Elka Games

Smart, funny, and slightly unhinged board game content. � Tutorials, reviews & chaos.

08/10/2026

The “Dirty” Shirley!

Sugar-free energy is my favorite way to go with it, but it’s also good with regular or the fizz. Add pomegranate, cherry, lime, and a splash of cream.

08/06/2026

My haul from Gen Con 2026! This is a mix of publisher-provided review copies, purchased games, and preorders, and I can’t wait to dive into each and every one and share my thoughts with y’all.

07/28/2026

The bags are packed and the energy is high! Heading out tonight to ensure I arrive for the Game Design Academy seminars bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I’m beyond stoked to attend Trade Day this year and experience a day full of networking, learning, and connecting with fellow game designers and creatives. Drop a comment if you’ll be at Trade Day tomorrow! 👇

“The Best Four Days in Gaming” officially kicks off on Thursday, and I will definitely be either “making a mad dash to my next destination,” or “camping out with a container of Island Noodles” (seriously, I am addicted and it’s a problem 😂). That said, I’m always down to say hi, play a game, or collab for content. I’m running solo this year for the first time, so it will definitely be a strange and new experience! If you happen to need an extra player or party member, give me a shout!

07/05/2026

Finally got a chance to sit down with Tend by IV Studio , and let me just start by saying, if you haven’t tried it yet, you should. There is so much going on, and yes, it seemed a little intimidating at first, but the flow of gameplay is so smooth that everyone fell into the rhythm very quickly.

Playable from 1-6 players, Tend places you in the role of an employee of the Zenith Corporation, as you make a new home on an alien world. You build up your farm through a flip-and-write mechanic, which includes dice rolls, resource management, and, in a surprising highlight, scratch-off cards. Yes, scratch-off cards.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record when discussing any game by IV Studio, the production quality is insanely high, and the gameplay follows suit. Solid 10/10 for me.

06/15/2026

Crowdfunding a game is an exercise in patience, like few other things can ever be, but that moment when you receive a game you have been eagerly anticipating is absolutely worth it. World Order from Hegemonic Project Games has arrived, and I can’t wait to get it to the table! Described as a modern geopolitical simulator, World Order has you playing as one of four global factions (United States, China, European Union, or Russia), as you strategically increase your global influence and achieve diplomatic, economic, and military supremacy. It plays 2-4 players (1-4 with the Diplomacy and Dominance Expansion) and has an advertised playtime of roughly 2-3 hours. It will definitely take me some time to learn it and play it enough to give a thorough review, but I look forward to diving in!

05/31/2026

Celebrated 45 trips around the sun this weekend by finally making the trek to Pieces Board Game Bar and Restaurant in St. Louis. Such an amazing experience, with great food and drinks, great games, and absolutely awesome staff! 10/10, will absolutely be going again! Both Dominion and Those Pesky Humans made it to the table, and we had a great time with both! It was my first time playing Dominion in physical form (I’ve played digitally a few times), which solidified for me why it’s such a well-loved game. We picked up a copy on the way home. Those Pesky Humans was a game that, on paper, looks like a blast. One player is the adventuring party, and one is the Monster Lord. The adventurers want to leave the dungeon with three legendary gems. The Monster Lord wants that to NOT happen. Chaos ensues, until the Monster Lord has a consistent draw of minions and we ended up with each character surrounded by a swarm of enemies, one after the other, to what felt like an unfortunately inevitable finish at that point. That said, still enjoyed it, and not entirely certain the problem wasn’t “rule-reader error.” 😂

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