Castles of Burgundy is a well respected game designed by renowned designer Stefan Feld. Originally released in 2011, Castles of Burgundy is a Eurogame that incorporates dice rolling, dice placement, and tile placement that sees players take on the role of an aristocrat establishing his/her region or duchy. The game is routinely among board game influencers' top 10 of all time, and currently resides at a healthy 17 on the Board Game Geek top 100.  I had always wanted to try Castles of Burgundy, but there was a persistent issue preventing me from it- the look. The pale color pallet se ..read more

 I had heard so many good things about Atlantis Rising when I got into the hobby back in 2020. The game seemed absolutely packed with elements that I liked. First of all, it was a cooperative game. Working together to fight against the game itself instead of battling it out with those I love was an intriguing concept. Atlantis Rising was also a worker placement game, which was a game mechanism I had really yet to try, but knew how popular it was among the gaming community. It had push-your-luck die rolling, which brought familiarity. Blended together it was a game I was seriously interest ..read more

My shelves are full of games that I want to play more often. While I appreciate any opportunity to bring a title to the table, there are definitely those that tend to get left behind. Unfortunately, these dusty, shelf-dweller boxes contain some of my absolute favorites to play. What I wouldn't give to bring out Scythe for a family game night and not do it merely as a joke. My family is made up of amazing individuals, but they have their limits where board games are concerned. Scythe exceeds those limits. By a mile. Maybe two.  However, there are a handful of games that they've never pla ..read more

You've made it! You made it all the way through my Favorite Games of Every Letter series. You've read Volume One, Two, and Three. That makes you awesome! This final entry contains some of my very favorite games and, uh, some other games too. S- Scythe Why Do I Love It?  Scythe is my favorite board game, and I'm not sure there is a close second. I love the rigidness of the ruleset, but that every faction has a unique ability that disrupts them. Speaking of the rules, they might seem overwhelming at first glance, but the player boards make the actions simple to remember.  While Scythe ..read more

If you haven't read Volume One or Two, you should check those out. If you are only interested in games that begin with the letters M-R, you're in the right place! Read below to find out my favorite game that begins with each of these letters.  M- Magic: The Gathering Why Do I Love It?  This almost thirty-year old game has recently captured my attention thanks to many friends who play. The intrigue of the game lasts long after a match as you keep thinking of what might help improve your play (and your deck) the next time. There are a lot of keywords here to learn, but I feel it's wor ..read more

Welcome to Volume Two in the series of My Favorite Games of Every Letter. If you haven't looked at part one, you can do that by clicking here. If that's old news to you (or you're not interested in the slightest), please continue reading below as I document my current favorite games that begin with the letters G-L. G- Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion Why Do I Love It?  It's easy to slip a Gloomhaven title into this position, but it is well deserved. The "training" chapters at the beginning were an excellent way to teach the game without overwhelming those new to the series. The car ..read more

Are you ready for a profound statement? Every board game title begins with a letter. That's not even true, actually. Some begin with numbers. For instance, it's not Seven Wonders- it's 7 Wonders. We're going to ignore the unfortunate games that begin with a number and focus solely on those that begin with a member of the alphabet. This means that Five Tribes would still be in the running...if I had played Five Tribes. Anyway, I feel like I'm putting the cart before the horse to borrow a tired, southern expression.  For the next few blog posts, I will be looking at my favorite game that be ..read more

FOREWARD: I know it is very late in the year to be releasing a most anticipated list. I've even received one of the games on the list at time of publishing, but have yet to play it. However, it's never too late to anticipate. Enjoy!  Last year I released a few blog posts dedicated to board games that I was looking forward to in 2021. I only managed to publish four articles before it seemed too far into the year to continue that series. Despite the overwhelming misfortune of Covid delays and shipping dilemmas, all four games that I showcased did manage to deliver last year: Cascadia, Tort ..read more

We're closing in on two months of 2022 completed. The first month-and-a-half has gone by so quickly, it felt like a good time to check in on my board game goals for the year.  Before I get to the progress in my eight goals for board gaming this year, I want to be upfront about my lack of entries thus far this year. I am embarking on a career change within the next few months, and preparing for that change has dominated a lot of my time. That's not to say I haven't been able to play games, but if given the choice, I'd rather play the games than write about them. Let's look back at my eig ..read more

 Autumn is here. The leaves on the trees are wearing the brightest shades of orange and yellow and red before they are shed from the limbs they've called home since Spring, and give a last dance in the chilly breeze. Well, not in Texas- we usually just get a dump of brown leaves, but Starbucks is selling their holiday drinks now, so I think I'm allowed to post about this. Thanksgiving! It is one of my very favorite days in the long calendar. It is a time for reflection, a time for contentment (until we go Black Friday shopping because we realize we have more wants than blessings- I kid, s ..read more