A couple of years ago I was driving through Memphis and I had the radio cranked to a level of volume best described as distortion. I was listening to a classic rock station; timeless cuts like “Fortunate Son” and “Jessie’s Girl”. The car was bumping. Then something strange happened. “Seven Nation Army” by The White…
It’s easy to dismiss Ruination. Its another one of those games with dudes walking across a map so they can battle other dudes, petroleum leaking from broken plastic bodies as slaughter begets slaughter. But this one takes place in the post-apocalypse. Or rather the post-post-apocalypse as the primary mode of transportation is foot and hoof.…
I didn’t really expect to be writing about Spartacus right now. When the new edition arrived on my doorstep I was certainly surprised, but I was also curious and more importantly, interested in taking a reflective look at this title from an academic angle. Most of my plays of this game have occurred in the…
Unfortunately for Core Space, Pax Pamir 2nd Edition was released in 2019. Otherwise this hybrid miniatures/board game would have ran away with the illustrious honors of my top release of the year – don’t scoff at that designation, it comes with a repurposed Pinewood Derby trophy as well as a Charlie Theel quote to slap on…
Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid is all kinds of interesting. Beyond the immediate jolt of huge 50mm+ miniatures and yet another IP we’re supposed to love, there’s the big draw of Jonathan Ying. This dude brought us the more recent DOOM board game from FFG, a high velocity dungeon crawler that couldn’t find an audience. While I’m…
It’s no secret that I thirst for unique and serious concepts when it comes to tabletop gaming. I hold a strong belief that games are indeed Art, possessing a singular quality of immersion that can convey deeper thematic concepts at a very personal level. Hand in hand with this potential is an imperceptible directive of…
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…
