Author Archives: Mark Jackson

About Mark Jackson

follower of Jesus, husband, father, pastor, boardgamer, writer, Legomaniac, Disneyphile, voted most likely to have the same Christmas wish list at age 60 as he did at age 6

Thanksgaming 2025

I’m thankful for a lot of things – for example, I’ve been married 35 years to a wonderful non-gamer wife who encourages my board game hobby/obsession despite her near-complete lack of interest in playing board games. For a guy in … Continue reading

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Unmatched: Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Pizza-Scarfing Ninja Turtle

Since 2019, I’ve been a devoted fan (and playtester) for the Unmatched: Battle of Legends game system – and been part of epic face-offs between so many different heroes in so many diverse locations. (There are – if you’ve acquired … Continue reading

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Rocket Man: Galactic Cruise Solo

I’m not going to bury the lede here – I’m enjoying the heck out of playing Galactic Cruise as a solo game. And since I started with a sly newspaper/journalism reference in the first sentence of this post, I’ll keep … Continue reading

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PlayMode + Dune: Imperium – Uprising

No, gentle reader, “PlayMode” is not the phrase I mutter to myself when I’m getting ready to host a game night. Though the name does remind me of this classic bit from the underappreciated Disney film BOLT… PlayMode is a … Continue reading

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Preview: 52 Duels

When I was a kid, our version of a “fight with playing cards” (to borrow the tagline from Postmark Games) was War. For those of you who never had the pleasure (and I use the word loosely), both players simultaneously … Continue reading

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Mark’s Bundle of 2025 Essen Game Thoughts

Five days. Forty-six plays. Four prototypes plus thirty games that were new to me. Unless otherwise noted, these are FIRST impressions… I only had the opportunity to play many of these games a single time with a physical copy. If … Continue reading

Posted in Convention Report, Essen 2025, First Impressions | Tagged | 4 Comments