Spotlight is a new series that will help to showcase awesome creators in the tabletop community who we at Quackalope love and want to see succeed just as much as ourselves.

It’s a chance to see the industry from a new perspective and give a virtual hug to some of the wonderful people that also remind us how great board games are, how thrilling roleplaying is, and how exciting the tabletop industry is on a day-to-day basis.

John, Wendy, and Austin are “Obsessive Board Gamers.”

No, really. That is the name of their YouTube channel.

The YouTube channel and blog both stand out in their quality coverage of this cardboard hobby with their strategies, unboxings, reviews, and playthroughs, so I wanted to turn the spotlight on them this week.

Please allow for some time while we appropriately adjust the stage lighting…

YouTube

The idea for the channel originated when the eldest daughter of John and Wendy looked for a summer project back in 2018. They settled on creating a YouTube channel centered on playing children’s games, unboxing toys, and whatnot.

Then, after a couple of months, John and Wendy decided they might have what it takes to run a board game channel for an older audience. And we’re glad they did.

Early content debuted “show me the rules” videos at a shorter 3-5 minute length. Which wasn’t as frequent back then; they felt they were filling a void with that type of succinct coverage. But they evolved beyond rules explanations and hit their stride with their content focused on gameplay strategy.

If you already stumbled upon this hidden gem of a channel, it was most likely because of the “Game Breakers” series, in which they deconstruct and expose unfair or frequently-missed strategies that consistently result in winning the game.

To prove the point, the two most popular videos from Obsessive Board Gamers—analyses of Wingspan and Splendor respectively—are from the Game Breakers series. 

“I just kind of get a kick out of it,” John recounts. “I guess that’s something we haven’t found on other channels.”

Wendy outlines how each episode comes about. She notes, “Typically what happens is that I am unintentionally good in the first games.”

If there is some singular strategy or hidden flaw, John ruminates until he realizes the issue. “We just turn the camera on. We record the end of the game. The score comes up.” John says, “I dissect exactly why I lost. I just go through ‘This is exactly what I did… I wish this part wasn’t like this.’” 

But having strong opinions about the mechanics or gameplay of beloved tabletop games will definitely encourage feedback from viewers whenever you point out flaws or ways to take advantage of the systems in place. “[The Game Breakers episode on Splendor] has made so many people mad. The vitriol that comes across from views on that. I think they are there to troll my channel.”

John and Wendy, though, mostly laugh it off.

What’s Next for OBG

Unfortunately, COVID-19 put a halt to the normal production schedule of OBG. Wendy, a surgeon, works longer hours than normal at a hospital because of the pandemic and as the Obsessive Board Gamers play primarily at night after their children’s bedtimes, there has been much less time available for the hobby.

Additionally, Austin’s gameplay with the group the past year was almost nonexistent due to the health-related restrictions and precautions.

Not to worry, though! As vaccines continue to roll out in the US and pandemic era precautions will be lifted soon enough, OBG plans to return to their previous goal of a video-per-week schedule. The family alluded to a trove of footage that will be edited and uploaded in due time. For subscribers—and honestly, anyone who owns a lot of board games—will appreciate an upcoming video that covers something along the lines of “How to buy a house when you have 800 board games” after the couple’s recent move.

For the near future, they promise a new segment format and a big announcement will hopefully be coming soon to the channel.

And in the meantime, Obsessive Board Gamers has launched a new website and blog where they will be posting all sorts of content. The first post—Top 10 Games to Take on Vacation—is live right now!

Quackalope is what it is today because of the awesome tabletop community, but we’re not the only ones here in the space.

This is why we want to always show off the great work that other content creators are putting out there.  If you haven’t given some time or support to John, Wendy, and Austin from Obsessive Board Gamers, then consider engaging with them in the community!

You can find them on their website or on social media with Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook!

What other content creators do you want us to talk about? Let us know in the comments!