If I ever felt the urge to get myself a pet, I'd probably get a boardvaark.

Boardvaarks love the things I love - scratching beneath the surface of boardgames, sniffing at their mechanisms - even digging up their roots. 

What better companion than a creature that shares one of my favourite hobbies? Together we'd scramble over Burgundy's farms and roll down Cascadia's hills. We'd spread hexagon oceans on Mars and go drafting around 7 Wonders while we wonder what makes it all hum.

There's a snag, though. Boardvaarks are probably unaware of my existence. They're too busy unearthing new mechanisms to be bothered about what goes on above the surface of the average game, where most of us live.

Still, if I keep digging beneath the meeples and the mechanics, who knows - one of these days I might end up finding one.

And if you take a few minutes to read some of my reviews, you might find one too...

Digging beneath the meeples and the mechanics