Guides
Board game guides for your table and shelf
Choose a game for the people at your table, make sense of the boxes you own, or clear up a rule that has stopped play. These guides connect each decision to the catalogue and the tools that help with it.
Start with what you need tonight
Your collection
Put your games on a shelf
Track owned, played and wanted games. Arrange owned boxes in a Kallax-style shelf by personal order, colour, genre, box size or title, then inspect the statistics your records support. Your personal collection page stays out of search results.
During play
Settle the question on the table
Sign in, choose a supported game and ask Rodney about setup, turns, scoring, card effects or tricky interactions. Its answer comes from that game's selected reviewed rulebook; check the publisher's current ruling if the answer is uncertain.
Buying guide
3 published- Board games past the gateway stageSix board games for groups that have enjoyed Ticket to Ride or Catan and want more strategic depth. Player counts, teach times, and fit notes for each.Guide6 games
- Before you buy a board game expansionA buying guide for board game expansions — what makes one worth buying, and the situations where the base game still has more to give first.Guide6 games
- Gateway board games by groupChoose a gateway game that fits your table. Picks for families, couples, social groups, conflict-averse players and those ready for more.Guide10 games
Reviews
8 published- Blood Rage, according to the people who played itFive reviewers praise Blood Rage's miniatures and card-driven combat, but split on expansion pricing, a figurine design, and whether one card distorts the game.Review synthesis1 games
- 7 Wonders, according to the people who played itFive reviewers converge on 7 Wonders' drafting and scalability, but split on interaction, long-term depth, and whether to buy the original or 7 Wonders Duel.Review synthesis1 games
- Codenames, according to the people who played itFive hands-on reviewers converge on Codenames as the definitive word game, but split on the spymaster burden, replayability ceiling, and best player count.Review synthesis1 games
- Pandemic, according to the people who played itFive hands-on reviewers converge on Pandemic as the cooperative gateway, but split on the alpha player problem, replayability depth, and best player count.Review synthesis1 games
- Ark Nova, according to the people who played itFive reviewers converge on Ark Nova's action mechanism and combo depth, but split sharply on player count, interaction, and design trade-offs.Review synthesis1 games
- Ticket to Ride, according to the people who played itFive reviewers converge on Ticket to Ride's quick teach, but split on two-player tension, replayability and how much card-draw luck shapes the result.Review synthesis1 games
- Wingspan, according to the people who played itFive reviewers converge on Wingspan's components and teach, but split on luck, parallel-play interaction, and whether egg scoring dominates late.Review synthesis1 games
- Azul, according to the people who played itFive reviewers converge on Azul's tiles and quick teach, but split on abstract appeal, player count and whether younger players will cope.Review synthesis1 games
Table culture
7 published- The rule you have been getting wrongHow common rule errors stay hidden in popular games, why they rarely surface until someone checks, and what to do when you find one mid-session.Table talk4 games
- Games you will definitely play somedayThe aspirational heavy, the wrong-player-count game, the impulse buy — a taxonomy of unplayed board games and what the ratio tells you.Table talk4 games
- The alpha player problem in cooperative board gamesOne player starts directing everyone's moves. The community calls it quarterbacking. Here's why it happens and what groups can do about it.Table talk4 games
- Choosing what to play on game nightThe social dynamics of picking a board game: who pitches the new one, what defaults emerge, and how knowing what you can teach helps.Table talk4 games
- What you actually sign up for when you teach the gameTeaching a board game means preparation, selective explanation, and mid-game arbitration — all unpaid, usually unasked, and always expected to be accurate.Table talk2 games
- What to do when a rules question stops the gameFour ways groups handle a mid-game rules question — rulebook, phone, house rule, or a verified-source tool — and what each one actually costs.Table talk5 games
- Board game etiquette that actually mattersSeparates board game courtesy from house preference: game care, teach attention and time honesty are obligations. Phones, takebacks and analysis time are not.Table talk
Mechanisms
1 publishedPlayer count
4 published- Board games worth playing soloBoard games with official solo modes — score-challenge puzzles, Automa-driven competition, and long campaigns — and what makes each one work for one player.Guide5 games
- Board games for 3 or 4 playersEight board games that work well with three or four players — publisher-stated counts, play times and what the mechanism does differently at this size.Guide8 games
- Board games for five or six playersBoard games for five or six: most popular titles cap at four. Here are options that actually work at these counts, with what changes at each.Guide6 games
- Board games for two playersWhich games were designed for exactly two people, and which scale well enough that two is still a worthwhile choice. Publisher-stated counts, honest fit notes.Guide6 games
Collecting
5 published- Build a collection for the group you haveChoose games around your actual group, track owned and played titles on a visual shelf, and use the gaps you find to decide what belongs in your collection.Guide3 games
- Reading another person's board game collectionA board game shelf reveals owned boxes, player-count options and expansion habits. It cannot reveal plays, motives or whether the owner enjoys a game.Table talk3 games
- How many board games fit in a Kallax?Check Kallax opening size against your board game boxes and use the Almanac visual shelf to spot fit problems without trusting a fixed capacity estimate.Guide5 games
- How to track your board game collectionAdd owned, played and wanted games, arrange a Kallax-style shelf in five ways, and read your collection profile without mistaking estimates for play history.Guide6 games
- What your board game collection says about youA researched and mildly incriminating guide to shelf habits, unplayed games, expansion optimism and what a collection cannot reveal.Table talk4 games
Learning a game
2 published- How to use a rules bot without stopping the gameUse a board game rules bot as an in-game companion: choose the game, ask a precise question, follow up, and know when to check the rulebook.Guide
- How to teach a board gameCover the win condition and one full example turn, then stop. A teach that starts the game fast protects the evening better than one that tries to be complete.Guide6 games