David S Livens

Near and Far from @redravengames is one of the finest games I own. If games are judged by the experience they reward you with for playing, then Near and Far is for sure one of the greatest games I’ve ever played! ⚔️🗺👹 I’ve already written a previous post about my love of this game, so I won’t delve too much into what it is that makes this game so great (though please do check out my December countdown for that entry!) but essentially Near and Far is an adventure story game in which you are competing with your friends to have the most profitable adventure. There’s a lot of continuation throughout the campaign of various story arcs which keep you engaged and tied to your character and the decisions you make, and these stories are so nicely put together that you really do walk away from each game with lots of little moments to discuss. We still have a lot of laughs about one particular incident that happened to one character about 4 games ago! 👹⚔️🗺 Near and Far is not only delightfully fun, it’s also cat approved (slide to the right to see proof)! We’ve got just one map left of the campaign, and it’s been an absolutely pleasure to indulge in the world that Ryan Laukat et all have produced. The art work is so beautiful that I’ve used absolutely no filters on these pictures, just so you can get an idea of how beautiful this whole production is! 🗺👹⚔️ Have you played Near and Far? What did you think? https://www.instagram.com/p/BtBeB8xhY9X/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11cd0uylk063s

I promised myself no new games for a while, then this happened! 🤷🏻‍♂️ Have you played this one? It was such a reasonable price at @chaoscards that I couldn’t resist! Can’t wait to get it to the table and build me some highways! #tokyohighway #ittengames #boardgame #boardgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgamer #boardgaming #boardgamesrule #boardgamegeek #bgg #bggcommunity #boardgamephotography #boardgameaddict #gamephotography #gamegeek #geek #analoggames #boardgamesuk #tabletop #tabletopgame #tabletopgames #tabletopgaming #hobby https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs_JfkHBBLh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1tvybn3ql884z

Onitama, designed by Shimpei Sato with art from Jun Kondo and Mariusz Szmerdt and published by @arcanewonders. Chess meets Kung-Fu. Interested? Of course you are! Read on! ⛩👊🏻🙏🏻 Onitama is extremely clever. The premise is simple: you are one of two clans, each vying for victory over the other in a display of combat. You can win in one of two ways: The Way of the Stream (getting your master to the opponent’s master space) or The Way of the Stone (defeating your opponent’s master in combat). To do either of these things, you use the animal related techniques available to you each round, in the form of five cards that constantly rotate around the table. 🙏🏻⛩👊🏻 When you choose a technique, you move as described by the card, then take the card to the right of the board (passed from your opponent) and place the just used card to the left of the board. In this way everything is open information, so it’s as much about reading your opponent as it is about moving your own pieces. Just like in Chess, when your pawn or your opponent’s pawn moves into the space of and opponent, that pawn is removed from the game. If that’s a Master, then the game ends immediately! 👊🏻🙏🏻⛩ Onitama is fantastic, and made even better by the chunky plastic pieces and neoprene mat, all of which slot into a nice rectangular magnetic flip-lid box (I’m a sucker for magnetic flip lids). The game is short, and the 15 different cards allow for a huge amount of replayability. Also, the app version is a superb way to get your fix, and is currently free on the App Store! ⛩🙏🏻👊🏻 Have you tried this one? What are your thoughts? Me... I love it! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs8Oqy_DsoA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=j0vbylfdzpu7

Ninja Dice, designed by Rocco Privetera and published by @greenbriergames. Ever wanted to be a Ninja? Of course you have! Then read on! 🏯🎎🎲 No matter how many heavy games I play, nor how many incredible new mechanics I discover each year, there’s an undeniable joy in the simple act of rolling dice for me. In Ninja Dice, each player takes the role of a Ninja trying to sneak by or kill guards and residents, crack locks and ultimately get away with as much treasure as possible! As players take turns in trying to beat the house dice (the black dice pictured), each other player is rolling a single die, in the hope of both rolling arrows to steal coins from other players, and sand timers to whittle down the Ninja’s chances. Once four sand timers have been rolled the Ninja’s turn is over, and play passes to the next eager Ninja! 🎲🏯🎎 What sets Ninja Dice apart from other, similar games is the clever use of dice positioning. Certain sides have symbols with a line. Arrows symbols mean that for any dice in front of the arrow line, the player that rolled the arrow may steal a coin from the player to whom one of those dice belongs. The Ninja also has a fortune symbol, which can boost the power of any one of their dice by four times! However, if you roll the catch an arrow symbol, you cannot be targeted by a bow and arrow, you are just too swift! 🎎🎲🏯 I regret that I don’t have a photo of the lovely little ‘box’ that it comes in (a Ninja head!), but Ninja Dice is wonderful. As filler games go, this is a great one for a group, as it’s quick, easy to teach and the theme usually hits home with a lot of gamers! 🎎🏯🎲 Have you played this one or any similar games? What are your thoughts on dice games? https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs5-XzJB04u/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=57sgmdm1lz1g

Are you Jai-rich, or are you Jaipur? #punoftheyear 💎🐪🌴 Jaipur is a fantastic two player game from designer Sébastien Pauchon, with art by Alexandre Roche and published by @gameworksofficial. In it you are traders, buying and selling your wares for rewards, of which the player with the most will claim the coveted seal of excellence. Claim two seals of excellence and you have won the game, and an invite to the court of the Maharajah! So, are you Jai.. you know the rest! 🌴💎🐪 Jaipur is one of those games that just works. The rules are super simple to pick up, and the game flows quickly enough to keep decisions feeling important but not overly complex. You can take a card for free, take all the camel cards in the market row to trade later, trade goods for camels or other goods in your hand, or, most importantly, sell goods for profit. When you sell goods you take that amount of chips from that goods pile, and a bonus chip (containing extra points) for selling 3 or more goods. 💎🐪🌴 Jaipur is lovely. I genuinely love everything about it, even the box insert is great! It’s exactly the kind of experience I want from two player games of this length (around 20-30 minutes), and I’ve a feeling this will be high on my list in future ‘best ofs’. 🌴🐪💎 Have you played this one? What did you think? Let me know! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs3V9AJhemF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=nzabmw4dk6m8

Do you ever think about designing your own game? I do, a lot! I’ve even made my first tentative steps into that world by designing and testing a small card game! And you know what, it’s hard! This wonderful book was given to me for Christmas by two brilliant friends, and I’m having a great time reading through it and gaining both a new perspective and appreciation for game design! Mike Selinker has done an amazing job with compiling these essays by some of the gaming worlds foremost experts! 🎲🎲🎲 Are you designing? Do you have plans to? #boardgame #boardgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgamer #boardgameaddict #boardgaming #boardgamedesign #gamedesign #designing #design #designer #gaming #gamer #geek #mikeselinker #koboldguidetoboardgamedesign #gamedesignbook #learning #tabletop #tabletopgames #tabletopgaming https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs0rnL0ja9y/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=qok3e3bwepqg

Bohnanza from Uwe Rosenberg and @riograndegames is fast becoming a favourite of mine. The theme is almost non existent, but when the mechanics and gameplay are this good... THEME SCHMEME! 👨🏼‍🌾🌱💰 Have you played this one? What are your thoughts? #boardgame #boardgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgaming #boardgamer #boardgamegeek #boardgamenight #boardgameaddict #bgg #bggcommunity #tabletop #tabletopgames #tabletopgaming #boardgamephotography #boardgamesrule #boardgamesarefun #gamer #gaming #game #games #gamegeek #hobby #geeklife #boardgamesuk #tabletopgeek #analoggames #boardgamecollector #cardboardaddiction https://www.instagram.com/p/BsyJ1GChrrt/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=t1ppxte4lmvj

Bohnanza from Uwe Rosenberg and @riograndegames is fast becoming one of my favourites to play on our #boardgamenights. It’s simple enough for gamers of all types to join in with, but deep enough to really feel like every decision is important. The whimsical art doesn’t hurt, either! 👨🏼‍🌾🌱💰 Have you played this one? What are your thoughts? #uwerosenberg #bohnanza #boardgame #boardgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgaming #boardgamer #boardgamegeek #boardgamenight #boardgameaddict #bgg #bggcommunity #tabletop #tabletopgames #tabletopgaming #boardgamephotography #boardgamesrule #boardgamesarefun #gamer #gaming #game #games #gamegeek #hobby #geeklife #boardgamesuk #tabletopgeek #analoggames #boardgamecollector #cardboardaddiction https://www.instagram.com/p/BsyHmTGhjeB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=eenp8ekbp08o

A name change! Ever since I started my Instagram (@davidslivens) I’ve found it slowly turning from a fun way to share my art into a place to post about my passion for boardgaming. As such, I’ve decided that a name that reflects that hobby is a better way to communicate what my Instagram page is about rather than just using my real name (which I will instead use for another Instagram posting about my art and game design projects). And so I am now going by the moniker A Fistful of Meeples! 🎲🎲🎲 As always, thank you to all my followers for the likes and encouragement, it’s because of all of you that I’m so passionate about this community! #afistfulofmeeples #boardgame #boardgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgaming #boardgamer #boardgamegeek #boardgamenight #boardgameaddict #bgg #bggcommunity #tabletop #tabletopgames #tabletopgaming #boardgamephotography #boardgamesrule #boardgamesarefun #gamer #gaming #game #games #gamegeek #hobby #geeklife #boardgamesuk #tabletopgeek #analoggames #boardgamecollector #cardboardaddiction https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsv7AJZhtp0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ojuxyhwoxr9b

Bohnanza from Uwe Rosenberg and @riograndegames is fast becoming a favourite for me. The gameplay is so satisfyingly strategy whilst being accessible for all types of gamers that it’s been a big hit at game nights lately. The whimsical art doesn’t hurt, either! 👨🏼‍🌾🌱💰 Have you played this one? What do you think? #bohnanza #uwerosenberg #riograndegames #boardgame #boardgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgaming #boardgamer #boardgamegeek #boardgamenight #boardgameaddict #bgg #bggcommunity #tabletop #tabletopgames #tabletopgaming #boardgamephotography #boardgamesrule #boardgamesarefun #gamer #gaming #game #games #gamegeek #hobby #geeklife #boardgamesuk #tabletopgeek #analoggames #boardgamecollector #cardboardaddiction https://www.instagram.com/p/Bstuwy_DMQd/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1l0hgtvz4n751

So yes, I’m clearly sharing this as I’d love to win one of these games (that Arboretum has been on my list for a while *ahem*) but in all seriousness I’d like to use this to highlight one of the main reasons I continue to post on here... you, the community. Instagram has become my main place to post anything these days, and it’s because of the wonderful posts you all put up for me to enjoy every day! It keeps me wanting to improve, to keep going with my own posts, and ultimately it keeps me passionate about the hobby and everything surrounding it. 🎲👫🏆 @married_meeples are kindly giving away these three games to three lucky followers, so go check out their wonderful profile for the competition and follow them for their brilliant posts! 🏆👫🎲 #marriedmeeplesgiveaway #boardgame #boardgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgaming #boardgamer #boardgamegeek #boardgamenight #boardgameaddict #bgg #bggcommunity #tabletop #tabletopgames #tabletopgaming #boardgamephotography #boardgamesrule #boardgamesarefun #gamer #gaming #game #games #gamegeek #hobby #geeklife #boardgamesuk #tabletopgeek #analoggames #boardgamecollector #cardboardaddiction https://www.instagram.com/p/BsqgGhXDITJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=kki3t5wiqgrs

Space Base, who has played this one? I got it to the table once last year and it was an OK experience but I’m starting to think that might have been a general group mood rather than the game itself. I’m hearing wonderful things about it in end of year reviews and am determined to get it to the table again! Also, I love that cover! 😍 🚀🌒🎲 Thoughts? #spacebase #aeggames #johndclair #boardgame #boardgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgaming #boardgamer #boardgamegeek #boardgamenight #boardgameaddict #bgg #bggcommunity #tabletop #tabletopgames #tabletopgaming #boardgamephotography #boardgamesrule #boardgamesarefun #gamer #gaming #game #games #gamegeek #hobby #geeklife #boardgamesuk #tabletopgeek #analoggames #boardgamecollector #cardboardaddiction https://www.instagram.com/p/BsnhQMBDzqY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=tq8lkf6e90q2

I played Suburbia for the first time over the weekend, and really liked it! Designed by Ted Alspach with art from Ted Alspach, Klemens Franz and Ollin Timm and published by @beziergames, Suburbia is a tile-laying city building game. Tile laying is one of my favourite mechanics, and simple accessible rules always get my vote, so this one ticked a couple of boxes before it even began 👍🏻 🏗🏢🏡 The game is essentially take a tile, lay a tile and work out any effects triggered on that tile and any adjacent tiles, but there’s a little more to it than that. You have to manage both an income and reputation track, which determines your population (which in turn are your victory points) as well as have both three open and one secret objective to aim for. 🏢🏠🏗 I’m always fascinated when games turn out to be nothing like I expected, and Suburbia was certainly nothing like I expecting. It’s almost a gateway game in terms of rules overhead, but the game offers a lot of strategic depth that isn’t apparent upon first glance. I’d say that this is something that really appeals to me in gaming: keeping it simple but delivering a rich experience. As I delve into game designing as a hobby, I find myself fascinated by these things! 🏡🏗🏢 A hit with me for sure, I’m looking forward to trying this one again! #suburbia #tedalspach #klemensfranz #beziergames #boardgame #boardgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgaming #boardgamer #boardgamegeek #boardgamenight #boardgameaddict #bgg #bggcommunity #tabletop #tabletopgames #tabletopgaming #boardgamephotography #boardgamesrule #boardgamesarefun #gamer #gaming #game #games #gamegeek #hobby #geeklife #boardgamesuk #tabletopgeek #analoggames #boardgamecollector #cardboardaddiction https://www.instagram.com/p/Bslf8DghiuM/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=hgx984l05e6z

Keyflower, designed by Richard Breese and Sebastian Bleasdale with art from Juliet Breese, Jo Breese and Gemma Tegelaers. Published by R&D Games and HUCH! 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦🚢🏡 In Keyflower, each player is slowly building up their village by sending out their limited supply of workers to both gain resources and obtain new buildings and abilities. The game is played over four seasons, beginning with Spring, during which each player will place their Meeples to either use a tile action or bid on the tiles themselves. 🚢🏡👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 The cleverness of the game is apparent straight away, as whichever coloured Meeple is used first to activate or bid on a tile is the colour that every other player must also use for that tile if they wish to activate or bid on it. Not only this, but players must place at least one more Meeple than the previous player to activate it, and there is a limit to 6 Meeples per tile! 🏡🚢👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 There are also turn order tiles, which players can bid on to not only go first in the following round, but also collect incoming workers and skill tiles from the ships. It’s this careful balance of having just the right tiles, just the right amount of workers and just the right amount of resources that really makes Keyflower shine. 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦🏡🚢 What’s truly surprising is just how cutthroat Keyflower can be. You can deliberately sabotage plans and use other player’s village tiles to stop them from using them, all to further your own progress whilst hindering theirs. You wouldn’t know it from the quite lovely presentation, but this is ultimately war of the resources! 🏡👨‍👩‍👦‍👦🚢 I’ve only played 1 and half games of Keyflower so far (the half being a learning game we didn’t get to finish) but I can see the appeal. It’s a little bogged down in tile confusion at first, simply because of the sheer amount of information, but I think that’s something that will flow better as we play more. From a design perspective Keyflower is quite breathtaking, and I’m excited to get it to the table again! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsi7sqlBD7Q/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=d396wjl25fw7

The Tea Dragon Society Card Game, designed by Steve Ellis and Tyler Tinsley with art from Katie O’Neill and Josh T McDowell. Published by @renegade_game_studios. 🍵🐉🍃 Based on the graphic novels by Katie O’Neill The Tea Dragon Society card game is a nice light deck building game in which each player (2-4) is in charge of one of the titular Tea Dragons, essentially playful, naughty creatures from whom you can cultivate various teas. 🐉🍃🍵 On your turn you choose one of 3 options: turn over the top card of your deck and take the written action, if necessary, spend a card from your hold (active area) to purchase a card from the market or purchase a memory card. Each card you purchase from the market will give you new abilities or simply more tea tokens to spend on more cards, whilst each memory card will yield points at the end of the game, or give you a powerful amount to spend later on. When there is only one memory card left to purchase at the end of a player’s turn, a new season begins. This continues until players have played through all four seasons (starting with Spring) and points are calculated! 🍃🍵🐉 The Tea Dragon Society Card Game is incredibly simple, but does some nice things with the mechanics. Katie O’Neill’s beautiful art certainly doesn’t hurt, of course, but the underlying game is a nice, simple deck builder, and one that doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. For fans of the graphic novel (of which I’m not familiar) I’m sure this would be a big hit, but this is definitely a nice light filler for anyone who wants something a bit different from their usual fare! https://www.instagram.com/p/BsdzXT0DeSR/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=qz5vxt189d8u

Keyforge!! Probably one of the hottest games right now, I had to try this one at some point! Designed by Richard Garfield and published by @fantasyflightgames, with art from various (and superbly talented!) artists. 👽🚀🔑 In Keyforge, each player has a hand of cards, each card associated to one of three houses. On their turn the player will announce the house they want to activate, then can activate or play every card belonging to that house in their hand or on the table. The ultimate goal is to collect enough Aember to forge a key, and once you’ve forged three keys, you’ve won the game! 🔑🚀👽 Until early last year, I was a pretty serious Star Wars: Destiny player. I fell head over heels in love with that game, and thoroughly enjoyed both the silliness of it, and the competitive nature of each game. When Keyforge was first announced, I was intrigued, but it wasn’t until I found out just how incredible the art direction was that I was truly interested. 🚀🔑👽 I’ve only had a couple of games of this so far, but it’s fun. It’s certainly unusual, and the uniqueness of the decks is something to be marvelled at. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that this is from the mind behind Magic: The Gathering as well as many other successes! 🚀👽🔑 Whether or not it will hold up to the hype remains to be seen, but this is certainly worth a try, at least! Even if just for that art!! 😍 https://www.instagram.com/p/BsbIYjchwT4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1wymjkbdpcno7

Mechs vs Minions, designed by Chris Cantrell, Rick Ernst, Stone Librande, Prashant Saraswat and Nathan Tiras with art from @dannybeckart and Nathan Tiras. Published by @riotgames. 🤖👊🏻💥 Sometimes, one just wants to grab their keys, head to the garage, whip the tarpaulin off and rev up the engine, then go stomp some Minions in their prone-to-fail Mech! 👊🏻💥🤖 There are many reasons I adore Mechs vs Minions, but at the core of all those reasons is one key word: FUN! Mechs vs Minions is an utter joy, and every rule, every design decision made seems to have been built around that word. The beautifully pre-painted minis, the card art and names, the rulebook, the boards, the sealed mission folders, it all evokes this sense of pure fun! 🤖💥👊🏻 I can imagine the rhetorical question of ‘Why not?’ being repeated oft throughout the production of this game as well. Give the 100 Minion minis multiple poses? Why not? Give the boards embossed oil slicks and lava pools? Why not? Design a box insert that alone probably makes the game worth its price? Why not? This is a game that stands out for a reason, and it’s probably the best value game I’ve ever purchased, for pure contents in the (HUGE!) box. 💥👊🏻🤖 I’ve owned Mechs vs Minions for two years now, and we’ve STILL not finished the main campaign. You see, MvM is a game that comes out once or twice a year, and four of us gather around and play through one or two (or three, if we’re on particularly good form) missions before packing it away again ready for the next year. A large part of that is @molamol having to head back home, but it only adds to the sense of fun of cracking out this game and stomping on some Minions faces for the evening. 👊🏻🤖💥 Honestly, MvM is superb, a unique and highly thematic experience every time we play. The whole production is insanely good, but the gameplay, as well, is just brilliant fun. Every mechanism feels tailored to the theme, and once you’ve grasped a few of the nuances, the rules feel smooth and easy to remember. 🤖💥👊🏻 What are some of your favourite heavy themed games? Have you played this one? Feel free to comment below! https://www.instagram.com/p/BsWBW37BPbk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2hs1e5lztgrf