Board games are a hobby that I love. I want to share my passion, my enjoyment, my love of games. However, I also review games. I’m a critic, for want of a better word. Do these two things work in conflict with one another? Is it possible to be enthusiastic and still be critical?
The short version is yes. Yes, of course it is.
I’ve been reading and commenting on posts on social media lately about this topic. If you visit some of the bigger Facebook board game groups you’ll very quickly come across a group of seemingly jaded gamers who take issue with reviewers. “They just hype everything”, “They’re just shills for publishers”, “They aren’t critical of anything”. I’m paraphrasing, but you get the idea.
In fairness to those people, it’s easy to see why. Go have a look on Youtube and Instagram and you’ll see countless bright young things grinning inanely at the camera, holding aloft boxes and declaring them the best thing ever. A week later, they’ll never mention the game again, and have the new, next best thing. Does this mean that all reviewers are like this? That it’s all just a big promo show?
Hell no.
Casting a wider net
The biggest problem as I see it is how far consumers are willing to go to look for informed opinions on games. You’re probably subscribed to some Youtube channels about board games if you’re reading this. I know I am. Ask yourself this - how many different channels do you regularly watch? Of those, how many have a smaller subscriber base than 1-2K?
If you watch the same channels with the same people on them, giving the same generic platitudes to everything that crosses their table, what do you expect?
I encourage - nay, urge - you to start reading, watching, and listening to different voices. There is a ton of critical content out there, you just have to look for it. BGG is a great place to start. I’m not the world’s biggest fan of the way BGG works, but there’s no denying it’s a great place to get aggregated reviews of games.
Go there and search for your favourite games, then head to the Forums section for each of them, and finally the reviews. Read some. Read all of them if you like. Get a feel for different voices and opinions. Don’t take umbrage if someone doesn’t like the things you do, just soak it in and try to understand.
I’m a big fan of the written word when it comes to reviews, as you might have guessed. It’s far quicker to convey feeling than a long video. There are so many good, critical writers out there. Go read Richard’s views on We’re Not Wizards or Iain’s at The Giant Brain. It should go without saying that the best of us all is Dan Thurot, author of incredible writing at Space-Biff!.
Money in the place where my mouth normally resides
It’s a lot of talk, isn’t it? Despite being a passionate advocate for games, I’m still critical where it’s needed. Just last week I reviewed Qawale Mini, a small version of a great game but with some serious flaws in my opinion. Then there was Factory 42, a game which had such potential but was let down by some serious, serious issues. I covered Casting Shadows for Tabletop Gaming Magazine, a game my son loved but with some flaws so serious I’d beg surprised if they ever playtested the game.
It happens, I get it. Not everyone will love every game. That’s kind of the point though. By making sure you read, watch, and listen to a wide variety of people you can get that balanced, holistic view. You’ll find people whose tastes align with yours, and that’s brilliant, just don’t ignore everyone else.
There’s a wealth of critical content out there, you only have to look to find it. The next time you find yourself muttering under your breath about bloody hype channels, go Googling. Check the BGG forums. Find some people you don’t already know about and see what they’ve got to say. You’ll be glad you did.