After giving the lowdown on TCGs (trading card games) and its ilk in the previous posts, it’s time for the boot camp session for all things boardgames.So you want to play a boardgame and have no idea how eh? Well fret not budding gamer, that’s what we’re here for.

Firstly, settle on your theme of choice. What’s your favourite book, TV ormovie genre? You like fantasy, superhero, science-fiction, comedy or adventure? Well – I don’t recall that many boardgames with a comedic theme – but you get the drift.

It’s okay to pick on a genre that’s a little general – as the next point will illustrate, your own preference might matter less, since boardgames are social games.

Which brings me to my next point/question: how many people do you plan to get together to play? How old are they? What would they like to play – genre-wise? Have they played games before?

Then, I reckon you’ll need to start thinking up a budget. This one’s easy – more people chipping in can mean more games, or a single, primo one.

The answers to the above questions won’t come in one day. Well, you could go to a games shop, and ask around to see what’s cool, what’s suitable and what’s available, but it always helps to come armed with some amount of info.

This is why I recommend the almighty BoardgameGeek.com – your one-stop, all-powerful, does-everything-but-make-coffee kinda web resource for all gamers.

An easily customizable search feature with tons of filters? Check.

A huge, impressive database? Yes, thousands of games, and counting – it’s updated by gamers for gamers, so worry not about its lack of depth.

Reviews, online pricing, and most importantly, loads of pictures? Yeah, would you like some mash and gravy by the side?

Does it have info on TCGs too, apart from boardgames? Yeah, at least the skinny of it – which is often all you’ll need to make your purchasing / playing decisions. Did I say that BoardgameGeek.com is made by gamers for gamers?