“Oh, you play board games? Do you mean, like, Monopoly?”
CBY fans, if this is your non-sarcastic thought when someone tells you that they like playing board games, you’re gonna want to sit down and buckle up. Today’s modern board games are much more than just rolling the dice, moving spaces, and reading what the board or card says. There are games about farming, building civilizations, ordering sushi, battling plagues, making wine…pretty much anything you can think of. There’s drafting, worker placement, deck-building, engine-building, roll-and-write, flip-and-write. What do these weird words and phrases mean? We will get there in future installments of this column.
Of course, massive intellectual property franchises are still a huge part of the hobby. There still is Lord of the Rings Risk, Disney Pictionary, or Marvel Uno. But there are also interesting, original games that make you feel like you’re playing as the characters in the movie — like you’re faced with the same decisions that Luke Skywalker was faced with, and this time, you might choose differently than Luke did.
To explore every mechanic or theme or category of game can’t be done in one conversation, but that’s why we’re doing this column in the first place. Tabletop board games are a new area here at Comic Book Yeti, and we plan to provide you with some more knowledge about this hobby. Whether that is through game reviews and previews, top ten lists, or even a playthrough or podcast, we are here to step into the realm and get you up to speed with what’s going on in the board gaming community today and anything you might’ve missed.
Maybe you are the type of person who likes to hear what others think, or watch others play the games you are interested in before you attempt to play them yourself. Well, that’s where we come in! We hope to give you our thoughts about the games we are playing and provide you with some good recommendations and entertainment while doing it. We are just getting started, but some of my favorite content creators are The Dice Tower, Shut Up & Sit Down, and Watch It Played! My personal favorite, Tabletop Express, does something unique and hosts a live call-in show on YouTube. So, if you want to not only hear people’s thoughts but also contribute yours, they got you covered.
There are a ton of games out there and some will hit with you and your group, and some will miss. Either way, Comic Book Yeti is looking to help you discover these games and see what YOUR next big hit for Game Night may be.