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Wikipedia:WikiProject Board and table games/Sources

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This page contains a list of useful internet resources for writing about board and table games-related topics. It is maintained by the WikiProject Board and table games. There is no guarantee that sources listed here can be used for a particular purpose, and this page is not a substitute for understanding Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources.

For accessing sources, see also Wikipedia:WikiProject_Board_and_table_games/Resources#Reliable_reference_archive.

Reliable Sources edit

Web sources edit

Source Owner / Publisher Description Evidence Usable content Discussion(s)
American Journal of Play
Arcane (magazine) Board game related articles There is consensus that Arcane is generally reliable. 1
Ars Technica Technology + Board game + Video game news and review articles There is consensus that Ars Technica is generally reliable for board and video game related articles per discussion, as it has an editorial team and evidence of fact-checking. 1
Association for Games & Puzzles International
Board Game Studies Journal (1998-2015)
BGS Journal (2016-) 		Currently published by Sciendo (De Gruyter) Peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal Editorial board of published experts; ISSN 2183-3311
Card Games John McLeod Card game rules McLeod is a respected and published card game researcher, and his site is recognized as the best of its kind on the web (for instance by David Parlett here). Two caveats: 1) Pages falling under the directory Invented games should not be considered reliable or notable. 2) Because of the broad scope of the site, the presence of a game there may not automatically confer notability; provisionally, if the description includes an indication of the game's notability (cf. French Tarot: "There are clubs, tournaments (including duplicate events) and an official body, the Fédération Française de Tarot.") then this site might be used for establishing notability.
Dicebreaker Gamer Network Board game news + review website There is weak consensus that Dicebreaker is generally reliable. Editors generally agree the its news section is reliable, and point out its editorial board of credible journalists. However, some editors expressed concerns on Dicebreaker for exceptional or controversial claims, and due weight should be considered. 1 2
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Scientific fiction related novels, board games, and authors There is consensus that the digital version of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, which won a Hugo Award, is generally reliable. 1
Kotaku Board game + Video game news and review articles Has editorial control and considered generally reliable for video game and board game related news and review articles. In the Sources list for the Wikiproject Video games, editors adviced caution for "blog/geeky posts that have little news or reporting significance". See also this discussion. 1
Lautapeliopas Board game news and reviews There is weak consensus that Lautapeliopas is generally to marginally reliable. Its editor-in-chief appeared in other publications, and it has some editorial policies. Nevertheless, more reliable secondary sources are preferred whenever possible, and cation should be applied for exceptional or controversial facts. Reviews for games should preferably be accompanied by other more established references, and due weight should be applied. 1
Historic card games described by David Parlett & Skat introduced by David Parlett David Parlett What it says on the tin Historic card games serves essentially as extended content for Parlett's Oxford Guide (1990, see Mostly historical card games below). As for Skat, Parlett is founder and (as of 2022) President of the British Skat Association. Note that many other pages on Parlett's site are promotional, so are not reliable beyond the limits of WP:SELFSOURCE.
Polygon Board game + Video game news and review articles Polygon is considered to be a reliable source for video. In Archive 371, there was consensus that sources reliable for video games should be also be considered as generally reliable for board games as well, in another subsequent short discussion, two editors agreed that Polygon is reliable for board game coverage. 1 2
Pyramid Magazine on role-playing games, board games, and card games There is consensus that Pyramid is a generally reliable source for board games, card games, and RPG related content. It is not considered an indepedent source for reviews on games published by Steve Jackson Games, in which case it does not contribute to notability, but may be used for mundane designer and release coverage. Some editors also adviced caution for its capsule reviews, which are short and also does not indicate notability. 1
Rebel Times Board game magazine with review + news articles There is weak consensus that the Rebel Times, a Polish magazine, is a generally reliable source. However, as it is currently a publisher, its reviews for games published by itself should be considered non-indepedent/biased, and in which case it does not contribute to notability. 1

Printed sources available online edit

See also: Wikipedia:WikiProject_Board_and_table_games/Resources#Reliable_reference_archive

Listed here are only reliable published secondary and tertiary sources that include a broad survey of games, and are available at the Internet Archive (some public domain, some requiring free registration).

Mostly historical board games edit

  • Bell, R. C. (1979). Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations (Revised ed.). Mineola, NY: Dover. ISBN 0-486-23855-5.
    • Although a reliable source by Wikipedian criteria, note that Bell is much like Wikipedia itself: a good place to start, but you should back up what you find here with another source. Beyond the fact that knowledge grows over time, Bell's aim is often to concoct a playable game, which can conflict with the transparent presentation of his source information, which is what we might have preferred. Fortunately, Bell provides very full documentation of his own sources, another feature making this a good place to start. Also note that since the revised Dover edition is a republication of 2 separate volumes without re-pagination, all page references must also specify volume (e.g. "Vol. 1, page 63"), as page number alone will be ambiguous.
  • Culin, Stewart (1895). Korean Games, with Notes on the Corresponding Games of China and Japan. Philadelphia PA: University of Pennsylvania.
  • Culin, Stewart (1898). Chess and Playing-Cards. Washington DC: US National Museum.
  • Culin, Stewart (1907). Games of the North American Indians. Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
    • All of Culin's books are old but foundational. They consist chiefly of ethnographic descriptions, still of use. On his elaborate and somewhat philosophical historical speculations, however, note that later scholars have called into question our ability to assign historical precedence among randomizing activities such as divination, impartial decision-making, gambling, and game-playing, and that elements of his monolithic genealogy of games have been called "absurd". Other books by Culin are available too, but these 3 present the lion's share of his work on games (with 1 exception, below).
  • Finkel, Irving, ed. (2007). Ancient Board Games in Perspective. London: British Museum Press. ISBN 978-0-7141-1153-7.
  • Murray, H. J. R. (1951). A History of Board-Games Other Than Chess. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Probably the most significant books in this category that are not currently available online are Finkel & Mackenzie: Asian Games: The Art of Contest (2004) and Parlett: The Oxford History of Board Games (1999; updated 2018 as Parlett's History of Board Games).

Mostly historical card games edit

Probably the most significant books in this category that are not currently available online are Dummett & Mann: The Game of Tarot: from Ferrara to Salt Lake City (1980) and its partial replacement, Dummett & McLeod: A History of Games Played with the Tarot Pack: The Game of Triumphs (2004, 2 volumes + its 2009 supplement).

Mostly historical dice and/or domino games edit

Several "Hoyles" have small sections on dice or dominoes. More comprehensive is Reiner Knizia: Dice Games Properly Explained (1999).

Additional printed sources available online edit

Printed Sources edit

Individual user collections and collections from other WikiProjects can be found at the following locations:

WikiProject Board and table games collections:

Source Owner / Publisher Description Evidence Usable content Discussion(s)

Situational edit

Name Media Date Type Notes and limitations Owner Quick links &
discussions
Comic Book Resources 2022 Comics, films, and board/video games related news, reviews, and listicles. Comic Book Resources (CBR) is considered to be marginally reliable. There is consensus that reviews and news from CBR are generally reliable, but more reliable secondary sources should be used if possible. However, the listicles are usually short, superficial, do not count towards Notability, and is marginally reliable to generally unreliable. Some editors also suggest additional caution for post-2016 content. 1
The Dice Tower 2022 Youtube channel, blog The Dice Tower is considered to be marginally reliable for mundane details, including publishers, release dates, and basic news releases. Nevertheless, more reliable secondary references should be preferred, a game present in The Dice Tower’s database or as a news article is usually not indicative of notability. Their annual awards are also significant, and is marginally reliable. The Dice Tower is generally unreliable for reviews, which are routine, subjective, not indicative of notability, and could generally be considered as self-published. Tom Vasel 1
Geekdad 2022 Blog Marginally reliable to generally unreliable blog, with no clear editorial policies, but also won several awards. Reliability depends on the expertise and background of the author, and is marginally reliable for mundane information on gameplay and release details, but is generally unreliable for other subjective reviews, which are not editorially controlled and could be considered to be self published. Ken Denmead 1

Unreliable edit

Undetermined edit

This is a list of sources that have been found but not discussed yet on whether they're reliable or not.

Web
  • Di6dent (French; used to be released as a magazine as well but is now only published online)
  • GameFan
  • TheGamer
  • Gry-Online (Polish)
  • Guide du Rôliste Galactique (French; in addition to their own content and their database, they have licensed some reviews from out-of-print French RPG magazines, which are added to the corresponding items' entries in the database)
  • ICv2
  • Mir Fantastiki (Russian)
  • SciFi-Universe (French)
  • SF Site
  • Tabletop Gaming Magazine (also exists as a magazine)
  • Techraptor
  • Tom's Hardware (Italian)
  • Tor.com
  • Unification France (French)
  • Valkyrie
  • abstractgames.org
Printed
  • Australian Realms
  • Backstab (French)
  • Casus Belli (French)
  • Computer + Videogiochi (Italian; focused on video games, but also covered TTRPGs)
  • Dragão Brasil (Portuguese)
  • Dragon
  • Envoyer (German; also has some reviews available online)
  • Fenix (Swedish; also has some reviews available online)
  • The Games Machine (Italian; focused on video games, but also covered TTRPGs)
  • Magia i Miecz (Polish)
  • Mephisto (German)
  • Realms of Fantasy
  • Rollespilsmagasinet Fønix (Danish)
  • Rue Morgue
  • Saga (Danish)
  • Shadis
  • Świat Gier Komputerowych (Polish; focused on video games, but also covered TTRPGs)
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