About Brendan – Founder

Hi there!

I am Brendan, founder of the Board Games website and experience. I have been playing board games for as  long as I remember. As the youngest of four kids, I kinda skipped the toddler toys phase and moved straight into board games as soon as I was able. I grew up on classics such as Monopoly, Polyconomy, Hotel, Sorcerer’s Cave, Mystic Wood, Hero Quest, Space Crusade, DnD and Warhammer.

I play games from every genre, from trading card games (TCGs) such as Yu-Gi-Oh, role-playing games (RPGs) such as Call of Cthulu, abstract games like Chess, cooperative board games, war games, area control games like Risk, legacy games like Pandemic, social deduction games such as Murder on the Cards, Skirmish games like Mordheim and puzzle games like escape rooms.

Click here to browse my Play-by-Post games on Startplaying,games!

I will play any sort of game and want to share my experiences with you to help you choose the best game for your situation.

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Boardgamesbren.com is reader-supported – When you purchase through the links in my posts I may earn a small commission at no extra charge to you. Posts are not sponsored. Read my Affilliate Disclosure here. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Rediscovering my passion…

Growing up I was a proper geek. I started a Hero Quest club when I was 9 and had two sessions a week, one for the juniors who were all in my year at school and one for the seniors who were one or two years older than me. I wrote my first dungeon-crawler RPG at age 11 and used to pen my own choose-your-own-adventure stories. In my teens I got really into RPGs, but in South London in the 90s I didn’t find many like-minded people to play with. When I moved to uni at 19 I left my gaming behind for a while and focused on my social life, and then starting a family; work and kids took over and for a while I didn’t play games at all.

As my kids grew up I began to rediscover my passion for board games and began to fill the house with games that I could play with them at each stage of their development. Coming back into the gaming market after 10 to 15 years I was amazed at the development of gaming technology. There appears to have been a bit of a lul in the gaming market when I was growing up as video games were stealing all the good ideas and that market blew up, but into the naughties the tables were turned (pun intended!) and board games have made a massive come-back and have learnt from video games.

At the same time as being excited at the new developments in gaming, I was also gutted that I gave away many of the games I played as a child and so I have started a journey which is half nostalgia and half exploring new avenues. And as much as the last two years have been difficult for everyone, there has been one silver lining which is that my old buddies and I have been meeting up every Friday on Zoom to play RPGs.

Game mechanics have come such a long way since the 90s and the campaign format in games like Pandemic Legacy are testament to the creativity and ingenuity of the new generation of games developers. And the internet makes everything so accessible.

I remember having to get the tube up to central London and spending all day wandering around in the back streets looking for niche games shops to find new games to play and now it is all here at our fingertips. It is such an exciting time to be involved in the gaming market but sometimes the internet can be overwhelming – there is almost too much choice – and this is where boardgamesbren.com comes in…

I want to help you find the perfect game(s)…

My mission and what I love doing, is helping people choose the perfect game for them and their situation. Whether it’s a gift for a friend, a new game for the family, rediscovering old classics or finding the hottest new releases to play with friends, I want to supply a one-stop-shop for all your gaming needs.

I will be providing reviews of games from all genres and keeping you up-to-date with the latest developments from the major games publishers and also supporting independent games designers to promote their work and helping you get the most out of your gaming experiences.

My goal is to help you have fun!

Ultimately my goal is help you maximise your gaming experiences through sharing my research with you and recommending the best games in each genre.

So whatever your interest is, from abstract games to zombie games, I want to help you find your next gaming hit and have fun!

If you ever need a hand or have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I will be more than happy to help you out. If you have ideas for games you want me to review or want to tell me about an amazing game you just found or created, let me know!

Find out more about me by watching my interview with Julian from Everyday Superhero:

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I am also a member of Wealthy Affilliate which is a platform for affilliate marketers of all levels. Click here to find out how Wealthy Affilliate can help you to build an online business. With its excellent, clear, step-by-step training programs designed by experts, you can be up and running with your own website, targeting a niche that you are passionate about, in a matter of days. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have about affilliate marketing – just drop me an email!

All the best,

Brendan

website: boardgamesbren.com

email: brendan@boardgamesbren.com 

twitter: @BrenDM20