09th Nov2023

‘Dungeons and Dragons Onslaught’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

Skirmish games between exactly two players make for some of the most exciting encounters in board gaming. Whether you’re playing as the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe in Marvel: Crisis Protocol, or recreating iconic dogfights from the Star Wars universe in X-Wing 2.0, this is a genre that offers both strategic depth and […]

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06th Nov2023

‘Marvel Zombies: X-Men Resistance’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

As I drag the latest massive box (or boxes) of Zombicide through my door, I often wonder whether it will simply be more or the same. The last time out, when I reviewed Zombicide: Undead or Alive, I was pleasantly surprised by new mechanics and features. However, the newest Zombicide game – Marvel Zombies: X-Men […]

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01st Nov2023

‘Damnation: The Gothic Game (with Night of the Vampire expansion)’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

If I were into board games twenty or thirty years ago, I reckon my shelves would have more games like Damnation: The Gothic Game on them. As it stands today, Damnation: The Gothic Game stands alone as just about the only game here that relies on mechanisms that are no longer popular with modern gamers […]

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23rd Oct2023

A board gamer’s guide to ‘Cthulhu: Death May Die’

by Matthew Smail

Since Gloomhaven came along, with its ridiculous depth, 100+ missions and near-to-zero-luck gameplay, it’s been tough for other dungeon crawlers to make an impact. With most games in this genre relying on dice-rolling, random encounters and a load of other random factors, it’s tough to be taken seriously. However, when Eric Lang and Rob Daviau […]

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17th Oct2023

‘Archeos Society’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

Things move slowly in the world of board games, and the rumour mill is often turning long before anything actually materializes. This is often true when it comes to remaking older games – and in the case of 2017’s Ethnos, there seem to have been rumours about a new design with better components and brighter […]

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31st May2023

‘Star Wars: Shatterpoint’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

Long terms readers of Nerdly will know a couple of things – firstly, that we love Star Wars, and secondly, that we’re big fans of miniatures combat games. Among the very best examples of modern skirmish games that we’ve experienced is undoubtedly Marvel: Crisis Protocol from Atomic Mass Games, and you can read our reviews […]

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03rd Apr2023

‘Achroma: The Siege of Draco Temple’ Board Game Review

by George P Thomas

Achroma: The Siege of Draco Temple is a thrilling new card game from Realm Runner Studios that promises to provide a unique and exciting gaming experience for players of all levels. The game is designed for two players, each controlling a powerful faction of warriors and mages who are battling for control of the Draco […]

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31st Mar2023

‘Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game’ Review

by Matthew Smail

There are already many games based on the Star Wars universe – featuring everything from galactic-scale strategic simulations like Star Wars: Rebellion down to filler games like Love Letter: Jabba’s Palace. There are certainly a few card games based on George Lucas’ epic out there – but I can’t think of one that is quite […]

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16th Mar2023

‘Gears of War: The Card Game’ Review

by Matthew Smail

Regular readers of Nerdly might recall that back in January we revealed that Steamforged Games – creators of Dark Souls: The Board Game and Resident Evil 3: The Board Game were about to release another videogame tie-in – this time based on Gears of War. This took me by surprise to be honest, since it’s […]

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08th Mar2023

HorRHIFFic 2023 Interview: Parable Games talk board game ‘Shiver’

by Kevin Haldon

In a slight change of pace, our man on the ground at this year’s Romford Horror Film Festival, Kevin, sat down to chat with one of the vendors at the festival, Parable Games, to talk about their horror movie-inspired tabletop roleplaying game, Shiver. SHIVER is a tabletop roleplaying game that lets players bring their favourite […]

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17th Feb2023

‘Zombicide: Undead or Alive’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

The end result of yet another gigantic CMON Kickstarter, Zombicide: Undead or Alive represents something like the tenth variant/setting that the game has taken place in, and critically, this is the first spin-off to be based on the updated Zombicide: Second Edition ruleset. Many people are now familiar with the Zombicide formula, and for them […]

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16th Feb2023

‘SolForge Fusion’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

When I wrote about a game called KeyForge a few years ago, I remember using words like “innovative” and “groundbreaking” and I also had to mention that games legendary designer; Richard Garfield. With credit for Magic: The Gathering (perhaps the most important collectible card game (CCG) of all time) Garfield is a designer of true […]

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08th Feb2023

‘Sub Terra II: Inferno’s Edge’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

Sometimes when a game is conceived via Kickstarter, it can be mired in controversy that’s linked more to the publisher than the designer or the game itself. Sub Terra II: Inferno’s Edge is one such game, with the issue here coming from the fact that Sub Terra II: Inferno’s Edge actually made it to retail […]

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08th Feb2023

Asmodee and Disney announce ‘Dixit Disney’

by Phil Wheat

Board game publisher Asmodee has announced its first collaboration with Disney with the introduction of Dixit Disney. This new, standalone game in the Dixit universe, is based on the beloved themes and characters found in Disney and Pixar films. Dixit Disney is a simple and lighthearted game of storytelling, interpretation, and guesswork. Players will be […]

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08th Dec2022

‘Break the Cube’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

In our house, there is one core gamer (me), a casual gamer (my wife) and two aspiring gamers (the eldest two kids) – and that’s before we consider visits from friends and family. With this in mind, we have to maintain an eclectic collection of board games, and space is at a constant premium. Whilst […]

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29th Nov2022

‘Royal Visit’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

I recently read that legendary game designer Reiner Knizia is now credited with over 700 titles – which is an unbelievable achievement. Among these, I’ve played probably thirty or maybe forty of them, and to be honest I often find Knizia titles a little too straightforward. They are always easy to pick up and play, […]

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26th Oct2022

‘Marvel: Dice Throne’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

Rolling dice has been a fundamental part of gaming culture for hundreds of years. From simple bluffing and betting games to modern games that use dice as workers to drive powerful effects, there’s something about throwing a handful of die onto the table that can evoke excitement in almost anyone. This is especially true of […]

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20th Oct2022

‘Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

I don’t think anyone would deny that Ticket to Ride sits easily among the top three of what the board game world calls “Gateway Games” – meaning any game which allows players to make the step from classic games like Chess, Scrabble or even Monopoly to the more innovative world of modern games. That said, […]

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28th Sep2022

‘Carnival Zombie: Second Edition’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

Sometimes you play a game and you realise how much care and attention to detail has gone into it. Carnival Zombie: Second Edition is most definitely one such game, and whilst there is no doubt that the fact it is effectively the second bite at the cherry for designer Matteo Santus gives it a bit […]

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09th Sep2022

‘Cyclades with Hades Expansion’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

Among all of the themes that could be applied to a board game – or indeed any game or interactive subject – I think that Ancient Greek Mythology might well be my favourite. Everything about this setting fascinates me, from the Gods and monsters to the heroes and their fantastic stories. Cyclades is a relatively […]

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20th Jul2022

‘Living Forest’ Board Game Review

by Matthew Smail

When a game wins the Kennerspiel Des Jahres award, it has to be taken seriously. This prestigious prize has been awarded annually for eleven years now, but it was spawned from the original Spiel Des Jahre award which has now ran for more than forty years. The purpose of the Kennerspiel award is to identify […]

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17th Jun2022

‘Dominion: Allies’ Expansion Review

by Matthew Smail

I might be wrong, but I bet that when Dominion was released in 2008, designer Donald X. Vaccarino would have no idea that his creation would still be as popular as it is in 2022. Whilst not usually regarded as a gateway game in any sense of the word, there’s no doubt that Dominion remains […]

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