Just Play Some Games

[Before I start, this is in no way dismissing Sarah Reed's challenge. I only offer an alternative for others who find it hard to play games in general.]

While Sarah Reed's "10 games 10 times in 2014" Challenge is great and all (while still allowing people to freely play other games in the process), it does pigeon-hole the hobby in a specific constraint. In no way am I critiquing the challenge; it's a fine one to impose, especially for those who don't play certain games in their collection often enough. But what about the others who don't play games enough, period?

Letting Go of the Unknown In "Collectible" Games

Marvel Dice Masters released just yesterday, and with it brings booster packs to supplement your starter set. It's apparently what everyone can't stop talking about, and it's nearly sold out from the start.

Before I continue, I must say...I've learned to not like collectible games.

Analog Gaming - Click Clack Lumberjack

NOT Jenga.

I'm sure at one point or another, everyone has played the definitive hand-dexterous game Jenga - the simple wooden block setup, the art of the poke-and-slide, the stacking of blocks ever so carefully, all of this done with the element of gravity playing against you. The moment the stack falls over, you're left with the messiest game over ever, and then begins the new game of "who will set up Jenga for the next game," until everyone passively forfeits THAT game.

But what if you weren't playing against gravity? What if it became your ally? What if you were rewarded for things falling apart? Have you heard of Click Clack Lumberjack (Or Toc Toc Woodman in Korea)?

Making My Own "Tabletop Day" Ritual in 1.5 Hours

[Thanks to Geek and Sundry for organizing Tabletop Day! Thanks to Shut Up and Sit Down for bringing this game to my attention! And thanks to my local FLGS Gator Games for hosting this event! Even with their table limitations, they held the Tabletop Day flag high!]

One and a half hours. That's all the time I spent this past Tabletop Day in celebration. Other family and fatherly duties consumed much of my day, so to have some time left was appreciated. Family always comes first, so to have time for Tabletop Day was a well-deserved bonus.

The Board Game Group Ecosystem

Games from my third game night.

Having two very-fun game nights under my belt, I thought this next one could be the one I break out the bigger guns. People have enjoyed Escape twice over, and got a taste of Pandemic the week before. So, I gathered my selection and headed over with much excitement.

By the end of the night, we only played one game of Cheaty Mages and Spot-It.

Epidemic

[I revel in describing this mechanic EVERY time I play this game. Kudos to Matt Leacock for this. And a special nod to Leigh Alexander and her Travelogue. Her writing styles has re-awaken the writing muse in me to write this...incomparable tripe of my own design. But that's fine - because this is what I deeply feel whenever I teach this mechanic. Every. Single. Time.]

Everyone's up to speed. They all know what needs to be done. I casually remarked there's something more, and that I'll go over it when we get there. No one noticed how I dragged out the word "when."

With the patience of a wise, old man, I carefully watched everyone's draw phase until the forsaken card appeared. When it did, I would take the card by the edge, like greeting an expected friend, gently laying it in front of me like a delicate but deadly flower. Some people would utter their "oh no"s - something I hung to like a dog's jaw on delicious meat - and I would calm their fears, lulling them to a false sense of security.

Like a story told a million times, my words crafted from my mouth with age as I accentuated each step audibly and sharply. "First, we increase the infection rate." I gazed across the horizon of indifferent faces. "Then, I draw the bottom card of the infection deck and infect that city with 3 cubes." I got my first "what the," making me smirk a little. "Then finally," I said, with an heir of gloom as I gathered the discarded pile, "I shuffle the discarded cards and place them on TOP of the deck, to 'intensify' the infections."

For an ever-so-brief moment, I paused. To everyone else, it's a scant 3 seconds, but it's all the time I needed to scour the looks on their faces. Most of them were still unfazed; those were the ones that break the fastest.

I focused on them as the first outbreak occurs on a re-infected city again. From there, the walls of confidence tore down, brick by brick. Cities fell as more got infected. Different-colored cubes began trickling to cities of un-matching color. Panic ensued as turns dragged on. People's moods soured as hope burns down like a slow-burning wooden match. Silent prayers muttered breathlessly as each infection card revealed itself.

This. This was my Pandemic.

My First Successful Game Night

Yes, we even played Spot-It.

Unless you have a dedicated group of friends who LOVE board games and are willing to put time aside to play, gathering friends for game nights is a chore. People have work to do, appointments to keep, and errands to run. And even if you get willing participants, pinpointing the precise moment in which everyone's free time is in unison is a game in itself. Frankly, I have better odds getting a bulls-eye on a dartboard.

Playing Games With Myself

"My wife doesn't play much board games with me."

I've often uttered this phrase to friends and acquaintances many times, whether the conversation led to it or not. It was a fact I accepted readily, and one I was all too aware of on a constant basis. The words rolled out of my mouth with ease the more and more I said them, and it became an involuntary reflex.

It's not called "Bad"will...

I found this, still sealed, in a local Goodwill.

Some people may not be well off, but no one's THAT desperate.

Tokaido Kickstarter - It's All About Change

[The following originated from a comment I posted in a Shut Up and Sit Down article. I've modified this with new views and perspectives since, so it'll look different than the original.]

Being an owner of Tokaido, I was going to fund the Tokaido Kickstarter's collectors pledge of getting the improved components, but then I hesitated.

Yugioh, Netrunner, and the Art of Losing the "Winning" Game

A Guinness World Record pic of largest Yugioh tournament held in 2012, in Long Beach, California.

The following is, word for word, a comment I posted after reading this insightful Netrunner article written by Leigh Alexander on Shut Up And Sit Down, a board gaming site everyone should be aware of. The article itself is a brilliant read, and I encourage everyone to read it. I've added some subheadings for emphasis, but that is all.

The Biggest Block in Board Games, and the One Step to Overcome It

There's a barrier to board games. I'm not talking about the lack of time, or the lack of people to play them with. I'm not talking about how becoming new parents and having to raise kids, or that you have a demanding job that takes up all free moments. It's much simpler than that, and it's staring you in the face.

Print-And-Play - A Little Hard Work for a Lot of Fun

I guess Print-and-Play (or PnP) was an early moment in my life. When I was younger, I couldn't afford games like Monopoly at the time, nor could I even get a deck of cards. So, what was my solution? Making them myself, of course!

Gaming on the Go - Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies

There's something satisfactory in solving a mystery by yourself. It's a challenge that, once you complete it, makes you feel much better at your observation skills. It's something that not many games really offer as the primary component in their games, but for the Phoenix Wright series (with Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies being the latest release), it's right smack in the middle of it. And it feels great.

Playing Digital Board Games to Save Your Analog Ones

Ascension iOS. If Magic and Dominion had a child...

As a person who doesn't have his own dedicated game-night group, it's hard to gather friends for one night of pure board gaming (And believe me, I've tried). You try to get people excited, pour your heart into rules explanation, and by the time the game really gets going, you've lost their attention. Can I suggest something entirely unconventional?

Play the same board games digitally.

Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus...Finished!!!

This past Christmas, I received Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus as a gift, and was looking forward to a lengthy playthrough of one of my most favorite franchises in video games. Two invested weekends later, and I'm done. Is that right?

How Civilization Nearly Made Me Hate Board Games

[What follows is a memory...a bad memory. No actual gameplay rules have been referenced, and the writer doesn't care to.]

About 10 years ago, board games were still a "Monopoloy, Uno, and Jenga" sort of thing to me, and my younger self would find more fun with video games and television. But I was in my mid twenties, and I was already finding myself with less and less time to enjoy the electronic vices. I thirsted for some new medium to satisfy my gaming urges, something that didn't require a power outlet or controller. Something that's full of figures, tokens, and cards. And so it came to be that while at a friend's house, we started to play Sid Meier's Civilization: The Boardgame.

Crafty Gamer - TARDIS Dual Dice Tray

In my last Crafty Gamer post, I talked about DIY dice trays, and how easy it was to make your own. But what if you want to make something a little more complicated...say, like the Doctor's TARDIS?

Analog Gaming: Forbidden Island

What would you say if I told you there were marvelous riches on some forbidden island, and that they were there for the taking if you knew where to look? What if I told you that the island sinks every moment you're on it? Now, what would you say if I drop you off and flew away?

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.