5 Games That Take Up A Surprising Amount of Table Space

I know you can never judge a game by its box, but usually you can judge the scale of the game from the size of the box. Place a hefty Twilight Imperium or Gloomhaven down on a table and players will instantly brace themselves for a meaty game with lots of pieces, boards, tables, and figures. However, today we're looking at 5 games that come in deceptively small boxes but take up as much space on the table as a big box game.

Tiny Epic Dungeons - Gamelyn Games

We seem to always end up writing about the Tiny Epic series, but that's just because of how many boxes they seem to tick. In this case, Tiny Epic Dungeons ticks the box of being a table-filler. Arriving in a deceptively small box, you would be wise not to underestimate quite how much space this randomly generated dungeon crawl is.

In TE Dungeons, players race to find and battle a number of evil minions in the form of minotaurs, ogres, giant spiders, and more, to unlock the door to the boss' lair before their torchlight runs out and they are plunged into darkness. As Dungeon Crawls go the game is a perfect example of how the genre can be streamlined to just the basics and remain an engaging experience. The combat is satisfying, the loot rewarding, and the enemies deadly. The base game comes with a large number of different enemies to face and characters to play as, each with their own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. We've had a copy for a few years now and it is one of the more regularly played titles, but no two games have ever felt alike.

This is a table filler of a game, and as the dungeon expands it's likely you'll wish you sat at a bigger table.

Tranquility - James Emmerson

Tranquility by James Emmerson comes in a delightfully small box, with some truly gorgeous artwork, but, you guessed it, takes up a surprising amount of table space. The cards, each sharing a similar footprint to the box, are arranged into a 6x6 grid pattern over the course of the game. This space is marked out at the start with a border of artwork cards, essentially extending the table space required to 7x7 of the box size, which I think beats Gloomhaven, or any of the 'havens, in box-to-table ratio (no I haven't measured this exactly).

Tranquility deserves this level of table space, however, as it is a beautiful and mindful experience. Albiet a very tricky one to get right. Players take turns laying cards down to fill the aforementioned grid with island pictures as you guide a sailor peacefully back home. The catch is that all cards must be placed in ascending order, providing a bit of intuition and guess work to keep things interesting. The game guide also recommends playing the game in silence, or next to silence, to enhance the peaceful tones of the game.

Bandido

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Bandido is another tile placement game and it really feels like the theme for games that take up an unexpected amount of space require some form of tile placement. In this game, players cooperate to thwart the escape attempts of the titular Bandido as he tunnels his way out of prison. Players will place cards in turn, with limited communication, to guide the tunnels to dead ends, eventually closing off all open ends.

Because the tunnels are randomly generated, there is absolutely no way of knowing at the start of the game which direction it's likely to sprawl off in. Meaning that no matter where you place the starting tile, by about halfway through you'll be desperately trying to reconfigure the table to accommodate the chaotic tunnels.

The pocket-sized nature of this game could easily lull you into the false idea that it would be perfect for a quick game in a cafe. And while that is certainly possible, be prepared to panic when the drinks arrive and they have to be strategically placed around the table!

Lord of the Rings: Duel For Middle Earth

While the other games so far on this list have almost pocket-sized boxes, LOTR Duel is a little bigger from the start. However, we still feel like this game is surprising in the amount of space it takes up, and with good reason.

In LOTR Duel, 2 players take on the roles of the forces of Mordor and the free peoples of Middle Earth in a race for supremacy. Much like its older cousin 7 Wonders Duel, there are multiple ways to win this race. You can focus on uniting the various races, progressing the quest of the ring (or the Ring Wraiths if you are Mordor), or simple military might. It is a terrific game that has done amazingly in condensing the 3 different win conditions into a single game, where each one could have existed in its own right. 

The board itself is only about as large as the game box but the real table hog comes from the card drafting. Cards are laid out in each of the 3 chapters of the game in a configuration that restricts what cards can be drafted at any one time. In a layout that resembles a tarot reading, cards are laid over each other to form shapes that slowly diminish as cards are revealed and drafted.

LOTR Duel is a brilliant game that had us hooked from the beginning, but you'll definitely need more space than the box suggests.

Any TTRPG

Not all Table Top Role Playing Games are created equal. Some are like Lasers & Feelings, requiring little more than a notebook, a pen, some dice, snacks, drinks, fidget toys for those that need them, GM notes, maybe a GM screen. Others, like Dungeons & Dragons, require all that plus the many source books required for playing each scenario, battle maps, miniatures, etc.

Our years playing TTRPGs have taught us one thing, there is never quite enough room for everything that's needed. Players and their bits and bobs, like water, always seem to expand to fill the space they have. Why do you think character sheets always get stuff spilled on them?

Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons - Horror is in the eye of the Beholder!

Horrified, the Ravensburger classic that has seen players take on monsters from Universal fame, North American cryptids, Greek monsters of legend, and even our lord and saviour Cthulhu himself, is set for a new outing. This time teaming up with Wizards of the Coast, Ravensburger will bring us a dungeon-themed adventure in the form of Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons, which is set to release in the UK in October 2025.

Initial previews suggest the new edition will bring with it four of the classic TTRPG's most fearsome enemies, and will include new game play mechanics inspired by D&D such as the use of a D20. Current box-art circulating online suggests that the foes will be a Beholder, a Displacer Beast, a Mimic, and as the name promises, a Dragon. Though this may change between now and the final release.

Horrified first graced our table tops in 2019 with the release of its Universal Monsters edition and quickly became a fan favourite. Its pick-up and deliver mechanics, coupled with unique puzzle solving for the different enemies, offered a streamlined experience that was quick to learn and satisfying to play. The quality of the assets and the artwork made this a pleasing addition to the Hand Limit library and it became a favourite recommendation to those who wanted an entry-way into the hobby.

The latest addition to the series, Horrified: World of Monsters, failed to hit the same level of excitement as the other editions, which was largely due to the confusing theme that blended real-world creatures of myth with a peculiar steam-punk aesthetic. Although still an enjoyable game that offered a lot of replayability, the rare-misstep on theme definitely damped our reception. So it is of great interest to us that the next edition will be using a proven and solid theme in Dungeons & Dragons. There can be little chance of the same mixed-message concept with something so universally recognisable.

While we wouldn't go so far as to say that the series was at risk of losing its shine, an injection of D&D could well be precisely what it needs to keep things interesting. The promise of new mechanics, in particular, will help things from feeling like a simple reskin, which series such as this are often at risk of doing.

Needless to say, we have already pre-ordered our copy so will wait in eager anticipation of its arrival, and will no doubt have more to say on the game when we can get it to the table.

What classic D&D monsters would you want to see in the Horrified format? Leave your answers below in the comments.

World's Most Divorced Man Wants to Ruin More Things

You may have heard on the wind recently that the World's Most Divorced Man, Elon Musk, has expressed an interest in purchasing Hasbro as a way of gaining access to the Dungeons & Dragons IP. This follows Musk's public distaste at Wizards of the Coast's (WotC) work to make D&D a more inclusive space and their wishes to distance themselves from the more problematic elements of the game, created by E Gary Gygax.

Musk and his persistent trait of confusing bigotry with freedom of speech took exception to this and suggested WotC "burn in hell" for their perceived trashing of Gygax. After feeling like his criticisms of WotC weren't being taken seriously, Musk took to Twitter to publicly ask "How much is Hasbro?". According to Forbes, shares in Hasbro are currently worth $63.89.

Although it isn't clear whether Musk was serious, or if he was just having one of his trademark tantrums, this would also give him access to toy properties such as Star Wars, Ghostbusters, My Little Pony, Peppa Pig, and Pokemon, among others. Musk purchasing Hasbro just so he can wrestle D&D back into the dark ages might seem ridiculous, but he has already shown the world how petty he can be with his disastrous take over of Twitter.

There has understandably been an outcry from fans expressing dismay at the prospect of Musk getting his grubby little incel hands on D&D, not only because his track record for tanking Twitter as soon as he bought it could spell doom for the hobby, but also because the purchase would likely herald the game becoming a hostile place for minority groups.

While it is easy to jest at the bizarre and manic actions of one of the world's richest men, it must not be taken lightly. D&D has become more inclusive over the years and while WotC still occasionally slip up, there can be no doubt that there has been a generally progressive trend. This would undoubtedly come to an end if Musk successfully purchased the property. One only needs to attempt to write the word "cisgender" into Twitter, to come face to face with Musk's personal brand of free (read: hate) speech.

We are all hoping his tantrum was short lived and will not lead onto anything else, but this story is one worth keeping a close eye on.

An Alternative (but no less troublesome) Perspective

Another take on this is that Musk does not really care about D&D, nor the memory of Gygax, it is just a front that suits the current political narrative for him and his allies. This is just another company that he can strip for assets and profit from the demise.

The exact model is known as the Bust Out playbook and has received notoriety through Bain Capital. The exact plan can be summarised using the seven points below:

1. Identify a target (The Leader).
2. Install or axquire an insider on the board of the company, maybe the CEO/CFO.
3. Spread rumours about the target through the media (The Liars).
4. Create a class action lawsuit against the company.
5. Fire up the printers and flood the market with fake shares of the company, driving share prices through the floor (The Dealer).
6. The company either declares bankruptcy or is delisted from exchange.
7. Perform a leveraged buyout of the company, busts it out, acquires other competition to capture and kill, then when the company is so saddled with debt it can no longer stand, kill the company and let the wolves feed off the carcass (The Butcher).

This is perhaps a grim prediction of what Musk might have planned and very much depends on whether Musk is as intelligent as he wants everyone to think he is, but one that offers even less hope for the future of Dungeons & Dragons.

Personally, I think Musk is not smart, just rich, so I feel it is more likely that if he does get his hands on Hasbro it will be it's ruin through stupidity and political pandering, rather than a grander scheme of venture capitalism.

Play as an Act of Rebellion

The Culture of Defiance

Regicide - Abrahams et al.

Skye Jones and Lex Lancaster, University of South Carolina Upstate, wrote that Kawaii culture in Japan was an act of rebellion by young girls against the oppressive culture of "conformity and gendered expectations". Kawaii's emphasis on the hyper-feminine and "cute", which it is a direct translation to, promoted an attitude of vulnerability and childishness that directly contrasted against the societal expectations of responsibility and uniformity in post-war Japan, rising to its peak in the 1970s. In particular the prevailing narrative in Kawaii media is the "magical girl", which is/was distinct from typical Japanese media of the time due to the depiction of everyday girls as "interesting and important people". In this respect Kawaii acted as a strike back at the social narrative that women in positions of prominence are separated from their peers, and are only permitted to have nuance and power if they actively distance themselves from "girlhood" and childish things. 

"Kawaii... is most associated with a complete rejection of refinement and beauty, focussing on a childlike attitude of vulnerability, overindulgence, and fantasy." - Jones & Lancaster

At the same time that Kawaii was growing into the powerful youth and feminist movement that it is, in the UK a similar rejection of authority and oppression was kicking its way into the public consciousness; Punk. Much like it's cute sibling on the other side of the world, the youth in the UK embraced Punk and its intentionally unpleasant and viscous aesthetic. 

Matthew Worley, writing for the Museum of Youth Culture, concisely summarised Punk as "a negation of pretty much everything: a line drawn in the cultural sand to reboot and rejuvenate youth culture as a site of provocative fun, protest, and imagination". The way in which Kawaii kicked back at oppressive social norms through the hyper-cute, Punk used its vibrant aesthetics and attitudes to take a swing at the muted compliance expected of the British public at the time. Hand in hand, Kawaii and Punk, rejected the status quo and acted in an exaggerated, non-conforming way to undermine the systems of oppression.

I'm not going to fall into the trap that so many columnists have fallen into, and state that something (let's face it, usually right-wing) is the new punk (I'd argue that punk is still the new punk). But I am going to state that in the modern, western world, playing is an act of rebellion.

Can't Spell Punk-tuality Without Punk

(See me about this heading - ed.)

A punk in the wild

Never has it been more obvious that when Millennials entered the workforce, that western, capitalist society has been constructed on the premise that childish interests should be abandoned or repressed on becoming an adult. Play for adults traditionally falls into the realms of socially acceptable sports and gambling. There seems very little room for playing video games or those that involve the imagination or little plastic figurines (let's face it, they're toys). I am sure that many readers here will have experiences of telling members of the older generation, or perhaps some more socially acceptable peers, that they spent their weekend pretending to be a wizard fighting a floating one-eyed monster that can shoot laser beams. There is little that can fill that peculiar silence that follows...

However, many millenials entered the workforce still very much attached to their childhoods, which seemed only to be exacerbated by the harsh economic realities of the times. This yearning for the simpler times before gas bills, shopping lists, and mortgages (for those lucky enough to own a house), created almost an entire generation with a meager expendable income keen to channel it into playful pastimes and hobbies. Of course, these traits aren't only held by millenials, but it cannot be ignored that the vast growth in the video games industry in the decade leading up to 2020 and beyond.

Dave Neale, an Affliate of the Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) at the University of Cambridge and designer of many board games, writing for the British Psychological Society, noted that there has also been a rise in other "play experiences" for adults as well.

"This is striking because it is at odds with the dominant view in Western culture... that play is largely confined to childhood." - Neale

Neal makes the case that play and playfulness are more central to adult humans than commonly believed. In most other cases animals leave behind playfulness following adolescence. However, humans experience a "persistence of our child-like qualities". The reason for this is posited as an evolutionary benefit. The retention of child-like characteristics like curiosity and "behavioral plasticity... drove our success as a species". 

Furthermore, Neal cites Whitebread et al., 2017, in offering an explanation for the retention of playfulness as the psychological benefits similar to those proposed for childhood play. There is a growing body of research exploring the benefits of play in adults and various aspects of adult life. It is becoming more obvious that play is healthy for adults and society as a whole will reap the benefits of a mentally healthy and socially satisfied work-force.

Is It All Just a Worker-Placement Game?

Stardew Valley - 

Despite this, it is still clear that society is built to ensure constant growth and productivity. The core requirements of late-stage capitalism are fundamentally at odds with the concept of providing adults with play. Although time spent playing is constructive in terms of mental well being, which in turn could produce positive benefits in the work place, it still feels that it is under-valued at best and actively discouraged at worst.

I suspect that the reason for this is that it benefits the worker primarily and the capitalist secondarily. Whereas typically benefits to the worker are largely only encouraged where the business owner is the primary target of the benefit.

Neal does dip his toes into territory that I would consider troubling. In his article for the British Psychological Society, he cites companies such as Google that provide employees with "play areas" to make play a part of working life. The following passage shows how Neal suggests incorporating play into the workplace:

"... Introducing play into the workplace needs to be done with care to be effective. For example, games need to be designed to engage and motivate players, and to accurately reflect workplace objectives. Otherwise, it is possible for employees to use games as escapism, or for games to lead to learning outcomes that are not work-relevant, or even detrimental to work. Play can easily become a distraction, or trivialise serious issues, if it is not introduced in the right way (which may be the thinking behind the traditional play-work dichotomy)."

While I agree with the management of play to reduce the risk of it trivialising serious issues, I find the concept of play only tolerated where it can benefit the employer concering. This feels sinister and potentially weaponises play against the worker to ensure continued compliance. I am particularly curious as to what Neal thinks constitutes learning outcomes that are "detrimental to work". Benefits for workers? Unionisation? Seizing the means of production? And gods forbid workers should use any activity as a form of escapism! It might give them ideas of freedom.

This recommendation of the use of play to ensure productivity, for me, removes the player as the core beneficiary of the activity and further creates a system where play is only tolerated in adults if a tangible productive outcome can be measured and exploited.

Stick It to the Man Meeple

Final Girl: Terror from Above - Porfirio et al.

So what do I really mean when I say that play is act of rebellion?

Well, firstly I believe that any activity which puts the benefits of the worker above that of the ruler is a good thing. If playing provides a stronger sense of connection, education, and well being to the players and cannot be exploited to feed into the Constant Growth Machine, it is undeniable an active stand against oppression.

Secondly, as seen in the Kawaii and Punk movements, there is nothing an oppressive society is more intolerant of that the demonised happily adopting the branding put on them. If cute and childlike traits are branded as undesirable, Kawaii took that ore and turned it into iron (pink, sparkly iron with big round eyes). If being loud and unfeminine are traits branded as undesirable, Punk put a safety pin through them and wore them like armour against oppression. So if spending time on playing games is seen as undesirable and unproductive in adults, then playing games in-spite of that becomes rebellious. 

Finally, and bringing this firmly back into the realms of table top gaming, if playing is seen as an act of rebellion against a society bent towards endless productivity, then in an increasingly digital world, a world in which large tech companies can stake claim to every aspect of our presence online, playing table top games, away from the digital realm, is the purest form of rebellion.

(I would like to caveat this all with the understanding that many will claim that without capitalism and the digital world, I would not be able to write a post like this online about games produced by the likes of Hasbro. To those people I would like to point them in the direction of the politics and ethics section of their local library where they can read up a bit better on the concepts of socialism).

This is an opinion piece, of course, so I would like to hear what people think about the statement "Play is and Act of Rebellion".

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

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

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.