The "Real-List," Revisited

Earlier this year, in an effort to attain some realistic goals for myself in my board game acquisitions, I replace the "wishlist" with something called the "real-list:" a limiting list of board games that met a certain number of requirements. I believed that by doing this, I can preemptively restrict my urges and wants to a finite and physical list that I will mark off as games get acquired over the course of the year. Now that the end of 2015 is upon us, it's time to see how well that list has come along.

Breaking Point

I side-glance at the digital clock on the stove. 10:13 PM. I have some time.

Kids are in bed. Wife is asleep. I'm still wide awake, finally starting my day. I've made it through work, chores, and child-tending to reach this exact point. The dark silence, with only the light patter of cat paws heading towards me. Lenny always approached when everyone else is asleep. He knows he'll have my undivided attention. But not tonight, for I'll play some cool solo board games!

Well, I could. Or I can catch up on some shows I'm behind in Netflix. Oooo, there's that one video game I was stuck in. Maybe tonight I can spend a solid half hour to pass it. I guess I can play board games the next night.

Re-assessing Buying Board Games

Forget about "The Cult of the New." Forget about saving money. Forget about lack of time. Forget about #10x10in20-whatever. Forget about gathering friends to play with. This article about re-considering board game purchases is about NONE of that.

I'll tell you what it IS about. And it's the new core to which I'm basing all my purchases at this point - at least until the end of the year. One simple question, that's all.

Will I enjoy it?

Playing Right on Time

I'm an indecisive mess when it comes to choosing what board games to play solo. Every night, when I have some free time to myself, I get so caught up in going through my selection that I end up throwing my hands up in frustration and watching TV in the end.

Not this week, though.

Crafty Gamer - DIY Dice Trays, A Modified Method

I've come a long way from my first DIY dice tray, back in the day. Back then, the only thing that drove me was NOT paying a premium to roll my dice in a fancy compartment.

The Cost of Waiting

There's no doubt that accruing a board game collection is costly, with some board games almost as high as $100 for just the base set, not to mention any expansions that come afterwards. But the satisfaction that comes from acquiring a game you've wanted ever since it's been announced is unparalleled; it's a rush that is both gratifying and fleeting at once. And whatever price you're willing to purchase the game, you know it's money worth spent.

Materialistically, this is sound. A proper exchange of monetary units for a desired good is straight-forward, simple...at that very moment. But what of the time before then? How long did you wait to purchase the game? Did you buy it the same day it was released, or did you wait a week? Two? Three weeks? Three months? Did you still even WANT the game still, after all that time?

A Humble Request to Board Game Kickstarters

There's a growing trend of official solo variants for board games, and as a person who often only has time to play by himself, I couldn't be happier with this. Having played my share of these, solo variants are a nice nod to those fans who sometimes can't gather enough people to enjoy the game at its peak. Whether they're official or custom-made in BoardGameGeek, solo variants increase a board game's replay value, and are as equal as any other mode of play.

Which is why I must insist - PLEASE don't feature solo variants as Kickstarter stretch goals.

Nobody's Perfect: A Guide to Playing Imperfectly

There's an old adage that I started, a method in which to get your games out of their shelf slumber - emptying the box. It's a rule of thumb I still stand behind because it's a great disruptive push to get you to learn how to set up your games. But what else can you do to keep pushing that procrastinating envelope? Here are some ways to get your games to the table faster, both when teaching yourself and during game nights!

Solo Gaming is Fine

[Editor's Note: I realized too late that I DID do a rant before about solo gaming. To clarify, this is more a disdain to people that outright dismiss the concept of it.]

I have some personal board game pet peeves, some more specific than others. One of the former is when people say "I don't do solo gaming," both the phrase and the breath that it's said under.

I Want to Bring Something to the Table...

The table.

I Received a Curious Envelope Today...

Curious, because this flat, rigid envelope came from the Netherlands.

I know no one from the Netherlands.

Being a Realist, Making a "Real"-List

Buying new board games is as exhilarating to me as playing them, but sometimes "the cult of the new" can get out of control. I've went into detail once before about stepping back and analyzing if you REALLY want to buy that game or not, and it's that same frame of mine I'm adopting in my New Years Resolution for 2015 - a board game list.

Legacy III: The Epic End to the Trilogy

So, about 2 months ago, I blogged about my Twitter tale that started with a Portal Games sale at BGGCon, and the awkwardness mess that ensued.

Long story short, I asked Ignacy to sign a game he didn't design (Legacy: The Testament of Duke de Crecy), and ended up getting Imperial Settlers instead. Inside, however, Ignacy acknowledged my mistake in the only way he knows how.

I knew, then, what I had to do.

Exploding Kittens - A Follow-up

Shortly after my blog posting about Explosive Kittens, I got a LOT of great discussions in Twitter about the topic. I also found that I was unclear in the point I was making, and I'm here to clarify some of the misconceptions that arose from my opinionated blog article about this KS anomaly.

First and foremost, I'm a fan of The Oatmeal. Also, know that before I did my blog post yesterday, I followed The Oatmeal and clicked the "Remind me" star in the Exploding Kittens Kickstarter page.

Exploding Kittens, KS Surges, and a Worried Gamer

There's a Kickstarter campaign going on a card game called "Exploding Kittens," by Elan Lee and Shane Small. The game appears to be simple enough, having players avoid getting the exploding kitten and getting eliminated. By itself, it sounds like your common Kickstarter that would maybe gain some ground on its own, with the high probability that it would not fund.

This one, however, has artwork by Matthew Inman, the artist behind the popular The Oatmeal web comic. And everything blew up.

Making a Solo Variant so You Don't Have to Play Solo

Gamelyn Games recently closed out a poll in BoardGameGeek about what their next stretch goal should be for Tiny Epic Galaxies, a game currently in Kickstarter. The two choices were to either add a 5th player (the original game was up to 4 players), or to add a solo variant. Throughout the voting period, it was a close race, with the solo variant winning in the end.

Be The Special

Board gamers, can you imagine a moment in your life when the whole hobby looked completely foreign to you? When all you knew were the Hasbro and Parker Brothers roll-and-move games, when everything was simpler and more widely accessible? Now, in that moment, think...what was the catalyst that started you on your journey into this wonderful hobby? Who was it that reached out to you, invited you into their circle, and introduced you to the bevy of goodies that lay before you?

For me, I can recall three pivotable moments in my life.

Solo-nely

Within my close-friend radius, I'm probably the only "hardcore" boardgamer here. I'm fully aware of that trait, and proudly stand by it. And yes, most of the time I'm very alone in that regard. So I find solo variants all the time, to occupy what I would normally share with others.

I Miss NoBloMo. *Starts Typing Again*

I enjoyed last November's #NoBloMo, even though at times I struggled to find a topic to post.

At the same time, though, I was glad it was over because it was so exhausting.

So, let's compromise, shall we?

Happy Medium

I considered doing a "weekday" blog - 5 posts a week. But it was something I attempted before, and found myself floundering miserably in later weeks. A blog-a-day is doable, but it very nearly wore me down for much anything else.

So, let's see if I can do something 3 times a week. A Monday post to start the week, a Friday post to end it, and a third (or more) in between. That sounds doable! That way, I can provide some meaningful content to everyone without the incoherent dribble that sputters out of late postings.

How does that sound to you, guys?