Recently Buffalo Games posted a question on Facebook asking people how they find the games they buy and play – and actually I get that question pretty often.  A LOT I find during Toy Fair, some are sent to me by the manufacturers, some I have in my collection already and then the others come from religiously trolling around the internet looking for fun games to add to my collection.  Recently, I was looking at an old post about a Reiner Knizia dice game from Board Games With Scott (*See …

A friend of mine was over recently and asked if I could recommend a card game that’s “like UNO, but not UNO, but is easy for non-game people to get, like UNO — oh and it also has to be fun for two players.”  Huh.  So we headed up to my hallway of games and I started pulling products out for him to look at.  He really wanted something simple, fun and that takes 2 seconds to learn.  Something “familiar.”
The game that really resounded with him was Ratuki by USAOPOLY.  …

I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since Toy Fair!  I feel like I just got back, but that’s probably since I’m still wallowing in follow up work!  Anyway, the first game sample I got while at the show was given to me by the wonderful people at Educational Insights (I was at their booth visiting Tim Walsh who was signing his hit game BLURT: read review here).  They were so excited about Stix & Stones that they gave me a copy, along with the biggest tote bag I’ve …

There are times that you just know fate has a hand in things.  Like I swear fate pushed the toy/game industry on me.  There’s no way I would have pursued it on my own, and yet due to some events beyond my control here I am writing game reviews while taking a break from game inventing!
From the sound of it, the game In A Pickle ended up being invented as a result from a little push by fate too.  As told by one of the inventors, Colleen McCarthy-Evans, this is …

I know it’s my first review since Toy Fair and you’re all dying to hear about something new and exciting, but I have to have some time to play the games!  So instead I’m doing a “throwback” review of my favorite old game – backgammon!   So why a review a game that predates modern civilization? Because I’m guessing far more than half of my readers have never played it (and it’s got some cool history!)
Like I said, backgammon is old.  Some estimate that it’s has been around close to 5000 …