What Makes a Game Terrible?

Hey gang, we know it’s been a little quieter than usual around here this week, but rest assured: we’re working hard on some very cool things that we’ll share with you soon! In the meantime we thought we would get a little discussion going and see what your thoughts are on the flip side of last week’s discussion…

What Makes a Game Great?

We spend a lot of time here on TOG critiquing games. Every day brings a new batch of games to this great hobby, and we get to analyze what’s good and what’s not. We’ve spent the last nearly two years telling you what we like about games–well, at least Jeremiah has, anyway… Now we want to hear from you.

What’s Your Favorite Dice Game?

By Jeremiah

Dice have been a part of gaming for… well I don’t know how long, but let’s just say when the average person thinks of gaming the image of a pair of d6’s pops into their mind. And a d12 brings up images of a D&D session…

Should Established Publishers be Crowd-Funding Their Games?

A few weeks ago we told you that Hans im Gluck is preparing to crowd fund the latest edition of Saint Petersburg. Firestone and I (Jeremiah) have recently had some discussions about whether or not it’s right, or a misuse of the crowd funding tools, for well-established publishers to bring new titles–or special edition/big box versions of classic titles–into the marketplace via crowd-funding sites such as Kickstarter. 

Theology Of Games’ Top 10 Games of 2013!

Well, it’s 2014, and it’s early enough in the year that you’re still writing 2013 on things… That sounds like the perfect time to trot out our Top 10 Games of 2013! So what made the cut? Let’s see…

For Unto Us a Child is Born…

This year we’ve both experienced the stresses of life; the hustle & bustle; and the joy, wonderment, and hope that comes with the holiday season. But we wanted to take a minute, and a deep breath ,and say thank you to all of our readers, subscribers, followers, and…. likers???
And to wish you a very Merry Christmas and holiday season. May the true meaning of Christmas be enough for us all.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:8-11)

We will be back a little later in the month with our regular flow and schedule of content. Until then you officially have our permission to take a break, be with the ones you love, and, of course, get a game in the table!

Merry Christmas to all!

Jeremiah & Firestone

11 Ways to Tell You’ve Got a Gamer on Your Christmas List

We understand that having a gamer in your life can lead to confusion during the holiday season. Chances are you’ve found yourself walking into a store, or looking at Web sites you never knew existed, and are wondering if someone is playing some sort of elaborate prank on you.

So we’ve taken it upon ourselves to explain some of the oddities you might be experiencing this year with that gamer in your life, and hopefully make this a joyous and bright Christmas for all.

Mayfair Makes History

It’s no secret that one of the biggest events in gaming happened just over a week ago, in Indianapolis. Yes, we are of course referring to Gencon. Mayfair Games, one of the world’s top publishers, and gatekeepers of the Catan franchise, had HUGE plans for the con this year. How huge? Well, let’s find out…

I Know! Let’s Play…

By Jeremiah

So as a follow-up to Scott’s post yesterday, I thought I’d write a companion piece about “that game”—the one you got, but somehow STILL haven’t had a chance to play yet!!

Maybe I’m alone in this, but every so often a game comes your way, you’re VERY excited about the game, you’ve heard lots of great things about it, it’s getting great ratings from reviewers, and it’s right up your alley in terms of genre and mechanics. This is a game that you CAN. NOT. WAIT. TO. PLAY!

But somehow, whenever game night comes along, you fail to get it on the table. Well for me that game is…

The Game That Only You Love…

by Firestone

My game group tries to get together one Saturday a month for a full day of board gaming awesomeness. And every time we do we know this is a chance to play some of the longer games on our lists, or try something new, or whatever. So we all come up with lists of games that interest us, and people chime in if something sounds fun.

There’s one game that is on my list every. single. month.