Fun fact: I saw designer Mike Ritchie being interviewed at PaxU last year and wanted to catch him after to tell him how much I love Element (pictured) and Seasons of Arcadia, but the interview ran long and after walking past the third time I felt like a creeper and gave up. #boardgames

My #8 #boardgame of 2025 is Pacts! @dvcgames.bsky.social got a ton of (beautiful) game into a small box. "I split you choose" is one of my favorite mechanisms and it drives this game more than I've seen in any other. The game plays quickly, which makes every decision seem especially crucial.

#9 #boardgame of 2025 - Enthrone! A very interesting game by Sawyer West, who also designed one of my all-time favorites, Hickory Dickory. A two player abstract with a deduction twist, plus a fascinating action activation track that adds an additional layer. @smirkanddagger.bsky.social

I played enough #boardgames last year to support two best of lists - top new & top new to me. Let's start with the "cult of the new" - my top 10 2025 releases. Coming in at #10: Ichor! A 1v1 almost-abstract strategy themed around Greek Gods, with some sweet components if you spring for the upgrades.

Pretty happy about my #boardgame states for the year. I'm working on a 2025 Top 10 "new to me" games list to share with everyone over the next few days.

"the most successful model of writing and publishing remains the simplest one: write and publish the best things you can that speak to your heart and your soul and then work the marketing ropes as best as you can (with real money) to help the audience see this thing that you made exist."

How is this even a question?

Guess who got Yinsh for Christmas??? 2 plays in and I mostly still feel like I'm randomly moving pieces on the board (especially during setup) but some strategy ideas are starting to emerge. There's a lot to dig into in this #boardgame. Rules light, strategy heavy. And the components are top notch.

Played Castles of Burgundy for the second time tonight and it is...fine. I don't get the hype. It feels super dated and we had a runaway leader problem with no remedy. Are people putting this in their top 10 purely out of nostalgia? Am I missing something? #boardgames

Setting up my calendar for next year and I am super pumped to have FOUR #boardgame conventions on my schedule: PAX East (March), Level Up (also March that month is going to be LIT), Omaha Gaming Con (July), and PAX Unplugged (Dec). What does everyone else have planned?

All I want for Christmas is to finally win a game of Boop the Halls. But much like last Christmas, this is not my year. #boardgames

If you're not playing Santa's Workshop, is it even Christmastime? #boardgames

I am generally not a fan of any #boardgame that could be described as "zany," but Hot Streak is tons of fun!

Tell me you have a big #boardgame collection without saying you have a big boardgame collection.

#PaxUnplugged full haul. 40 #boardgames & expansions. I have no idea how we'll decide what to table first. Shopping aside, Pax is one of the most supportive & inclusive places I have the privilege to be in every single year. If the rest of the world had these vibes, it would be a far better place.

The small but mighty day three #PaxUnplugged haul. We demo'd Pilars of Fate & Mistwind before buying but haven't played the other three (embarrassing re: Burgundy, I know). The socks were freebies from Holiday Hills designer Chris Porter, who also signed my Holiday Hills Pax promo card. #boardgames

W also got to play a four player game of Waddle at #PaxUnplugged. There's a ton of game in a very small box. This #boardgame has the potential to get a little cutthroat but is also very charming.

We demo'd a fun co-op #boardgame called Clear the Decks! at #PaxUnplugged today. It's on the lighter side but still a good time, and there are several expansions available.

#PaxUnplugged haul, Day 2. We left on the early side to get off our feet, get some hot food in us, and get in a good shower and a good night's sleep. And also to open some of these boxes! #boardgames

We discovered Garden in the First Look room at #PaxUnplugged and were lucky enough to snag a copy of our own from the expo hall. This was a great year for abstract strategy #boardgames. We picked up quite a few.

Took a break from walking around #PaxUnplugged to try out our new copy of High Tide! A fun little #boardgame! Quick, but thinky, with great components.

Played a full game of Gingham at #PaxUnplugged. It's charming and thinky #boardgame and I am pretty terrible at it. Hopefully I get better with practice. Spring for the deluxe pieces. Then ant meeples are 100% worth it.

Got to demo Game Makers at #PaxUnplugged yesterday. It has a lot going on - maybe too much - but it was still fun to see all of our favorite #boardgames inside a game.

#PaxUnplugged, day one. #boardgames

First #PaxUnplugged purchases of the day. Have I heard of Wanderlust? No. But the box drew me in and the description looks cool so I bought it anyway. Anyone familiar with it? #boardgames

#boardgames and heavy metal. Heading out to #PaxUnplugged. Let's do this!

Not all heroes wear capes.

Happy #PAXUnplugged Eve! Get your game bag emptied out and ready to go, and throw your favorite meeple pun shirt in the wash! Spend all day re-watching YouTube preview and anticipation videos! What are you most excited to see and play? #boardgames

I wasn't sure that I was going to hit up the Indie Games Night Market at #PAXUnplugged, but then I watched the Board Game Animal preview linked in the article below and not gonna lie, some of those #boardgames look pretty awesome.

Is it weird to wear one of those heavy metal battle jackets with all the patches on it to #paxunplugged? Does it matter if it is? I'm seriously thinking about it. #boardgames

Got Pandemic: Iberia off the shelf of shame this week. We lost. Badly. Sorry, Iberians. #boardgames

Of all the Game Days we throw throughout the year, Halloween Game Day is my favorite. #boardgames

Last night I lost a game of Nexus Infernum, which the publisher (accurately) describes as a "necromanitc resource management brawler." It's OK at two but I'm very excited to set it up on out next game day and play with more. #boardgames

Some people look through the Amazon holiday catalog to see what they might want for Christmas. I go through the catalog from Compass Games. #boardgames

Pagan: Fate of Roanoke. I went all in on this at Pax last year but have still barely scratched the surface of all the content. I'll be teaching this game next Saturday and I am definitely nervous about it. There's a LOT going on. It's going to be tough to explain clearly and succinctly. #boardgames

Today I was playing Pandemic on my phone. I completely eradicated three of the four diseases. I still lost. That's got to be some kind of record #boardgames

Last night we broke out Buffy the Vampire Slayer: the Board Game for the first time in a long time. I thought this thematic co-op was headed for the hand me down pile but we ended up having a great time despite losing to Glorificus. This one is a keeper. #boardgames

Dragonkeepers - come for the art, stay for the game play. And the exceptional card design. The game requires me to know what's on both sides of each card, and I never actually have to flip a card over to check. Rule book is top notch as well. #boardgames

Tic Tac K.O. If there was ever a #boardgame that begged for a neoprene mat, this was it. The paper board is the weakest spot in an otherwise fun, quick strategy game with that TeeTurtle art we all know and love.

Hickory Dickory is a #boardgame that really doesn't get enough love. Besides being wonderfully thematic and charming, it is one of the thinkiest worker placement games I've seen. You have to put a ton of thought not only into every mouse's move, but the timing of that move as well.

Booooop! #boardgames

DC Deckbuilder outstays its welcome most of the time but I still love it. I picked up the Arkham set primarily for the art but the game play was definitely solid. #boardgames

Summoner Wars is my #3 #boardgame of all time, yet it still manages to get better every time I play it.

It's weird that Chris Yi is posting his top 100 albums of all time on the Dice Tower channel but it's weirder that I am not the only person in the world who listens to both Barenaked Ladies and Amon Amarth. #boardgames?

Had a truly awesome #boardgames day for two yesterday. We played Jewels for the Emperor Penguin (not pictured), Wrath of Dragons, Match of the Century, and Santorini. 100% worth taking the afternoon off work for.

On one hand, I am listening to public radio, staying informed on international news, and concerned about the world I live in. On the other hand, I only know where the place being discussed (Kinshasa) is because I've played so many games of Pandemic. #boardgames

Played Ethnos at 6 last night and Carcassonne at 5 (no pics). As someone who primarily plays #boardgames at 2, it fascinates me how much the games change at higher player counts. I love that it pushes me into new strategies, which helps level the playing field against less experienced players.

It's finally here! Lord knows we need all the practice fighting fascism we a can get. #boardgames

Finally got Undaunted: Battle for Britain to the table tonight. The maneuvering was a challenge for me, but I still managed a pair of wins. #boardgames

All set up for our literal biggest Game Day ever - we had to put the leaf in the kitchen table to get everything to fit. #boardgames