Squawk 'N'Roll

Monthly Round-up My mom came back for another visit this month, which was wonderful. I'm grateful to have such a loving and supportive mother...you know, the type that still visits in spite of getting whooped by her daughter in so many games. It was a highlight for me to introduce her and my close friends to Santiago, which is one of my favorite family-weight games. It has a juicy auction each round and the player who passes first or bids the least becomes the canal overseer that everyone...

Fresh Plays July is turning out to be a very exciting month on my end. Our 3d printer is (FINALLY!) back up and running thanks to Matt with some premium Eagle Scout assistance from our good pals Nate & Steven...so I've been printing inserts galore to consolidate and organize my favorite games and tackle my board game clutter "situation". Feels so good to finally have some time home to take care of projects like this. Butttt, the real exciting news is, The Hobby: Tales from the Tabletop (a...

Monthly Round-up Life has been wacky and wild. Soooo, nothing new. I've been feeling really good about tackling some cleaning/organization projects I've been putting off forever. ...and of course, still channeling my inner Bob Ross. you'll see more of this fella soon... Cacus from Black Rose Wars: Rebirth Content Highlights 🎥 🎙️ I Flew to Paris to Watch the World's Best Ticket to Ride Players Battle! I mentioned my trip to France in last month's SNR monthly update, so I'm excited to share the...

Fresh Plays I ended up accidentally injuring my finger and it has been painful to type or do anything with my right hand, so I'll have to keep this email brief ...but if you were wondering, yes, I'm still loving painting minis!...even though I'm pretty sure this newfound hobby of mine is the reason my finger is all jacked up. One of the Pharaohs I'm working in from Black Rose Wars: Rebirth BOARD GAMES Oathsworn I finally started playing Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood after hearing great things...

Monthly Round-up **Warning** I have jet lag brain. Less than 36 hours after returning to LA from a trip to France, I was right back on a plane heading to Dallas for BGG.Spring. It's day 4 here in Dallas and I'm extra thirsty for games. I've been working during the day the past few days, so I haven't had time to binge board games, but today I'll fix that. In other good news, my "False Topple" fam came through with some AMAZING BBQ from Austin which has been fueling me. I swear, I have now had...

Fresh Plays Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing moms out there (including those no longer with us). I'm extremely grateful for my beautiful, amazing, funny, Skip-Bo-loving mom. She's loving, caring, and always so supportive of my brother and me, plus she's an awesome "Grammy T" to my niece and nephew. For a Fresh "Paints" update, I'm still loving painting miniatures, and how zen I feel when I do. Not only is it addicting and therapeutic, but it's so satisfying when you get to play a game...

Monthly Round-up Last year I missed The Gathering of Friends – a private gaming event in Niagara Falls. ...but not this year! Even though the U.S. side of Niagara Falls often feels like a desolate zombie town, it's always a wonderful time connecting with awesome people and playing games I've been wanting to try for a while. Also, I've had some of my best "aha!" moments playtesting my board game at The GoF. I'm not gonna lie though, I've been going through mini-painting withdrawal since I've...

Fresh Plays I was recently in DC for the first time in A WHILE. After attending GMT's Weekend at the Warehouse and SDHistCon multiple times, I finally made it the east coast for Circle DC – a historical board convention hosted by Kevin Bertram (Fort Circle Games). It was a quick trip, but I had a fantastic time. I got to reconnect with some great friends, I ate some deliciously dank east coast pizza (which apparently runs out at multiple restaurants when I'm in town..and also turned into a...

Monthly Round-up I'm in DC for the first time in A WHILE, visiting my friend Melissa and attending Circle DC – a historical game convention hosted by Kevin Bertram (Fort Circle Games). I'm having a blast connecting with friends, game designers I admire, and playing a bunch of games!! I'm still in awe that I met Volko Ruhnke in person for the first time yesterday...what an amazing guy and prolific game designer! Plus, I randomly discovered my good friend Ben (Game Brain Podcast) happened to be...