Decided I better update the sites header image before I forget to. Otherwise before I know it, it’ll be Easter and the header would still be the Christmas one. And things would just look messy and that I don’t care.

Now we have a nice bright looking gaming related header image. A new tag line to go along with it also. 

I’m not changing the theme for the blog, I like the layout. But who knows that may change at anytime.

One thing that won’t change is the content of the blog. Yes it will still be poorly written, it will not (hopefully) use tired, boring tropes, it will be opinionated, but it will be all me. 

It may not be obvious but I write a good 99% of this blog, do all the photos and image editing on my iPhone 6! So yes there will be errors in my posts from autocorrect that slip past the checking. Yep that surprised you, I do check before posting, but things get through. 

But I have set myself the goal of improving the quality of my writing! Yep that’s a massive task I know.

I know this is very much a niche blog within a niche hobby. It doesn’t conform to the usual hobby tropes. Mainly because so many others do it far far better than I could. So it’s never going to be massively popular. I write for me, and then hope that others may find my ramblings of interest. Luckily a handful of people do.

I’m going to be trying new things out on the blog, such as a “why I bought this” section. Dropping others like the Week Starting (WS) posts, well technically I’ve already done that. 

If I can crack the problem of YouTube you will see more video from me in the coming year. I’m going to use the term again, and it’s a recurring theme of this post, but I want to avoid the tired old tropes of current videos and podcasts.

I suppose that’s the over all aim of this blog to discuss passionately the hobby of board gaming but in a unique, refreshing way. I’m along way from achieving that aim. But I will get there.

So a big thank you for those of you that have joined me on this journey. Hopefully it will remain interesting and entertaining for you.

Can you guess what it is? This post might give you a clue.

Yep it’s the really dire two player game about whaling Nantucket.

I don’t mind the theme, as I liked New Bedford.

The only saving grace for me about this game was that Jonathan spent his money on it and not me.

I don’t know how it got a rating of 6.5 on bgg. I think those rating it must have confused it with another game or scored it ironically or something.

So there you have it the worse game of 2016 and possibly ever, Nantucket.

I’m going to apologise for this poor attempt at click bait. Especially using in an ironic way the sort of headlines they use to attract poor unsuspecting readers in.

These type of titles/headlines really do wind me up. “Look what happens when…” or “You won’t believe…” I think I hate these slightly more than I hate those chain images/statuses on social media where you “share to show your support of x”. 

Mind you the click bait of the likes of Geek and Sundry and their poor articles and predictable lists make my blog posts look like indepth well researched articles.

Ok rant over, on with this post.

The first game that I think people should be talking more about and playing  is Bohemian Villages.

Jonathan introduced this game to me earlier in the year at one of our Costa gaming sessions. I think it got six plays that month. And saw me ordering the game for myself.

When Tom Vassel says he hasn’t played the game (see his boring unboxing video for the second part of the Advent calendar), and I’m not seeing video reviews of the game (only one I’ve seen is by To Die For Games). You know the majority of people have missed this game.

I’m not sure there is a US publisher for the game. Which would be a real shame. Stronghold should pick this game up and give it the love it deserves.

I don’t think I’ve given it the Nath test yet. Which I should do. Next visit.

My second game that seems to have gone under the radar is Odin’s Ravens.

I can’t remember why I got this game initially. There was a little buzz at UKGE I seem to remember. But it may have been a video I caught online that got my attention. 

Here is a link to my first play of the game with Jonathan. 

But this nice beautiful two player game also deserves a lot of love. Sadly I have to admit I don’t give it as much love as I should.

I’m going to pretend I care what games you think went under the radar in 2016, and should be getting more love. So leave your suggestions in the comments below!



I’d just like to wish all the long suffering readers of this blog a big heartfelt Merry Christmas.

Thank you for all your suffering, by taking the time to read my hastily thrown together words, that sometimes make sense.

I hope you all have a great day, that you get to play games with loved ones, whilst having great food. Or failing that, that you are the last one standing in any alcohol fueled argument. And that the drink has deadened your senses enough to swallow the over cooked stuff pushed in front of you in the guise of Christmas dinner.

Merry Christmas

From Darren and his wolf pack!

A couple of short videos I did today.

Don’t expect anything epic or earth shattering.

It’s been an amazing year for me game wise. I’ve played over 143 games, with 460 plus plays. Which just leaves me speechless. If I hadn’t been keeping track of my plays I’d never have guessed that high a number.

Regular readers will know I’m partial to jumping on bandwagons. Well this time of year you can’t miss the mass of top ten lists, and game of year posts/videos. So who am I not to go with the flow, shout “me too” and have my own poor attempt at click bait. Who knows I could get into the heady heights of more than thirty views.

My click bait attempt comes in the form of the first Whitespider1066 Game of the Year 2016 Award Ceremony.

So like all good year end award ceromonies I’ve got different catergories, however I’ve streamlined these down to four categories.

First up are the games that really captured their theme.

The contenders for Most Thematic Game of 2016 are:

• Karmaka
• Pandemic Iberia

My Most Thematic Game of 2016 is…

Karmaka. This game just oozes it’s theme. The mechanics just re-enforce the theme of karma. The lovely art work, especially on the score board scream karma. I don’t think I’ve played a game this strongly themed.

Next up are the games that just look stunning, from the art, to the graphical design, to the components used. These games really do prove you should judge a book by its cover.

The contenders for Best Looking Game of 2016 are:

• Scythe
• Hit Z Road
• Pandemic Iberia

My Best Looking Game of 2016 is…

I’m going with Hit Z Road. This light weight Zombie game is just stunning. It’s kind of retro thrown together graphic design and art is beautiful, and really sets up the theme.

For this next award of Best Kickstarter Project to qualify the game had to be delivered in 2016.

The contenders for Best Kickstarter Project 2016 are:

• The Manhattan Project Chain Reaction
• Ages
• Thief’s Market
• Tiny Epic western
• The Others
• Hero Realms

My Best Kickstarter Project 2016 is…

The Manhattan Project Chain Reaction. It’s basically it’s bigger worker placement brother but in a smaller quicker card game format. The deluxe Kickstarter edition with its wooden tokens and box really do this game justice.

Now for the main event…

So as I said back at the start of November I will be picking my game of the year from my list of game of the month winners. There was a slight hiccup with the list, because I didn’t start announcing a game of the month until April. Which means I will have to chose a game of the month for January, February and March looking back at my log of plays for those months.

Here is the complete list of my game of the month winners:

• January – Seasons
• February – Bomb Squad Academy
• March – Eminent Domain
• April – Scoville
• May – Bohemian Villages
• June – The Voyages of Marco Polo, Guilds of London, The Great Heartland Hauling Co. and Imhotep
• July – 7 Wonders Duel
• August – The Manhattan Project Chain Reaction
• September – Istanbul with all the expansions
• October – Escape from Colditz
• November – Scythe
• December – Pandemic Iberia

As you can see this is a pretty strong list. In June I wasn’t able to make a decision and copped out and chose four! It was nearly a decision I copied again in November. 

But a decision has to be made. And I think I know which game it’s going to be.

So my game of 2016 is…

Scythe.

 It had to be. All I can say is the hype was true. This is a wonderful game. Stonemeir Games just keep hitting the ball out of the park. 

Scythe ticks all the boxes. Beautiful artwork, great components, amazing game play, asynchronous factions, replay ability. 

I really do look forward to playing Scythe. The expansion that’s two new factions will be with me any day now. The board expansion is also on its way. Two excuses as if I really needed them to play Scythe again. This game is truly epic.

So there you have my click bait awards. I hope they were of some interest. 

I think this speaks for itself – Merry Christmas 

Yesterday was the last day of students before the Christmas break.

So as a treat to my level three group I took in a selection of games, and my folding 6ft table.

The students had earnt this treat. Completed my assignment and handed in by the deadline. That deserved a reward.

The students started off their morning of gaming with King of Tokyo.

I think they played two or three games, working their way through all the monsters in the game.

After King of Tokyo I introduced the students to Welcome to the Dungeon. Which they really enjoyed.

Finally they ended the morning off playing Love Letter.

What do these games have in common? They can be taught in under ten minutes. They are also about the right length of time to play. By that I mean approx thirty minutes. 

It was great seeing the students enjoying themselves. In the new year there is going to be some tournaments arranged for them. With iello willing to sell me tournament kits they are going to love having a King of Tokyo tournament.

On my daily commute to work I like to take the scenic Fenland backroads, listen to the latest gaming podcasts or an audible book, and get lost in my own thoughts. 

This morning was no different. I worked my way across the Fenland landscape as dawn broke, with the latest Secret Cabal podcast keeping me company. 

My mental wander this morning had me thinking up ideas for posts to write over the New Year. 

One of the posts will be about what the hot games, the must have games for 2015 were. But just a list would be boring. The bit you would want to know is which ones had I played, which did I own, and further commentary on them. 

So what were the hot must have games of 2016? 

Well I know for sure Blood Rage and Scythe were. 

But what others joined them on this exclusive list? 

I remember that this years UK Games Expo that Pandemic Reign of Cthulhu had a lot of buzz. Especially considering that you were going to be able to play the game, and if you were ultra lucky walk away with a copy as well (there was a raffle to win a copy). But that seems to have all died down since then, I’ve not seen many folks talking about it since it’s release. 

The surprise must have, must be Mechs vs Minions. 

Is Pandemic Iberia also one of the hot must haves? I haven’t really seen people talking a lot about it online. 

What about Cry Havoc? It was getting a lot of buzz at the big cons. 

The second edition of Mansions of Madness also made a big splash. So should it be on the list also? 

Blood Bowl seems to be having a lot of buzz at the moment. Will Space Hulk be the same when the reprint of that happens? 

So at the moment the list of hot must have games of 2016 are: 

• Blood Rage 
• Scythe 
• Mechs vs Minions 
• Cry Havoc 
• Blood Bowl 
• Mansions of Madness Second Edition 

What have I missed? Have I included something by mistake?