The Gateway Gamers Podcast

11/23/2025

Wasn’t able to make PAX Unplugged this weekend thanks to some last minute family commitments, but that didn’t stop the haul from rolling in!

Huge shoutout to Marvin over at NerdLab for sending over Mindbug and Agent Avenue for review, Mindbug has been on my wishlist forever, so I’m pumped to finally dig in.

Restoration Games is doing what they do best with the new Unmatched Turtles Adventures set. The components, the art… chef’s kiss. And the Ali versus Bruce Lee matchup in the box? Totally unexpected and absolutely going straight into the arena.

Also snagged Spirits of the Wild: Awakening during a Black Friday deal. We reviewed the first edition and it’s still one of my top two player games. Super excited to see what the new version adds.

Reviews incoming soon once the studio is officially up and running in the new house!

11/07/2025

It’s that time of year again, the Monster cereals are back on shelves and I had to grab a box of Boo Berry. Factually the best flavor of the bunch, don’t @ me.

And that got me thinking about Monster Crunch! A board game that still surprises me with how fun it is. A licensed game based on cereal shouldn’t be this good, right? But it is. Mostly because it was designed by the GREAT team at Prospero Hall (RIP).

Everyone picks one of the cereal monsters and uses their deck of numbered cards to climb the “ladder” and empty their hand first. The milk tokens let you pull off combos and big plays that feel awesome when you time them right. Each monster also has a couple of unique powers that you can only use once per game, which makes every character feel special.

It’s quick, easy to teach, and still manages to have some strategy behind all the silliness. Plus, the cereal bowls, cards, and artwork are pure nostalgia, it just nails the Saturday morning cartoon vibe.

Even after all these years it’s still a great game that hits the table around this time of year.

10/11/2025

Welp, I added a new hobby to my already full plate of hobbies…miniature assembling and painting.

09/08/2025

Boss Monster has always been one of those games I wanted to love. The idea of building your own dungeon to lure in foolish heroes is amazing, but in practice the original could feel a little too random—like your dungeon was running you instead of the other way around.

That’s why Super Boss Monster feels like the sequel we deserved. It keeps all the 8-bit dungeon-building charm but smooths out the rough spots. The randomness is toned down, spells feel more strategic, and you actually have some control over how your dungeon plays out. Oh, and there’s a solo mode now—perfect for when your friends mysteriously stop answering texts after the third “game night invite” of the week.

Here’s how it plays: each round you build a new room in your dungeon, flaunt your treasures to lure in heroes, and then watch them charge through your deathtrap. If they die, you gain their soul. If they live, your Boss gets smacked around. First to stack up enough souls wins, unless you get KO’d in the process. It’s quick, silly, and clocks in around 30 minutes—just enough time to gloat before someone demands a rematch.

Super Boss Monster doesn’t try to be a heavy strategy game. Instead, it leans into being a fast, funny closer for game night. Think of it as the popcorn flick of your board game shelf—it might not win awards, but it sure knows how to entertain.

08/31/2025

Dice Realms Review (Solo Play)

Dice Realms is one of those games that instantly grabs your attention with its concept: your dice are your kingdom. Roll grain to feed your people, coins to upgrade your economy, and shields to block the dreaded Fate die. As the game progresses, you physically swap out faces to make your dice stronger, turning those humble wooden shacks into castles and those meager farms into full-blown point machines.

As a solo player, I appreciated how streamlined the variant is. You toss in an “Invasion” die as your opponent, and it keeps the tension up without adding extra rules overhead. It plays fast, has some fun decision-making moments, and genuinely feels like you’re trying to outsmart fate.

But here’s where the shine wears off: actually swapping out those dice faces. It sounds fun, but in practice it’s fiddly and slows everything down. Just when you’re in the flow of building your engine, you’re stuck hunched over the table performing what feels like cube surgery. It kills the momentum.

So where do I land? I admire the innovation and I’m glad I tried it. The idea of evolving dice as your kingdom is brilliant and unique. But as a solo experience, it felt more like a DIY project than a dice-chucking good time.

Final Thought:
Dice Realms: the only game where I spent more time upgrading cubes than actually rolling them. Medieval dentistry was not on my solo game night agenda.

08/22/2025

Came home from work to find an unexpected surprise waiting on my doorstep—shoutout to the awesome crew at Rio Grande Games for trusting us with another box of cardboard goodness!

Nothing says Friday night like the soothing sound of punching out fresh chits and cracking open a new adventure. Can’t wait to dive in and see what treasures are inside!

08/21/2025

Not looking great for but not filing bankruptcy yet, feel like they are making the correct moves to stay afloat.

CMON was already reeling from a more than $3m loss last year, with falling sales for its crowdfunding campaigns leading the company to its lowest annual revenue since pandemic-hit 2020.

08/21/2025

Six hours is nothing, has she tried Twilight Imperium?

Japan's oldest professional player of the board game go retired at age 98 after saying she can no longer handle "six hours without a break."

08/19/2025

Gotta catch em all

A man was sentenced to jail for spending $140,000 in company funds on Pokemon cards and other gaming items. DETAILS--> https://www.fox10tv.com/2025/08/19/man-sentenced-spending-140000-company-funds-pokemon-cards-gaming-items/

08/19/2025

Always excited to see more from one of our favorite games

08/18/2025

Love DND and love Horrified, so this has to be amazing

Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons review

08/15/2025

Remember when kids hobbies used to be fun?

McDonald's Japan's Pokémon Happy Meal launch had it all — scalpers, grown men brawling, and pigeons feasting on fries.