Features (Page 5)
Opinion
6 things One D&D already gets right - and 3 things it doesn’t
The new playtest materials are out, and our opinions are in.
Feature
The History of Black Lotus: Magic: The Gathering's legendary Holy Grail card
From forbidden artifact to half-a-million-dollar icon.
Opinion
Off The Table: Thank god Silent Hill 2 is getting a remake
Finally, we get to see Eddie eat his pizza in 60 FPS.
Feature
Magic: The Gathering’s Warhammer 40,000 decks are a roaring success for fans of both games - if you can stomach the price
And the perfect place for newcomers to get into the TCG.
Feature
Cowboy Bebop RPG is a fawning but promising tabletop adaptation of the anime - quickstart preview
Difficult dance steps keeps this jazzy adaptation from truly swinging.
Feature
Yu-Gi-Oh! European champion Marcus Patel on his unbeaten Rikka deck and the social side of TCG tournaments
Returning to in-person events after COVID.
Feature
Sea Salt & Paper could be the next pocket-sized card game go-to after Love Letter - Essen Spiel 2022 preview
Small deck energy.
Feature
What’s the future of Yu-Gi-Oh? We go hands-on with the TCG’s latest video games at TGS to find out
Master Duel, Duel Links, Cross Duel and Rush Duel impressions from this year’s Tokyo Game Show.
Feature
Bad Baby Lich Lords' designers wanted to create the Saturday morning cartoon of card games
Necro-frantic fun.
Feature
Dorfromantik: The Board Game is just as chill and charming as the video game, but you can now play with friends - Essen Spiel 2022 preview
Exactly what you’d hex-pect.
Opinion
D&D maker Wizards of the Coast and its RPG rivals are starting to look like Apple and Amazon
Tech executives are multi-classing into tabletop gaming.
Feature
The King of Tokyo co-op board game is a lot more of the same: Essen Spiel 2022 preview
A monster box.
Feature
We tried to land a plane with dice and coffee in co-op board game Sky Team - Essen Spiel 2022 preview
Touching down next year.
Feature
Wingspan’s two-player version intensifies the original game: Essen Spiel 2022 Preview
And features some fantastic ducks!
Feature
Frosthaven’s characters feel fresh, but its combat system doesn’t: Essen Spiel 2022 Preview
City building elements remain a mystery.
Feature
Ahoy is the beginner-friendly Root I didn’t know I wanted - and it’s left me hooked
A-sea-mmetrical.
Interview
“Diverse voices make characters come alive”: Anansi’s Tapestry of Lives creator on making D&D 5E NPCs more inclusive
Written by Eberron and Forgotten Realms designers.
Feature
Fantasy adventure board game Oltréé is a brisk, brutal and beautiful successor to Talisman and Eldritch Horror
A modern co-op classic in the making?
Interview
Kickstarter's new CEO talks future of tabletop crowdfunding, Gamefound rivalry and blockchain plans
"We have a lot to improve on that will keep our hands full."
Feature
Coyote & Crow is ready to expand its indigenous science-fantasy world beyond the tabletop RPG
A new bundle of adventures, card game and other projects open space for fresh voices to tell stories in their own way.
Opinion
5 things DMs should copy from D&D actual play shows like Critical Role and Dimension 20 (and 5 to avoid)
How to bring the amazing storytelling and memorable moments of your favourite series to game night.
Interview
"Daybreak reminds us if we can imagine it, we can make it happen": Pandemic designer on his climate change awareness game
And how Wingspan and Terraforming Mars influenced it.
Feature
How new tabletop RPG The Zone embraced, and then kicked, AI-generated art
Journeys of self-destruction.
Opinion
Like video games, big tabletop games are demanding more and more from players - and it’s harming the hobby
More money, more stuff, less fun.
Interview
'TCGs are exhausting': Richard Garfield on Netrunner’s afterlife, Keyforge’s future and making a Yahtzee dungeon-crawler
And what he's been playing!
Best Games
12 board games to play at Essen Spiel 2022
Whether you’re looking for a sci-fi adventure or monster competition.
Best Games
4 brand new and upcoming board games you should play at EGX this weekend
From sci-fi betrayal to the tabletop debut of an indie video game gem.
Opinion
Pokémon's most stunning cards are pricing people out of the TCG
Food shopping this month, or a nice drawing of Umbreon? Hm…
Best Games
10 best Lost Origin cards in Pokémon TCG’s latest set
The Lost Zone makes a triumphant return in the newest expansion to the trading card game.
Opinion
Marvel films aren’t the death of cinema, but they’re getting stale
More tangled than Spider-Man's web.
Opinion
Off The Table: I can’t believe how good the Resident Evil 2 Remake is
Gold S.T.A.R.S. all round.
Opinion
How an anime catgirl helped me finally understand mahjong
It’s less weird than it sounds, honest.
Opinion
An adult activity camp was the closest I’ve felt to being a real-life D&D character - and I loved it
A weekend at Camp Wildfire.
Feature
RPGs as therapy: How fictional worlds help vulnerable people explore real-life emotions
The support workers using roleplaying to manage trauma, addiction and loss.
Interview
‘People will feel our love for Disney in this game’: Lorcana co-designer on the House of Mouse's TCG rival to Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon
Ryan Miller talks keeping gameplay friendly, plans for “inclusive” organised play and why the card game won’t “reinvent the wheel”.
Best Games
The best Yu-Gi-Oh! GX decks you can play for real
How would the anime’s top duelists have fared in the TCG’s competitive scene?
Feature
Dominaria United is a hugely satisfying return to Magic: The Gathering’s founding plane
Story, gameplay, cards - they're all here in abundance.
Feature
Monty Python RPG creators on taking the piss out of D&D, letting players get silly - and why it’s not just Holy Grail
“Python’s approach was, 'Do what makes us laugh.' So we’ve made the game we want to play.”
Feature
Pokémon’s new TCG world champions talk practice, travel and the realities of being the very best
Top players, commentators, YouTubers and more Pokémon fans reflect on the 2022 World Championships.
Feature
Rivet Wars: Reloaded is like an Advance Wars board game - here's how it plays
RTS and video game influences meet a dieselpunk World War I.
Best Games
7 Game of Thrones board games to play while you wait for more House of the Dragon
“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.”
Best Games
10 best Dominaria United cards in Magic: The Gathering’s newest set
Legendaries for everyone.
Feature
SPONSORED: Ranking Disney Sorcerer’s Arena: Epic Alliances characters based on whether I could take them in a fight
It’s going down in the House of Mouse.
Opinion
Ending D&D editions is the cleverest - and most boring - choice for the RPG
Efficiency over evolution.
Opinion
Magic: The Gathering is going the way of Fortnite - and it’s only the beginning
Universes Beyond reason?
Feature
Pokémon TCG's thrilling first UK World Championships were well worth the long wait
The first Worlds held outside the US - and since COVID - offered a weekend of climactic battles and unabashed fandom.
Opinion
D&D’s return to Planescape could provide a great new purpose for the RPG’s moral alignment system
Wheel of fortune.
Feature
Arceus and Flying Pikachu soared to victory in Pokémon TCG's 2022 World Championships
We break down the winning deck list from Worlds 2022.
Feature
‘We wanted Star Trek in D&D’: Spelljammer creator Jeff Grubb on the origins of the cult-classic setting
As Adventures in Space returns for 5E.
Best Games
The best Magic: The Gathering Standard decks in August 2022
Hold your own using MTG’s latest cards in these top Standard builds.
Interview
‘D&D takes itself so seriously’: Dr. Grordbort RPG creators on sending up 5E and swapping magic for science
Plus, grab an exclusive quickstart adventure ahead of Scientific Adventure Violence’s Kickstarter campaign.
Opinion
Into the Odd is a far port from conventional tabletop RPGs that is well worth the journey
Coal-powered adventures in a land both fantastical and filthy.
Best Games
5 best Pokémon Standard decks to look for at Pokémon World Championships 2022
These lists have been dominating the metagame over the last several months.
Interview
‘All our RPGs start with the people’: Chris Spivey on Harlem Unbound, Haunted West and what comes next
The multi-ENnie-winning designer on mixing horror with history, uncovering untold stories and his highly ambitious weird west game.
Feature
Empire’s End flips civilisation-building games on their head in a destructive bidding battle
Rome might’ve been built in a day, but it can be destroyed in under an hour.
Feature
Digital Duels: How Yu-Gi-Oh! players are enjoying the TCG - without needing cards
Cyber Spike.
Opinion
Spirit Island is an outstanding co-op game because it’s about doing genuine good
Taking lessons from the tabletop.
Opinion
Stranger Things is right: Kate Bush is the best musician to pair with Dungeons & Dragons
A Deeper Understanding.
Interview
Red Opera and Sirens RPG writer Rick Heinz discusses the tribulations of working at Apotheosis.
Heinz alleges shady contracts, long overdue payment and a work culture of distrust and ego-stroking.
Feature
Rolling Together: Indie RPG creators joining forces to change the industry for good
“This kind of collective endeavour really helps push people into making something better.”
Best Games
10 best Pokémon Go cards in the latest Pokémon TCG expansion
The mobile game tie-in isn’t earth-shattering, but there are a handful of standout cards.
Feature
“Playing at an all-trans POC table is a life-changing experience”: Transplanar creators on the importance of supporting diverse actual-play shows
“It’s crucial that we’re able to tell our stories.”
Feature
The forgotten story of D&D creator TSR’s failed attempt to break into comics and become the next Marvel or DC
“DC Comics were very pissed off.”
Best Games
11 board games to look for at Gen Con 2022
Travel from Great Western Trails to Weirdwood Manors.
Feature
How did McDonald’s, Monopoly and the US Mafia get tangled up in scandal?
Fraud and a McFlurry, please.
Feature
Double Masters 2022 revisits some of Magic: The Gathering’s greatest cards at an unjustifiable cost
Reprinting money.
Feature
Who is Vecna? Everything you should know about the D&D, Stranger Things and Critical Role villain
Diving into one of Dungeons & Dragons’ biggest bads.
Best Games
10 best Double Masters 2022 cards in Magic: The Gathering's latest set
Another chance to grab must-have reprints.
Feature
Could Arcs be the first misfire from Cole Wehrle? Our impressions of Root creators’ latest board game
A galactic disappointment.
Feature
10 things you didn't know about the early history of D&D
From the RPG’s turbulent beginnings and the Satanic Panic to the fall of original publisher TSR.
Best Games
10 best cards in Pokémon’s Astral Radiance set
The most chase-worthy cards in the latest Pokémon card set.