Hand Limit 2025 Event: Canterbury Pride Board Game Club Update

With only a few days to go, we are all very excited to host our first ever Hand Limit event. Everything now has been pretty much organised and we're confident that it's going to be a fun day for all.  We've had an incredible response to our marketing campaign with many people telling us that they will be along on the day to play some of the games on offer. On the day we will have seating for about 50 people, which we originally thought would be plenty, but considering the feedback we have received we are now looking at options for overflow seating. However the day turns out, what we consider most important is that everyone who comes has a great time.

Attendees are welcome to bring their own games or make use of our library. We are working on compiling the list of games that will be available on the day and so far have reached about 90 options. These range from fun party games, games for children, and more advanced games for adults who are more familiar with gaming as a hobby. Dice & Destiny will also be demoing games on the day if you fancy giving something new a try and would benefit from being lead through the rules. Our volunteers  will also be happy to recommend games and help get you settled.

Canterbury Pride is a great event every year with the whole community getting together to celebrate LGBTQ+ people and support each other. It feels like now more than ever it is important to be able to be proud of who you are and recognise the struggle of LGBTQ+ people all over the world. It is our aim to compliment the main Pride event by offering a calm, welcoming, and relaxing space for people who need a break from the sights and sounds of the day. Board games are an incredibly powerful tool for building and strengthening community bonds, and we hope that everyone who attends will feel the benefit to this and their mental wellbeing.

We've had some terrific contributions to our tombola ranging from tickets to an immersive Grease show in London, a voucher for a tattoo at Drawn and Quartered in Canterbury, vouchers for Inspire Fitness, plus board games and some Warhammer models for the miniatures enthusiasts among us. All money raised from this tombola and from donations throughout the day will go to supporting the BeYou Project, which supports LGBTQ+ youth in the Kent area.

We have also confirmed accessibility arrangements for the venue. There is a fairly steep step up to the coffee shop, which some people may find difficult. If this is the case, our guests are advised to ring the doorbell and a member of staff will come and deploy the access ramp.

If you are unable to make it on the day, but still wish to show your support, our Just Giving page is now live and accepting donations.

We are very excited to see you there on the day but if you have any questions beforehand, please get in touch with us in the comments below or by filling out the Contact Us form on our website.

Gaming the System: Changing the World One Game at a Time

"Playing political board games as if it really mattered" was the promise from Gaming The System's website. It further explained: "Games are not reality but sometimes provide a representation of the forces and power at play in society." 

Gaming the System is a Canterbury-based board gaming group that meets twice a month at The Long Rest gaming cafe and promises the prospect, as stated above, of playing games through a political lens. That is not to say that all the games they play are explicitly political, only they are choosing to look deeper beneath the surface at what lessons the games we play may teach us, from climate change to LGBTQ+ history. 

I was lucky enough to be invited along to their most recent meet up by one of their members, Rea, and the evening did not disappoint. I was introduced to many lovely members and had the opportunity to play Molly House, a game about the secret gay clubs of Victorian London. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed the opportunity to play something that was not only entertaining but provided an insight into the struggles of the LGBTQ+ scene in the 18th century. Conversation was enthusiastic and varying, and without having known each other more than an hour previously, all the players around the table were working together to create joy for the miniature gay community. Albeit we did have a couple of traitors around the table (I admit, I was one of them - I do love chaos). It was a perfect example of how board games give people the space and structure to meet new people and open conversation on larger subjects.

"Just don't ask us to define what we mean by political," said one of their members when asked. They went on to say that games offer the opportunity to build dialogue across political divides and allow for the exchange of ideas in a safe environment and one that encourages empathy.

As a believer that politics is morality in practice, I couldn't agree more that board games have the power to raise political questions, and the playing of games can even be seen as a political act in itself. I have written before about Play as an Act of Rebellion, and I truly believe that everything we do, especially that which affects others around us, can be seen as an act of politics (with a lower-case p).

I think what Gaming the System is doing is fantastic and shows genuine thought and understanding of the table top hobby. Board games are escapism and entertainment, yes, but they can also be a social tool to develop community and promote positive well being. The more groups like this, the stronger the local and global community of gamers will become. Political discourse should be embraced and we should all be encouraged to view all that we do, even our entertainment, in terms of its wider moral and philosophical meaning.

I was completely charmed by the group and will make sure that I attend future gaming events. I also look forward to seeing them at our upcoming Pride Board Game Club, which is raising money for the BeYou project.

Review: Molly House - Party Hard or Hardly Party

I recently had the opportunity to play Molly House by Jo Kelly, Cole Wehrle, and Ricky Royal and had a thoroughly brilliant time.

"It's 1723. You walk through the streets of London, hiding your inner-most desires from the Society of the Reformation of Manners as you head to Mother Clap's. This may look like a coffee shoppe but inside are back rooms where loud festivities, intimate gatherings, and a thriving queer community is growing."

Over the course of 5 weeks, which act as rounds, players take the roles of gender-defying mollies and work together to grow the joy of the community, whilst also competing to be the most joyous individual. There is a risk-reward aspect to this, however, as while throwing excellent parties helps move counters along the joy track, they also have the potential to increase the gossip spreading about each of the four Molly Houses on the game board. Too much gossip will bring evidence against the Houses which can result in them being closed down. Even worse, players with too much reputation at these Houses risk getting indictments, the punishments for which can either be a reduction in joy or death by hanging. In classic Wehrle style, more mechanics is better, and there is also a system by which you can choose to betray your own community for your own selfish gains.

A key part of the game is the throwing of parties, which involve players taking it in turns to play cards in an attempt to create a poker-like communal hand that dictates how successful the party is. These range from dances, to christenings (in the historical Molly House sense), and if the communal hand played is a complete dud, a "quiet gathering". These quiet gatherings are likely to lose you reputation but can also be handy ways of throwing the Society of the Reformation of Manners off the scent.

I am fairly new to Cole Wehrle games, having only played Root once before and relatively recently, but the game definitely had his signature mark of very in-depth rules and numerous different play styles available. However, I have been informed that the real brains behind the game was Jo Kelly, an LGBTQ+ board game designer from Bristol. 

The art style is very satisfying and each of the cards that players use to build hands, which can be played at parties or to increase their reputation at the different Molly Houses, contain lovely imagery and quotes from actual historical indictments of the individuals mentioned in the game. Everything about the experience shows that the core theme was a true passion project and it has been handled with great care. It was a great experience to play a historical-political game that doesn't revolve around global conflict and instead provided an insight into a key moment in LGBTQ+ history.

While I am a fan of a good crunchy experience, I did find that the multitude of different mechanics in Molly House was slightly overwhelming at the beginning of the game, and by the time the game ended (which admittedly was early because we accidentally got one of the Molly Houses raided twice - a game ending condition) I still only had the barest of grasps on how the game worked, let alone be able to properly strategise. In comparison with Root, which also has a steep learning curve, I would say it comes off slightly more complex and probably requires a couple of games before you can understand it well enough to truly play the game as intended.

Overall, it was a very fun experience and there was a lot of laughter and joy around the table as we played in the most chaotic way possible. I would love the opportunity to play this game again with a better understanding of how it all works.

Review: Wandering Towers - Dude, Where's My Wizard?

We first played Wandering Towers, from Capstone Games, in December 2024 at our local tabletop convention, and I instantly fell in love with it. It perfectly balances strategy and luck, while being quick to learn and relatively quick to play to offer a very smooth and well designed experience for 1 to 6 players.

The board itself is unique in that it comprises a circular ring that the players will move their wizards and towers around. The towers are lovely, 3D folded card models that look intriguing and are great fun to play with.

The central premise of Wandering Towers is that players are attempting to get all of their wizards into a tower named Ravenskeep and fill all of their potion bottles while doing so. As soon as one player satisfies both of these win conditions the game comes to an end. The way in which players move their wizards around the board is by playing action cards that either move their wizard meeples, or the towers they stand upon. When towers land on the same space they stack on top of each other in a very satisfying way. This stacking of towers not only allows players to steal mana from wizards and therefore fill potion bottles, but it also provides an additional difficulty and is becomes increasingly difficult to keep track of where all of your wizards are, in the classic "ball under a cup" style. Whenever a wizard finds their way to Ravenskeep, it moves around the board, creating an almost constantly moving target. This element of chaos keeps all players on their toes and never lets anyone get too comfortable with their strategy.

The gameplay is smooth with very little downtime. Each turn, players will play two action cards, or discard their entire hand and move a tower of their choice, clockwise around the board. As they begin to fill their potion bottles there is a risk-reward mechanic where these can be spent to cast spells that unlock further opportunities to move wizards and towers clockwise or anti-clockwise around the board. These spells are chosen at random at the start of the game from those available in the box, and the instructions indicate that the more spells you make available, the more strategic the game becomes. However, I would suggest that rather than strategy, these spells inject a satisfying amount of chaos as it becomes harder to predict what each player is able to do on their turn.

While the theme of the game is charming, the core mechanic and purpose is abstract enough that the theme never gets in the way if magic and wizards are not your thing. You could easily strip the wizarding theme from the game entirely and it wouldn't lose anything from the enjoyment. That being said, the artwork is charming and definitely draws the eye.

Since first playing it at the tabletop convention, I have since picked up a copy of the game and it has made it to the table a number of times and never fails to entertain. Designers Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer have delivered to us a real tabletop staple that deserves as much space as other modern classics.

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.

Mental Health Awareness Week

Since 2001, the Mental Health Awareness Foundation has been leading Mental Health Awareness Week with the aim to bring people together to raise awareness of mental health. This year Mental Health Awareness Week took place from 12th to 18th May and the theme was "community".

As the Mental Health Awareness Foundation puts it:

"Being part of a safe, positive community is vital for our mental health and wellbeing.  We thrive when we have strong connections with other people and supportive communities that remind us, we are not alone. Communities can provide a sense of belonging, safety, support in hard times, and give us a sense of purpose."

Here at Hand Limit we believe in the positive effects that board games have on mental health and combating social isolation, and this is largely thanks to the sense of community that they promote.

Writing for The Center for Mindfulness & CBT, Tyler Witzig helpfully outlines the ways in which board games can help improve our connection to others. Witzig states that board games provide us with shared experience that allows people to bond over a common interest. This creates a sense of community and belonging. 

"The excitement of the game and the thrill of victory or defeat can help people form deep and lasting connections."

Furthermore, board games improve communication and collaboration with others. Through engaging with the game, particularly cooperative games, players are put in a position where communication is essential. This type of communication, structured around a game, can help break down barriers and create a safe space for players to express themselves. Playing games with others also help foster feelings of trust and empathy, which helps players develop more meaningful connections with each other. Through play, we get to know people in ways that go beyond surface level interaction. It is rare on first meeting someone that you get to witness their inner morality at work. How do they behave towards others when winning or losing? How do they support new players? Do they compete in good faith? These questions can all be answered when playing a game with someone whereas usual initial social interaction barely begins to scratch the surface. As a result it is easier to get to know people, and to get to know people who you might not usually have had the same level of interaction with, while playing games.

"Board games are an inclusive activity," Witzig writes. "This inclusivity allows people to connect with others they might not otherwise have the opportunity to meet." Playing games, either competitively or cooperatively, provides the perfect backdrop to get to know new people. This inclusivity is highlighted by Sam Allen, writing for the Mental Health Awareness Foundation, as a key component of fostering positive community. This inclusivity of the table top hobby ensures that everyone around a table feels included in the group. Each player gets their own turn to make their own choices that have an overall impact on the game and the experience of others. This engagement with the group as a whole produces the feeling of a shared space and community. Without inclusivity it is impossible to create a sense of community in diverse groups.

Allen goes on to say that another corner stone of community building is friendship and fun. It is important that group members look forward to seeing and spending time with each other, which encourages continued attendance. Through this individuals can grow stronger bonds and trust with other group members. Unless we hadn't made it completely clear, we think that table top games are incredibly fun and definitely keep members of our collective coming back for more. 

As community was the focus of this year's Mental Health Awareness Week, we ought to give our attention to the role of table top gaming to aid this vital aspect of mental health. If you are looking for a community, or perhaps want to create stronger bonds within a group you are already a part of, board games are a great place to start.

Hand Limit 2025 Event: Canterbury Pride Board Game Club Update

With less than a month to go preparations are well under way for the first ever Hand Limit event and it's exciting to see everything coming together. We've got our board game library prepped, our sponsors helping with promotion (Thanks for Kitch Flamingo, Fruitworks Co-Working and Coffee Shop, Drawn & Quartered, and Dice & Destiny), and decorations being planned (it'll probably be rainbows).

We are hoping to use this event to also gather some feedback and data on whether future events would be well received, people's relationship with games, and how they feel playing impacts their mental health. It is through important data such as this that we can plan ahead and provide the best service for our community and act in a way that will benefit the most people.

We've already had some wonderful feedback from the BeYou project, who we will be raising money for on the day through donations and a charity tombola, with some amazing prizes to be won. It is so uplifting to hear that people are excited about an event like this, which came about because we felt there was need for a more relaxed option to celebrate Pride in our city. As a heavily Queer collective, it is only right that Hand Limit should make its first steps into the physical world during our local Pride.

In case you missed it, there is a Facebook event here, where we will be posting further details about what you can expect at the event in the coming weeks.

This is truly an exciting time for us at Hand Limit. We are built on the understanding that table top gaming is an inclusive activity that benefits individual's mental well being and helps promote community. Gaming is for everyone, and it is through events like this that we intend to launch Hand Limit as more than just a blog.