The Big Hobby Break

Quick Update

I am aware that I have a reputation for disappearing. This is not one of those cases. I am unpacking boxes in the new flat. A large number of boxes. I missed a week of gaming – that bad. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. Meanwhile I have republished How I Paint for […]

Quite a year. While it is often tough to get down to five top choices, this time it has been very difficult indeed. The endless new releases and, probably, gradually rising standards in design have delivered at least twenty candidates worthy of consideration. The Runners Up I loved Time Stories and then all of a […]

I don’t wish to be precious, but I am probably not a true blogger. If blogging is writing on the fly, adding pictures, and posting fairly quickly or same day. The result of trying this was that the previous Notebook was the worst thing I have written in a long time.  Perhaps the worst. Bits […]

The Archives are underway. If you click the Archive menu you will find eighteen columns of Gamer’s Notebook.

April 2017. Gloomhaven. Seems to be a little bit of ‘easily excited’ buzz on this one. Mainly from the BGG Bloodthirsters cheerleader squad. This never alters my opinion…..

The Answer is Twelve. Usually. If you click the menu tab, you will see the Sumo Awards for the last five years. These will show that my tastes have not changed much in that time – or indeed in thirty years – and also that I cannot possibly see and play everything. This generates gaps. […]

March 2017. Well, it has been a while. I won’t go into details but I certainly did not expect to lose three years to illness, leave my ideal job, move to the South coast and then semi-retire. Well, quarto-retire. None of which is that relevant to the return of my interest in playing and designing games, and in writing about them….