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The Games of Origins 2019 (and Some Other Highlights)

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This past week was the Origins Game Fair in Columbus Ohio. This is one of the biggest gaming conventions in North America and one of my favourite cons to attend every year.

This year was my first year attending Origins as press and that really changed the vibe for me. It was still a great time and I got to meet some great people and play some great games.
In this post, I'm going to try to recap some of the highlights of my week away at Origins. [ READ MORE ]

Additional Thoughts on Gentes, The Deluxified Edition – Tabletop Gaming Weekly

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This week I got in another play of Gentes: Deluxified Edition, this time with my home group.

Of course, the big thing that happened this past week was the Origins Game Fair down in Columbus Ohio, but I'm going to talk about that in a completely separate post. Here I'm talking about the Monday before I left for Origins.
You have also probably noticed this is a day late. Sorry about that, we decided at the last minute to stay an extra day in Columbus. [ READ MORE ]

Geeking about The Geek – Discussing Boargamegeek.com – Break Room #1 – Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast

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 This is a special bonus episode of the Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast. This discussion was first recorded on November 6th 2018. We've been saving it for a week we cannot record a normal episode. With Moe away at Origins, the time has come. We do apologize for the quality of this show, we've learned a lot since we first recorded this. Join us as we stream live every week on Wednesdays at 9:30 Eastern on Twitch. If you like some video with your audio, you can also watch/listen to an unedited version of the show over on YouTube.

Break Room #1 - Geeking Out About The Geek - A discussion about Board Game Geek, one of the best board gaming resources on the web. This is a special bonus episode of the Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast. [ READ MORE ]

Pros at Cons. Tabletop Gaming Convention Preparation Tips – Episode 45 Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast

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 This is the 45th episode of Tabletop Bellhop Live, an edited version of our live show recorded on June 5th, 2019. Join us as we stream live every week on Wednesdays at 9:30 Eastern on Twitch. If you like some video with your audio, you can also watch/listen to an unedited version of the show over on YouTube.

Ep 45 - Pros at Cons. Con Prep Suggestions. Also a look back at Alhambra and initial thoughts on the epic Sci-Fi game Twilight Imperium 4th Edition. [ READ MORE ]

Gentes Deluxified, Teotihuacan, Legendary Forests, and More Tiny Towns – Tabletop Gaming Weekly

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Today I'm going to take a look at and give a short review of four board games. These games are: Teotihuacan, Legendary Forests, Gentes: Deluxified Edition and Tiny Towns.

Between home games and a game night at the FLGS and a rare Sunday night two player game session with my wife, it was a busy week for me gaming. There was one other game I got to play, a review copy of a deck-builder, but I can't talk about that yet. [ READ MORE ]

Gaming Convention Preparation Tips – Ask the Bellhop

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Today I want to take some time to talk about gaming convention preparations and share some of my tips and tricks for game con prep.

The Origins Gaming Conventions, in Columbus Ohio, one of the biggest tabletop gaming conventions in North America is just under one week away. Coming up about a month later is Queen City Conquest in Buffalo New York.
These are both cons I will be attending and right now I'm in the middle of prepping for both. I figured this is the perfect time to talk about some of what I do to prep for a con. [ READ MORE ]

East Meets West – Discussing the Euro vs. American Board Game Debate – Episode 44 Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast

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 This is the 44th episode of Tabletop Bellhop Live, an edited version of our live show recorded on May 29th, 2019. Join us as we stream live every week on Wednesdays at 9:30 Eastern on Twitch. If you like some video with your audio, you can also watch/listen to an unedited version of the show over on YouTube.

Ep 44 - East Meets West - defining and discussing the board game terms Eurogame and Ameritrash. Also an initial impression of Teotihuacan and some more plays of Xia, Strasbourg, and digital Roll for the Galaxy. [ READ MORE ]

A Not So Epic Experience With Twilight Imperium 4th Edition – Tabletop Gaming Weekly

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Twilight Imperium is a legendary board game. There are urban legends about how long this game takes to play. It's considered one of the biggest, best and longest Sci-Fi 4x games on the market.

In 2017 Fantasy Flight Games released a new fourth edition of this classic game. This new edition promised streamlined rules, upgraded components and most importantly to some; a much shorter playtime.
This past Saturday I got to put this new edition of Twilight Imperium to the test. [ READ MORE ]

Alhambra Review, a Return to the Classic Tile-Laying Board Game

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Last night on the podcast we were talking about Euro games. One of the true classic examples of a Eurogame is Alhambra. I've personally owned Alhambra since 2007 and recently got a chance to play it again.

Today for #ThrowBackThursday I'm going to resurrect a review of Alhambra I wrote back in March 2007.
Below you will find that original review,  with only very minor editing. I'm trying to keep the feel and tone of the original post. I will, at times, insert comments or corrections, and you will find these in [square brackets]. After the original post, you can find my current thoughts on the game.
Did Alhambra stand the test of time? [ READ MORE ]

Trying to Define the Difference Between a Eurogame and an Ameritrash Game – Ask the Bellhop

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When consuming board game media you will often hear the terms German-game, Eurogame, Ameritrash, or Amerithrash. Today I'm going to talk about what those terms mean in answer to a question from a fellow Windsor area gamer.

Mike Murphy asks:
What’s the difference between a Euro game and an American game? I see reviews where they describe a game as a Euro type game what are they referring to? [ READ MORE ]