If you're a fan of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), you know it's not just a game, it's a full universe; and it's not bragging to say that it changed the face the gaming world. With its lore, complex strategies, and huge community, MTG has captivated millions of fantasy fans and gamers around the world. It’s no wonder MTG earned over $1 Billion in 2022 (according to head designer Mark Rosewater). However, finding the perfect gift for an MTG fan is not that easy, so in this guide, you'll discover a number of unique gift ideas that will enchant any MTG fan. Guaranteed.

MTG Sleeves

For MTG players, their cards are not just cards. They're treasured parts of their beloved hobby. So protecting these cards is paramount, and that's where card sleeves come in.

High-quality sleeves not only protect the MTG cards from wear and tear but also add a personal touch to a player's deck.

When choosing card sleeves, look for durability, design, and uniqueness. Sleeves featuring artwork from popular MTG sets or custom designs that reflect the player's personality can make the game even more immersive. You…

The post 6 Unique Gifts for Magic: The Gathering Fans appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Date nights aren't just about romantic dinners and cuddling in front of the TV. Sometimes, you need a little more fun and variety to keep the romance going, and entertaining board games for two players can offer just that! Today, there are so many different board game publishers that you don't necessarily have to stick to Hasbro's Monopoly (but you could do that, too, of course).

Below, we've listed some great examples of games couples will enjoy, but that does not mean the same games will not be fun for friends and family. Some of them can also support more than two players, which means they won't sit in your closet waiting for the suitable date mood!

7 Wonders Duel

You don’t have to be a history geek to enjoy this colorful board game inspired by the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. 7 Wonders Duel is a spin-off from the original 7 Wonders board game, but as the name suggests, the later version is designed specifically for two. This game is not unlike a classic Monopoly, where players take cards from a random pool and start acquiring resources to build their empires —or, in this magical setting, ancient wonders.

But this colorful and fun game has way more room for variety because…

The post Top Six Board Games for Two Players: Perfect for Date Night appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Looking for a way to bond with loved ones during the holidays? Board games are the classic go-to, but if you're tired of the same old options, check out these hybrid app assisted board games. We get it, you may prefer physical pieces, but board game apps offer unique features like sound bites and research terminals that make gameplay even more fun. Plus, updates with new quests, missions, and modes keep things fresh. Trust us, some of our favorite board games have even added single-player options.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf

Experience the thrill of deception and persuasion in One Night Ultimate Werewolf, a fast-paced game perfect for any game night. Each player is dealt a secret card with roles like Villager, Insomniac, and Werewolf. When the night phase of the game begins, the companion app directs players to use their special powers. For example, the Troublemaker can swap the cards of two other players. The group then has a few minutes to identify who holds the Werewolf card by discussing and analyzing each person's behavior. If the humans figure it out, they win. But it's up to the Werewolves to deceive the group and throw them off track. Can you outsmart your friends and come out on top?

…

The post Digital Integration: The New Wave of App-Enhanced Board Games appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Discover a new era of tech startups revolutionizing the board game industry. Several companies have unveiled digital game board technology, similar to a small table-sized iPad, allowing players to engage in various digitized board games.

• Wizama has debuted Square One.
• In May, The Last Gameboard secured $4 million in funding and plans to launch its beta next month.
• The Infinity Game Table offers fully digitized gameplay.
• SquareOne and The Last Gameboard allow players to use physical pieces and cards on their tablets.
• Board Game Arena, Tabletopia, and Yucata all bring the tabletop experience to the small screen.

How do board games go online?

Small game boards with a limited audience and high prices, may only appeal to superfans. However, with the increasing popularity of digital tabletop games, big-name board game makers like Hasbro and Asmodee are blending the digital and physical versions of their projects. Mobile tabletop game downloads soared during 2020, and developers are eager to catch up to the trend. While this isn't a new concept, Hasbro has made many of its popular games available digitally since 2021. And now it seems the trend is taking off even more.

Board game enthusiasts, rejoice! The clunky virtual tabletop platforms of the past are becoming a thing of…

The post The Rise of Digital Platforms for Online Play appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Nothing beats a good match between 2 skilled players in a fantasy card game. But sometimes, we prefer to be in the comfort of our own homes and still want the same experience. These physical fantasy card games all have free online recreations that you can enjoy from any location. Join us as we break down 4 of the best fantasy card games you can play online.

Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering may seem like a complex card game to get into, but the game's concept is quite simple. You are a wizard that can cast spells using the mana you acquire. You can also summon monsters and creatures to defeat your opponent.

Each player has a deck of 60 with a maximum health limit of 20 points. Life can be gained during play or lost should you be attacked. This classic card game is available to play online using either MTG Online or MTG Arena. The former is catered more towards the veteran Magic players, simulating the game one for one, while the latter is a more accessible rendition of the game available online or on mobile devices. More and more players are migrating to MTGO and MTG Arena and it is becoming the best way to play Magic: The Gathering. Both options are…

The post 4 Fantasy Card Games You Can Play Online appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

You enter a tavern. You feel the warmth of the fire through your tattered rags. It has been a long journey. A lone elf is behind the bar.. They eye you and nod to an empty table. As you sit down, you see a brawl about to begin between some local mercenaries. What do you do next? Roll some dice!.

Games have always been an important part of the human experience. They help us think critically, make us more creative, and can even help tell a story. Dice tell a story with every single roll, but not all dice roll the same. The differences between dice rolls can range from significant to nearly imperceivable. There are many different types of dice used in tabletop role-playing games; each of their rolls are affected by friction and initial position, as well as the force and direction of the throw. Dungeons & Dragons may be known for its classic 20-sided die, but there are many other shapes used throughout the game. Let’s take a look at some of the dice used in tabletop RPGs and what can affect their roll.

The Shape of Dice

A custom set of polyhedral dice assume various forms that diverge from the traditional 6-sided cube. Although…

The post Why Not All Dice Roll the Same appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

League of Legends (LoL) is a popular game that's been around since 2009, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. It's seen its share of changes over the years but still attracts approximately 117 million active players monthly. Developed by Riot Games, the popular battle arena video game is packed with adventure and thrill. It isn’t surprising that players get hooked to it as soon as they get the hang of the game. And if you are an LoL fan, you can explore websites like unrankedsmurfs.com to get premium LoL accounts, player skins, and also playing tips and tutorials to make your game better.

But do you know what's cooler than a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)? A board game! That's right: there's a board game based on the popular video game franchise Mechs vs. Minions by Riot Games and Upper Deck Entertainment. It takes less than an hour to learn how to play League of Legends: Mechs vs. Minions, and it's the perfect game for anyone who loves the MOBA genre. Whether you're a fan of LoL or not, this board game is fun for all ages and levels of experience, plus it comes with tons of great miniatures.

The board game package includes

•  a…

The post Top 6 Tips to Get Started with League of Legends – Mechs vs. Minions appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Board games have been around forever; well a lot longer than any of us. The first board game dates back to around 5000BC with evidence of Backgammon found in archeological discoveries in Mesopotamia. Humans have always sought ways to entertain themselves and others.

Board games are something that most people have grown up with, and they can be a great way to fill a cold winter's evening at home, or to play with the family during the holiday seasons. Indeed for many people they evoke memories and feelings of nostalgia for family occasions. Board games even make great gifts. Most people are familiar with, and grew up playing, classic board games like chess, checkers, Connect 4, Clue, and Monopoly, or more modern family games like Kingdomino, Codenames, Gravwell, and Horrified.

Video games have their own audience too and it might seem that younger players aren’t as keen on board games as they are at playing on video consoles. But there are a lot of crossovers between the two. Just how successful are these video game to board game translations? You can see below if any of them worked.

Popularity of Video Games

Video games grew out of the 1970’s with Atari and Nintendo developing characters that are still recognisable today including PacMan, Mario and Donkey…

The post From Video Game to Board Game and Back appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

According to a recent survey done by Ipsos, 48% of adults enjoy puzzles and puzzle games. 59% of people said that it was relaxing, and 42% felt that a puzzle was giving their brain a boost. Puzzle games have actually been about for more than 2,000 years. The Chinese were playing “magic squares” as far back as 700 BC, and puzzle jugs have been found in Cyprus that date back to 1700 BC. As humans, we like to challenge ourselves, exercise our brains, improve our problem-solving skills, and have fun. Anyone who has played an EXIT game, or delved into the catalog of Simulacra Games will understand just how enjoyable puzzle games can really be... but there are also significant other benefits of doing puzzles.

Problem solving skills

Looking for patterns and making logical choices is one of the many ways that we would approach a puzzle game. We would do the same thing if we were completing a wordsearch or Sudoku puzzle. Puzzles improve the way we make logical connections. A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that solving a challenging puzzle helps us to improve the skills that we have in pattern recognition - this is the brain’s ability to create meaning, find order and form answers from the data that we…

The post The Amazing Cognitive Benefits Of Puzzle Games appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Playing board games is known to be one of the most fun things to do as a family or with your partner. In this article, we explain why we recommend playing board games with your significant other. Then we go on to list some of our top recommendations.

Why Play Board Games as a Couple?

• It releases Oxytocin - a recent study by Baylor University found that when we play board games with a significant other our bodies release a hormone called oxytocin, sometimes known as the “cuddle hormone.” Oxytocin is believed to be important in dealing with anxiety, stress, fear, and other mental health issues.
• It is an Excellent Break from Digital Activities - much of our day-to-day routine involves everything digital, which undermines face-to-face interaction. Playing board games is an excellent opportunity to share stories, share humorous stories, and laugh together without the use of a touch-screen.
• It Boosts Self-confidence and Creativity - a board game is one activity where not only are we allowed to be competitive but are encouraged to be so. During a game, couples get to show their confident and creative sides without seeming arrogant. Revelations like these can lead to a physical intimacy that strengthens a couple.
• It has tons of Health Benefits - The release of endorphins which…

The post 8 Great Board Games for Couples appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

The golden age of tabletop gaming has consequently led to a similar surge in mobile applications that can easily adapt board games to phones and tablets. New ones are arriving almost every week, and a selected range of games are premiering into digital, further contributing to the ongoing digital revolution. There are free games in the play store flooded feed and there are priced games that might not justify a cent of spend, but amidst the heavily layered app store, here are a few mobile board games that are good for your wallet and friend to your adrenaline.

Brass

Brilliance by Martin Wallace, who is famed for his economic games, this board game is casually excellent in its diverse options. As usual, the game consists of trains (Wallace’s signature game theme) and is set in the industrial revolution era of England and orders signed in gamers to build factories, and manufacture/ship iron, coal and cotton for points. While earlier versions of the game didn’t have a strong AI component, the latest version has a stable and confident AI support.

Download Brass for Android.

Friday

A solo board game that transforms you into Robinson Crusoe, as you delve into the world of cards. Fight through hazards and practise your survival…

The post Top 6 Board Game Apps for Android appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

To improve your brain’s performance, you don’t need to follow a strict and tasteless diet, or enlist expensive specialists. Instead you can try something that isn’t as costly or difficult to follow. Try playing Scrabble! Let’s take a look at the benefits that playing Scrabble and other mentally challenging word games, can offer!

Your Brain on Scrabble

Most of us imagine that playing games which make use of particular parts of our brain would make us better at using it. That’s usually the case, but not for Scrabble. In the 2015 study Neural Correlates of Visual Word Recognition in Competitive Scrabble Players researchers found out that Scrabble experts made use of a different area of the brain during lexical decisions, the standard visual word recognition task than subjects with little to no Scrabble expertise.

It means that playing Scrabble could be beneficial to people with neurodegenerative disorders that target a particular part of the brain. While it’s certainly no cure, it’s at least a way to arrest the progress of neurological disorders.

Enriches the Vocabulary

It is no surprise that playing a game of Scrabble can teach us new words; sometimes accompanied by a cocky smile on the opponent’s face. The resulting emotional reaction can lead to our new-found thirst…

The post Top 6 Reasons Scrabble is Good for Your Brain appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Chess History

The earliest known forms of chess date back to Eastern India and chaturanga. a game inspired by military divisions which would later influence the usage of the knight and bishop in modern chess. Chess as we know it today can be traced back to around 1200, when the rules of the earlier forms of chess came to be modified into something that chess players today would…

The post Chess Strategies, Tips, and History appeared first on Meeple Mountain.