board game culture

Why Good Board Games Struggle to Make it to The Table

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A Game of Thrones: The Board Game is a fantastic strategy game that puts each player at the helm of one of the major houses in the franchise. Despite my love for it, that game is collecting dust on our shelf. Just because I own it and because it’s good doesn’t mean I’m going to play it into the ground. The reality is, there are factors about that and other board games in my collection that make it very difficult for them to make it on the table. Here’s a couple of reasons why games I enjoy struggle to get played.

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Board Game Talk: T.I.M.E Stories

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The return of Board Game Talk features one of my favourite games of the moment: T.I.M.E Stories! Make sure to come back next week as well when we cover all of the expansions to-date!


Buy T.I.M.E Stories Now From Amazon.com

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Board Game Night Playlist: Deck-Building Games

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In the late 2000s, Dominion took the board gaming world by storm. It essentially invented the deck-building genre of game, which has since been riffed on countless times. For those wanting to put on a deck-building game night, finding games is easy. Throw a rock into and game store and it’ll hit three deck builders before touching the ground.

With this edition of the Board Game Night Playlist, we’re going to build the perfect deck of cards within three different deck-building games. Let’s see what made the list this month!

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Avoiding Disappointment With Your Board Game Purchases

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Oceania Board GameNot every board game is going to meet your expectations. This is true with all things in life. However, it sucks more when you buy a big box board game and it’s a bust. With a physical copy of a disappointing video game, you can easily sell it back to the store for credit. With no easy way of unloading a disappointing board game, it’ll either take up space and collect dust on your shelf, or you’re going to have to actively move it through Kijiji or Board Game Geek.

As hard as we try to avoid it, there will be times when we add lemons to our collection. The best we can do is to try and avoid them. Here’s some tips on how to minimize your losses.

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Board Game Night Playlist: Board Games Inspired By Video Games

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Video games owe a lot of its success to board games. Dungeons & Dragons alone has had elements of its gameplay cribbed by countless video games, such as the concepts of quests, health points, item usage, combat and more. If you dig far enough into the history of video games, you can probably find a theme or gameplay concept rooted in a board game. Video games have also innovated within its own space. From Super Mario to Call of Duty, there are a ton of unique experiences that have their roots in this digital medium.

Nowadays, you’ll see those video game specific concepts appear in board games. Whether they’re board games based on video game properties or digital gameplay mechanics that have gone analog, they feed off one one-another to push each other forward.

In this edition of the Board Game Night Playlist, we embark on an adventure that marries the best of both worlds. This list should be particularly interesting for video game fans looking for a smooth transition into the analog side of things. Time to press start on this playlist!

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Board Game Geek’s Top 100 Rankings and it’s Impact on My Purchases

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Board Game GeekWhether its reviews from the major sites like IGN or Gamespot, or aggregate sites like GameRankings or Metacritic, there are a lot of different places you can go to find a ranking of the best video games. With so many different options to view, there isn’t really any consensus as to which list is the definitive list.

Board games are certainly different in this regard. There’s only one list that matters, and it’s the list on Board Game Geek. Ranked based on a countless number of user reviews, this is as close to a definitive list of the best board games as there is on the internet. The movers and shakers on the list are hotly debated, especially since Pandemic Legacy ousted the 5-year champ Twilight Struggle from the #1 spot at the beginning of this year. How does having this centralized ranking system impact my purchase decisions?

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Board Game Night Playlist: Small Games

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For a market that was fixated on large games, Love Letter bucked the trend in a big way. Containing only 16 cards in a small satchel, it provided a great game that travels well and was cheap to purchase. Thanks to the success of Love Letter, the entire subset of small tabletop games is booming.

Choosing just three games for this list is a daunting task, as there are so many great games in this category. I will have to come back to this one in the future to cover more of them. For now though, here’s a trio of terrific tiny titles to consider for your next board game night!

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Introducing Board Games to Non-Gamers

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One of my favourite things to do as it pertains to board games is to introduce newcomers to the hobby. With the way the scene has grown in terms of gameplay innovation and variety, I feel like everyone can enjoy what board games are today on some level. From coworkers, to kids, to those who read this website, to even my mom, it’s been cool to be a part of someone discovering how fun modern games can be.

Based on my experiences as a “board game guru” and as a former non-gamer, I’ve picked up a thing or two on how to introduce board games in the best light. I’m not promising that this will help you turn a non-gamer into a super fan, but it can help bridge the gap.

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Board Game Night Playlist: Games Designed by Matt Leacock

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You may not be familiar with his name, but there’s a good chance that if you’re a modern board game fan, you know at least one of his games. He’s the guy that created Pandemic, one of the biggest and best modern board games in existence.

Looking at his portfolio of games, he clearly has a niche. Co-operative games are his bread and butter, which he does better than just about anyone in the business. In this edition of the Board Game Night Playlist, you’re not only getting a spotlight on Matt Leacock games, but also a great co-operative game night.

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Board Game Spots in Toronto

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As someone who lives on the outskirts of the Greater Toronto Area and works in the downtown core, I can comfortably say that the board game fans in the city are spoiled relative to those everyone else outside. Board games are booming in Toronto, with stores and cafes popping up everywhere to support a rabid fan base. Meanwhile, just outside of the city limits, your options for buying games or playing games in public venues is far more sparse, albeit growing.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but I wanted to highlight a few places that are notable to me. Here’s a few places that I think are worth talking about!

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