I think it's lovely.

Personal Demons, the forthcoming title from @tettix.bsky.social, covers unusual ground, blending therapeutic rituals with demonic summoning. My preview: spacebiff.com/2026/07/03/p...

LOL. Polygon has a front-page article from Charlie Theel, except it's from 2022, and all three of the board games it lists are now out of print. That place has really gone down the crapper, huh.

It's that time again — time for the Quarter Biff! Come read about the board games, books, films, and video games that marked my quarter. Open to everyone, subscribers and freeloaders alike. www.patreon.com/danthurot/po...

Surprise! I've been playing Wingspan Pocket this whole time! No review yet — there's an embargo; reminder to self: find out the date on that — but I kinda want to rate it early just to counter the weirdos giving it low marks despite not having played it.

For today's Space-Cast!, I was joined by Quinn Brander to discuss how Rebuilding Chicago improves on Rebuilding Seattle in every way. spacebiff.com/2026/07/01/s...

Today my younger daughter is seven. There are no words to describe the fullness of who she is and who she is becoming. I love her for her mischievousness and dark moods as much as for her brightness and cleverness. She unfolds new frontiers again and again, daily, ceaselessly.

Can you imagine being stuck in the elevator with that Disney exec who believes a chatbot is his son?

Politik offers a dark but enthralling view of national and corporate politics in an alternate universe, producing a game that's spikier and more aggressive than most modern titles. My preview: spacebiff.com/2026/06/30/p...

The bumper sticker I got for Summer's bike is an inside joke limited to the Wasatch Front, but even just on its inaugural ride tonight we earned multiple shout-outs from people on the street.

My print-and-play series continues with 52 Realms: Adventures, which swaps the dice for a deck of playing cards. The system is impressive in its scope, but leaves me wishing I could share the excursion with a friend or two. My review: spacebiff.com/2026/06/29/5...

Had some lovely plays this past week! What did you get to the table?

Looking through old pictures, I stumbled across that time I made Boomer Monopoly for a gag.

I have now played Playthings three times in under 24 hours. That's how much my kiddos love it. Seriously, this game is such a wonderful oddity. In case you missed it, here's yesterday's review: spacebiff.com/2026/06/24/p...

Heard the pitch for this at PAX Unplugged last year, and have been craving a copy ever since! Happy to hear Dan had a good time, as I cannot wait to give this a proper try - it sounds very much up my alley.

It is nice to create something with a thesis we care deeply about; it is so much more to see someone recognize and engage with it so eloquently. This one was designed by a bunch of forever children. May play never die.

Playthings is a strange but effective game, full of childlike wonder and childlike mischief, a celebration of the joys of play. Just be warned that it requires the right partners. My review: spacebiff.com/2026/06/24/p...

Fractal Tricks is a trick-taking game — hold on! — that pits order against chaos in a contest of pattern-making and pattern-breaking. This is really something special. My review: spacebiff.com/2026/06/23/f...

If you ever start to lose your love of gaming, check out some boardgame reviews by @danthurot.bsky.social I take no responsibility for the number of terrific games you will likely end up buying as a result. Cheers 🍻

The other solo game that keeps coming to mind is spacebiff.com/tag/comanche... Though @danthurot.bsky.social 's writing about games is so lovely that it may be even better than playing any particular game he eloquently reviews 3/

Rolling Deep is a riff on Balatro, but one that not only matches the ambition of its source material, but exceeds it, offering a fresh and pleasurable approach to roguelikes that's full of combos, problems and solutions, and the best dice I've handled. My preview: spacebiff.com/2026/06/22/r...

Had a lovely week. What did you get to the table?

For Summer's birthday, we're taking the girls to Honor Among Thieves in concert. Ten minutes to start! Everyone's getting excited.

Sigh. How to respond to the moron. The perennial question.

Today, I'm taking a look at a game I missed last year: the excellent hybrid of lane-battling, set matching, and card finagling, Zenith! My review: spacebiff.com/2026/06/19/z...

Rising Cultures is a middling civilization game that gets nothing wrong, but struggles to set itself apart from any number of superior titles. My review: spacebiff.com/2026/06/18/r...

Sometimes you make a dumb joke about a chess card game and then actually make the game and then somehow it ends up in @senetmagazine.bsky.social … 🤯🤩 “The game is achingly stylish.“ Thank you @danthurot.bsky.social !

Next Fest (1/x) CLOUDBREAKER. Vampire Survivors except you Tetris components onto your ship. Marginally more interesting than Vampire Survivors, which I found incredibly dull. store.steampowered.com/app/3620890/...

Solar Titans is about spaceships blowing each other to shreds. A space-biff, you say? That's my very thing! If only the game weren't layered with structural issues. My review: spacebiff.com/2026/06/17/s...

Gasp! It's the single-best trick-taker of all time! Now more widely available!

My twelve-year-old hosted a game day this afternoon. They ate kolaches and popcorn, drank soda, and played board games for four and a half hours. I'm super proud of her, but it was like a popcorn tornado hit my living room.

It was a nice week. What did you get to the table?

Yaaasss! Criterion is publishing The Secret Agent! Preordered. Now to trick them into doing The Testament of Ann Lee, another film that deserves a physical release!

We just listened to a fantastic conversation between @danthurot.bsky.social and @gregisonthego.bsky.social about Keep the Faith, games, and more. Wake up your brain and stretch with their conversation here: spacebiff.com/tag/the-spac.... Explore Keep the Faith at cmichpress.com/product/keep....

You probably missed this yesterday: a board game that adapts a book that was a cornerstone in making me me. It's a game you cannot buy, at least not currently, but may benefit from reading about. Maybe. I hope.

Today is Thursday, the best day for discussing the board game adaptation of The Man Who Was Thursday, a novel that could be described as formative for a younger version of myself. My kinda-sorta review: spacebiff.com/2026/06/11/t...

Whew! Someone finally gave me the "oh, so you hate waffles?" style of comment that I was really hungering for. It's such a doozy that I honestly have no idea how to respond.

Honestly, I've been pleasantly shocked at the positive reaction to this piece. I didn't think it would be ultra controversial or anything, just maybe too dense or too insouciant or too earnest to appeal to anyone.

Dan captures with so much clarity the challenge of critical work. This echoes the feelings I was processing with my City of Six Moons review, but presents the well constructed and detailed breakdown that that piece could never. Read this if you care about how we discuss games as art!

ICYMI: Issue 23 is out now! Featuring @danthurot.bsky.social’s investigation into board-gaming’s most ancient and controversial mechanism: roll-and-move. With Richard Garfield and Jo Kelly @miasmacorp.bsky.social. Go to senetmagazine.com to order your copy and subscribe. #boardgamesarebeautiful

Bible, board games, and sexy Roland Barthes? AlI in one essay? You know it’s gotta be the work of that still-living historical personage and (dare we say it?) author, Dan Thurot.

Want to read a big old stonking essay about how Biblical criticism informs board game reviews? No? Eh, get outta here then. For the cool kids, I've got the goods right here: spacebiff.com/2026/06/10/t...

Gosh, I love this poem. I keep returning to one of my favorite Chesterton quotes. "If something is worth doing, it's worth doing badly." Please Use AI, via open.substack.com/pub/shawnsmu...

Agent Avenue with the 12yo. We're currently tied 1-1, so things are tense!

Excellent post as always, Dan! Can't wait to read the rest.

In the first scenario of The Guerrilla Generation, we're presented with an urban insurgency that will inadvertently succeed when the military that crushes it proves too oppressive. That's right, it's Uruguay. spacebiff.com/2026/06/09/g...

...but what if I *have* read every Steinbeck book?

I love this game! And this is the review that convinced me to get it in the first place

All I play anymore is... more than trick-takers. But it's still nice to dip my toe back in now and then, especially when the game is as streamlined and interesting as Dead Channels. My review: spacebiff.com/2026/06/08/d...

On this day in 2022, I wrote about Heading Forward, a board game about traumatic brain injuries, predatory insurance agencies, and triggering moments that pull us out of the present. I wish it weren't still as relevant today. spacebiff.com/2022/06/08/h...