Author: Charlie Theel

Making Up: X-Wing Heroes of the Aturi Cluster

X-Wing. Even a mention of that weird ship and my heart twists in knots. X-Wing. It’s more than a ship. It’s one of the best releases of Fantasy Flight Games’ 23 years of existence. But, like the embers of Alderaan floating through the void, its fire has been dwindling. A game that lit up our…

The Mad Genius of Wiz-War

Gather round children, for today we talk about something special. Today we talk about Wiz-War. This is literature emblazoned upon cardboard, the classic tale of hermits caught in a labyrinth and forced to battle to the death because that’s what the magicks are for. Wandering a maze like rats wielding switchblades and fireballs – there’s nothing…

The Reveille

I’m sitting at a table in our living room. My mother, my brother, and I are huddled around a curiously small coffee table, its diminutive stature emphasized by the sprawling map of our world. It sits awkwardly positioned with one edge just barely hanging off in suspended gravity, horsemen and artillery ready to plummet into…

Dinosaur Witches and Sand Worms – A Grimslingers Review

Grimslingers is outlandish. It’s Clint Eastwood wandering the wasteland of Fallout directed by Guillermo del Toro. This concoction of grit and cybernetics doesn’t just live within your mind’s eye, it’s plastered over every beautiful card courtesy of artist/designer Stephen Gibson. A triple threat, he designed, illustrated, and published this work all on his own before Greenbrier picked it…

High Society – A Sobering Filler

The first time I played High Society I didn’t get it. I wasn’t in the right place and it left my mind as soon as it left the table. Whether my worldview has simply expanded or the tumor of cynicism has grown, this time it was different. This time the not-so-subtle message hit me square…

I Am Not Groot – A Rising 5 Review

A person walking briskly past could easily mistake Rising 5 for a Guardians of the Galaxy product. This is with purpose, of course, as they want you to think it’s those fellas and that rabbit. In this wannabe Summer blockbuster players cooperate to re-seal the Rune Gate and vanquish the brutal monsters that have emerged. If you can…

Mainlining Combos – A Fantasy Realms Review

Staying on the edge of the freshest of fresh is where it’s at. It’s where cash falls like rain and attractive people fall all over you. It’s where reviewers need to build their constantly shifting home if they want to be anybody. This isn’t working for me. Player Elimination is in the red and the only person…