Gametek Book Review
Gametek is a book on tabletop gaming by author Georffrey Engelstein. It covers a wide variety of topics including the math and history underscoring games and game design.
Gametek is a book on tabletop gaming by author Georffrey Engelstein. It covers a wide variety of topics including the math and history underscoring games and game design.
The Optics – and Actuality – of Depth and Replayability in Games By MARK WILSON All else being equal, it’s good if a game has
Eggs of Ostrich Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2012 Players: 3 Playing Time: 10 Minutes Eggs eggs eggs, lovely eggs. Broken eggs.
The Novelty Trap in Tabletop Game Critique By MARK WILSON In the often-forgettable general forums for Board Game Geek, I found a lovely thread on
Cosmic Frog Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2020 Players: 2-6 Playing Time: 45-90 Minutes This one hurts. Cosmic Frog was my most
Challengers! Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2022 Players: 1-8 (I don’t know why you’d play solo) Playing Time: 45 Minutes Lemme check
Framing in Game Critique By MARK WILSON What’s the difference between these phrases? The game’s ending was boring, merely counting up points to see who
Cat in the Box Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2020/2022 Players: 2-5 Playing Time: 20-40 Minutes “If it’s not a horrible game
First Bias and Reducing Influence of Bias By MARK WILSON When you go to the grocery store, at least here in the US, often the
Useless Gaming Terms, and What the True Problem Is By MARK WILSON Frequent any forum on gaming long enough and you’ll start to see threads
Marracash Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 1996 Players: 3-4 Playing Time: 60 Minutes The austerity in Marracash is stunning. It makes me
Connecting Gameplay to Theme in Tabletop Games By MARK WILSON I saw a depressing discussion thread recently online. I suppose that’s my fault for reading
Camel Up Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2014 (2nd edition 2018) Players: 2-8 Playing Time: 30-45 Minutes Probably the best compliment I
Sidereal Confluence Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2017 Players: 4-9 Playing Time: 120-180 Minutes Some reviewers will frame games as mere playthings.
Amerigo Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2013 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 90 Minutes I’m not a big fan of designer Stefan Feld’s
Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2002/2005 Players: 2 Playing Time: 30 Minutes Reiner Knizia, almost inarguably
Kemps Card Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: N/A Players: 4-8 Playing Time: 30 Minutes I did not know this game was a real
The Problem With Social Deduction Board Games By MARK WILSON I’m a social gamer. If I am indifferent toward a game, or even if I
Intrigue Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 1994 Players: 3-5 Playing Time: 45-60 Minutes Do you need new friends? Are your old ones
High Society Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 1995 Players: 3-5 Playing Time: 15-30 Minutes I didn’t think I needed another auction game.
Theme, Setting and Mechanics in Games By MARK WILSON There’s a problem in how hobby gamers talk about tabletop games (board games + RPGs). Many
War of the Ring, Second Edition Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2011 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 150-180 Minutes Approaches to Theme –
The King is Dead, Second Edition Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2020 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 30-45 Minutes In The King is
Euchre Card Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 1848 Players: 4 Playing Time: 45 Minutes Euchre is not a great card game. But it’s
Riding Chaos in Tabletop Games By MARK WILSON A particularly chaotic session of Inis I like chaos in games. But I also like strategy and
Eat Poop You Cat: Telephone, Telestrations and the Art of Drawing Stuff Badly Also Somehow a Sociological Manifesto By MARK WILSON Year Published: ?? Players:
Provisional Game Reviews By MARK WILSON When we write a review, we like to think it’s definitive. “Here,” we seem to say, “this is what
Bring Your Own Book, Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2015 Players: 3-8 Playing Time: 20+ Minutes Books. Reading. Literature. A separate hobby
Trick of the Rails Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2011 Players: 3-5 Playing Time: 20 Minutes An economic train game merged with
Bohnanza Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 1997 Players: 2-7 Playing Time: 45 Minutes I have a game group that meets on occasion
Railways of the World Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2005 Players: 2-6 Playing Time: 120 Minutes Railways of the World is a
Holding the Lead: King of the Hill in Combative Board Games By MARK WILSON One of the more controversial elements of some of my favorite
Pictomania Board Game Review By MARK WILSON There are a lot of “draw things in a hurry and guess at what it is” party games.
Board Game Reviewers are Too Nice, But It’s Not Their Fault By MARK WILSON Reviewers have a tough job. What they do is largely thankless,
Mouse Guard: Swords & Strongholds Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2015 Players: 2 Playing Time: 15-30 Minutes What do we need out
Open Information and Game Flow: How Game Design Incentivizes Analysis Paralysis By MARK WILSON Chess is a perfect information game. While it’s become popular to
Asynchronous Board Games and RPGs: Pros and Cons By MARK WILSON COVID changed the world’s landscape. I’m not smart enough to encapsulate even a fraction
Thematic Games and Role Differentiation By MARK WILSON I don’t think it’s terribly controversial to say that so-called “thematic” board games – as loosely defined
Kemet: Blood & Sand Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2021 (original in 2012) Players: 2-5 Playing Time: 90-120 Minutes REVIEWER’S NOTE: This
Tammany Hall Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2007 Players: 3-5 Playing Time: 90 Minutes Welcome to Tammany Hall, an historical game about
Paris Connection Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2010 Players: 3-6 Playing Time: 30 Minutes Paris Connection sits in the “cube rails” genre
Mottainai Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2015 Players: 2-5 Playing Time: 15-30 Minutes Carl Chudyk has a reputation as a designer. It’s
The Table is Lava Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2018 Players: 2-4 (2-5 w/expansion) Playing Time: 20 Minutes Once in a generation,
Medina Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2001 / 2014 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 60 Minutes Medina is a lightly-themed abstract strategy game
Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2021 Players: 1-6 Playing Time: 45-150 Minutes Hoo boy. I almost
Pax Porfiriana Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2012 Players: 1-6 Playing Time: 120 Minutes Let’s play a game. No, not Pax Porfiriana.
Letters From Whitechapel Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2011 Players: 2-6 Playing Time: 90 Minutes Letters from Whitechapel (LFW) exists within a
It’s a Great Game…I Don’t Like It By MARK WILSON “Oh, Jimmy would love this game.” “You know, I think I should mention this to
Letter Jam Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2019 Players: 2-6 Playing Time: 45 Minutes I saw noted designer Eric Lang mention that
Kingdom Builder Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2011 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 45 Minutes Restriction breeds creativity. You’ve probably heard variations on
Hardback Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2018 Players: 1-5 Playing Time: 45-90 Minutes Word games. Inherently problematic. Not in the sense that
In Defense of Subjectivity in Game Critique By MARK WILSON On a basic level, we all understand (or I hope we do) that gaming preferences
Hundreds of Horses Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2015 Players: 3-4 Playing Time: 20-30 Minutes It’s like a less-complicated Dixit. And all
Finding Your Sweet Spot in Tabletop Gaming By MARK WILSON I’m increasingly convinced that much of our gaming preferences are just people finding and defending
Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2020 Players: 2-6 Playing Time: 60-200 Minutes It would be clickbait
Twilight Imperium: 4th Edition Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2017 Players: 3-6 (8 with expansions) Playing Time: 240-480 Minutes Well, this is
Fury of Dracula (3rd/4th edition) Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2015 Players: 2-5 Playing Time: 120-180 Minutes Fury of Dracula exists on
Dominant Species Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2010 Players: 2-6 Playing Time: 120-240 Minutes Every bad thing you’ll read about Dominant Species
Diamonds (2nd edition) Card Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2014 Players: 2-6 Playing Time: 20-30 Minutes I have a mostly amiable relationship with
Gardens of Babylon Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2019 Players: 1-4 Playing Time: 60 Minutes Everyone has a weakness. In fact, most
There Are No Gamers Anymore, Only Game Critics By MARK WILSON Art can be sectioned off into all sorts of sub-categories, but for our purposes
Decrypto Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2018 Players: 3-8 Playing Time: 15-45 Minutes A Divergence on Storytelling I talk about narrative arcs
Concept Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2027 Players: 4-12 Playing Time: 40 Minutes Concept feels like a victim of circumstance to me.
Chess in the Modern Digital Era By MARK WILSON Can one really review Chess? Not in the traditional sense, I suspect. I won’t be attempting
Castles of Tuscany Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2020 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 45-60 Minutes Castles of Tuscany is a problematic game.
Balance in Board Games: A Cosmic Encounter Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 1977/2008 Players: 3-5 Playing Time: 60-120 Minutes What can I say about
Commands & Colors: Ancients Campaign Report By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2006 Players: 2 Playing Time: 60 Minutes BGG Link: Commands & Colors: Ancients My C&C:A
Systems, Simulation, and Stampedes: Commands & Colors: Ancients Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2006 Players: 2 Playing Time: 60 Minutes Commands & Colors: Ancients
Dragon Castle Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2017 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 30-45 Minutes I play a lot of games once or twice. My
Babylonia Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2019 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 60 Minutes I discovered Babylonia in a somewhat odd manner: a
Celestia Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2015 Players: 2-6 Playing Time: 30 Minutes I’m often wary of games that seem to bolt
Incan Gold/Diamant Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2005 Players: 3-8 Playing Time: 30 Minutes Let’s pull the band-aid off early: Incan Gold/Diamant is my
Five Tribes Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2014 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 60-80 Minutes The Premise In a very colorful “Arabian Nights” environment, players
Tournament at Avalon Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2020 Players: 3-6 Playing Time: 45 Minutes Trick-taking feels like it belongs in a
Can’t Stop Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 1980 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 30 Minutes If you like press your luck games, Can’t Stop will
Love Letter Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2012 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 20 Minutes Love Letter – The Premise In Love Letter, you have
Lost Cities Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 1999 Players: 2 Playing Time: 30 Minutes Lost Cities – The Premise OH HOLY HECK it’s Lost
Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2012 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 90 Minutes This review assumes basic knowledge of the game’s
Lords of Waterdeep Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2012 Players: 2-5 (2-6 w/expansion) Playing Time: 60-120 Minutes The PremiseLords of Waterdeep is a worker
Get Out of the Way, Game! Trying to navigate the murky waters of genre to define my tastes By MARK WILSON I’ve got a problem,
Problematic Games And how to have better conversations about them By MARK WILSON We’re going to discuss problematic games today. That is, games with morally
Treasure Island Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2018 Players: 2-5 Playing Time: 45 Minutes In Treasure Island, you will either play as
The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2019 Players: 2-5 Playing Time: 20 Minutes I recently reviewed The Mind,
The Mind Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2018 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 15 Minutes I scoffed at The Mind. Raised my eyebrow
Abomination: Heir of Frankenstein Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2019 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 90-180 Minutes You know how board games sometimes inspire phrases
Multiplayer Solitaire vs. Bash the Leader By MARK WILSON I dislike tribal mentality leaking into my hobbies. Hopefully it’s clear what I mean by that,
Survive: Escape From Atlantis Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 1982 Players: 2-4 (2-6 w/expansion) Playing Time: 45-60 Minutes Thousands of titles have been buried
The Emotional Spectrum in Gaming By MARK WILSON A Comparison Between Gaming and Pizza I occasionally get annoyed at the limitations of our language when
Takenoko Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2011 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 45 Minutes Look kids, it’s cute pandas! Look mom, you only need to
Buttons Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2015 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 20-30 Minutes Buttons is an entry into the “press your luck”
Food Chain Magnate Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2015 Players: 2-5 Playing Time: 120-240 Minutes This is the perspective of someone who’s played several
Seasons Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2012 Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 60 Minutes Seasons is a game with a lineage. It’s not uncommon to
Songbirds Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2016 Players: 1-4 Playing Time: 20 Minutes Songbirds vs. Birdie Fight – What’s In a Name?
Saboteur Board Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2004 Players: 3-10 Playing Time: 30 Minutes Saboteur is one of several games I discovered through
Tokaido Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2012 Players: 2-5 Playing Time: 45 Minutes Tokaido – The Premise In what may be one of the
Libertalia Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2012 Players: 2-6 Playing Time: 40-60 Minutes “Pirates” is a theme that’s well covered in board games. Libertalia
Paperback Card Game Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2014 Players: 2-5 Playing Time: 45 Minutes Paperback – The Premise Dominion and Scrabble had a
Elfenland Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 1998 Players: 2-6 Playing Time: 60 Minutes A Forgotten Pioneer Elfenland is an odd duck; it’s Alan Moon’s
One Night Ultimate Werewolf Review By MARK WILSON Year Published: 2014 Players: 3-10 Playing Time: 10 Minutes ONUW – The Premise There are two teams: