The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds...Finished!!

The wonderful thing about The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was that the game itself was the meat of the package. A Link Between Worlds furthers that tradition in every sense.

This Christmas, Support Your FLGS!

(Picture courtesy of Gator Games)

Christmas is coming soon, and you need to get a board game gift. But you can't seem to find it anywhere online, and when you do, it won't ship on time!

The Importance of Customer Service in Board Games

Before I begin, this is not a rant on bad experiences nor a glorified article on good ones. Or at least I don't want it to transgress into that state. What I do want to put in the spotlight is the importance of customer service; that it exists, and that it should not be an afterthought.

Analog Gaming - Castle Panic, and The Wizard's Tower

There's a particular rush of adrenaline when the odd are stacked against you, whether in life or in games.

Posts This Week

It's been 10 days into December already...which means only 2 more weeks of shopping for gifts!

Crafty Gamer - DIY Dice Trays

One of my favorite things about most board games is the dice.

Gaming on the Go - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Spoilers: Buy this game.

Post Thanksgiving/Black Friday Week Tidbits

Hi, everyone! Hope people had some good food and deals during this past holiday weekend! I just want to spend some time going over what I want to talk about this week.

Zelda 3DS, or (holds above head) "NAH NAH NAH NAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

I was an early adopter of the 3DS, but let's face it - it has a shitty battery life. So, when I heard the 3DS XL had a much better battery, I debated on upgrading for many months. It was a good thing I held out for as long as I did, because now I have THIS!!

Project X Zone...Finished!!!

*STAMP*...Been wanting to do use that "finished" stamp for months!

Analog Gaming - Cards Against Humanity

Cards Against Humanity is a terrible game that you should never buy. Because chances are, you already have friends who have bought it already. So go find them, find a few other people, and get ready to groan...a lot.

Resogun, You Look Very Familiar...

Ever since I picked up my PS4, I never thought I'd be playing it as much as I'm playing it now. Even though I only acquired one game upon launch (Knack), I was happy to find more games to download and play through PSN and PlayStation Plus, one of which was Resogun, by Housemarque. The moment I saved my first human, it clicked.

Another PS4 Post

Might as well state the obvious, but I've procured my PS4 system on release, and have been playing it since. Rather than do any unboxing video or pictures of me holding my system, I'd rather say what I did upon opening it. Because seriously, who wants to read another boring post of someone detailing everything you already know from other articles?

Analog Gaming - Space Hulk: Death Angel

I never thought I'd ever get the satisfaction of playing a tense board game with figurines without the board...or the figurines. The tactical feel of moving plastic across the cardboard terrain is something I revel in. So, I was very hesitant to accept that Space Hulk: Death Angel received lots of praise as a great game, when it's just a deck of cards with a die. When you're playing a game, however, it's much more.

Analysis Paralysis in Games

Maybe you've waited an hour for a person to make their move in a board game, or perhaps you yourself stopped playing a video game because you couldn't decide what to do with the rare material you found. Whatever the case may be, you can blame AP, or analysis paralysis...and it can put a real damper in your gaming life.

Gaming Father - The Excitement of Video Game Sales

There was a time, long ago, when the sale of video games made my eyes lit up. My whole body would get into a giddy frenzy, and my mind just scrolled through the many game options I would have when I made my purchase. It was so easy back then, when I was single, childless, and without a care in the world. All that mattered to me is that my game collection would grow more, and I'll have more options of games to play.

Analog Gaming Remembers - Quicksand

Like most people, I started my board gaming roots with the basics: Clue, Sorry, and Monopoly. Then came others, like Operation and Guess Who. Then I started to go off the beaten path, trying out games like Mouse Trap, and even Labyrinth. Then there's Quicksand.

A Lego Atari. A LEGO ATARI!!

I'm such a huge fan of lego, and have always been fascinated with the creations talented artists create on their own. The first time I checked out Chris McVeigh's site, it was when he created the question block ornament out of lego (which you can still purchase the kit for here). It's been a while since I checked out his site, but I returned there recently to find what you see above.

Spelunky, A Quick Game of- Oh, I Died.

As a parent now with very little time on my hands, I'm used to managing my game time with lengthy games in short intervals. But with Spelunky, it's like the game gets tired of you...but in a good way.

November is a Big Month

Why? Well, the next next-gen systems are releasing this month, but more importantly, this.

Wait, you already have a 3DS, don't you?

Yes I do. But this is a GOLD Zelda-themed 3DS XL system. I've been meaning to get a larger version of this system, and this is it! Being one of the early adopters of the system, I've sat idly by too long as new system after new system comes out. It's time GameritisGuy gets his slice of the pie!

What about your old system?

Well, after the data transfer, I can trade it in, OR perhaps have the wifey play it...though she prefers a larger screen...hmm...

Games to Play on Halloween

Even though I'm not the type of person that enjoys horror movies, I still enjoy a good game that would terrify me. Maybe because I'm still playing a game, and not just sitting there, waiting for my fate. So here's a list of games that, I think, brings a good amount of scare in my life.

Gaming on the Go - Project X Zone

My latest job has me using public transit on a daily basis, giving me about 40 minutes each leg to just sit around and wait until I reach my destination. What better time to catch up on portable gaming than on the morning and evening commute? In addition, I've decided to power through whatever game I'm currently playing until I finish it. So, what's my first challenge?

Kickstarter Rant #2: The Long Drive

Being a Kickstarter funder myself, I've been through the same turmoil and gripes as others when projects fall through the cracks - so much so that I've voiced my opinion on it - but I feel like there's another thing worth noting. The long drive.

Dungeon Roll: Perfect for "me" time.

During the entire day, I have perhaps 2 times to myself: about a half hour in the morning, and 20 minutes in the evening. This is "me" time...time for me to do what I want to do.

But what to do when I want to play a board game?

Hello, StreetPass visitors!!

Hi! Welcome to Gameritis, where you hear the ramblings of an aging gamer with a lot of " back in the day" stories to share.

NO WAIT!!  DON'T CLOSE THE TAB YET!!

Alright, chances are, you saw the shameless website plug I placed in my StreetPass, and are wondering if this blog has any decent con-WHOAWHOAWHOAWHOA...

A long hiatus, indeed...

It's been a while...about 9 months to be more precise. For lack of a better reason, "life" has transpired; raising my first kid, going through changes in jobs, becoming an adult. Games took a backseat to everything else, but always there for the ride.

Well, now that there's a little more stability (and sanity), my "gameritis" has relapsed. It's not up to par just yet, but I hope to muster up some schedule of "stuff" in the coming weeks, possibly something more consistent.

All I know is, I need an outlet again...

Zzzzz.....no....games.......ugh....games.........

Tired...so sleepy...kid...full of energy...work.....busy...not much time for...no, but...there's minutes here and there.......possible to.....maybe?

Analog Gaming: Pandemic

The first draft of this review began as a lengthy article trying my best to consolidate the manual with the occasional witty remark, but after reaching halfway in a day, I scrapped the entire piece. Instead, I'm going to use a new format and just list the major points, with brief explanations. You can find rules on boardgamegeek.com. Instead, I'll give you short, bite-sized statements, and leave the rest up to you!

Anyways, here we go with Pandemic!

What?

You're part of the CDC team hired to take down the viruses infecting the globe. Work together to find all 4 cures, or lose as a team.

Who?

2-4 Players (up to 5 with expansion), and about 60 minutes of gametime.

What's cool?

• Different roles - Everyone has different skills depending on their role, and can help out in their own way.
• Each turn is tense - Everyone performs their actions and draw cards on their turn. But they also have to infect the board. On every turn.
• Turns can get tenser - Some cards are Epidemics - which will add more infection to the board, leading to...
• Cool infection mechanic - Infect the city in the bottom of the deck, then reshuffle all the discards and put on top, to "intensify" the infection rate. Old cities can get infected...again!
• More than one way to lose - All virus cubes of one color gone? Game over. Number of outbreaks reach 8 or more? Game over. No more cards to draw? Game over.
• Adjustable difficulty - You can make it as easy or hard as you want.

What's not?

• Alpha Male - When one player plays for everyone.
• Bad luck - A game could end quite fast, depending on your luck.

Fun for people who...

• Want to play a co-op game and work together.
• Don't mind losing - you will lose...a lot.
• Enjoy curing diseases as the CDC.

Thought my wife would enjoy it because...

• It's a co-op game.
• It's relatively easy to pick up.
• It would be nice to cure the world together.

So, if she's not interested, can you play by yourself?

Yes.

Overall?

Tense fun, unforgiving board, cool infection mechanic, lots of finger pointing.

Recommend?

Yes. Absolutely.

This game has been played many times single-player, but only about a handful with multiple people. But in that handful, everyone had fun winning or losing.

No more New Year Resolutions

I'm stopping New Year Resolutions. I don't remember the ones I made last year, and I'm certain I won't remember the ones I make this year. Besides, they're nothing more than statements you know you'll eventually break without knowing. Who has come out at the end of the year screaming, "I made it!! I stuck with this year's resolution!!"

For me, I'll just stick with the ones I make in the spur of the moment; ones that I can complete in a relatively short time span. And being a new father with a recently strong propulsion towards board games on top of my game addiction, short-term goals are all I can afford to achieve.

For instance, my post numbers last year were abysmal. I didn't break past 40 posts for the ENTIRE year, making 2012 the year of fewest posts. Saying I will post more this year won't help much, since I've said that before. All I can do is just post as much as I can, when I have time to.

And really, that's all you ask yourself on a daily basis - what can you complete in a day?

And if you want to be cynical about it, yeah...saying that I won't do New Years resolutions is ironic. But at least it'll be one resolution I can stick with without remembering.