Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and discussions with a personal touch

Space, the final frontier. We're on a 50 mission journey to find a new planet in our solar system. We have to work together to seek out new theories, new experiments and new proof. It's no trick and we have to boldly go, where no scientist has gone before. These are the adventures of The Crew by Kosmos.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/12/05/the-crew-the-quest-for-planet-nine-saturday-review/LinksThe Crew: https://www.kosmosgames.co.uk/games/the-crew-quest-for-planet-nine/Kosmos: https://www.kosmosgames.co.uk/Skull King review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/01/04/skull-king-saturday-review/The Mind review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/01/05/the-mind/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music:Star Trek original series opening themeA New World by Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

The old topic of "house rules" keeps cropping up. Some of us are purists and feel that you have to play games with the rules they came with, because otherwise you won't get the experience that the designer intended. Others feel that tweaking a few rules here and there can make a game more fun for you and the people you play with and that designers want us to enjoy their games. In this article, I want to speak for the latter group and show that house rules aren't a sacrilege.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/12/01/overruled-topic-discussion/LinksDiscord server #topic-ideas channel: https://discord.gg/wuPjy5TwGBIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

I was ready. It seemed like an impossible task, but I was mankind's only hope. I had to do what I could and fight my way through the ever-increasing number of machine parts, which were making the machine stronger and bring it closer to sentience. It was a matter of taking it one machine part at a time until I reached the core and was finally able to put an end to the Doom Machine by Nathan Meunier.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/11/28/doom-machine-digital-eyes/LinksDoom Machine: https://nathanmeunier.com/my-tabletop-games/doom/Doom Machine on Gamecrafter: https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/doom-machine1Doom Machine on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nmeunier/doom-machine-a-pocket-sized-card-dice-solo-gameDoom Machine playthrough video: https://youtu.be/B5rkRn8ZosMNathan Meunier: https://nathanmeunier.com/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music:Dramatic Trailer Logo 01 by TaigaSoundProd (https://filmmusic.io/song/6634-dramatic-trailer-logo-01)Dark Viking by Frank Schröter (https://filmmusic.io/song/6969-dark-viking)License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Sabrina Miramon is a French illustrator based in the UK who works mostly on boardgame and video game art, but also does the occasional book illustration. She originally studied 3D, but after a few years decided that she preferred drawing and painting. Her artwork has appeared in games such as Ecos : First Continent, Coral Islands, Welcome to DinoWorld, Planet and many others, having worked with publishers such as Iello, AEG, Blue Orange, Alley Cat Games among others.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/11/25/sabrina-miramon-let-me-illustrate/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

As a board game reviewer, you need to have access to board games. That's obvious. Some reviewers rely solely on games they bought themselves, maybe got as presents or borrowed from friends, while others will only review games sent to them by the publisher or even the designer. Many reviewers will rely on a mix of both. What I want to look at in this article is how review copies, which are (usually) free, may influence a review and what the relationship between publishers, or designers, and reviewers may look like and how it can also play a part in how a review is written.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/11/24/it-depends-topic-discussion/LinksDiscord server #topic-ideas channel: https://discord.gg/wuPjy5TwGBIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Like a Wave by Lilo Sound (https://filmmusic.io/song/5812-likeawave)License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

We were sitting quietly at each end of the sofa in the living room, fully engrossed in our needlework. It was so relaxing to use our hands and make something. Arts and crafts. That was the way. We looked at each other for a moment, seeing the contentment in each other's eyes. I reached into the bag to pick out another piece of material to add to my quilt. It would look all higgledy-piggledy, but that was fine, because I was aiming to create a Patchwork by Lookout Games.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/11/21/patchwork-digital-eyes/LinksPatchwork: https://lookout-spiele.de/en/games/patchwork.htmlLookout Games: https://lookout-spiele.de/en/news.phpIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

The longer we enjoy our hobby and the more games we play, the more our taste in games is likely to change. As a reviewer, I can only write about a game as I feel about it at the time, but even if my taste in games changes, the review will remain on the blog. So the question is whether a review should stay frozen in time or if it should be revisited with a fresh perspective. Let me try and answer those questions in this article.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/11/17/reviews-reviewed-topic-discussion/LinksTakebacks articles: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/category/takebacks/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Quantum Computer Love by MusicLFiles (https://filmmusic.io/song/6943-quantum-computer-love)License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

We had all the plans ready, planning permissions had been sought and approved, contractors had been signed up, the project manager was ready and a rough schedule had been put together. We also knew what building materials we needed and where to get them, so it was time to build our Micro City by Thistroy Games.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/11/14/micro-city-saturday-review/LinksMicro City: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thistroygames/micro-city-pocket-sized-citybuilding-gameThistroy Games: https://www.facebook.com/thistroygames/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Corporate Culture by WinnieTheMoog (https://filmmusic.io/song/6156-corporate-culture-)License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Sound Effects: BBC Sound Effects (http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Natalia Rojas is a self-taught artist and illustrator from Colombia living in Tampa, Florida. She specializes in highly detailed and realistic graphite and coloured pencil drawings and loves to create portraits of people, pets and wildlife, as well as meaningful pieces that could be anything from a portrait of a loved one to a special item or a still life. She has worked on the board game Wingspan by Stonemaier Games, as well as all its expansions.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/11/11/natalia-rojas-let-me-illustrate/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

As we all know, different people play games for different reasons and with different goals. Even the heaviest of games can be played in all sorts of different ways, and I don't mean with different strategies in mind. Sure, in an 18xx game, you probably want to do everything to win and it's unlikely that people will play it who just want to build scenic routes going through cities that they like - but it is a possibility. In this article, I want to look at the different motivations players have and how different games accommodate them to a larger or smaller extent.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/11/10/flexible-gaming-topic-discussion/LinksWingspan review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/03/16/wingspan/Scythe review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/01/19/scythe/Clans of Caledonia review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/03/02/clans-of-caledonia/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Inspiring Acoustic by AShamaluevMusic (https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

The seasons began again. We had to build our rice paddies, fill them with water, plough them with our buffalos, plant our rice and wait for it to grow. We had to be clever about how we divided the land to make the best use of the most fertile soil. We also had to have enough help to get the harvest in, but overall, we had to be patient and wait for the end of the Seasons of Rice by Button Shy.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/11/07/seasons-of-rice-saturday-review/LinksSeasons of Rice: https://buttonshygames.com/products/seasons-of-riceButton Shy: https://buttonshygames.com/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Follow That Dream by Luca Fraula (https://filmmusic.io/song/5156-follow-that-dream)License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Sound Effects: BBC Sound Effects (http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

So, the convention season for 2020 has drawn to a close, and it’s obviously been a very different set of experiences compared to The Before Times. The last show I actually physically attended was AireCon back in spring, and even that was under the shadow of the then-upcoming nationwide lockdown in the UK, a last hurrah before we all spent the summer indoors. Since then, many and various show organisers have done their damnedest to pivot and transform their events into an online format, all with varying degrees of success. And frankly, despite their best efforts, no single event has managed to get close to the real deal. Lessons have been learned, of course, and if things continue as they seem to be on track to do, Year Two of the Online Convention will invariably be better - but what would I like to see from them?Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/11/03/virtually-there-topic-discussion/LinksMichael Fox: https://twitter.com/idlemichaelAireCon: https://www.airecon.co.uk/UK Games Expo: https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/Gen Con: https://www.gencon.com/Spiel.Digital: https://spiel.digital/enTabletopia: https://tabletopia.com/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

"...crisis on Wall Street as Lehman totters towards..." - "...worries could wreak havoc on markets..." - "...banking giants rush to raise capital..." - "...markets in disarray as lending locks up..." - "...sweeping plan to fight crisis..." - "...vast bailout..." - I switched off the television. The news wasn't good and it was clear what we had to do to stop the world markets from collapse. It was time for some Q.E. by BoardGameTables.com.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/31/q-e-saturday-review/LinksQ.E.: https://www.boardgametables.com/products/qe-quantitative-easing-board-gameBoardGameTables.com: https://www.boardgametables.com/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Will to Achieve by Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/)Sound Effects: Freesound (https://freesound.org/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Jessi Cabasan is a freelance artist based in Co. Meath, Ireland. She works in a variety of industries including games, logo making and traditional pencil portraits. She designed the artwork for the game board and cards for Luzon Rails published on Kickstarter in 2020. She is skilled in graphic design and illustration with Affinity Designer on the PC, Artstudio Pro and Procreate on the iPad and photo editing with Adobe Lightroom.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/28/jessi-cabasan-let-me-illustrate/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

If you have played a number of games, you will have noticed how the pace in some games changes over time. A game might start slow and then speed up towards the end, or it keeps an even pace throughout. Some games even slow right down in the last round. In this article, I want to look at this more closely and see what affects the pace of a game.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/27/keeping-pace-topic-discussion/LinksWingspan review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/03/16/wingspan/Mystic Vale review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2018/12/08/mystic-vale/Brass: Birmingham review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/03/brass-birmingham-saturday-review/Terra Mystica review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/06/01/terra-mystica/Scythe review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/01/19/scythe/Chai review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/06/27/chai-takebacks/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Special Place by Ketsa (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/Above_and_Below/Special_Place_1026)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

It was going to be great. We were going to visit most of the USA and play to millions of people over a few months. It was going to be fun, but also a lot of hard work and the planning was the most difficult. In the end, we decided to roll the dice to decide what states we were going to visit in what order, but rather than making it completely random, we turned it into a little game. It would let us build an almost circular route, so we could finally go On Tour by BoardGameTables.com.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/24/on-tour-saturday-review/LinksOn Tour: https://www.boardgametables.com/products/on-tour-usa-and-europeBoardGameTables.com: https://www.boardgametables.com/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: A Trip Around the Moon by Unicorn Heads (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbdU8d-QYGeEseYLlrSy8KQ/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

A 60 miles an hour dust storm is whistling around the small Mars base, pulling at the airlock, shaking the whole station side to side and blowing over the tiny buildings with a deep rumbling sound, while the computer equipment fans quietly hum away in the background and a random bleep from one of the monitoring systems indicates that our communications channels to Earth are still down. No, this isn't a review of one of the many Mars themed games available these days, but an idea of how you might set the scene for everyone when playing one of those games, because in this article I want to talk about how you could create a thematic atmosphere when playing board games with your friends.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/20/atmospheric-ambience-topic-discussion/LinksScythe review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/01/19/scythe/Clans of Caledonia review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/03/02/clans-of-caledonia/Terra Mystica review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/06/01/terra-mystica/Wingspan Digital playthrough: https://youtu.be/YRY6uztJ1eADune review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/02/08/dune-saturday-review/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Gold Rush by Arnav Srivastav (https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-gold-rush-get)Sound Effects: BBC Sound Effects (http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Living in the country is nice, but getting to work requires a car. In fact, getting anywhere needs a car: shopping, going out (unless it's to the local at the edge of the village), seeing friends (because even though you pretend to, you don't actually get on with your neighbours) and doing the school run. On the other hand, because it's so hard to get around, we don't actually spend as much on things, which is good. However, there is a lot we need to do if we want to make sure our household leaves only a Tiny Footprint by Gaard Games.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/17/tiny-footprint-saturday-review/LinksTiny Footprint: https://www.gaardgames.com/pages/tiny-footprintGaard Games: https://www.gaardgames.com/Tiny Footprint unboxing: https://youtu.be/G3bFVTO_sMsCarbon City Zero review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/06/20/carbon-city-zero-saturday-review/Carbon City Zero unboxing: https://youtu.be/MvIH_w-tijsTipping Point: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1677242759/tipping-point-the-climate-change-card-gamePandemic review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/01/18/pandemic-saturday-review/Pandemic unboxing: https://youtu.be/rkKrFMeaFJIIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Acoustic Breeze by Bensound (https://www.bensound.com)Sound Effects: BBC Sound Effects (http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Rory Muldoon is a graphic designer and games designer from the south-east of the UK. After going freelance in 2016 he began working on is own game, Skora, which has recently been published by Inside the Box Board Games. Alongside his own projects, he has created artwork and graphic design for tabletop games such as […]Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/14/rory-muldoon-let-me-illustrate/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Now, that many of us no longer meet in person, many face-to-face games groups have stopped meeting and have gone online. Of course, online isn't the same as "in real life", so I want to use this article to look at how my virtual board gaming experience compares to playing with people sitting around a real table.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/13/separate-together-topic-discussion/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Memories by Bensound (https://www.bensound.com)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

It was time to find the next victim. The beaches were full of swimmers, so it was going to be easy pickings. Yet, the sea around the island was patrolled by the Orca, a 42-foot former lobster boat, that was launching barrels into the sea to flush me out. A little speedboat was also making its rounds and using its fish finder to see if it could spot me. So far, I hadn't been found and already five people had lost their lives to my merciless attacks. I just needed four more victims to end up in my Jaws by Ravensburger.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/10/jaws-saturday-review/LinksJaws: https://www.ravensburger.org/uk/discover/jaws-game/index.html Ravensburger: https://www.ravensburger.org/uk/start/index.htmlIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Pursuit by AShamaluev Music (https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/)Sound Effects: BBC Sound Effects (http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

I've recently got into heavier games, such as Brass: Birmingham with my games group, because they help me completely focus on a game, allowing my brain to fully put aside my day-to-day worries and thoughts. I've also started to enjoy games with more player interaction, which encourage everyone to stay focussed on what everyone around the table is doing, rather than just doing their own thing and not being part of the group. However, for me, the best type of player interaction is where you don't just put one over on another person, but where everyone gets something out of it, and in this article, I want to look at those types and what it is I enjoy about them.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/06/give-and-take-topic-discussion/LinksBrass: Birmingham review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/03/brass-birmingham-saturday-review/Rising Sun review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/10/26/rising-sun-saturday-review/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Cinematic Dubstep by AShamaluevMusic (https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Looking back, building that last pottery had been foolhardy. Investing in the rail network would have been much more lucrative and sensible, but you had wanted to compete with your contemporaries. Maybe if you had been more careful and had planned further ahead when you first started out as an entrepreneur, things would have worked out differently. But then, nobody could have predicted the Industrial Revolution to be so transformative as it had been. Yet, overall you had done well and were certainly top Brass: Birmingham by Roxley Games.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/10/03/brass-birmingham-saturday-review/LinksBrass: Birmingham: https://roxley.com/products/brass-birmingham-deluxe-editionRoxley Games: https://roxley.com/Brass: Lancashire: https://roxley.com/products/brass-lancashire-deluxe-editionIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Industrial Revolution by Kevin MacLeod (https://filmmusic.io/song/3911-industrial-revolution)License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Sound Effects: BBC Sound Effects (http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Julie Okahara was born in Osaka, Japan and after graduating from Osaka Industrial Arts High School, began work as a graphic designer. Wanting to further their studies in studio art, Julie came to California in 2005. Since then Julie has expanded into acrylic painting, ink drawing, sewing and clay sculpting. This year, she started teaching herself animation and now live-streams with interactive animations on her Twitch channel.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/30/julie-okahara-let-me-illustrate/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

The holy grail of the perfect rulebook is something that most publishers try to find and is something that we all want. It's no surprise that unboxing videos usually show you what the rulebook of a game looks like and one reason why many publishers allow you to download rulebooks for their games, so you can see for yourself if you'll be able to learn the game from it. I have read quite a few rulebooks over the years and wanted to share my thoughts about what makes for a good rulebook.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/29/easy-rules-topic-discussion/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Snow Day by Pictures of the Floating World (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Pictures_of_the_Floating_World/Snow_Day/Snow_Day)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Your 8-bit computer may seem to be collecting dust in your loft, but actually, there is still a lot of life in the old box yet. Two of the microprocessors, Mikro and Chip, are keeping themselves amused by playing little, fun games. After all, their buffers and memory stacks are still in working order. With a handful of assembly instructions, they keep each other entertained: push, pop, peek as well as some Mini Memory Mischief by Atikin Games.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/26/mini-memory-mischief-saturday-review/LinksMini Memory Mischief: https://atikingames.com/memorymischief/Mini Memory Mischief Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atikingames/mini-memory-mischiefAtikin Games: https://atikingames.com/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Electro Motion by Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com)Sound Effects: BBC Sound Effects (http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

The more we play games, the more we learn. We learn better strategies, new mechanisms, how to be a better loser, as well as a better winner, we learn that we don't always have to have the latest games, or that we definitely do, and we learn a few other things besides. In this article, I want to focus on something else though. I want to look at what playing board games has taught me about myself, about the people around me, and how it has changed me over time, if at all.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/22/play-and-learn-topic-discussion/LinksMahjong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MahjongSkat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skat_(card_game)Doppelkopf: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DoppelkopfIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Elevate by Bensound (https://www.bensound.com)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

It was the fifth factory you had visited today, as you were trying to find three turquoise ceramic tiles to complete your pattern in the King's palace. You needed three - exactly - no more, no less. The first factory you had visited had no turquoise tiles, the second had four, the third had only one and the fourth had two. The factory you were in now, was the last one that made these tiles, and if it didn't have the exact number of turquoise tiles you needed, you had to go back to the previous one and make do with two, which would put you behind schedule and make the King angry. Yet, you were in luck. The factory overseer told you that they had your tiles and exactly three of them. You were so pleased that you found three tiles that were all Azul by Next Move Games.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/19/azul-saturday-review/LinksAzul: https://www.nextmovegames.com/en/26-azulNext Move Games: https://www.nextmovegames.com/en/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Majestic Earth by Claus Appel (https://filmmusic.io/song/4694-majestic-earth)License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Sound Effects: BBC Sound Effects (http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Naomi Robinson is a freelance artist and illustrator based in the North-West of the UK. She has worked on a variety of different board games and RPG books, with a wide range of styles and themes.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/16/naomi-robinson-let-me-illustrate/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Throughout time, terrible things have happened: plagues, wars, colonialism, genocide, executions, experimentation, extinctions, terrorism, abuse and many other atrocities. Some are still going on, most are condemned and they all evoke strong emotions in us. So when board games, which most of us see as a fun way to spend time, use these terrible events as their background, their setting, it seems to be a contradiction and it becomes very important how the game treats its subject matter. In this article, I want to find out if board games can treat atrocities in a sensitive and respectful manner that allows us to learn about these topics better and grow our understanding.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/15/sensitive-settings-topic-discussion/LinksThe Cost: https://www.spielworxx.de/produkte-shop/Spielworxx: https://www.spielworxx.de/World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/International Agency for Research on Cancer: https://www.iarc.fr/Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr: https://www.wearehubgames.com/shop/holding-on-the-troubled-life-of-billy-kerrHub Games: https://www.wearehubgames.com/This War of Mine: http://awakenrealms.com/games/this-war-of-mine-the-board-game/Awaken Realms: http://awakenrealms.com/GMT Games: https://www.gmtgames.com/GMT‘s announcement about Scramble for Africa: https://mailchi.mp/a9c2643ed89c/p500-update-removing-scramble-for-africa“A Cancelled Board Game Revealed” by Vice: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vb9gd9/a-cancelled-board-game-revealed-how-colonialism-inspires-and-haunts-games“Should Board Gamers Play the Roles of Racists, Slavers and Nazis?” by The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/style/board-games-cancel-culture.html?smid=nytcore-ios-shareIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Peace of Mind by Kevin MacLeod (https://filmmusic.io/song/4199-peace-of-mind)License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

I slammed down Cowgirl and immediately opened the bidding with a "Klik", which was countered with a "Thwak" and to which I responded with a "Splat". A "Twang" played by the other side brought us level again, which meant I could still win this. After a moment's hesitation, the other side played "And" and immediately put down Wheel-Demon, closely followed by "Zooom", giving them the leading bid. However, their unexpected move actually gave me the advantage. I put down "Kerunch", which they countered with "Eeeek!!", which I trumped with "Crrash", which they... no... they couldn't keep up. The bids were level, which meant I was victorious and was inching closer to victory with another two Heroic Echoic by Happyclash Games.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/12/heroic-echoic-saturday-review/LinksHeroic Echoic: https://twitter.com/HEchoicIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Mission by AShamaluevMusic (https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

When I play board games with my games group, I'm usually more competitive than I would otherwise be. I want to win and try to find the most efficient way to get the most points. However, I know that I'm not usually very good at spotting where the points in a game come from, unless maybe when the theme of the game is really good and guides me to victory. At the same time, others in my games group are usually very good and seem to approach games in a very analytical and victory points focused way. In this article, I want to look at how this type of approach might work and see if it'll help me learn anything from it.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/08/min-maxing-topic-discussion/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Motivated by AShamaluev Music (https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

With a loud "Bang!" the head flew off, followed by a "leg-splosion" that severed both legs, leaving only the body and the left arm. It wasn't pretty. Yet, you knew you could turn it all around. There were still plenty of options. You just had to duck and dive and try and swap body parts with another robot to boost your own. You were sure that in the end you would be a Bots Up.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/05/bots-up-saturday-review/LinksBots Up on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/botsupgame/bots-upBots Up: https://botsupgame.com/Bots Up unboxing video: https://youtu.be/pum6UpJ5xFwIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Alston & Ozone by LSDesigns (https://soundcloud.com/freebmusic/alston-ozone-lsdesigns-freebackgroundmusic)Sound Effects: BBC Sound Effects (http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Keturah Ariel Nailah Bobo was born in Toledo, Ohio with strong family roots in Detroit, MI. Keturah grew up with parents that instilled in her the importance of individuality and creativity. Keturah graduated from Columbus College of Art and Design with a bachelors degree in fine arts. Columbus, Ohio is a melting pot of culture and artistic freedom that has nurtured Keturah’s growing body of work.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/02/keturah-ariel-nailah-bobo-let-me-illustrate/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Let's have a little fun and see if we can somehow classify the people we play board games with. Don't worry, the article is tongue-in-cheek. I'm not trying to label people in a certain way. We're all unique and different and we change over time. Yet, I do reckon you will probably see yourself or one of your board game friends in one of the groupings in this article. Oh, and by the way, we're all gamers - whatever games we like to play. We're all here to have fun.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/09/01/gamer-types-topic-discussion/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Dreams by Bensound (https://www.bensound.com)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

I know, it's not yet Christmas, but bear with me on this one. Cracker Games by The Dark Imp is going to be on Kickstarter on 1 September 2020 and is scheduled to reach backers in December, before Christmas. So, yes, lead times are a bit longer. However, even if you're not in the mood for the festive season, the Cracker Games are worth checking out, as you'll see in my review below.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/08/29/cracker-games-saturday-review/LinksCracker Games Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thedarkimp/cracker-gamesThe Dark Imp: https://www.thedarkimp.com/Cracker Games unboxing video: https://youtu.be/XZpPVMOKl0ISmall World: https://www.daysofwonder.com/smallworld/en/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Happy Christmas by AShamaluevMusic (https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Luck, chance, randomness - there are many names for introducing a bit of chaos into a board game. Dice rolling, a deck of cards or maybe a dexterity element can all introduce an unpredictable outcome that makes a game less predictable. In this article, I don't want to investigate at what point randomness becomes too much, or whether chance in games is fun, but instead I want to look at the different forms of randomness you can find in modern board games.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/08/25/iacta-alea-est-topic-discussion/LinksCatan: https://www.catan.com/game/catanJenga: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JengaIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Cinematic Digital by AShamaluevMusic (https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/cinematic-music)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

"Guess what?" I asked - but there was no reply. The other player just looked at me - suspiciously. "Guess what?" I asked, this time with more feeling. Yet, there was still no reply. The other player tilted their head and squinted at me. "Guess what?" I tried for the third time. The other player started to open their mouth, but then thought better of it. It was going to be harder than I thought. The other player clearly knew what to do so they Don't Get Got by Big Potato Games.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/08/22/dont-get-got-saturday-review/LinksDon’t Get Got: https://bigpotato.com/gb/games/dont-get-got/Big Potato Games: https://bigpotato.com/Board Game Geek: https://boardgamegeek.com/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Cute by Bensound (https://www.bensound.com)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Tumo Mere is a concept artist and illustrator specializing in video games and comics. He is also the lead artist for the Swordsfall RPG. Hailing from Botswana, Tumo incorporates a modern African style through their intricate art and cultural knowledge.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/08/19/tumo-mere-let-me-illustrate/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

I always wondered what the difference is between a reviewer and a critic, or even a review and a critique. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes they're describing two different things, but very often they seem to be used for things that have a lot of overlap and are very similar in many ways. In this article, I'm trying to grapple with those terms and decide for myself what I think they mean.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/08/18/critical-reviews-topic-discussion/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Emotions by AShamaluevMusic (https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

The irrigation system was ready, but there was still work to be done on the trellises. The windmill, cottage and tasting room were still just ruins and only the first third of the wine cellar was accessible. The crush pads were all clean and ready to receive the first harvest of grapes, yet the fields were still bare. Orders for some red and white wine had already come in and two types of grapes were ready to be planted. It was the beginning of a vineyard that was going to be splendid. Mama and Papa were looking forward to putting the work in and creating a heritage that would make the family name proud. At the same time, it was daunting, because they knew nothing about Viticulture by Stonemaier Games.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/08/15/viticulture-essential-edition-saturday-review/LinksViticulture: Essential Edition: https://stonemaiergames.com/games/viticulture/essential-edition/Stonemaier Games: https://stonemaiergames.com/Scythe: https://stonemaiergames.com/games/scythe/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: AsWeFly by Lilo Sound (https://filmmusic.io/song/6187-aswefly)License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Complexity is a fairly vague term. The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as "the state of having many parts and being difficult to understand or find an answer to." Yet, it's not clear when parts are considered "many" or at what point something is difficult to understand. Here are my thoughts on complexity in board games and what I think it all means.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/08/11/complex-complexity-topic-discussion/LinksCambridge Dictionary‘s definition of “complexity”: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/complexityBoard Game Geek: https://boardgamegeek.com/“Wisdom of the crowd”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_of_the_crowdIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: The Code by Arnav Srivastav (https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-the-code-get)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

The task in hand wasn't going to be simple, but the rewards were huge. You could become ruler of Naqala if you were able to influence the people of the land to help you reach your goal. You were hoping to get the help of the djinns, but they would only listen to you if the people were on your side. It seemed impossible, but you knew that you could talk to each group individually and over time you would eventually have the help of all of the Five Tribes by Days of Wonder.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/08/08/five-tribes-saturday-review/LinksFive Tribes: https://www.daysofwonder.com/five-tribes/en/Days of Wonder: https://www.daysofwonder.com/en/index/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Jalandhar by Kevin MacLeod (https://filmmusic.io/song/3934-jalandhar)License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Marco Bucci is a freelance artist and his experience includes books, film, animation, and advertising. He has worked for Walt Disney Publishing Worldwide, LEGO, LucasArts, Mattel Toys, Fisher-Price, Hasbro, among many others.​ He is also a passionate teacher and currently teaches "The Art Of Color & Light" at CGMA.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/08/05/marco-bucci-let-me-illustrate/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

I have previously written about small box games in my article "Compressed collections" which can create a lot of gameplay with only a few components. However, even larger box, or big box, games are sometimes very inventive when it comes to using components in a clever way to create more gameplay and possibilities than would otherwise be possible. After all, board games have it much harder when you compare them to computer games. They have a limited number of components that come in a box, even in a large box. So I want to look at how the same components can be used in many different ways.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/08/04/limited-components-topic-discussion/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Alston & Ozone by LSDesigns (https://soundcloud.com/freebmusic/alston-ozone-lsdesigns-freebackgroundmusic)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

"Hm. Deep Purple looks good. Life's A Peach is also very warm and rich. Oh, and of course, we want the Cactus Jack. That would be the perfect triad of colours." You step back and look at the colour samples you just painted onto the wall in the kitchen. "Yes, that's it." You're so pleased to have come up with this perfect colour scheme. It had been harder than you had expected. Mixing the 13 cyan, 14 magenta and 15 yellow in the right combination had been a bit of job, let alone getting all the red, green and blue to mix up the cyan, magenta and yellow, but the result was more than worth it. "Yes," you say out loud, "that's the perfect Swatch by Minerva Tabletop."Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/08/01/swatch-saturday-review/LinksSwatch: https://www.minervatabletop.co.uk/swatchMinerva Tabletop: https://linktr.ee/minervatabletopSwatch playthrough: https://youtu.be/u7Eo7lT5VoYSwatch on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/minervatabletop/swatch-the-abstract-game-of-artIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Funky Element by Bensound (https://www.bensound.com/)Sound Effects: BBC Sound Effects (http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

As many of you probably already know, I'm a very visual person. So it's no surprise that I am drawn in by great board game art, sculpts, luxurious components and overall visual appeal. Don't get me wrong, visual appeal alone doesn't make me want to buy a game, but when good gameplay and great art come together, a game really zings for me.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/07/28/visual-appeal-topic-discussion/Links“Let me illustrate” podcast series: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/let-me-illustrate/Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Summer by Bensound (https://www.bensound.com)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Sparkling jewels, shiny gems and precious stones lay in front of you - but only a handful and not necessarily the best example. Your hope was to sell some them for enough profit to be able to buy shares in a diamond mine and attract highly skilled craftspeople who would transform the slightly lacklustre gems into magnificent jewels and allow you to bask in Splendor by Space Cowboys.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/07/25/splendor-saturday-review/LinksSplendor: https://www.spacecowboys.fr/splendor-englishSpace Cowboys: https://www.spacecowboys.fr/our-board-gamesSplendor unboxing video: https://youtu.be/eqatqPK62-EIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: Nomadic Dawn by Alexander Nakarada (https://filmmusic.io/song/4766-nomadic-dawn)License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Sound Effects: FreeSound (https://freesound.org/)If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

Andrew Bosley has been a professional concept artist in the video game industry since 2006 and in 2013 became a freelance concept artist and illustrator. He has worked on games including Everdell, Tapestry, Mission: Red Planet, and Citadels. He is also a game designer and writer.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/07/22/andrew-bosley-let-me-illustrate/If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPayPal: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hovaYouKDWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/

As many of you probably know, I only have limited space for games. That's why I very much like small box games that have a lot of gameplay crammed into a small volume. It's also the reason why I have been reboxing games that come in bigger boxes, compressing them down and getting rid of all the extra air that came with the original packaging. I have written about this in my article "Box clever?" a couple of years ago, and this time I want to give you some concrete examples of small box games crammed to the brim and larger box games that I have shrunk down.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/07/21/compressed-collections-topic-discussion/LinksMint Tin Mini Skulduggery: https://subquark.com/rules-mtmskulduggery.htmlMint Tin Mini Skulduggery review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/03/09/mint-tin-mini-skulduggery/Mint Tin Mini Skulduggery unboxing video: https://youtu.be/vRA7ZquQ7bcsubQuark: https://subquark.com/The Blessed Dark: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nmeunier/the-blessed-dark-a-cult-themed-mint-tin-card-dice-gameThe Blessed Dark review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/07/20/the-blessed-dark-saturday-review/Nathan Meunier: https://twitter.com/nmeunierMicrobrew: https://www.onefreeelephant.co.uk/Microbrew/Microbrew review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/06/22/microbrew-saturday-review/Microbrew unboxing video: https://youtu.be/PuahVpDF0qAOne Free Elephant: https://www.onefreeelephant.co.uk/Mint Works: https://five24labs.com/mint-worksMint Works review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/08/17/mint-works-saturday-review/Five24 Labs: https://five24labs.com/Deep Sea Adventure: https://oinkgms.com/en/deep-sea-adventureDeep Sea Adventure review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/04/11/deep-sea-adventure-saturday-review/Deep Sea Adventure unboxing video: https://youtu.be/c-Pupu1FtAAOink Games: https://oinkgms.com/en/Assembly: http://wrengames.co.uk/main/about/assembly/Assembly review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2018/11/17/assembly/Wren Games: http://wrengames.co.uk/main/Bots Up!: https://botsupgame.com/Swatch: https://www.minervatableto