GAMING THE BOARDS

Essential. Relevant. Important. And one hell of a great design.

When you sit down to begin Arkwright, you're facing the ridiculous notion of what could be a 5 hour+ playthrough of a difficult economic simulation that is so much more than a simulation and that, remarkably, is every bit as absurd and fun and deep as Death of Stalin - based on what you're actually doing and what you're playing as and the actions you take - which, like the movie, can talk to today's world just as clearly as it speaks about the time of the world it's describing. And despite the depth and complexity of the attention it demands, I could spend 20 hours more watching and laughing and gasping at Death of Stalin...and I could do the same thing with Arkwright. Sure, it's absurd to spend so much time at something. Sure, it's ridiculous to laugh so hard at such horror - or, in the game, such dry cube pushing and number crunching - but it's just so damn satisfying when you realize you thought you were doing so well just to be slapped in the face to realize the other player who looked like they were doing nothing at all suddenly looks like they're going to win. Sure, every single thing even in the corners has something to see or do or marvel at or think about - and I mean think about deeply - you never want it to end, you want to just keep watching, keep playing, keep finding each small and large wondrous thing that grabs your attention, in the movie or the game. I experienced the masterpiece Death of Stalin and realized again how comedy can not only excel at escapism but can also shine a light on all it means to be human that elevates it to high art. I experienced the masterpiece Arkwright and was further convinced that no matter how you feel about what it means for a game to be a game, they can still reach for something quite a bit more than an 'escape'. Arkwright is a wonder of the form. You might hate/love it, you might hate it, hell, you might even just love it, but you can't deny how good it does what it's doing. With this and Gentes, Mr. Risthaus has taken his place behind Vital Lacerda as my second favorite designer.

Gaming the Boards, the Art of Modern Board Gaming

Great Western Trail, Alexander Pfister

Agra is achingly beautiful, immense in every aspect, and like any great Vital Lacerda game (all of them), it throws you into the deep end and says 'Put the time in and have fun...the play-style will reveal itself however you let it." I can't wait to dig deeper and deeper into what it offers.

When people ask me for book recommendations, without hesitation I always answer 'The Stand' by Stephen King. It's not that it's the greatest book ever written - it's not an easy book by any stretch. It's a behemoth. It's convoluted and complex and it throws things at you, heavy things, and trusts you'll keep up. It doesn't pander, but it also isn't smug. It's provoking and pushes you, but damn is it fun. And when you really get into it and you meet the characters and the situations and you begin to understand it...it's not only a good time but you feel you accomplished something and you feel good about it. And you'll want to keep reading. It'll make you want to find that in every book you read and the search will be worth the rewards. Grand Western Trail is The Stand of board games. It is that good. And it is absurdly fun. And once you get into it, once you understand it, once you put in the work, you won't want to stop. You'll be hooked. It's work, but man is it worth it. This game is fantastic.

Mombasa Playthrough