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Emily Ogle

An experienced, detail-oriented copywriter and editor, passionate about grammar, games, and trivia. Currently creating content for Sporcle and aspiring to write for games both on the screen and on the table.

Video Shorts

Sporcle's video team regularly uploads YouTube shorts about different countries and their interesting facts. I researched and wrote the scripts for the videos below, intended to be brief, fun glimpses into what makes the world's many varied countries unique.

Articles & Blog Posts

The Sporcle Blog •

Why Is the Harry Potter Game So Controversial? | Sporcle Blog

If you aren’t on video game Twitter or follow gamer news, then you may not have heard much about the video game set in the world of Harry Potter called Hogwarts Legacy. For many who grew up reading the books and/or watching the beloved film series starring Daniel Radcliffe as the Boy Who Lived, the announcement of this game was akin to discovering that their childhood dream of attending Hogwarts had come true. But for others, there was too much bad will built up from the background, origins, and
The Sporcle Blog •

20 “Super” Mario Trivia Team Names | Sporcle Blog

Long have multiplayer Mario games proven to be the ultimate friendship testers. If your friend group has made it through a game in Mario Party or a race in Mario Kart without vowing to never speak to each other again, then you have succeeded where many have failed. Nothing, not even high-stakes pub trivia, can come between you. So when you round up the gang for your next trivia event, consider choosing one of the magnificent Mario-themed team names listed below. That way, when your buddy Roger m
Sporcle •

What Is the Story Behind "Three Blind Mice"? | Sporcle Blog

Before they ended up in Shrek’s swamp, the Three Blind Mice had top billing in a classic nursery rhyme that was published on October 12, 1609. At this time in England, James I was king, Guy Fawkes & co. had tried to blow up Parliament a few years earlier, and William Shakespeare had most likely just written the late romances Coriolanus and Pericles, Prince of Tyre (certainly not his two most famous works).

Just a few hundred years later, this is the modern version of the plight of the Three Bli
Nerdist •

The Strange and Secret History of Monopoly

I know, I know. How much more is there to discuss about Monopoly, the classic, down-home American board game that launched a thousand grudges? Well, I hope there’s at least an article’s worth, because here I go anyway.

It is widely known that Parker Brothers, now a subsidiary of Hasbro, purchased Monopoly from enterprising Charles Darrow and published the game in 1935, in the throes of the Great Depression, when people grasped at the chance to simulate wealth by paying fake money to place plast
Original Hobby •

Observations on the Board Game Renaissance

Online forum BoardGameGeek includes pages of statistics generated by its users, and it shows a steady increase in how many games have been played over the past few years: in 2017, there were about 6.3 million recorded plays by users—in 2018, this number increased to nearly 7 million.

The trend shows no signs of slowing

Polygon recently reported statistics provided to them by Kickstarter, who revealed that the tabletop games category raised an all-time high of $165 million in 2018, $27.23 milli
Nerdist •

9 Life Lessons We Learned From Board Games

We play board games for many reasons, whether it be to put our critical thinking skills to the test or to simply share some laughs with a few friends. But that’s not all we do when we sit down to various glorious tabletops and start popping out cardboard chit after cardboard chit.

Board games offer many opportunities to discover more about ourselves, our friends, and how we interact with others. Whether competitive or cooperative, board games teach us lessons about the real world, and what we l
Original Hobby •

Fall in Love with These Board Games for Valentine’s Day

Avoid being bored this Valentine's Day with these great board games!

This Valentine’s Day, skip the fancy, expensive dinner and stay inside with a board game! Board games help you get to know your special someone: you can work together, go head-to-head, or form a team to gang up on your friends. Playing board games with your partner tells you how they strategize, how cutthroat they are, and how they respond to pressure.

There are a lot of games with romantic themes that play better with more t
Original Hobby •

A Brief History of Crokinole

We are in the midst of a board game renaissance! Hobbies that were niche just a few years ago are attracting attention like never before. As a result, new games are being created in a frenzy, and older games are being dusted off and varnished anew.

One such “older” game from the 19th century is the dexterity-based board game (or table sport) crokinole, in which players flick small discs across a board, aiming to hit opponents’ pieces out of position or to make it through eight inner pegs to rea
Original Hobby •

Five Board Games That Foster Team Building

Board games are inherently social experiences, so they have the potential to be the perfect icebreakers at corporate social events. However, some board games can ruin relationships rather than improve them, so you need to be careful which ones you break out for team-building exercises.

As we mentioned in a previous post about our 3D wooden puzzles, Huddle identified the four skills that most team-building activities encourage and rely on: communication, solving problems and making decisions, ad
Original Hobby •

Considering Esports for Board Games

Whether it’s a true sport or not, esports has an enormous following of gamers and non-gamers alike—and it’s here to stay. Esports (or “electronic sports”) are organized video game competitions with professional players and teams just like in football or basketball. While the industry is still growing, SportTechie reports that esports made about $865 million in 2018 worldwide. Obviously, it’s a lucrative business, but how much do professional video game players make? And is an esports equivalent
Original Hobby •

A Case for the Living Card Game

Card games come in many forms and variations, two of the most popular being collectible card games and Living Card Games, and it can be difficult determining which works best for you.

A Living Card Game (“LCG”) is a trademarked term from Fantasy Flight Games that refers to a variation on traditional collectible card games (CCGs) like Magic: The Gathering. In an LCG, players purchase a game’s Core Set, complete with starter decks and all the tools required to start play, and then can purchase mo
Sporcle •

18 Nintendo Pick-Up Lines | Sporcle Blog

If you’ve been spending a lot of time indoors lately, then it might be difficult to find the time to go out and meet people. Luckily, however, you’re not the only one staying inside and experiencing life vicariously through video games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

A household name, Nintendo is known the world over for being a force of unparalleled proportions in the video game industry. So, it’s fair to assume that your next special someone will share your love of a certain red-clad Ital
Sporcle •

Shakespeare Trivia Team Names | Sporcle Blog

In his plays and poetry, William Shakespeare coined and popularized many words and phrases that still exist in the English language today. Indeed, no one waxes poetic like—or talks quite as much smack as—the Bard. When modern-day authors and playwrights run out of ideas, they can always turn to Shakespeare, who has offered such title inspiration as Brave New World and The Fault in Our Stars, among many others. Along the same vein, your trivia team can turn to Shakespeare if you need a name in a
Sporcle •

15 Theatrical Shakespearean Pick-Up Lines | Sporcle Blog

Are you looking for love and finding yourself tongue-tied? Are your tried-and-true pick-up lines missing the mark? For inspiration, you need search no further than the plays and poetry of the immortal Bard, William Shakespeare. That man loved his innuendos, and he was pretty darn good at them, too. This list features direct quotes and pun-filled wordplay, the latter of which I think Shakespeare himself would have approved. Without further ado, we present the following collection of Shakespearean
Sporcle •

22 of the Best Avatar Trivia Team Names | Sporcle Blog

With the recent addition of Avatar: The Last Airbender to US Netflix, new fans are discovering the magic that first captivated audiences fifteen years ago. The animated Nickelodeon series was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, and it’s easy to see why: the characters are dynamic and believable, the stories dramatic yet relatable, and it seamlessly blends the styles of Japanese anime and Western cartoons to create something wholly unique. So for your next trivia night, whether
Nerdist •

Four Thematic Tabletop Games to Play at a Wedding

There are many ways that you can bring your love of board games to a wedding. You can design the reception hall like one large board, where guests must roll a die in order to progress to the dessert table. You and your partner can dress up like meeples and hopelessly try to be graceful as you attempt your first dance in cardboard suits. Your entire wedding party can be highly detailed and gorgeously painted miniatures, because at least that way everybody’s matching the strict color palette.

If,
Nerdist •

Explore The Tabletop Games Of The Jane Austenverse

No matter how much we yearn for the manners of yesteryear, it must be acknowledged that there really wasn’t that much to do in the early 19th century. In Jane Austen’s Regency-era England, quality diversions were in short supply, especially for ladies. But characters in Austen’s novels often play games to pass the time, which can offer up insights into who they are. Characters’ behaviors during games reveal traits such as their willingness or unwillingness to take chances or their general wealth
Nerdist •

This Tabletop RPG Is As Old As D&D But You May Have Never Heard Of It

Imagine a board game with Dungeons & Dragons’ role-playing, the hexagonal grid customary to tabletop wargames, and the capability to accommodate sixteen players. I know, I cried too. It’s the gaming version of the ideal romantic partner, and it really exists. Well, it existed, anyway.

Magic Realm was first published by Avalon Hill in 1979, just a few years after D&D co-creator Gary Gygax developed the medieval miniatures wargame, and precursor to D&D, Chainmail. Avalon Hill has since become a s
Nerdist •

A Love Letter for Hobbit Love Letter

The original Love Letter card game, designed by Seiji Kanai and published by Alderac Entertainment Group, is praised for its colorful theme, detailed illustrations, and easy-to-understand rules. The aim of the game is to deliver a love letter to the princess, which you must achieve through the tried-and-true tactics of bluffing, deduction, and good old fashioned luck. Personally, I have spent many an hour playing games upon games of Love Letter, trying to collect as many tokens of the princess’
Nerdist •

Alter the Course of Pride & Prejudice and, Yes, Marry Mr. Darcy

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Mr. Darcy’s status as a heartthrob will remain forever throbbing in the annals of literary fiction. In particular, it has been acknowledged by the creators of Marrying Mr. Darcy, a card game based on Jane Austen’s most famous masterpiece, Pride & Prejudice.

Written and designed by devout Austen fan Erika Svanoe, Marrying Mr. Darcy is a strategic card game, now with expansions, for two to six players. The characters are brought to life by the art of il
Nerdist •

Dungeons & Dialogue Bubbles: How D&D Web Comics Aid the Roleplaying Newcomer

Before I get completely carried away with ampersands, let’s talk about some talented people who have taken the initiative (boo) to transform Dungeons & Dragons’ often complex concepts into brilliantly silly web comics for anyone to enjoy.

The D&D-based web comic has been gaining traction for as long as web comics have existed, attracting both D&D veterans and those new to the concept of roleplaying. Otherwise known as a campaign comic when it involves an existing work of fiction, D&D web comics
Nerdist •

Break Your D&D Campaign (and Still Have a Blast) with These 5 Fictional Items

We all love to imagine weapons or objects from various universes that, when brought to our tabletop campaign, would effectively turn our characters into all-powerful gods. However, isn’t it more worthwhile to think about the fictional items that would, instead of breaking the game entirely, change one aspect of D&D to make it easier and more fun, yet still maintain the roleplay challenge we know and love? No? You want the god-weapons? I thought you might.

If you aren’t a party pooper, check out
Nerdist •

Fief: France 1429, Or The Game Where One Of Your Characters Can Suddenly Become Joan Of Arc

For some of us, the threat of dysentery on the Oregon Trail is mere child’s play. We’d much rather experience the thrill of the plague looming over our heads, and one recent board game is more than willing to supply all the medieval disasters we could desire.

Fief: France 1429 is the perfect gateway game from classic friendship-ruiners like Risk to those historically based, 4-to-8-hour monsters like GMT Games’ Here I Stand. If you ever find yourself wondering about the family politics behind yo
Nerdist •

How to Spout Fantasy Gibberish at the Drop of a Hat

Every game master has his or her unique tricks and tools to help immerse players around the table into the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Background music, drawings, maps, and detailed descriptions all contribute to the ambiance of a campaign. One of the more overwhelming elements of world-building, though, is figuring out how to implement various fantasy languages into your game.

The PCs typically speak at least two other languages in addition to Common, the language of humans, and many take pri
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