Your search for a strategy board game is almost over!

Risk is a simple strategy boardgame with surprising depth. The strategy board game genre is a particular favourite of the Boardgame Beast.

Having spent many happy hours of a misspent bestial youth in front of his computer, building virtual empires and squandering digital fortunes, the Beast likes nothing more than to get his predatorial teeth into a meaty challenge with friends.

There are several obvious disadvantages with strategy boardgames, when compared to their digital equivalents. Tokens, counters and cards, often numerous and colourful, tend to overwhelm new players, while their rulebooks are often weighty, dense affairs.

All of these components usually add up to an expensive asking price, while the learning curve of strategy board games is fairly steep, which we take into account when reviewing them.

It's unfair and counter-productive to mark down a strategy game for being complex, when the fans of such games welcome depth and freedom of choice! Bear this in mind if you're new to strategy games. Allow for much longer than usual to set up and introduce the game to new players.

Most strategy games don't play as well with only two, which is another consideration for you. We'll add our couple-friendly Boardgame Beast loveheart logo, to indicate games which can be enjoyed by two as well as in a group.

As time allows, we'll aim to bring you the ultimate guide to setup and play of these complex games. For now, enjoy our reviews and feel free to ask questions or make suggestions by writing to us.

Carcassonne

A tile laying game that's different every time, Carcassonne is already on its way to becoming a classic

Castle

READER REVIEW! Trish of Texas says: How often do you get to play a Village Idiot? The Castle board game is a card-based game of mayhem, suitable for teens upwards