Barlow's Backlog
2026-09-08 · Essay
The Best Skirmish Board Games Make Every Space Matter
A skirmish board game is a small fight fought carefully, and the best skirmish board games are the ones where that smallness is the point. No armies, no supply lines, just a handful of units on a compact board where a single square can decide the match. The genre lives or dies on density: every space has to be worth something, because there are not many of them.
Latest posts
From Dune to MAYA: Why the World Itself Can Be the Main Character
I Taught Marisol Root and She Didn't Speak to Me for a Full Round
A Board Game Rulebook Without an Index Is a Broken Product
Hyperion Is Six Great Short Stories Wearing a Trenchcoat
Why I Keep Buying Hardcovers I Could Get for Six Dollars Later
The Lord of the Rings, Every Song and All
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Ruined the Word Paradigm for Everybody
Root Makes Everyone Play a Different Game at the Same Table
Summoner Wars Turns Your Hand of Cards Into Your Own Mana Pool