Emily Parker

Building an efficient engine early without falling behind on points is the most common challenge I see when teaching new players deck-builders and engine-builders. I have lost more games by over-investing in engine pieces than I can count, and I have also lost plenty by chasing points while my engine never came online. The sweet … Read more

Analysis paralysis in board games is that sinking feeling when your turn arrives, you have a dozen options in front of you, and your brain refuses to pick one. You stare at the board, weigh the same two or three moves over and over, and minutes tick by while your friends shift in their seats. … Read more

If you have ever sat down at a rondel-based board game and felt completely lost after your second action, you are not alone. A rondel mechanic is one of the most rewarding action selection systems in modern board gaming, but it punishes players who only think one turn at a time. Learning how to plan … Read more

I’ve lost more Scrabble games than I’d like to admit by chasing the highest score on the board. The points felt great for a turn, then three moves later I was staring at a dead rack of Q, U, I, V, J, K, and P with no playable word. That pain is exactly why I … Read more

Learning how to manage resource conversion chains in heavy euro games is what separates the players who enjoy these games from the players who actually win them. I’ve spent the last three years logging over 200 sessions of heavy euros, and the single biggest skill gap I see in our group is not raw strategy … Read more

Every deck-building run comes down to one decision: should you push for quick damage now, or invest in a longer engine that pays off later? Learning how to decide when to rush points versus build your engine is the skill that separates players who scrape by on act 2 from players who consistently clear the … Read more

You planned your opening moves perfectly. You had a strategy going in. Then three turns later, the board looks nothing like you expected, your opponent is doing something strange, and your original plan is crumbling. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Every board game player hits this wall, and the difference between winning … Read more

I have lost more engine-building games than I care to admit. The loss is rarely sudden. It usually looks like this: I spent four turns building a beautiful card-draw engine, ignored a rival’s steady stream of victory points, and watched the game end just one turn before my machine could fire. That is the tempo … Read more

I remember the first time I drew a settlement surrounded by three mountains, no fresh water, and a neighbor who forward-settled me on turn 8. I alt-tabbed out of the game convinced it was a guaranteed loss. It was not. A weak starting position in a civilization-building game like Civ 6 is annoying, but it … Read more

Hosting a board game night in a small space with limited table room feels impossible when you are staring at your apartment thinking there is no way this works. I have been there. My first game night in a 500-square-foot studio involved people sitting on the floor, a coffee table that wobbled every time someone … Read more