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!

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.

All ashore that's going ashore! The Ship was one of my favorite disappointments of my earlier Steam days: a wonderful idea that never got the player base it deserved. It was the Sims meets Hitman, as you not only had to stalk and dispatch your prey with a creative arsenal but also had to manage a variety of needs such as Hunger, Thirst, and... Nature's Call. Nothing could compare to waiting for your quarry to sit down on the commode to do their business and then bursting in with a samurai sword. And now it's being Remasted... er... remastered.