Alright, 2025, here we go! It seems to become an annual tradition that I post a recommendation list for solo games (see 2024, 2023) and using the lull before Essen kicks off in October seems to be a good time for it. Of course a lot of new games will still come out in 2025 …
You have to hand it to Dutch independent publisher / design duo Splotter Spellen: if you’re in the market for innovative game design mixed with high amounts of player interaction and quirky humour, they are hard to beat. I’ve been slowly digging my way through their back catalogue, from 2005’s Indonesia to 2004’s Antiquity (which …
Read more “Review of Greed Incorporated – Never Has Embezzlement Been This Much Fun”
I’m always fascinated by a good story. Wanting to shine a light on them has been a big part of why I started writing about board games. When it comes to the journey of a designer and their game, few stories compare to that of Jo Kelly and Molly House: A first time designer teaming …
Read more “Origin Stories: Molly House – An Interview With Co-Designer Jo Kelly”
Sometimes it’s funny why you end up buying one particular game over the many, many others that are out there. I discovered the classic Grand Austria Hotel for no other reason than it was on sale at a bookstore and I thought “never heard of it, but it’s Lookout Games, let’s give it a try”. …
Read more “Review of Sol: Last Days of a Star – We Already Screwed It Up This Far, So …”
Welcome back to On The Table, my top-of-mind, catching-you-up format. I just realised it’s been three months since I did one of these! So here are my usual sneak peaks into what I have been playing but not writing about in my normal format. Sometimes it’s because I’m still working on the review and need …
Read more “On The Table: Sol, Tycoon India, New Cold War, and more”
As much as I like playing heavy games, I have to admit I groan inwardly every time I open a box and am faced with 20-30 pages of rules. It’s not the amount of pages I mind, it’s more that feeling of “is this really necessary”? It seems that nowadays more and more games create …
Read more “Review of Iwari – Few Rules Can Make For Big Time Drama”
I wasn’t able to go to UKGE this year, though I kind of wished I had after seeing multiple people posting about it. I’ve never been there, but it looked like a lot of fun! Going to conventions—especially those in another country—is expansive though. Which made me think: what remains of SPIEL Essen 2024? Was …
A BGG user has recently posted a new solitaire variant for Roads & Boats on BGG that aims to provide a more “full” solo experience than the normal 20-turn puzzles. It consists of two modules: This page contains a quick and dirty implementation of the second module (based on v3 of the variant) for those …
Read more “Roads & Boats – New Lands Variant (Online Version)”
Every year, thousands of new games come out. Sure, not everything might be relevant for you, but even filtering those out still leaves you with hundreds and hundreds of potentially interesting new games to try. Some are duds, some are great, but one thing is certain: we don’t have a shortage of games to enjoy, …
Ever wondered what it takes to print a custom playmat? Well, me too! From time to time, I had seen the occasional post on BGG and idly wondered how complicated it would be and what level of quality one could hope for. At the same time, I’m not the biggest fan of playmats. They are …