<p><a href="http://www.boardgame-reviews.com/" rel="nofollow">BoardGame Review</a> is a blog that provides useful board game reviews.</p>

CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-10-27T00:50:36.953Z
2010-10-27T00:50:36.953Z
Maniero
<p><A href="http://www.thedicetower.com/thedicetower/" rel="nofollow">Dice Tower Reviews</a> goes over a mind-boggling variety of games.  They have a great <A href="http://www.youtube.com/user/thedicetower" rel="nofollow">youtube channel</a> worth subscribing too.  I'd also suggest <a href="http://www.downtimetown.com/" rel="nofollow">Downtime Town</a> for great, ludicrous, and nuanced reviews - the Scottsman who reviews there is a total nut.  Sadly, hasn't been updated lately.</p>

CC BY-SA 2.5
2011-01-10T16:37:11.333Z
2011-01-10T16:37:11.333Z
jebyrnes
<p><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com" rel="nofollow">BoardGameGeek</a> has lots of user reviews and ratings of board games.  It's a little hard to navigate sometimes, but there's a lot of valuable information there.</p>

CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-10-26T14:36:32.657Z
2010-10-26T14:36:32.657Z
lilserf
<p>I write for MTV Geek, Wired GeekDad, and The Geek Collective.  None of the sites are as comprehensive as BGG (in fact, all of my reviews are cross-posted to their linked items list).  You cannot go wrong with BGG but if you really do want other sites, those are great places to check out!</p>

<p><a href="http://geek-news.mtv.com/category/hobby-gaming/" rel="nofollow">MTV Geek</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.themoderndaypirates.com/pirates/category/toys/" rel="nofollow">The Geek Collective</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.wired.com/geekdad/" rel="nofollow">Wired GeekDad</a></p>

CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-12-21T19:30:40.313Z
2010-12-21T19:30:40.313Z
Gundabad
<p><strong><a href="http://www.boardgameswithscott.com/" rel="nofollow">Board Games with Scott</a></strong> is an excellent review site that provides video reviews of games and attempts to describe whether the game in question is a good match for the type of game you'd like to own.  There are quite a few reviews available, but he isn't necessarily going to cover every single game on the market.  Scott has been reviewing fewer games lately, but the reviews that continue to come out are always of very high quality.</p>

CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-12-21T14:52:06.807Z
2010-12-21T14:52:06.807Z
Zoot
<p>I'm a fan of <a href="http://ogrecave.com/" rel="nofollow">Ogre Cave</a>.  They're good, down-to earth guys with an active community of commenters.  There's RPG stuff there too, but there's plenty of boardgame reviews too.</p>

CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-12-20T18:52:39.930Z
2010-12-20T18:52:39.930Z
invisiblejon
<p>There is also a long-running German board game magazine called <a href="http://www.spielbox-shop.de/" rel="nofollow">Spielbox</a>. As of (I think) last year, they are also publishing an English version. I've only received one issue, but it is chalk full of reviews for new games. The translations can be... interesting, but it is quite readable.</p>

<p>A VERY interesting resource.</p>

CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-10-28T13:56:22.173Z
2010-10-28T13:56:22.173Z
livingtech
<p>It's not really an online resource, but <a href="http://www.gamesmagazine-online.com/gameslinks/gamereviews.html" rel="nofollow">Games Magazine</a> does game reviews, too.  (board games, video games, etc.).  Even if you don't pick up the subscription, in the December issue each year they have a 'best games of the year' feature.</p>

CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-12-26T15:46:51.483Z
2010-12-26T15:46:51.483Z
Joe
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com" rel="nofollow">Amazon</a> has user reviews for the vast majority of their products, and they also sell board games.  Some of the most well-written reviews I've seen for games has been on their Amazon page.</p>

CC BY-SA 2.5
2011-03-03T06:55:16.213Z
BGG will let you know what the gamers think, but Amazon picks up enough non-serious gamer reviews that it is great to help you know what your family and other less serious game players will think. They provide complementary points of view.
John Robertson
CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-12-29T15:02:05.553Z
2010-12-29T15:02:05.553Z
GWLlosa
<p>The best collection of reviews I have seen are on a site called <a href="http://www.pevans.co.uk/Reviews/index.html" rel="nofollow">Games from Pevans</a>. It contains a summary table plus a detailed review. It seems completely impartial and well written with lots of details and pictures.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-07T15:11:28.610Z
2012-01-07T15:21:14.673Z
2012-01-07T15:21:14.673Z
Ray Vahey
<p><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/">BoardGameGeek</a> can be a great resource, but it can be a bit hard to figure out where everything is.</p>

<p>First, you can search for games by name, if you know what game you're looking for. Or you can use the "Browse" feature to find games by category or mechanic.</p>

<p>Once you've found a game, you find yourself on <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3076/puerto-rico">a page that's stuffed full of information</a>, somewhat haphazardly laid out. At the top, there is the name of the game, a picture, and some basic information on number of players, suggested age range, and so on. This can be useful to determine if it will work well for your group.</p>

<p>You then see a description of the game, followed by some places it might be for sale, followed by some additional information. Keep on looking as you go down, you eventually come to the Forums. Click on the "Reviews" link, and you will see a list of all of the reviews for that game. Look through these; they tend to be fairly detailed, explaining the mechanics of the game and how they work.</p>

<p>That's not all that BGG has to offer, though. If you keep looking further down the page, you come to the Statistics section. This is where statistics about people's ratings and the game's ranking are collected. One of the links is to "Personal comments." This will give you a list of many short comments that people have made on the games, organized by their rating. I find this invaluable for getting a quick feel of why some people liked the game, and some didn't; I usually try to check out a few of the comments with a 10 rating, a few with a 7 rating, and a few with lower ratings, to get a sense of how different people see the game. Only a few people leave long, detailed reviews, but there are usually hundreds of people who leave comments.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-14T06:43:22.230Z
I won't add another answer stating BGG, but something to add to this great overview is [BGG's advanced search](http://www.boardgamegeek.com/advsearch/boardgame) allows you to tailor a search extremely specifically. Looking for a 4-6 player game that takes 90 minutes and features set collection and worker placement? [Here's 50](http://goo.gl/vlx8u)
nine9ths
CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-10-27T00:49:18.093Z
This is repeated but you provide a very good review than other answers.
Maniero
CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-10-26T14:56:48.507Z
2010-10-26T15:37:09.580Z
2010-10-26T15:37:09.580Z
Brian Campbell
<p>Before buying a board game, I would like to read some detailed reviews.  It's also hard to tell if the review is just a paid announcement from the publisher.</p>

<p>Is there any website that is "<em>the reference</em>" for those? </p>

CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-10-28T15:35:39.627Z
I'd like to see more answers to this question. BGG is the obvious answer, but there are TONS of other places to find board game reviews. It'd be great if everyone posted their favorite ones.
livingtech
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-14T16:15:30.267Z
This question appears to be off-topic because it is about reviewing review sites not gaming.
Colin D
<recommendations>
Where can I find reviews of board games?
DavRob60
# Where can I find reviews of board games?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2010-10-26)

Before buying a board game, I would like to read some detailed reviews. It's also hard to tell if the review is just a paid announcement from the publisher.

Is there any website that is "*the reference*" for those?

**Tags:** recommendations

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'd like to see more answers to this question. BGG is the obvious answer, but there are TONS of other places to find board game reviews. It'd be great if everyone posted their favorite ones.  
> **username_2**: This question appears to be off-topic because it is about reviewing review sites not gaming.  

---

## 11 answers

### Answer by username_13 on 2010-10-26. Score: 32 | Accepted answer

[BoardGameGeek](http://boardgamegeek.com/) can be a great resource, but it can be a bit hard to figure out where everything is.

First, you can search for games by name, if you know what game you're looking for. Or you can use the "Browse" feature to find games by category or mechanic.

Once you've found a game, you find yourself on [a page that's stuffed full of information](http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3076/puerto-rico), somewhat haphazardly laid out. At the top, there is the name of the game, a picture, and some basic information on number of players, suggested age range, and so on. This can be useful to determine if it will work well for your group.

You then see a description of the game, followed by some places it might be for sale, followed by some additional information. Keep on looking as you go down, you eventually come to the Forums. Click on the "Reviews" link, and you will see a list of all of the reviews for that game. Look through these; they tend to be fairly detailed, explaining the mechanics of the game and how they work.

That's not all that BGG has to offer, though. If you keep looking further down the page, you come to the Statistics section. This is where statistics about people's ratings and the game's ranking are collected. One of the links is to "Personal comments." This will give you a list of many short comments that people have made on the games, organized by their rating. I find this invaluable for getting a quick feel of why some people liked the game, and some didn't; I usually try to check out a few of the comments with a 10 rating, a few with a 7 rating, and a few with lower ratings, to get a sense of how different people see the game. Only a few people leave long, detailed reviews, but there are usually hundreds of people who leave comments.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: This is repeated but you provide a very good review than other answers.  
> **username_14**: I won't add another answer stating BGG, but something to add to this great overview is [BGG's advanced search](http://www.boardgamegeek.com/advsearch/boardgame) allows you to tailor a search extremely specifically. Looking for a 4-6 player game that takes 90 minutes and features set collection and worker placement? [Here's 50](http://goo.gl/vlx8u)  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2010-10-27. Score: 6

[BoardGame Review](http://www.boardgame-reviews.com/) is a blog that provides useful board game reviews.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2011-01-10. Score: 4

[Dice Tower Reviews](http://www.thedicetower.com/thedicetower/) goes over a mind-boggling variety of games. They have a great [youtube channel](http://www.youtube.com/user/thedicetower) worth subscribing too. I'd also suggest [Downtime Town](http://www.downtimetown.com/) for great, ludicrous, and nuanced reviews - the Scottsman who reviews there is a total nut. Sadly, hasn't been updated lately.


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2010-10-26. Score: 4

[BoardGameGeek](http://www.boardgamegeek.com) has lots of user reviews and ratings of board games. It's a little hard to navigate sometimes, but there's a lot of valuable information there.


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2010-12-21. Score: 3

I write for MTV Geek, Wired GeekDad, and The Geek Collective. None of the sites are as comprehensive as BGG (in fact, all of my reviews are cross-posted to their linked items list). You cannot go wrong with BGG but if you really do want other sites, those are great places to check out!

[MTV Geek](http://geek-news.mtv.com/category/hobby-gaming/)

[The Geek Collective](http://www.themoderndaypirates.com/pirates/category/toys/)

[Wired GeekDad](http://www.wired.com/geekdad/)


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2010-12-21. Score: 3

**[Board Games with Scott](http://www.boardgameswithscott.com/)** is an excellent review site that provides video reviews of games and attempts to describe whether the game in question is a good match for the type of game you'd like to own. There are quite a few reviews available, but he isn't necessarily going to cover every single game on the market. Scott has been reviewing fewer games lately, but the reviews that continue to come out are always of very high quality.


---

### Answer by username_8 on 2010-12-20. Score: 2

I'm a fan of [Ogre Cave](http://ogrecave.com/). They're good, down-to earth guys with an active community of commenters. There's RPG stuff there too, but there's plenty of boardgame reviews too.


---

### Answer by username_1 on 2010-10-28. Score: 2

There is also a long-running German board game magazine called [Spielbox](http://www.spielbox-shop.de/). As of (I think) last year, they are also publishing an English version. I've only received one issue, but it is chalk full of reviews for new games. The translations can be... interesting, but it is quite readable.

A VERY interesting resource.


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2010-12-26. Score: 2

It's not really an online resource, but [Games Magazine](http://www.gamesmagazine-online.com/gameslinks/gamereviews.html) does game reviews, too. (board games, video games, etc.). Even if you don't pick up the subscription, in the December issue each year they have a 'best games of the year' feature.


---

### Answer by username_10 on 2010-12-29. Score: 2

[Amazon](http://www.amazon.com) has user reviews for the vast majority of their products, and they also sell board games. Some of the most well-written reviews I've seen for games has been on their Amazon page.

> **Comments:**
> **username_11**: BGG will let you know what the gamers think, but Amazon picks up enough non-serious gamer reviews that it is great to help you know what your family and other less serious game players will think. They provide complementary points of view.  

---

### Answer by username_12 on 2012-01-07. Score: 1

The best collection of reviews I have seen are on a site called [Games from Pevans](http://www.pevans.co.uk/Reviews/index.html). It contains a summary table plus a detailed review. It seems completely impartial and well written with lots of details and pictures.


---

