Linking with others
Board Game Arena (BGA)
If you want to play board games online (and a few card games), then BGA is an extremely good place to start – and perhaps to stop. Not least because there’s no external advertising ‘shouting’ at you all the time.
There are hundreds of games, ranging from just simple fun through to the fiendish. It’s easy to find games for different numbers of players, and different levels of complexity. Further, there are links to demonstration videos and rule manuals & guides.
Most important of all, there’s a massive membership. This means that you can find yourself playing with people from across the globe.You also can establish your own groups and friends, so holding an online game is easy – either just a couple of you, or family from as far and wide as Manchester to Minneapolis or Melbourne.
You can play most of the games free for ever. It costs but a few quid to subscribe and (1) help them keep going in the same efficient and user-friendly fashion, and (2) get access to new ‘premium’ games.
When you visit the front page for the game, there’s a link beneath add to favourites saying “See more” …. fascinating to see how many times it’s been played!
Board Game Geek (BGG)
BoardGameGeek is an accessible and user-friendly resource that aims to be the definitive source for board and card game content. The site is updated by its massive user-base. There are more than two million registered users, undoubtedly making BGG the largest and most up-to-date place to get game related information!
BGG features reviews, ratings (many of which have useful comments from users), as well as discussion forums that even includes game designers.
Board Game Quest
Board Game Quest started in 2012 as a simple game blog, seeking to play games, post reviews, and encourage others to discover something new.
BGQ has expanded enormously in both content and popularity, turning into a substantial news, review, and information site. It has a small staff, who provide useful, well written reviews, and a range of news about things forthcoming.