Punchboard's Anniversary

Four years and still going strong

Back in 2020 when the world was forced to live behind closed doors, I turned my attention back to an old hobby of mine - board games. I found something fun to do again and joined some great communities. I started talking about the games I enjoyed, and in need of a new project to get stuck into, I started a review site called Punchboard.

Actually, it was originally called Punchboard Reviews. A name change, a lick of paint, and a lot of writing later, and Punchboard is still going. Four years! I can’t believe it.

This is what Punchboard looked like at first.

I’m both surprised at and pleased with myself, to be honest. I’m a serial starter of things I don’t see through, so to still be writing about games four years later is great.

I have some standout moments from those past few years which are indelibly etched in my ever-failing memory. My first crowdfunding preview copy of a game came courtesy of Reversal Games who sent me a copy of Tome: The Light Edition. It’s a team-based trick-taking game, and it’s great if you can get hold of a copy.

Then came the moment I really felt like I had started to make it with this reviewing lark. I prospectively started reaching out to publishers to find out about joining the ranks of their reviewers, and Jamey Stegmaier of Stonemaier Games was the first to reach out with an offer. That game was Euphoria (review here), a game I treasured and did my best to do justice with my paltry words.

Speaking of reviews, those have changed over the years too. When I started out, like with my very first for Nusfjord, I had a very structured approach. It worked, but something nagged at me. It felt too regimented, too formal, not the conversational style I used when I was posting in board game groups. I ironed that problem out after joining the Tabletop Mentorship Scheme. They paired me up with Iain from The Giant Brain who told me what I needed to hear - that sticking to my same structure and headings was holding me back. I changed it and haven’t looked back.

The Christmas before last I worked on a piece about the morality of enjoying war games. I was really curious about how it’s viewed by players and designers alike, so I came up with this article - Is it okay to enjoy wargames? - which took off like crazy. So much so that a Japanese wargame magazine translated and printed it, along with a South Korean publisher. I’m still really proud of it, and I hope one day to write something as popular.

31K reads and climbing. I’m very proud of this piece.

Speaking of getting something published, over the last year or so I’ve been writing reviews for Tabletop Gaming Magazine here in the UK. I’m super pleased with this, and although I don’t need validation, it feels good to know a professional publisher thinks my writing is good enough to be included in their magazine.

Lessons learned and some advice

Experience is the best teacher, and after 258 reviews (at the time of writing), I’ve got a little experience now. Here’s some free advice, even though you haven’t asked for any.

Firstly, never get into making reviews - be it video or writing - if you’re doing it to be popular or make money, stop before you even start. It isn’t a side hustle, you won’t make serious money, and you’ll end up loathing it. Talk about games because you love games and you want to share your enthusiasm.

Aim to have a publishing schedule but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t always stick to it. Once you start publishing stuff just because you have to, you’ll start resenting it.

Be honest. If you don’t like a game, say so. Don’t just say nice things about every game just because you’re worried that the publisher might not like you any more, or that you won’t get free games to review from them again. Remember this - you’re writing your reviews for the people who value your opinion, not the publishers.

Speaking of review copies, yes, you will get some. If you keep publishing reviews, reach out to publishers, and work at staying in touch with them, the review copies will come. It might not be instant, you might get dry spells, but it’ll come. Just stick to it.

Have thick skin. Most people are nice in this hobby, but you’ll still come up against some mean people. You just have to learn to let it go and accept it. I’ve had people tell me my reviews have things in the wrong order, been accused of being a shill for a publisher, and been told “that’s too many words, just make a video”. You can’t keep everyone happy, so don’t even try. Do your thing.

Looking forward

So with four years under my belt, what’s next?

Honestly, just more of the same. I want to keep writing about games I enjoy, games I don’t enjoy, and highlighting some of the great work that happens adjacent to our hobby. I’ve written convention reports which I hope have spurred people into attending because there’s nothing quite like being surrounded by like-minded gamers for a few days.

I’m still trying to find my voice, and I might never get there, but I’ll keep trying. When you write in a conversational style it’s surprisingly difficult to make the words coming out of your pen or keyboard feel like the words you say. You think they’re the same but then read it back and realise it sounds like someone else. Maybe some people find it easy, but personally, I find it infuriatingly tricky.

I’m going to stick to my personal goal of highlighting independent publishers and designers wherever I can, especially those from the UK. The board game market is crowded and it’s hard to get noticed, but there are some amazing games that will just never get seen or played. I want to at least put some of those games in front of people’s eyes.

I also want to look at other opportunities to write. Maybe that’ll be in the board game space, maybe it’ll be something adjacent, maybe something completely different. Who knows, I’m always up for trying something new. Whatever it might be, it’ll have to fit around Punchboard, not instead of it.

Thank you

Finally, for now, just a few words to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who reads what I write, to everyone who encourages me, and everyone who supports me.

From my long-suffering family who live with an eternal pile of games on the kitchen table, to the people who throw a couple of quid my way each month. If you didn’t already know, you can support me on Patreon and Ko-Fi. I can’t offer much in return, which is why the biggest subscription is only £3 a month, but I appreciate my supporters so much. It all goes towards my hosting costs, so even just that £3 really means a lot to me.

Thanks to the publishers and designers who’ve supported me and like what I write enough to keep working with me. I’ve worked with big publishers and lots of first-time designers and self-publishers. It’s as fulfilling to me to work with the likes of GMT Games and Ravensburger as it is to see the likes of Chris of Unfringed take his game Zuuli (read my review here) from a prototype to being picked up and published by Oink Games

I was over the moon to see this stand at this year’s UKGE. Well done Chris!

.Onwards and upwards!