I don’t know if it’s fair to say that I’m obsessed with zombies and the zombie mythology, but I have watched The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, read the book and watched the movie World War Z, and even seen the classics Night of the Walking Dead and Dawn of the Dead, among so many other books, graphic novels, movies and TV series that feature the gurgling, shuffling undead who seek you out as…Read More

It’s the turn of the 20th Century and electricity is big, with inventors just transitioning from steam to the magic power source. It’s the golden age of invention and none other than genius Nikola Tesla has challenged inventors from around the world to create their own fantastical machines and race through the Swiss Alps, winner to take the crown of World’s Best Inventor. Are you ready for the challenge? That’s the premise of the delightful Steampunk Rally,…Read More

I think it’s only appropriate to start this game review by saying that at various times both of my daughters have sworn that they’re going to grow up to become that weird cat lady in the neighborhood with vast numbers of cats roaming their homes freely. We do have four cats (only two of which live with me, fortunately) at this point, and they also have three dogs at their Mom’s house too, so it’s…Read More

I’m lucky that my children are all into my gaming hobby, at least somewhat. A-, at 19, still enjoys a quick game of Cribbage, while G- is always up for Monopoly (a family vice), Cribbage, Rummy or his two new favorites Bullsh*t and Presidents, and my youngest, K-, has fallen in love with Lords of Waterdeep, a fun, light worker placement game from the same development team as Dungeons & Dragons. Indeed, “Waterdeep” is a…Read More

I’m a history buff and read lots of history books, fiction and non-fiction, so it’s no surprise that I gravitate towards historical board games too. To be fair, most of them are only loosely themed for a historical era so playing the game isn’t exactly like attending a graduate lecture about the era. Still, there’s something compelling about building games themed around, well, building, whether it’s entire civilizations evolving from the stone age thru the information…Read More

I really like LEGO building blocks, and have done since I was a kid. All three of my children have had various LEGO sets and kits through their childhoods and while there have been bursts of interest, I’ve always been a bit disappointed that none of them really got into it. Heck, I’ve sat and chatted with more than one Master Builder from LEGO and am still convinced that’s one of the cooler jobs in…Read More

I have buddies with comic book collections, penguin collections, computer collections and even sock collections, and my youngest is racing to collect every possible stuffed animal in existence, but I have to admit, I never got the bug, I’m not much of a collector. But I can appreciate really interesting memorabilia and collectibles and have definitely enjoyed perusing online auction catalogs and exploring thrift stores throughout the country. The problem with collectibles nowadays is authenticity….Read More

It’s a perfect match, right? A board game from the Depression era about monopolizing resources and winning by forcing the other players into bankruptcy and a mythic evil creature that’s older than mankind and has dark, horrific desires. Cthulhu, in case you aren’t aware, is a fictional creature imagined by the dark mind of early 20th century horror writer H.P. Lovecraft in his 1928 short story The Call of Cthulhu. It’s evil. Really, really evil. He…Read More

Research firm DeltaDNA has released some interesting data about gender and gaming, split across the four categories of action, strategy, puzzle and social/casino games, and the results might just surprise you. Now by “games” the company is talking about online and computer games, with a healthy sprinkling of casual games targeting smartphones and tablets too. What most jumped out at me is that while 75% of “action” gamers are male, 82% of puzzle gamers are…Read More

Note: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Hasbro. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation. Star Wars. It’s the film series that I grew up with and like most of the modern world, I grew to love the archetypes of Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Han Solo, and the rest of the Star Wars universe. I even stuck with it through…Read More

I play a lot of board games. Complicated board games that take hours to play. It’s fun, social and intellectually stimulating. Better yet, I’ve got my kids hooked on the hobby too, though some more than others. My youngest, K-, is the most into it right now and the little tyke wins quite regularly, reinforcing that she’s a bright spark. It’s a rare week when we aren’t playing something or other, either me with my…Read More

A mini foosball table with players modeled after real soccer team members? Sounds fun. And with featured teams including Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United, it definitely adds a new dimension to the game! Here’s the scoop: The Minogols Foosball table is quite entertaining, no question, but I’ll be candid that because of its size, it’s not great for adults who want to play a full-on foosball match, so it’s not the table to pick…Read More

I don’t know how something as weird and creepy as this has passed me by for so many holiday seasons, but I just this afternoon learned about the world of Elf on the Shelf and it’s awesomely strange. It all revolves around a story created in 2004 by Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell over a cup of tea. Bell suggested they write a book about their own family tradition of an elf sent from Santa who…Read More