Video by Matt S. It’s hard to conceive, but Square Enix has a series that has been kicking around since 1991, and it’s almost completely unknown here in the west. That series is Itadaki Street (Fortune Street); a series of board games, usually themed after Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Princess Maker Go!Go! Princess is an odd thing to release in English. Really, really odd. It’s a board game spinoff of a series of life simulation titles that has had a really (really) marginal impact outside of Japan, and the series itself has been dormant everywhere…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Where video games are complex structures of data, rule sets and mechanics, a good board game should strive to be the opposite; simple elegance. You look at the greatest board games of all time – the likes of Chess and Go, and the thing that stands…
Read MoreArticle by Matt S. You can learn a lot about a culture from the games that it plays. I’m not just talking about video games here (though, obviously, I’m a big advocate for Japanese video games as well), but rather the traditional board and card games that predate video games.…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Nothing beats a good board game. When the mechanics are uncomplicated, and the setting and design excite the imagination, then a board game is endlessly replayable and the perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday. Video games can make it even more convenient, by removing the…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Shogi – often referred to as “Japanese Chess” – is an irritatingly obtuse game to learn how to play. Especially for those who don’t speak Japanese. With Chess, abstract as it is, pieces are designed to be visually familiar – once you’re told that the king…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Once upon a time, Monopoly and Risk were giants of the board game world. Every family had copies, everyone played them, and it was considered a great family activity to break out either of the two on a Sunday afternoon. Fast forward to today and more…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. It must be pretty hard to screw up a Scrabble clone. But we now know that it can be done. The developers of Happy Words have lived the impossible dream and done it. This is one terrible clone of Scrabble. I’m going to start with the…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Going way, way back into the history of video game RPGs, the original goal of developers was to take the pen and paper experiences that so many people loved through the 70’s and 80’s (most notably through Dungeons & Dragons), and then give them the chance…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. Beamdog, the developer/publisher that brought us the remasters of classic Dungeons & Dragons titles, including Baldur’s Gate, Planescape Torment and Icewind Dale, has again partnered with Wizards of the Coast. This time, to bring us an all new Axis & Allies board game on Steam, Axis…
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