Since it was first published in 2009, the hyper-competitive family strategy game Small World has become a perennial tabletop favorite. Ironically, given its name, its success has caused its fantasy realm to grow over the years, with a steady stream of expansions introducing new factions to command and new regions to explore. Now, though, the game has shifted to an entirely new setting with Small […]

Black Angel reminds me of a pocket watch I once had. (This isn’t the setup to a bad joke.) You see, the watch was broken. A memento from my time in Germany, the watch broke during shipping and never kept good time, made a weird grinding noise when I wound it, and had an unsightly crack across its face. I still keep it around, though. […]

What’s keeping me grounded in our current pandemic? Board games, for one. But I’m not reaching for the latest and the greatest at the moment; I’ve found myself reaching for shorter titles that don’t melt my brain, and I’ve been digging deeper into my collection for those criminally underplayed treasures. In part that’s because I’ve been playing with family rather than a gaming group, but—and perhaps […]

Sagrada is one of the best dice-drafting games on the market. It makes excellent use of the inherent randomness of dice while still providing copious opportunities for strategic thinking and long-term planning. It’s also a visually appealing game, easy to learn but displaying more depth the more you play it—especially by making players think about how early choices may restrict their options later. And it’s […]

Trapped indoors? Brain turning to mush? Can’t bear to watch another minute of TV? We’ve got a few suggestions: modern board games well-suited to the most common quarantine scenarios of solo play, two-person gaming, and family time. Save the meetups and conventions for when the world gets back to normal; for now, play with the ones you’re locked up with. Board games have enjoyed a […]