus on the Tabletop Games Blog and maybe talk about a couple of t...

It's the 11th of July in the year of our Lord 1899. At 10am Mountain Daylight Time, the Union Pacific Express departed Folsom in Union County, New Mexico as scheduled, but only a few minutes after leaving the village's last buildings behind, heavily armed bandits started robbing the 47 passengers, taking purses and jewellery. A short while later, gunshots could be heard and some of the bandits had...

Like probably everyone else does at the end of another calendar year, it's time for me to look back on 2021 and share with you what I've been up to. In fact, this year I want to share with you some more detail, so that you can see what is involved in doing what I do in the name of the Tabletop Games Blog . Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2021/12/28/2021-in-review-topic-di...

Yes, it's the time of year again where I list the 5 board games that I think were the best in 2021. The games don't necessarily have to have been published this year, but as long as I have played them in 2021, they qualify to appear on this list. Of course, as is now custom on the Tabletop Games Blog, the #1 game will receive the exclusive and prestigious Top Table Award . I know you're already at...

In my third article about teaching games , I want to talk about light games. The advantage of these games is, that they are easy to teach and quick to learn - and often also quick to play. So, this article should be rather short, but as we know, the easier something is, the better you have to execute it and given that lighter games are usually the sort of games new people to the hobby will come in...

Most of us will have a lot of spare time over the holidays and if we have board game enthusiasts among the family, this is the perfect time to set up and play some heavy games. We might also have more time to meet up with our games group and again, now is the time to get those heavy games to the table that we might not feel like playing of an evening after a busy day at work. So, here are 5 heavy...

Continuing in my series of articles about how to teach games to others, I want to talk about maybe the best approach - and that is getting your games group to learn a game together. After all, for many of us, playing board games is a social activity and at the very least, it's a hobby we share. So it makes sense to also share the burden of teaching, or rather learning, how to play a new game. Read...

Continuing with my list of 5 board games for Christmas, this week I talk about medium weight games. These games are for those days over the holidays, when the weather is horrible outside and you want to be inside, all cozy and warm, maybe with a mug of hot chocolate and spend around an hour playing a board game with either your immediate family and/or with friends. The games on this list will take...

Teaching someone the rules to a board game is never easy. I wouldn't say I'm an expert when it comes to teaching, but over time I've learned a few things that have helped me to become a better teacher. I found that different types of games require different types of teaching. So I thought I'd share with you what I've learned so far and maybe you pick up some ideas that help you with teaching new g...

Yes, Christmas is just around the corner, so it's time for me to put together lists of games you might want to get out over the holidays and play. I thought I'd start with a list of five games that you can play with all the family. These games are easy to teach and learn and quite quick to play. Most of them can be played up to four players, so if you have a large family gathering, you might need...

There are so-called "race" games, where the first player to fulfil certain winning conditions takes the victory and the game ends immediately. These games differ from other games where you play so many rounds and whoever has the most points at the end wins. Most race games are highly competitive and it's every player for themselves, but in some of these types of games, the situation is a bit more...