Ratings: I have recently started to update my ratings and the associated comments. Ratings will generally follow the normal BGG system, but will be reinforced by further star-ratings and comments in the "comments" section. The following basic format is used:



Positives: Not too particular about what I play, always willing to play something new, accommodate other players' needs, willing to teach games, always ready to talk about games, purchase almost every game I play, purchase a hell of a lot of games I don't play, mildly obnoxious, collector, enjoys in-game banter, can make a serious game fun, believes games are there to be played more than looked at, British, male.

Negatives: Hates interruptions while teaching rules (my presentation needs to be as structured as the rulebook), pedantic about everything, swears too much, drinks too little, slow trader, mildly obnoxious, abusive to familiar players (as Mike will tell you), a little bit OCD about his games (aren't we all), dreads the threat of spillage of food or drink, feels the urge for violence if other gamers are a little careless or heavy-handed with his "babies", British, male.

Me: Forty-ish lifelong gamer (boardgames were with me from the age of four) who rediscovered boardgames late in the last millennium. Went through all the major hobbies as a teenager (RPG's, Minis, Board Wargames, other boardgames), then my career got in the way. A change of profession allowed me that bit more time to rediscover my old hobby. I now attend one session every week (on average), and more recently have been attending a couple of conventions.

Tastes: I used to like playing games in general, but the quality of recent titles in this golden age of boardgames has made me rather particular about what I pick and choose to play. I would not describe myself as tied to any genre or theme, but I am ever more drawn to games involving planning and/or transportation (such as Age of Steam, The Princes of Florence, Power Grid or Puerto Rico). Area influence games are still appealing, but less so (El Grande, Web of Power or San Marco), and despite the recent appeal of Shadows over Camelot cooperative games are usually out (unless they are only semi-cooperative and ultimately competitive).

Playing times: This depends entirely on the company; in a club or convention atmosphere I feel the need to play as many different titles as possible. I rarely spend entire days playing one title, but I have been pushing lately for long sessions to get those epics to the table. While anything below three hours is fine by me, I tend to prefer a three-hour game because those kind of games generally have the right level of development from start to finish rather than being too detailed or a mere snapshot. Anything above that usually drags for me, though there are significant exceptions (1825 Unit 2 and Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition for example) and more recently I've been returning to some rather old-school titles (Axis & Allies; Fortress America for example).

Favourites: This may differ from my BGG ratings; especially as I have recently adjusted most of my ratings downwards to reflect the fact I am playing a lot of games less than I used to. Currently I have Age of Steam as my favourite mid-length game, Pickomino as my favourite light filler, Warrior Knights as my favourite long game, Shadows over Camelot as my favourite cooperative game and Santiago as my favourite short game.

All of the above is subject to change.