The year is approaching 2022. We are in the midst of a pandemic. Now more than ever, people are discovering the world of modern board games. Some are discovering the joys of solo gaming. The hobby is exploding, with entire industries dedicated to releasing how-to-play videos, creating custom inserts, and more. This blog will be promoting and celebrating this Era of Modern Board Gaming!
Brief History of Modern Board Games
In 1995, a German board game named Settlers of Catan hit the world. Now known simply as Catan, it is still on many board gamer shelves. Such German-style board games, also called Eurogames, caught the world’s attention with their colorful wooden components, less conflict, low luck/randomness, no player elimination, and challenge for players. Carcassonne came out in 2001 and Ticket to Ride in 2004. Both have even hit the top 100 lists for 2021 of many people! The Modern Board Game Renaissance had begun.
Game Category: Classics
Bling My Games will be categorizing these as “Classics” – any board game published over ten years ago at the time of the review. I don’t have many “modern” board games over 20 years old, and if a game is still going strong after ten years, the game deserves to be a Classic. I’ll feature many classics such as Catan (1995), Carcassonne (2001), Ticket to Ride (2004), Agricola (2007), Dominion (2008), Robinson Crusoe (2012), and so much more. Paying homage to these games that have led the way, “Classics” will be this blog’s first board game category.
Game Category: Cult of the New
The board game industry is exploding, releasing new games every day. Games published within the past two years are “Cult of the New.” Ideally, these would only be games published in the past year, but sometimes games sell out immediately and aren’t easily obtainable until a year later. I’ll be reviewing these games under the Board Game category “Cult of the New.”
Someday these games will turn into “Classics”!
Game Category: Shelf of Opportunity
Lastly, I’ll feature all other games in the “Shelf of Opportunity” category of board games. We won’t call it the Shelf of Shame here! Technically, all games come from the Shelf of Opportunity, but we need to make a unique distinction between the Classics and the New.
Game Tag: The Hotness
I am editing this post to include a new tag for board games! Board Game Geek has “The Hotness” chart of the top 50 trending games, which changes every day. It’s wildly changing recently due to all the top game lists of 2021 coming out. However, these trending games may not necessarily be new, as board game celebrities highly influence trending games, and some game favorites remain classics. I’ll be covering these trending games.
Games for Everyone!
Whether it’s just you, a friend, a group – there are games that cater to any player count. Only have a few minutes? Or want to spend weeks on an in-depth campaign? There’s a game for that and everything in between. Unique mechanisms and unique combinations of mechanisms indulge any taste. There’s a theme to appeal to any niche.
We’ve got our favorite board game website communities; I’ll be talking about the biggest one very soon. We’ve got our board game superstars with their YouTube channels; you’ll see them mentioned in this blog as well. Some companies make custom inserts or custom tokens for their favorite games. There are so many people wanting to share their passion for this hobby. I now have the chance to offer my spin on my favorite hobby.
What to Expect out of this Blog
I will be going over modern board games and showing you their gameplay in words and photos. Each review will feature my board game photography to show you the entire game, its components, and gameplay. Something unique this blog will feature is an exciting side-industry, the blinging of board games. These may be card sleeves, custom inserts, deluxified components, and more.
So sit back and enjoy this blog and join me on this fabulous journey of discovering and enjoying modern board games!
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