Play is a voluntary activity or occupation executed within certain fixed limits of time and place, according to rules freely accepted but absolutely binding, having its aim in itself and accompanied by a feeling of tension, joy and the consciousness that it is "different" from "ordinary life".

The perfect family board game is one that can be played each time with fewer pieces.

It is one of man's curious idiosyncrasies to create difficulties for the pleasure of resolving them.

If you've had a good time playing the game, you're a winner even if you lose.

But games are ever-changing, culturally-shaped practices that have more in common with square dancing and [...] butterfly collecting than they do with passively consumed entertainment products. And so the more we try to treat games like media, the less game-like they are.

[He] beat me handily in all five games we played, but I am proud to say that he never beat me the same way twice.

The spirit of my suggestion is that no historical events are off-limits, but good historical games are those designed to explore the contingency of history, which may be achieved by focusing on aspects of history that are no less interesting than the battles. I would like to think that it is possible to design good games that focus on the parts of history that we would rather forget, and by playing such games, come to a deeper appreciation of that history.

It really is a labor of love; and you really appreciate it when you get into the middle of it and you see what happens, [...] when you see the amount of time that so many people put in, and so little compensation... it changes your perspective. What a gift it is that there are designers who do this work for us. It's just incredible that people are willing to do this and provide us with these games.

The rules text is not your game, it is your game’s user interface. It is the button pad on your cell phone; the remote control to your cable or satellite box; the steering wheel, gearshift and pedals in your car. It is the way players (in the absence of a teacher) connect with your game and it needs to be designed as rigorously as the rules and procedures. Players cannot fall back on mashing your game’s buttons, poking through its menus or clicking hyperlinks at random.

Modern board game coverage has shifted from the review to the preview.