Features Archive
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“Haters gonna hate and we accept that.”
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Feature: Far Cry Beyond board game bears little resemblance to the video game series
A far cry from what we wanted.
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Feature: Azul: Queen’s Garden sprouts fresh ideas whilst sticking to its roots
Wake up and play the roses.
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“We took the mystery of Istanbul and dialled that up to 1000%.”
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“We hope players will be able to see themselves in each of the characters in one way or another.”
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“What is an RPG, but a seed of imagination designers give to players and game masters so they can grow gardens of their own?”
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The tabletop team-up have planned more than a simple almanac for Gillen and Han’s twisted polyhedral world.
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Why the Blade Runner RPG will stand apart from the cyberpunk crowd
It might not last - but then again, what does?
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An Arkham Horror legacy game could revive the genre
Don’t say Hastur-la vista yet, baby.
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Feature: 10 board games to look for at Essen Spiel 2021 - preview
The biggest board games at the biggest show.
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Clank! is a risk/reward board game that laughs at your plans, and I love it
Goofs with a great big lizard.
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“I need to slow down, but it's not happening.”
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Blades in the Dark’s TV series could blow away the D&D film
The cinematic gameplay and dramatic heists of John Harper’s RPG makes it perfect for a small-screen adaptation.
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Feature: The Civilization board game pioneered epic strategy a decade before Sid Meier
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tech tree.
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“Passion is coming through in spades right now” - Funkoverse game studio talks licensed board games
IPs are making board gamers happy.
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Magpie Games talks supply chain logistics, shielding design from bloat and contributor pay.
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“Almost everyone thinks they have something of value.”
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Feature: 10 board games to look for at Gen Con 2021 - preview
From sequels to beloved classics, to new releases from renowned creators.
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RPG character backgrounds are rubbish - here’s how to make a good one
Or; why Obi-Wan Kenobi is a terrible RPG character.
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Why should you care about a board game based on an animated show from the ‘90s?
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MTG Arena’s differences from paper Magic: The Gathering are a confusing, exhausting muddle
Digital-only cards, exclusive sets and a lack of popular formats have made it hard for players to keep up.
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Magic: The Gathering’s new Commander decks are a good thing for every player
More dedicated products for the popular format means fewer cards elsewhere - and that helps everyone.
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5 things we want to see from the new Marvel RPG
From weird superheroes to romantic arcs.
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A personal history of a worker-placement pioneer, 20 years, two continents and multiple generations in the making.
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Adventure Zone DM Griffin McElroy and Bureau of Balance co-designers chat about their new board game
And why there isn’t an Adventure Zone RPG yet.
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“If there’s going to be a new Descent game, it has to come from a great idea and not just exist for the sake of being made.”
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Adventures in the Forgotten Realms’ best gameplay mechanic isn’t new to Magic: The Gathering
Treasure decks are stronger than ever.
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“I take roleplaying with me whenever I’m performing in any other medium.”
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Alongside its descendants and its future.
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“If this is the only game I ever get to make, I should just do the thing I love the most.”
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“The first [Darrington Press] product was important, it needed to be familiar to fans.”
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Monopoly Deal is the only Monopoly worth playing, because it understands why the board game sucks
Being bad feels pretty good.
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“I understand that playing as The Man may be uncomfortable.”
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Cryptkeeper, eat your heart out.
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Critical Role’s Campaign 2 finale shows just how far the hit Dungeons & Dragons series has come
Forever throwing fluffernutters.
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Location, location, frustration.
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Nova RPG creator on bringing Destiny and Overwatch-inspired 'looter shooter' action to the tabletop
Designer Spencer Campbell talks insights, inspirations and washing his hands of gamers.
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Once you’ve done your research.
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GMs shouldn’t always break the rules in tabletop RPGs
Tend the rules.
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Once More Into the Void tells emotionally fraught RPG stories in a Mass Effect 2, Picard framework
The duo behind the upcoming game talk translation, betrayal and the joy of being a Renegade.
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One of board gaming’s first celebrities reflects on designers’ rising recognition.
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New RPG book ARCON is ready to leave tired ideas about cyberpunk settings in the past
Building a better dystopian sandbox.
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Feature: Roleplaying games were around hundreds of years before Dungeons & Dragons
The seminal tabletop RPG drew from generations of wargaming, storytelling and parlour games.
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Magic: The Gathering is more ban-happy than ever, and it’s holding MTG Arena back
Getting the banned back together.
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“When including more diverse representation, disabled people continue to be excluded at alarming rates.”
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Shawn Tomkin has reached the stars with Ironsworn: Starforged, but he couldn't do it alone
The designer talks influences, making a good thing even better and the importance of community feedback.
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The greatest board game stories are told around the tabletop, not on it
Playing with your tale.
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Isaac Vega and Lindsey Rode discuss launching Rose Gauntlet Entertainment and the label’s debut release.
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Unmatched is the Avengers Assemble of board games - it successfully unites a team of unlikely heroes
Kneel before this excellent tabletop series.
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What appeared to be a Kickstarter darling and fast-growing company was a carefully projected illusion.
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One More Multiverse co-founder on helping give tabletop RPGs a ‘good nudge into the mainstream’
Sara Alfageeh talks focusing on indies first, helping designers make a living and giving players customisability.
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As thrilling as it is simple, Pack Wars is one of Magic: The Gathering’s best overlooked formats
Here’s how - and why - to play.
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The character’s version of representation frustrates AAPI fans.
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Lines and veils, and other RPG safety tools, open up tabletop roleplaying for everyone
Ensuring comfortable, collaborative creativity around the table.
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Call of Cthulhu’s epic Masks of Nyarlathotep shows the perfect way to run a RPG campaign over years
Into the Months of Madness.
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Is Strixhaven a good entry point for the Magic: The Gathering newcomers? Well, it’s complicated.
For the cardboard curious.
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“A really big thing is having an arena where you feel like you have some control over the stories that are told.”
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Disability representation in tabletop gaming matters - here are the games doing it right
Recent years have seen stories and characters that avoid ableist tropes, though there’s still work to be done.
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Big tabletop events are likely to return this year, but they might look very different.
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How publishers are adopting eco-friendly practices to help the planet.
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Feature: Weekend Play Report - Ex Novo, and the joy of mapmaking games
Routing to recreation.
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It stands heads, shoulders and horns above the disastrous Dark Souls.
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Dead of Winter bridges the intimidating gap between casual and complex board games
Gravely underappreciated.
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Exploring one of the titles in Jewish roleplaying anthology Doikayt.
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Feature: Cancelled Warframe-inspired RPG highlights the destructive toxicity of online fandom
“This is a demonstration of a vocal minority of angry trolls getting what they wanted.”
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The multiverse is the perfect home for The Lord of the Rings, Warhammer and more - if handled correctly.
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Magic: The Gathering is at its best with more people - here’s why
All hands on decks.
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Feature: Queer players find more than a game in Dungeons & Dragons - they find a safe space
“We are here to play whoever we want to.”
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How Dungeons & Dragons helped me discover my gender identity
I was playing a man in real life - why not a woman in my escapist hobbies?
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Feature: Good Old Plays: The throwback RPGs giving modern roleplaying “a breath of fresh air”
OSR designers are reviving the genre’s roots with compact rules, player-led storytelling and creativity in abundance.