The tile-laying classic where the landscape is different every single game Carcassonne is a tile-laying game for 2 to 5 players in 35 to 45 minutes. Each turn you draw a tile and place it to extend the medieval landscape, then optionally place a meeple on a road, city, monastery, or farm to claim it. … Read more
The most strategic game in the Azul serie, and the one that needs the most explanation before you can enjoy it What Is Azul: Queen’s Garden? Azul: Queen’s Garden is the Azul series at its most complex. If the original Azul is a satisfying afternoon puzzle, Queen’s Garden is what happens when designer Michael Kiesling … Read more
Harmonies is a game I was introduced to at UK Games Expo last year and I have been a big fan ever since. It is the kind of game that looks like a gentle puzzle and turns out to have more interesting decisions than you expected. The kind of game you finish and immediately want … Read more
The dice-placement Euro that looks approachable and quietly becomes one of the most satisfying strategy games you own Castles of Burgundy is one of those games that has quietly earned its place in the top ten of most respected board game lists for over a decade. It does not shout. It does not have dramatic … Read more
Pandemic is the game that introduced many people, including me, to cooperative board games. The premise is simple: you and your team are disease control specialists trying to stop four contagions from spreading across the world before you can find cures. Everything is working against you. Most games end in defeat. It is absolutely wonderful. … Read more
The word game where giving a clue your team understands is only half the problem What Is Decrypto? Decrypto is the Decrypto board game review I keep coming back to when someone asks which word game to play with a group who already knows Codenames. It is the same broad category: two teams, clue-giving, deduction. … Read more
I first saw SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence in the flesh at UK Games Expo 2024, and it immediately caught my eye. This was before it had been widely released, and the setup alone stopped me in my tracks. A rotating board representing the night sky. Antenna tokens being placed to scan sectors of space. … Read more
TThe card-drafting game that fits in a tin and teaches in two minutes What Is Sushi Go!? Sushi Go! is the card-drafting game I bring to absolutely every social gathering. It teaches in two minutes, plays in fifteen, fits in a tin the size of a phone, and somehow manages to produce interesting decisions despite … Read more
Takenoko is the game I pull out when I want something with a strong table presence that I can explain in ten minutes. It is genuinely beautiful, the panda miniature makes everyone smile, and the bamboo stacking mechanic is one of those small physical pleasures that makes people want to play again just to do … Read more
Fluxx divides opinion more sharply than almost any game I own. Half the people I have played it with love the controlled chaos. The other half find the constantly shifting rules actively aggravating. Both responses are completely valid, and knowing which camp your group falls into is the only real question before buying. What Is … Read more
