Videos 32 - Shut Up & Sit Down

SU&SD Presents: British Board Games 1800-1920, by Holly Nielsen

Continuing our collection of talks filmed during the V&A’s Board Game Study Day, here’s 15 minutes from journalist and historian Holly Nielsen on the hilarious, horrifying history of British board games.

Huge thanks to Holly for letting us host this talk. It’s just too much fun. Next time you buy a game that’s a little less than perfect, why pop this talk on? You’ll feel very lucky about the state of your board game collection, we guarantee.

Hi everybody! Remember Quinns’ old talk on the current “golden age of board games”? Here’s a new performance of it! It’s a lot like the old talk, but snappier, more informed and down from a whopping 45 minutes (you can still watch the original here) to just 15 minutes. Perfect for sharing with your friends or perennially-bemused relatives.

This talk was just one of several snappy and informative talks given during a contemporary board game study day at London’s prestigious Museum of Childhood, and it’s not the only one we filmed, either. This week we’ll be uploading three more, including a brand new talk from Quinns!

Stay tuned, everyone, and thanks to everyone who came down on the day.

It looks like Watson & Holmes isn’t the only game that wants to offer something different from Consulting Detective!

Introducing Mythos Tales, a game of solving occult mysteries where if you’re not careful, you might become a victim yourself. Will Paul Dean crack the case of whether Mythos Tales is a worthy consumer product, or will this be his final review?

We wish him luck.

Who among us can claim that they didn’t once dream of growing up to be a master of bicycles? Those debonair doctors of velocity. The zeal on wheels.

I have good news, friends. It turns out that in the game of Flamme Rouge (French for “Red Flam”) you can become a cycleman for no less than 30 to 45 minutes at a time. Clearly we had to give it the full review treatment, and you know what? It turns out that this game is an absolute delight.

Have a fantastic weekend, everybody!

UPDATE: Thanks to SU&SD fan Meeple101 for telling us about the official Flamme Rouge Companion for iOS and Android, which lets you link individual races into a grand tour! What fun.

A mere thirty-six years after the release of the amazing Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, the board game industry has leapt into action! This month sees the release of the West End Adventures standalone expansion, and… we’re not reviewing it.

That’s because this month we’re also getting a new English-language edition of Watson & Holmes, and that’s EVEN MORE EXCITING. This game takes the original, superlative co-op experience that is Consulting Detective and makes it… competitive. Is this a work of evil genius to rival Moriarty? Or simply an error in deductive reasoning? Let’s find out.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

February 25, 2017 Reviews Scythe, kickstarter Things turn very bad indeed when Paul goes outdoors in an attempt to review the Kickstarter megahit Scythe. What does he make of this tremendously successful title, with its giant mechs, slaving peasants and very helpful bear? Can it live up to its tremendous reputation? And what happens to us when … Read more

My goodness! After we were a little dismissive at Gen Con last year, it turns out that Arkham Horror is the best card game to come out of Fantasy Flight since Netrunner. Pour yourself a glass of interdimensional phlegm, ensure you’re sitting uncomfortably, and let Matt and Quinns tell you why in this spoiler-free review.

If you’re the sort of devil-may-care investigator who doesn’t care about forbidden secrets, don’t forget that you can watch Matt and Quinns play the whole first scenario in this video. Though actually, in hindsight we’ve now realised that it’s a tutorial mission and actually comparatively simple. You should know that far greater twists and terrors await in the full game!

This week, Paul’s gone all viking on us, getting so, so enthusiastic about A Feast for Odin with this very in-depth review of a truly enormous game. Then again, wouldn’t you be at least a little bit excited? This is one of the biggest boxes we’ve seen in some time and, with hundreds of cardboard components, scores of wooden pieces and even a moose as a first player token, we really can’t blame him.

Can it deliver joy and happiness proportional to its tremendous size? And how does it compare to its ancestors, other games by the same designer such as Agricola, Caverna and Patchwork? And why does Paul think Patchwork has a French accent? It’s been a strange week.

January 13, 2017 Reviews Troyes, The Ladies of Troyes, Games for Two, Conflict-Free Games, SU&SD Recommends To usher in 2017 as a year of good fortune, we’re trying all sorts of superstitions. Paul wrote “FLUXX” on a bit of wood and threw it in a river, while Matt and Quinns have chosen a classic for … Read more

While we don’t usually review Kickstarter titles, we’ve made a very particular exception for this seasonal special, with Paul taking a long and very hard look at at the “boutique horror” of Kingdom Death: Monster. Why this? Why now? A new version of Kingdom Death is back on Kickstarter and generating astounding amounts of interest (and cash). It was all the excuse we needed to plunge into this enormous beast and tear at its innards.

Have a terrific weekend, everyone. If you decide to spend it out in some snow, or fighting monsters, or even just rolling particularly large handfuls of dice, do remember to stay safe!

SU&SD Presents: British Board Games 1800-1920, by Holly Nielsen

SU&SD Presents: Board Gaming’s Golden Age! (2017 update)

Review: Mythos Tales

Review: Flamme Rouge

Review: Watson & Holmes

Review: Scythe

Review: Arkham Horror – The Card Game

Review: A Feast for Odin

Review: Troyes

Review: Kingdom Death: Monster

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