It only takes a quick look to realise there is something different about Oros: its art style lies between the abstract or painterly detailed art of most games, the box is a bit bigger than usual (approximately 1.5x Ticket-to-Ride-boxes), the mood is unusually cheerful for a game about demigods, reminding me of an animated movie …
Read more “First Impressions of Oros – A Fresh Breeze That Moves Mountains”
Splendor is one of those games that feel like they have been around forever, like Ticket to Ride or Carcassonne. Easy to teach, nice production, great flow, maybe a bit bland after repeated plays but always good to have in a collection. While not the deepest game, there is a nice meta game of seeing …
Read more “First Impressions of Splendor Duel – Smaller Box, Bigger Game?”
I have to admit, this one is a tricky one to write as I was looking forward to Encyclopedia for quite some time. While I’m usually more attracted by mid-to-heavy games, interesting use of dice is always something that gets my attention. The fact that a number of YouTubers were very positive in their previews …
Read more “Review of Encyclopedia – The Power of Expectations”
Hi Xavier, thanks for taking the time to talk about Carnegie. You’re the very first guest in this interview series on the origin stories of board games and I couldn’t be happier starting it with you. From Initial Idea to Design Most people probably know you as one of the co-designers of Troyes and Black …
Read more “Origin Stories: Carnegie – An Interview with Author Xavier Georges”
In January of 2022, I started writing first impressions/reviews on Boardgamegeek and then later adding them to my own site as well. While it’s technically not a full year yet, it seemed like a good opportunity to stop for a moment and look back on the experience so far. Have you ever thought about writing …
A friend asked me the other day “You’ve got metal coins, right?” and I tentatively said “suuuuurrrreeee?”. While a lot of people have stopped buying metal coins or settle on a single set they use for everything, I still enjoy having dedicated ones for games I really like. There is an art to metal coins …
Read more “Metal Coins in Board Games – So You’ve Got Metal Coins, Right?”
We’re approaching the next corner and I’m way too fast. In the front, the leader is trying to pull away from me so I have to keep up. In the back, the rest of the competition is breathing down my neck. There is a discerning amount of stress, heat is starting to build up, and …
Read more “First Impressions of Heat: Pedal to the Metal – Zero to Fun in Sixty Seconds”
I got a number of new games to the table, none of which I really felt had an interesting enough story to tell for one of my full length articles. So instead, let’s try this new lightning round format: On The Table. Encyclopedia: I’m quite fond of this one. Love the art style, the dice stealing …
Read more “On The Table: Encyclopedia, Endless Winter, Sabika, Hamlet, Lacrimosa”
Great riches can be found by leaving one’s own comfort zone. Sometimes they come in the form of new discoveries we love, other times in an affirmation that we were already where we wanted to be. John Company: Second Edition is pretty far outside my normal area of interest, in fact it might be in …
Read more “First Impressions of John Company: Second Edition – A Story Worth to Be Told”
The first games of my virtual Essen haul have started arriving. Instead of going to the convention in person, I opted for watching from home and just ordering a couple of games that fancied my interest. It’s kind of a crapshoot to buy those games without any serious reviews already out but fun in its …
Read more “First Impressions of Woodcraft – Who Knew Carpentry Would Be Such a Tight Business?”