The Amazing Race – A Travel Blog review

I have a confession: I am a Vlaada Chvatil groupie. Galaxy Trucker is in my top 5 games of all time, and I rabidly wait for his new releases like some people stalk Ticketmaster for Lady Gaga tickets. And so it was with great excitement that I awaited the announcement of his newest game at Essen Spiel – the biggest show in gaming. Would it be another hilarious romp through outer space? A funky dungeon? A sequel to Bunny Bunny Moose Moose? No, it was to be a game about travel. And geography. And blogging. Huh. Never let it be said that the guy gets stuck in a rut. Travel Blog has some intriguing mechanics, but overall, gameplay is fairly simple.... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 2 – The One About Naked People

The State of Games, Episode 2 is live! Fair warning: although we keep our language clean (and medical), this episode contains some adult themes, so discretion is advised. Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Episode 1 – The One About the Chinese

Welcome to the inaugural podcast of The State of Games! In this episode, Monkey238 and I get racy when we talk about Chinese stereotypes in board games, how Monkey is truly down with the Pandemic sickness, and answer the question “what’s bigger than a tulip but smaller than Holland?” We also offer up the first Riddle of the Sphinx – a random trivia question about board games that, if answered correctly, could get you a custom shoutout on the next podcast. If you think you have the answer, email us at podcast [at] dicehateme.com or comment on this post. Read More  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

I’ve Been Drinking on the Railroad – A TransEuropa Review

All aboard – and a plethora of other train puns too unbearable to publish – this week, a look at TransEuropa! Yes, yes, I can hear the collective groans now; a million (ok, a couple hundred) voices crying out, “Another train game?” Yes, dear readers, another train game. Bear with me during this brief review, though – a) it’s fun, b) you can play it blitzed, and c) it has about as much to do with trains as colored cubes do with making burgers. In TransEuropa, each player randomly selects five differently colored cards, each with a Eurasian city on the face. The goal for each round is to place little bits of “track”... Read More

A Few Fries Short of a Happy Meal – A Burger Joint Review

There’s just something strangely fascinating about playing with your food. Lately, it seems that gamers who like games and grub have had a buffet of choices: Wasabi!, Wok Star and Lord of the Fries are some that have been recently released. Since I was not one of the lucky few who grabbed up a scarce copy of Wok Star, I decided to go completely American and try my hand at fast food franchising with Burger Joint. The object of Burger Joint is to be the first foodie to reach 12 on the scoring track by building up basic restaurants like Burger Joints or Pizza Parlors, and then converting some of them to Diners or hoity toity Bistros. The basic... 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

Baby, It’s Cold Outside – A Twilight Struggle Review

“Russians don’t take a dump, son, without a plan.” – Admiral Painter, The Hunt For Red October A funny thing happened in the world of board gaming on Dec. 9, 2010; the top-ranked game for the better part of 7 years running on BoardGameGeek was usurped by a very unlikely candidate – Twilight Struggle, a massively strategic, chit-laden, brain-grinding, two-player game about the Cold War, released in 2005. Huh. And this is why I love the board gaming community. This is also why, four hours after learning the news, I walked out of my favorite local game store with Twilight Struggle under my arms and my wife and I proceeded... Read More

Cold War: CIA vs KGB – Dosvidanya Boredom

Throughout the last half of the 20th century, the world’s two largest super powers – the United Sates and the Soviet Union – were engaged in a deadly covert battle of wills that could have erupted in nuclear annihilation at any moment. It was a time of cunning subterfuge, dual-handed diplomacy, master spies and double agents; a time when the silent bids to be the reigning force on the planet toppled entire governments and the world seemed to brace for mass destruction. For a card game, that’s a lot of theme to pack into a box no bigger than a six-inch submarine sandwich. Amazingly, in Cold War: CIA vs. KGB, it works –... 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