July 2023 Roundup
What's been going on in the world of The Giant Brain
It’s been a busy month games wise for me, which makes a nice change from the last few months. Finally feel I am back writing like I used to and the existence of this new channel is evidence of that. I want to do a little roundup each month of not only what has been going on over on the main site and with other projects of mine, but also to draw your attention to other writers, podcasts, and video I’ve been enjoying in the Tabletop Content Creator space.
Over on the main I started the month with a review of Beyond the Sun, a Civ builder of sorts that focuses on the tech tree alone! My other game reviews were Skulls of Sedlec and Battlecrest, both kindly provided by publisher Button Shy Games. Finally I rounded out the month by posting a review of new games venue Ancient Robot Games, somewhere I urge you to visit when you come to Edinburgh.
The regular casts went out as well and I was especially pleased with our Spiel des Jahres special that included interviews with the winners and Martina Fuchs, a member of the jury for the award.
Cult of the Old is my side project about older games with fellow critics Nate Owens and Matt Thrower. It’s been going good and we will be talking about season 2 soon (that may have already happened by the time you read this).
Things I’ve been enjoying
I thought for this first summary I would post generally about the writers, podcasters, and video makers I am enjoying and you should follow for some of the best tabletop game criticism and articles out there. I’ve listed this alphabetically rather than in any order that might imply a favourite.
Burn after Running - my friend Guy Milner writers very well about what it takes to run games as one-shots at conventions with lots of tips, tricks, and scenarios. Check out his work and let him know if you find it useful.
Dicebreaker - While I am not always a fan of everything on the site, Dicebreaker is the largest site that comes close to actually reporting on the news of the Tabletop Indsutry, and does it very well. They always manage to get interviews with folk involved and dive into the topic at hand.
No Pun Included - Efka and Elaine are doing some of the best video work out there and I’ve been enjoying the podcast as well.
Player Elimination - Charlie Theel’s been writing about tabletop games for a while and I’ve been really enjoying a lot of his latest work. You can read Charlie’s work in a variety of places but his own site has some of his deeper pieces.
Punchboard - Adam is doing some great writing on a wide variety of games but especially wargames that I don’t really cover. He also has a substack where more of his editorial pieces end up and I agree with him on pretty much everything. Do check him out and show him your support.
Shut Up and Sit Down - I feel like they went downhill for a bit but I’ve been really enjoying their work lately. They seem to be starting to experiment with new ideas and I am really keen to see what happens. Still one of the most influential channels out there.
The Smart Party - The UK’s premier RPG podcast run by my good friends Ben and Gaz. Check them out for lots of tips, chats, and interviews with all sorts of folks from the RPG world.
Space-Biff! - Dan Thurot is simply the best tabletop games writer out there. He has a wide ranging taste in games and writes about all of them with care and attention. If you aren’t reading him regularly you are missing out.
Tabletop Game Blog - Oliver joined the Brainwaves team earlier in the year but I’ve been aware of his work for sometime before that. I’ve always admired his work ethic and enjoy his writing.
We’re Not Wizards - Their magical status not withstanding my friend Richard interviews well and writes great reviews. Give his cast and written work a look.
There you have it then. My first summary piece for this new chapter of The Giant Brain. I hope to keep this up but you never know what life is going to throw at you. Do follow me on Twitter or wherever else you can find me as I will share interesting work on my socials whenever I can.