Random Posts

• September 4, 2009 -- Rough draft of an unofficial a…
• August 29, 2011 -- My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Stev…
• June 6, 2009 -- My Top 10 Board Games of 2008
• June 22, 2009 -- @fwimmer Thanks! It’s not ofte…
• August 3, 2009 -- Session Report – Steam, Exxtra, Hurry Cup & Drahtseilakt

I brought a number of light card games with me and hope to try them out with family, friends and neighbors. I’m not sure how much gaming I’ll get in, but I’m sure I’ll manage to play something while I am here.

Happy holidays!

Related Posts

• October 20, 2009 -- Microsoft Surface – the future of board games?
• September 23, 2009 -- Congress of Gamers in DC Metro Area this weekend
• September 16, 2009 -- Free Games Friday thanks to Tasty Minstrel Games
• September 14, 2009 -- Session report – Exxtra and the Game of Life
• September 7, 2009 -- DowntimeTown reviews Chaos in the Old World

Surfacescapes Demo Walkthrough from Visual Story TAs on Vimeo.

Related Posts

• December 20, 2009 -- 2009 holiday gaming
• September 23, 2009 -- Congress of Gamers in DC Metro Area this weekend
• September 16, 2009 -- Free Games Friday thanks to Tasty Minstrel Games
• September 14, 2009 -- Session report – Exxtra and the Game of Life
• September 7, 2009 -- DowntimeTown reviews Chaos in the Old World

i like my body

by e. e. cummings

i like my body when it is with your
body. It is so quite a new thing.
Muscles better and nerves more.
i like your body. i like what it does,
i like its hows. i like to feel the spine
of your body and its bones, and the trembling
-firm-smooth ness and which I will
again and again and again
kiss, i like kissing this and that of you,
i like, slowly stroking the, shocking fuzz
of your electric fur, and what-is-it comes
over parting flesh…And eyes big love-crumbs,

and possibly i like the thrill
of under me you quite so new

Related Posts

• July 8, 2009 -- One Art, a poem by Elizabeth Bishop

I’m not sure I would have split up my forces like the Space Marine player did, but since I have not played my copy yet I will hold my tongue. I can’t wait to play this game! Unfortunately I haven’t really been gaming lately, so for now Space Hulk will remain in its box.

Related Posts

• July 25, 2009 -- Villa Paletti – time lapse/slow motion video
• September 14, 2009 -- Session report – Exxtra and the Game of Life
• August 31, 2009 -- New board game orders and pre-orders
• August 17, 2009 -- Finally… Space Hulk is coming!
• August 3, 2009 -- Session Report – Steam, Exxtra, Hurry Cup & Drahtseilakt

Congress of Gamers, a local DC Metro Area board game convention

Sorry for the lack of updates but I have been a little busy lately. I am, however, excited for the upcoming Congress of Gamers board game convention.

Congress of Gamers is a local DC Metro Area convention that is in its second year. They feature two days of open gaming, scheduled gaming, vendors, a bring and buy, a math trade, and more. I had a good time last year and am happy to be attending again this Saturday.

If you are in the DC area and want to play games this weekend, you should definitely check it out! The event takes place on Saturday, September 26th (9am to midnight) and Sunday, September 27th (9am to 6pm) at the Bauer Drive Community Center, 14625 Bauer Drive, Rockville, MD.

Related Posts

• June 27, 2009 -- Origins 2009 video coverage by Tom Vasel
• June 25, 2009 -- Back from the Oasis of Fun
• December 20, 2009 -- 2009 holiday gaming
• October 20, 2009 -- Microsoft Surface – the future of board games?
• September 16, 2009 -- Free Games Friday thanks to Tasty Minstrel Games

As soon as Tasty Minstrel’s generous pre-order deal was posted, I went and ordered both games. I have been really excited by indie board game publishers and want to give these guys a chance!

But not only are they offering their initial game releases cheaply, Tasty Minstrel games are also giving away free board games every Friday! I went ahead and signed up for their newsletter to become eligible. I recommend that you do the same. Check it out via the linked image below:

Click the image above to visit Tasty Minstrel and get a chance at free games!

This is an awesome deal (who would frown at free games!) and is worth signing up for.

Note: for posting this endorsement to my blog I am in the running to receive a plush dragon toy from Tasty Minstrel Games. Make of that what you will!

Related Posts

• December 20, 2009 -- 2009 holiday gaming
• October 20, 2009 -- Microsoft Surface – the future of board games?
• September 23, 2009 -- Congress of Gamers in DC Metro Area this weekend
• September 14, 2009 -- Session report – Exxtra and the Game of Life
• September 7, 2009 -- DowntimeTown reviews Chaos in the Old World

The Game of Life. Do not play this game when you are drunk and angry!

This past week I spent a lovely vacation with some friends on the outer banks of North Carolina. It was a fantastic time spent lazing the days away on the beach, in the hot tub, in the pool, etc. However, the very first day we arrived there was rain drizzling down and a bit of wind blowing. Not such great beach weather, so I suggested that we play some games.

Of course, I took way too many games along. I knew this would happen… if I didn’t take games, it would rain all weekend and I would really miss them. If I did take games, we would end up not playing them. I erred on the side of caution and package a small plastic box with the following:

• Attribute
• Barbarossa
• Bohnanza
• Carrousel
• Diamant
• Elk Fest
• Exxtra
• Felix: The Cat in the Sack
• Mamma Mia!
• No Thanks!
• Shanghaien
• Sushizock im Gockelwok
• Ticket to Ride

Ok, maybe it was a big plastic box of games.

So what did we end up playing? Two games of Exxtra and one long game of the Game of Life.

Exxtra

Exxtra was a blast, as always. I love the fact that it is a simple roll and move game featuring a ton of interesting decisions and tension. The press your luck element keeps the excitement high on every turn. I have seen (and pulled off) many come from behind victories by rolling over and over again when someone else is close to the win. It doesn’t always work but does enough to keep me trying it!

I managed to win the first game, which bothered one of my friends enough that she declared she would play specifically to screw me over in the second game! An interesting strategy which is hard to do over and over again without damaging your board position pretty heavily. I actually pulled a come from behind miracle in the second game. I ended up being 3 away from the finish, with the next player 1 away ready to win on her turn. I rolled eight or nine times without getting an X until I finally got the double threes that would give me immediate victory! A total crap shoot, but it did work.

Exxtra is an excellent press your luck dice game. The version I have is out of print, but a newer edition called Excape was released this year and is available for purchase now (Amazon).

The Game of Life

After playing a German board game, the consensus of the group was to play something that we already knew. This lead us to go through the board games that came with the house we rented, and ended up with us playing The Game of Life. I was hesitant to do so but swallowed my designer game snootiness and got ready to play. And we played! And played… and played…

There were a few problems with this game. The first is that no one could remember the rules. We ended up stumbling over them repeatedly… I found the irony in this quite wonderful. The second is that we were all getting fairly intoxicated by this point, which lead to goofiness and slow turns. And finally, we are all quite terrible to each other, and used the almost complete random nature of the game events that unfolded as excuses to berate each other!

By the time our three hour game of life finished, we all agreed (or at least I think we did) that it was way too long and mind numbing. The thing that surprised me about the game is that most of my friends were not bothered at all by the very few actual decisions present in this board game. They were quite content to see the events unfold with very limited control on their part. This was interesting to me, although not unsurprising. This group of friends seems to enjoy simple games (Exxtra has been a big hit), but no one is anywhere close to a gamer and collector like me.

I realize now that they were enjoying the game experience over the game mechanics. This is totally valid and understandable. I do this with games as well, just with more defined criteria. For them a game is a game; for me a game is a pick up and deliver game, a snowball economic game, a press your luck game, etc. Within each of those categories, I may make the same decision of playing the game with a more interesting theme or experience, rather than one with more “designer” mechanics.

This experience playing Life with my non gamer friends showed me that I have a lot more to learn about how people think about games. Fortunately, we could all agree that Life takes way too long, and won’t be playing it again!

Related Posts

• August 3, 2009 -- Session Report – Steam, Exxtra, Hurry Cup & Drahtseilakt
• July 25, 2009 -- Villa Paletti – time lapse/slow motion video
• April 4, 2009 -- Session Report – 4/4/09
• March 12, 2009 -- Session Report – 03/11/09
• March 2, 2009 -- Snow Tails – time lapse recording of a two player game

DowntimeTown Episode 6: Chaos in the Old World from Robert Florence on Vimeo.

From his awesome theme song to the excellent overviews of game mechanics (without getting bogged down by rules) to his odball humor, I am totally loving DowntimeTown. After viewing this episode I went on to Amazon and pre-ordered Chaos in the Old World for almost 40% off the suggested retail price with free shipping!

Just like Robert, I love the Warhammer universe and am very pleased to see Fantasy Flight release new games set in this world coming out that don’t need months of modeling and painting just to play. And this game sounds fascinating as well. Watch the video and see what I mean! And if you enjoy it, check out his review of Memoir ’44 as well. It may be the best one.

I’ll post a Chaos in the Old World review once I have the game and have played it. Hopefully I will soon shift from purchasing games to playing them!

Related Posts

• December 20, 2009 -- 2009 holiday gaming
• October 20, 2009 -- Microsoft Surface – the future of board games?
• September 23, 2009 -- Congress of Gamers in DC Metro Area this weekend
• September 16, 2009 -- Free Games Friday thanks to Tasty Minstrel Games
• September 14, 2009 -- Session report – Exxtra and the Game of Life

However, I realize that my stats are skewed as I am not counting expansions in the listing of unplayed games. If I did that my percentage would get way worse. For example, I own 27 Age of Steam expansions which are separately listed on BGG. This means I have over 50 expansion maps for that game. I will never end up playing all of these. Yet, I have played Age of Steam over 20 times. In order to make myself feel better, I am not listing these maps as unplayed games.

Anyway, my goal should be to buy fewer games and play more of the games I own. This is the typical plight of the game collector. Perhaps if I make my list more public (say post it here once a month) I will feel more accountable to my unplayed games. It’s worth a shot.

So, here they are. Check it out and let me know if there is anything I absolutely must try. And if something on the list totally sucks I’d like to hear about it. Especially if you actually know me and understand my gaming tastes.

Without further ado:

Attribute – a fun-seeming party game that I recently purchased for $2. I’ll have to get this one to the table during an upcoming trip to the beach with friends.

Augsburg 1520 – I bought this to complete my Alea mid-size box collection. Enthusiasm has been lacking for playing this title, even though it is supposedly decent. It probably receives no love because it is a classic boring Euro title.

Bali – a curious early release from Uwe Rosenberg which seems interesting.

Banque Fatale – this very old school Stefan Dorra title is in my collection because Dorra (my favorite designer) created it. I imagine it will be played once and then left to collect dust.

Barbarossa – an SdJ winner from Teuber? I should play this one at the beach as well.

Border Reivers – the rare first release from Reiver Games. I probably purchased it since so few titles exist, rather than because I actually want to play it.

Dampfross – another SdJ, this time with a train theme! I own the black box re-release with extra maps. I also have a bunch of obscure maps not listed on BGG.

Die Säulen von Venedig – It looked neat and I bought it cheap. We shall see.

Die Sieben Siegel – Another Dorra card game.

Die Sieben Weisen – looks a little obtuse but is necessary for my Alea small-box collection. I am only missing Royal Turf.

Die Siedler von Nürnberg – one of the few Settlers of Catan variants that looks worthwhile.

Doge – I bought it for $5 and have never been compelled to play it.

Drunter und Drüber – blowing up outhouses! Another SdJ winner! How have I not played this yet?

El Caballero – a supposedly complex tile placement game related to El Grande. I’d like someone else to teach me this one.

Elk Fest – a fun flicking game for two players. Another title for the beach perhaps.

Entengrütze – I actually translated this with my friend Elise, since no English rules seemed to exist. I should upload this to BGG.

Flandern 1302 – this game looks boring. I think I got it in Tanga trash. Buy it from me now.

Frontiers – I picked this up in a trade to satisfy my miniatures game itch but have not managed it yet.

Funny Friends – looks like it is right up my alley, but my German copy is preventing me from learning it well enough to teach.

Giganten – I have wanted to play this for ages. I should make this a priority to remove from this list.

Go Nuts – cheapo Target clearance purchase. I may end up giving this one to some friends.

Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage – I bought this because I felt like I should own it. However, I realize more and more that long wargames are not really my thing. I should probably sell it, but if I would have one card driven wargame in my collection, it should probably be this one.

Heimlich & Co. – more SdJ goodness. This seems like a decent game for a high player count.

Himalaya – it looks so cool! I have the expansion as well and would use it on the first play.

Im Wald da sind die Räuber – this game has a mechanic in which you can find a girl and take her “into the blackberry bush”. Enough said.

Java – super heavy AP game. This is a bad idea for me. I will only play this as a 2-player with a very tolerant friend.

Krieg und Frieden – one of the first games I snagged of German eBay. I am still very curious to try this one and will use the Stuart Dagger variant rules.

Machu Picchu – got this one in a bulk purchase from Germany. I have visited Machu Picchu and loved it, so this one has stayed in the collection.

Maharaja: Palace Building in India – suffers from the “decent game but doesn’t stand out” problem that prevents me from learning it or getting it taught to me. I should plan an India-themed game night.

Mammoth Hunters – a much maligned Alea large box release that probably suffers because it was released following Puerto Rico. I doubt this game is amazing but it does look fun.

Mississippi Queen – an SdJ winning race game! Maybe hasn’t stood the test of time, but I am very interested in trying it.

Mythgardia – I purchased copy 98/100 from the first edition as an investment. Perhaps it will pay off? I may play the game but am not dying to do so. I would prefer to try it with someone else’s copy.

RailRoad Dice – this looked neat so I bought an autographed 1^st edition copy from a friend for a cheap price.

Railroad Dice 2 – then the following year I bought this supposedly improved version of Railroad Dice from another friend!

Roads and Boats – my mom purchased this for me one year as a Christmas present. My geek account paid for itself right there! I would like to learn this game from someone else, preferably at a convention like BGG.con.

Saba: Palast der Königin – this game is visually incredible. The few reviews I have seen are rather ho-hum, but the awesome three dimensional design was too much to resist.

Salamanca – another Dorra game that I suspect is under-rated. This should go high-up on the list to play.

Steel Driver – a recent purchase that should be played immediately! I enjoy Wallace’s train/econ games and hope to like this one too.

Ticket to Ride: The Dice Expansion – this looks kinda silly but seemed worth a shot. I would never have purchased it but managed to pick it up in a trade.

Um Reifenbreite – one more SdJ award winner that is supposed to be one of the best bicycle racing games.

Volle Hütte – yet more Dorra! This one is about luring people into clubs and pubs in order to participate in a number of activities. It looks pretty cool.

Wyatt Earp – a mystery rummy game that seems intriguing. It must be kept as it is part of my Alea small-box collection.

A not particularly interesting chart of my unplayed games compared to the total amount of games in my collection.

There you have it. My unplayed games. It is kind of embarrassing!

Related Posts

• December 20, 2009 -- 2009 holiday gaming
• October 20, 2009 -- Microsoft Surface – the future of board games?
• September 23, 2009 -- Congress of Gamers in DC Metro Area this weekend
• September 16, 2009 -- Free Games Friday thanks to Tasty Minstrel Games
• September 14, 2009 -- Session report – Exxtra and the Game of Life