Wednesday, April 26, 2023

5 Game Pieces That Look More Delicious Than They Should

I talk a lot about the importance of the tactile element of board games and how much the experience is improved with the inclusion of high quality pieces, but it's come to our attention that some game pieces are perhaps more delicious-looking that they have any right to be. So, following an incident yesterday in which an unnamed person taste-tested a game-piece, here is our list of 5 Game Pieces That Look More Delicious Than They Should:

[Editor's Disclaimer: I cannot stress this enough, please don't put game pieces in your mouth.]


Monday, April 24, 2023

Review: Dread - A One-Shot, Tension Guaranteed, Horror RPG

With Halloween a mere 6 months away I'm sure we're all starting to get our preparations started (no? Just me?), and horror RPGs are a great alternative to a classic party, and arguably considerably cheaper!

Creating a sense of fear and tension in TTRPGs can be a daunting task. Building in appropriate mood lighting, ambient sound, pacing, can all help put your players on edge but after all that work, what happens if they continually roll high and all the fear is taken out of your carefully crafted scenario?

Dread, designed by Epidiah Ravachol and Nathaniel Barmore (publisher: The Impossible Dream), is the answer. 

Dread is also the guarantee.

Thursday, April 20, 2023

5 Board Games To Get You Started


Mainstream board gaming titles really dominate most shelves in your average high-street shops (Waterstones, and the like), meaning it can be difficult for people getting into the hobby to find new games that aren't intimidating.

Or perhaps you need a gift that goes beyond yet another version of Monopoly or Cluedo (I'm looking at you Monopoly: Bass Fishing Edition). To help we have compiled a list of board games that are well priced, accessible, and can be found easily online or on the high-street.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Review: It's a Wonderful Kingdom (Solo Mode) - Good Game, Bad Name

The front cover of a board game box. A man in fine clothing stands at the top of the image in front of a shipyard. At the bottom of the image, a woman in plate armour is ready for battle.

On an absolute spur-of-the-moment impulse buy I got my hands on "It's a Wonderful Kingdom" by OriGames (Designer: Frederic Guerard; Art: Anthony Wolff). I am always on the look out for games that accommodate solo-play and I was intrigued by the theme and found the box-art rather pleasing.

(We were actually in the shop to pick up Wingspan, which we are excited to try).

Friday, April 14, 2023

Review: OK Play! - a quick, portable and family-friendly game


 

I saw a video about this game on Tiktok and thought it looked like a good game to have in our inventory: simple (good for me), child-friendly (good for the small human), portable (good for Skullen as they cannot go anywhere without taking at least one game) and aesthetically interesting (good for all of us - carabiners, things that go click-click and bright colours!) 


Thursday, April 13, 2023

D&D in the Workplace: Roll with it or a Critical Fail?

Dr. Jesse Olsen - "Why Dungeons and Dragons is Good for the Workplace"

A blue dice tray with various multicoloured dice, a fountain pen, and glasses

Yesterday I came across a short article by Dr. Jesse Olsen - Senior Lecturer in the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne, from 6th April 2023 discussing the merits of roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons in developing life skills such as "perspective-taking, self-awareness, empathy, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving" and how these may be applied to the workplace to alter our perspective of team dynamics and how we deal with work-based challenges.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Review: Sigils in the Dark - A Solo Journalling RPG (From the Archive)

[This piece was originally written for another blog and published on 28th January 2021. Some aspects have been updated from the original, but most remains the same.]


If you're anything like me, you associate with a lot of people who own their own grimoires, spell books, and tomes of the macabre. Or maybe you don't but have always fancied having one mysterious, black book on your shelf to unsettle and intrigue the occasional visitor? In which case, Sigils in the Dark by Kurt Potts may be what helps you achieve your goal.

Review: Lasers & Feelings by John Harper - A Rules Light RPG (From the Archive)

[This piece was originally written for another blog and published on 6th January 2021. Some aspects have been updated from the original, but most remains the same.]


I love table top Role Playing Games. 


This is still a revelation to me as until a couple of years ago I hadn't given them much thought at all (I thank the Oxventurer's Guild for opening my eyes to the fun).

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Table Top and Mental Health (From the Archive)


[This piece was originally written for another blog and published on 13th May 2021. Some aspects have been updated from the original, but most remains the same.]



People who know me only a little recognise that I am programmed to worry. Sadly, I seem to believe that if I'm not worrying about something, I've clearly not hyper-fixated on it enough. As a result, I am always thinking. I don't stop. Sometimes I'm able to momentarily distract myself from this constant stream of anxiety, playbacks, and what-if hypotheticals that form the bulk of my headspace, but I'm rarely fully chilled out.

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