Posts By Nick Dubs
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77ReviewsMarvel: Damage Control review — Decks are dead, long live piles
I’m pretty over pure deck builders. I’ve been playing them since the OGs Dominion, Ascension, and Thunderstone came out in the late...
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170ReviewsIki review — Get in loser, we’re going shopping
Recently, I started watching The Wire for the first time. I know, I should have watched it forever ago, but it was...
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215ReviewsWe’re Doomed! review— Exactly what it says on the tin
I’m really not a fan of co-op games. There are a couple exceptions, like Gloomhaven and The Crew, but they are few...
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239ReviewsCape May review— Not just a cape, but a cane and hat as well
As the market for gateway games becomes increasingly flooded, publishers have to find a way to make their titles stand out from...
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238ReviewsCrusaders: Divine Influence review— crusading under the influence
I walked away from my base game Crusaders review feeling there was a good game in there somewhere, but there were too...
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307ReviewsThat Time You Killed Me review— time is three 4×4 grids
The moment I opened That Time You Killed Me, I had a bone to pick with it. Like most board gamers, I...
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257ReviewsCrusaders: Thy Will Be Done review— whose will is it anyway?
Crusaders wears its inspiration on its sleeve. In the rule book, Seth Jaffee stops just short of naming Feld’s legendary Trajan and...
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408ReviewsHeat: Pedal to the Metal review— formula fun
Racing is a weird genre in board games. It feels as if one day in the last decade all the big names...
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279ReviewsOrichalcum review—you’ve got to spend boys to make boys
Orichalcum is a game having an identity crisis. Its production, from artwork to components, suggests that it’s a family weight game. But...
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335ReviewsRebuilding Seattle review—use lakes to decrease population
What makes a board game great? You’d think that as a game reviewer, I’d have a clever, and concise answer to that...
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160ReviewsCaesar!: Seize Rome in 20 Minutes! review—abstracted areas
Caesar places its two players in the sandals of Caesar and Pompey, vying for influence in the final days of the Roman...
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367ReviewsShapers of Gaia review— We built this engine in a biome
I love games with a good arc, so a well-done engine builder that takes you from barely having enough to do anything...
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546EditorialsBest tabletop games of 2022
2022 was an amazing year for Gaming Trend’s tabletop team: We more than doubled our crew, reviewed more tabletop games than any...
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445PreviewsAn Age Contrived looks gorgeous and promises a solid game⏤PAX U preview
Heading into PAXU, An Age Contrived was on my short list of upcoming titles to check out, based almost entirely upon its...
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431ReviewsSPECTRE: The Board Game review— no, Mr. Bond, I expect you to sigh
Every now and then, a game comes around that is so mechanically unique and interesting that I have to make room for...
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417ReviewsCatherine: The Cities of the Tsarina review—activating aristocrats
In my continuing quest to collect games that work with both my non-gaming family and my gaming friends, finding Catherine was a...
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405PreviewsDungeons & Dragons: Onslaught preview— it’s okay to be a murder hobo
There is a well-known subset of TTRPG players who are primarily interested in combat and acquiring loot colloquially known as murder hobos....
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587ReviewsUnmatched: Houdini vs. the Genie review— a magical melee
I had been faced with a dilemma when writing previous Unmatched reviews. Since each set is essentially a standalone expansion, should I...
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460ReviewsSan Francisco review— hit the track, Jack
I’m a self-described Knizia fanboy, so I was extremely excited when I saw we had received his newest design for review. As...
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557ReviewsA Song of Ice & Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game – Stark vs Lannister Starter Set review—wily wargaming in Westeros
When this game first debuted a few years ago, I dismissed it out of hand. I was fatigued on the IP, and...
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486ReviewsArrakis: Dawn of the Fremen review— well begun is half done
When Arrakis was first announced a few months ago as a reskin/redesign of an ’80s area control game named Borderlands, I was...
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507ReviewsNorthgard: Uncharted Lands review— viking snowball fight
As a kid, I cut my board gaming teeth on American designs like Axis & Allies and various roll and moves, games...
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529ReviewsWormholes review—Infrastructure! In! Space!
At first look, Wormholes appears unassuming, but its svelte box comes jam-packed with my favorite pickup and deliver game on the market....
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520ReviewsOmicron Protocol review— new kid on the hex
Dead Alive’s Bernie Lin initially pitched Omicron Protocol to me as the perfect introduction to the minis wargaming hobby, and boy was...
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428PreviewsSCOUT Gen Con 2022 preview— What a show-off
Seems like everyone’s publishing traditional card games with modern game design additions nowadays, and SCOUT is Oink! throwing its hat in the...
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694ReviewsMythic Mischief review— troublesome texts
I’ve spent the better part of my free time time this past week or two in a cycle of rewriting and completely...
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1.0KFeaturesBest of Gen Con 2022
There’s a reason why they call Gen Con “the best four days in gaming”, and while last year could be called subdued,...
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458PreviewsOmicron Protocol Gen Con preview— when Theta Protocol doesn’t cut it
When Bernie of Dead Alive first pitched Omicron Protocol to me, it was as an entry point for the minis hobby, complete...
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518PreviewsTerra Nova Gen Con 2022 preview—Terra Mystica goes supernova
Terra Mystica is inarguably a monolith of a board game. Personally, it was the first heavyweight euro I encountered without the same...
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432PreviewsEvergreen Gen Con Preview- What you should be pining for
A few years ago, Photosynthesis came on the scene with a unique idea that ultimately fell short for a lot of people....
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498ReviewsYosemite review—competitive camping
Back in my Space Station Phoenix review, I patted myself on the back for being more discerning about what winds up in...
