I discovered boardgames in 2010 when me and my friends felt like we were running out of fun things to do socially. We'd go see movies, go out to eat, watch TV and play video games. But not a lot truly social. I'd been hearing things at the periphery about a new breed of board games. I'd even seen Settlers of Catan around, and had heard Munchkin was popular. On Jan 31st 2010, I bought Carcassonne, and the rest was history.
Three years later I decided to start this blog. I just didn't see much analytical review of boardgames. I'm a software engineer by trade, and I've applied some of that towards how I view boardgames. I see boardgames as an interface, between the players and the game designer. The game designer is attempting to impart an experience on his players. It could be an emotional experience, of tension, excitement and rivalry. It could be a more somber experience if coldly calculating an optimal move amongst a plethora of options. But hopefully the game designer had a certain experience alive in his mind when designing his game.
My goal is to try to figure out what that imagined experience was. I want to assess how close the game got to accomplishing that experience. I poke and I prod and I try to see where the game falls apart in attempting it's goals. I try to play each game I review at least 10 times, with different groups of people. I take notes along the way, and I attempt to be thorough. These are long form reviews.
If you enjoy what I do, please white list The Critical Boardgamer in your add blocking software. And if a game I reviewed appeals to you, please purchase it through the Amazon links at the end of the review. It helps support me, which helps me purchase and review more games. If there is a specific game you would like me to review, let me know! I can't promise anything, but if it's a game I have, I can certainly bump it up the list.
And lastly, happy gaming!