Rants & Raves

When I was a little boy, I loved playing Monopoly. It’s quite clear from the stories and memories that you hear from a lot of board gamers (and pretty much anyone for that matter) that a lot of people hated the game as children. It’s also pretty clear if you look at the mechanics that a lot of this hate is due to misguided but extremely common house rules like pooling fine money on Free Parking and allowing anyone that lands there to collect it. We didn’t use any of those house rules, and that certainly is a big...

I have failed. This week, I've failed to file some new material. Sorry about that. So instead I present to you this Arkham Horror session report from my archives. The opening line should tell you just how old it is, since I've played 20+ games of Arkham. Normal service resumed next week, I hope. This was my fourth solo attempt at Arkham Horror, with one of my previous three games ending in success by beating back the ancient one when it appeared. I'd heard a lot of advice that it was worth trying the game with...

Last week I got to play a game for the first time that just bowled me over with the quality of its presentation. This isn’t about overproduction, or artwork, just a simple appreciation that laid out on the table in active play the thing was a veritable feast for the senses, a smorgasbord of texture, colour and sculpture. So it inspired me to have think about what my favourite looking games of all time were. What titles draw admiring looks from gamers and non-gamers alike when they’re laid out of the table and being played in a flurry...

So, we are come to the start of a new year. I did my wrap for 2011 with a run down of what I thought were the five best games although, sadly, I wasn’t able to play two of the big-name contenders Eclipse and Mage Knight that were released right at the end of the year and which might have altered my list somewhat. But I thought it might still be interesting to have a quick look at some numbers regarding the games I’ve played this last year, and what I hope to have lined up for 2012. ...

That's right, guys and gals...another year has gone by, and it's time to let YOU the readers weigh in on this year's favorites.  This was an incredibly loaded year for great games.  How will your faves stack up this year?  It's time for you to VOTE!