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

I’m a gamer. Not computer games, not video games, but board and card games. Complex, multi-hour games like Pandemic, Shadows Over Camelot, The Manhattan Project, Power Grid and Eclipse. You probably haven’t heard of any of ’em, have you? That’s okay. I’ll also play Monopoly and The Game of Life (though I boycott Risk as I find it to be completely un-fun to play for various reasons). I’ve also taught my children to be gamers…Read More

I knew that there would be a lot of soccer in my summer plans because this year saw the FIFA 2014 World Cup, a month of the beautiful game played beautifully — mostly — and my favorite sport becoming the top of the zeitgeist list, the trending topic, what even Americans paid attention to for a short period of time. It’s weird, really, because globally soccer is by far the most popular sport and in any…Read More

I’m very grateful to the fine folk at Cricket Wireless for sponsoring my attendance at yesterday’s exhibition “friendly” between the winningest team in the English Premier League, Manchester United, and one of the best teams in Europe, Associazione Sportiva Roma from the Italian Seria A League. Now don’t worry, I’m still a loyal Tottenham Hotspur fan, my Premier League team of choice, but their US tour doesn’t include Colorado (they beat The Chicago Fire last night,…Read More

The plan was simple enough: Invite some friends over for an afternoon of gaming but move things outdoors so we could enjoy the lovely weather, use the BBQ to avoid heating the house up unnecessarily, and generally have a backyard bash, albeit small. I was inspired by the Dr Pepper #BackyardBash blog, actually, which you can find at DrPepperBash.com. When the day came, however, the games were ready, the snacks were ready, the drinks — Dr Pepper…Read More

I buy a lot of greeting cards, and my preference has always been towards ones that are blank inside. I mean, I don’t need someone else to write a “pithy” message for me, do I? On the other hand, if I can find a card with an image or message that I wouldn’t have come up with myself, then they’re just helping me out and that’s all good! Problem is, most card shops — which…Read More

This post brought to you by BACARDÍ. All opinions are 100% mine. I’m obsessed, I own it. I have always been a big soccer fan and proudly support both my British Premier League team — the Tottenhan Hotspur — and Team England in the 2014 Cup every four years. Neither has a great record of finishing what they start, however, and the Spurs rather famously fall apart as the season ends, wrapping up in fifth…Read More

There’s a terrific deal running right now for tickets to the Denver Outlaws, professional outdoor lacrosse team: buy one, get one free (“BOGO”) tickets for any of the games at Sports Authority Field at Mile High this summer. Haven’t seen lacrosse? Turns out it’s one of the nation’s fastest growing sports. I’ve learned quite a lot about lacrosse since my 14yo son G- joined a local league a few years ago. I’m so focused on world soccer…Read More