Board game resources

Today I thought I’d talk a little about the resources I use to find new board games. “But Matt” you exclaim “Aren’t you just pointing us to your competition!” Alas no, the only way for me to have competition is if I were to be paid to be doing reviews. So far I have amassed exactly $0 from my reviewing. I review board games because I like to, I like playing board games, and I’d like other people to find board games to love. Besides finding people more help to buy board games inevitably leads to them buying more games, in turn supporting the companies and getting them to make more games. That’s a win for me.

So first of all is TableTop. Both my wife and I really enjoy this web series; So much so that we backed season 3. Using this series I was able to introduce more players to newer board games in an entertaining and informative way. The format of the show is designed well to intro gamers and non-gamers alike. What I love most is that the game is played after a quick introduction to it. Watching celebrities play a game and learn makes me feel less like a dunce when I finally get a chance to play it with friends. Being able to watch a play through in an entertaining manner is a great way to learn a game. Sometimes that’s better than some random guy on the internet blathering on about a game… like I do… but random internet dude can still be informative!

 Another series I've recently gotten into is Shut Up & Sit Down. Two unabashedly geeky gamers Paul Dean and Quintin Smith come together to do reviews of games. They do podcasts, video reviews, playthroughs and blog type reviews. I love the theatrics they put into their reviews. They dress up and act out in attention grabbing ways. They are fantastic at going over both the good and bad in each game giving viewers a better grasp of whether or not you would like them. I also like that they don't always agree on a game and each reviewer will argue their position in a way that helps you understand their game preferences and if your own preferences match up. If you are looking for second opinion on any game I've reviewed you really should check this show out.

The Dice Tower is another review site to check out. Tom Vasel and friends are a group of board game geeks who review board games. I particularly like their top 10 lists. Pick a style of board game and they’ve done a top ten list. They’ve even done top worst lists. The strange thing is that all three guys do a top ten together so it’s really a top 30 list, but they sometimes overlap in their lists or disagree with each other. The debates they have on their videos are where you can get to know which of the guys most reflects your likes and you can decide whose advice best fits your playing preference. I keep going back to his reviews of Twilight Imperium and thinking I should redo mine. Also every time I see this I get the urge to build myself a dice tower. One day I will...

Mission Fun and Games is my local board game store. Well not really…it’s a little bit of a drive our to St. Albert but it’s worth it. They do have a webstore but going in the location is a fantastic experience. The move a while back put them in a better location; the feel of the shop is geekier and has upped the fun factor. The Sunday open gaming is a fantastic service where you can go in and try out the huge selection of store copies of games. The ability to try it before you buy it has me going back. The owner, John, did a play through of Castle Panic with the wife and me before we bought it. I think everyone at that store has happily spent an inordinate amount of time helping us select games. In particular both of his daughters were extremely helpful with my wife, who is very tight on the game budget and quite indecisive about games. That's not exactly a bad thing, I would spend all my money on games then starve to death... nullifying the point of buying games.

A board game store should look like a Castle!

Hopefully you readers will get a little help in finding more games with these guys. Maybe you could suggest some more places for me to look, as I’m always in the mood for more board game talk!