Wednesday, January 29, 2014

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.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

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.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

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?

Friday, January 10, 2014

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.

Monday, January 6, 2014

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?

Friday, January 3, 2014

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?