Happy birthday to Punchboard!

I can hardly believe it. My board game review site, Punchboard, is five years old today.

In the Spring of 2020 when the pandemic lockdown still had us all in its grasp, I decided to get my retired collection of board games out. The games I’d bought ten or so years earlier, games like Hamburgum, Escape: The Curse of the Temple, Fresco, and Carcassonne. I wanted something to keep me and the family occupied while we were all stuck at home, so it made sense.

One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was tumbling headlong into a rabbit hole that I’d never escape. Shortly after this, I bought copies of Coconuts, Rhino Hero, and Nusfjord, and things snowballed from there.

I’ve always loved talking enthusiastically about my (many) hobbies, as my wife will tell you through gritted teeth, so when I found myself writing what amounted to mini-reviews on board game Facebook groups, I decided to give myself another project. I decided to setup my own board game review site. Punchboard was conceived and eventually unleashed on my own corner of the internet on August 1st 2020.

The very first reviews I published were for Nusfjorf (review here), Maracaibo (review here), and Paladins of the West Kingdom (review here). All three games are still in my collection, and are still some of my favourites to play. I think I did well there.

Back then I didn’t have a format I liked for reviews. It took a while and some nudges in the right direction to break the rigid structure and find my voice a little bit more.

I can still remember the excitement of the first times I ever had copies of games sent to me to cover. First of all I had Tome sent to me ahead of their Kickstarter launch, which was amazing for someone with as small an influence as I had. My first ‘big’ publisher however was Jamey and the lovely folk at Stonemaier games. I’ll never forget that. I chose Euphoria (read that review here) and I remember it feeling like a turning point.

Since then I’ve covered more crowdfunding previews than I can remember, and built great relationships with designers, publishers and distributors all over the world. I’m incredibly grateful for their support and for choosing me to cover their games.

I’ve had quite a few highlights over the last few years. I had work published in various magazines, including Filmmakers Without Cameras, Banzai (a Japanese wargame magazine) and of course Tabletop Gaming Magazine. The piece picked up by Banzai was by far my most popular and widely shared piece. It was an editorial piece looking at the ethics of enjoying wargames, and you can read it right here - Is it okay to enjoy wargames?

I’ve done a few guest bits, including appearing on the rather fabulous Whose Turn is it Anyway? podcast, and demonstrating The Old King’s Crown over on Gaming Rules! I’ve been to conventions the length and breadth of the country, and met so many wonderful people, many of whom I know count as my closest friends.

The most important thing to me, though, is how it’s helped me with my mental health. I’ve written a lot of pieces about this, and it remains true. Playing a board game on a table, from the act of setting it up all the way until it goes back on my shelves, helps with me with my mental state. Who knows, maybe I’ll write more about it in the future, but for now all you need to know is that I’d be lost without board games.

So what does the next five years look like for me and for Punchboard. Honestly, I hope it’s just more of the same. I want to keep trying to get better at writing reviews. I want to travel further afield to experience other conventions and gaming groups. I want to continue to explore different games from all corners of the world, and to keep supporting the Indie designers and artists that underpin this hobby.

When I started this in 2020 I didn’t really believe it’d keep going the way it has. I hoped it would, but I’m very good at starting things I don’t finish. It looks like Punchboard, or at least my reviewing, are here to stay though. I love games, I love introducing people to games and the wonderful things they can give us, and I love talking about them in all their variouses shapes and forms.

If you’ve been with me for any length of time over the last five years - thank you. Seriously, thank you. I really appreciate it. If you’re new, great. I want new readers. I want more people to discover new games, and to learn what makes a game good, or not. If you want to support me in my endeavours by throwing a couple of bucks/quid my way each month, you can do. I don’t make any money running Punchboard, in fact I lose money every month through hosting and other costs, so every little bit really means the world to me. You can find out more about supporting me on this page.

Thanks again, and here’s to five more years!

Adam