Folks, I wasn‘t ready. I did not see it coming. I thought I had a pretty good handle on The King’s Dilemma as it reached its final chapters. But then the ending landed and I was left stunned and speechless. I didn‘t think any game would be this ambitious, this confident and bold in what … More The King’s Dilemma (concluded)
The King’s Dilemma is something of an odd beast. But probably not for the reasons you might think. The rulebook itself describes it as an interactive narrative experience, which is technically accurate. In much the same way that it is technically accurate to describe a train as a horseless mechanized carriage on tracks. Whatever fancy … More Georgios Draws First Blood – The King‘s Dilemma
For many gaming groups, it’s a rare, although not quite impossible situation to end up in. You’re heavily invested playing a competitive game. Fighting over every little advantage you can get. You’re plotting, scheming and strategizing. Some of you might even employ table talk as a cunning ruse. And then, out of nowhere, somebody makes … More But I was just playing by the rules!
Whether a new game gets to return to the table after its inaugural play, often comes down to how well it was taught. That‘s partly because an introduction to a game‘s rules sets the tone for what to expect. An aimless, vague explanation can turn a game like LAMA into a confusing, complex rules mess, … More What was the middle part? – On rules explanations
NB: This is an unpaid Kickstarter preview. Photography by Ross Connell, courtesy of Alley Cat Games. It is a truism in board games that size does, in fact, matter. Once you drop a massive square crate of a game on the table, you‘ve announced to everyone that they‘re in for a time of furiously furrowed … More Tinderblox – Kickstarter Preview
A technocratic understanding of games understands play as the attempt to determine the most efficient solution to a given problem. We play in order to solve a problem we‘ve been presented with. We compete in order to find out whose approach is the most profitable, i.e. which one generates the most victory points. If said … More Game Night Verdicts #36 – Mooncake Master
Some things simply go together. Like honey on your cream cheese bagel. Or espresso powder in your chocolate cake. Or Annie Lennox & Al Green. Even board gaming has some crossover, that may seem random at first but delivers surprisingly solid results: cooperative games and real-time mechanisms. You‘re working together to reach some kind of … More Game Night Verdicts #35 – Dim Sum Jam
