True, but these cases are less about the consumers themselves having actual mental issues which cause the behavior and more about predatory sales/marketing practices - which, in all honesty, is nothing new. We’re simply starting to define a line where business needs to be constrained by law to avoid manipulative…

While I love board games and enjoy seeing their apparent resurgence, it is interesting that the cause of this seems to be the death of local co-op in console gaming systems; suddenly a $60 board game is far more reasonable than trying to play a video game with a friend.

My five:

5. Kingdom Builder
4. Five Tribes
3. Carcassone
2. Lords of Waterdeep
1. Catan

Generally speaking, elimination-style games popular in the US tend to generate some hard feelings, especially among the younger crowds. Point-based games that make it harder to determine who is actually winning (due to scores being…

My personal collection for Commander decks easily runs into five figures of value, at least on paper. My most expensive cards are a pair of foiled Force of Will I was lucky enough to pull from a recent set, running as high as $500 a piece... problem is, it is hard to find a buyer. Most shops are even iffy about…

Erghh... pretty sure this is an example of the english language’s ability to be misread; I’m fairly certain the statements were independent of one another and the use of the word ‘ordinary’ wasn’t meant to exclude the people given in the prior point, but to press home the point that most Americans, regardless of their…

A co-op campaign of Warhammer Total War on the Mortal Empires map. Smaller than I’d expected it to be, but still awesome.

Bull. I’m sorry, but to infer that the value of anything I buy is nebulous is retarded - my potential ENJOYMENT of any item may be a variable, but then most physical items can be returned if I am dissatisfied, often without a reason or limitation on time. As far as reviews and such, someone else’s opinion is hardly…

Well, even if I ignore the fact that most game companies only release early copies to reviewers who agree to omit certain details from their reviews or go so far as to enforce a ‘no negative press’ policy, to assume someone’s review is going to be all inclusive - or little more than a personal opinion - is rather…

Problem is, games are complex entities; it’s like a movie (or a box of chocolates?) where you never know quite what you’re in for until you’ve had the experience. Difference is, a movie cost you maybe $15 at most and you’ve still probably enjoyed the experience with some friends [I hope]. A game can leave you upwards…

Really disliking that the ‘culture bomb’ effect is being locked to certain Civs only; while I understand that ‘citadel crawl’ isn’t exactly a desired outcome, having some way to fight back against tile theft is sorely needed.

I’m often amazed at how old people my age look - it’s amazing what smoking, drinking and drug use can do to your body over time.

The game may be one of the most visually appealing I’ve seen in some time, but what truly makes it shine is Wayne June’s narration. That man is a legend and deserves an award for his work on that game - and plenty of narration work in his future.

Yeah, because that iota of modesty is making a difference on a 13 year old girl.

Clearly you’ve never watched Olympic gymnasts who wear literally identical outfits. Difference? The real ones are very much underage.

Ask your favorite streamers what their stance is on the matter. Hell, ask any internet group.company/website why they aren’t on this right now. Light fires under everyone.

The idea that you get to choose what goes on on someone else’s property is ludicrous. If it’s legal, why is it an issue to you?

You know, for all the griping Japanese artists do about this sort of thing, they’re remarkably stubborn about addressing the root of the issue.

You see, Japan is amazingly xenophobic. It’s not even just this industry - Nintendo has the same problem; they’re not listening to [potential] customers outside of their…

The expectation of a clean credit history is more of a problem, to be honest.

The best format to play if you just want a fun ‘board game’ experience is Commander; the preset decks are all fun and functional and the multiplayer nature of the format removes the competitive nature of the game, often leading to rather interesting bargaining scenarios.

That, and if you’ve got a deck builder in your…

As a tax preparer, I can tell you one of the most common mistakes I see are people who had to have put FAR too many exemptions on their W-4.