Thoughts On Why I Write This Blog
So, the real reason that I started this blog is because I enjoy playing board games. Really, that's it. When I first started writing it, I thought that this was an area that was largely left untouched on the Internet - and after about two days of writing on it, I realized that I was dead wrong. There are a ton of other sites that do similar things to what I do here. In fact, I follow many of them now. Hopefully, however, I bring something slightly different to the table with my writing style that allows readers like yourself to enjoy my site.What do I hope to gain from writing? Well, ultimately I think it would be absolutely phenomenal to do something related to board games as a career! Realistically, though, I realize that that probably won't happen. Either way, this site has done a little bit in mildly helping me fund my hobby. If you like what you read, then great! I'm glad that I could help - and if you want to give back, then please feel free to use my links to buy the games that I write about (or other games), as this will help me to be able to buy (and review) even more games.
Thoughts On Review Copies
Some of you might wonder, do I get review copies of games? The answer is, yes! I get as many review copies as I possibly can. If a game company thinks that their game is good enough that the general public will enjoy it, then I will gladly play it, too. Do they give it to me with an understanding that I will give them a certain score? I hope not, as I have never given a game a certain score because of any factor like this. That's not to say, however, that giving me a review copy doesn't influence my opinion. It influences me in the sense that I really want to like review copies of games - after all, I know that if I write a good review, it will be a good experience for both myself and the game company. I know I have given a few of my earlier review copies a score that I look back on and say, "Really, I gave it that?" But then again, I always have tried to post what I believed at the time that I wrote it. And, the score that I give at the end has way too many things factored into it, which is why I prefer people to focus on the text. Review copy or not, I try to be honest, but, yes, there is a voice screaming in my head, "if you say this is good, they'll want to give you more!"If you are a game company, and you're thinking about sending me a review copy of one of your titles - please do! I'd love to play your game. However, please realize that I try to be as honest as possible with all of my reviews. If you are looking for a guarantee that I will give you a positive review, you may need to look elsewhere.
Thoughts On Negative Reviews
So, I really feel like I need a disclaimer here. Keep in mind while reading through the reviews that these are all my opinions on games. There are some games out there that I absolutely love that don't seem to get much respect in the game world in general. Conversely, there are some games that are phenomenal and generally loved across the board, and yet they don't really resonate with me. I don't really recommend that you buy or don't buy solely based on my opinions of stuff. Chances are that we're going to disagree sometimes - educate yourself. Read my opinion as well as several others and see what clicks for you.I know that a lot of reviewers don't write negative reviews. I have debated this - after all, it would really help if I reached out to a game company to get review copies, and they never saw any negative comments towards any of their games. However, I really don't think that my site would be very well rounded if I never wrote that I disliked a game. Does this cost me potential review copies? Unfortunately, I know of at least one situation in which it has - one company rejected my request for review copies because one of their award winning games didn't click for me (and I said so in my review). That's unfortunate, but is something that I'll just have to deal with.
