We're Not Wizards - Tabletop Board Game Reviews

  For me, adventure books are something that are part of my gaming deoxyribonucleic acid. Whether it be starting with the Fighting Fantasy range of books and their huge array of page flicking wonders, to chuckling with the off page comedy of the Grail Quest series to the Asterix and Obelix full dice and equipment joyousness. The action of making a choice and flicking to a page was always something that to me was a couple of hours well spent and it took me down the path of where I am today. It turns out for the last forty years, I've always been an adventurer and it's always involved pressed and printed trees of various thickness.  This takes us on to the Lone Wolf series of games by Joe Dever, who for many was standing side by side with Steve Jackson when it came to creating a real a believable world. His passing left behind a body of work with a huge established world. When he passed away from cancer it was his final wish that his series of books be continued by his son Ben an

  Even the most creative of us don't have a continual flood of ideas that we turn off and on like a tap. Occasionally we'll use familiar things that we know will work and while they may eventually push us in the difficult direction of appearing stale, we can run with them as easy as breathing in and out.  How many times does a roleplay start in a tavern? How many time is a tutorial against a couple of angry rats? How often do you enter the quiet castle courtyard where everyone seems to be missing? Surprise twists in stories have become the norm it seems. Its now impossible to kill off a bad guy without them coming back later on  in the game, and it's even more impossible for that person not to be the most loveliest of people who were hiding a dark secret.  For those looking for something different, for those looking to pick up some flint and kindling from a different box, then Loke Battle Mats are literally bringing some new ideas and settings to your table and hopefully gi

There's something rather endearing about allowing someone to put their particular stamp on a board game. In most of the games I've played, players follow a set path, with set rules, and even when it is open to interpretation then there's normally a lack of available individuality. You can put your own little twist on things, but it will always be within the confines of what tools the designers have given you. Then you come to the beauty of the roll and write genre, where the story might end up being the same, but when you look at the interpretations, it can often tell its own little story about the players. In Thunderworks Cartographers by Jordy Adan set in the Roll Player universe, you can just imagine what ends up being scrawled and neatly scribbled on each of the pads.  Overview Cartographers is a Roll and Write game. In this genre of game generally players are all fed the same information and then must decide on their own player sheet how to use that information and add

  Some games are here purely to entertain, where you'll be playing made up characters in made up locations against made up enemies using made up resources to achieve made up win conditions. You'll learn how the game works and what strategies will win the day for you. Other games like Endangered will try to raise awareness of a specific topic and attempt to educate and inform you as you play. Then you have those special historical games that take you on a trip of information and discovery, allowing you to learn about established historical events while at the same time offering you the opportunity to potentially change the outcome of same said events.  In Votes for Women from Fort Circle Games, you take the journey and the battle for the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the various states of America, gathering support and making Women's Suffrage a reality in the face of opposition for maintaining the status quo.  Overview Votes for Women is a card based area control gam

So a Special one, where Sam Turner from the wonderful Staying In Podcast and Sherwin Matthews from Steamforged Games get together to delve a little bit more into Sherwin's history as a designer, where we talk about designing for IPs, painting, cutting the grass, fan boy moments and we quite literally put together a game about running a coffee shop. All while having the best time. Links of Notes. Staying In is a brilliant listen, so please check it out below. https://twitter.com/stayinginpod https://www.instagram.com/stayinginpod https://www.stayinginpodcast.com/ You can keep an eye on Sherwin by going to https://twitter.com/sherwinsagenda https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/104102/sherwin-matthews www.steamforged.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you would like to support us then please visit and interact with the links below. Please give us a rating or review on your podcast catcher of choice. Als