I took my son to a local comic-con this morning. All the usual stalls, plus Chris Barrie signing stuff, which was pretty cool for Cornwall, I guess. I, however, found a Japanese lady selling Japanese stationery, which was superb. I picked up a notepad and this super-cute Totoro stamp.

It's been a little while, thanks to some crazy times at work, but today I published a review. It's a few years old now, but boy, is Joraku good?! Find out why I like it so much right here - punchboard.co.uk/joraku-review/

Played a game of "Mofuchip" yesterday. This is a great little trick-taker. Very simple mechanics, yet somehow quite a lot of strategy. The artwork is fantastic!

I finished my Kokuyu Campus notebooks (which are great, btw) so it was time to treat myself to new stationery! Maruman Mnemosyne A5 notebook and a Uni Jetstream 3-in-1 pen. New stationery day is like Christmas 🤗

My little collection of Japanese games is growing and needs its own shelf now, so I obliged. There's an intruder, but I think it's allowed.

This is After You Beto-Beto San from Travel Games very own Mr Ben & Mrs Sam, with art by Hakushi. Super charming 4-player only trick taking game with double ended cards. Very clever, enjoyable game so far.

This is worth checking out. Amuri Studio's productions are gorgeous and Nine Tails is a really cute set-collector. For such a small studio, the stuff they're making is great.

What a lovely interview between @esperbgs.bsky.social and Antoine Bauza. Fascinating insights into his game design and inspirations. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eni...

We've all got shelves groaning under the weight of unplayed games, so let's play them. @gamingrules.bsky.social has conjured up International Unplayed Games Day just for funsies, so stick it in your diary, play something new, and let the world know how it was 😀 www.facebook.com/GamingRulesV...

Now that's what I call a delivery day!

We had seven people at tonight's games group. With a newbie there we played some games with everyone, including Night of the Ninja. I'm mostly done with social deduction these days, but NOTN is really good and plays fast.

Something a little different today. I spoke to so many people at UKGE this year who were evidently new to the hobby, which is amazing, but many had no idea of terminology that we too easily take for granted. Trick-taking especially seemed to raise eyebrows, sooo punchboard.co.uk/guide-to-tri...

Something a bit different today. A preview of a game I've played ONCE. On TTS of all things. What could possibly drive me to write something after a single online play? Well, I really, really enjoyed this, and want to see it become reality. punchboard.co.uk/politik-revi...

I can speak some Japanese. Yay me. Seiously though, learning with a tutor is awesome, I highly recommend it. Give me a shout if you want a referral link with 70% off your trial lesson.

There's a small studio in Japan called @amuristudio.bsky.social putting out some great games. I backed their previous games The Coil and Briscola Chiamata, I met them at UKGE and got a prototype of their new title, Nine Tails. Very cute, and a lot of fun.

Much excitement. My trusty old, very basic rice cooker broke yesterday after years of faithful service. Sad times, but it does mean I can finally justify buying something a bit fancier. I haven't gone as far as a Zojirushi, yet, but very pleased to have this on the way, a Yum Asia Sakura.

Utterly unbelievable, but someone stole the @playforkeepsgames.bsky.social prototypes of their games at the end of UKGE. What kind of lowlife scumbag does something like that? This hobby is amazing because of the people, but when someone does something like that, I hope Karma comes for their balls.

We will be launching our next Kickstarter tomorrow. Those who back it will be getting an exclusive pin badge of the main fox character! (this will not be available later, so it will be exclusive to those who back our KS campaign!) kickstarter.com/projects/adr... #cardgames #boardgames #ボドゲ　#ボードゲーム

Starting off the week with a review of @matthewdunstan.bsky.social & Brett J Gilbert's reskin of Elysium - First Giants. I've really enjoyed my time with First Giants, I love the mix of engine building and set collection - punchboard.co.uk/first-giants...

Had a cracking night at the local games café. Bristol 1350, Ghost Lift, Bella Vista and First Giants. Good times.

@flopiano.bsky.social & @mandelafg.bsky.social make good games. Green City, via Japanese publisher Synka Games, is another good game. Much lighter than what you're used to, but clever and quick and plays up to six! Full review here - punchboard.co.uk/green-city-r...

This is good. Read it you muppets.

I did a thing, and I will be getting on a plane in April. Exciting!

I've ridden the peaks and troughs of post-UKGE comedown, and finally gotten my backside into gear and written something. It's a review of a game I'm delighted to have bought at the show, Ghost Life from Engames and Onegear, with gorgeous @saibep.bsky.social artwork punchboard.co.uk/ghost-lift-r...

Inspired by a discussion over in the @giantbrain.co.uk Discord today, thanks to @boardgamefeast.bsky.social post, I'm unfortunately feeling the need to once again explain why paid reviews are NOT A THING. Stop saying they are, stop defending them. I wrote some thoughts here ko-fi.com/post/Paid-Re...

If you got swept up in the Eternal Decks buzz, watch this video by @esperbgs.bsky.social . An interview with Hiroken about how he designed Eternal Decks. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMch...

Man, talk about cranking my imposter syndrome up to 11. Tim has knocked it out of the park and I feel like a chimpanzee chewing crayons and hoping for the best. If you want to know about the very human experience of games, read this.

Missing UKGE already? Me too. I wrote it all down before my middle-aged brain forgets it all, so if you want the perspective of a long-time attendee, first-time stand helper, here you go - punchboard.co.uk/uk-games-exp...

I'm home after UKGE 2026 and drained to 1% in every way except my heart, which is full to bursting. I will write up my thoughts in full when I've recharged, but spending 4 days in the company of the team on Saashi & Saashi's stand was special. Games make memories.

😌

It's unbelievably hot at UKGE and I'm incredibly grateful to @bags4dice.bsky.social for giving me some water and letting me sit by her fan when I overheated. Also, the things on her stall are amazing, so go buy some too, like this awesome dicetray notebook!

What a day! A hundred person queue for Railway Porters from 9am, introducing Sir Ian Livingstone to Saashi & Takako, picking up Nokosu Dice for a much more reasonable £20, Ghost Lift with the amazing @saibep.bsky.social artwork, demo after demo of game, and more to boot. Let's do it all again?

UKGE day 1, let's get it.

Day 0 of UKGE ends with me eating a pot noodle with a teaspoon in my hotel room. What a day though. I met with Saashi, Takako and Maisy at the stand, then manned the preview table and chatting to some lovely people inc. @meepleuniversity.bsky.social & @funwithboxes.bsky.social . Bring on day 1!

Time to hit the road, see you soon UKGE chums.

Okay, UKGE is just a couple of days away. This is what I look like, so if you see me, come say hi. The games might be why you go, but it's the people you'll remember.

If you see this post an anime that you love

Pretty brazen to accuse your manufacturing partner of creating and sending Gen-AI slop before you post it to the world. Things could get frosty pretty quickly in that next Teams call...

There's going to be lots of chatter about Railway Porters soon, so not only should you read my review here - punchboard.co.uk/railway-port... - you should also watch the great how-to-play video from the utterly wonderful @funwithboxes.bsky.social - www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtwK...

Scotland's wisest man speaks again. Follow him, for he is the way, the light and the fount of eternal Irn Bru. Also, thanks Richard, see you next week! 🙂

My ongoing efforts to get people to play older games continue. The classic meanness of Caylus takes some topping, but does it still warrant being played today? In my opinion, yes, it does, and here's why - punchboard.co.uk/play-somethi...

This was new to me. White strawberries. I expected them to taste like unripe strawberries, but shock of shocks, they just taste like normal, sweet strawberries.

Somehow I've just published my 350th review! I can't remember more than about ten games I've played though, so I'm not sure how that works. No. 350 isn't new, but it is very good. Rumble Nation, check it out right here - punchboard.co.uk/rumble-natio... @77spiele.jp

Jeff and Peggy both needed a big bath (and a haircut for Peggy) both of them hate me now, but I have two sparkly clean pups. For how long remains to be seen...

@brunocathala.bsky.social makes some cracking games, and along with Andrea Mainini this time, and via @studio-h-games.bsky.social & @hachettebguk.bsky.social we now have Bella Vista, which is really good. I've written a review, which you can read right here - punchboard.co.uk/bella-vista-...

A fun email tonight to me is a lesson on how NOT to carpet bomb looking for positive coverage. I don't swear much, and anyone who knows me or spends five minutes on my site knows what sort of games I like. It says in my About Me "I’m not a big fan of the Ameritrash style of games" - yet... 🧵

Oh boy oh boy oh boy - Joraku!

Yay me?

I solved the daily #CluesBySam, May 14th 2026 (Tricky), in 04:53 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 cluesbysam.com