In case it is not made abundantly clear by the fact that I spend my free time playing and writing about them, allow me to make a disclaimer: I love board games. I love playing them, I love analyzing them, and I love introducing people to them. I especially love that last bit: bringing someone new into the fold like a shepherd guides his sheep or a crack dealer slowly addicts his new customer to the cheap stuff and then, wham, hits him with the really expensive but oh-so-delicious “good” stuff, forcing him to give up his once cushy way of life. And he’ll turn to the illegal sale of his bodily organs to feed his crushing habit… except with board gaming it’s a good thing? Last week I had the good fortune to sit down with another person, Albert Smedley (who I really hope someday comes up with a rock band called Smedley’s Medleys) who also really enjoys board games and bringing board games to new people; so much so that he’s decided to start a business dedicated to providing that ever-elusive “Game Spot,” a perfect place where you can hang out, play board games, and eat food without feeling like you are a squatter in someone’s living room or getting weird looks from the hipsters in coffee shops who never expected you to know that game even existed.
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​Hey you lovable readers you. I just wanted to take a moment out of my hectic day to tell you that I do what I do for you. I love hearing that something I wrote has made you think about (or think twice about, see my Oregon Trail review) purchasing that game that's been on your mind. I love spreading this hobby of mine to as many people as I can. I like being that virus, that plague, which passes on the dilapidating disease-of-the-wallet known as board gaming. And when I hear that people get a laugh out of my inane attempts at humor, it warms that little cardboard box shaped spot in my heart. The point that I'm trying to make here (and I'm really bad at expressing gratitude, just ask my wife, I'm still not sure how I managed to get her to marry me) is that I greatly enjoy sharing my love of board gaming with you.

Because I want to share more of my passion for gaming and my belief that gaming is far more than just play, I have decided to set up a Patreon account. NO WAIT, DON'T RUN AWAY! I know, I know, another poor, starving artist asking for money. No no, that's not what I'm getting at here. I do acknowledge that I have a limited board game budget because I need to focus that money on taking care of my family, and I hope that one day I can afford to spend as much money on board games as some people do on cars, or some other ludicrous form of entertainment. But until that day comes, I do have to be choosy about what games I purchase and thus review. Which means that sometimes the games that I review are not the ones you want reviewed. Often I simply do not know about a game that I otherwise might enjoy. Thus, as part of the whole Patreon thingy, I've decided to start up what I call Community Supported Reviews. Those who donate on my Patreon page will be sent emails with a list of games that I could review and will reply with their vote. Higher tier patrons will be able to write in specific games and their votes will also count as two or three. Then, each vote will be entered into a drawing (so that someone can't just pay their way to the top) and the game that gets drawn will be purchased with your donations and then I'll write the review and include everyone's name (or if you prefer to remain anonymous that's cool too).

This will allow me to review more recent games. This will allow me to review the games you want to know about. This will allow me to connect with you, my readers, more than we have before.

Want to get involved? Check out my Patreon page here. Read all about the Community Supported Reviews. If you like the idea, sign up! I can't wait to hear from you! If you Tweet, check us out on Twitter. If your Face Books, check us out there too! And remember, Don't Stop Playing!

So. You went and did it. You ignored my review of The Oregon Trail Card Game (or more likely didn’t know it existed) and shelled out your hard earned cash for this card game. That’s thirteen bucks that could have been used on more worthwhile pursuits: lighting it on fire and keeping your toes warm, folding the bills into mini paper airplanes, or buying thirteen dollars worth of grass seed, planting it, and watching it grow. You did it, and now you have to live with it: sitting on your game shelf or burning in your garbage can, you have to live with that game. No amount of grass watching will erase that. But does that mean that you have to live with a terrible game? Well, yes unfortunately. But what you can do, with some simple modifications, is live with a better game than you purchased. Here’s how.

I loved playing the Oregon Trail computer game as a kid in elementary school. You were subjected to terrible tortures, rudimentary medicine, and horrendous culinary options. Oh, those things were also present in the Oregon Trail computer game. It was without a doubt one of the more entertaining, if frustratingly difficult, aspects of my elementary education. So it was with no small amount of nostalgic joy that I greeted the recently released The Oregon Trail Card Game by Pressman Toy Corporation. Would my hopes be achieved, as so seldom happened in my computer Oregon Trail endeavors, or would my hopes be crapped upon the ground, much like most of my hapless pioneers dying of dysentery on the digital Oregon Trail? Let’s find out.

So, my family has been experiencing some change. The good news is that I received a promotion at my job. The even better news is that it required me to move to Vegas! That's right, kiddies; 2 To 4 Players is now based out of Las Vegas, and by that I mean I am now living in Las Vegas. What that also means is that I am looking for anyone and everyone with board game inclinations in the Las Vegas area who wants to get together. You live in the Las Vegas area and want to play games? Hit me up at [email protected] and let's get started!

​I've been around to a couple stores thus far, Little Shop of Magic and Game Planet to be specific, and I am liking what I'm seeing so far. Leave it to board gaming communities to make moving to a new city a little more friendly. Now that life is settling down again after the craziness that was preparing for this move, I am hoping to have more content coming shortly, but I just wanted to let you know that I am still here, I am still going to keep 2 To 4 Players providing quality reviews and gaming related content; I'll just be doing it from the hot hot HOT city of Las Vegas. So stay tuned!

It's Christmas in July (or sometime in there) as Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu from Z-Man Games will be out in summer 2016. Hot off the heels of my favorite game Pandemic Legacy, Reign of Cthulhu takes classic Pandemic and reimagines it in the style of HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. When I first saw this at Ungeek.ph, I did what any self-respecting person would do: pour loads of time into overanalyzing what little bits of details we have. It looks like it will be more than just a re-skin, with different mechanics overlaying the basic Pandemic game. What mechanics? Well, we don't really know for sure, all we have are a few images to attempt to harvest information from. Maddening, isn't it? Well, I'm going to do some investigation on the images we do have and share my thoughts on how Reign of Cthulhu will drive you crazy (in a good way) and how it will differ from the Pandemic we know and love.

I have a confession to make. I am trying to brainwash my children. No, no, I'm not trying to make them vegan (or carnivorous for that matter). I want them to play games with me. I want to be able to sit down with my children years from now around a kitchen table while we play board games together. I want this not only because I desire for my children to enjoy the same things I enjoy, or because I just want to be able to have fun times with my family, but because playing games together facilitates open communication between its players and if those players are family, learning how to openly communicate will be an essential aspect of our relationship. If my children can call me out on a rules violation, can work together to fool me as the traitor in Avalon, can logically come up with a plan to save the world from disease in Pandemic, I will be arming my children with vital life skills, all while enjoying our time together. I love my family and with help from Haba I can brainwash them.