We don’t have that many board games. Just a crammed 3x4 Kallax unit. Plus a sideboard. And a cabinet upstairs. Plus the loft. Ok, we’re going to stop there...
Games have kind of taken over, but in the best way. They're how we switch off, catch up, get competitive (in a fun way... mostly), and spend proper time together. We love an afternoon of strategy or a quick game squeezed in after dinner, we are here for them all.
We’re suckers for a proper board game night: snacks lined up, music on, and a table that starts tidy but ends up covered in tokens, resources, and the occasional dramatic dice roll. If we’ve got a free afternoon, Scythe is our go-to. Drawing factions at random is a must (even though we all secretly hope for Rusviet. Yes, we know it’s overpowered, and no, we don’t care), and let’s just say things get strategic fast. And yes, we do track wins. Not because we’re competitive (okay, maybe a bit). Mostly, we just like looking back to see who’s been on a roll – or who only thinks they have.
We love a good legacy game - Charterstone was fun. Seeing the board shift and evolve because of choices you made earlier always feels like the game’s really remembering what happened. But on the other end of the scale, you’ll catch us playing a quick roll and write game like Clever if we haven’t got much time.
Then there are the games that just make us happy to look at. Everdell, with its gorgeous tree and tiny critters. Flamecraft, which has dragons themed around different resources and pun-filled shop names like Draco Bell – love that. We also love the calm strategy of Wyrmspan, the constant dilemma of The Isle of Cats (do you go all in on lessons, or focus on getting those families together before you run out of fish?), the jewel-matching of Splendor, and the delightful madness of The Quacks of Quedlinburg (pro tip: don’t worry about busting on the first 2 turns to maximise how many tokens you can buy). Add in a few expansions (real coins instead of cardboard ones? Yes, please), and we’re in our element.
And we haven’t even got to playing cards yet. Growing up, it was Rummy on Sunday evenings, chaotic rounds of Spoons at the kitchen table, and the occasional game of Poker that was more about snacks and bluffing than actual strategy. We’ve played a lot of Hearts, Go Fish, and a game whose family-friendly name is Karma, but definitely had a ruder name when we played it growing up. These days, we still love the classics, but we’ve also come to appreciate the feel of a really well-made deck. A set of premium playing cards just makes things more enjoyable – they’re easier to shuffle, nicer to hold, and they hold up after a few too many late-night rematches.
We still start most mornings with a friendly (ish) battle over Wordle and work together to solve Framed, and we get properly excited about doing escape room boxes at home. The Exit advent calendar was a highlight last Christmas. Nothing too punishing, just clever puzzles that made you feel smug without needing a PhD.
And yes, if there’s a deck themed around something we love (a film, a book, or a band) we’re probably already justifying it as “essential.” We’re always drawn to ones with a bit of story behind them. Think Lord of the Rings playing cards and Star Wars playing cards. If the design’s been properly thought through, we’re interested.
Games are a regular part of life for us, something we come back to again and again. We’ve definitely had a few late nights chasing one more round, knowing full well we’ll be tired the next day. But when you finally beat your best score or pull off something clever, it’s hard to mind. And if you’re playing with a great-looking deck at the same time, that’s just a bonus.