Variant Chess

Chess has been one of the foremost games of strategy and skill in the Western world for centuries. However, chess is partially defined by the fact that the stronger player will almost always win. There is no handicap built in,...
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Stratego (Of Sorts)

Return with me, if you will, to the war-torn fields of Europe as they were during the Napoleonic Wars. Ignore those BBC reenactments that portray a brutal struggle in harsh elements, oppressive sergeants, incompetent or selfish officers, poor camp conditions,...
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Go

The game of Go exists as one of the oldest and most enduringly popular games in the world, and somewhat paradoxically, in Western culture, also one of the least known. Like Mancala, Backgammon or Snakes & Ladders, it is one...
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Clue

All of the board games that we now consider the “Classics” were not the only games of the their times, and this notion tends to get lost in discussion. Each had competitors that were often surprisingly similar in theme, in...
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VHS Board Games: The Interactive Experiment

During the 80’s and 90’s, board game developers discovered a new competitor in the growing influence of household digital games. People had been playing in arcades for years at this point, but they usually had to leave their house in...
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Variant Forbidden Island

I picked up Forbidden Island a few years ago and was immediately struck at the elegance of its ease of play. It’s almost another Pandemic, but on a smaller scale. Players work together to collect four Treasures and escape while...
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Variant Race For The Galaxy

Race for the Galaxy is a card game of interstellar development, with various factions sprinting to acquire the most economic, social, or military power to emerge as the dominant civilization in the galaxy. Since it’s release in 2007, it has...
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Variant Arkham Horror: Door to Saturn

You’ve sent your investigators to face the horrors and solve the mysteries of Arkham, Massachusetts. While trying to discover the truth behind recent events they’ve faced terrors that wracked their sanity and placed their lives in peril… They’ve been inducted...
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In Depth: Level 7 Escape

[Editor’s Note: In Depth is a new feature being rolled out. Click here for a brief understanding of the column’s intentions.] In Depth: Level 7 [Escape]   Arriving late one evening for a game night, I found a three-player game...
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