Game on!
I'm not dead. Really. Just been busy. But I can't let more than a week go by without posting, so here's the quick update. elora_c's birthday was a week and a half ago, but she can tell you about that. Then her mother was here for a while, so we were busy with that, and then last Saturday we had a Game Day.
It wasn't quite as well attended as we would have liked, because of various unexpected events, but I think the people who were there had fun. We started off piratey, with a game of Rum & Pirates, which I enjoyed, although I lost badly. Then I was introduced to Pirate's Cove, while a second group played Corsairs. I really enjoyed Pirate's Cove, and it's a very colorful game, as one expects from Days of Wonder, but unfortunately it doesn't play with only two, so I likely won't be getting a copy. We finished up with a game of Arkham Horror, which is a huge, long, cooperative game with a Cthulhu theme. I don't go in much for Lovecraft myself, but the game didn't take itself too seriously (the chits to represent your sanity -- which you go through a lot of -- are represented by little blue brains). In the final analysis, long, but I'd play it again.
As is my habit when I host a game day, I took out all the games from my personal collection, and stacked them on a couple of card tables in the dining room -- which looks like this:
Now, that's a lot of games, and as you can imagine, we don't really play them all regularly. Elora commented on this fact, and then suggested that perhaps we should play each game in the stack at least once, before putting them away. I'm not sure she was serious -- the stack includes our son's games, and games she doesn't like -- but she really should know better by now than to offer me a challenge like that. So although we're proceeding rather slowly, we're five games into our March Madness Gaming Tournament. So far, the results look like this:
If it seems like we're leaning toward the children's games first, well, we are. We wanted our son to be able to participate as much as he could, and we'll play the more complex games after his bedtime. As you can see, Elora has a slight edge so far, but I plan on making it up in the later rounds.
Note: All gaming links in this post go to Funagain Games, not because I'm recommending you buy from them, but because I think they have the best game descriptions and photos. If you want to buy, I recommend Game Surplus, especially if you're in Pennsylvania, where you can order ground shipping and still get your game the next day. If you're just looking for info, though, you can't beat BoardGameGeek.
It wasn't quite as well attended as we would have liked, because of various unexpected events, but I think the people who were there had fun. We started off piratey, with a game of Rum & Pirates, which I enjoyed, although I lost badly. Then I was introduced to Pirate's Cove, while a second group played Corsairs. I really enjoyed Pirate's Cove, and it's a very colorful game, as one expects from Days of Wonder, but unfortunately it doesn't play with only two, so I likely won't be getting a copy. We finished up with a game of Arkham Horror, which is a huge, long, cooperative game with a Cthulhu theme. I don't go in much for Lovecraft myself, but the game didn't take itself too seriously (the chits to represent your sanity -- which you go through a lot of -- are represented by little blue brains). In the final analysis, long, but I'd play it again.
As is my habit when I host a game day, I took out all the games from my personal collection, and stacked them on a couple of card tables in the dining room -- which looks like this:
Now, that's a lot of games, and as you can imagine, we don't really play them all regularly. Elora commented on this fact, and then suggested that perhaps we should play each game in the stack at least once, before putting them away. I'm not sure she was serious -- the stack includes our son's games, and games she doesn't like -- but she really should know better by now than to offer me a challenge like that. So although we're proceeding rather slowly, we're five games into our March Madness Gaming Tournament. So far, the results look like this:
- La Citta, winner: Elora (photo). We only play this one about once a year, because it's too complicated. Then we have to re-teach ourselves every time, which compounds the problem. But it's really pretty good, if you like tile-laying games like Attica.
- Chicken Cha-Cha-Cha, winner: Word Geek (photo). A simple memory game for young kids, with great wooden pieces. If you play this with a three-year-old, be prepared to get your butt kicked. My kid's older, so I pulled out a win this time.
- Marrakesh, winner: Elora (photo). My favorite children's game at the moment. It's great for 5-to-7-year olds, because there's a little strategy, easily grasped, but it's mostly luck. It's also designed such that blowouts are relatively uncommon (unless you're fluffiana).
- Transamerica, winner: Word Geek (photo). Just about the simplest train game there is. Great as a "filler" game when you're waiting for another group to finish, or if you have a newbie who's not ready for Ticket to Ride yet. No strategy to speak of, though.
- Elephants on Parade, winner: Elora (photo). An excellent child's first German game...or it would be, if it were in print. It has great wooden elephant pieces, and it's very useful for teaching colors, turn-taking, and die rolling. It's also completely luck-based...so why do I never win it?
If it seems like we're leaning toward the children's games first, well, we are. We wanted our son to be able to participate as much as he could, and we'll play the more complex games after his bedtime. As you can see, Elora has a slight edge so far, but I plan on making it up in the later rounds.
Note: All gaming links in this post go to Funagain Games, not because I'm recommending you buy from them, but because I think they have the best game descriptions and photos. If you want to buy, I recommend Game Surplus, especially if you're in Pennsylvania, where you can order ground shipping and still get your game the next day. If you're just looking for info, though, you can't beat BoardGameGeek.