I have previously looked at replayability in board games and I must admit, I still can't put my finger on why a game like Chess, which has no variability and no randomness, is so hugely replayable and remains interesting even after dozens of plays, while other games with variable setup, different factions and a large amount of chance are sometimes boring after only a handful of plays. So let me grapple with this topic in yet another article.

Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/12/05/repeated-replayability-another-look-at-games-longterm-interest-topic-discussion/

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(Photo by Prokofiev, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)

There was all sorts of Xiaochi and other street food on offer, as well as a variety of speciality drinks. It was still rather quiet, but already the stall owners were busy. The streets were heavy with the scent of various herbs, spices and all sorts of wonderful flavours. As it was getting darker, more and more people found their way into the wonderful maze of this amazing Taiwan Night Market by Zong-Ger from Good Game Studio.

Read the full review here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/12/02/taiwan-night-market-saturday-review/

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I don't mind losing. In fact, when I play with my weekly game group, I usually lose. There are very few board games that I am confident that I will win or at least have a good chance of winning. However, there is something interesting I noticed recently. Irrespective of whether you're a sore loser or gracious winner, I think it is true that gameplay experience changes depending on the skill level of the other players. Playing the same game with people who are as good at a game as you just feels different to playing it with people who are better than you or worse than you. In this article, I want to investigate this a bit further.

Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/11/28/fun-to-lose-how-opponents-skill-levels-affect-gameplay-experience-topic-discussion/

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There was a lot of yapping and barking, jumping and tail-wagging. Everyone was excited, but eventually, everyone settled down and lined up in a neat row. There were a few last-minute alterations, with dogs having to change spaces. However, when everyone was ready, it was time to choose the best dog, the winner of this Puppy Pile by Mike A Pratt from Thing 12 Games.

Read the full review here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/11/25/puppy-pile-saturday-review/

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It's clearly Bez month, because here is another article inspired by her. This time she wanted to know my thoughts on giving fair credit in games. So let me see if I can rise to the challenge.

Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/11/21/due-credit-how-to-credit-people-on-board-games-topic-discussion/

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It was either us or them. We were the only two teams on a planet far, far away, a planet that was crawling with bug-eyed monsters or BEMs as we had started to call them. My navigator moved around the directional grid to guide the vehicle across the planet's surface and allow the gunner to take aim at one of the weird inhabitants of this rock in space. We had to be careful though. We had to target the right BEMs to come out victorious in this fight to the end. It was all about who was going to be the Last Bug Standing in the Circle of Doom! by Bez Shahriari from Surprised Stare Games.

Read the full review here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/11/18/last-bug-standing-in-the-circle-of-doom-saturday-review/

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Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

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Here is another article inspired by the wonderful Bez from Stuff by Bez. She suggested I talk about the representation of bees. There wasn't any particular angle she wanted me to take, but the title alone gave me some inspiration. So in this article, I want to look at board games that feature bees in some way.

Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/11/14/the-representation-of-bees-the-latest-buzz-in-the-board-game-hobby-topic-discussion/

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The house smelled of cinnamon, golden syrup and ginger. It was no surprise, because our oven was full of gingerbread rectangles on two trays. It wasn't long until they were done and needed to come out of the oven to cool down. We had small bowls full of sweets and a piping bag ready to decorate them. Suddenly, I had an idea. Rather than building a traditional house, we could instead make Gingerbread Towers by Jessica Metheringham from Dissent Games.

Read the full review here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/11/11/gingerbread-towers-saturday-review/

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The genre of worker placement games is quite large and has evolved a lot over the years. Traditionally, worker placement was all about certain actions being unavailable to other players as soon as someone placed their worker there. At some point, games introduced shared worker place spots. Some games allowed players to kick workers out, returning them to another player who would effectively get another go. In this article, I want to look at the genre and pick out different implementations and variations on the theme.

Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/11/07/working-hard-a-look-at-worker-placement-mechanisms-topic-discussion/

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Using chopsticks isn't easy. A lot of people are uncomfortable with or have no experience using them. However, like so many things in life, it's all a matter of practice. So rather than embarrassing yourself in front of a restaurant full of people who seemingly have no problem picking up their food with two wooden sticks and transporting it to their mouths, you could just learn how to use them in the comfort of your own home with family or friends who might also want to master them. To answer the challenge and make it a fun experience, here is Chop Stacks by Dax Gazaway from Red Flag Game Studio.

Read the full review here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2023/11/04/chop-stacks-saturday-review/

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