Recent Articles & Reviews by Sarah Wollin

Tabletop games have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. At Christmas, when my family gathered, everyone took turns being in a group of four playing the classic card game 500. I remember asking my parents if we could sometimes play board games instead of watching a movie. Most of these games were classic fare - like Yahtzee, Clue, and Scattergories, along with a lot of games played with a basic deck of cards. It was after I married that games like Cubist, Settlers of Catan, and Dominion were a regular part of our evenings. We would have friends over and play a game on a regular basis, and we were constantly being introduced to more games; it was our favorite way to spend free time. After kids entered the picture, learning and adding new games to the shelf became a rarity until, on a weekend away, we purchased 7 Wonders, and our love for the hobby was rekindled.

Since then, our collection has grown significantly. There are six gamers in our family to please, and we each have different preferences. The youngest wants to play any risk-taking game, my third wants something cute, my son wants games where he can destroy everyone else, and my oldest loves a bluffing game. I find that when I give them little advice and let them play as they want to, they beat me in unexpected ways all on their own. My husband is happy to pull out the crunchy brain burners, but he's willing to try anything once. I'm happy to play anything with anyone, but my favorite games involve engine building, asymmetric characters, and set collection; I prefer a balance of chance and luck. My favorites include Terra Mystica, The Castles of Burgundy, Beyond the Sun, Tapestry, and Steampunk Rally, but I equally enjoy lighter games like Spicy, Sky Team, Splendor, and Bohnanza (with the original rules, please).

When I'm not playing board games, I'm taking care of my home and family. We are actively involved with our church and love hosting, which we do multiple times a week. I enjoy making foods from other countries and have a ridiculously large collection of spices. I'm an avid reader, happy in any genre but gravitating toward non fiction and general fiction with a splash of hard sci-fi. The arts also play a huge part in my life, as I spent my childhood and early adult years studying music with a focus on theory; I'm always looking for new composers. My favorite word is "apoplectic". And, because people ask all the time, my last name is pronounced voh-LEEN.