Charlie Theel

Cardboard Cinema returns. This is my series where I do comparative analysis between a film and board game. This time I'm writing about one of my favorite games and its relationship to a film that is maybe the greatest achievement in cinematography. playerelimination.com/2026/03/26/car…

@SeanSeanmac31 It is a little pricey due to its indie/hand assembled nature. Wish we had more games at this scale of operation.

@CharlieTheel Been interested in this one as I have been working through a number of designs around contemporary or near future topics. Haven't been able to pull the trigger, though.

Zurmat is designer Tim Densham's memoir of his time in Afghanistan. It's a small scale wargame concerned with uncertainty, efficiency, and winning over the local populace. I struggle with this one a little due to current events. playerelimination.com/2026/03/16/a-z…

@SeanSeanmac31 While it's a totally unneeded game, I was hopeful it may carve out some space and make a case for itself. Sadly, that didn't pan out.

@CharlieTheel That's too bad. It does seem like at the very least an unnecessary design-- Black Orchestra is just fine as it is.

Valkyrie is Black Orchestra in a half hour. Can it pull off the drama and tension of its parentage in a fraction of the time? Unfortunately, it's about as successful as Claus von Stauffenbergs assassination attempt. My review: playerelimination.com/2026/03/09/mis…

World of Wrestling is a followup to the tremendous Techno Bowl. It's another pixel-based sports game full of drama and narrative. This one features slams, tap outs, and pins, capturing the big moments from one of the best video game series ever made. playerelimination.com/2026/03/05/4-l…

Company of Heroes 2nd Edition weathered quite the storm to make it to the tabletop. The end result is a refined machine that understands its strengths and leans into them. My review: playerelimination.com/2026/02/23/all…

Today, something different. I'm kicking off a new article series where I examine a board game and a film counterpart, analyzing theme, method, and style. I present Western Legends and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: playerelimination.com/2026/02/09/car…

Things in Rings is a game about organizing widgets in a Venn diagram. The trick is that you don't know what the overlapping categories represent. Who doesn't love a good Venn diagram? My review: playerelimination.com/2026/01/27/ven…

Wild Kingdom is an over-the-top modular expansion to The Old King's Crown. It's full of wonder and absurdity, pushing the game in interesting new directions. I dive deep into the box, offering thoughts on each module and making sense of its madness. playerelimination.com/2026/01/19/nav…

Gnomic Parliament is publisher Fobs Games' follow up to the brilliant negotiation game Tiefe Taschen. This is also about pointed discussion, but it focuses that above table play on voting in laws that alter the rules of the game. My review: playerelimination.com/2026/01/06/all…

@SocialmonkeyHQ Good luck with your journey, it's a great hobby.

@CharlieTheel These seem to be some really cool board games Just found an interest in this niche and have been loving to find more ever since

My list of the top 10 board games of 2025 is here. This was a weird year. I struggled with my own self imposed rules, and honestly, I'm not wholly satisfied with my selections as I keep second guessing some exclusions. Too late now, here it is: playerelimination.com/2025/12/29/t...

@TheCinesthetic Baby Driver.

Name a movie where the soundtrack elevated the entire experience.

@BrotherMingGame Right. With the correct mindset and a touch of creativity, you can turn most things into games.

@CharlieTheel Def agree. Meaningful play and having fun is all that matters. Playing with toys is still a game, even if it's not purposefully packaged as one. I mean I grew up playing visual novels in high school, and even the ones with the least player agency I'd still consider a game.

Existentialism, meaning, and player agency. Come for my thoughts on these topics and stay for some discussion on Candy Land. playerelimination.com/2025/12/04/phi…

I've written a follow-up article to my original Vantage review, this time at my own site. I wanted to explore some more ideas pertaining to this game's unique narrative structure. The companion piece: playerelimination.com/2025/11/24/the…

Origin Story took me by surprise. It combines trick-taking and tableau building in a chaotic and empowering manner. Check out my review: playerelimination.com/2025/11/17/i-a…

I've been quiet on the writing front lately. I've been working on the behemoth that is Kingdoms Forlorn, a boss battler campaign game with Dark Souls vibes and the followup to the exceptional Aeon Trespass: Odyssey. Read all my thoughts here: playerelimination.com/2025/11/07/a-k…

@Clint_Davey1 There aren't really victory conditions in typical RPGs, the goal is to collaborate and have fun. Characters failing is great story, and should not be thought of in the binary success/failure for the players.

Here's what I don't get about RPG's. You're a GM. You run a campaign where you make up the story, the setting, the victory conditions. You've never playtested it. You just unleash it on the players. Does this actually work? I've never played a true RPG by the way.