GenCon

GenCon 2026 Games Preview

GenCon is right around the corner and there are many hundreds of games being released and even more for sale. Navigating this surmountable amount of games is no easy task. I have complied a list of games that I am excited to see at GenCon this year.

Wanted Wombats: A Game Preview That Pushes Your Luck

Did you know that wombats glow under UV light? Wombats are pretty interesting animals and make for a great card game. Wanted Wombats is the newest game designed by Kaya Miyano (Trio, Panda Panda). Barrel Aged Games is crowdfunding Wanted Wombats this fall (2025). One last wombat fact before we dive into the game. There was an unofficial mascot for the 2000 Sydney Olympics and his name was "Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat".

GenCon 2025 SOLD OUT

Monday July 28th GenCon has sold out all of the tickets for the "Best Four Days in Gaming". This is going to be the largest GenCon ever...

GenCon 2025 Games Preview

GenCon is right around the corner and there are hundreds of games being released and even more for sale. Navigating this surmountable...

Interviews

Community Interview: Mike and Grace (Tabletop Inn)

I recently had a chance to catch up with Mike Belsole and Grace Kendall the proprietors of the Tabletop Inn in Marion, North Carolina. The Tabletop Inn is a board game themed bed and breakfast. Mike and Grace live and breath board games! Mike is the General Manager of Well Played Board Game Cafe in Asheville NC. Both Grace and Mike have designed the game Smug Owls (Origins' 2024 Party Game of the Year). Mike Belsole and Grace Kendall What is the concept of Tabletop Inn? We a

Designer Interview: TJ Swing

The Great Smokey Mountains are amongst the worlds oldest on earth and the most visited national park in the US National Park System. This...

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Designer Interview: Jesper Bennhult

Artist Interview: Kelly Forrest

Designer Interview: Brad Hiscock

Community Interview: Ben Mandelker

News and More

AI Opens a Board Game Store

Andon Labs has created a store run by AI . What does this mean? Well the store's 3 year lease was obtained by Alton Labs for a store-front space in San Francisco. The AI called Luna was given $100,000 USD to create and run a retail space. The AI came up with the concept for the shop and hired employees and contractors to build out the shop and run it. The shop is called Andon Market and its concept is a "slow life" store so not exactly a board game store. This is what the AI

A Supreme Tariff Response

On Friday February 20th 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the law (IEEPA) the President was using to manipulate tariffs did not grant the power to tax the US people to the President for more than 150 days. International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is a law (passed in 1977) that authorizes the president to regulate international commerce after declaring a national emergency in response to any unusual and extraordinary threat to the United States

Two Player Games

PIDG: a Satirical Strategy Board Game Preview

Board Games

Toy Battle: The Game You Didn't Know You Needed. An Honest Board Game Review.

2 Player

Gudnak : Exploring the Depth of A Tactical Card Game

2 Player

Wanted Wombats: A Game Preview That Pushes Your Luck

press your luck

Solo Games

River Valley Glassworks: a Cozy Family Game

Preview of 52 Realms: Adventures

Preview: Springsign

A Preview of Koala Rescue Club, an Adorable Print and Play Game

Bert's Game Design Journal

Design Journal: Theme Forward

As you might know I love space games. So this year inspiration struck along a very long boring stretch of i65 in Indiana on my way to GenCon. I was listening to the Game Brain Podcast. I have realized that the last couple of years there have been a lot of trick taking games that have come out. So my mind was there and one thing I love to do at GenCon is play miniatures games. So I combined trick-taking, miniatures, and space into one idea for a game.

Design Journal: Cards in Space and Imposter Syndrome.

As you might know I love space games. So this year inspiration struck along a very long boring stretch of i65 in Indiana on my way to GenCon. I was listening to the Game Brain Podcast. I have realized that the last couple of years there have been a lot of trick taking games that have come out. So my mind was there and one thing I love to do at GenCon is play miniatures games. So I combined trick-taking, miniatures, and space into one idea for a game.

Role Playing Games

Pirate Borg: RPG Starter Set Review

The Pirate Borg Starter Set is the way to go if you want to hop into this RPG and immerse yourself into the world Immediately. The Starter Set box is packed full of content and everything you need to play. When I say packed I mean it, everywhere there could have been blank space has something including the inside of the box and the first page of the rulebook (before you get to the title page). This is a pirate themed RPG that adds in its own flavor to the genre that makes mem

20 Sided Tavern: Theatrical Review

This week I had the pleasure of being invited to see Dungeons and Dragons: The Twenty Sided Tavern. This is my first theatrical review...

Preview of 52 Realms: Adventures

Postmark Games has been churning out print and play games since their debut game Voyages in 2021. The newest print and play game in...

First Look at D&D Player's Handbook

Wizards of the Coast released the 5e Player's Handbook in 2014 and since then there have been 47 other suplements and campaign setting books

Events

GenCon 2026 Games Preview

GenCon is right around the corner and there are many hundreds of games being released and even more for sale. Navigating this surmountable amount of games is no easy task. I have complied a list of games that I am excited to see at GenCon this year.

A Game Night at The Field Museum

I have been going to the Field Museum in Chicago since I was a little boy. I remember going to the museum with a note pad and my grandfather's fedora pretending I was a reporter and taking notes on all the exhibits. So when this opportunity came up you know I was excited to do this in a professional adult capacity. Game Night: Clues from the Curator featured demonstrations of many historical board games. We spent a night at the museum playing games. The docents were very kno

Chicago Toy and Game Fair

The Chicago Toy and game fair is the unofficial kick off to the Holiday shopping season here in Chicago. The Chicago Toy and Game fair features local toy and game vendors as well as big names like Lego that attend to show off their games and toys for the season. The Fair also hosted several famous game designers and board game influencers. There was also the Illinois state yo-yo competition and the young inventor challenge. Rail Cube This year there were some great highlights

20 Sided Tavern: Theatrical Review

This week I had the pleasure of being invited to see Dungeons and Dragons: The Twenty Sided Tavern. This is my first theatrical review...

Bert's Tabletop Games provides in-depth analysis of tabletop games in plain language and decodes the industry jargon to help make board games accessible to all.

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The Game Mechanics

Variable Setup in Board Games: Explained

Variable setup appears near the top used mechanic of board games on boardgamegeek.com Variable setup is exactly how it sounds, every time you start a new game the game is different somehow. I know that there can be a barrier to entry with the jargon people use to describe games. So as part of what I do with Bert’s Tabletop Games I want to reduce that barrier to entry by explaining it in plain language though my series call The Game Mechanics.