My Board Game Gripes! 

Thanks for validating my own gripes! I would add: punchboards that rip and leave jagged components (I am looking at you Stardew Valley)! Setup instructions that tell you to to separate and shuffle the cards and only later tell you to leave the campaign/secret deck untouched! Why do rule books have to match the box size? How do I hold/place that giant flopping booklet when the game is on the table? Player colours in Maui are white, blue, red, and LIGHT RED! Scoring that makes you add up to over one hundred with no scoring track (JokkMokk).

My gripes are expansions that dont fit in the main game box and/or expansion boxes that are all different shapes and sizes (a la scythe and wingspan). I also wish designers made their rulebooks the standard book ratio size instead of the full square of the standard ticket to ride box. Whipping out a huge box sized rulebook to find one clarification is kind of a pain.

Totally agree! It's nice to vent once in a while! ;) Oceans: someone on BGG files actually made a sticker for the side of the box! Print on label paper and it makes it beautiful again. Bitoku: highly suggest you print out the board someone made (or their app) which is a flow chart instead of the full page of text. Game changer! Fonts: YES!!! Coupled with similar-colored background and it's a nightmare! When they receive market production copy, how can they not realize the issues of readability?!? Do they know the game so well they don't need to read the cards anymore? Really wonder about that one. Board gamers are aging, too. Just opened Windmill Valley: holy cow, everything was in plastic pouches even the punchboards! Why!? So easy to surround cards in a small paper band. Also, the board is HUGE for no reason. Many places they could have trimmed it. Wish they'd publish that info more readily. And why do publishers keep putting trackers that hide what's under and then you need to remove the marker to read what action you need to do? Must be annoying to always have to ask if you are not close enough to see.

You have covered all of my major gripes but another I hate is when rule books are just a block of text and use the word for numbers rather than the actual number so skimming for set up is sooooo difficult

Good topic Danny. My biggest gripe is that there is a lack of originality. Eg your typical fantasy games you get most of the following. A dragon A wizard A thief A King, Queen Warrior-Princess or Prince A Swordsman An Axeman An Archer/Ranger/Scout An Assassin Bags of gold Healing potions Invicibility cloak Craft Health Strength points Dice or tokens to record the above. Level up More dragons Elves Goblins Dwarves that make magical weapons Etc etc. Did I say Dragons? Don't get me wrong I love a good fantasy game but not a Dozen or so that basically do the same thing 😁👍

A box too small is my second biggest gripe. I don't want to spend time playing the extra puzzle of fitting things perfectly (looking at you, Harbour). I can cut and tape a box to a smaller size (looking at you, San Juan), but at least I don't need to find a bigger box. Of course, my biggest gripe is the typically flawed rulebook. Most rulebooks have at least one unanswered question. BGG files for a game is absolutely mandatory, for FAQs and simplified rule guides.

False player times is such a massive issue. The one that's hurt me most is Creature Comforts, which is aimed at younger players and takes at least double of the time per player count.

Rulebooks are really hard on new gamers. Sometimes it’s because someone didn’t proofread the text or it’s just poorly written. Some examples are Dragons of Etchinstone, How to build a bus route the dice game, and Mint Julep. Yes, I watch YT, but even that doesn’t always help.

That Dabba Walla insert!!!! 😮

Well articulated & great choices

I recently picked up a copy of Beyond The Sun and the top layer of the dual layered player boards was made of a lower quality thinner cardboard and this, combined with the humidity level of the manufacturing plant, contributed to warping the player boards to where they all have a permanent curve. 🤦

😂 I agree with almost all of these!

A gripe is definitely boxes with mostly air in it. But, I do wish we had your version of Sushi Go Party here, even if it is a metal box. We have a version in the Netherlands with a rather big cardboard box without any dividers. All the cards jut float in there :( .

While I do get annoyed to buy a box full of air, I get just as frustrated, if not more, by game boxes that have no air whatsoever. Like, let me be able to close the lid - preferably let me also organize the game in some way and be able to close the lid. And please do not force me to store expansions in a separate box. If the base game cannot fit both the base game and the first expansion - then let the expansion come in a box big enough to fit them both (like, Red Cathedral barely let me close the lid as it was, so why make the expansion box JUST as tiny???). I get that at some point it becomes necessary to resort to collector's boxes, but at least wait until a game gets it's 3rd or more expansion before that becomes necessary...

I agree with the flavor text thing. How hard is it to include a vanilla word for what you’re describing in parentheses, and maybe a number that refers back to the component list? I’m never going to call a wooden cube by the thematic name you’ve given it. It’s just going to be brown cube to me. Rule books in general are my biggest gripe. Explain the cards in more detail. All of them. Play test the game with my husband and you’ll find every unintentional way of twisting the rules because they weren’t explicitly spelled out.

Valid list. Thank you for the interesting video. 😊

Yes, I love Santa Monica so much, but that box size is terrible!

Rulebooks drive me crazy. Typically I will learn a game with a playthrough by myself before introducing it to my family. But before I can even finish reading the rules to do that I've already noticed 3-5 edge case possibilities that I need to check out on BGG first. How did anyone playtest this game without noticing an obvious potential rule problem. Examples and clarifications please, rulebook writers.

Bitoku is so beautiful but I have two big issues with it. The rule book sucks. My friend says that the theme gets in the way. They wanted us to understand the theme, but it made it a super long learn. My other gripe is how it does not fit in the box. I bought an insert knowing it wouldn't make it fit but was hopeful. It takes up space so it fits worse. The only way to fit all in box is to throw everything unsorted into the box. No. My brain/personality/ADHD does not allow for that. Could you do a video teaching us how to solo Bitoku?

G'day Friends What are some of the things that you think could improve our wonderful board gaming hobby? Do you have any board game gripes? Feel free to share your thoughts, stories, ideas and opinions. This is a safe place to chat as always. Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Cheers Danny

While games with empty box space may still be worth owning, perhaps the boxes are not. Pitch the boxes and store the games collectively, if they are flawed in such a manner.

Dummy 3rd player when trying to play a game at 2. Just say the game is 3 and up!