The Thoughtful Gamer https://thethoughtfulgamer.com Board Game Reviews, Analysis, and Strategy Thu, 31 Aug 2023 08:54:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/cropped-TTGlogoWHITELETTERS-5-32x32.png The Thoughtful Gamer https://thethoughtfulgamer.com 32 32 124167274 Dawn Review https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2023/08/31/dawn-review/ https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2023/08/31/dawn-review/#comments Thu, 31 Aug 2023 08:54:24 +0000 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=3897 A friend of mine recommended the Battlestar Galactica board game to me years ago, back when it was in print and I was new to the hobby. At the time it was a beast to wrap my mind around, with a long rulebook and so many components to manage. But even while trying to comprehend …

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The post Dawn Review appeared first on The Thoughtful Gamer.]]> https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2023/08/31/dawn-review/feed/ 1 3897 A Tale of Two PAXes https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2023/04/14/a-tale-of-two-paxes/ https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2023/04/14/a-tale-of-two-paxes/#comments Fri, 14 Apr 2023 07:45:10 +0000 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=3887 It was the best of times, it was the PAX of times. No no no. Sorry, that was bad. Delete! I suppose such an atrocious joke might be some sort of consolation that I didn’t use an AI to write this. I suspect that language models might have some difficulty with humor, particularly intentionally bad …

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The post A Tale of Two PAXes appeared first on The Thoughtful Gamer.]]> https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2023/04/14/a-tale-of-two-paxes/feed/ 1 3887 Reflections On The First Part Of 2023 / I’m Back https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2023/03/24/reflections-on-the-first-part-of-2023-im-back/ https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2023/03/24/reflections-on-the-first-part-of-2023-im-back/#respond Fri, 24 Mar 2023 14:03:30 +0000 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=3884 I knew The Thoughtful Gamer would look different in 2023, as I couldn’t sustain what I was doing last year, but I didn’t think I would go the first couple months of the year hardly posting anything. The reality is that my attention has been diverted and doubts about what I want to do with …

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The post Reflections On The First Part Of 2023 / I’m Back appeared first on The Thoughtful Gamer.]]> https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2023/03/24/reflections-on-the-first-part-of-2023-im-back/feed/ 0 3884 Podcast Episode 104: PAX Unplugged 2022 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/12/23/podcast-episode-104-pax-unplugged-2022/ https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/12/23/podcast-episode-104-pax-unplugged-2022/#respond Sat, 24 Dec 2022 02:19:42 +0000 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=3880 Apologies for the sound quality — Lindsay got a new mic and it… did not work well, to say the least. Anyways, we all went to PAX Unplugged once again and it was the least stressful PAX yet. We found fun in some unexpected games and ate delicious food. What else could you want? 0:35 …

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The post Podcast Episode 104: PAX Unplugged 2022 appeared first on The Thoughtful Gamer.]]> https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/12/23/podcast-episode-104-pax-unplugged-2022/feed/ 0 3880 Oceans: Legends of the Deep Review https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/10/26/oceans-legends-of-the-deep-review/ https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/10/26/oceans-legends-of-the-deep-review/#respond Thu, 27 Oct 2022 03:57:20 +0000 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=3875 Oceans: Legends of the Deep will be on Kickstarter November 1 If there’s any doubt that Oceans is the wilder, freer, more combo-tastic game in the Evolution series, the Legends of the Deep expansion puts that doubt to rest. The original Evolution game is a rather stolid experience, albeit one that rewards repeated play and …

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The post Oceans: Legends of the Deep Review appeared first on The Thoughtful Gamer.]]> https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/10/26/oceans-legends-of-the-deep-review/feed/ 0 3875 Wind the Film (aka Photograph) Review https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/09/23/wind-the-film-aka-photograph-review/ https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/09/23/wind-the-film-aka-photograph-review/#respond Fri, 23 Sep 2022 13:16:56 +0000 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=3866 Wind the Film, blandly re-named “Photograph” in its English printing, is one of the best card games I’ve played in years. It’s the kind of no-nonsense, airtight design you expect Knizia to pull out a couple of times a decade and most other designers to dream of making once in their career. Along with Let’s …

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The post Wind the Film (aka Photograph) Review appeared first on The Thoughtful Gamer.]]> https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/09/23/wind-the-film-aka-photograph-review/feed/ 0 3866 Silent Ships Review (w/ bonus: Can’t Touch This) https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/17/silent-ships-review-w-bonus-cant-touch-this/ https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/17/silent-ships-review-w-bonus-cant-touch-this/#respond Thu, 18 Aug 2022 03:43:32 +0000 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=3861 Silent Ships, from independent designer Jorge Zhang, tries to capture the sneaky mind games of Stratego in a small-box card game. In doing so it, unfortunately, reminded me of how much I disliked my one play of Stratego a decade ago. To Silent Ships’ credit, it’s a lot quicker than the game that inspired it. …

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The post Silent Ships Review (w/ bonus: Can’t Touch This) appeared first on The Thoughtful Gamer.]]> https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/17/silent-ships-review-w-bonus-cant-touch-this/feed/ 0 3861 7 Games I’m Glad Exist (because they’re interesting and quirky, even if they may not fully succeed) https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/10/7-games-im-glad-exist-because-theyre-interesting-and-quirky-even-if-they-may-not-fully-succeed/ https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/10/7-games-im-glad-exist-because-theyre-interesting-and-quirky-even-if-they-may-not-fully-succeed/#respond Wed, 10 Aug 2022 14:36:51 +0000 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=3857 Let’s embrace creativity! These 7 games are all interesting and unique in their own way, and I hope they serve as inspiration to other game designers to push the boundaries and chart new territory in board game design.

The post 7 Games I’m Glad Exist (because they’re interesting and quirky, even if they may not fully succeed) appeared first on The Thoughtful Gamer.]]> https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/10/7-games-im-glad-exist-because-theyre-interesting-and-quirky-even-if-they-may-not-fully-succeed/feed/ 0 3857 3 Impressions, 3 Questions: Small Railroad Empires https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/03/3-impressions-3-questions-small-railroad-empires/ https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/03/3-impressions-3-questions-small-railroad-empires/#respond Thu, 04 Aug 2022 04:17:58 +0000 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=3851 Some thoughts after my first play of this small-ish box pick-up-and-deliver game.

The post 3 Impressions, 3 Questions: Small Railroad Empires appeared first on The Thoughtful Gamer.]]> https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/03/3-impressions-3-questions-small-railroad-empires/feed/ 0 3851 Medici: The Card Game https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/01/medici-the-card-game/ https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/01/medici-the-card-game/#respond Mon, 01 Aug 2022 16:36:12 +0000 https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=3844 Knizia’s Medici: The Card Game rides a thin line. Like so many other simple games that rely on a healthy dollop of luck, it’s at constant risk of feeling arbitrary, leaving players with the impression that they’ve wasted their time. It can also inspire moments of genuine thrill as someone decides to defy the odds …

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The post Medici: The Card Game appeared first on The Thoughtful Gamer.]]> https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/08/01/medici-the-card-game/feed/ 0 3844