We had the opportunity to playtest Pairloopa. As my niece gets older, I'm always looking for games that help me keep my title as the cool aunt. Pairloopa is a family friendly card game where players combine two words to create compound words. Think: SUN + GLASSES = SUNGLASSES The gameplay itself is simple, but what stood out to me was the trading mechanic. Because anyone can offer a trade when a card is discarded, every discard matters. Instead of waiting for your next turn,

I love board games, but I also love data A few years ago, I started tracking every play in BG Stats to make sure our collection wasn't just gathering dust. Sure, part of me wanted to be able to objectively say, "I'm not playing this game with you because the numbers guarantee I'll lose." (Just kidding... I think 🙈) But the real magic of tracking our plays is seeing the stories behind the numbers. It shows me what our friends keep asking to play, what games quietly become sta

👩🏻‍🎨 Designer: Uwe Rosenberg | 📦 Publisher: Lookout Games ⚙️ Abstract strategy, rondel puzzle, open drafting, polyomino ♟️ 2 players | ⏳ ~10-15 minutes Patchwork is an absolute classic in our house. Six years ago, it was our very first Uwe Rosenberg game, and our introduction to polyominos. I was obsessed with Tetris growing up, so finding that same feeling inside a cardboard box was kind of magical. It manages to feel cozy and calming while still being rewarding every

I’ve had a weird long standing relationship with sugar skulls and I honestly cannot explain it. About 20 years ago my childhood best friend and I were traveling through Colombia when we walked past a tattoo shop with a sugar skull in the window. We looked at each other, made a very questionable life decision, and walked out with matching tattoos. I was barely 18. My family was thrilled, obviously 😒 Fast forward to now and nothing has changed. If I see sugar skull art, I’m in

The Mindbug obsession continues. I grew up playing Magic, so when I learned there was another game that streamlined the process, made it pretty, was accessible, and still played well at two players, I was bought in. King of Tokyo was our first board game with dice rolling, so combining the two felt like pure nostalgia crashing together on the tabletop 🎰 THE DATA ROW Game Title: Mindbug: King of Tokyo Publisher: Nerd Lab Games and IELLO Designer: Richard Garfield, Christian K

I am the person who always has a board game with me. Going to a brewery? Game in the bag. Waiting for food? Game in the bag. Family gathering where someone inevitably says "we should play something"? (Even if that person is me) Game in the bag For a game to earn permanent residency in my purse, backpack, or meeple bag, it needs to be easy to teach, quick to play, and small enough that I don't think twice about bringing it along PUSH checks every box The box itself is a little

Lucky Jack is one of those cool random finds. The colorful retro visuals instantly gravitate me to wards it. The game is designed by Richard Brault and Pascal Thoniel and published by FoxMind. The game promises high stakes intensity of Vegas, but without the risk of actually losing your money or having to go to a casino Objective The goal is simple: discard your hand as fast as possible to be the first to lay down a 3 or 4-card jackpot of matching symbols Components Rulebook

The first thing that hooked me was the box. It’s a clever peek a boo window. It looks like nothing, and then, voila! You see the chameleon hidden in plain sight. Chameleon was designed by Rikki Tahta and published by Big Potato Games. The game plays 3-8 players. It was one of those games you keep seeing when browsing. Eventually, it ends up in your cart We logged 16 plays in the few years we owned it. It had a good run. But we are currently on a mission to clear up the shelve

Reiner Knizia, cats, tile placement, and push your luck? Yeah... this game basically had my name written all over it. Purrramid is one of those games that feels familiar the moment you start playing. Roll dice. Chase your luck. Regret your life choices. Roll again anyway 🙄 I learned this one with a friend, and within a few turns we were already doing the classic push your luck thing where you know you should stop but convince yourself that one more roll is definitely the rig

We need to have a heart to heart. We’ve all been there. You look at a critically acclaimed, universally loved board game and realize: it’s not you, it’s me 💔 My personal brick wall is bluffing and social deduction games What exactly are these genres? Social deduction games are all about hidden identities. Players use conversations, accusations, and clues to figure out who is secretly on their team Bluffing games revolve around deception, asking players to misrepresent their

Whether you’re walking the halls of the NEC or following along from your couch, the best part of UKGE is the stories these games tell once they hit your table. Tabletop gaming is at its best when it surprises you, so while you're hunting down the big names, keep an eye out for the small boxes and indie developers. They’re often where the real magic is hiding. Here’s the list of the games I’ve been playing and the ones I’m hunting for 🌲 Aspens If you’re a fan of Photosynthesi

When I first saw this, I read Road to Edinburgh. I was so excited. All I could think about was Makars, but nope. I read that wrong. The game art is super cute, and if you want to play something like Irish Gauge or Ticket to Ride without the time commitment, this is it! I’m a sucker for a game that distills a massive genre into a sleek experience, and this one manages to do it in about 30 minutes! Plus, my wife didn’t hate it, so I can play train games again 🚊 Mini Rails Road

We’ve all been there. You’re squinting at a gorgeous box cover or a high BGG rating, wondering if a game actually earns its spot on your shelf. At home, we are trying to abide by our budget but also be more strict on not collecting games that won’t play the table. Every new addition has to prove its worth. That is where Board Game Arena (BGA) has become my secret weapon for intentional curation 🌐 What is Board Game Arena? BGA as a virtual wonderland for board games. It is a

I have a type. While some people collect massive campaign games, I gravitate toward roll-and-writes. There is something about the tactile click of dice and the efficiency of a dry-erase marker that just speaks to my soul (and when they are not dry-erase ready, I laminate the games 😎). In my collection, I like a balance. Sometimes, I want a real brain-burner. The kind of cutthroat tension you find in the Clever series (looking at you, Ganz Schön Clever--someone please teach m

You know that feeling when looking at an old photo, and you don't recognize what's staring back at you? That's how I feel looking at our first shelfie. When my wife and I first moved in together, we put together a board game shelf that was less of a curated collection and more of a messy archaeological dig. It was packed with the classics that survived childhood moves. Games like Rummikub, Taboo, and Cranium. Out of all of them, Rummikub is the only one that has survived. It’

Besides your bank balance, what really influences your purchase decisions? Is it shelf space? Theme? FOMO? All of the above? For me, the itch starts right about now. Convention season is upon us. I am not a fan of massive crowds. The odds of seeing me physically wandering a convention hall are slim to none. But I follow the releases like a hawk. It all starts with UKGE buzz. There is something about that first wave of games hitting the wild like the UKGE Preview that gets

👩🏻‍🎨 Designer: Roberta Taylor | 🎨 Artist: Shawna J.C. Tenney | 📦 Publisher: KTBG ⚙️ Worker Placement. Dice Placement. Resource Management ♟️ 1-5 players | ⏳ ~45-60 minutes The second I saw the cover art, I was sold. This was my first-ever Kickstarter pledge. I waited over a year to finally dive into Maple Valley and start prepping my burrow for winter. The game’s art looks like a warm hug. It is nice that it also has a clever puzzle of planning and probability hiding und

👩🏻‍🎨 Designer: Mark Gerrits | 🎨 Artist: Nick Liefhebber | 📦 Publisher: CMYK ⚙️ Abstract strategy. Spatial reasoning. Quiet chaos ♟️ 2 players | ⏳ ~10-15 minutes My local store rotates their displayed games, and the second I saw the cloth mat and the colorful flower-like components, I was sold. I had no idea what this game was, but I just wanted it. Plus, it comes in a cylindrical box. Does the box feel bigger than it should be? YES, but it fits in a backpack, so why n

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game is a 1 to four player game that takes about 10 to 20 minutes per round. It is published by Office Dog and designed by Bryan Bornmueller. The beautiful art was made by Elaine Ryan and Samuel Shimota and if you told me that I’d be writing about a Lord of the Rings game, I would have laughed. I used to be the person who said "eh, hard no" to anything LotR. But after falling for Duel for Middle-earth (read that

I love board gaming. For me, it’s the ultimate way to disconnect from the world and plug into a great experience with friends. But let’s be real: nothing ruins that vibe faster than someone who treats the table like a waiting room. After thinking about what drives me bananas during game night , I wanted to put together a no-nonsense guide to being a respectful player. If you want to keep getting invited back, here’s the deal: 1. No Phubbing - if you're here, BE HERE! If your