Christopher Bird
@mightygodking.com
Lawyer, writer, boardgamer, cyclist, tries-not-to-be-a-dickhead-ist.
T-dot 4 life (or until something better comes along).
Likes are "I need to check this out later" and nothing else
Email: mgk (at) (BS handle)
(he/him)
T-dot 4 life (or until something better comes along).
Likes are "I need to check this out later" and nothing else
Email: mgk (at) (BS handle)
(he/him)
this is quite obvious if you know me
January 10, 2026 at 2:31 AM
this is quite obvious if you know me
an important thing about qualifying any statement with caveats is that people will just ignore all of the caveats and argue with you as if you were wholeheartedly endorsing the thing they don't like
January 7, 2026 at 10:12 PM
an important thing about qualifying any statement with caveats is that people will just ignore all of the caveats and argue with you as if you were wholeheartedly endorsing the thing they don't like
oh hey it's my top 20 films of 2025 (that I saw in 2025)
January 2, 2026 at 5:33 PM
oh hey it's my top 20 films of 2025 (that I saw in 2025)
17. BUS. Ending this list with this vintage Splotter Spellen title which I finally got this year, which is a fantastic game about laying out bus routes and transporting passengers. Oh, and sometimes you time travel. But not too much, or you'll rupture the space-time continuum (which is bad).
December 31, 2025 at 7:58 PM
17. BUS. Ending this list with this vintage Splotter Spellen title which I finally got this year, which is a fantastic game about laying out bus routes and transporting passengers. Oh, and sometimes you time travel. But not too much, or you'll rupture the space-time continuum (which is bad).
16. ENDEAVOR: DEEP SEA. The original Endeavor was a decent Euro which was sadly colonialist in a shallow way and had some gameplay issues towards the end. ENDEAVOR: AGE OF SAIL tried to fix those and didn't quite manage it. This fixes ALL of the problems with the original and is a superb game.
December 31, 2025 at 7:55 PM
16. ENDEAVOR: DEEP SEA. The original Endeavor was a decent Euro which was sadly colonialist in a shallow way and had some gameplay issues towards the end. ENDEAVOR: AGE OF SAIL tried to fix those and didn't quite manage it. This fixes ALL of the problems with the original and is a superb game.
15. REBEL PRINCESS. It's just Hearts except with more stuff and chaos, but you know what? Hearts is a really great game and adding more stuff and chaos to it makes it more fun, especially for veteran trick-taker players who want some crazy twists and turns.
December 31, 2025 at 7:52 PM
15. REBEL PRINCESS. It's just Hearts except with more stuff and chaos, but you know what? Hearts is a really great game and adding more stuff and chaos to it makes it more fun, especially for veteran trick-taker players who want some crazy twists and turns.
14. NATERA: NEW BEGINNING. Okay first: you get aminal dudes! But more importantly, this is an elegantly designed game with just so many smart choices in it, from how you place the workers to the way cards are costed in multiple ways. It's a pleasure to see a game you know was playtested rigorously.
December 31, 2025 at 7:49 PM
14. NATERA: NEW BEGINNING. Okay first: you get aminal dudes! But more importantly, this is an elegantly designed game with just so many smart choices in it, from how you place the workers to the way cards are costed in multiple ways. It's a pleasure to see a game you know was playtested rigorously.
13. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING TRICK-TAKING GAME. I am unsure if, mechanically speaking, this is a better co-op trick taker than THE CREW: MISSION DEEP SEA. However, that one is about a bunch of nobodies on a boat and this one is about Team Frodo so really that's kinda a layup
December 31, 2025 at 7:46 PM
13. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING TRICK-TAKING GAME. I am unsure if, mechanically speaking, this is a better co-op trick taker than THE CREW: MISSION DEEP SEA. However, that one is about a bunch of nobodies on a boat and this one is about Team Frodo so really that's kinda a layup
12. CLANS OF CALEDONIA: INDUSTRIA. I am honestly not sure yet how I feel about the railroad module, which changes the game radically (not for the worse, just very different - more money sloshing around + new stuff to do changes a game like this dramatically). But you get more clans, so hooray!
December 31, 2025 at 7:42 PM
12. CLANS OF CALEDONIA: INDUSTRIA. I am honestly not sure yet how I feel about the railroad module, which changes the game radically (not for the worse, just very different - more money sloshing around + new stuff to do changes a game like this dramatically). But you get more clans, so hooray!
11. SMALL CITY (deluxe edition). A heavy, competitive tile-laying/optimization puzzle of a game, with heaps of options in the box and it's Alban Viard so you know he'll be creating expansions and options for it for basically forever. Lovely brainburn on this one.
December 31, 2025 at 7:38 PM
11. SMALL CITY (deluxe edition). A heavy, competitive tile-laying/optimization puzzle of a game, with heaps of options in the box and it's Alban Viard so you know he'll be creating expansions and options for it for basically forever. Lovely brainburn on this one.
10. JOHN COMPANY (2nd ed). Look I know "be the East India Company, with all the bastardry that implies" is not going to be for everybody, and that's fine. But for me, oooooooh yes. The design here is SO deep and SO smart and SO unflinching. A colonialism simulator in the most complimentary sense.
December 31, 2025 at 7:35 PM
10. JOHN COMPANY (2nd ed). Look I know "be the East India Company, with all the bastardry that implies" is not going to be for everybody, and that's fine. But for me, oooooooh yes. The design here is SO deep and SO smart and SO unflinching. A colonialism simulator in the most complimentary sense.
9. REVIVE. So much to admire about this design: the race aspect of the game to obtain scoring multipliers quickly (which also affects the game's clock), the different ways you can manage that race, the way the different factions are balanced but also give you radically different playstyles. Superb.
December 31, 2025 at 7:31 PM
9. REVIVE. So much to admire about this design: the race aspect of the game to obtain scoring multipliers quickly (which also affects the game's clock), the different ways you can manage that race, the way the different factions are balanced but also give you radically different playstyles. Superb.
8. IBERIAN GAUGE. An excellent new cube-rail game is always a pleasure, and this one even moreso because John Bohrer didn't design it so he doesn't get any royalties. Lovely "I needed ONE MORE ACTION" tension on this one, which is what I want out of a boardgame more than anything,
December 31, 2025 at 7:28 PM
8. IBERIAN GAUGE. An excellent new cube-rail game is always a pleasure, and this one even moreso because John Bohrer didn't design it so he doesn't get any royalties. Lovely "I needed ONE MORE ACTION" tension on this one, which is what I want out of a boardgame more than anything,
7. GREAT WESTERN TRAIL: EL PASO. Distills GREAT WESTERN TRAIL down into a lighter, hourlong game while still managing to retain most of its big brother's flavour and feel, which is very, very hard to manage. Also has satisfyingly huge cowboy meeples and sustainable components.
December 31, 2025 at 7:25 PM
7. GREAT WESTERN TRAIL: EL PASO. Distills GREAT WESTERN TRAIL down into a lighter, hourlong game while still managing to retain most of its big brother's flavour and feel, which is very, very hard to manage. Also has satisfyingly huge cowboy meeples and sustainable components.
6. THE 7th CONTINENT. Billed as a co-op, but realistically it's a solo. Lots of interesting ideas, a great core gameplay loop and heaps of expansions to keep it fresh for a good long while. I am quite curious about THE 7th CITADEL, which is supposed to be much more co-op focused.
December 31, 2025 at 7:22 PM
6. THE 7th CONTINENT. Billed as a co-op, but realistically it's a solo. Lots of interesting ideas, a great core gameplay loop and heaps of expansions to keep it fresh for a good long while. I am quite curious about THE 7th CITADEL, which is supposed to be much more co-op focused.
5. FOREST SHUFFLE. Look I am always a sucker for any game with Lotsa Aminals in it, I freely admit this, but this is also a very good light game: lots of card interactions and strategies to pursue, a decent but not oppressive amount of interactivity, and exactly the right length. Plus: aminals!
December 31, 2025 at 7:19 PM
5. FOREST SHUFFLE. Look I am always a sucker for any game with Lotsa Aminals in it, I freely admit this, but this is also a very good light game: lots of card interactions and strategies to pursue, a decent but not oppressive amount of interactivity, and exactly the right length. Plus: aminals!
4. CAVERNA: THE FORGOTTEN FOLK. Okay maybe this is a bit of a cheat because it's an expansion but so what, it's my list, and giving Caverna - already a superb game, one of Rosenberg's best designs - more variability is fun as hell.
December 31, 2025 at 7:16 PM
4. CAVERNA: THE FORGOTTEN FOLK. Okay maybe this is a bit of a cheat because it's an expansion but so what, it's my list, and giving Caverna - already a superb game, one of Rosenberg's best designs - more variability is fun as hell.
3. NUCLEUM. A meaty Eurogame with a relatively simple action system, but the ramifications of your actions are what gives it depth and complexity: you can push the game's clock in multiple ways, compete on multiple fronts and the area-control aspect of it gives it even more tension. Superb design.
December 31, 2025 at 7:13 PM
3. NUCLEUM. A meaty Eurogame with a relatively simple action system, but the ramifications of your actions are what gives it depth and complexity: you can push the game's clock in multiple ways, compete on multiple fronts and the area-control aspect of it gives it even more tension. Superb design.
2. GANDHI: THE DECOLONIZATION OF BRITISH INDIA 1917-1947. The COIN system produces gems and dogs depending on the designer and setting, but this is a gem, most notably because it involves multiple nonviolent factions which forced the designers to rethink a lot of core concepts. Fascinating play.
December 31, 2025 at 7:10 PM
2. GANDHI: THE DECOLONIZATION OF BRITISH INDIA 1917-1947. The COIN system produces gems and dogs depending on the designer and setting, but this is a gem, most notably because it involves multiple nonviolent factions which forced the designers to rethink a lot of core concepts. Fascinating play.
1. ARKHAM HORROR: THE CARD GAME. I do not often like co-ops, so me recommending one is me saying that it is excellent, and AH:TCG is outstanding, a co-op that doesn't feel like Pandemic with extra steps (which is 95% of co-ops) plus there's deckbuilding (A+++). The rare actually good Lovecraft game.
December 31, 2025 at 7:08 PM
1. ARKHAM HORROR: THE CARD GAME. I do not often like co-ops, so me recommending one is me saying that it is excellent, and AH:TCG is outstanding, a co-op that doesn't feel like Pandemic with extra steps (which is 95% of co-ops) plus there's deckbuilding (A+++). The rare actually good Lovecraft game.
its last maneuver is literally Kermit scrunchface
December 29, 2025 at 4:15 AM
its last maneuver is literally Kermit scrunchface