Board games are about coming together. In that spirit, I inaugurated a private little weekend convention in my living room last year and modestly named it ClioCon. With the great enjoyment it brought to its attendants, I was excited to have a follow-up this year – ClioCon II. Here’s how it went.
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Many of you will unwrap presents in just a few hours’ time… which begs the question of gifting board games. I have been both the giver and the receiver of board game gifts over the last years and will share my thoughts on the matter with you.
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2023 is in the distant future, right? …nope, that’s right now. Actually, it’s halfway over already. So here are some snapshots from my board gaming in the first six months of this year.
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My non-historical gaming mostly treaded on well-known ground – all the more testament to the quality of these games that I keep coming back to them. Here are the three I enjoyed most this year:
You can read the other Farewell 2022 posts here:
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Another year is already half-way over! Can you believe it? …I guess with everything that’s happened since January 1 (Pandemic! War! Inflation! Supreme Court!) I should be surprised we haven’t filled the history books for three years yet. In these historic times, it’s nice to take on different perspectives, learn from the past or at least get away from the present with the tried-and-true method of (historical) board gaming. Here’s what I did so far this year – the numbers, the games I played most often or were otherwise remarkable, and how I stand in relation to my board gaming goals for 2022.
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There are surprisingly few non-historical board games I played this year – almost everything I played had a (more or less solid) base in history. Still, there were a few games taking me to fantastical worlds – and here are the three I enjoyed most.
You can find the other posts in the Farewell 2021 series here:
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Happy Halloween, everyone! Nothing better today than a little gathering with friends – and maybe playing a spooky board game. One of my favorite horror-themed games is Eldritch Horror (Corey Konieczka/Nikki Valens, Fantasy Flight Games). As a cooperative game with fairly straightforward rules, it’s suitable for newcomers as well (provided they have the patience for a multi-hour game), it accommodates one to eight players, and thus it makes for an excellent Halloween party game. Depending on the group with which you play, maybe you want to adjust the difficulty of the game – make it a bit easier for a laid-back beginner’s game, turn it up to challenge crack players. This post contains some ideas how can make the game easier or harder – via investigators, Ancient Ones, the Mythos deck, and encounters.
Related: I’ve written a short primer on how to win at Eldritch Horror already – so if you need some simple tips for successful play, check it out!
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2021 is already halfway over! At least the period of January to May felt like the longest five months ever. Yet now summer is here, COVID is retreating where I live, and so we get to enjoy some of the things we love best again. For example, board gaming in person. So far, I’ve only been visited by a friend for some board gaming once this year, but I do plan on stepping it up! Here’s what I played so far in the first six months of the year.
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When you have just learned a shiny new board game, especially one which is a bit longer and more complex than others, it’s nice to have some strategic direction. That’s what I aim to provide with my series Three Basic Tips – strategy advice for beginner and intermediate players that is easy to remember and yet gets you places. That goes for cooperative as well as competitive games, and so today you’ll find the first ever Three Basic Tips for a co-op game!
It’s no secret that I like Eldritch Horror (Corey Konieczka/Nikki Valens, Fantasy Flight Games). It’s the non-campaign coop game I have played most often – no mean feat considering that a game easily lasts a few hours. With that kind of time commitment – and given that the fate of the world is at stake when the Ancient One takes over – you want to give yourself the best chances for success. Here’s how you get the job done, give yourself the time for it, and make the most of the means at your disposal.
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Sure, this blog is all about games and history. But in the end, most of us gamers are happy with whatever gaming we get to do (there are always more games we are interested in than opportunities to play), and this is especially true in this year of limited social interaction. So, without further ado, here are my top 3 non-historical games I played this year!
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Clio's Board Games 