A Trip to the Uk and a visit to The Orc’s Nest

I recently went on holiday with my family to the UK. It was a special occasion, as we were celebrating (albeit a bit early) my younger son’s 10th birthday. Our first stop was Windsor, and I must admit it felt particularly pleasant being there. Windsor is a lovely place, not just the famous Castle and its equally famous dwellers, but also the streets and surrounding areas. Ironically our two-night’s stay was more a matter of convenience as it allowed us to be within a very short bus ride to Legoland Windsor which was our main reason for being there.

Legoland was a blast, it was most definitely the largest theme park I ever visited to date but there again I am not a theme park junky, so my exposure is limited. I was there principally because it was something we were doing for Neil, though I ended up enjoying the experience immensely. I went onboard a good few rides, some more pleasant than others. I was not keen on the rollercoaster, I’m not a thrill seeker, but the train ride around the park was very enjoyable.

Then on Sunday we headed for London centre. London is one of my favourite cities. I love its cosmopolitan urban vibes, the shops, the multi-ethnic cuisine and the deep sense of history and legacy that still permeate this vibrant heart of England.

Sunday, we visited the Natural History museum, a place I visited three times in my life so far. Some of the main displays and exhibits had been shifted around since my last visit. Gone is the gargantuan Brachiosaurus skeleton that dominated the main entrance hall, instead the equally titanic skeleton of a blue whale took its place, hanging from the ornately decorated ceiling. Charles Darwin was still there, sitting cross-legged, one flight of steps up from the main hall and Neil could not resist having his picture taken, also cross-legged, near the enshrined famous author of the book “On the Origin of Species”.

We had a lovely Indian dinner later that evening and then it was back to our basecamp for a well-deserved sleep.

Monday morning was dedicated to the superlative British Museum, by far my favourite museum in the UK. Obviously, I went straight to the Egyptian exhibits, noting that they had shuffled several pieces around, removed some and added others. It is always such a humbling experience to stand in the presence of something that has outlived empires and civilisations. Neil, it turns out, is also a keen Egyptophile which made my visit more pleasant. I also got to show him the famous Rosetta stone that was used to translate hieroglyphs thus unlocking the rich history of ancient Egypt. I don’t think Neil was too impressed with that one, maybe because it looks like a very busy page taken from a cryptic textbook.

Our stay at the museum wasn’t just about the ancient Egyptians though several halls are in fact dedicated to their incredible artefacts and art. We saw Sumerian exhibits, as well as small treasure troves from the Roman era. Sculpture and marble from Greece, precious glassware from medieval Europe, ornate weapons, ancient clocks, astrolabes, reliquaries, deities from diverse civilisations all frozen in stone and marble. As always, a visit there feels overwhelming! There is so much to see, that inevitably the mind feels like it’s getting a workout,

The artefact to the left of the photo is an interesting archeological find, a board game from ancient Egypt...the artefact to the right is a Maltese guy who decided to photobomb the picture. ;-)

Close-up of an ancient board game from ancient Egypt labelled "The Snake Game" and called mehen in ancient Egyptian. This limestone board, carved in the shape of a coiled snake lay at the centre of a race-type game.

The game called "The Royal Game of Ur" after the place where it was excavated from. The board was also accompanied by tokens used to race around the board as well as some dice. Researchers even identified a clay tablet (top) with the game's rules!

A close-up of this little wonder on display at the British Museum.

These are some of the dice that were discovered with the board and which researchers think might have been used to play the game. 

A close-up of the rather small clay tablet covered in cuneiform script used by researchers to decipher the rules for The Royal Game of Ur. So technically here you're seeing one of the oldest rulesets ever recorded for a board game. :-)

After a well-deserved break at the cafeteria at around noon, and one final push to see as much as we could from the exhibits on display, we left. I must confess that it’s always a bit sad leaving because I know it is never an easy affair to come back for another visit. Still, I was glad I went there for my third visit ever.

After the British Museum, the afternoon was more about shopping around and hitting on the shops we had planned to visit. In my case I wanted to visit “Forbidden Planet” and “The Orc’s Nest”. It turned out that both were close to the British Museum and to each other, which was a bonus. Our first stop was “Forbidden Planet”

To tell the perfect truth, I was not that impressed with “Forbidden Planet”. Not that it did not have a valid assortment of fan targeting memorabilia, or action figures or T-shirts but the point was that I felt I had seen shops like this one. I could not identify any item I really wanted to buy. Nothing really caught my attention or triggered a “must buy” feeling. I kept thinking, this is like Game Breakers, this is like Gamesplus...basically both shops we have in Malta.

To the credit of both local shops, they are doing an astonishingly good service to the local fan and hobbyist communities. Game Breakers has an excellent shop in Birkirkara, and they normally have the best prices, which is a big plus in my books. Game Plus on the other hand does surprise you with some of the collectibles (especially their Harry Potter section) as well as some hard-to-find board games. The only minus I feel is that they tend to hold a larger chunk of their catalogue at their Tarxien outlet and since I tend to visit the San Gwann outlet, I have come away disappointed on a couple of occasions.

Okay, so back to my UK trip, I ended up leaving “Forbidden Planet” empty handed but I had my hopes up for the next stop, that is “The Orc’s Nest”.

I left “Forbidden Planet” empty-handed, though I remained hopeful about my next stop, “The Orc’s Nest”. 

The shop is quite small, particularly for a central London outlet, spread across two levels and filled with board games ranging from the latest releases to modern classics. It also offered a respectable selection of Dungeons & Dragons books and some very appealing sets of polyhedral dice. Neil purchased a mystery pack of twenty-sided dice and was delighted with it. From the outset, I was slightly disappointed that the shop did not stock a copy of "Ra" by Reiner Knizia, though I had already suspected it would be difficult to find. The edition I was seeking is a recent reprint of an older game that generated considerable interest upon its release, and this latest version was produced in limited numbers, making it hard to obtain. 

To its credit, The Orc’s Nest did carry the roll-and-write adaptation, "Ra and Write" (a rather obvious title), but I am not fond of this style of game. The idea of writing on my board games unsettles me, which is why I own only one semi-legacy game (Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion) among my collection of more than 150 titles. For those unfamiliar, legacy games require players to make permanent alterations to the components based on in-game decisions, something I strongly dislike. 

Given the abundance of stock, the likelihood of me leaving The Orc’s Nest without a purchase was very slim. As I browsed the shelves, I noticed that many of this year’s most talked-about titles were available, including one that has sparked considerable debate online. 

The game in question is Vantage, published by Stonemeier Games. Some reviewers praise its originality and ambition, while others argue that it fails to deliver after a few sessions. The Dice Tower reviewers seemed to appreciate its open-world qualities, whereas Shut Up and Sit Down suggested that although the game begins with promise, it ultimately lacks a satisfying conclusion. 

The price did little to encourage me. At nearly one hundred pounds, with a large box to carry home, I decided against purchasing it. I doubted it would suit my gaming group, and the practicalities of transporting it in my luggage made me reconsider. Instead, I discovered "Verdant", a 2022 release I had already enjoyed at my gaming club. It is a solid card-based tableau builder, easy to teach and thoroughly engaging, qualities I value highly. 

My next choice was "Harmonies". I appear to have a clear preference for nature-themed games, and there is no shortage at present. While not revolutionary, Harmonies is well designed. It reminded me of elements from Cascadia and Reef, with touches of the game Earth, another excellent game I added to my collection last year. Unlike Earth, however, Harmonies is lighter, quicker to set up, and accessible to both casual and experienced players. It leans more towards puzzle-solving than confrontation, which I find appealing. 

The final selection was an easy decision. Despite its lengthy title, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game", it intrigued me immediately. This 2024 release offers a cooperative twist on traditional trick-taking games such as Bridge, Hearts, or Spades. Players progress through chapters that mirror key events from "The Fellowship of the Ring", succeeding or failing together. Success depends on subtle signals and group actions that support the group’s objectives. Each player assumes the role of a character such as Frodo, Bilbo, or Sam, each with unique conditions for victory, while looming threats attempt to hinder the fellowship’s journey towards Mordor and Mount Doom. I am eager to play this one. 

So, here's my haul from The Orc's Nest, quite happy with my choices.

My final opinion is that "The Orc’s Nest" is an excellent shop and well worth visiting for any board game enthusiast. That said, "The Travelling Man" in Manchester, which I visited some years ago, offered a broader and richer experience in terms of variety and scope. Perhaps I should return to Manchester to see how it compares today, purely in the interest of research, of course. 

Tuesday was dedicated mostly to some final shopping, the Science Museum and a whirlwind visit to some key attractions like the Big Ben in Westminster. Obviously, the Science Museum was something else. The exhibits were impressive, and we particularly enjoyed the IMAX presentation about Antarctica and the large hall dedicated to the history of computer and console gaming. The latter was an utter blast of an experience.

I think we must have spent over two hours there clicking away at consoles and trying out numerous games. The funny or sad part was that the devices in this hall spanned my own life to date. It made me realise just how much of that history was my-story.

The oldest single-game console on display was a version of pong. The joysticks or paddles as I remember calling them only had a knob you would turn in order to move a paddle on your side of the screen to hit the oncoming ball, deflecting it back at your opponent. There was no AI, no real end to the game. You just kept at it till you lost all your lives or both of you just tired and moved on to do something else.

This hall gave visitors a chance to try digital games, but it also showed how gaming has changed over time. It moved from solo play, to team play, to competitive formats, and later to Massively Multiplayer Online games. This reminded me why board games lost popularity for a while. Computers took over, then consoles, and finally the Internet.

I think the spread of the Internet helped board games return. In the 1980s, computer gaming was mostly a solo activity. If you wanted to play with friends, board games were still the best option. True multiplayer digital gaming was not easy to access. In the 1990s, dial up bulletin boards and then the Internet made online multiplayer possible. My interest in computer games had started in 1984 when my parents bought our first computer, so by the 1990s I was already hooked.

In the early 1990s I discovered digital role-playing games. Computers were not very powerful, but they could handle the games of the time. On my Intel 486 DX2 machine I played “Eye of the Beholder II” and later “Ravenloft: The Stone Prophet”. The graphics look poor today, but back then they replaced the pencil and paper systems of traditional RPGs. Character sheets became inventories, and statistics were easy to check with a click. For us, this felt exciting and new.

We played many other computer-based RPGs, and for years we hardly ever went back to their physical equivalent.

But too much of anything can become tiring. I think this is happening with high budget digital games. Players are turning away from flashy graphics and looking for simple but clever gameplay. Hits like Balatro and Slay the Spire prove this point. Sometimes a game like “Baldur's Gate III” offers both graphics and depth, but such titles are rare. Many players now want less screen time and more meaningful play.

Internet companies add to the problem. They design systems that keep users online for as long as possible, almost like an addiction. This affects gaming too. Players lose interest faster and struggle to focus on games that take hours to finish. World of Warcraft still has millions of users, but numbers have dropped. It peaked in 2010 with over twelve million players worldwide. Today it is closer to six million.

Other companies, such as Blizzard with “Diablo IV”, fight hard to keep players engaged. This changes the games themselves. Long puzzle-based campaigns are replaced with short, intense battles. The focus is now on improving gear and statistics to defeat stronger bosses, rather than exploring side quests or complex stories.

Many people want something different. They want entertainment, but offline. This is why board games have made a comeback.

Screen fatigue is only part of the story. The pandemic of 2020 to 2022 showed how much constant screen use affected mental health. During lockdowns, many people looked for activities that reduced stress and kept them away from computers. Board games became one of those activities. Sales rose sharply. Designers rushed to meet demand, creating new titles, solo modes, and paper-based AI systems for players without partners. The result was a flood of new games.

Today, the board game market is richer than ever. The problem is not lack of choice but too much choice. Retailers and hobbyists face the challenge of sorting through thousands of new releases each year. Deciding which games to stock or buy is not easy. I cannot imagine how retailers choose what goes into their catalogues.

I worry that the current surge in board game production may eventually collapse under its own weight. This would be unfortunate, but the truth is that it feels that the global market is already stretched close to breaking point. Every year, thousands of new titles are released, all fighting for attention and market share. For designers and publishers, if the initial costs cannot be recovered, there is little reason to invest further in research or development. Crowdfunding offers some protection, but success depends on attracting enough backers, convincing them with a strong idea, and most importantly, delivering what was promised once the game is produced.

The board gaming market is a complex network. There is still strong demand for well-made games, but tolerance for weak or poorly designed products is very low. This is a good time for creative designers, yet it is also very difficult for them to make sure their work is noticed and played. As a hobbyist and ludosophist, I hope the industry and its stakeholders will take time to reflect and adjust the way new titles are introduced to the public.

In the meantime, enthusiasts such as myself shall continue to consult video reviews, dedicated board‑gaming websites, and specialist literature on the subject, all in the ongoing pursuit of a deeper understanding of what constitutes a truly good board game and why such creations should continue to hold a significance space in our daily lives.