We will be live at MAGFest with three panels! If you saw us AT MAGFest, you can find many of the videos we referenced on our youtube channel!

Rare Game Mechanics
Thursday @8:00 PM - Tabletop Discussions (Riverview Ballroom)

Some game mechanics are common. Drafting cards. Rolling dice. Choosing actions. Worker placement. They are used in many games for a variety of reasons. But what about the weird ones? Ever play a game with a Rondel? Experience the glory of a "Promise Cube?" Wait until we talk about what can only be described as "Bohnanza Hand!" Join the GeekNights crew for a deep exploration of the rarely used (sometimes for a reason) mechanics of tabletop games.


Read the Rules!
Saturday @ 8:30 PM - MAGES 2 (Chesapeake 10,11,12)

Videogames enforce their own rules (usually). In tabletop however, the players themselves must do this. The only guide they have: the rulebook(s). Do you read the rules? Did anyone? How do so many people (as evidenced by the BoardGameGeek forums and Reddit threads) get things so horribly, horribly wrong? From Euros to RPGs, our panel of experts (plus those GeekNights guys) will consider how, why, and where the rules are misinterpreted, ignored, broken, or lost.


The 40 Games You Must Play
Sunday @ 1:00 PM - Panels 3 (Woodrow Wilson Ballroom)

These may not be the top 40 games ever designed, nor are they the top 40 influential or otherwise important games. If you aspire to really understand games, or if you have visions of designing your own, these are 40 games that, if you play them, will give you the widest possible perspective on what it means to make a good game (and what "good" even means).