The Dark Imp Blog
Video: This is MiniTown… a free Dark Imp game
In this video, Ellie introduces you to MiniTown - a quick, new city building 'roll & write' game that can be played with any number of players. You can get MiniTown for free when you join The Dark Imp mailing list! Sign up under the video....
Update: A competition, a review and a free game
Competition success I'm excited to announce that Uranus! has made it into round 2 of the Board Game Design Lab annual design challenge competition! All the entries from round 1 were split into 10 groups and each group was assigned three judges. From the videos and...
Alfie reviews… Panic Lab
Alfie Dix, 17, reviews board games that he plays with the family and subsequently with groups of friends. Here’s his review of Panic Lab. Winning is a major part of gaming. Unless the game only relies on luck, you can only win when you’ve played better than everyone...
Video: 3 games that use numbered cards
Ellie shares three simple games, which are each about creating strings of ascending or consecutive numbers using numbered cards. These are three games with very similar cards, but with a very different game playing experience. Featuring: 6 Nimmt, The Mind and No...
Update: Unboxing!
Unboxing videos BuzzleBox 2: Doughnuts and Cake has made its way into the hands of some reviewers recently. This week, there are two new unboxing videos to share. Reviews will follow!Nick Welford from Board, Deck and Dice: BuzzleBox 2 unboxing Oliver Kinne from...
Board Game Gumbo’s Eight Games
In Eight Games different board gamers share the eight games they’d select in eight different situations. The links are given to Board Game Geek listings for you to find out more. This month the Board Game Gumbo team (BJ, Steve and Verla) choose their eight games....
Video: Two area control games
Ellie shares two area control games that are good for families. Smallworld has a great fantasy theme and Bosk is, unusually, a low-conflict area control game. https://youtu.be/8N6o5o9DSuo
Update: Don’t dumb down games and get out of jail free
Don't dumb down your games for families I wrote the Cardboard Manifesto column for the June issue of Tabletop Gaming Magazine that came out this week. In this column, each issue, a different board gamer gets on their high horse about an issue within the hobby and...
Make Your Own Polyomino Puzzles
Here’s a polyomino puzzle that’s easy to create for someone else to solve. Grab another member of your family and each make some puzzles for the other to solve. These polyomino puzzles are really simple to make, so you can make as many as you want… and it’s very easy...
Video: A sneak peek at BuzzleBox 2
Ellie gives a whistle stop tour of the second BuzzleBox. This one has a theme of Doughnuts and Cake! Check out the original board games and puzzles all designed for families. Get yours here. https://youtu.be/J3H_ztZxBug
Recommended board games for different key stages
Following a request by a group of schools, I’ve put together a list of some great games for different key stages. You’ll find five game recommendations for each of the five key stages… 25 games in total. This list is the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands of...
Using house rules to keep everyone in the game
Here are ten ideas for ways to modify games to keep the scores level for as long as possible and make sure everyone stays engaged. https://youtu.be/5OU3S0WedwA