by Bob Richardson and Luna Lee

Just like RPGFan is seamlessly yawning and stretching its arms, only to rest one over the shoulder of board gaming, so is the board gaming culture resting an errant appendage over the shoulder of story- and campaign-driven experiences, and we're not talking about Dungeons & Dragons here. T.I.M.E Stories busted down the door for future designers in 2015, and since then, we've found an increase not only in Legacy game production, but also story-driven experiences. Up until recently, board gaming has been almost exclusively a tactician's affair, with the most well-reputed games focusing on engine-building, worker placement, and card-driven combat, save D&D.

Now, we're seeing the advent of games like Near and Far, This War of Mine, Gloomhaven, and Pandemic Legacy, which focus on gameplay and story. Sound familiar, RPGFan readers? These games we've mentioned here are all highly regarded titles among critics and fans, as a quick trip to BoardGameGeek's rankings list will easily indicate. As the winds shift in the board gaming community, we hope that you will discover bridges between the hobby you come to RPGFan for and an industry that simply won't stop growing in terms of market, quality, and most definitely quantity. Please enjoy our annual Origins Game Fair 2018 coverage and let us know what you think of the path we're treading!