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

"Diamonds, gold, silver, cloth, spices, leather," you shout from your stall into the hustle and bustle of the market. You are not the only trader vying for the many people wandering around the square, most of whom are tourists looking for a bargain. In fact, there is one other trader selling the same wares as you, and both of you pride yourselves on selling the finest goods. Neither of you wants t...

We all have heard of knock-off copies of designer bags or clothing, illegal copying of DVDs and CDs, as well as cheap versions of toys that are basically replicas of products sold by big brands. After all, there is good money to be had by the makers of these fakes, as well as a good chunk of money to be saved by people who buy the copies instead of the much more expensive originals. However, what...

Your tribe is sitting around the fire - a new invention that will prove to be the spark of great things to come, things that nobody can yet predict or even dream of. It feels like you have been here before though. The scene seems very familiar. The faces may be different and so is the location, but the warmth of the flames and the crackling of the embers trigger memories in you - memories of a bri...

In recent years, there seems to have been a surge in board game events in the UK, where people come together for a day or two to play games with old friends and new. I'm thinking of events like AireCon, Manorcon or Tabletop Scotland, but there are many more. These events are different to expos, like the UK Games Expo, which do have open play or tournaments, but whose main focus is on exhibitors sh...

"I know," said the King's master builder, "if we use modular rooms, all of them square, we could manufacture several of them, all at the same time, in our many workshops, transport them to the site as they are finished, and connect them on-site to build a magnificent castle, befitting our Highness' standing and reputation. In fact, we could build several castles all at the same time, all as glorio...

Sure. It's always great to play with the latest shinies and be at the cutting edge of what board games have to offer. It makes you feel trendy, in-the-know or it's just great to have bought something new. I love it myself. It's amazing when someone offers you a game for review that hasn't been released yet. You feel honoured. It's a special thing. It just makes you happy, and enjoying games has a...

Our heighliner was positioned safely in Arrakis' orbit. With a steady stream of Spice filling our coffers gradually, we had to be patient and observe from afar the goings-on down on the planet itself. It was clear that House Atreides was pivotal in the unfolding events and our scheme had to remain hidden until the right moment was reached. The cogs were set in motion and doubts had been planted in...

Growing up, I played a lot of tabletop games with my parents and brother. Yes, there was Monopoly of course, as well as other roll-and-move games such as Winnetou , but also tableau builders like  Ogallala and a stock market game called Das Börsenspiel which required a little more strategic thinking. It was mostly my brother who would teach us these sort of games, and my parents would teach u...

After finishing my shift in the press room at the local newspaper, I had returned home. As I entered the apartment block’s communal hallway and went over to collect my post, I saw that someone had changed the padlock on my letterbox. I knew that my own padlock had never been very secure, and I always expected someone to cut it with a bolt cutter to steal my post. However, I never thought anybody w...

We all play games for different reasons, and we all approach them differently. In fact, we may play the same game differently on two different days, just because we're in a different mood. However, I'm not talking about playing a different strategy or choosing a different character or even just playing with a different player colour. I'm talking about something different altogether. Read the full...

You sit quietly in your hide, binoculars in hand, peering out over the lake, with the grassland on the other side and the woodlands in the background. You have already spotted a fair number of birds that frequent this nature reserve regularly, but suddenly you spot something new. You think you glimpsed a read head and black and white back. Slowly scanning the woodlands, you see it again, hanging o...

Tabletop game designers want to create an enjoyable experience for people - whatever enjoyable means in this context. From that starting point, they create a game that is balanced, flows well and meets the desired complexity requirements, as well as meets other criteria. They may use the skillset of developers to refine everything, and if a publisher is involved, there will be additional criteria...

"...as more people are put into isolation in specifically built camps that are guarded by military personnel and run by medical experts and support staff brought in from around the country. The World Health Organization has so far identified five different viruses in this global epidemic. A number of scientific laboratories across the world are working around the clock in an attempt to discover a...

Chits, tokens, player boards, tiles, pieces, cards and all the other components we have come to know and love can sometimes be a bit of a problem: when you need to place dozens upon dozens of them into specific places on the game board or player mat and spend hours shuffling dozens of decks of cards before you can even think about starting the game. Setup is something most of us will want to be qu...

After a short journey by train, you arrive in Berlin at Friedrichstraße central station. Wasting no time, you immediately take the stairs down to the U-Bahn platforms. You want to see as much of this metropole as possible, not just the usual tourist sites, but also the more regular stations that locals would travel to. Your first destination is Zitadelle in Spandau, after which you want to see the...

Let's start 2020 with a serious topic and wade straight in. I might as well start the year as I mean to go on. So, turn order. It's something that matters very little in some games, and a lot in others. In some games, players take their turns in clockwise order, in others it's based on the faction they've chosen or some other similar measure, or you might bid for turn order. In some games, turn or...

Here is a game that has been around the blocks for a few years, but still seems very popular amongst people who like trick-taking games.  Skull King by  Schmidt Spiele *  does a few things differently to other trick-taking games, which is why it’s so much fun and a game that you can teach to people who are new to trick-taking games. Yet, there is as much depth in this game as there...

I wanted to use this opportunity to thank everyone who supports me via Patreon, follows me on Twitter, has subscribed to my YouTube channel, follows me on Instagram, likes my LinkedIn page or who supports me otherwise. A particular thank you goes, of course, to Antoinette from Board Game Inquisition with whom I'm running the Tabletop Inquisition podcast. Read the full article here: https://tableto...

For the first time, the Tabletop Games Blog is giving away an award: the Top Table Award for the best game released in 2019. As you know, a lot of new tabletop games were released this year, probably around 3,000 to 4,000, excluding expansions. That's more games anyone will ever be able to play in a year, and I have probably only seen 20-30 of those. However, I still thought it'd be good to share...

I know, it's Christmas Eve, so talking about New Year's resolutions might feel a little early, but I thought I'd get them out of the way now, so I can enjoy the holidays. As this blog is about tabletop games, my list of resolutions featured here focuses solely on what I promise to do, or stop doing, with regards to the hobby. Of course, there are many other things, that are personal and private to...

Another year has come and gone. A lot has happened in the world, some good, some bad. The tabletop game community has not got away unscathed of course. Yet, there have also been a lot of positive trends and changes. So as we're nearing the end of 2019, I want to look back at what happened in the tabletop games hobby. Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/12/21/2019-saturda...

I thought it would be helpful to talk about something that I, and many other people, struggle with around this time of year. It's not quite a tabletop games related topic, but there is a link, as you will see. What I am talking about is the feelings of gloom, self-doubt and general negativity when the days get shorter and the weather is less pleasant. I hope my experiences are helpful to others, e...

There is absolute silence and the flickering candles cast eerie shadows of the four people sitting around the table. Everyone has one hand on the table and moves their gaze from face to face, trying to lock onto the thoughts that waft through the other person's mind. The tension is palpable and the air is thick. There is a faint sound of ticking, as if from a grandfather clock, but it's not real....

I thought it might be time to give everyone an update of where I'm at with the blog, the podcast, videos and everything else I do in the industry. After all, we're nearing the end of the year and everyone is starting to reflect on what they have achieved. However, there will be a separate article on my blog talking about what happened in 2019 in the industry in general and with regards to my work...

The four armies have landed on the beach of the abandoned island and deposited their troops with intent. They are here to claim their stake and become the new rulers. Yet, battles are rare. The invaders mostly compete for majority, tolerating their opponents’ presence, while brave cohorts cross the seas to reach neighbouring islands in this tiny archipelago. Cities are built to establish a permane...