On this page you can find information about the kind of work we do and how we go about reviewing games. If you would like to get in touch with us about reviewing your game then a contact form is provided.
What do you do?
At The Giant Brain we write, think, and talk about all sorts of games. Originally we were exclusively about tabletop, but over time we have also turned our hand to talking about the occasional computer game. We believe in honest, play informed critique, and believe the hobby is healthier with more, and better, criticism as part of its infrastructure. We are always honest about where we get games.
You can find the following type of work across the site
First Read/Thoughts
Sometimes we just want to put out a little piece on a boardgame after a first play. We think there is value in these approaches as for a lot of folk the first play might be their only play. Such work will highlight any issues found when working through the rulebook, any rules we found tricky or hard to recall, and anything else we think you might find useful.
For RPGs we will do a first read. We will pick out what inspires us, what puts us off, and whether or not it makes us want to run the game. People find value in this sort of approach. It has allowed us to start featuring more RPGs on the site.
Reviews
Our reviews are honest appraisals of games after as many plays as we feel it takes to get a handle on that title. This usually sits around 3 or so sessions of a game but could be more depending on the scale. We do not discuss how many times we play a game in reviews as we don’t feel it is useful information. It will never be the right amount for those that focus on such things.
Editorial
When we want to talk about general subjects across game design or the tabletop hobby, we write editorials. These can range from talking about cancel culture to diving into the obsession with depth that some in the hobby hold.
Review Policies
We are open to reviewing a wide variety of games as you can see from looking around the site. If you would like us to review a game please don’t hesitate to get in touch via email or fill out the contact form at the bottom of this section. Do however read the rest of this page before submitting.
We take on games to review with the following caveats:
- We do not charge for any type of content. Ever. We are not in marketing, this is a site for criticism and discussion.
- We no longer do preview content of any kind. We will not promote your crowdfunding campaign by way of a review, first read, or first thoughts piece. We may show it to our followers on social media if we think it is interesting. We may back games ourselves that we then produce work for, but it will only be after it is widely available. We will not engage in FOMO.
- We will not necessarily take on your game, most likely due to time constraints on other content we are engaged with. Basically it’s nothing personal.
- We will review RPGs. Iain will do a First Read for certain. The game may get played or not depending on how Iain then feels about running it.
- Party Games: we will take these on from time to time but due to the larger player count frequently needed it may take us longer to review them. Please keep this in mind when contacting us.
- If we take a game on we will produce a first thoughts/read or review article on the game no matter our opinion on it. It will be our honest opinion after as many plays as we think it takes us to get a handle on it.
- We are not rules testers. We expect games sent out to us to be as complete as you can make them with rules well tested and written. We will feedback if we find anything odd or confusing but if the rules end up frustrating our efforts to review the game we may not be able to produce any work for your game. If this is the case we will contact you and let you know we will not be proceeding.
If all this seems fine to you then you can email us directly or use the contact form below.
Thanks
The Giant Brain Team
