Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and discussions with a personal touch
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Tabletop Games Blog podcast explores board games, card games, dexterity games, and modern hobby games, delivering in-depth reviews, thought pieces, and audio articles for all types of players. Since 2018 it has covered strategy games, family favourites, party games, and indie gems, focusing on gameplay, design, table presence, and player experience. Originally on a strict weekly schedule, from 2025 episodes now release when ready, prioritising quality. Tune in for engaging board game reviews, tabletop gaming discussions, tips, and commentary on the ever-growing world of modern board games.
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A board game can feel very different depending on what surface it is played on. Cards slide differently across different surfaces, dice make different noises, and even picking up a small wooden token can become either effortless or frustratingly fiddly. A kitchen or dining room table has been doing the job perfectly well for generations, but a soft, printed mat can make the same game feel rather more special. Neoprene has become increasingly common, bringing cushioning, durability and a little sense of luxury to the table. Yet a gaming mat's life begins long before it reaches your table, and it may not end until a long time after we stop using it. So in this article, I want to look at neoprene's environmental cost across its full lifecycle.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/10/06/pristine-neoprene-the-pros-and-cons-of-neoprene-topic-discussion/Useful LinksOath review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2021/11/27/oath-chronicles-of-empire-and-exile-saturday-review/Molly House review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2025/05/24/molly-house-saturday-review/MusicIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Horizons (Loop) by Corporate Music Zone | https://corporate-music-zone.bandcamp.comRoyalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.comSupportIf you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/support/(Photo by Susan Flynn on Unsplash)
The mountain was bare in places, green in others, but it was slowly filling with life. Small plants pushed through the soil, adventurously spreading across the lower slopes before taller growth began reaching upwards. Every new plant was different. While some thrived in sun, others lived in dappled shade. Rebuilding the mountain fauna was never going to be easy, but it was time to Reforest by Sébastien Bernier-Wong from Firestarter Games with art by Janine van Fram.Read the full review here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/10/03/reforest-saturday-review/Useful LinksReforest: https://firestarter.games/products/reforest/Rulebook: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/283343/reforest-rules-2nd-edRules video: https://youtu.be/zg-uqLw_LBM?si=9muDl4YHxACm1OLPFirestarter Games: https://firestarter.games/BGG listing: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/387276/reforestWingspan review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2019/03/16/wingspan/MusicIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Sound effects: bbc.co.uk – © copyright 2026 BBCMusic: bensound.comLicense code: CNGV9U5O0VZXO6H0Artist: : Benjamin LazzarusRoyalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-musicLicense code: 22TOPDMLMLKXXSQKArtist: : Diffie BosmanMusic: bensound.comLicense code: AMQQFVJRNOWE1U8QArtist: : TURNIQUESupportIf you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/support/
Board games that represent real historical events face a problem that fiction can largely avoid. The designer can't start with a blank page. Players are going to expect that the game somehow mirrors what actually happened in the past. Yet, a board game can't faithfully reproduce an entire historical period. The designer has to select and simplify, turning the subject into rules and mechanisms. A historical board game can't ever be completely accurate. The question really is how designers decide which parts of reality belong in the game, which can be abstracted, and which should be left out. In this article, I look at this question from the perspectives of five designers, each with a different answer to the problem.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/09/29/reality-realisation-how-board-games-represent-reality-topic-discussion/Useful LinksVotes for Women review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2024/02/10/votes-for-women-digital-eyes/Pax Pamir 2e review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2022/08/27/pax-pamir-second-edition-saturday-review/Sebastian Bae, "Designing Littoral Commander: Indo-Pacific, a professional educational wargame": https://sdhist.com/designing-littoral-commander-indo-pacific-a-professional-educational-wargame/Mark Herman, "Empire of the Sun: Monograph on U.S. Air Operations versus Japanese Fleet Bases - Truk example": https://medium.com/%40markherman54/empire-of-the-sun-ca2287fe3effThe Players' Aid interview with Tory Brown, Designer of Votes for Women from Fort Circle Games: https://theplayersaid.com/2020/09/07/interview-with-tory-brown-designer-of-votes-for-women-from-fort-circle-games-currently-on-kickstarter/Game Design Deep Dive interview with Cole Wehrle: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1993070/episodes/12096335SDHistCon, "Designer roundtable: Gaming the unpleasant": https://sdhist.com/designer-roundtable-gaming-the-unpleasant/Amabel Holland, "Theme & Mechanisms": https://hollandspiele.com/blogs/hollandazed-thoughts-ideas-and-miscellany/theme-mechanismsMusicIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: "I Want To Go Out" from the soundtrack to SILO: Season 1 by Atli Örvarsson, copyright by Apple Video Programming LLCMusic: "Fate", "Fragile Hope" and "Our World" by AShamaluevMusic.Website: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.comSupportIf you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/support/(Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash)
The rails started in Moscow, carrying workers and materials towards St Petersburg on one line and to Kiev on the other. A third railway was the most ambitious project, pushing across the vastness of Siberia, with its countless obstacles before the track would eventually reach Vladivostok. Building these tracks was a monumental undertaking, demanding workers, materials, money and, above all, patience. Progress was slow at first, but then it gathered momentum. We were building the Russian Railroads by Helmut Ohley and Leonhard "Lonny" Orgler from Hans im Glück with art by Martin Hoffmann and Claus Stephan.Read the full review here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/09/26/russian-railroads-digital-eyes/Useful LinksRussian Railroads (part of Ultimate Railroads): https://www.hans-im-glueck.de/en/game/ultimate-railroads-2/Rulebook (for Ultimate Railroads, which includes Russian Railroads): https://www.hans-im-glueck.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ultimate_railroads_rulebook-v2_en.pdfRules video: https://youtu.be/hkI3CVH72Tg?si=Al1PSqRWFIxa6Um6Hans im Glück: https://www.hans-im-glueck.de/en/home-en/BGG listing: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/144733/russian-railroadsMusicIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Sound effects: bbc.co.uk – © copyright 2026 BBCMusic: BahnstreikProduced by Sascha EndeLink: https://ende.app/en/song/404-bahnstreikMusic: Cinematic Trailer 003Produced by Sascha EndeLink: https://ende.app/en/song/12306-cinematic-trailer-003SupportIf you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/support/
As we all know, there are a good number of board games that haven't aged well, if I may put it like that. In the past, games happily made colonialism their central setting and gameplay, gave women little or no place in their worlds, or treated cultures through the eyes of the oppressor. Yet, these games remain in people's collections and come back to the table. In this article, rather than asking whether we should still play these problematic games, I explore why we don't just choose different games from the large swathe of new releases.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/09/22/political-correction-why-we-forgive-problematic-games-topic-discussion/Useful LinksBoardGameGeek: “How Puerto Rico 1897 Came to Be, an Interview with Jason Perez”: https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/1/blogpost/133975/how-puerto-rico-1897-came-to-be-an-interview-withPuerto Rico 1897: https://www.ravensburger.us/en-US/products/games/strategy-games/puerto-rico-1897-27348Votes for Women review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2024/02/10/votes-for-women-digital-eyes/MusicIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Chill Vibes by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/Royalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_USUrban Rainfall Rhythms by | e s c p | https://www.escp.spacehttps://escp-music.bandcamp.comSupportIf you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/support/(Photo by T on Unsplash)
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