Essen Spiel 22, Discord server improvements, and some big news!
Essen
It probably hasn't escaped your attention that Essen Spiel is nearly here. The annual pilgrimage by many to the hotbed of new games in Germany. I wish I were going, but sadly work commitments and a lack of planning on my part mean I won't be. It was close for a time; I was going to be demoing for a publisher, but in the end, I put my sensible (read: boring) hat on.
Just because I can't go doesn't mean I can't - and won't - get excited though. I've written a preview of the top 10 games I'm most excited to play this year. There's a good mixture of hyped and un-hyped, so take a look through and let me know what you're most excited about.
Essen Spiel '22 Top 10 Hot Games - Punchboard — punchboard.co.uk I can't make it to Essen Spiel this year. Instead, here are the ten games that would likely be squashed into suitcases to come home with me.
Reviews
Just the one since last week, but hoo boy, was it a biggie.
Just the one review since last week, but hoo boy, was it a biggie. Oath is from the same design, art, and publishing trifecta as Root, and claims to offer a full campaign-style game, with a living world, in a fully resettable game.
Does it succeed? In my opinion, yes, with bells on. Have you played Oath? What did you think?
Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile Review - Punchboard — punchboard.co.uk Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile promises a lot, but have the team behind Root delivered another winner? Read on and find out.
Discord improvements
If you didn't already know, Punchboard has its own Discord server. If you've never used Discord, it's a website and app that you can get on just about any device which lets you chat with people. I wrote a Tweet just the other day which has a link to it, so please pop along and say hi.
Join the Punchboard Discord Server! — discord.com Check out the Punchboard community on Discord - hang out with 30 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.
Discord recently added a new feature which let me create forum style channels. If you grew up posting in discussion forums, you know the sort of thing I mean. It's a neat way to keep conversations in one place, without drowning out the rest of the chatter. Come along, give it a go. We're friendly, honest 😁
Big news - Sponsorship by Kienda
I'm over the moon to announce that Punchboard has its first official sponsor. Kienda is a reasonably new player in the UK board game market, but they have some seriously good choice (I bought a copy of Brazil Imperial from there a month or two ago, the only place in the UK that had it), and good prices too.
Does this mean I'm selling out? Free adverts for big business? A soulless shill? Heck no. Our discussions have been open and honest, and I've made it known that I'm keeping my credibility, and reviewing games honestly. The only difference it'll make to you, my readers, is that I'll have more games to review, some games for future giveaways, and a discount code for you lovely people.
Those of you with the technical know-how can scan the QR code below. The rest of you can just head to http://kienda.co.uk/punchboard to create your account there, and you'll get 5% discount if you spend £60 or more.
In the interest of transparency again, if you buy your first game through them with my link I'll get a whopping £3 store credit to go back towards getting more games to cover. No, I don't get cold, hard cash. No, I don't have to give gushing reviews to everything I get from them. And no, the Punchboard superyacht is no closer to reality.
But hey, more reviews are always good, right? 😊
The only difference you'll notice is me dropping links to their store in reviews and the like, but hey, it's got to be better than Amazon, right?
If you've got any concerns or misgivings, feel free to let me know, and we can chat anytime. For now though, cheers, and thank you all once again, for your ongoing support.
Adam