My Board Game Journey

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

Today I want to do something a little different. No review, no game breakdown, just a story. My story. How a Portuguese girl went from Monopoly on the living room floor to owning over 400 games and logging more than 1,000 plays.

It Started Long Before I Knew It

Like many of us, my journey started without me even realising it. When I was young, games were simply part of life. I remember playing Les Mystères de Pékin (The Mysteries of Peking) and Monopoly with friends, and at home we spent many evenings around La Bonne Paye (Payday), a memory I cherish dearly, mostly because my dad always insisted on being the banker… and we quickly learned we had to keep a very close eye on him, as money had a mysterious tendency to migrate from the bank to his own pile 😅

As a Portuguese girl, cards and dominoes were practically mandatory. During my school years we played a lot of Sueca, and at home, especially during the Christmas season, the whole family would sit down for Tarot, a nod to my French roots. I was born in France, and though we moved back to Portugal when I was nine, some traditions quietly followed us home 😉

For a long time, those were the games in my life. I loved them, but I didn’t know many people who shared a deeper interest in board games, so things stayed there for quite a while.

The Rediscovery — 2017

University came and went, and with it, any time for games. It was only in early 2017, after finishing my second degree — the most demanding and exhausting chapter of my life — that I finally took some time for myself.

The first game I bought was City of Spies: Estoril 1942, a Portuguese game set in wartime Estoril, where players compete to build the most powerful spy network. I picked it up to play at two players and fell in love with it immediately, even if I suspect it shines even more with a larger group.

That game made me want more.

So off I went to FNAC, and with absolutely no research done, I picked up Pandemic Legacy: Season 1. It was only when I got home that I realised what a legacy game actually was, decisions were permanent, cards would be destroyed, and nothing could be undone. I was terrified.

But we didn’t dive straight into the campaign. Oh no. We played the base game four or five times first, no legacy elements, just to get comfortable with the mechanics. And then we took the plunge.

What followed was one of the most intense and hilarious gaming experiences of my life. We were fully invested, stressed, laughing, making terrible decisions together. And then the emotions hit: “You destroyed Europe.” “You killed my character.” At some point things got so dramatic that we simply… put the box on the shelf. We were too scared to continue. The game sat there, staring at us, for a while before we found the courage to go back 🤣

When we finally finished the campaign, I knew something had changed. This hobby had me completely.

The Solo Path and the Rabbit Hole

Since I didn’t know many people to play with at the time, solo gaming became a natural companion to my growing curiosity. I started following YouTubers and discovered a whole world of games I’d never heard of. That’s how I found my way into solo gaming, first with Onirim, then with the hypnotising Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island, then Nemo’s War, and Dawn of the Zeds. Each one pulled me a little deeper in.

Enter Kickstarter

In the middle of all this exploration, I discovered crowdfunding. It opened a whole new door, not just as a way to access games, but as a way to be part of something. Believing in a project, following every update, being in on the process from the very beginning, and sometimes getting access to exclusive content that wouldn’t be available anywhere else, it all felt special.

My first campaign was Museum by Holy Grail Games, backed at the end of 2017. The anticipation was a strange mix of feelings: the excitement of knowing a game I had pledged for so long ago would eventually land at my door, and the frustration of watching delays pile up and communication go quiet during the campaign. When it finally arrived, though, it delivered. It’s a game I’ve owned for years now and still love just as much as the day it came out of the box.

The Collection Grows — 2018 to 2022

From there, the journey really took off. In 2018 I fell in love with The Voyages of Marco Polo, a game that gave me my first real taste of just how clever and elegant euro game design could be. It quickly became a favourite.

Then came 2019, and with it two very different discoveries. T.I.M.E Stories caught me completely off guard, something fresh, something different, with a wonderful exploration and adventure feel I hadn’t experienced before in a board game. That same year, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon arrived, my first big narrative campaign game, backed through Kickstarter. It was intense, sometimes punishing, and absolutely gripping. That experience opened the door to two publishers who quickly became my favourites: Mindclash Games, whose Anachrony and Trickerion I fell deeply in love with, and Awaken Realms, whose Nemesis delivered exactly the kind of cinematic, edge-of-your-seat experience I didn’t know I was looking for.

2020 brought Terraforming Mars into my life, another game that surprised me entirely. We played it a lot at two players and it became a firm favourite for a long time. That same pandemic year also brought a completely blind purchase: Dark Tales. No research, no recommendations, just instinct, and it turned out to be a lovely little surprise I’m very glad I took a chance on. We also played a great deal of 7 Wonders Duel and Hogwarts Battle during that period, a beautiful cooperative deck builder that was perfect for those long, strange months at home.

Where I Am Today

Since 2017, I’ve had so many incredible experiences, so many surprises, and more than a few games that left a real mark on me. In the last two years especially, I’ve dedicated more time than ever to the hobby, and discovered games that genuinely amazed me. Obsession, Underwater Cities, Wondrous Creatures, Viticulture, and Civolution are among them. And then there are the smaller, quieter gems: Verdant, Settlement, and Ancient Knowledge, each one a little treasure in its own right.

But if I had to single out one game, one that truly made me stop and stare before I even opened the box, it would be Anachrony. I backed it through Kickstarter, and from the moment it arrived, I was struck by how absolutely stunning it looks on the table. You genuinely need a big table for it 😄. The iconography can seem intimidating at first glance, like something impossibly complex, but once you start playing, it clicks. It’s logical, it’s elegant, and it’s never as scary as it looks. The decisions are hard, yes, but they always feel thematic. The mechanic of borrowing ressources from the future and having to, later on time, make sure you are able to return it is fantastic.

I’ve also been delighted by It’s a Wonderful World, a Card Drafting and Engine Building game that hooked me faster than I expected. The theme isn’t that strongly present, but honestly? It doesn’t matter. There’s something almost hypnotic about the cycle of drafting, planning, and producing, and the production phase, which follows a strict resource order, rewards you for thinking ahead in ways that feel genuinely satisfying when they come together. The tension between building your engine and scoring points never gets old. I’ve played it solo and at two players and love it in both configurations. And to think all of that happens in just 4 rounds 😅

And on the lighter end of things, I’ve fallen for a few smaller games that are perfect for a change of pace. Nautilion is a solo game where you fill your submarine with crew, but placement matters, and each position calls for specific crew members in the right order. It’s simple and quick, perfect for a little break between heavier sessions. Jaipur is a gorgeous two-player game that whisks you away to the bustling markets of Rajasthan. At its heart it’s a race: who collects the most valuable goods? Camels play their own clever role in the mix, and the whole thing is light enough to introduce someone new to the hobby without overwhelming them. And Century: Spice Road, is a beautiful resource exchange and Hand Management game, you’re constantly thinking about how to sequence your moves, how to anticipate what you’ll need, and how to finish those orders most efficiently.

My collection has grown to over 400 games, and I’ve clocked more than 1,000 plays. Every one of those games taught me something, about what I love, about what kind of player I am, about how far this hobby can stretch. Looking back, I’m struck by how much ground I’ve covered since that first copy of City of Spies sitting on my shelf.

I love this hobby deeply, the creativity, the community, the way a well-designed game can make you feel something real. And that’s exactly why I started this blog: to share that passion with you.

Your Turn

I’d love to hear your story too! What was the game that first got you hooked? Was it a childhood memory, a lockdown discovery, a friend who dragged you in? Come share your thoughts on Mastodon.

Presentation on Marta's BG Corner