Dice Tower West 2025

The Board Gamer's Quest

DTW, I’m still in love with you!

This was my 2nd pilgrimage to Dice Tower West, the table-top Mecca. Las Vegas, NV hosts the greatest gathering of analog gamers in the United States of America. My patriotic arrogance won’t allow me to say ‘world’ without attending Spiel, Essen … yet.

Players of all kinds, from deep-thinking strategists to luck pushing dice-chuckers, unite for the glory of the good game. With all the surrounding toxicity of Sin City, I hope this healthy hobby can replace some of the more deadly addictions of our broken society.

Let’s Play! Don’t know how? Somebody will be happy to teach you.

The Hot Games room was a magnetic, just luring you in to sit down & get some.

Not all games are cutthroat competitions, the 1st game that I jumped in on was of the cooperative nature. In Bomb Busters, you are a part of an elite explosive ordinance deactivation team. Silently snipping wires on each others board, the tension builds as you go through increasingly more difficult missions. Each successful snip gives a huge sigh of relief & each defused bomb feels like you saved a city . . . until BOOM! somebody cuts the red wire & the whole team dies. Game Over.

Getting exploded on arrival was just warm up for me. Some gamers are purely casual, but I came for the glory of the title of World Series of Board Games Champion. DTW hosts a qualifying event for the WSBG main event at the Horseshoe Casino in September. I signed up to play my new favorite game Lost Ruins of Arnak.

In Lost Ruins of Arnak, you lead an expedition into an ancient temple, gathering resources for the journey & facing the guardians that protect its secrets. I suffered a brutal 2nd place finish in the 1st game to the same soul snatching foe that defeated me at an earlier qualifying event this year. But that 2nd place earned me a seat at the final table where I locked in, built a dangerous deck, wisely managed my resources, & earned the victory.

Day #1: DTW-WSBG Lost Ruins of Arnak Chip Champ!