The Opinionated Gamers Reviews and Commentary on Boardgames

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  Solo Gaming 2025: The End of the Year Edition

  by Mark Jackson on January 9, 2026

  In the last year, I’ve played seventy-one (71!) different games solo… and this annual post is my attempt to share my impressions of those games and make some recommendations to my fellow solo gamers. I’ve been writing these solo gaming … Continue reading →

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  Dale Yu: Review of Epona

  by Dale Yu on January 8, 2026

  Epona Designer: Vladimir Suchy Publisher: Delicious Games Players: 1-6 Age: 10+ Time: 40-70 minutes Amazon affiliate link:  Played with review copy provided by publisher Welcome to Epona, an immersive, tableau-building card game for 1-6 players in which you step into … Continue reading →

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  Best New (to me!) Games of 2025

  by Mark Jackson on January 7, 2026

  Look, I play a lot of games. In 2025, that included around 95 new games… well, new to me games. That’s lower than usual – it was approximately 160 in 2024, 145 in 2023, and 150 in 2022. I’m privileged … Continue reading →

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  Josiah’s Monthly Board Game Round-Up – December 2025

  by Josiah Fiscus on January 6, 2026

  December 2025 Games I played for the first time this month, from worst to best, along with my ratings and comments. ­­ Ruins – 6/10­ Ruins is a climbing and shedding game where the gimmick is that the cards will … Continue reading →

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  First Game of 2026

  by Talia Rosen on January 5, 2026

  The Opinionated Gamers rang in the new year with — you guessed it — board games!  The beginning of a new year is a great time to gather with friends and family to play new games.  Today we’re here to … Continue reading →

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  Alison Brennan: Game Snapshots – 2026 (Part 1)

  by Dale Yu on January 5, 2026

  New-to-me games played recently include …   15 JOURS EN FRANCE (2025): Rank 21212, Rating 6.0 Your aim is to buy cards that give you the icons to satisfy objective cards (this many icons, most of this icon, 1 pt … Continue reading →

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  Dale Yu: Review of Up or Down? (2025)

  by Dale Yu on January 3, 2026

  Up or Down? Designer: Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling Publisher: Capstone Games Players:  2-6 Age: 8+ Time: 30 mins Played with review copy provided by publisher In Up or Down?, you build ascending and descending rows of cards, trying to … Continue reading →