Stumbling around in the dark.

Cysmic is huge. It's enormous. It's obscene. It's also a breakneck area control game focused on combat, construction, and lavish pieces. This is the definition of a boutique passion project from a madman. My review: playerelimination.com/2026/05/19/a...

On the third day of Geekway we embarked upon a four hour game of John Company that ended in the final round with company failure, which assisted me winning on the windows tie breaker. Also played Vantage, DC Breakout Arkham Asylum, and a wonderful session of Worldspanner Factions.

Geekway day 2 was more running around, less gaming. Guards of Atlantis 2, Stationfall, Treasure Island, LotR Two Towers Trick Taking, lots of Werewords.

First day of Geekway to the West in the books. Ace of Aces, LA-1, Fate of the Fellowship, Wroth, Thunder Road: Vendetta, and Cysmic.

This is a bummer. Let's talk about some of my favorite board games Osprey has published over the years.

LA-1 is a Launius captained adventure game with a sleek Blade Runner vibe. On one hand it's a resurrection of Arkham Horror 2nd Edition, and on another, a skillful adoption of modern content-focused design trends. My review: playerelimination.com/2026/05/11/a...

Re-watching Bugonia now that it's on Netflix. Impressed all over again. Stands up extremely well to a second viewing. Think it passes Killing of a Sacred Deer as my favorite Lanthimos film.

Barbarian Kingdoms is a taught and modest area control game that supports a large player count with a brief playtime. It has some nifty ideas regarding economy and war, but suffers from a restricted flavor profile. playerelimination.com/2026/04/27/t...

*Wilhelm scream*

Love the aesthetic and concept. Hoping this pops off and finds its audience.

Dodos Riding Dinos reaches for Mario Kart through energetic flicking, dropping, and smashing. As a disciple of the dexterity plus genre, this should fall squarely in my wheelhouse. In this review I spout about context, comparison, and obsolescence. playerelimination.com/2026/04/20/j...

It's been five years since we recorded our final episode of Ding & Dent. I was equally nervous and excited to get back behind the mic, appearing as a guest co-host on this week's So Very Wrong About Games. Thank you Walker for the invitation. Anyway, have a listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...

With the new chapter of Arkham Horror: The Card Game, I take a look at the LCG model and question whether it has actually fulfilled its promise. I also discuss the strengths of this design and how it exists as the one throughline to the FFG of old. playerelimination.com/2026/04/13/p...

Dark Pact is Tom Lehmann's take on deckbuilding, of course fueled by explosive engine building and an unusual twist or two. This is Dominion supercharged to fly off the rails. My review: playerelimination.com/2026/04/02/t...

Cardboard Cinema returns. This is my series where I perform comparative analysis between a film and board game. This time I'm writing about one of my favorite games and its relationship to a film that is maybe the greatest achievement in cinematography. playerelimination.com/2026/03/26/c...

Struggling with freelance work the past several months. Besides Tabletop Gaming Magazine, I have nothing going on. If anyone has a line on places accepting pitches for board game content, I'd appreciate the tip.

Zurmat is designer Tim Densham's memoir of his time in Afghanistan. It's a small scale wargame concerned with uncertainty, efficiency, and winning over the local populace. I struggle with this one a little due to current events. playerelimination.com/2026/03/16/a...

Valkyrie is Black Orchestra in a half hour. Can it pull off the drama and tension of its parentage in a fraction of the time? Unfortunately, it's about as successful as Claus von Stauffenbergs assassination attempt. My review: playerelimination.com/2026/03/09/m...

World of Wrestling is a follow-up to the tremendous Techno Bowl. It's another pixel-based sports game full of drama and narrative. This one features slams, tap outs, and pins, capturing the big moments from one of the best video game series ever made. playerelimination.com/2026/03/05/4...

The Old King's Crown, one of 2025's best games, is back on crowdfunding. If you haven't done so yet, check out my review of the base game: playerelimination.com/2025/08/11/a... And my review of the expansion: playerelimination.com/2026/01/19/n... New campaign: gamefound.com/en/projects/...

A long read from me today, about the delicate task of designing respectful historical board games. Massive thanks to @amabel.bsky.social and @colewehrle.bsky.social for talking to me about their design approaches. www.wargamer.com/board-games/...

Company of Heroes 2nd Edition weathered quite the storm to make it to the tabletop. The end result is a refined machine that understands its strengths and leans into them. My reviw: playerelimination.com/2026/02/23/a...

Wonder if they will go more Train Dreams, Unstoppable, or Polar Express? Maybe Train to Busan or even Snowpiercer?

Brent Spivey's World of Wrestling is a hoot. Bulk Broman goes in for the suplex but Nic Dare reverses. Woooo!

Today, something different. I'm kicking off a new article series where I examine a board game and a film counterpart, analyzing theme, method, and style. I present Western Legends and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: playerelimination.com/2026/02/09/c...

Things in Rings is a game about organizing widgets in a Venn diagram. The trick is that you don't know what the overlapping categories represent. Who doesn't love a good Venn diagram? My review: playerelimination.com/2026/01/27/v...

Wild Kingdom is an over-the-top modular expansion to The Old King's Crown. It's full of wonder and absurdity, pushing the game in interesting new directions. I dive deep into the box, offering thoughts on each module in an effort to make sense of its madness. playerelimination.com/2026/01/19/n...

In 2006, a buddy and I hopped in a car and drove 40-minutes to find a theater showing Children of Men. Absolutely no regrets. We can't let cinema die.

Gnomic Parliament is publisher Fobs Games' follow up to the brilliant negotiation game Tiefe Taschen. This is also about pointed discussion, but it focuses that above table play on voting in laws that alter the rules of the game. My review: playerelimination.com/2026/01/06/a...

The 2nd edition of Company of Heroes is seriously impressing me. Some notable improvements over the first edition and little tweaks which add up.

Preparing for the new year by watching the best film ever made.

My list of the top 10 board games of 2025 is here, just in time. This was a weird year. I struggled with my own self imposed rules, and honestly, I'm not wholly satisfied with my selections as I keep second guessing some exclusions. Too late now, here it is: playerelimination.com/2025/12/29/t...

Time to watch the best Christmas movie.

Snake Charmers is the Brand family's take on The Resistance meets Cockroach Poker. It's an interesting game that touches on subterfuge and deductive reasoning, but it's also random and silly. My review: playerelimination.com/2025/12/18/w...

I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest... Where the executioner’s face is always well-hidden Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten Where black is the color, where none is the number And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it

Been diving into Guards of Atlantis lately. Wonderful finally getting this played. Also really putting the Old King's Crown Wild Kingdom expansion through the ringer. Taking awhile to come to grips with all of the various modules.

Cross Bronx Expressway is the debut title from @nbsp1618.bsky.social. It is more abstract than its COIN/ICS peers, yet this is a game layered with difficult questions. It's a work that wants to be contended with. playerelimination.com/2025/12/15/t...

As Dave Portnoy keeps telling me in my YouTube algo, sports betting is legal in Missouri now. Let's goooo!

Existentialism, meaning, and player agency. Come for my thoughts on these topics and stay for the discussion on Candy Land. playerelimination.com/2025/12/04/p...

Whoa, Bugonia. My updated Lanthimos ranking: 1. The Killing of a Sacred Deer 2. Bugonia 3. The Lobster 4. Poor Things 5. The Favorite I really need to see Dogtooth. After lamenting 2025 films a month or so ago, I have to say that I'm somewhat rejuvenated having watched Train Dreams and Bugonia.

I don't know how to introduce this one. After three titles about opium peddling, I figured the rest of SDHistCon would be breezy by comparison. I was wrong. The next day, I experienced one of the toughest board games I've ever played. Perhaps *the* toughest. spacebiff.com/2025/11/24/u...

I've written a follow-up article to my original Vantage review, this time at my own site. I wanted to explore some more ideas pertaining to this game's unique narrative structure. The companion piece: playerelimination.com/2025/11/24/t...

Looks like Mayday launched their new Crokinole Kickstarter and is embroiled in a new shitty controversy. I have to give a PSA on my mistake of backing their 2022 board in which I deservedly received a package with a box cutter rattling around inside.

Origin Story took me by surprise. It combines trick-taking and tableau building in a chaotic and empowering manner. Check out my review: playerelimination.com/2025/11/17/i...

Trying to avoid economic and social devastation in the Bronx.

Getting Old King's Crown back to the table to explore the Wild Kingdom.

WHAT'S UP MASS EFFECT FANS IT'S YA BOI THE EXPANSION IS COMING HAPPY FUCKING N7 DAYYYYYYYY

I've been quiet on the writing front lately. This is because I've been working on the behemoth that is Kingdoms Forlorn, a boss battler campaign game with Dark Souls vibes and the followup to the exceptional Aeon Trespass: Odyssey. Read all my thoughts here: playerelimination.com/2025/11/07/a...

This is a true story. It happened right here, one hour ago. At exactly 2PM, 17 adults walked into a conference room, sat in their chairs, and listened to how much their health insurance premiums would increase.