June Roundtable: The Definitive Ranking of Bad Dads of Games, Part I

June Roundtable: The Definitive Ranking of Bad Dads of Games, Part I

We may be past the height of the daddification of games discourse, but bad dads are eternal. This month, in celebration (?) of Father’s Day, we’re returning to our series of listicles in which we nominate our favorite (?) bad dads and our Patrons vote on which bad dad reigns supreme. (more…)

March Roundtable: Luck Mechanics

March Roundtable: Luck Mechanics

Happy March! Here in the Pacific Northwest we’re sandwiched between bitter winter and the slightly warmer temperatures of spring, but mostly it’s just cold. How lucky we are! Thanks for applauding my super smooth transition—this month we’re talking about luck and luck mechanics in games, which is different from actual luck. I would know, considering I lose every board game I play because I have no actual luck. (more…)

Let Me Tell You About My OC: Intari

Let Me Tell You About My OC: Intari

Did you ever have a character concept you loved, one that looked great on paper even, yet… nothing ever worked out? That’s Intari Ariabis, my tiefling warlock. When my friend (and Sidequest Editor in Chief) Missy decided a couple of years ago that she would start running a Dungeons & Dragons game for us, and that the game was going to be full of feywild bullshit, the concept for Intari snapped together, crystal clear in my head.

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December Roundtable: The Games of 2022

December Roundtable: The Games of 2022

Games really do just keep on coming out, which is why we’re devoting this month’s roundtable to the year’s games. Not the best games. Not the worst games. Just the year’s games, which include the games that we played, the games we didn’t play, and more. The end of the year is a great time for reflection, which, for me at least, means a lot of looking back at all the things I didn’t do. (more…)

Roundtable: What Even Is a Wholesome Game?

Roundtable: What Even Is a Wholesome Game?

PAX West was, as always, a wild convention. Given the state of the pandemic and my busy schedule, I wasn’t sure I’d be going, and didn’t bother to look at the panel list with more than a cursory glance. I saw “A Case for Cozy: Why we (really) need wholesome games!” on the list but didn’t investigate further because, frankly, the conversation around wholesome games—what they’re worth, who they’re for—gets rapidly exhausting, and I felt that it was likely going to be a list of the same old recommendations without a whole lot of insight.

Naturally, that meant my friend dragged me along to get my hot takes. (more…)