Tabletop

Board Game “Weight”

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Board Game Geek has a system that allows gamers to rate games based on “Weight”. They don’t actually mean in terms of pounds or kilograms, but it’s often interpreted as a measure of complexity/learning curve/game length/etc. It’s a 1-5 scale where 1 is light, 2 is light medium, 3 is medium, 4 is medium heavy and 5 is heavy. This feature is seldom used, though I think there’s enough data in most of the games I play to make it somewhat useful.

One day, I was really bored and I looked up the scores of the games I own. I’m not sure what sort of result I was looking for, but I felt kind of weird knowing that my average game weight was 1.9 out of 5.

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One Night Ultimate Werewolf Review

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One Night Ultimate WerewolfWerewolf and werewolf-style games have their roots tracing all the way back to the 80s. One by one, villagers are killed until the wolf is executed or until the wolf is the last one standing. Due to the nature of its gameplay, it’s been a go-to game for many when playing with a large or very large group. Heck, there are versions of this game that support dozens of different players at once! Having said that, the common knock on this formula is that completing a game can take a really long time, especially with large player counts.

Enter One Night Ultimate Werewolf. This standalone game takes the core concept and condenses all of the action in one night, which translates into about 10 minutes per game. Does it still deliver the thrills in a much shorter time?

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Turning Formula D Into a Mario Kart Board Game

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Formula DAfter a hilarious 4-player Formula D session filled with collisions, reckless driving and driving movie jokes, a light bulb went off in my head. I said out loud, “Couldn’t we make a Mario Kart version of Formula D?” The answer from the group was, “Yes.” Though we packed up the game after that and moved on with our lives, I’ve been thinking through the logistics of creating a Mario Kart variant ever since.

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Munchkin Review

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MunchkinSteve Jackson’s dungeon crawler has been a staple in the tabletop gaming space for over a decade. At this point, you can buy Munchkin pretty much anywhere along with a countless number of expansions, spin-offs, booster packs and accessories. When I got into the designer board and card games a few years ago, this was one of the first games I played. Does Munchkin stand the test of time?

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Board Game Memories of Yesteryear

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Though I may consider board games to be a new endeavour for me, when I really think about it, they entered my life in a meaningful way long before I got tricked into showing up for Dominion night. From the time I was in kindergarten up until grade 6, there were a handful of moments and phases where board games left a positive impression on my life that I somehow forgot.

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No Thanks Review

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No ThanksBased on the name and its nondescript theme, it’s easy to say, “No thanks,” to No Thanks. Once you open up the box, there isn’t much to look at either besides a handful of numbered cards and a baggie filled with plastic tokens. But once you get it going, it delivers an experience far greater than what you’d expect from its pedestrian components.

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The Importance of Theme in a Board Game

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We’ve been taught since the dawn of time (or at least since the dawn of books) to not judge a book by its cover. Well, when it comes to board games, cover-judging has been a huge part of my decision-making process. Before making inroads with the scene a few years ago, I’d be immediately off-put just by looking at any visual material for games like Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer or Magic: The Gathering. I dislike pretty much everything medieval fantasy across all forms of media, which acts as a deal-breaker for these and many other designer board games long before I could judge it on its merits.

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Forbidden Desert Review

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Forbidden DesertPandemic made a fantastic first impression on me. Since that fateful first try, the game has become a favourite on board game night while inspiring me to look for more games of that flavour. After weeks of research, I picked up Forbidden Desert. Some may know it as the direct sequel to Forbidden Island, but the immediate connection is the fact that this is the latest game from the designer of Pandemic. While this is another co-operative adventure, does it do enough to step outside of its spiritual successor’s shadow?

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King of Tokyo and Coup Added to the List of Awesome Board Games You Should Play

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Both King of Tokyo and Coup share the basic concept of power struggle between them, but they go about them very differently. One involves dice and and the other one makes heavy use of bluffing as a mechanic. Both are a lot of fun and work well at parties. Check out the full list here!

Blokus Review

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At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss Blokus as some sort of board game knock-off of Tetris. In actuality, this blocked-based experience shares virtually no resemblance to the classic puzzler beyond the look of its pieces. Instead, this is actually an awesome strategy game that’s easy to pick up with a ton of depth.

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