The Tabletop Minimalist

It's been a while! Join Jamie and Ricky as we catch up on some recent plays, acquisitions and culls before discussing the importance of the teach. What makes a good teacher? What makes a bad teacher? How should you approach teaching games? Should you even be teaching games? Then, in our Wildcard Segment , we open up about our teaching disasters. Note: This episode was recorded in November 2025. Go...

Episode Notes On this commutably-lengthed episode, Jamie and Ricky share some recent plays, acquisitions and culls before diving into some tips and ideas on how to play the games you own more often. After seemingly coming across as the bastions of good habits, we then ask the dreaded question "which of our games have gone the longest sitting in the dust?" in our Wilcard Segment . Got a q...

Strap in for a double-feature extravaganza as Jamie and Ricky discuss our top 25 games! Why are we doing this so early? Well, because of our shared minimalist approach to collecting games, these are some of the titles that have truly earned their place. Hopefully it gives you a better sense of who we are as gamers, and what we look for in the games we keep. Got any topics / questions you want us t...

This week, Jamie and Ricky discuss what we've played and what games are leaving the shelf before exploring what gives a board game lasting appeal. We talk about the core elements that keep us coming back to the same titles, including strategic depth, player interaction, asymmetry, skill expression, and the satisfaction of learning and mastering a game over time. We also unpack the difference betwe...

Welcome to The Tabletop Minimalist ! In our very first episode, Jamie and Ricky introduce themselves and explore the philosophy of board game minimalism. What does it mean to have a small, carefully curated collection? How can minimalism help you enjoy your games more while avoiding the overwhelm of an ever-growing backlog and the constant wave of new releases? We break down common misconceptions...