BGG Con 2019: New hotel, same game convention

BGG Con 2019: New hotel, same game convention

Every year, my BGG recap gets later and later. Sorry folks! It’s so hard to rebound after Thanksgiving as I end up hitting the ground running for the holiday season. Anywho, I had a great time at BGG Con this year, especially since it moved into a new location in downtown Dallas — at the …

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First 5 hobby games in my collection

First 5 hobby games in my collection

It’s officially been five years since my first blog post. I wrote about last year’s anniversary, and with every passing year, I like to take a look back down Memory Lane.  As I sit at my dining table plugging away on my laptop, my back toward my Kallax shelves full of board games, I can’t …

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Tucson’s RinCon 2019: Trains, skulls and a giant rhino

Tucson’s RinCon 2019: Trains, skulls and a giant rhino

Two weekends ago, I went down to Tucson for their annual board game convention RinCon! I particularly love how a bunch of us from the Phoenix area all trek down south to Tucson to game nonstop for a few days. I also love all the unique perks that RinCon offers its convention-goers — from nightly …

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Watergate: A Tug-of-war Presidential Scandal

Watergate: A Tug-of-war Presidential Scandal

This review of Watergate is featured on Episode 69 of The Five By. Check out the rest of the episode, which also features Shards of Infinity: Relics of the Future, Hundreds of Horses, Lines of Action and Point Salad. When I first heard that Capstone Games was releasing a game on former President Richard Nixon …

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Gila Monster 2019: Meeting up with gamer friends — and a shark

Gila Monster 2019: Meeting up with gamer friends — and a shark

Two weekends ago, I attended a small gathering of Arizona gamer friends for Gila Monster. This is the second year in a row we’ve done this, which originally sprung up as a way to play new Gen Con releases in an intimate setting. This year, we shelled out extra money to rent space at the …

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Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein: Get ready to build a creature

Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein: Get ready to build a creature

I don’t play too many monster-themed board games. Unless it’s in the Cthulhu world, and even then I’m referring strictly to Arkham Horror or Cthulhu Wars, monster games don’t usually draw me in. That is … until Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein by Plaid Hat Games. This worker placement game is strategic and fun, and, …

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Consimworld 2019: Wargames in Arizona

Consimworld 2019: Wargames in Arizona

Do you like wargames, whether COINs or the hex-and-counter variety? Well, you need to come down to Consimworld! This 8-day wargaming convention happens every year in Tempe, Arizona, literally in my very own backyard. I love attending this convention every year it allows me to play some games that normally wouldn’t come out at other …

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Sekigahara: Marching warriors across Japan

Sekigahara: Marching warriors across Japan

Sekigahara has been on my wishlist for a while, and I couldn’t have been more ecstatic when I saw this at game for $30 at a recent Arizona Game Fair flea market — unstickered! Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan is a 2-player game published by GMT Games in 2011. According to the description, “the battle …

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Bubble Tea: Shaken boba, not stirred

Bubble Tea: Shaken boba, not stirred

I love boba. Growing up in Los Angeles with predominantly Asian friends, we didn’t say, let’s get coffee. Nope, instead we’d say, let’s get boba, also known as bubble tea in other parts of the world. For the unfamiliar, boba are marble-sized tapioca balls that you can order in a drink, drinks such as milk …

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Tiny Towns: At the mercy of a cute, little hammer

Tiny Towns: At the mercy of a cute, little hammer

A few months ago, I started seeing a lot of buzz online about Tiny Towns, a new game from AEG. It wasn’t until recently that I got a chance to play it, and, what can I say, this game is delightful. If I’m being honest, I initially dismissed it because it seemed too light for …

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