Games / Research review
Jaipur Review: A Trading Game Built for Two, With No Third Chair
Built for exactly two players — no dummy hand, no solo mode, no third chair — for $26.99 at Asmodee's US store, with a publisher-listed 30-minute play time.
Games & hobbies
Table nights and slow afternoons. Games worth learning, giving, and keeping in the drawer closest to the table.
Games & puzzles
6 guides
Games / Research review
Azul Review: A 45-Minute Drafting Fight That Holds Up At Two Players
A 45-minute drafting fight that holds up at two players, built on one-decision turns: 2-4 seats from one $39.99 box, currently $31.99 at Asmodee's US store with no end date on the markdown.
Games / Research review
CATAN 6th Edition Review: $39.99 Seats Four, $63.98 Seats Six
The 30th-anniversary base game costs $39.99 at Amazon against a $49.99 list price, needs three players and holds four, and runs about an hour; the publisher says it can be played with fifth-edition sets, though some card backs differ.
Games / Research review
Ravensburger Paris in the Dawn Review: A Standard 1000-Piece Puzzle Done Properly
Ravensburger's $24.99 street scene is the kind of puzzle the brand has cut for decades: German board, linen-finish print, a 27-by-20-inch image with enough detail to sort by. What you are paying for is consistency, not novelty.
Games / Research review
Wingspan Review: A Calm Engine Builder That Rewards A Second Play
Stonemaier's bird game costs $55 direct, plays one to five, and ships with a solo mode and a teaching pack. The catch is that a first game feels slower than the box suggests.
Games / Research review
Exploding Kittens Original Edition Review: The Right Game for the Right Table
A fifteen-minute luck-and-dodging card game for two to five players. The fit between game and table decides everything, and the editions need untangling.
Music
4 guides
Games / Research review
Yamaha P-145BT Review: 88 Weighted Keys for $529.99, and a Discontinued Pedal Option
Yamaha's P-145BT puts a graded-hammer 88-key board and a CFIIIS grand sample on any wide desk for $529.99; the stand, the half-damper pedal and wireless app control each cost extra.
Games / Research review
Snark ST-8 Super Tight Review: Cheap, Bright, And Barely Documented By Its Maker
A clip-on chromatic tuner that reads string vibration, calibrates from 415 to 466 Hz and hides a metronome on its side. Snark's own site gives it three sentences and no price; the manual and a retailer fill in the rest.
Games / Research review
Kala KA-C Concert Ukulele Review: The Size Most Adults Should Start On
Kala's $99 concert model keeps the same mahogany build as its $69 soprano but adds an inch and a quarter of scale, six more frets and a body that fits adult hands better.
Games / Research review
Kala KA-15S Review: A Sound First Ukulele That Ships Without The Extras
Kala's $69 soprano covers the parts that matter on a starter instrument, but the listing skips tuner hardware and box contents, so plan on a clip-on tuner and a gig bag from day one.
Holiday & seasonal crafts
4 guides
Games / Research review
Cricut Maker 5 Essential Bundle Review: The $170 Is The Machine
Cricut's $399 Maker 5 Essential Bundle and $229 Explore 5 bundle ship the same supply list; the $170 buys 13 tools instead of 5, 300-plus materials and 3 mm cutting and engraving.
Games / Research review
Apple Barrel 16-Color Acrylic Set Review: A Dollar A Bottle For Ornaments, Pumpkins And Popsicle Sticks
Sixteen 2 oz matte craft acrylics from Plaid for $15.99, made in the USA, with a palette that already contains Halloween and Christmas. Buy it for porous surfaces and kids' tables; buy FolkArt Multi-Surface for glass and mugs.
Games / Research review
FolkArt Multi-Surface Celebrations 10 Color Set Review: Ten Bottles For Glass And Ceramic Ornaments, With A Cure Time Plaid Does Not Print
Ten 2-ounce bottles of Plaid's multi-surface acrylic list at $15.99, with a dated $11.19 sale on 2026-10-04, for a formula that grips glass and survives a top-rack wash. The palette leans pastel, and the words 'when cured' carry no number.
Games / Research review
Mod Podge Gloss 16 oz Review: The Right Bottle For A Season Of Ornaments, With A 28-Day Catch
Plaid's 16-ounce gloss formula is cheap, water-based, and cleans up with soap and water, but the 28-day cure means holiday projects need to start well before the holiday.
A few things from the guides
All picksSpace Cowboys
Jaipur
A trading card game built for exactly two players, about 30 minutes a game, $26.99 at Asmodee's US store
$26.99 at Asmodee(opens in a new tab)Read the guideNext Move Games
Azul
Michael Kiesling's tile-drafting game about building a Portuguese azulejo wall: 2-4 players, about 30-45 minutes, one-decision turns and the full game at two players
$31.99 at Asmodee(opens in a new tab)Read the guideCricut
Maker 5 Essential Bundle
The current Cricut flagship, reviewed as the $399 Essential Bundle because the bare $349 machine was out of stock on the check date
$399 at Cricut(opens in a new tab)Read the guideYamaha
P-145BT 88-Key Portable Digital Piano, Black
88 graded-hammer keys and a CFIIIS grand voice at $529.99; stand, pedals and app cable are separate
$529.99 at Yamaha(opens in a new tab)$529.99 at Amazon(opens in a new tab)Read the guide