It’s March, and everyone’s talking about their March Madness brackets. This year, I’ve decided to get in on it as well. Currently, my bracket has “Rap Rat” going all the way with “BreaKey” and “The Campaign for North Africa: The Desert War 1940–43” in second and third place. We’re all talking about “The Worst Board Game of All Time Bracket Tournament 2,” right?
If you’re a follower of the YouTuber KamSandwich, then this is your March Madness bracket. His channel focuses exclusively on board games of all kinds: the weird, the bad and the wonderful. While that might be a hard sell for some, KamSandwich takes a topic that could be incredibly dry and infuses it with humor and passion. His scripts feel genuinely authentic; if he’s shocked, annoyed or bewildered by a select board game, you believe him. Before you know it, you’re slowly getting sucked into the lore of the game he’s discussing. What do you mean there’s an actual bitter pill — with no listed ingredients — to swallow in the game “Oneupmanship?” Once you watch one of his videos, you’ll find yourself wanting to watch another, and another, and so on.
KamSandwich first became interested in board games by playing them at his grandparents’ house. This seems like a pretty universal experience; whether it’s with your family, your friends or people online, we’ve all played board games and they hold sentimental value, which allows KamSandwich’s content to tap into our nostalgia. We also have an innate understanding of bad board game mechanics versus good ones, so when KamSandwich explains that in “Monopoly: Cheater’s Edition” there is a limit on how many cheats you can perform, we see how deeply flawed that is.
As luck would have it, the Daily was able to speak with KamSandwich to ask him a few questions about his YouTube journey.
KamSandwich’s channel has continued to evolve over the years. His content began with a more general theme, using hand-drawn images as the main medium in his videos. His video on “The Campaign for North Africa: The Desert War: 1940–43” blew up a year and a half after it was published, leading KamSandwich to pivot to exclusive board game coverage. Another shift was transitioning away from hand-drawn content to live action videos. Due to the time constraints of illustrating, KamSandwich decided to try doing coverage on camera, starting with a tournament bracket: “The Worst Board Game of All Time.” This received positive feedback from fans, even though I personally disagree with the winner of the bracket –– I would have picked the “Rock, Paper, Scissors Game” over “Adultery.” As for this year’s bracket, KamSandwich’s top two picks are “15 Love,” a tennis match board game that only involves rolling dice, and “Rat Splatter,” a game that revolves around collecting rat tokens to smash. However, he’s expecting an upset, with two other games making it to the final matchup. While it’s too late for people to make their own brackets, it’s still a bracket worth watching (“BreaKey” sweep!)
KamSandwich also emphasized the importance of doing what you love and creating content that makes you happy. He pointed out that his old Madden videos are still on the channel, despite them being his oldest and most unpolished work. The reason behind this is to show that even if you make total garbage, you can grow into making quality content, a message I really appreciate. For him, the beauty of being a YouTuber lies in the freedom it offers: the ability to work on projects you’re motivated to do, whenever you want.
KamSandwich then brought up “The Worst and Weirdest of Monopoly” as a great entry point for new viewers to see his new style of content. While I agree it’s a great showcase of just how odd board games can get, the video neglects to mention my favorite version of Monopoly, “Gay Monopoly.” KamSandwich’s video on that game is pretty much perfect in my eyes. No spoilers, but the game really leans into the gay theme and watching KamSandwich explain the LGBTQ+ minutiae of an ’80s game, like the “hanky code,” is peak comedy. It’s also hand-drawn, so you get some fun visuals too.
Overall, KamSandwich’s content is an enjoyable watch for everyone, leaving you wanting to know more about the crazy board games folks have created throughout history. His generosity and openness shines through not only in the content he produces, but also in his approach to his craft and his interactions with viewers.
