The State of Games, Ep. 145: The One About One-Hour Wonders

If there’s one thing that’s awesome about board gaming it’s that we are spoiled for choice when it comes to variety. There are great card games that play in about 15 minutes, meaty Euros that burn your brain for 2 hours, or Ameritrash juggernauts that might take you a full day to play. But there’s also this super sweet spot in gaming where a certain type of game exists – one that plays in about an hour, isn’t overly-taxing, and yet makes you feel smart, fulfilled, and like you’ve just experienced something truly magical. These are the one-hour wonders, and herein we craft our ode. Read More  Read More

Dice Hate Me Game of the Year Awards 2017

Happy New Year, dear readers! It’s been an amazing year in the board game industry for for publishers and gamers alike, with tons of new titles to explore including some awesome Greater Than Games hits like Fate of the Elder Gods, Spirit Island, Lazer Ryderz, and the Bottom of the 9th: Clubhouse Expansion. And there’s even more to look forward to in 2018 as our gargantuan project Legends of Sleepy Hollow and the Sentinels of the Multiverse RPG will be released! But before we look forward to next year, it’s time on Dice Hate Me to look back at some of the best and brightest board games from 2017. The categories are always tough... Read More

The 2017 Dice Hate Me Holiday Gift Guide

Grab some cocoa and join me by the fireside, Dear Readers – tis the season to gab about gifting games! Believe it or not, this is the 7th annual Dice Hate Me Holiday Gift Guide, and nothing gets me more in the spirit than sharing some great games with all of you that you can share with everyone else. The list might be a tad late this year, but there’s still plenty of time before Santa loads up that sleigh and flies past Boardwalk and Park Place with all the Rolex and diamonds from Tiffany’s. I hope you enjoy the list, but most of all I hope you enjoy time with family and friends and get everything you wish for. May all your rolls be... Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 131: The One About Getting Nasty

Sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug – I’m talking about games with a little bit of spite in them! Whether you love ’em or hate ’em, mean games have been around for a long, long time (heck, Sorry has been around since the 1920s) so we thought it would be fun to take a look at the dark side of gaming. Don’t worry, we won’t be mean, and I promise you lots of fun! Read More  Read More

It’s an Anniversary Giveaway Bonanza!

Hello dear readers! Hopefully by now you’ve all noticed the festivities going on around here for Dice Hate Me’s 7th anniversary. Well, because I want the party to be a big one, I’m giving away a big present with all sorts of goodies! And there are several ways to enter. First off, the stuff. The winner of the 7th Anniversary giveaway will receive a brand new copy of First Class (in honor of the latest review on the site), my personal copy of Red November (the actual one I played 7 years ago to write the first review for the blog!), a copy of Angry Dice, a Dice Hate Me t-shirt, and an opportunity to appear on an episode of The... Read More

Fast Train to Funville – A First Class Review

Unexpectedly discovering something precious among the mundane must be one of life’s universal joys. It can happen anywhere – wandering into an unknown restaurant and being served a delicious meal without once checking Yelp, randomly popping into a thrift store to find a complete mint set of Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew comics, or, even more rare, strolling into your friendly local game store and buying a mystery game without once checking BoardGameGeek. The latter is what happened to me one Saturday this January in Atomic Empire. I spied a non-descript box spine that I didn’t recognize, pulled it from the shelf, and looked... Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 124: The One About PrezCon 2017

Many of us on podcast attend a ton of conventions during the year, but none are as relaxing or as enjoyable as PrezCon. There are no work duties, no meetings, no networking – nothing but kicking back, playing games, and spending some quality time with old friends. This year’s con was a bit sleepier than most, but all the usual suspects were still around to make sure it was just as memorable a tradition, as always. Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 123: The One About A Table For One

Ah, Valentine’s Day is here and love is in the air! Not only do we love all the boundless cardboard bits in our favorite board games, but we also love sharing them with our significant others! And, as per usual with any podcast around this time, we should just follow suit and share our favorite games for two. Right? WRONG. We’re here to talk about how to enjoy all those delightful games with yourself! You don’t need anyone else to relish in board gaming! Not that there’s anything wrong with that… Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 122: The One About Bits & Pieces

We love having special guests on The State of Games, and this time around we get to talk to the always awesome Chris Matthew of Panda Game Manufacturing. We take a big look behind the green curtain of game production and all the decisions that go into which components are the best for a game, and how to keep costs down while making sure the production is awesome. We also talk in-depth about some of the changes in the industry over the past couple of years in terms of component quality escalation and how it can affect the board game market. Oh, we also talk about awesome games we’ve played, so there’s that. Read More  Read More