Gus Mastrapa

When Religion Comes to Play

Civilization V developer Ed Beach transforms missionary work into videogame algorithms, drawing on his experience with boardgame design (Here I Stand) to create special powers for Egyptians and Chinese; Catholics and Taoists.

To Build and Break

What do boardgaming’s stars look like? If Donald X. Vaccarino is any indication, they are difficult to grasp. The designer of runaway favorite Dominion builds games that change and remake themselves nearly to infinity. In his latest column Gus Mastrapa tries to get a foothold in Vaccarino’s twisty w

Waging Little Wars

Our boardgame columnist looks at three new wargames that exemplify how simulated war is becoming kindler and gentler to court new opponents.

Things I Ate in Skyrim

Gus Mastrapa tells the consumer’s side of the story in Bethesda’s upcoming role-playing sprawl, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Magic Mistakes

Gus Mastrapa talks to Tiny Speck founder Stewart Butterfield about the studio’s new massively multiplayer online game Glitch, regarding the importance of adults, illustrators, and doing nice things for each other.

It’s Your Move

We don’t normally associate collectible-card games with the NFL, but some recent new games and expansions draw out the metaphor. In our new column on boardgames and card games, Gus Mastrapa takes a look at the technique of deck building.

Review: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Adventure games are a genre that everybody has nostalgia for, but nobody plays. That’s because games like Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective feel old-fashioned compared to the open-world, massively multiplayer, online-all-the-time games we’re used to. Some detractors have even gone so far as to call des

Boards and Bits

After five years dedicated to the beautification of the boardgame, Mike Doyle found a new calling—Lego sculpture. It was this summer, on a trip to Legoland with his boys, that Doyle, a 43-year-old graphic designer from New Jersey, rekindled his passion for the building blocks. When he got home he s