Boardgame Reviews and Reviewers

[Onacara]

Since Heroscape has been blocked at work now for a little over a year, I sometimes have to find other things now to pass the time during the day. Luckily YouTube is still available and I often find myself checking out a game review or two throughout the day. I normally then follow up on the reviews with a few written reviews before making a decision on whether I want the game or not.

What I have found is that there are all sorts of game reviewers...

Some of them seem to like every game they review. This makes them totally useless unless part of their review is explaining how the game is actually played. Case in point....I had seen that the game Mad Zeppelin was coming out from AEG awhile ago. The cover and card art really hooked me...(if you have The Adventurers the artwork is by the same guy) They gave this game a 7.5 out of 10...luckily I saw Tom Vasels review and read a few others including Drakes Flames and can't possibly see how they rated it so high. Unless of course maybe they are rating games on a scale from 7.5-10.

Some review only the games they like. This probably isn't true but I feel that Boardgames with Scott falls into this category (at least I haven't gotten to a review yet of a game he totally hates). This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially in the case of Scott because he is very entertaining and informative explaining game play.

Some are quite honest in their review as to why they don't like a game...as I type these words Tom Vasel's name immediately comes to mind... what I like most about Tom is that even though he is normally dressed like a used car salesman he is not trying to sell you a load of crap.

Brutally honest reviewers are some of my favorites...but only when they are funny in the process....Drake's Flames and SuperflyCircus both fit the bill to a T...no sucking up necessary. What is funny is that I have actually gone out of my way to find a cheap copy of some of the games IMax trashed so badly or at least someone who owned a copy to let me try it for myself because I am such a masochist.

Kid reviewers. As the father of 4...which is my normal gaming group...I have to say that I am hooked on 2 particular video reviews...1 is Games with Hayden and the other is The Board Game Family...both of which can be found on YouTube. Neither one is so fine and polished that its going to win a Pulitzer Prize any time soon but they do give me a lot of insight as to what games kids would like to play. The Board Game Family one in particular is great because the 3 boys are of various ages so they each get to give a different look at the same game.


This is sort of a just a brief introduction...and I am thinking of actually starting to write reviews or game reviewers and start giving them scores.

[Dad_Scaper]

Thanks, Onacara. I've been wondering what video reviewers to check out & this gives me a good place to start. The BGG recommendation forum can be a bit of a zoo and I was wondering how to begin sorting through my other options...

Anyway, thanks.

[Onacara]

Originally Posted by DaddyScaper

Thanks, Onacara. I've been wondering what video reviewers to check out & this gives me a good place to start. The BGG recommendation forum can be a bit of a zoo and I was wondering how to begin sorting through my other options...

Anyway, thanks.

I will say that a good way to do it is to find a fairly popular game and search for them on YouTube (this works well with a game you already know and like/hate) Then watch all of the reviews out there. This will give you a feel of where they are coming from. There are a lot more reviewers out there...some are extremely boring (imagine they are giving a speech in front of their high school class), some are completely inane, but if you dig around you will find a lot of good resources. My only regret is that I dont understand foreign languages because there is always going to be a game you want to see a review on...or watch a learn to play video on..and the only entries are in another language

[nyys]

Youtube is great, but when you can't be in front of the computer there are a bunch of great pod casts out there as well (just search on itunes... all free).

I throw all of these on my ipod and listen in the car and at the gym. Its amazing how many hours of this stuff you can listen too in the car.

The D6 Generation
The Dice Tower
Game On! With Cody & John
Myriad Games Presentations
The Little Metal Dog Show
On Board Games
This Week in Wargaming

[MegaSilver]

I know this is a little off topic, but:

Why was HS banned block at your work? Too big/bulky? Or something else?


Also, I like watching Tom Vassel's reviews as well, especially when his daughters sneak to to throw a "suprise" comment on a game.

MegaSilver

[nyys]

Not banned, blocked. Depending on how the filters are set-up on a companies server, many non-work related sites get blocked at work.

If I try to visit BGG at work I get an Unauthorized message, with the reason being gaming. I assume there is some sort of 'tag' in the html code that the filter picks-up on. Scapers gets through though, so I'm not sure what's different about it.

[B:T:L Matt]

Originally Posted by nyys

Not banned, blocked. Depending on how the filters are set-up on a companies server, many non-work related sites get blocked at work.

If I try to visit BGG at work I get an Unauthorized message, with the reason being gaming. I assume there is some sort of 'tag' in the html code that the filter picks-up on. Scapers gets through though, so I'm not sure what's different about it.

I get the same issue at work... For instance, I can access Heroscapers and Cool Stuff Inc., but I can't access Fantasy Flight or BGG.

Anyhow, I never thought to check video reviews of games. I usually just rely on word of mouth from friends, or impulse buying, heh. I'll have to one day check out some video reviews.

[MegaSilver]

Originally Posted by nyys

Not banned, blocked. Depending on how the filters are set-up on a companies server, many non-work related sites get blocked at work.

If I try to visit BGG at work I get an Unauthorized message, with the reason being gaming. I assume there is some sort of 'tag' in the html code that the filter picks-up on. Scapers gets through though, so I'm not sure what's different about it.

Oh, so the site is blocked. I thought Ona meant the game itself was banned from work. (Like have the hour lunch time?)

[SuperflyTNT]

Originally Posted by Onacara

What I have found is that there are all sorts of game reviewers...

Some of them seem to like every game they review.

Remember that some people are in it for the free games and simply shill the hell out of things to keep the gravy coming.

Some review only the games they like. This probably isn't true but I feel that Boardgames with Scott falls into this category (at least I haven't gotten to a review yet of a game he totally hates). This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially in the case of Scott because he is very entertaining and informative explaining game play.

http://www.boardgameswithscott.com/

Some are quite honest in their review as to why they don't like a game...as I type these words Tom Vasel's name immediately comes to mind... what I like most about Tom is that even though he is normally dressed like a used car salesman he is not trying to sell you a load of crap.

http://www.thedicetower.com/thedicetower/index.php

Yeah, I love Tom. Great reviewer.

Brutally honest reviewers are some of my favorites...but only when they are funny in the process....Drake's Flames and SuperflyCircus both fit the bill to a T...no sucking up necessary. What is funny is that I have actually gone out of my way to find a cheap copy of some of the games IMax trashed so badly or at least someone who owned a copy to let me try it for myself because I am such a masochist.

http://drakesflames.blogspot.com/
http://superflycircus.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the nod. Using this as an outlet essentially keeps me from blowing someone's sh*t loose and going to prison.

[Alastair MacDirk]

This is the most entertaining video review I've seen. We make folks watch it before we play the game. Gets everyone pumped up. All his reviews are positive though..........

http://www.downtimetown.com/2010/05/...imetown-dixit/

[SuperflyTNT]

Yeah, Robert is the MAN. Great video reviewer.

Check out his Space Hulk one...it's hilarious!

[Greyelephant]

The ones I enjoy the most are:

Superflycircus
Drakes Flames
Tom Vassel
Board games with Scott

Scott gets a little creepy at times. Did you see the Defenders of the Realm review? Yea.......just a little overboard. Other than that, there's not a game he's recommended that I bought and regretted. He does a fantastic job of reviewing the gameplay.


Never take a drink while reading the first two that I mentioned. Man are they funny! I check up on both blogs on a weekly basis just for a good laugh/review.