Blog Profiles: Board Game Blogs

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Like almost everyone else in the world right now, I’m staying inside to avoid infecting myself or my friends and family with the coronavirus.

The area I’m currently quarantined in is a 900-square-foot apartment with a cat, a dog, and three humans residing in it. All of the humans are 20-somethings and while all of us feel mostly fine squirreling ourselves together, the biggest issue we’ve had so far is trying to stave off the soul-crushing boredom that comes around.

Because we can’t go to board game cafés in our area anymore, I’ve decided to pay homage to a few blogs (and possibly buy a few board games as well).

1. Shut Up and Sit Down

Shut Up and Sit Down offers a multitude of different platforms to consume content on, which is something that I always look for in a blog. I’m very visual, especially with board game instructions, so it’s easier for me to understand how to play a game by watching a walkthrough rather than just reading instructions. The site offers YouTube content, blogs and articles, a podcast, and a forum for everyone to communicate.

This blog caught my attention because it has such a strong community built up. One of the more recent posts is an ode to one of the community members that recently passed, and I found it incredibly touching.

Posts I liked: A Shut Up & Sit Down Update; and Podcast #106: The Very First Quarantine Special.

Follow @ShutUpShow on Twitter.

Credit: @shut.up.and.sit.down on Instagram

2. Start Your Meeples

Luke is a self-proclaimed board game addict, whose addiction began when he was introduced to D&D at the age of 7. He started this blog back in 2017 and has been providing regular updates since.

I particularly like this site because of the layout. While I do go to board game cafés with my friends, and I have a fantastic time, I’m particularly awful at every board game and am inclined to play simpler games. Luke resolves this issue by dedicating an area of his blog to Entry-Level games for the casual player.

Posts I enjoyed: Is Mysterium The Modern Day Clue?; and Arkham Horror Characters – Base Set Exploration.

Follow @startyourmeeples on Instagram.

Credit: @startyourmeeples on Instagram

3. The Opinionated Gamers

The Opinionated Gamers is a conglomerate of people that review board games on a volunteer basis. Founder and editor Dale Yu has insight on how the board game industry works. He has designed many games in the past (and still is), which adds more credibility to the reviews from this site, in my opinion. Additionally, more than one person gives each game a rating.

The site is extremely straightforward and really great for actually taking a look at how the game plays and how fun it might be before you buy it. The review system is simple (Love it, Like it, Neutral, and Not for me) and each post contains basic information about the game, presenting everything to you in a well-crafted package.

Posts to check out: Dale Yu: Review of Lux Aeterna; and 四畳半ペーパー賽系 (Yojōhan Pēpā Saikei).

Follow @OpinionatedGmrs on Twitter.

Resources for Gamers in the Era of Social Distancing (Article by Chris Wray) https://t.co/testdGYVKx

— Opinionated Gamers (@OpinionatedGmrs) April 5, 2020

4. The Dice Tower

Going to be completely transparent here — I was immediately drawn to this blog because their header was advertising a Kickstarter for a game based around John Carpenter’s They Live (one of my favorite movies).

The Dice Tower is focused on video and podcast reviews of games, similar to Shut Up and Sit Down. One thing I really love is that it has a series of Top 10 lists, which are helpful if you’re into a certain genre of game (I am particularly into horror games).

The Dice Tower also has streamlined its review system – there are seals of approval and excellence for games rated between 7 and 10.

Posts that peaked my interest: Best Horror Themed Games; and TDT # 648 – Top 10 Annoyances and Joys.

Follow @thedicetower on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/thedicetower/status/1248670941816782850

P.S. Ever wonder how we come up with ideas for our blog profiles? Our handy list of industries and subjects on PR Newswire for Journalists stays top of mind. If you’re a blogger or journalist looking for gaming or toy news, let us know. We can customize a newsfeed for you.

Savannah Tanbusch is a team lead and editor for PRWeb. She spends a lot of her free time thinking about dogs and playing video games. Follow her at @tanbusch.