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Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and discussions with a personal touch

Tabletop Games Blog

Tabletop Games Blog podcast explores board games, card games, dexterity games, and modern hobby games, delivering in-depth reviews, thought pieces, and audio articles for all types of players. Since 2018 it has covered strategy games, family favourites, party games, and indie gems, focusing on gameplay, design, table presence, and player experience. Originally on a strict weekly schedule, from 2025 episodes now release when ready, prioritising quality. Tune in for engaging board game reviews,

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All Episodes

00:08:46

Trick Taking - a modern card mechanism (Topic...

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/06/06

Most of the earliest card games were trick-taking games played in the 800s in China. These will have felt quite different to our modern eyes. They didn't have the concept of trump cards or trump suits. There was also no bidding. Trumps were added to European card games in the 1400s, followed by bidding in the 1600s. It took another 100-200 years for familiar trick-taking games like Whist and Skat to appear. A few hundred years after that, the mechanism has now found a new lease of life in modern

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00:05:46

Qwirkle (Saturday Review)

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/06/03

Gosh! The tiles were almost like dominoes, but square instead of rectangular. They came in a combination of six shapes and six colours. Every time you laid out tiles with the same colour, but different shapes or the same shape, but different colours, you had to connect them to what was already there, but without doubling up on colours or shapes. It quickly became confusing. It was a right Qwirkle by Susan McKinley Ross from MindWare. Read the full review here:

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00:07:49

Round the Outside - tracking scores in board games...

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/05/30

Pretty much every hobby game contains some sort of score which measures who is in the lead and decides who wins the game. That's undoubtedly true for competitive games, but sometimes also for cooperative ones. The score can be in the form of victory points, glory points, reputation, money or something else or even a mix of different things. Some games keep track of players' scores throughout the game, others count everything up at the end and there are also games that have a mix of in-game

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00:07:58

Raiders of the North Sea (Digital Eyes)

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/05/27

We were a band of feared Viking warriors of Borg on the Lofoten islands. Our chieftain had tasked us with assembling a cunning and mighty crew, collecting provisions and journeying north to plunder gold, iron and livestock from foreign lands. We would find glory in battle and the Valkyrie would lead the fallen to Odin's Valhalla. We were the Raiders of the North Sea by Shem Phillips from Renegade Games Studios. Read the full review here:

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00:09:28

Deck Building - a modern card mechanism (Topic...

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/05/23

Card games date back to the 1400s with Karniffel, or Thuringian Karnöffel, often listed as the oldest one, at least the oldest in Europe that we know of. As a popular trick-taking game in Germany for centuries, it clearly started a trend. Many trick-taking games are still popular in Germany today and I certainly grew up with a fair few. However, card games have come a long way since then. In this article, I want to look at deck-building games specifically and how this mechanism has been applied in

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00:08:32

Forests of Pangaia (Saturday Review)

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/05/20

Before the dawn of time, Gaia, our Mother Earth, gave birth to the first trees. With their strong trunks and majestic crowns, they quickly converted the fallow land into fertile soil. They cherished the everlasting rituals of Gaia that sent a ferocious force through their veins, bringing life to the highest branches and deepest roots. It did not take long for them to cover the whole continent and create the vast Forests of Pangaia by Thomas Franken from Pangaia Games. Read the full review here:

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00:09:28

Review Pressures - fun versus review (Topic Discussion)

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/05/16

When you publish a review every week, there is a certain amount of pressure to frequently play games that are new to you. Even if you bear in mind that I sometimes re-review a game and that once a year I list my top 5 games as well as look back at the past 12 months, that still leaves around 50 games that I need to get to the table and play a few times. That's a fair amount and risks taking the fun out of it. Read the full article here:

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00:05:57

Bagh Chal (Saturday Review)

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/05/13

The tigers were stealthily making their way onto the meadow, where the goats were grazing. Watching their calm and coordinated approach made you believe there was going to be only one outcome - and it wasn't going to be in favour of the goats. However, the sheer number of grazing animals didn't make it easy for the hunters. It didn't take long for one animal to sense the danger. Suddenly, the whole flock was alert and bunched together, making it virtually impossible for the large cats to

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00:08:03

Board Game Beginnings - how we learn board games...

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/05/09

If you are a veteran board game hobbyist, you will have learned a lot of terminology and mechanisms. You will instinctively know what a draw deck is and that you usually shuffle a discard pile into a new draw deck, if it runs out. The concepts of action points and turn order are going to be obvious to you. It will be second-nature to you that resources can be converted not only into each other, but also into victory points, which is another concept that you will understand. However, many of these

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00:08:50

Castle Panic (Saturday Review)

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/05/06

"Troll!" came the shout from the battlements. "Where?!" we shouted back. "Southeast!" was the reply. Darn it. We didn't have any archers defending our fortress in that direction. It was fortunate that we still had time before we had to deal with the next wave of attackers. We were already in over our heads fending off orcs and goblins at the northern end of the bastion. Things were slowly becoming too chaotic. It was a real Castle Panic by Justin De Witt from

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00:07:37

Right Time, Right Place - board games and socialising...

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/05/02

Apart from being a great way to meet new people and make new friends, just like any other hobby, for many of us in the hobby, playing board games is a social activity. We enjoy spending time with friends or family and catching up over a game or two. We have snacks and drinks and chat away in between turns. However, not everyone shares that view and there are good reasons for this. So in this article, I want to investigate why games can be a great conduit for socialising while also potentially being

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00:06:19

Tides (Saturday Review)

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/04/29

The two of us were strolling along the beach. We could feel the damp sand underneath our feet. We stopped for a moment to dig our toes in and take a look around. There were plenty of beautiful objects just waiting to be found: driftwood for sculptures, sea glass for earrings and many other things. So we followed the Tides by Mike Berg from Button Shy. Read the full review here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/04/29/tides-saturday-review/ Useful Links Tides:

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00:13:11

5th Anniversary - looking back to the beginning...

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/04/25

Yes, my dear friends, Tabletop Games Blog is 5 years today. When I posted my first article, I didn't know where I was going with this and had no idea about the journey the site would take me on. Since then, I published 550 articles, releasing them also in audio format since December 2018, which means there are over 430 podcast episodes available as well. I played hundreds of games, attended many exhibitions, was a guest on a number of podcasts, met lots of people and made many good friends. So

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00:09:14

Diamant (Saturday Review)

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/04/22

It was dark in damp. Of course, that was not unusual for the Tacora Cave, a giant underground system which was strewn with precious jewels and priceless artefacts. Those were the reason why we were here in the first place. Armed with our torches, we explored one tunnel after another, always mindful of traps. Sooner or later, one of us would get scared and make their way back to the entrance with their share of the treasures we had found so far. The rest of us continued, praying we would not fall

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00:07:19

Board Game Library - books and board games (Topic...

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/04/18

The other day I noticed how similar books and board games are. The thought was triggered when I held a board game box in my hand and then plonked it on the table. The sound it made was very much like that of a tome being placed down. It also felt as heavy as a thick hardback book. I soon realized that there were many more commonalities. So let me investigate the spiritual twins that are books and board games. Read the full article here:

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00:11:47

Tinners' Trail (Deluxe Edition) (Saturday Review)

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/04/15

Cornwall, the early 19th century. Tin and copper mines are popping up everywhere. These metals are so important for the Empire. Tin is used in many alloys and copper to clad the ships of the Royal Navy. Both industries attract more and more people and lead to new developments and inventions. The growing demand for efficient water pumps leads to the development of the steam engine, which in turn allows the building of the first steam trains. However, it is the people who are at the heart of all of

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00:09:57

Representation and Diversity - why it matters (Topic...

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/04/11

Board and other hobby games are a form of entertainment for the people who play them. It doesn't matter whether these are solo games, family games, heavy games or party games for larger groups of people. There should be a game for anyone and everyone. However, as we know, our large hobby still struggles with who is represented in the games themselves, let alone with what groups of people our community make feel truly comfortable and welcome. In this article, I want to explore why representation

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00:09:02

Karuba (Saturday Review)

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/04/08

Each of us was part of a team of four brave explorers who had spent months on the high seas to reach an island of myths and legends. All of us were on an expedition to navigate through dense jungle, trying to uncover paths that had been long lost and many of which were dead ends. If we were lucky we might find treasures along the way: gold nuggets or precious jewels. However, the riches along the way were mere trifles compared to our ultimate goal. Each of us wanted to be the first to reach one of

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00:10:08

First Looks - how gameplay experience changes from...

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/04/04

If you have ever managed to get a game to the table more than once, you may have experienced how it can feel different each time. The very first game can evoke emotions that starkly contrast with playing it for the fifth time. Games can become more exciting or interesting with every play, or they can become more and more boring. It's not necessarily a linear experience either. The same game can go from being a confusing morass and too overwhelming to comprehend to a highly engrossing battle of

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00:09:19

Brass: Birmingham (Deluxe) (Saturday Review)

Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and... ·

2023/04/01

The canal era was over. It was the time of the steam railways. The industrial revolution was in full swing and coal was at the heart of new, booming industries. A lot of iron was needed to build the infrastructure that would allow resources and goods to be shipped around the country. The workforce needed to be kept happy and beer was the perfect lubricant for this task. The rise of cotton mills, potteries and manufacturing gave us the opportunities to earn our Brass: Birmingham by Gavan Brown, Matt

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395 results

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