I was listening to The Dice Tower Podcast, episode 243 last night, and the segment the Chief presented struck a chord with me. He spoke about a gaming buddy who really wanted to play Battlestar Galactica at a conference, and it made him realize that he was fortunate to have so many people who like to play games in his life.
This made me remember again how many amazing people I have met through boardgames, and how many more I hope to meet in the future. I have a gaming family who opens their house to me nearly every weekend to come and play games, and then on top of that, they feed me wonderful food. More than that though, they've welcomed my friends over to join in, and I think everyone who's gone over has had a wonderful time. They've truly become my second family, and a home away from home, even though it's 5 minutes down the road.
Secondly, I have my college friends who endured my overzealousness with boardgames and constant pleas to play. I've talked a lot about those them, look for other history posts, but I'll say one big summation about my college years. I would not have enjoyed school nearly as much if it wasn't for the people who played games.
I have a lot of other people who play games. I have friends who invite me over to play with their parents, or their siblings, friends who will come over and play a two-player game with me, and one of my cousins who has a conglomeration of various people who will play games occasionally.
So here's to all the people I count as friends who play games. Your time spent gaming is a source of joy in my life. You have been the inspiration for this blog and the driving force in my life.
Too often it takes tragedy to make people remember what's truly important. Well, no tragedies in my life right now, just a 2am rambling, and a good perspective on things.
Take time to thank the people who play games with you. It's amazing how much a thank-you and a smile can go.
Until next time, remember, games are rather boring if we have no one to play with.
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Gaming History 3 - The Morph of the College Group
When we last left my personal history series, we finished my Sophomore year and what was essentially
the end of the Cosmic heyday, though I didn't know it at the time. At this point, if you haven't read the history series, parts 1 and 2, I ask you to go back and read them.
That summer I decided to start watching BGG auctions to try to find some new games at lower prices. Life as a college student didn't make me dirt poor, but it wasn't bringing in tons of money either so I needed to find deals where I could. This lead to procuring Battlestar Galactica and a couple of other games. I leave the others as a group since I really don't remember which ones they were, but BSG sticks out because it changed the way we did game nights. As the group started to split, living in different dorms, our game times became more sporadic and less spontaneous. Sure, we still had Cosmic, but it was BSG that kept people together. We brought a new one into the fold, a guy who lived across the hall from me and would wander by stopped and watched. The interesting thing with my subsequent purchases was a shift towards story and theme. Dominion was also a big help in giving us a change of pace game, something a bit shorter but still fun. My junior year was also the start of having my sister on campus, which lead to a lot more Ticket to Ride. On my drive down to campus I listened exclusively to old Dice Tower episodes, and it stuck with me. I've been a dedicated listener ever since.
Unfortunately for me, my last two years of games at school kinda blur together. That's to say that there was a lot of game playing, a lot of repeats of games, and a lot of the same people. My senior year had a lot more games played because we were playing shorter ones, and followed a pattern where Friday or Saturday was a guys game night, meaning BSG or Cosmic and then the other night was an everybody, typically meaning Ticket, Dominion, Catacombs, Smallworld and a lot of Dixit.
Dixit was the price I paid for having friends who were very well read and often English majors. Not to say that Dixit is a bad game, it just would never be my first choice in games, yet I find myself wanting to play it again.
It started with 4 of us playing Catan. By the end of my time, we were up to 20 different people who played with us at some point, though usually 4-8. It wasn't a huge legacy, but it was a lot of fun.
 |
| People who made a lifetime of memories. |
I was blessed with a total of 3 roommates who enjoyed playing boardgames. Not nearly as much as I did, but it was a great place to start and they didn't mind the storage space being taken over by boxes of games. I know that games will never be like they were at Westmont, but we can only try to keep things going. Sure the game plays are more sporadic, but the ones that do happen are always enjoyable.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
I Don't Think We're in Candyland Anymore
It occurred to me, with the help of a loyal reader's reference to this blog, that I don't talk about games in the mass market. That mostly has to do with not playing them much, still, for many of us, these are the types of games we grew up playing. I'm talking Candyland, Monopoly, Clue, Risk, Battleship, Life, and many others in that genre. Let me state that it is not my intention to shred these games to pieces, but rather to extol their virtues, discuss their shortcomings, and offer some tweaks for a more enjoyable gaming experience, as well as other games that might be in the same vein.
With those guidelines in place, I give you the first in a series aimed to provide a better game based on something you probably played as a child. I also welcome a suggestion for further games in this series of discussions.
I Don't Think We're in Candyland Anymore OR How to Avoid Plumpy and Hope to See Queen Frostine
Our journey begins in a land of candy with children venturing through the woods to grandmother's house, or, something along those lines. I admit, I enjoyed Candyland as a young child. My mom, my sister and I would play but it usually left me wanting more out of the game. That's when I realized that I wasn't really playing Candyland as much as Candyland was playing itself.
Candyland is little more than a color matching game, and even that is being generous. You draw a card and move to the next square of that color. The problem with that mechanic is that the player has absolutely no choice. Think about how many times you've been squares away from victory only to be sent back to the near start with little to no chance of winning. Simply put, it doesn't make the game fun for most people over the age of 7. I won't go as far as saying that this is a horrible game, but we can do better.
How about a simple tweak that forces players to make a choice? Perhaps draw 2, choose 1 to play, and then either discard the other card, or keep it in hand so the next time you draw one card to make a two card hand, and then choose one to play. This gives players a little bit of strategic possibilities while maintaining the essence of the game. For the older gamer, perhaps allow them to play a card on someone else, rather than move their own piece. I haven't tried either of these suggestions, but I think at least the first has something to it, while the second might be a bit too much of a departure from what the game was intended to do.
In summary, Candyland itself is not a good game for older kids, but it does provide a great learning tool for children to match colors and play a game by the rules. Eric Summerer of DiceTower fame recently talked about playing this with his son who actually played by the rules for the first time ever. That itself speaks to the accessibility of Candyland. It's a fun theme, but ultimately the game falls flat.
If you or your children do enjoy Candyland, give The Adventurers a look. I'll be reviewing it sometime soon, hopefully January 2012. It follows the idea of moving along a path, but has a lot of choices to be made by the players.
I hope you enjoyed this discussion on Candyland and how things could be better. Next week look for Do We Really Need 200 Versions of Monopoly? OR It's Free Parking, not collect $10,000.
With those guidelines in place, I give you the first in a series aimed to provide a better game based on something you probably played as a child. I also welcome a suggestion for further games in this series of discussions.
I Don't Think We're in Candyland Anymore OR How to Avoid Plumpy and Hope to See Queen Frostine
Our journey begins in a land of candy with children venturing through the woods to grandmother's house, or, something along those lines. I admit, I enjoyed Candyland as a young child. My mom, my sister and I would play but it usually left me wanting more out of the game. That's when I realized that I wasn't really playing Candyland as much as Candyland was playing itself.
Candyland is little more than a color matching game, and even that is being generous. You draw a card and move to the next square of that color. The problem with that mechanic is that the player has absolutely no choice. Think about how many times you've been squares away from victory only to be sent back to the near start with little to no chance of winning. Simply put, it doesn't make the game fun for most people over the age of 7. I won't go as far as saying that this is a horrible game, but we can do better.
How about a simple tweak that forces players to make a choice? Perhaps draw 2, choose 1 to play, and then either discard the other card, or keep it in hand so the next time you draw one card to make a two card hand, and then choose one to play. This gives players a little bit of strategic possibilities while maintaining the essence of the game. For the older gamer, perhaps allow them to play a card on someone else, rather than move their own piece. I haven't tried either of these suggestions, but I think at least the first has something to it, while the second might be a bit too much of a departure from what the game was intended to do.
In summary, Candyland itself is not a good game for older kids, but it does provide a great learning tool for children to match colors and play a game by the rules. Eric Summerer of DiceTower fame recently talked about playing this with his son who actually played by the rules for the first time ever. That itself speaks to the accessibility of Candyland. It's a fun theme, but ultimately the game falls flat.
If you or your children do enjoy Candyland, give The Adventurers a look. I'll be reviewing it sometime soon, hopefully January 2012. It follows the idea of moving along a path, but has a lot of choices to be made by the players.
I hope you enjoyed this discussion on Candyland and how things could be better. Next week look for Do We Really Need 200 Versions of Monopoly? OR It's Free Parking, not collect $10,000.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Gaming History pt 2
When I last left my history in gaming we were at Christmas 2007 and Ticket to Ride Marklin. (thats the German map for anyone wondering). Enter January 2008 and my return to Westmont College. One of my section mates brought back his Catan set and we started looking for anyone who knew or was willing to learn. We found a couple of players, and eventually had a core group consisting of 4. We played just about every weekend, sometimes twice for the next 4 months. We mostly played Cities and Knights, but every once in awhile we'd add Seafarers in or just play the base game for a change.
After that I think we were all a bit burnt out on Catan, and even with a summer off, we still didn't play much in the years that followed.
That summer I ordered Ticket to Ride US for myself and that was the beginning of what my parents and friends continue to roll their eyes over. Not that TtR was a bad game, in fact it is probably my sister's favorite game, and one of mine as well. That next semester at school, so we're now in the fall of 2008 game play slowed down as school was more intense, but we managed games of Carc and Catan every so often. Then I finally saw that FFG was reprinting Cosmic Encounter and things were never the same.
When I came back to school in January a friend of a friend came by my room and asked if I'd like to play Starfarers of Catan. I had never heard of this, but he said it was similar to Catan and that I would enjoy it. So I went with him, learned the game, and ended up winning my first time which didn't please this friend. That was the start of a beautiful friendship, because after that game I said "I have this game called Cosmic Encounter, would you like to learn sometime?" That next weekend I had a few people playing, and he came and watched. When we were done, he asked if we could play another game with him in it this time. We agreed, and he became a mainstay at the table which lead to 75 plays of the game and many happy and frustrating hours. I gained much more than a friend through that, as his then girlfriend, now wife also played, as well as another couple.
Gaming to me is more than playing a game; it's about making lifelong friendships and having a good time with people that I might not have otherwise known had it not been for boardgames.
So to all the people I've met through games, thanks for all the great times, and sorry for the hat throws.
Plans for the future
I plan on introducing you to my "gaming family" at some point in the near future, and that will probably be the last of my history series. I'll give more of my history with an individual game as I work through my reviews. On that note, I plan to review 1 or 2 games a week, so stick with me as I work through those. I have a review queue at this point, so I'll be posting the top 5 or so as a poll for you all to vote on, and I'll take the top one(s) and get those done first.
As always, I'm open to any comments, questions, snide remarks, etc. Just comment below and I'll get back to you.
After that I think we were all a bit burnt out on Catan, and even with a summer off, we still didn't play much in the years that followed.
That summer I ordered Ticket to Ride US for myself and that was the beginning of what my parents and friends continue to roll their eyes over. Not that TtR was a bad game, in fact it is probably my sister's favorite game, and one of mine as well. That next semester at school, so we're now in the fall of 2008 game play slowed down as school was more intense, but we managed games of Carc and Catan every so often. Then I finally saw that FFG was reprinting Cosmic Encounter and things were never the same.
When I came back to school in January a friend of a friend came by my room and asked if I'd like to play Starfarers of Catan. I had never heard of this, but he said it was similar to Catan and that I would enjoy it. So I went with him, learned the game, and ended up winning my first time which didn't please this friend. That was the start of a beautiful friendship, because after that game I said "I have this game called Cosmic Encounter, would you like to learn sometime?" That next weekend I had a few people playing, and he came and watched. When we were done, he asked if we could play another game with him in it this time. We agreed, and he became a mainstay at the table which lead to 75 plays of the game and many happy and frustrating hours. I gained much more than a friend through that, as his then girlfriend, now wife also played, as well as another couple.
Gaming to me is more than playing a game; it's about making lifelong friendships and having a good time with people that I might not have otherwise known had it not been for boardgames.
So to all the people I've met through games, thanks for all the great times, and sorry for the hat throws.
Plans for the future
I plan on introducing you to my "gaming family" at some point in the near future, and that will probably be the last of my history series. I'll give more of my history with an individual game as I work through my reviews. On that note, I plan to review 1 or 2 games a week, so stick with me as I work through those. I have a review queue at this point, so I'll be posting the top 5 or so as a poll for you all to vote on, and I'll take the top one(s) and get those done first.
As always, I'm open to any comments, questions, snide remarks, etc. Just comment below and I'll get back to you.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Purpose and History
So why another blog about boardgames? This is the question I've been asking myself as I deliberate on the purpose of this blog. To quote a friend "You(meaning me) have a good sense for what will appeal to different types of people and I think that will help a lot."
So that becomes my mission statement. I will attempt to communicate to as many different types of people as I can and give my honest opinion about games. I have my game biases, but I will try to be honest about them, and I challenge you as the reader to call me on them if you see them. This will be accomplished through my own reviews of games, and random musings on games. I will also share links to reviews on BGG or through the DiceTower that I find insightful or helpful. I will also attempt to do game comparisons and top lists of different categories. I will always be open to reader feedback and ideas, though I can't promise that they will always be followed up on.
And now for a bit of my gaming history. Things started early on with lots of Monopoly, Life, Risk, Aggravation and Clue. While these were enjoyable games, and still are at times, I do believe that there are better games out there. I got my first taste of designer games late in 2006 with Settlers of Catan. Unlike most people, I started with Cities and Knights, and rarely play the base game at this point. After Catan, I learned Cosmic Encounter in it's original Eon edition which was published 30 years prior. For those of you who don't know Cosmic, don't worry, a review of that will be coming soon.
I would wager that Cosmic had the biggest affect on my gaming life. Don't get me wrong, Catan got me in, but Cosmic hooked me. My "gaming family" and I played Cosmic and Catan for much of the winter and spring and then came Carcassonne. That was their HS graduation gift to me, with the condition that I would bring it and we'd play. The start of college came and I brought Carcassonne and my own copy of Cosmic with me. Carc worked ok, but cosmic flopped at first. When I got home for Christmas, the gaming family had Ticket to Ride Marklin which was a huge hit. At this point you should recognize that we never took the simple approach to games.
So that's essentially my first year in games. There will be more to that, but it's a start.
I have no official connection to any game publisher, producer, distributor or store. I have playtested a game for Northstar Games which I will talk about at a later time.
If you're looking to get ahold of me, you can always contact me here, or on BGG, my username there is mathguy6189.
So that becomes my mission statement. I will attempt to communicate to as many different types of people as I can and give my honest opinion about games. I have my game biases, but I will try to be honest about them, and I challenge you as the reader to call me on them if you see them. This will be accomplished through my own reviews of games, and random musings on games. I will also share links to reviews on BGG or through the DiceTower that I find insightful or helpful. I will also attempt to do game comparisons and top lists of different categories. I will always be open to reader feedback and ideas, though I can't promise that they will always be followed up on.
And now for a bit of my gaming history. Things started early on with lots of Monopoly, Life, Risk, Aggravation and Clue. While these were enjoyable games, and still are at times, I do believe that there are better games out there. I got my first taste of designer games late in 2006 with Settlers of Catan. Unlike most people, I started with Cities and Knights, and rarely play the base game at this point. After Catan, I learned Cosmic Encounter in it's original Eon edition which was published 30 years prior. For those of you who don't know Cosmic, don't worry, a review of that will be coming soon.
I would wager that Cosmic had the biggest affect on my gaming life. Don't get me wrong, Catan got me in, but Cosmic hooked me. My "gaming family" and I played Cosmic and Catan for much of the winter and spring and then came Carcassonne. That was their HS graduation gift to me, with the condition that I would bring it and we'd play. The start of college came and I brought Carcassonne and my own copy of Cosmic with me. Carc worked ok, but cosmic flopped at first. When I got home for Christmas, the gaming family had Ticket to Ride Marklin which was a huge hit. At this point you should recognize that we never took the simple approach to games.
So that's essentially my first year in games. There will be more to that, but it's a start.
I have no official connection to any game publisher, producer, distributor or store. I have playtested a game for Northstar Games which I will talk about at a later time.
If you're looking to get ahold of me, you can always contact me here, or on BGG, my username there is mathguy6189.
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