Dave Smith (no relation to Andrew & Anitra) has been part of The Family Gamers writing team since 2018.
Explore the reviews and podcasts he has contributed to:
For a game to have two expansions in just two years suggests the original game must be good.
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Although I did have a fraternity brother nicknamed Mackerel, I can’t say I’ve played a board game with mackerel in it before this.
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With Tiwanaku, designer Olivier Gregoire has asked the question, “What if I embellished the old Microsoft Windows game Minesweeper and turned it into a board game?”
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Clans of tiny woodland people join together to build a new Garden Nation – but each clan wants to reign supreme by constructing the best buildings.
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A tile-drafting and placement game with zero set up time and limited interaction. Is the puzzle posed by Framework a good fit for your family?
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Many would say Gutenberg’s printing press is one of the greatest inventions in all of human history. Is the game Gutenberg also a great invention? How will it rank?
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I love games that require constant reconfiguring of strategy due to changing conditions. I can’t think of many other games that force this upon you more than Capital Lux.
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Construct a terraced garden out of tiles in Miyabi. Maximize the decorative elements that can be seen, but don’t forget to keep a variety of objects all over the garden! Dave really DIGS this tile-laying game.
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Arraial is the closest analogue to Tetris we’ve seen yet, but with player interaction and the ability to choose your polyomino shape(s)! The goal of the game is to attract the most visitors to your festival in the form of meeples.
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Lanterns Dice is a forgiving roll-and-write that is a spiritual sequel to the laid-back tile-laying game Lanterns: The Harvest Festival. Does it inspire fireworks?
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Ingenious is a game with great accessibility for new players and depth of strategy for experienced players. Lay down a tile, making straight lines in each color.
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Bring your band of the biggest baddest mutants to the brouhaha and see whose arsenal of freaks can crush the competition in the arena. Whose mutants are fittest to fight the best together? Breed and fight your way to victory in Mutants: The Card Game, from Sen-Foong Lim and Jessey Wright, published by Lucky Duck Games.
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Trash Pandas is a press-your-luck, dice-rolling game designed by Michael Esuke of Red Rook Games. Players become raccoons digging through trash.
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Everyone pitch in to raise and equip the first city in the sky! But who will the city be named for? Who will be the star of the show, the Lando Calrissian, of this inaugural city in the clouds? I was excited to try this one as I’ve enjoyed a few older games (San Marco, Canal Grande) which have a
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Some games, in my opinion, fall into the category of “must have” in your collection. There are some games which I seem to never get tired of playing. Some games that are good “gateway” games; games that are great for helping introduce inexperienced players to more complex games. Dixit is an incredible game that fulfills all these categories.
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