PSA: Battle Line is getting reprinted

A few years ago, games artist, Roland Revenge rethemed Reiner Knizia’s Battle Line, taking from the ancient era to the mediaeval. The licensing around the original print run was small–only 500 copies were released, so if you were late to the party, it’s impossible to get. But now, here’s your chance. This is an excellent […]

The Definitive Rules for Stealing Santa

Let me be clear: there is one way to play Stealing Santa. Seeing as how Santa’s not real,1 you don’t need to pretend to be nice during Christmas. And being naughty is so much more fun. So for some light-hearted, mean-spirited, present re-distribution that indulges the kleptomanic amongst us, you should play Stealing Santa. Maybe with your family, […]

People Keep Trying To Turn Tetris Into A Board Game

If there’s a game that every board game designer wants to turn into cardboard, it would have to be the best-selling video game of all time: Tetris. Games featuring tetrominoes (shapes made out of 4 squares), pentominoes (shapes made out of 5 squares) and all of the various other permutations (called polyominoes) have been around for […]

The Unprecedented Rise Of ‘Roll and Write’ Board Games

Board games without boards aren’t exactly novel. And yet, board game geeks are sharpening their pencils and competitively scribbling on pieces of paper in bars and lounge rooms across the world. Bingo didn’t suddenly become sexy again. It’s the new craze: the golden age of “Roll and Write” games. Because I am a nerd, I made […]

A Guide To The Best Party Game, Resistance

Everyone needs a good party-game which involves you ruthlessly lying and backstabbing your friends. Here’s the why and the how of playing Resistance. Sure, you could play Secret Hitler or One Night Ultimate Werewolf, or Coup, or Battlestar Galactica. (You should not play Mafia, or Werewolf, for reasons.) But there is no other game with the purity, the intensity, the logic and the tactics of Resistance. My […]