James Wolff – Board Game Quest

Endless Destinies: The Clockwork City Review

James Wolff — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 13:01:38 +0000

I love big narrative adventure games. Do you know what I don’t have space for anymore? Big narrative adventure games. I also don’t have a lot of time so quick-playing games are more likely to hit the table than the big sprawling games. Endless Destinies comes in a box the size of a medium paperback […]

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Dice Tower West Recap

James Wolff — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 15:42:13 +0000

I hadn’t been to a gaming convention in years. Too many years. So when a friend started planning a trip late last year for Dice Tower West, I was very interested in joining him. While Gen Con and GAMA are all about releases, Dice Tower West is about playing the games. How was it? Read […]

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Catacombs and Castles Review

James Wolff — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 13:49:20 +0000

I like a lot of skirmish games. There’s something about controlling the battlefield, triggering special abilities, and capturing objectives. Dexterity games also intrigue me as you replace dice or card luck with your own fine motor skills. But what happens when you mix them together? You get Catacombs and Castles by Elzra Games which plays […]

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Masters of the Universe: Clash for Eternia Review

James Wolff — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 14:19:13 +0000

The 80’s was a complicated time in a lot of ways. There was some optimism for the future while simultaneous concerns of nuclear war overshadowed the decade. Heavy metal music and Dungeons and Dragons each got caught up in the satanic panic and the “Just Say No” (to drugs) campaign was started to discourage recreational […]

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Junk Drawer Review

James Wolff — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 14:06:47 +0000

Americans love their stuff. There’s a whole industry set up to hold the stuff that doesn’t fit in your home. There’s even a company that makes storage units that can be delivered so you don’t have to transport the stuff you plan to store off-site. But, no matter how much decluttering someone does, there will […]

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Senjutsu: Battle for Japan Review

James Wolff — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 14:13:59 +0000

The Master and Student faced off from across the icy field. The student lunged first and his katana devastatingly slashed some bamboo that was nearby. Meanwhile, the Master side-stepped and blocked an attack that wasn’t coming, unless that rock decided now was its time to strike. But it wasn’t time, so it stayed inanimate as […]

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Chocoly Review

James Wolff — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 15:36:39 +0000

“Mom! Dad keeps putting almonds on my chocolate!” my tree nut-allergic son whined. “We’re playing a game,” I protested. “Then you can take him to the hospital if you think his allergy is a game,” she said as she walked into dining room where he and I were playing. “No, really. It’s just a game,” […]

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Forbidden Jungle Review

James Wolff — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 12:58:58 +0000

Eight or nine years ago I wanted to find an alternative to sitting on the couch with my wife and do something together in the evenings. I had grown up playing a lot of board games and RPGs and had been intrigued by a lot of the games I saw at stores like Barnes and […]

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One Hundred Torii Diverging Paths Expansion Review

James Wolff — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 13:11:29 +0000

Recently I had told Tony, “I’ve been inspired by One Hundred Torri, and I’ve decided to embrace a Japanese-inspired philosophy when it comes to living my best life.” “Oookaaay…” he responded slowly. “There’s so much wisdom in that philosophy with aphorisms like ‘Fall down seven times but get up eight’, ‘Be not afraid of going […]

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Stuffed Fables: Oh, Brother! Expansion

James Wolff — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 12:55:07 +0000

Despite my love of the genre, one of the issues I have with campaign games, especially narrative-driven ones, is that once you’ve played through the story, any draw to play again is reduced as I already know the major beats and plot twists. So this genre of games was made for expansions to tell more […]

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