As the popularity of board gaming has increased, so has the number of accessories to support games and the hobby. Many handy items have been developed to enhance your gaming experience. Some accessories have been created to enhance or upgrade specific games while others are for more general use and gaming needs. From dice towers to metal coins to game bags and tables, there are accessories for everyone. In this post I'll be sharing four items from my wish list and then providing information and links to where you can find and explore many other board-game accessories. Wish List Item #1 Terraforming Mars Game Trayz & Stickers These handy player trays help organize each player's resources and protect against shifting pieces when the table gets bumped. Available through the BGG Geek Store and directly from Game Trayz (see below). In a recent post, I mentioned that I had the upgraded neoprene game mat and wooden resource tokens for Champions of Midgard. These are fun additions to that game. There are all kinds of options to get upgraded pieces and parts for your favorite game. Below are a few ideas, if you're looking for upgrading game components.
Wish List Item #2 Blood Rage Organizer I love the game Blood Rage. Figuring out where to place the miniatures for each clan when putting the game away can be a real challenge. This custom wooden insert organizer by Broken Token is just the thing I need. Sometimes storage and organization of your favorite games can be a challenge ... or you just want to bling-out your game with custom trays, dice towers, and other enhancements. There are several companies who have built their businesses around this need. Some have contracted with game publishers to create the inserts and storage that comes with a game or a Kickstarter edition of a game, etc... Three of these companies are highlighted below:
Wish List Item #3 Board Game Bag A great game bag for traveling with my games would be nice. This is the one I currently have my eye on: The new Board Game Tables - Board Game Bag. Taking your board games with you can pose another difficulty. If you bring your games to game night, a local game event, family get together etc... you've probably encountered this issue. Many shopping bags and the like aren't convenient for carrying board games and don't provide proper durability and padding to protect your boxes. Some hobbiests have repurposed bags designed for drums or parachutes, and other types of equipment to carry games. Recently, a few companies have come up with game bags and backpacks specifically for the board-game hobby.
Wish List Item #4 Table of Ultimate Gaming - Elite Series The ultimate accessory for gaming is a table designed for the hobby. I have been drooling over the many options of gaming tables for several years. The Table of Ultimate Gaming is my current pick. I have been looking at gaming tables for years and due to the expense haven't yet purchased one. My friend Don and I have discussed building a table together. Though this is tempting, its also a bit scary not knowing how it will turn out and the cost of materials to build. At this point, I'm not sure what I'll eventually do. I have assembled a group of game tables and toppers below that I've personally seen, tested and played on while at Gen Con and other venues. These are all great options at varying price points.
There are so many game accessories, upgrades, enhancements and items related to the board-gaming hobby! What's a guy to do? ... Create a "Wish List". I've shared four items from my list with you. I can assure you that the number of items I would like to add far exceeds just these four. Take a moment to think of how you might enhance your board game experience by adding upgrades and accessories. What other items might help make the board gaming hobby more enjoyable? Share your thoughts in the comments. If you have any questions about items posted in this or any of my posts, send me a message using the Contact page. Break out a game this weekend and...
Game on!
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Feedspot has added King's GameNight to its Top 100 Board Game Blogs, Websites & Newsletters To Follow in 2019. This means the sight is gaining traction.
Please check out King's GameNight listed as #96 on Feedspot's list. Also discover the many other blogs, websites and newsletters related to the board gaming hobby. To link directly to Feedspot's list click here. Thanks to everyone for their support of this website/blog. One of the trickiest things to do when hosting a game night is to choose a game. Knowing the weight and type of games your group likes are two of the first and most important criteria. Then what? One option for picking a game is to find a theme and use that for your selection basis. Selecting a game to play based on a theme can make choosing a game a lot easier and more fun for everyone. How does one go about deciding the theme and then come up with appropriate games to match? I've got some ideas and examples to share. I want to be the first to admit, I've not selected a game night theme with a corresponding game very often. It's something I've been deliberating about due to my own difficulties in trying to decide on which game(s) to suggest for play. Consequently, some of my ideas may not be battle-tested, however I think you'll be able to use them to inspire your own game selection process. The following themes and game suggestions are meant to get the creative juices flowing. I'll provide links to Board Game Geek for each game so you can easily investigate some of the options in more detail. I'm sure you'll come up with spin-offs and other ideas that suit your group best. Halloween/Horror This a theme I have chosen in the past. I love to look for scary, spooky, creepy options in anticipation of Halloween. Late September through October is a great time of year to pick this theme. As we near halloween, the gaming group may be more interested in playing games with a horror theme. This can be deep, dark and sinister, but doesn't have to be. There are also lighter games and family games that will fit the bill as well. Below are some suggestions of Halloween/Horror game choices.
Seasonal/Weather/Nature Themes Use the seasons and weather as a resource for theme ideas. There are great games that align with weather and holidays. Tying themes to holidays, events and seasons is a great way to get your game group in the mood for certain game choices.
Racing/Sports There are many games which use racing as a central theme, however other sports are a bit more rare. Non-racing sports games don't typically do as well, therefore its a little more difficult to find a good sports-themed game. You could pick a particular time of the year near the Super Bowl, Indy 500, Kentucky Derby, World Series etc... and select a game that falls into that category. I have a list below of some of my suggestions.
Other Game Themes Choosing a theme for game night tends to work best when you can tie the theme to the season, holiday or an event as mentioned above. There are other sorts of themes to use that aren't necessarily related to the time of year or an event. You can still make a theme suggestion and get your group to help you select a game that fits. I have a few examples below of some favorite themes and games to match. Vikings Interesting side note: All three of the Viking-themed games mentioned above were published in 2015. It must have been the year of the Viking. Casino/Las Vegas Ancient Civilizations I've tried to put together some good theme options and ideas for you to use. Finding new and interesting ways to select a game to play can be challenging. Getting your gaming group excited to play a given game can also be tricky at times. Use of a theme is a great weapon to have in your arsenal when suggesting a game to play or a great way to get your group to narrow down options. There are many different themes prevalent in board games that I didn't include. Come up with your favorite themes and match to games that you or your gaming circle might own. Post your suggestions in the comments and ...
Game on! Game Night Fun Playing Champions of MidgardThis week the gaming group played one of our favorites, Champions of Midgard. I have the Jarl Edition which is a version that includes both of the expansions, some upgraded components, exclusive extras and a box designed to hold everything. In addition I have the neoprene game mat to round out my setup. In this post I'll give you a brief rundown on our game and offer some thoughts regarding the expansions and extras. Nikki, Jeff, Chris and Brian joined me this week to play Champions of Midgard with both expansions. The expansions allow for up to five players and add a lot of additional gameplay and strategy. I started off by going over the rules with the group. It had been a while for some since they last played, and Brian had only played the base game. This probably took about thirty minutes. After selecting a starting player each of us chose our character cards. Each character has a unique ability and with the expansions also has an extra leader ability and die. We each received our respective character tableaus, starting warrior dice, and resources (see photos below). The game went rather smoothly as we each proceeded to place our viking meeple workers, then progressing to allocating our warrior dice to battles against monsters and other adversaries. Before you know it, three hours had passed and we were in our final round of play. If you are unfamiliar with this game, it is worth noting that Glory (victory points) are scored along a track on the outside of the game board, however, not all Glory is calculated until game end, allowing for surprising outcomes. In our case, Chris, Jeff and I appeared to be ahead when the final round ended. After we all went through the process of adding additional Glory to our victory point totals we had a tie! I hadn't seen a tie in this game before. Chris and Jeff had 147 points and I was about 5-6 points behind, just outside of the lead. The tiebreaker is the most enemies defeated. Chris edged out Jeff by having 12 defeated enemies to Jeff's 11. Very close! I enjoyed the game even in defeat and hope everyone else had the same sentiments. The worker placement and rolling of dice make for a nice mixture of Euro and American-style game integration. One of the sources of enjoyment, at least for me, is the upgraded components in the Jarl Edition expansions. Aside from feeling somewhat privileged by owning a "special edition" of the game, it is debatable as to whether extras or upgraded components make a real difference. These are little things at the surface, however, I do think they add something to gameplay. For instance, the Jarl Edition included viking meeples versus the standard meeples included in the regular version. Not a big deal. Either works just fine. It's just plain fun to see the viking helmet horns on your meeple workers, adding to the theme of the game. Also there are wooden Viking Helmet player markers to use as victory point counters versus a standard disk. I had also purchased upgraded resource pieces. Instead of just red and brown cubes for the meat and wood resources, we used wooden pieces shaped in the form or ham and wood. The standard cardboard markers for wounds, blame, round marker, and gold coins are upgraded to wooden representations of each. Again, all of these things are superficial but added to the enjoyment of handling gold or blame tokens. The tactile nature of these "upgraded" wooden pieces adds to the experience of playing the game. The neoprene game mat was another item I acquired for this game. It's available as a separate purchase and is well worth it. All of the expansions are printed on the mat making set up easier. The feel of playing on the soft and cushy surface also improves gameplay. It's easier to place and pick up cards. Items tend to not shift and slide on the game mat. It truly gives the game an extra level of appeal. Though it's certainly not necessary to have the extras for Champions of Midgard, I do think it adds that extra something. I would strongly encourage playing with all expansions if available. The expansions add additional warrior dice, leader dice, new game elements and more. The expansions complete the game. I think getting the Jarl Edition for expansions works quite nicely as it also includes a box to hold everything. For more information about the Champions of Midgard Jarl Edition click here. The hobby of owning/playing modern board games is a great source of enjoyment. Adding extra bling to your favorite games can prove to be rewarding as well. I have several different games for which I've purchased expansions, neoprene mats or additional miniatures, etc... For which games do you have expansions and extras? Have you made something custom for your games or found everyday items that work well to supplement the game? In my photos you'll see some silicon cupcake tins that Nikki bought for us to use for game bits. They work great! Share in the comments your experiences with expansions, extras, and "blinging out" your games.
Have a great week and ... Game on! |
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