Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Eric (What's Eric Playing?)

@whatsericplaying.bsky.social

1.1K followers 140 following 190 posts

I'm Eric! Board game reviewer, photographer, and American Tabletop Awards Committee Member. New board game reviews every Monday! Patreon: http://bit.ly/wep-p (he / him)

bit.ly

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Dec 9

Hi friends!

For a variety of reasons I'm largely off social media at this point. Still reviewing! 2x every Monday.

If you need to reach me, please email or DM.

Cheers!

1 4

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · 6d

there are two types of people

people who think terrariums are cool

and liars

(glass garden review)

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/10/06/glass-garden/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · 6d

it's another cool art week at What's Eric Playing?, but it's almost always cool art week

heeeere's beasts

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/10/06/beasts/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · 13d

are you looking for both information on an EXIT game and a good example of what a "fine." review looks like from me?

well EXIT: The Venice Conspiracy has both

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/09/29/exit-the-venice-conspiracy/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · 13d

look if you can trust What's Eric Playing for one thing it's that I'm not gonna let y'all go without seeing games that are really pretty to look at

so here's my review of Mercurial: Alchemia, hitting KS soon

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/09/29/mercurial-alchemia/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · 15d

Fuck off with that large language model horseshit

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · 20d

i sincerely hope that they keep making sports dice games until I'm dead and buried

(sports dice: basketball review)

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/09/22/sports-dice-basketball/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · 20d

pushy pushy penguins would have been a fun name too, though it would have brought to mind hungry hungry hippos

(this is a review)

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/09/22/push-push-penguin/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · 27d

I have no idea why I kept typing twonkle twonkle when I was writing this review, but if you catch any instances of it please let me know thanks

maybe I'm just sleepy

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/09/15/twinkle-twinkle/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · 27d

all this magical city needs is motorcycles and then we're really cooking

(duel for cardia review)

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/09/15/duel-for-cardia/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Sep 8

bit risky to name a game "tearable" but hey I still had a good time with Tearable Quest

(review)

please appreciate how much work using all the discarded scrap paper for the photo was

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/09/08/tearable-quest/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Sep 1

it's games with a major horizontal component week on what's eric playing? (i'm running out of distinct themes)

kick it off with a Time to Panic review from IV Studio!

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/09/01/time-to-panic/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 25

squabblin? with my goblins?

it's more likely than you think

(a nuanced review of squabblin goblins)

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/08/25/squabblin-goblins/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 25

I think the sign for this photo should be BOARD GAME REVIEW

(this was funnier in my head)

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/08/25/caution-signs/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 19

it looks fantastic; great work! Can't wait to see the final version.

1 2

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 18

a murder mystery game, starring you!

(dying message from oink games review)

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/08/18/dying-message/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 18

I just really like bag-building games, y'all

(let's check out the upcoming Satchel Quest!)

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/08/18/satchel-quest/

1 3

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 11

it's theme park time

(let's talk about the new button shy game - lands of amazement)

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/08/11/lands-of-amazement/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 11

(to the moonraker theme)
moonrollers

that actually might have been the goldfinger theme in my head, but here's the review anyways

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/08/11/moonrollers/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 7

heard y'all were talking about hot game art

A meme saying "racism? in my board games?; it's more likely than you think."

2 16

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 7

BGG's text formatting for posting gives me hives

but I appreciate the shoutout! I've been trying to autopost here and to Instagram more frequently, too.

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 6

I understand there's not a whole lot of places left for expansion (hence part of Suz's earlier comment) but honestly the exhibit hall needs to have wider hallways for accessibility, especially as more booths have round-the-booth or across-the-path lines for purchases. It's becoming a severe issue.

1 1

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 6

It's also worth talking about the accessibility issues on the show floor itself. I saw plenty of scooters, wheelchairs, and strollers that were having a Pretty Bad Time trying to get through the traffic flow, and that was causing downstream movement issues.

🥧 suzanne 🥧 @425suzanne.bsky.social · Aug 6

I know Gen Con likes Indy because Indy loves Gen Con. But as the convention continues to grow I wonder how hard it's straining the location. Expanding to Lucas Oil Stadium addressed some issues. But hotel rooms, food service, and exhibition and event space will get tighter and tighter.

1 2

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 4

I can't wait to get back to Seattle and Pizza Pizza Yum Yum, which is the noise I make before eating a pizza

(the game is fun too)

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/08/04/pizza-pizza-yum-yum/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 4

fresh outta gen con, here's a pangolin hacker board game review

(PWNED!)

http://whatsericplaying.com/2025/08/04/pwned/

Eric (What's Eric Playing?) @whatsericplaying.bsky.social · Aug 3

Games at cons? Hilarious