Advice

Some of the Best Kids Board Games – Ask the Bellhop

December 9, 2018 by Moe T. Leave a Comment

Way back in July, when this whole thing was just getting off the ground, we answered a question about what are the best cooperative kids board games.

Today I'm tackling a follow-up question to that original blog post and our second podcast episode ever.

Duran Barnett asks, "What about doing an episode on introducing kids to gaming? Or maybe a direct sequel tackling non-co-op games for kids?" [ READ MORE ]

Accessory to Gaming – Ep 17 – Tabletop Bellhop Podcast

November 27, 2018 by Moe T. Leave a Comment

This is the 17th episode of Tabletop Bellhop Live, an edited version of our live show recorded on November 21st, 2018. Join us as we stream live every week on Wednesday’s 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 #17 - Accessory to Gaming. We get some games off the pile of shame, take a trip to Camelot and then talk about must have gaming accessories. [ READ MORE ]

Must have tabletop gaming accessories – Ask The Bellhop

November 17, 2018 by Moe T. Leave a Comment

Jayden W, emailed to ask,

What are your MUST HAVE gaming accessories?

Thanks for the question, Jayden,

This is actually a follow up to Jayden's first question about box inserts that we answered back in August. Check out Are Box Inserts for Board Games Worth It? here on the blog or listen to Episode 4 of The Tabletop Bellhop Live - Insert Tab A for our answer to that question.

As I mentioned back in August, there isn't anything you absolutely need to play your games. Well besides the games themselves and players. But there are some things that can really help you enjoy those games more. [ READ MORE ]

Organizing your Game Collection – Ask the Bellhop

November 10, 2018 by Moe T. Leave a Comment

Steve D, emailed to ask,

I have about 150 games and currently I'm sorting these on my shelves in alphabetical order. This way I can find a game quickly on the shelves but when I get a new game sometimes it takes some work to get it in order. I want to resort my collection and I'm wondering how do you sort your games? Thanks!

Thanks for the question, Steve. Steve is one of our Tabletop Bellhop Patrons so we are answering this question sooner rather than later.

This is an excellent question, and something that everyone ends up having to deal with as their collection grows from a handful of games to shelves full of games. I don't know anyone who has gotten into hobby gaming and hasn't started amassing a growing collection.

[ READ MORE ]

The Next Round is on You – Episode 12 – Tabletop Bellhop Podcast

October 23, 2018 by Moe T. Leave a Comment

This is the twelfth episode of Tabletop Bellhop Live, an edited version of our live show recorded on October 17th, 2018. Join us as we stream live every week on Wednesday’s 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.

This week we are talking about gaming in pubs and cafes. Dos, don’ts, tips, and tricks for playing in public. Including some game suggestions for public play. [ READ MORE ]

Never Unprepared – Classic RPG book review revisited.

October 18, 2018 by Moe T. Leave a Comment

This week I'm looking back, way back, to December 2012 when I reviewed an excellent book for roleplaying game Game Masters called Never Unprepared: The Complete Game Master's Guide to Session Prep.

Welcome to #ThrowbackThursday, a regular feature here at Tabletop Bellhop where I'm going to dig up something I wrote in the past and re-publish it. We're practicing review necromancy.

My plan is to repost the original review with only minor editing. I want to keep the feel and tone of the original post. I will also try to include any original photos (though in this case, the only image in the original review was the book cover). I will, at times, insert comments, you will find these in [square brackets]. At the end of the original content, I will follow up with some current thoughts on the topic. [ READ MORE ]

Some of the worst tabletop games I’ve played – Ask The Bellhop

October 6, 2018 by Moe T. 2 Comments

Shadzar, who can frequently be found in our Tabletop Bellhop Live lobby, asks,

Has tabletop games got so saturated that there is nothing left to make and they will turn anything into a tabletop game? Is there a list of worst tabletop games, or ones that should never exist like this new one released by Mattel [Flushing Frenzy].

Thanks for the question Shadzar, and thanks for joining our twitch stream week after week.

I honestly don't think we've hit the saturation point yet. There are a crazy number of new games coming out every year and they all find some way to do something new. That doesn't mean there aren't some bad games out there.

I've already told everyone what my favorite game mechanics are and last week I even listed off my top 20 games. I guess it just makes sense to go on from there and talk about the games that I really do not like. [ READ MORE ]

What are my top 20 games of all time? – Ask The Bellhop

September 29, 2018 by Moe T. Leave a Comment

Pretty much everyone asks,

What are your favourite games?

Since I launched Tabletop Bellhop the question I get asked the most is some variation of this question. What's your favourite deck builder? Do you think Concordia is the best game ever? What's your top 5/10/25? With our 10th episode of Tabletop Bellhop Live coming up this week I thought this would be a good time to finally give an answer to this question.

This is also a follow up to last week, where I talked about my favourite game mechanics. I thought that would lead well into this. [ READ MORE ]

The Giant List of Top Tabletop Game Mechanics – Ask The Bellhop

September 22, 2018 by Moe T. Leave a Comment

NecroDaddy80 on Twitch asks,

What game mechanics do you prefer?

Thanks for the question NecroDaddy80. This was the first ever question we received on Twitch, while recording our first episode of Tabletop Bellhop Live.

There are a ton of different game mechanics, and for someone new to gaming, all these terms can be confusing. So I think it's worth taking some time talking about the wide variety of mechanics out there as well as talking about those I enjoy the best. [ READ MORE ]

Music and sound effects to enhance your game – Ask The Bellhop

September 15, 2018 by Moe T. Leave a Comment

Over on Google Plus, Emmett O'Brian asks,

What are some apps or techniques for playing music/sound effects while GMing?

Thanks for the question, Emmett. This question is a great follow up to our last question where we talk about tech at the table. In that, I note how technology can be fabulous for adding ambiance to your game night.

Emmett's question is about using music and sound during an RPG. I'm going to expand on that a bit and look at using sound and music during any game night, not just for RPGs. [ READ MORE ]