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 State of Games, Ep. 144: The One About The Best Games of 2017
Whether 2017 was great or terrible for you, there’s no denying that there were a ton of new game releases last year – more than any year on record, in fact. Add those to the already hugemongous collection of quality game titles from the past few years and gamers had a cornucopia of gaming goodness from which to choose. Now, there’s no way for everyone to play every single title that comes out, but we do pride ourselves on playing as many as we possibly can here on the podcast and we love sharing those experiences with all of you, dear listeners. So sit back and enjoy our takes on our absolute favorites of the past year, straight... Read More
The State of Games, Ep. 142: The One About Unplugging
November is usually the time when gaming conventions come to a close and the holidays kick into high gear. For the past few years, only one con has ruled the November calendar – BGGCon. This year, however, a new contender reared its head, and in Philadelphia, PA! Thus, PAX Unplugged was born. And it was huge. And we all went to it. And we ate pretzels and brats and drank our Yeungling and played our games and T.C. actually bought things and all manner of unheard of activities ensued. This… this is our story. Read More Read More
The State of Games, Ep. 138: The One About Trendsetting
It’s great to have guests on the podcasts, especially when one of our regulars has other business. In this instance, we were lucky enough to have Fleet and Wasteland Express Delivery Service co-designer Ben Pinchback on to talk all about WEDS, Sleepy Hollow, Ladder 29, and the boardgaming trends we’ve seen over the years! We planned for about an hour of podcast but you know you want two. Yep, it’s two. Enjoy! Read More Read More
The State of Games, Ep. 137: The One About Getting Critical
It’s been awhile since we really dove headlong into the nature of game reviews and critical thinking (way back in Episode 32!), so we thought it would be a good idea to revisit the topic since things have been a little bit… crazy, lately. Besides, we really didn’t have a choice since the DHM 7th Anniversary grand prize winner Lee McConnell got to come on the podcast AND pick the topic! In the end, though, it turned in a deeply satisfying and timely discussion, so join us and let us know your thoughts. Enjoy! Read More Read More
The State of Games, Ep. 136: The One About Gen Con 50
The end of August has come ’round again, and that can only mean that it’s time to talk about Gen Con. The biggest show in North America just keeps getting bigger, and with it so does all the excitement, spectacle, and adventures. Although working duties keep the three of us from spending as much time gaming and hanging out as we used to, we did manage to have a lot of fun, play quite a few games, and listen to Richard Launius talk about how the shark in his newest game really, really wants to get the mayor fired. Boy, do we have stories to tell. Read More Read More
Gen Con 2017 Pictorial Recap!
Greetings, dear readers! I’m back from Gen Con with most of my sanity and some of my health, so it’s time for a big ol’ pictorial recap. This year’s show was the 50th anniversary, and it was huge! Every badge was sold out, and there was a record 207,000 visitors. It was truly a legendary show, and I did my best to capture some of that in the pics below. As usual, we had a car full as we set off for Indianapolis! Lillian made the trip with us this year for her first Gen Con ever. Read More Read More
The Crowded Table – Post-Origins Edition!
Hello dear readers, and welcome back to a new Crowded Table! With both Origins Game Fair and RuthCon now behind me I have played a plethora of new titles with which I’d like to share my thoughts. What’s great about this particular Crowded Table is that not only have I played a ton of new games – I’ve also played many of them a ton of times! From here on out in my Crowded Table features, as well as any full reviews on the site, I will be stating how many times I’ve played the game, and with what player counts. If a game is played only 1 or 2 times you can consider my thoughts as an impression and I may need to explore the game further... Read More
The State of Games, Ep. 133: The One About Letting Go
We’ve covered a lot of ground over the past six years on the podcast, and sometimes it’s nice to look back on a great topic and reintroduce it to a new audience. The topic this time is a somewhat-controversial theory introduced by Cody Jones back in 2012 which states that to have the most compact game collection you should only have one game of each type. We thought it was pretty crazy back then, and the opinion hasn’t changed too much. BUT – we do embrace the madness and practice a little bit of The Jones Theory on the podcast, all for your enjoyment. Read More Read More
