Posts By Artem Safarov

Manufacturer Testimony – BangWee Industry Ltd.

The purpose of this post is to share my experience working with BangWee Industry Ltd., a company in China that manufactured Cauldron. Manufacturer selection is a very important step and I hope that this information will be useful to other board game creators in their search for partners.

2015 gaming by the numbers

I love games. I also love data analysis! Combining these – you get some neat numerical analysis of my gaming habits and preferences in the past year. Enjoy!

Top 10 games I enjoyed in 2015

Ah, 2015 has been an amazing year for me in terms of gaming. Since I love looking back and ordered list – of course I am going to put together a Top 10 list! A quick note – I do not play nearly enough games to create a list that would only contain games published IN 2015, so instead I am updating my general “games I enjoyed most” ranking from last year. Without further ado, let’s dive in!

Patchwork review: elegance in simplicity

Combining things effectively can be tough. Like fitting several eccentric shapes in a small square. Or mixing several mechanics in gameplay for a rewarding yet brisk experience. Underneath Patchwork’s cozy, appealing presentation, there is a great multitude of gears whirring into motion with each turn. The game does an exceptional job satisfying both those who just want to sew cutesy patches onto a blanket as well as those who want to dig deep into the gears to find out what makes this complex mechanism tick. So what makes this small box a must-own for a gaming couple?

Ticket to Ride Europe: new thrills for train fans

After the phenomenal success of the 2004 Ticket to Ride, expansions were all but guaranteed. Days of Wonder did not disappoint, producing Ticket to Ride: Europe in 2005. The game carefully maintains all the light appealing gameplay that made the original so popular while adding component upgrades and a few new mechanics to keep things fresh. While not all additions are welcome the overall game, combined with an exciting new map is a definite improvement and sure to extend the enjoyment you get out of the railroad laying competition.

10х10 – A 2015 update

10×10 challenge is meant to combat the cult of the new by making sure you pick 10 games from your collection and play them at least 10 times within a year. This approach is meant to encourage in-depth familiarity with your favourite games. While I cheated a little bit by not writing out my list in advance – by the end of September I did play 10 games 10 or more times and wanted to summarize my impressions of these after repeated plays.