About Us

Welcome! Our family started this site to share our passion for the hobby of tabletop gaming. Through the years we’ve experienced the way that board games not only bring people together, but allow us to have fun in the process! It’s our hope that you will allow these amazing games to become a part of your everyday life.

On this site you will find information on games for everyone, from the nerdiest gamer you know to the grandparent who never plays anything but Checkers. We will bring you reviews and features on current games, and also revisit some “ancient” games in our Time Machine posts. We’re always open to suggestions, so if you would like to let us know what your favorite table top game is, please be sure to visit our contact us section.

Learn more about the people who contribute to make One Board Family a destination for family-friendly gaming.

Ryan Gutowski

I grew up playing games like Ker-plunk, Chinese Checkers, Sequence and Stop Thief. The thing that I enjoyed most about board games was the interactions we had around these games. People laughing, having fun and free of distraction! Over the past couple years, it seems like technology is distracting us more from the things that matter. Board games help us reconnect to the people around us and have brought so much fun to our family and friends.

I’m a big fan of strategy games and you’ll usually find me playing medium weight and party games. It’s so cool to see our children enjoying games as much as Erin and I do. When we gather around the table, it’s about more than the games. It’s about the people playing.

Erin Gutowski

Growing up, my siblings and I would play Monopoly, Guess Who and Scrabble when there wasn’t a TV around. It wasn’t until I was an adult and played Ticket to Ride that I really fell in love with gaming. There was something about the strategy that really appealed to me. As my husband and I played more board games, it became common to open up our home to new people and build new relationships.

As our children have gotten older, we’ve seen board games as a great alternative to television and electronic devices. It causes them to think and engage with others instead of being passively entertained. I really enjoy strategy and worker placement games and shy away from games that are purely luck-driven. We are striving to set a good example for our kids by using board games as a venue to interact with the people around us, and show them what it looks like to live in community.

Ric White

When I was younger, we played games from time to time. Clue, Racko, and Scrabble would bust out of the closet whenever there was nothing good on TV or if the power had gone out. I played Catan in college and owned a copy of Ticket to Ride with my wife, but I would never have called myself a board gamer. A few years ago, though, I was introduced to Sentinels of the Multiverse.  Only then did I understand how complex and fun these games could be. With the help of videos and blogs just like this one, I was soon hooked.

I am willing to play almost anything. Our board game collection is one of multiple genres, game lengths, and levels of complexity. My major goal is to ensure that everyone who sits down at the table has fun. I know the importance of understanding my audience, and I want to provide people with the info they will need to make the match to their gaming group. I don’t want to sit and explain all the rules to you – you can find other videos and rules sets for that. What I want to do is let you know what the experience will be like and whether or not you’ll have a smile on your face when you’re done

Bob Crowell

The entire Crowell family has had an interest in board games as far back as I can remember, which at the moment is memories of my old copies of Bed Bugs, Chutes and Ladders, and Don’t Tip The Waiter. Naturally, as I grew older, I progressed to games such as Phase 10, Uno, Mexican Train Dominoes, Monopoly, LIFE, Rack-O, Sequence, and other games in that realm. It wasn’t until I had moved to Columbus, Georgia from New Jersey in 2014 and then made a visit home that I discovered modern board gaming. On that trip, my brother introduced me to a game called Exploding Kittens. Having never seen a card game like this, I was immediately hooked. Upon returning to Columbus, I decided that I should visit a local game store.

I still remember when I first walked in; it was a bit overwhelming but extremely exciting. At that time, I had no idea what I was about to get into. I bought my first official modern board game, Splendor. It was a massive landslide from that point on as my collection went from 1 board game to over 150+ inside of one year. I now would now consider myself a seasoned board gamer. I will play everything and anything, from the heaviest of multiplayer solitaire euro games to the quickest lightest dexterity games. If you have a board game, I’ll play it…and then most likely buy it! I love
to include absolutely everyone in on the fun and I love to teach! Watching someone discover how to play a board game as I teach it or explain the rules is something I really enjoy. I thrive on the social aspect of board gaming and how it can bring people together. I truly believe that everyone loves board games, and if they say they don’t, that just means you haven’t shown them the right one yet.