We're Not Wizards - Tabletop Board Game Reviews

 This is a guest post written by Jeff Hurcomb, we were not paid to post this article. The thoughts expressed here do not represent the views of the We're Not Wizards Team.                                              “Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it.” I’m a guy that loves a good quote and it took me a while to pick what quote I thought best summed up this guest post, but this really nails it because I will be discussing a topic I haven’t been able to find posted anywhere else. Getting over your Kickstarter not being funded. Anybody that has ever launched a Kickstarter knows the feeling. That feeling you get as your cursor hovers over the launch button to make your campaign live and give you 30 days to make your dream become a reality. There are already thousands of posts about how to create a successful campaign and hundreds more about how to re-launch your campaign if it doesn’t get backed, but there is nothing regarding getting over the em

This is the pre-production version of Dice Hospital Emergency Roll, so the art, rules and mechanics may be subject to change over the next couple of months. Therefore please treat this as a first thoughts piece, based on version of the game that we were provided with. We have not been paid for the preview. We also do not provide a full play by play explanation of the game, so not all mechanics may be mentioned in the preview. The Roll and Write genre has literally exploded over the last few years, and in particular in the last twelve months as face to face gaming has suffered at the hands of lockdowns and closed venues. Roll and writes are the darlings of twitch streams and zoomfests, where those taking part only need the maximum of a printed gaming grid and pencil, and the willingness to engage in the shenanigans of online chat and fun. I've personally witnessed Roll and Writes at both ends of the mechanical spectrum, from the simplicity of Kingdomino Duel to the mind bending beh

This is the pre-production version of the Swatch, so the art, rules and mechanics may be subject to change over the next couple of months. Therefore please treat this as a first thoughts piece, based on version of the game that we were provided with. We have not been paid for the preview. We also do not provide a full play by play explanation of the game, so not all mechanics may be mentioned in the preview. The competitive nature of a creative design agency, where designers aim to complete their brief while  staring sideways at others in the office. Where resources are sparse and so every time some gets up for coffee, there's a ripple of potential movement across the rest of the team, hoping they are not about to snag that all important last colour in order to create the ultimate colour scheme. Everyone is aware that there are no prizes for second place here, there's no runner up version of the bosses' handshake, there's no mug that says 'I almost made it'. Thi

This is the pre-production version of Legacy, so the art, rules and mechanics may be subject to change over the next couple of months. We were provided one section of the game. Therefore please treat this as a first thoughts piece, based on version of the game that we were provided with. We have not been paid for the preview. We also do not provide a full play by play explanation of the game due to possible spoilers. You could argue that as games get more complicated, or even more involved, and as components multiply, and set ups seem to last almost as long as the games themselves, there is something wonderfully attractive about the Escape Room and Puzzle genre. There is something extremely attractive about opening a box and just starting to 'do', getting stuck in and trying to figure out the first piece of puzzle.  With Legacy from Argyx Games it starts off as a letter from Maitre Santini, the notary for your father's estate for the Hellas section of the Legacy Escape box.

The new Kickstarter Campaign can be found on https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ministryofmeeples/theurgy-the-area-control-game-of-monsters-and-miracles There is always a certain level of nervousness when you first dive into a game, especially one where the words 'Kickstarter Preview Copy' are attached. You are literally hoping that you aren't just a tertiary level of play-testing for the designer, and that you don't end up playing the 'benefit of the doubt' card when things don't quite mesh. You don't often get the same experience in a professionally produced game where entire teams of play testers might be used, and there's not a sparing of feelings when it come to criticism. It's not that I want to be overly critical on a creator for their attempts, but at the same time, if you want to be accepted as a professional, then you have to be pushing yourself to being as close as you can to that level. The Ministry of Meeples want you to take the

I've always fancied myself as a bit of a property magnate. I rented out my house in Burntisland for a bit, but got fleeced by the last tenant I had and he ended up owing me about £2,000 by the time he was turfed out. That's a pittance compared to the eye-watering sums of money I managed to lose playing Magnate: The First City from Naylor Games. The game sees you take on the role of a budding property developer in Humbleburg. A location where the council have seen fit to get rid of zoning laws and open things up for the budding Donald Trump's of the world (not the current version, but the previous version that kept going bankrupt on bum deals). Before I really knew what I was doing, and with little planning (not entirely down to relaxed zoning laws either) I had bought my first retail unit and was feeling good. The land had come up for sale at a good price so I thought "what the hell" and went for it. What's 300k after all. That would be coming

Isn't fun a funny concept? The act of fun and the impact of fun itself, could be said to have at it's base level, very little practical use. It won't keep you warm on a cold winter's night nor put food in your hungry belly. Fun isn't always something that will have a lasting emotional impact, in fact, the crescendo of fun can last seconds as you slide down a snowy hill on a sledge, or witness a punchline of a joke slapping you hard in the face. So while it can make you happy for a while, you could argue that it is something that needs topped up on a regular basis. Fun reminds us that it's okay to stop and allow the ridiculous and entertaining to creep into our lives. Gene Wilder in Charlie and the Chocolate Factor states importantly that "A little nonsense now and then, is treasured by the wisest man." I've often tied in fun and nonsense together, as I've always tied in laughing, grinning and noise with fun. Board games are a dual faced f

I was in the process of checking some emails on my phone, when a plate was gently placed in front of me. I looked at it in a moment of complete shock and surprise as the person serving my food leaned over towards me, and gently lit the small wire poking out the top of the gluten free sandwich. At the same time, they thrust a set of sunglasses onto to my slightly panicked face, they exclaimed that they were 'delighted to present me with the middle meal of my day' and 'hoped it sated my appetite'. I ushered them away angrily before they started to sing their celebration song only because I would join in. I don't need music at 11.47am on a Tuesday morning, unless the car roof is down, and I'm wailing some horrific pop tune from the 90's at the top of my voice. Not even my fellow diners with their cups of earl grey tea, and ten inch high gateaux, deserved such a horrific audio death. I sat in silence and waited for the sandwich to extinguish itself in a tired

The trouble with it getting closer and closer to winter, is that the duvet is like a huge suppressor when it comes to the urge of getting out of bed. It reaches that optimum temperature of toasty warm and that lovely stay asleep smell that is like it's own special conspiracy opiate. It has you fighting against something that makes you think in your head that you really should make that made dash, fling everything off you and make your way to that shower, across the coldest of carpets, through the freezing room, into the bathroom. That awkwardness as you stand in the altogether waiting for the first signs of the warm water cascading through the icy waterfall hitting the shower tray, while you catch a sideways glance at yourself in the mirror, and either suck in the gut and make an effort, or sigh in a resigned nature to what you've become. However, give it ten minutes, and you feel awake and ready to fight the day afresh, resolute and looking forward to seeing what your da

Taking slow methodical steps, taking your time, closing your eyes and breathing in slowly, taking in the smell of nature and the scenery and managing the sensory overload crashing over you with a pine freshness. Do that. Stop and breathe. Take it all in. Be at peace. You might be inclined to use the word 'majesty', and you wouldn't be blamed for feeling a slight sense of being overwhelmed, as once again you're reminded of how stupidly small you are in relation to everything around you. That no amount of preparation would help you if the uncontrolled environment decided to focus it's gaze entirely on you, to put you back in the food chain. You might think to yourself you could survive, but the reality is that you'd die of thirst before you died of boredom, and so we sanitise our touches with the grander examples of nature, by sticking to the path, and coming within touching distance enough to go ooh and ahh, like we are watching fireworks. Always behind a