It’s 1998. Goldberg is dominating the only wrestling league that matters. The Wolfpac is running wild, and that damn cattle prod is about to make an appearance at Starrcade. But that hasn’t happened yet. Right now, a Totino’s pizza is crackling to life in the oven. My buddy Chris is spending the night, and we…
I find it hard to believe the Company of Heroes board game is five years old. This splendid adaptation of the popular real-time strategy PC game was a story in 2021. My review contained a healthy amount of enthusiasm, and it occupied a key position in my top 10 of the year. A lot has…
I remember the first time I saw The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. I was a teen, sitting in front of a small CRT in a small living room. I was wholly unaware of what the next three hours of my life would entail. I hadn’t yet learned to trust my dad. And while…
“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if you only try.” Party games often get short shrift. But it’s a difficult genre for innovative work. The majority of titles in this category are word games springing off the popularity of Codenames, or selection and…
Five months have passed since my original review of The Old King’s Crown. While the outside has grown colder and darker with winter, the inside is a different story. My appreciation for Pablo Clark’s ambitious game of throne-seeking has ignited. It’s stuck with me, claiming a seat in my top 10 of the year and…
Fobs Games put Tiefe Taschen out in the world back in 2016. It’s one of my favorite designs, uniquely presenting a tense affair of dynamic negotiation. It’s worthy of the word “brilliant”. By this virtue alone, I was interested in Gnomic Parliament. It’s the German publisher’s second release, arriving at the end of 2025. I…
This feels strange. I’m usually late with my yearly list, taking my sweet time until January or February to catch up on all of the noteworthy releases. This was a quieter year. Some would say weaker than most. There are still several standout titles, and it did prove a bit of a struggle to narrow…
A crafty salesperson would push Snake Charmers as a cross between Cockroach Poker and The Resistance. This allusion is a strong sell, as it ties this new release to two of the best bluffing and deduction games ever designed. Fortunately, it is a reasonably accurate comparison, even if Snake Charmers can’t quite deliver the impact…
The opening sequence of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver depicts a New York with enough grit that you can feel it on your teeth. It’s a feral hour of the night. DeNiro’s sedan is cruising down a street awash in the radiant soul of the city. There’s a shot of the vehicle’s quarter panel. Beads of…
There’s this thing that people say which rips my skin like 60 grit sandpaper. “That was fun, but it’s not much of a game.” Games require decisions. Meaningful ones. At least, that’s what a portion of the hobby community believes. Candy Land isn’t a game they say, it’s an activity. There’s an obvious implication that…
Player Elimination 