The State of Games, Episode 6 – The One About Alf

The State of Games, Episode 6 has become self-aware! Oh, wait, maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves. To call this episode a bit high-brow would be akin to calling the Grand Canyon a ditch – but believe us, this is a very good thing. So sit back, grab your pipe and smoking jacket, and make room in your brain for a whole lotta data. Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Episode 5 – The One About Mansions of Madness

The State of Games, Episode 5 is alive! And this may be our most controversial episode yet – at least amongst the rabid Cthulhu Mythos gamers amongst you. Bear with us, Lovecraftian fiends, we promise you the stars are right to talk of Things Man Was Not Meant to Know… About Mansions of Madness! Read More  Read More

Magic: The Gathering, or How I Came to Love the Game and Leave the Addiction

As a nifty online experiment, Ben Gerber – of Troll in the Corner – and I came up with a cunning plan, a sort of blogger exchange program. Once a month, Ben and I plan to share our views and musings with the readers of Troll in the Corner and Dice Hate Me. Look for more cross-pollination each and every month, and let us know what you all would like to see in these columns. It was 1995 and I was more than halfway through my undergraduate degree. Nirvana was on the radio. I was an active participant in my college RPG club and I had just moved in to a new apartment with a new roommate. As it so happened, my roommate was not in to RPGs... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 4 – The One About the 7 Deadly Sins

The State of Games, Episode 4 is good to go! We may be playing around a tiny bit with the format this week, but we’re still here to talk about some subtle controversies; only this time, we’re inviting all of you to look deep inside your gaming souls and seek out the sin within! Read More  Read More

Interview Fu – A Chat with Cookie Fu Designer Brian Kowalski

Brian Kowalski There are inquiring minds here at Dice Hate Me, and whenever there’s a chance to pick a designer’s brain, you can bet the opportunity won’t be missed. Intrigued by the background of Cookie Fu, I sent a few probing questions to Brian Kowalski — the very personable man behind the dice, and founder of game publishing company Blue Kabuto. How did you come about the idea for Cookie Fu? Cookie Fu was actually the result of another game I was working on at the time called “Ramen Raiders”. The game (quest for the ULTIMATE bowl of ramen) was originally planned as a dice game with cards, tokens, and a few... Read More

Enter the Rabbit – A Cookie Fu Review

HAPPY NEW YEAR! No, not that new year, Westerners – today is the day for celebrating Chinese New Year. This will be the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac, which typically portends a peaceful time and a thankful respite between the tumultuous years of the Tiger and Dragon, which come before and after. Since I don’t have a true Chinese game to review – particularly since Go has been around for thousands of years, with thousands of reviews – I thought I’d celebrate here on Dice Hate Me with a little something… different. So grab your firecrackers and some Fu dice – it’s time to kick some cookie! On the surface,... Read More

Dice Hate Me at the Bookstore: The Games Bible

I will happily admit that I’m pretty easy to shop for around the holidays. Any amusing trinket will usually bring me extraordinary glee, especially if it is shiny or has pretty pictures on it. However, when it comes to gifting me games or game-related paraphernalia, the gifter may often find themselves in dangerous territory since, well, I have a lot of stuff. Thus, consider my utter shock and surprise glee when my in-laws presented me with a gaming gift that was both new and incredibly thoughtful – The Games Bible. As I thumbed through the pages after the gift wrap had all been torn asunder, I also began to realize that this little gift... Read More

Addendum: Game of the Year Games List

Yesterday, I announced the Dice Hate Me Game of the Year, and since then we’ve gotten some requests for a list of the games considered for this year’s awards. As Monkey238 mentioned in her awards description, she has played over 38 new games this year – an incredibly impressive number considering she was never really a “gamer” before I convinced her to geek out with me. My list is a bit smaller at 32 new games, but many of the games we played together (and are on her list) were games that I had played in previous years. Here is a look at our list of the games we first experienced in 2010: Dice Hate Me Games... Read More

Dice Hate Me Game of the Year Awards 2010

It has been a great year for board games! For me, personally, it has been a wonderful year as I’ve reconnected with old favorites, discovered some new favorites, and sealed the deal for a lifetime gaming partner that’s almost as geeky as me! For the boardgaming community, 2010 has blessed all of us with some great independent success stories, allowing new ideas from the “little guys” to trickle into the market. We owe a greater depth in variety and fun gameplay because of the efforts of backers on kickstarter.com and the print-on-demand wonders at The Game Crafter. No year – and, truly, no blog – would seem complete without... Read More

Lunchgames! The Inside Scoop

Those loyal and stalwart few who follow the Dice Hate Me Twitter feed regularly know all about #lunchgames – my semi-daily tweet around lunch time that summarizes my office’s epic battles over burgers and baked goods in 140 characters or less. Sometimes I can claim victory, but more often than not I end up spiraling to my oblivion, leaving one of my coworkers – or, typically, the luckiest player on the planet, Clover Leaf – to stand victorious. Michael Fox is one such reader of #lunchgames. Michael (@idlemichael on Twitter) also happens to write reviews and produce an extremely swell podcast for The Little Metal Dog Show... Read More