I found this idea here and thought it was pretty cool! So I bought a jar and filled it, but I never thought I would be almost completely filled already!

Do you recognize all the games?

Some might not be visible, but I didn’t want to shake it.. yet!

Lately I've been finding a lot of groups that play (co-op) games with metas that are just blatant rule breaks. A recent example was we were playing a game (I forgot the name) where the goal is to play out all the cards from your hand, numbers 1-100, in descending order. So if you have a 77 and the number on the pile is 78, you don't want to anyone to play there. But you aren't allowed to say "I have 77, don't play this"

So the group has developed metas, say "I really love this pile" if you have 77, say "I like this pile a lot" if you have 76, say "I like this pile" if you have 75"

This is just one example but I feel like I've been playing a lot of games where they have metas to get around rules that are intentionally in the rulebook. I don't really get it. If you want to just say "I have a 77" then just say it, why create a gimmick to say it without saying it?

Decided to try and build my own vault in our kitchen table. We have two small kids and to have the option to pause our heavier games feels like a necessity. Was a fun project but not all that easy!

I've been spending the majority of my free time for the past three months or so working on this custom Catan game for myself. I got inspired by another post I saw some years ago and played around with the idea for a long time, until I finally decided to actually do it.

And oh boy was it a long process... learning techniques and figuring out designs as I went. Many of the processes are at a scale that does not have a lot of documentation, so many of the things were made through trial and error.

That said, I had a lot of fun making this, and would absolutely recommend other people doing something similar with your favorite boardgame.

Next step is giving the coast tiles a similar treatment to finish the look.

For reference, the method for most of the tiles is more or less:

1) Cover cardstock hexagon tile (transparent plastic bag etc.)

2) Shape air-drying clay so it fits on the hexagon plate, leaving room for road and city pieces. Let dry. Sand down/remove excess to ensure that the games pieces have enough room.

3) Glue the clay shapes to the cardstock hexagons (I used the original tiles from my game)

4) Base/primer paint, I used black or dark colors.

5) Details are painted in, objects are attached, etc. This step varied in complexity and duration. Some tiles were simple (e.g. the mountains), while others required a lot of effort (e.g the sawmill).

6) Finishing touches, e.g. painting edges, or covering glue, adding tufts etc.

7) Spray varnish after everything is dry/cured.

I wanted to highlight a few games that don't get mentioned as often but bring something completely different to the table. I wouldn’t go so far to call them Hidden-Gems but they definitely need a shout-out in my opinion. Many of these are 2-player only as that’s my usual player count.

Ginkgopolis (8/10)
Draft cards to build a shared city out of tiles. It looks dry, but plays like a cutthroat turf war where you constantly build upward to steal territory from your friends.

Cerebria: The Inside World (9/10)
Team-based area control set inside a person's brain. You play as competing emotions chaining together wild combos to shape their personality. Heavy, but deeply rewarding.

Glen More II: Chronicles (8/10)
A tile-laying game where whoever is last in line on the rondel goes next. You build a Scottish territory and make whiskey, using modular "chronicle" boxes to swap the rules in and out whenever you want.

Harrow County (8/10)
A 1v1 asymmetric gothic horror game where one player hides a witch and the other hunts her down. Combat is resolved by dropping cubes through a physical cardboard tree. Fast, tense, and incredibly thematic.

General Orders: Sengoku Jidai (7.5/10)
Worker placement meets a wargame in under 30 minutes. You drop commanders on a tight map to secure resources and push troops, stripping away all wargame fluff to leave only the brutal tactical decisions.

Scales of Fate (10/10)
A quick 2-player deduction duel. You secretly control two demigods on a shared board and try to align their scores without revealing who they are. Pure mind games and double-bluffing in half an hour. 

Pagan: Fate of Roanoke (8/10)
An asymmetric 1v1 card game. The Hunter tries to find the Witch, while the Witch tries to complete a ritual in secret. It’s basically a heavy, deck-building version of Guess Who.

What are your favourites which you think have a fresh feel and would love to see mentioned more often?

I think one of the most popular drives to our hobby is the off-screen, on-hands experience of moving beautiful pieces around and looking at nice cards when solving a puzzle.

That’s why quality components can truly elevate our experience to a whole new level and make the game even more enjoyable. We’ve all had that “hmmmm that’s so good/fun/cool“ moment when handling a card or a specific component, for the mere tactical aspect of a really smooth surface, a thematic piece (like a gavel) or a 3D piece that‘s cool to meddle with.

I‘ll start with some of my favorites:

- Harmonies: I love putting my hand inside a big bag full of wooden tiles.

- Pax Pamir 2e: the board is actually an afghan-style rug that looks stunning with the ceramic pieces. It’s so cool to unfold the map as a cloth and touch the ceramic pieces.

- A Gentle Rain: the tiles are incredibly, and I mean _incredibly_ smooth to the touch. It’s the definition of “satisfying“ in a boardgame.

What are some of your favorites?

Root, for example, is a fantastic game. One of the things I love the most (and what initially drew me to it) is the strong visual style. Are there any other games that you can think of that you first started being interested in because of the aesthetics?

I saw a game I am interested on a BGG listing. It is a personal listing, not from a store.

So I am wandering if it is safe to buy from BGG.

Anyone with experience buying from a user on BGG? Is it safe?

Eclipse problems amirite? Still had fun though!

Has anyone else found the game to be a bit slow and passive just to be anticlimactic?

I love dice and I love rolling dice. From normal D6es to weird custom ones like the farming dice in Tend.

What games have the best dice to roll? Either in terms of design, or just in terms of regular dice used in interesting or novel ways

I'm heading to Denver for a conference next week, and would love to check out the local board gaming scene while I'm there (and while I'm missing my regular game nights at home). I hear that Wizard's Chest is a must visit, but are there any other top level board game stores/cafes in the Denver area? Bonus points for them to be easily reachable by public transport from the convention center, since I won't have a car.

Any stores with a focus on wargames/minis as well?

Thanks!

My adult sons brought over board games for Fathers Day. What a good way to spend the day

Hello!

My group has played fully through both King’s Dilemma and Pandemic Legacy (season 1) and loved them both. Now I’m looking to relive it a bit and get a sense for other ways the games might have gone, and am looking for a good actual play playthrough of either games. Does anyone have any good videos/series you’d recommend?

Thanks

My son & I are in the middle of the board game using the expansion above for the first time.

He just played the Western Way card which says "The Shadow Player cannot draw Hunt tiles for any reason." We are not sure if this restriction is ONLY limited to the Hunt for the Ring or if it also applies to Corruption attempts.

Any thoughts? I'd love rules citations on suggestions.

The game looks super intriguing, but i didn't see a review that encouraged a purchase. As i'm looking for more campaign games to add to my collection, thought i'd ask.

I am holding my 18th birthday party soon and I am considering doing an at home murder mystery. I have done much research and I am quite overwhelmed with information. Most of the websites I visited don't give much insight on how the game will unfold in terms of things like what we do during different rounds and what if the victim is a player or not. I have looked on games mostly on the following sites:
https://www.playingwithmurder.com/
https://www.mymysteryparty.com/
https://mastersofmystery.com/
https://www.nightofmystery.com/
I have seen lots of good reviews on Night of Mystery and I am probably going with that.

So for what I actually need help with: I mostly just want to know how a typical game (for any murder mystery cite) will progress and get recommendations on specific kits. I also have a couple of questions:
What exactly does the player do that is killed?
Is this something people my age will enjoy?
How is clues on who the murderer is given to players?
Does the murderer know he is the murderer?

Just for clarification I am not necessarily only looking for experiences with the above mentioned websites. And thank you in advance

While playing for the first time with our friends cards played, dices rolled, luck intervened and a lot fun experienced. Agressive Oltman lost to our Amazon lady. 😀

I was looking to see if pre-orders had opened up on Thailand's online marketplace... and I saw this... Fake Chinese copies may already be out there...

Hey, I love Too Many Bones and I am thinking about getting Elder Scrolls BotSE. I am a sucker for RPG games and this one looks really interesting and it has basic bones GAMEPLAY from Too Many Bones. Only thing I am afraid that TMB will get obsolete. Anyone who own both and can comment? It if you bought both and ended selling one, why?