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Alex McKenzie

@meepleandthemoose.com

260 followers 400 following 1.2K posts

He/Him 🇨🇦 I play board games I think about board games I write about board games at meepleandthemoose.com

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Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · Sep 3

I don't self-promote often, but here's my post schedule for my blog!
On Saturdays, I post a board game review.
On Wednesdays, I post a video game review, or a non-review board game post.
On the last day of each month, I post a book review!

meepleandthemoose.com

Home Page - Meeple and the Moose

meepleandthemoose.com

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 3h

My group really likes Nyet!, which makes players take turns vetoing aspects of the round until only one remains of each category. Things like which suit is the triumph, which suit is the super triumph, how many points each trick is worth, and how many cards get discarded at the start.

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Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 3h

Great episode! Trick Taking games have really blossomed in my game group.
Skull King has been one of my favourites to play at the pub, but I do always need to have the flowchart of suite heir achy in front of me.

A flowchart explaining how the different suits in Skull King interact with each other.

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Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 8h

October is shaping up to be a banging month for boardgames!

Screenshot of games played in October.

Trouble 13 times
SETI 1 time.

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 20h

This fight feels very unnatural. Like, I do have to wonder how many people were prepared enough to overcome this fight on their first try?

I guess there's a reason this fight ended my (and many others) first play through.

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 20h

My solution was to use bulk bravery so auto-potion would always trigger to survive taking a single hit, then spam tailwind to buff my speed to the point where Ramza was taking 3 or 4 turns for every one of the opposing characters.

Screenshot of Ramza's stats in Final Fantasy: Tactics

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 23h

I swear Dissidia Final Fantasy could be as great as Smash Bros. Yet they keep shovelling trite mobile game slop onto the brand. It's 2025, we've all seen dozens of GARBAGE gacha mobile games come and go, at least half a dozen by Square themselves.

Nothing about Duellum excites me

🎮

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 1d

I got absolutely bodied. Dead in 2 hits. Time to hit the grind, I suppose.

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 1d

Oh look, it's the fight that softlocked my progress when I originally played this in 2009...

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 1d

Lookit them buns!

Screenshot of Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lion with one grotesque character's backside facing the camera

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 2d

Cooking with kids is walking a fine line between letting them play and explore, and preventing them from fully ruining whatever we're trying to make...

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 3d

Cinnamon buns are my happy place

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 3d

Congrats on the opportunity!

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Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 4d

That is... actually pretty accurate. 😂

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 4d

I'm finding that I need to go and do a fight or two between every story fight in order to not struggle (I'm early in chapter 2).

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 4d

Me either. 😢

Reposted by Alex McKenzie

Mark Yuasa @markyuasa.bsky.social · 6d

Thanks for joining us, Alex. I'm glad we had your extensive knowledge of the early Final Fantasy games to give us some deeper context. Check out Alex's FF playthrough series at @meepleandthemoose.com and meepleandthemoose.com/2025/04/23/f...

Final Fantasy Challenge - Meeple and the Moose

Thus begins my newest gaming project: a full Final Fantasy playthrough challenge, from the humble beginnings of Final Fantasy I on the NES, to the fully voiced drama of Final Fantasy XII on the PS2. N...

meepleandthemoose.com

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Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 7d

It's always a treat to join Daniel and Mark for a chat about games. Thanks so much for having me on!

The Omnigamers' Club Podcast @omnigamers.bsky.social · 7d

The latest podcast is now available on your podcatcher of choice.

We’re joined by return guest @meepleandthemoose.com to discuss Final Fantasy, both the series' legacy and the debut where it all began. We talk remakes and reinterpretations, monsters and manuals.

120 - Final Fantasy w/ Alex McKenzie (Meeple and the Moose)

YouTube video by The Omnigamers Club

youtu.be

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Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 7d

They're pretty stylish! I am fighting with the camera a lot, but the gameplay is super addicting! I should be doing other things but I keep saying "one more battle"...

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Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 7d

It's quite the jump to go from Zelda monopoly, Cluedo, and Carcassonne to Arcs!

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Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 7d

I will say the dialogue is much more intense than any of the Final Fantasy games I've played up to this point.

Final Fantasy Tactics screenshot
"I'll not bear your ribald tongue, rogue! Learn to guard it, if you'd not have it cut from your throat!"

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 7d

For context, I LOVE Final Fantasy Tactics: Advance and A2. I tried to play Final Fantasy Tactics in 2009 on my PSP, but it feels clunky and slow in comparison. And then I got softlocked when Ramza was trapped in a duel he couldn't win. I quit the game at that point and never looked back.

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 7d

Well, since everyone seems to be so keen on the remake, no better time than the present to give Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions a shot.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions title screen

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Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 8d

Underwater Cities is one of Suchy's very best games. The arc of resource generation is really satisfying.

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 8d

Food poisoning sucks, it's true, but I'm a look at the bright side kind of guy.

I've lost 4 pounds! 💪💪

Alex McKenzie @meepleandthemoose.com · 10d

Penultimate - it means next to ultimate. I've seen it used to mean ultimate way too many times.

Irregardless - I use it from time to time to bother my spouse.

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 11d

Other than the word “literally,” what’s the word people constantly misuse that figuratively drives you crazy?