Some quick thoughts on my August reads

★★★☆☆ —Is this a game about hurrying to deadlines and dipping your pen in another monk’s ink? Or is it about hanging out with your buds and making some cool pictures at leisurely pace?…

I'm angry. I hate writing when I'm angry. I think it makes me too emotional, too attached to copy and most importantly makes my brain move too fast having ideas pop up and die before I can even get t...

★★★☆☆ — Elizabeth Hargrave’s Sanibel is an enchanting love letter to a place, a relaxing tile-placer, and a clever design that ultimately left me wanting it to be more.

I read nine more books in July and here are my off-the-top thoughts on them.

★★★★☆ — Its tactile runes and interesting economy feel like a riff on Splendor that, while not as tight as that game, make for a unique, accessible experience.

★★★★★ — On each player’s go, there’s a call-and-response of “yes!” and “pffft” and “what?!” that doesn’t get old. The emotional highs of a perf…

My thoughts on fourteen books I read in June! A new Mana Worm feature! A small break from board games!

★★★★☆ — The twin wolves of Greed and Caution loom over your dapper mouse.

★★★☆☆ — Toy Battle is nothing if not honest. Straightforward. This is an efficient war game staged between green molded soldiers, laser-armed robots, and the other denizens of a platonic ideal toy …

★★★☆☆ — This predictability gives the players a fair sense of control and safety; it’s maybe the “cozy” aspect of the game I love the most. I’m not going to be utterly betra…

★★★★☆ — The variety of stuff to do evokes playing a TCG with hundreds of unique game pieces. It’s sort of incredible given the actual scope of this game: a deck you already have in your home …

★★★★☆ — Flamecraft Duals’ board, far from a Go board ready to be carved into districts, is a shared playground. It is not to be divided, only built up with mutual opportunity.

Everyone is trying to get to the bar. The name of the bar? The bar is called Erewhon. This past January, I spent a long weekend in Los Angeles. I was excited to catch up with my friends and their dogs...

A story-driven photography game... on the back of a giant, flying catfish! Transform clouds into sea creatures and bring abundance back to an empty sky!

★★★★☆ — While some other blank-and-writes revel in boxes combo’ing into other boxes, Paris is comparatively restrained. The metro is coming together thoughtful turn by thoughtful turn, not ex…

YouTube video by Matthew Dunstan

★★★☆☆ — By my count, First Class Letters is about two things: words with lots of Js in them and knowing your alphabet. Surprisingly, the alphabet part is what trips people up.

★★★★☆ — I had resigned to not reviewing Tag Team after my initial plays, but something remote and hidden in a pretty bad SNES title got me back into playing.