Guest Writer: Christopher Bishop Our previous installment revolved around the meta-gamer. This installment focuses on the Grognard, the veteran of many table forays. Since the advent of tabletop roleplaying in 1974 folks have been crowding around the table to roll bones for decades now. Some, played in high school, a little in college or the military (or all of …
The Internet is for Cats, Games and Cat Games
View PostShall We Play a Game? [Part 9 of 10]
[Editor’s Note: The following is Jeffrey Webb’s noteworthy college thesis from 2015, written during his time at the American Military University in Charles Town, West Virginia, to be reprinted here in its entirety, in ten parts, with the author’s permission, for your reading enjoyment. Footnotes have been extracted from this presentation of Jeffrey Webb’s writings, to enhance this casual reading …
10 Tips for Art Directing Your Crowd Funded Board Game
View PostQ&A Today: Mike Richie
It’s not every day that we get to enjoy seeing game designer Mike Richie chime in on ELEMENT and all things gaming, so let’s do this, with relish. Q: What is it about your board game ELEMENT that might surprise most folks? MR: An abstract game that really works well with 2, 3, or 4 players is pretty rare. We’ve …
Reviews You Can Use: Element
Rare is the abstract board game that arrives in today’s marketplace like a breath of fresh air, earth, fire and water. ELEMENT from Rather Dashing Games is a clever concoction with traces of Go, Chess, chaos and law in its DNA. Chaos appears by way of the drawing of different-colored element stones from an opaque bag. Each stone inside the …
Reviews You Can Use: Rampaging Jotunn
Lost Cog Games (designers Matthias Bonnici and Dave Simpson) have performed an impressive feat of gaming alchemy. Rampaging Jotunn combines the frost giants of Norse mythology with Viking society in a way that’s seldom seen at a gaming table. Welcome to the Saga of the Unnamed Land. Ymir has awoken from his slumber and the stage is set. 2 players go head-to-head in …
Q&A Today: Bryan Kline
It’s not every day that we get to enjoy seeing game designer Bryan Kline (Mystic Tiger Games) chime in on MANAFORGE and all things gaming, so let’s do this, with relish. Q: What can you tell us about the mechanics of your dice-rolling tabletop game MANAFORGE? BK: In Manaforge, players roll dice to obtain mana, the wizard’s basic resource. Mana …
Reviews You Can Use: Onitama
Hats off to Japan’s game designer Shimpei Sato for creating this “elegant and simple game of martial tactics.” Onitama‘s complicated predecessor Shogi remains largely inaccessible to chess enthusiasts in the Western world (owing to Shogi’s two-dimensional complexity, prisoners of war, promoted pieces and Japanese characters.) Here at last, is a delightfully accessible way to enjoy a Japanese spin on an …
Q&A Today: Fedor Sosnin
It’s not every day that we get to enjoy seeing game designer Fedor Sosnin chime in on DICE BAZAAR and all things gaming, so let’s do this, with relish. Q: What can you tell us about your colorful DICE BAZAAR game? What makes it different from other games? FS: Dice Bazaar is a bit different than other games because it …