When does a review cease to be a review? Ignoring any external factors like where it is published, if the critic was paid and by whom.... At what point does a critique no longer register and/or qualify as one?

"You need to play this game five times to know what you're doing" and "I played it once and got everything I can out of it" are not two comparable opposites when talking about #boardgames.

Mindlessly scrolling earlier, I saw a video which contained the sentence "all culture war is a deliberate distraction from class war". Possibly the most succinct expression of the times we live in, and the problems we're facing.

Last night's game night reminded me that Civilization A New Dawn is a severely underrated introduction to the genre. Macro-style viewpoint coupled with quick turns and a very transparent objective structure. There are many paths players can take from here, but A New Dawn is a great place to start.

The dividing line between wargames and board games isn't theme, mechanisms or how confrontational they are. It's that one is a simulation, modelling its thematic conceit while the other is a social interaction enriched by thematic embellishment. Too much critical discourse seems ignorant of this.

One of the best GMing experiences I've had was running a game of Angel RPG on the stage of an empty theatre. The implied theatricality just infused the entire game with a strong sense of narrative purpose. Which is just perfect for a narrative-driven roleplaying game.

"AI is the asbestos we are shovelling into the walls of our society. Our descendants will be digging it out for generations." "AI cannot do your job, but an AI salesman can 100% convince your boss to fire you and replace you with an AI that can't do your job." Oof. pluralistic.net/2025/09/27/e...

everyone should checkout Messenger by Abeto. it's a free browser game where ur just a little delivery kid on a little planet! messenger.abeto.co

"Some players' opinion of a game isn't influenced by whether they won or lost" is the trickle-down theory of boardgames.

I don't play Faraway often, but when I do I always manage to score lower than any of my previous plays. At this rate I will hit single digits by next year.

Played some Regicide Legacy yesterday and liked it more than I expected. Some additions, though, seem an over-compensation for the original game effectively being just a regular deck of cards. Could have done without the mats, or the can opener markers. Still, I look forward to playing it more.

Unpopular opinion: playing the same game over and over again is overrated. Returning to the same type of experience again and again, to appreciate the slight differences between each play seems like a case of diminishing returns to me.

I wish "this game is not for everyone" would mean "only some people will totally flip for this game", as opposed to how it's currently used to mean "some people are going to be utterly miserable with this game".

"Everything is deep, but it takes wisdom to know where to start digging." Great quote I just saw on a TikTok by content creator godesulloh.

What do players need to do to go from learning and applying rules to playing a #boardgame? They need to make it past the εὕρηκα threshold; and assume their agency.

Die „AntiFa“ wird von der internationalen Rechten zu einer Art „Phantom-RAF“ aufgebaut, eine linke Geheimorganisation, so geheim, dass nur Rechte sie kennen, um damit objektive Willkürentscheidungen vor der Bevölkerung zu rechtfertigen.

Played Shinjuku again last night. First play without any rules mistakes. Thanks to a single player setting precedent in the first turn, the game ran for 2,5 hours. Shinjuku doesn't hold up for that long. On top of that, the player came in last. What a waste of an evening and decent game.

Digital detoxing is surprisingly easy once you decide to indiscriminately stop yourself from doing any kind of doomscrolling.

great read. the task is impossible. try anyway

Played two #boardgames tonight that completely confounded me. One in a good way, the other in a not so good way. Shinjuku - deceptively simple rules, completely obscure strategies Take the A-Chord - dizzyingly dense rules, hilariously wacky plays.

Hot take: the strategic depth of a #boardgame should not be measured by how difficult it is to parse the way various player actions interlock.

Tell me you don't understand #boardgames, without telling you me you don't understand boardgames: "When you peel away the art, the core of the game remains unharmed."

Films have suspension of disbelief to keep the narrative going. I would suggest 'assumption of agency' for #boardgames to retain the magic circle. Once players start to doubt their agency, the game falls apart.

As Castlevania appears to be my current hyperfixation, I also started the Netflix show. And.. eh... it's ok. I like the Aeon Flux like style, and the world building is nicely melodramatic. But characterization is erratic at best, and one-note at worst. But it's only season 1, so we'll see.

Through teaching I've learned that students won't do certain tasks if you don't tell them what the goal is and don't show them how to do the task. Which seems obvious, but it's something you can easily forget because it comes so naturally to you. I think this is also an issue with #boardgames

I understand that I am absolutely up-to-date with this observation, but Castlevania Circle of the Moon slaps. I didn't expect to like this game as much as I do, and I can see myself sinking endless hours into this. Thank you lunar eclipse! :D

The Maltese Egg - Slightly diminish a book

I was so overwhelmed by the lunar eclipse tonight, I downloaded Castlevania Advance Collection for Switch.

A few quick words about keeping still, and why it isn't a bad thing. #boardgames

If a #boardgame has a steep learning curve, i.e. it takes a while to play it fluently, does that show it respects a player's time or not? Conversely, if a game has a long learning curve, i.e. it takes a while to play the game well, does that show it respects a player's time or not?

Played Arcs again. My opinion remains unchanged: a decent game buried underneath a bad one. At least in the sense of failing to provide players with an easy pathway to get to the experience it is designed for. Namely, a sense of tension that isn't necessarily pleasant, but undoubtedly exciting.

Started watching Dept. Q for the sole reason of seeing shots of Edinburgh again. 🙃

I read a post about #boardgames that said, "I sat down to have knife fight in a phone booth" not build a little engine and compare math skills. And I wish more people were this honest with themselves about why they play games.

Can't even be serious online anymore because of joke.

Remember, kids: A real big goal of "AI" is to entirely sever capital from labor, and no, there will be no universal basic income, you can all just starve and die, thanks www.axios.com/2025/08/26/a...

Engagement with theme happens through play. If it doesn't, it's because players don't know how. It isn't the critic's job to explain it to them, nor is it the player's job to read up on it. It's the designer's job to teach players how to engage with the game's theme.

Just in case... I'm queueing up Kool & the Gang on my music player of choice.

"Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game." What an amazing truth bomb.

I am kind of bummed that I won't get to play Fate of the Fellowship again tonight because the entire list of interested players cancelled on me.

Critical discourse in #boardgames is in a state of arrested development, because it boxed itself in by talking about metaphor, allegory, simulation or systems in an attempt to speak about art. Which is fine, if you’re fluent in this rhetoric and familiar with the corresponding analytical tools.

Fate of the Fellowship is not bad, actually. Oddly reminded me vaguely of Battlestar Galactica. In that its - sure to be criticized - game length is actually part of what makes the game's climax so emotionally engaging.

Apparently, Tunic is the kind of game that frustrates the ever-loving shit out of me.

That final box in Bomb Busters comes with quite the difficulty spike, which makes it feel all the more draining to get through. I like the game, but trying to make it through all the missions has turned into a slog.

Picked up The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles last night in a moment of inspired boredom and/or weakness. And it's really a lot of fun. While the tutorial is quite verbose, I am enjoying the narrative beats of the game.

Unexpected 'sequel-that-surpasses-the-original': The Naked Gun 2 1/2 - The Smell of Fear

I introduced my family to a few #boardgames while on holiday: Pixies - cute, but too light Sea Salt & Paper - cute, but too mean Downforce - passive and not fun Things in Rings - fun but difficult Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza - silly and led to spilled drinks Fairy - quick and funny, very light

I think boardgames can be used for socialising similar to how trains can be used for transport. It's not their only purpose, but it's strange to me to think of some other use first.

Are #boardgames art or is play art?

Board game criticism exists in this weird place, where its language has to be both populist and avant-garde. It has to be accessible and relatable while also expansive and changing to account for a more nuanced sense of appreciation and critique. Not quite sure how to thread that needle quite yet.

I think "theme" should be understood as 'ideas emerging through play'. But because many are stuck in a simulationist understanding of boardgames, it ended up as 'setting expressed during play'. Thematic game came to mean a game where the characteristics of the setting are apparent during play.