Playing Catch Up
'Twas a very good weekend. On Thursday, we went to see a movie at Columbia College; a documentary about a rich heiress kidnapped by a anti-government terrorist group, who may or may not have been brainwashed and eventually became a full-fledged member of the group. We went to the movie on the invitation of sporks_of_doom and her husband.
Then, on Saturday, they came over to our apartment and we all watched "Dodgeball". Somewhat less thought-provoking, that one, but still fun.
On Sunday, Stephie and I got tired of waiting for people to be available to play "World of Warcraft the Board Game," so we just played it ourselves, two characters per player. "World of Warcraft the Board Game" is a very convoluted name, and I have failed to come up with an evocative nickname for it that can't be mistaken for the MMORPG it's based on. (The name still isn't as bad as "Peter Jackson's King Kong - The Official Game of the Movie")
The WoW Board Game might actually be neater than the MMO, in my opinion, especially as an experience for a small group of people (and the MMO doesn't really interest me unless I'm playing along with a small group of people I know). The Board Game, for example, can be played in the better part of a day, rather than the time it takes to grind a character up to level 60 70 80. Also, the board game manages to capture the feeling of vaguely team-based play, competitiveness between guild members, and the fleeting, on and off nature of fighting in groups. (And on the negative side, the desperation of being defeated and having to wait to heal and trek back to your goal before you can do something productive) And best yet, it starts the players off on equal footing and gives them a definite goal.
I'd really like to try it with six characters (the games seems to have been designed around the group of six), but two characters per player is already pushing the limits of divided concentration.
Then, on Saturday, they came over to our apartment and we all watched "Dodgeball". Somewhat less thought-provoking, that one, but still fun.
On Sunday, Stephie and I got tired of waiting for people to be available to play "World of Warcraft the Board Game," so we just played it ourselves, two characters per player. "World of Warcraft the Board Game" is a very convoluted name, and I have failed to come up with an evocative nickname for it that can't be mistaken for the MMORPG it's based on. (The name still isn't as bad as "Peter Jackson's King Kong - The Official Game of the Movie")
The WoW Board Game might actually be neater than the MMO, in my opinion, especially as an experience for a small group of people (and the MMO doesn't really interest me unless I'm playing along with a small group of people I know). The Board Game, for example, can be played in the better part of a day, rather than the time it takes to grind a character up to level 60 70 80. Also, the board game manages to capture the feeling of vaguely team-based play, competitiveness between guild members, and the fleeting, on and off nature of fighting in groups. (And on the negative side, the desperation of being defeated and having to wait to heal and trek back to your goal before you can do something productive) And best yet, it starts the players off on equal footing and gives them a definite goal.
I'd really like to try it with six characters (the games seems to have been designed around the group of six), but two characters per player is already pushing the limits of divided concentration.