Yes Virginia, There is a Secret Santa, He Just Doesn't Have a Calendar

Valentine's Day (ok 3 days after) is a lot better timeframe than Easter.
Tiny bit of backstory to make that make sense, last year I was the last person to get games from Secret Santa, but it was all worth it in the end, as Santa was immensely generous.

So as Christmas drew near and nothing showed up, I was thinking "Here we go again!" I came home on Christmas night and found a GM from Santa, saying he had some delays, but was taking care of things. Then February rolled around, so I inquired about things with Octavian. Got a response on Thursday Feb 16th. Turns out my first replacement had something come up, (hey, life happens, no harm done), so I had a second and games were on the way.

Today (Friday), I hear the doorbell ring, and there are 2 packages on my doorstep from Amazon. I figure it's something my mom ordered, but then I see my name on both of the boxes, and they're heavy!

I break out the pocket knife and open the boxes to find them wrapped with a little card on each one saying "Enjoy! From Your 2nd Secret Santa"

The small box has one game, a little bit long and flat, so I take that out but leave it wrapped. The bigger box has two games roughly that Ticket to Ride box size. I open one of the bigger boxes and find Dominion: Hinterlands. Awesome, it's the expansion I need to complete things for now, still need to get sleeves though (not Santa's fault, just my own pickiness). I know this one will get played, as I've played a bunch on Isotropic.

The next big box contained Ascending Empires. I love Catacombs, and I love sic-fi games, so this seems to be a great fit. I've heard a lot of good things, and look forward to playing this one.

That smaller box that I mentioned early was the true surprise - Twilight Struggle. I've really enjoyed 1960:Making of the President, but the guy I play with and I are both looking for something with even more tension. I was born right at the end of the Cold War, so I don't have a full appreciation for the tension, but I've heard it's an amazing design, and a great game, so this will get played. It might be a bit, since I don't play 2 player games often, but I'll get it to the table eventually.

Big Thank-you to Secret Santa and BGG for taking care of things. I know it's odd to be on the "snub" list two years running. By snub I mean needing a replacement Santa.

The JOY of Secret Santa is in the giving. I wish more people understood that.

Thanks for reading. Hopefully I make a post like this in December 2012 and not in early 2013!


P.S. Now I have two new games to get played, and an expansion.