Nathaniel Tapley
@thatnatt.bsky.social
Terrible news, chums... Gleeful Beast, head writer on Netflix's Bad Dinosaurs. Jokemonger for shows you hate. Maker of historical podcasts. Chief Sparkle Enthusiast at Sparklegoose! He-flapper.
Ah, the annual unwrangling of the garlands...
December 13, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Ah, the annual unwrangling of the garlands...
25 - HANSA TEUTONICA (Pegasus Spiele) - My favourite game of all time. An aggressively beige battle over trade routes in mediaeval MittelEurope. It's so simple, so mean, and so satisfying at every turn. And when you get good at it you can swap in the British map that's even nastier. So Hanseatic!
December 12, 2025 at 7:38 PM
25 - HANSA TEUTONICA (Pegasus Spiele) - My favourite game of all time. An aggressively beige battle over trade routes in mediaeval MittelEurope. It's so simple, so mean, and so satisfying at every turn. And when you get good at it you can swap in the British map that's even nastier. So Hanseatic!
24 - JOHN COMPANY (Wehrelegig Games) - A monster. A beautiful, slavering, satirical monster that takes on the operation of the East India Company. You'll need a bunch of friends who won't mind simulating the brutalisation of a continent for self-enrichment and shouting at each other. Spectacular.
December 12, 2025 at 7:35 PM
24 - JOHN COMPANY (Wehrelegig Games) - A monster. A beautiful, slavering, satirical monster that takes on the operation of the East India Company. You'll need a bunch of friends who won't mind simulating the brutalisation of a continent for self-enrichment and shouting at each other. Spectacular.
23 - PAOLO MORI'S BLITZKRIEG! WORLD WAR II IN 20 MINUTES (PSC Games) - This was my favourite little war in a box game until General Orders came along. Tugs of war in every theatre, and all you can do is pull mysterious things from your bag, and decide where they will be most useful. War with no map!
December 12, 2025 at 7:31 PM
23 - PAOLO MORI'S BLITZKRIEG! WORLD WAR II IN 20 MINUTES (PSC Games) - This was my favourite little war in a box game until General Orders came along. Tugs of war in every theatre, and all you can do is pull mysterious things from your bag, and decide where they will be most useful. War with no map!
22 - IMPERIAL SETTLERS (Portal Games) - It's fallen out of favour a bit - after all the title does lean a bit on IMPERIAL. But it's still a fun game of building your unique civilisation (Romans, Egyptians, Atlanteans... oh), and watching buildings pop up and turns expand. I sold this and I regret it
December 12, 2025 at 7:28 PM
22 - IMPERIAL SETTLERS (Portal Games) - It's fallen out of favour a bit - after all the title does lean a bit on IMPERIAL. But it's still a fun game of building your unique civilisation (Romans, Egyptians, Atlanteans... oh), and watching buildings pop up and turns expand. I sold this and I regret it
21 - THE KING'S DILEMMA (Horrible Guild) - This is another game about the practice of history rather than a period. Set in a fantastical kingdom, you become all of the members of a wealthy dynasty trying to control the kingdom and write its history. You sign stickers & attach them to the board! FUN!
December 12, 2025 at 7:23 PM
21 - THE KING'S DILEMMA (Horrible Guild) - This is another game about the practice of history rather than a period. Set in a fantastical kingdom, you become all of the members of a wealthy dynasty trying to control the kingdom and write its history. You sign stickers & attach them to the board! FUN!
20 - RA (25th Century Games) - Is this just Egyptian set dressing on an otherwise abstract auction game? (Quiet, you, or I'll add Huang to the list) Collect tiles, hope the Nile floods, build pyramids. And what Egyptian set dressing! Wield an enormous piece of wood and shout I NVOKE RA! Chonky.
December 12, 2025 at 7:19 PM
20 - RA (25th Century Games) - Is this just Egyptian set dressing on an otherwise abstract auction game? (Quiet, you, or I'll add Huang to the list) Collect tiles, hope the Nile floods, build pyramids. And what Egyptian set dressing! Wield an enormous piece of wood and shout I NVOKE RA! Chonky.
19 - LEWIS & CLARK (Ludonaute) - This one's for me. Intensely brain-burny race up a river and over some rapids THAT YOU JUST CAN'T GET OVER. Bound to cause shouts of AAUGH! as you slightly miscount the number of things you need to save to do the thing you want to do. It's a hateful game that I love
December 12, 2025 at 7:14 PM
19 - LEWIS & CLARK (Ludonaute) - This one's for me. Intensely brain-burny race up a river and over some rapids THAT YOU JUST CAN'T GET OVER. Bound to cause shouts of AAUGH! as you slightly miscount the number of things you need to save to do the thing you want to do. It's a hateful game that I love
18 - FREEDOM (Academy Games) - A co-operative game where you become someone involved in the Underground Railroad, trying to help enslaved people escape to Canada. Packed with information and difficult decisions, it's a thoughtful work that raises questions about what we can and should gamify.
December 12, 2025 at 7:10 PM
18 - FREEDOM (Academy Games) - A co-operative game where you become someone involved in the Underground Railroad, trying to help enslaved people escape to Canada. Packed with information and difficult decisions, it's a thoughtful work that raises questions about what we can and should gamify.
17 - UNMATCHED: COBBLE & FOG (Restoration Games) - Yes, it's not REAL history, but it's a great evocation of the alleys of Victorian London. Make the Invisible Man fight Dracula, Sherlock Holmes fight Jeckyll & Hyde. A great time of jumping from roof to roof, cackling, and vanishing into the mist...
December 12, 2025 at 7:06 PM
17 - UNMATCHED: COBBLE & FOG (Restoration Games) - Yes, it's not REAL history, but it's a great evocation of the alleys of Victorian London. Make the Invisible Man fight Dracula, Sherlock Holmes fight Jeckyll & Hyde. A great time of jumping from roof to roof, cackling, and vanishing into the mist...
16 - RUSSIAN RAILROADS (Z-Man Games) - Yes, it's a historical train game, but it's not THAT ONE. It's a savage, fighty worker placement game as you nudge your trains to distant Russian locations, unlocking treats as you go. It may well be better played at BGA because the computer calculates scores
December 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM
16 - RUSSIAN RAILROADS (Z-Man Games) - Yes, it's a historical train game, but it's not THAT ONE. It's a savage, fighty worker placement game as you nudge your trains to distant Russian locations, unlocking treats as you go. It may well be better played at BGA because the computer calculates scores
15 - MOLLY HOUSE (Wehrlegig Games) - Another beautiful Wehrlegig game. Play as 18th century sex workers or their patrons, have parties and build joy for the community, but don't get nobbled by the beak. A card manipulation game where you might end up betraying your friends to save your own neck.
December 12, 2025 at 6:55 PM
15 - MOLLY HOUSE (Wehrlegig Games) - Another beautiful Wehrlegig game. Play as 18th century sex workers or their patrons, have parties and build joy for the community, but don't get nobbled by the beak. A card manipulation game where you might end up betraying your friends to save your own neck.
14 - THE KING IS DEAD (Osprey Games) - This is a delightful, little struggle for the fate of medieval England, Wales & Scotland. Much like Pax Pamir, you're trying to amass favour with various factions to come out best-liked by the most-powerful ones. It's a really snappy fight with bitey choices
December 12, 2025 at 6:44 PM
14 - THE KING IS DEAD (Osprey Games) - This is a delightful, little struggle for the fate of medieval England, Wales & Scotland. Much like Pax Pamir, you're trying to amass favour with various factions to come out best-liked by the most-powerful ones. It's a really snappy fight with bitey choices
13 - UNDAUNTED NORMANDY (Osprey Games) - You may well narrow your eyes at three David Thompson WW2 games in this list, but they're all great. This one sees you crawling across the fields of Northern France, building decks of named soldiers and getting sad when they die. Or happy, if you're the Nazis
December 12, 2025 at 6:40 PM
13 - UNDAUNTED NORMANDY (Osprey Games) - You may well narrow your eyes at three David Thompson WW2 games in this list, but they're all great. This one sees you crawling across the fields of Northern France, building decks of named soldiers and getting sad when they die. Or happy, if you're the Nazis
12 - SERENISSIMA (Asmodee) - Oh, this is so old and brown and Mediterranean, but it's fun. Swan around in enormous barges trading goods around Mediterranean ports, or get bored with the whole thing, load up on sailors, and go around sinking your friends, stealing their stuff, and pirating about
December 12, 2025 at 6:33 PM
12 - SERENISSIMA (Asmodee) - Oh, this is so old and brown and Mediterranean, but it's fun. Swan around in enormous barges trading goods around Mediterranean ports, or get bored with the whole thing, load up on sailors, and go around sinking your friends, stealing their stuff, and pirating about
11 - OBSESSION (Kayenta Games) - You are an impoverished Regency family trying to impress your friends by putting on lavish parties at your country estate. If you don't think that is fun I can't help you. Try to ditch wastrels and hangers-on. For Austen fans or Downton enthusiasts. Great fun!
December 11, 2025 at 8:20 PM
11 - OBSESSION (Kayenta Games) - You are an impoverished Regency family trying to impress your friends by putting on lavish parties at your country estate. If you don't think that is fun I can't help you. Try to ditch wastrels and hangers-on. For Austen fans or Downton enthusiasts. Great fun!
10 - GENERAL ORDERS: WORLD WAR II (Osprey Games) - Oh so tiny and good. A diddy little box with a great tactical war game in. Storm a Pacific island or capture an Alpine redoubt. Two players and the right size to take to the pub. There's also Sengoku Jidai which I haven't played, but looks great...
December 11, 2025 at 8:16 PM
10 - GENERAL ORDERS: WORLD WAR II (Osprey Games) - Oh so tiny and good. A diddy little box with a great tactical war game in. Storm a Pacific island or capture an Alpine redoubt. Two players and the right size to take to the pub. There's also Sengoku Jidai which I haven't played, but looks great...
9 - 878 VIKINGS (Academy Games) - A map full of Vikings arriving EVERY YEAR. Sack York! Defend burhs! Bury your dead in Repton! Clear an afternoon & relive the heady days of the mid-9th century. Really fun, even if tiny Vikings are a bit fiddly. Lots of the dice mainly make your troops just RUN AWAY
December 11, 2025 at 8:11 PM
9 - 878 VIKINGS (Academy Games) - A map full of Vikings arriving EVERY YEAR. Sack York! Defend burhs! Bury your dead in Repton! Clear an afternoon & relive the heady days of the mid-9th century. Really fun, even if tiny Vikings are a bit fiddly. Lots of the dice mainly make your troops just RUN AWAY
8 - WATERGATE (Capstone Games) - Oooh, this is a lovely, two-player tug-of-war! Loads of info for those interested, but it's s much about the game as the period. Play as Nixon or as Woodward and Bernstein, exposing or concealing lines of evidence. Chewy and brilliant.
December 11, 2025 at 8:06 PM
8 - WATERGATE (Capstone Games) - Oooh, this is a lovely, two-player tug-of-war! Loads of info for those interested, but it's s much about the game as the period. Play as Nixon or as Woodward and Bernstein, exposing or concealing lines of evidence. Chewy and brilliant.
7 - OATH (Leder Games) - Not set in an actual historical period, but a game that's about the practice of history. It's a big, bold fantastical war game about who gets to write history and what they write. There's an expansion coming up next year that threatens to add even more historiographical glee
December 11, 2025 at 8:02 PM
7 - OATH (Leder Games) - Not set in an actual historical period, but a game that's about the practice of history. It's a big, bold fantastical war game about who gets to write history and what they write. There's an expansion coming up next year that threatens to add even more historiographical glee
6 - WITCHCRAFT! (Salt & Pepper Games) - This is a great solo game, in which you use members of your coven to persuade the jurors in witch trials that none of the members are witches. It's the same system as Resist! - which is about the Spanish Civi War - but I haven't played that. This is great.
December 11, 2025 at 7:59 PM
6 - WITCHCRAFT! (Salt & Pepper Games) - This is a great solo game, in which you use members of your coven to persuade the jurors in witch trials that none of the members are witches. It's the same system as Resist! - which is about the Spanish Civi War - but I haven't played that. This is great.
5 - 1066 TEARS TO MANY MOTHERS (Hall or Nothing Productions) - This is a sneakily good way to get teens to do their GCSE History revision as you play through the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and then do the Battle itself! Although the box is WAY too big for this, it's packed with info
December 11, 2025 at 7:56 PM
5 - 1066 TEARS TO MANY MOTHERS (Hall or Nothing Productions) - This is a sneakily good way to get teens to do their GCSE History revision as you play through the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and then do the Battle itself! Although the box is WAY too big for this, it's packed with info
4 - SNIPER ELITE (Rebellion Unplugged) - No big lessons about history here, but you will have fun hiding from your friends and then shooting them in the head. It's v silly and a great alternative to a Boxing Day slump in front of The Great Escape. Also, you can shoot Hitler in the ball.
December 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
4 - SNIPER ELITE (Rebellion Unplugged) - No big lessons about history here, but you will have fun hiding from your friends and then shooting them in the head. It's v silly and a great alternative to a Boxing Day slump in front of The Great Escape. Also, you can shoot Hitler in the ball.
3 - PAX PAMIR (Wehrlegig Games) - A beautiful object, and a game about colonialism that engages with the experienced of the people being colonised. As an Afghan chieftain in the mid-19th century you'll be trying to manipulate the British, the Russians, and local warlords to come out on top.
December 11, 2025 at 7:47 PM
3 - PAX PAMIR (Wehrlegig Games) - A beautiful object, and a game about colonialism that engages with the experienced of the people being colonised. As an Afghan chieftain in the mid-19th century you'll be trying to manipulate the British, the Russians, and local warlords to come out on top.
2 - ILIAD (Bitewing Games) - This is mainly abstract, but a great little nasty two-player game about ruining each other's plans. Pretend to be Hector or Achilles as you put down numbered tiles! Fewer big horses than you might expect, but a lovely cloth board. Incredibly easy to learn, but super-deep
December 11, 2025 at 7:43 PM
2 - ILIAD (Bitewing Games) - This is mainly abstract, but a great little nasty two-player game about ruining each other's plans. Pretend to be Hector or Achilles as you put down numbered tiles! Fewer big horses than you might expect, but a lovely cloth board. Incredibly easy to learn, but super-deep