Philosopher Mara van der Lugt’s 2025 book Hopeful Pessimism challenges ideas of motivation and the role of despondency. It’s a revelation of sorts, especially for those plagued with eternal pessimism. That’s me. A relentless worrywart, down to my bones. Van der Lugt argues that it’s possible, nay encouraged, for those suffering from pessimism in a…
Jeffrey CCH, founder of Hong Kong publisher ICE Makes, has produced some wonky designs. Eila and Something Shiny is a narrative-driven card game that is emotionally poignant, Inheritors remains one of my favorite offbeat small box designs, and Terrorscape looks menacing and sharp, although I haven’t had the opportunity to play it. Age of Galaxy…
Takashi Ishida’s Magical Athlete is a quirky game about a cast of misfits in a foot race. First released in 2003 by Z-Man Games, its oddball nature and prototype-level production resulted in a large shrug from audiences. It was the typical Tanga title, dumped on a deep discount website and banished to the shelves of…
Spooooktacccular. An amusing name to wail? Right-o. Killer movie poster box cover? Absolutely. Asymmetric player powers that inevitably draw a negligent comparison to Root? Hell yeah. Level 99 Games is known for their eccentric lineup. Millennium Blades is totally mad. Argent: The Consortium is likewise ill. Bullet♥︎ and Empyreal and many others fit this unconventional…
It’s 1710 and the world is in turmoil. Maybe. I’m not sure, as the Company and the state of its affairs are sprawled out on a massive table on one end of the room, and I’m at the other surrounded by my peers. My family. Good Hastings men and women. It’s loud and chaotic. I…
Somewhere, Matt Leacock is walking around, chained to a big goose as gold as the sun. For the love of God, someone let this man design something other than Pandemic. Not today. While not betrayed on the cover, The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship is described as a Pandemic System game. And…
Prospero Hall is back. I’m sorry, that’s a lie. 2001: A Space Odyssey the Board Game is not a Prospero Hall title. It’s a Phil Walker-Harding design courtesy of Maestro Media. This fits right alongside quirky board game cuts like The Warriors, Fast & the Furious: Highway Heist, and Rear Window. I almost don’t trust…
The Old King’s Crown is beautiful. It’s a lavishly illustrated craft with peerless style. This charisma reverberates in the game’s excellent writing, with passages leaping from the page in order to set the scene of a King Lear-like situation with a vacant throne. Expectedly, the gears of the work are likewise dashing, powering the entity…
Deepvale is the hotly anticipated expansion to one of my favorite titles of 2024. Justin Keppainen’s Leviathan Wilds is an impressive indie cut that captures much of the excitement in bouldering across giant beasts. It’s The Shadow of the Colossus in board game form. Deepvale is the type of no-nonsense expansion that is unlikely to…
First time designer Yoni Goldstein offers a brick to the temple with his debut title, Chicago ’68. This historical game is set during the tumultuous events surrounding the Democratic National Convention of the titular year. It informs and stylizes the riotous gathering of protestors, a large swathe of people incensed by world events and the…
Player Elimination 