I've been hammering away at Greylune since it arrived from @hachettebguk.bsky.social & @sorrywearefrench.bsky.social , and really enjoying it. There are a few things I think need tweaking, but on the whole this is more great stuff from @williamattia.bsky.social punchboard.co.uk/greylune-rev...

Greylune Review - Let’s set the story straight

The little box makes it feel like it’s going to be something smaller and lighter, but there’s a thick, juicy game here.

punchboard.co.uk

Spammy people trying to add gambling links to the site are getting super lazy now. At least proofread your nonsense 😅

I played with my heavy game group last night, and we played Zhanghuo: The First Empire. it was my first game in a couple of years, and it's another of those that makes me say "We really ought to play this more". It's a superb card-driven engine builder. Have you played this, or the original?

Good times at the Piranha Café tonight. War of Whispers, Here Lies, and In Front of the Elevator.

A cracking night at my local group night. In Front of the Elevator, more Greylune from @sorrywearefrench.bsky.social , and Three Witches from @allplay.bsky.social . Three Witches is so clever and fun, I have a soft spot for games for three players, and it's a good one.

Worker-placement doesn't see many changes in its basics, which is why it's nice when something like Salamandra, with its permanent worker placement, comes along. Long-term planning is rewarded with tasty combos and a sucker dart in the box! punchboard.co.uk/salamandra-r...

Salamandra Review - Worthy of worship?

Call it a toy, call it a gimmick, call it a quality-of-life improvement, call it what you want, but the sucker dart in the Salamandra box is genius.

punchboard.co.uk

@44gi.bsky.social Kobayakawa's had a bit of a spruce up and is hitting shelves everywhere thanks to @oinkgames.bsky.social . If single-card poker with a flip-flopping river card sounds like your idea of fun, you should check it out - punchboard.co.uk/kobayakawa-r...

Kobayakawa Review - One card, five stars?

It’s a cliché to say it, but Kobayakawa is much greater than the sum of its parts.

punchboard.co.uk

Excursions is @kinsonkeygames.bsky.social newest game in the Galactic Cruise universe, and I'm lucky enough to have a pre-production prototype to play with. I love Galactic Cruise, so I'm really keen to get this played.

I introduced three new players to @theoldkingscrown.bsky.social The Old King's Crown last night at a local games night. It all came down to the final battle, which naturally, I lost 😅 what's the saying? "Never with the game you're teaching". I did that superbly!

Today I'm learning Hunt For Blackbeard. It's a two-player asymmetric game of cat and mouse, one player as the infamous Blackbeard, the other hunting them. Fort Circle's other games like Votes For Women and Shores Of Tripoli are excellent, and early impressions of this are really good too.

Inferno was a nightmare for baggies and bits, so I set my tired old 3D printer off and a couple of days later, I have a satisfyingly well-fitted insert to tame it 😊

I love being part of a hobby where sentences like this are perfectly normal.

Excited to report that our new Kickstarter funded before we remembered to post about it launching! www.kickstarter.com/projects/pla...

Mexica // Bridges of Shangri-la // Gheos // Reel Rivals

Four renowned euro-style board games return with triumphant new editions.

kickstarter.com

Somehow I've managed to keep Punchboard running for six years now. I had a little dig through and pulled together a few interesting numbers and thoughts, and posted them to my supporters. Maybe you should be one too? Have a look either way - ko-fi.com/post/Six-Yea...

A teeny tiny review today, but a good one. Tally Up is a blast. I like it a lot. Play it. punchboard.co.uk/tally-up-gam... . Thanks @zatutrade.bsky.social for sending one my way.

Tally Up Review - Party gambling brilliance

Tally up is great, and for around £15 it’s really a question of why shouldn’t you buy it?

punchboard.co.uk

I'm up to 50 hours of learning Japanese with a tutor since January, and still really enjoying it. Yes, it's pretty expensive compared to an app subscription, but I have learned so much more that it's almost incomparable. Plus, I get to talk to my lovely teacher twice a week 😄

Inkwell has made ripples of excitement since it landed. @dvcgames.bsky.social game (courtesy of @zatutrade.bsky.social ) might not have hit all the high notes for me, but I think for new gamers and fans of games like Azul, there's a gorgeous new alternative - punchboard.co.uk/inkwell-boar...

Inkwell Review - For illustrative purposes only?

A beautifully made game in the same vein as Azul, but maybe not enough there for fans of meatier games.

punchboard.co.uk

Personal Demons is possessing Kickstarter on 22 September as part of the Witchstarter spotlight! Follow now so you don't miss out on the launch! www.kickstarter.com/projects/tet...

enshittification ouroboros

Tokyo Board Game Club ( @esperbgs.bsky.social ) are just knocking it out of the park with their interviews with Japanese game designers. Another good one today with Totsuca Chuo (Sweet Lands, Rosalie). The Uchibacoya method of developing games is really interesting www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA6c...

Cute Art, Heavy Mechanics: Designing Rosalie and Sweet Lands with Totsuca Chuo (Exclusive Interview)

YouTube video by Tokyo Board Game Club

youtube.com

I solved the daily #CluesBySam, Jul 23rd 2026 (Tricky), in 02:26 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 cluesbysam.com

Clues by Sam

A daily logic puzzle where you deduce who is a criminal!

cluesbysam.com

It's the big one. Eternal Sevens is Hiroken's follow-up to Eternal Decks. Competitive, rather than co-op, it's really something special. Picking a favourite would be like picking a favourite child. Find out more, including how to get it, here - punchboard.co.uk/eternal-seve...

Eternal Sevens Review - Seventh Heaven

Eternal Sevens does for Sevens what Eternal Decks did for games like The Crew or Hanabi.

punchboard.co.uk

This teeny device has helped me read again. Sounds daft for someone who writes a lot to say, but if I _try_ to read, like sit down and cut out time to do it, I find it hard to concentrate on the text. The tiny screen and quick page-flipping have really helped me enjoy it again (Xteink X4).

I got my hands on a copy of @stonemaiergames.com Vantage and spent some time wandering around its enormous world. If you're wondering if it's for you, I have a review waiting for you - punchboard.co.uk/vantage-revi...

Vantage Review - Wonderful wanderlust?

A review copy of Vantage was kindly provided by Stonemaier Games. Thoughts & opinions are my own. Vantage landed last year with a lot of hype behind it. Jamey Stegmaier’s baby, years in incubation…

punchboard.co.uk

Clue(do). Average deduction game hampered by roll and move got turned into one of my top 5 films of all time.

Wadsworth (Tim Curry) Shocked in Clue

ALT: Wadsworth (Tim Curry) Shocked in Clue

static.klipy.com

J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN@jmberger.com · 2mo ago

What are your favorite adaptations that transcend their source material? Blade Runner springs to mind

More Eternal Sevens. The last time I played I used Casual mode, which was great. This time though I played the Gamer mode, which is even better. You walk a nearly constant tightrope trying not to give your opponents the upper hand. I think this is probably better than Eternal Decks...

I'm managing to keep up some steam behind my Play Something Old series of posts. This time I've taken a look back at one of my first, and still one of my favourite games - Citadels. The butterscotch gold tokens are too good, and the game still holds up today punchboard.co.uk/play-somethi...

Play Something Old: Citadels

My battered old copy of Citadels still gets played, and it will continue to for years to come.

punchboard.co.uk

An actual shower thought this morning on the subject of adjective order. I've never known why some orders feel natural. E.g. the red, big ball feels very unnatural. Do we apply the most distinctive adjective contextually to the last in the list, or is there more going on? Linguists?

This is Inkwell from @dvcgames.bsky.social courtesy of @zatutrade.bsky.social . A gorgeous drafting game about completing illustrations on manuscripts. In reality you draft cubes to score points, in way not dissimilar to some of the Azul games. The Technique cards can ping off some great combos.

A learning play of Zenith tonight, from @playpunk.bsky.social & @hachettebguk.bsky.social . There's a pretty simple concept of playing cards with actions to tug-of-war the coloured planet tokens, but the research track and leader actions throw in just enough to keep things really interesting.