Venture Cardboard – A Kickstarter Quick-look at Ground Floor

There are certain things in life that instantly and easily lend themselves to interpretation and adaptation in a board game. Farming, naturally. War, racing, and buying/trading on the stock market are practically games already. But until recently, one of the only recourses an entrepreneurial zealot had at the game table was to roll dice and move a little Scottie past Go. Enter crowdfunding; suddenly, games about business and start-ups became not only viable, but incredibly meta, making funding such entrepreneurial ventures possible. Startup Fever hit Kickstarter last spring and found gangbuster sales, while Briefcase tore through Indiegogo earlier... Read More

A New Springboard for Board Games

As all you dear readers know by now, Dice Hate Me fully supports the efforts of fledgling and independent board and card game designers. After the recent series on notable Kickstarter projects and our last State of Games podcast all about how to succeed on that platform, it felt prudent to take a closer look at an up-and-coming alternative for raising funds: Springboard, from GameSalute.com. And, so, Dan Yarrington – the CEO of Game Salute – was kind enough to answer a few questions about the whole thing for the full Dice Hate Me treatment. Before we get to Springboard, can you tell those who may not be familiar with Game Salute what... 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

The 2010 Dice Hate Me Holiday Gift Guide

The holidays are upon us and tis the season to be gaming! Friends and family will soon be gathered near, and what better way to celebrate than to grab your dice and pour some cocoa? Every year, I always make it a point to have a few games under the tree for others; not only do they make great and unique gifts, but after they’re unwrapped you get to play them. Bonus! The blessing and curse of giving games as gifts is variety. There are a lot of games out there to choose from, and pairing the right box with the correct beloved can sometimes be trying. Worry not, gentle readers – use the Dice Hate Me Holiday Game Guide to aid you in your... Read More

Alien Frontiers: The Best of All Worlds

As a lover and collector of so many games, it is sometimes difficult to decide whether a game is intriguing or entertaining simply because it offers players something unique. Alien Frontiers is one of those games that transcends doubt. The game is unique, to be sure, but after the first few rounds something rare and magical happens: there is a feeling of exhilaration, followed closely by the growing sense that all the pieces are quickly falling into place. Smiles spread as players soon realize that they are in the presence of something truly special, and something very great. It doesn’t happen often – gaining your first victory point... Read More

An Even Bigger Bang!

If you’ve followed the site for awhile or keep up with the Dice Hate Me Twitter feed, you know by now that my coworkers and I play a lot of Bang! More than any other game that’s been introduced at lunchtime, Bang! seems to bring about the most mischievous glee as we ignore common courtesy and mercilessly gun each other down. Bang! also elevates our creativity, as we are continuously concocting and introducing various house rules to make things more interesting or to fix what we consider inconsistencies in theme. Back in July, I wrote a brief article on some of the basic house rules that we use in the office. With the exception of using... Read More

The Game Crafter – Personal Boardgame Production Made Possible

Gather around, youngsters, as I craft you a tale of days of legend. Many, many eons ago – about 30 years, give or take – if an adventurer wandered into a hobby establishment, they might find strange and wondrous treasures locked inside small, plastic bags or unmarked cardboard receptacles. As it turns out, these treasures were board and card games from small, independent publishers, often printed on inexpensive stock, heavy in theme and playability, and low on cost. These small rebels were fighting against the giant mainstays – the Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley – and generating a gaming renaissance that paved the way... Read More