Author: Ruel

November Writing Challenge Day 12: Happy Hour

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

My wife and I recently discovered a late-night happy hour at a local ramen restaurant called Noods Bar. The ramen isn’t all that, but the appetizers and small bites are good, especially during their late happy hour from 9pm-midnight on Friday and Saturday.

We like the mini chashu bowl which is the pork belly served over a small bowl of white rice. I call it their “adobo” since the consistency and flavor reminds me of one of my favorite Filipino dishes.

We’re also big fans of their shishito peppers, which are stir-fried and served with a cream sauce. These peppers are interesting: about 1 in every 10 are spicy, while the others tend to be a little sweet. The quick stir-fry gives it a little smokiness, too. Michelle and I always laugh when one of us “gets lucky” and bites into the spicy chili.

My favorite appetizer, though, is the Elote. Inspired by the Mexican snack found at roadside vendors throughout Southern California, the Elote at Noods is deep fried corn kernels with a yuzu cream and hot Cheetos crumbs. It’s not too spicy, since the sauce acts as a cooler, but it sure is delicious.

The name Elote is a misnomer, though; elote refers to corn on the cob, while esquites is the corn removed from the cob and served in the bowl. Thankfully, I love elote and esquites equally so I don’t mind eating this tasty misnamed dish.

November Writing Challenge Day 11: Chicken Sandwich

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

I still haven’t tried the Popeye’s chicken sandwich, but it sure does look good. The few times I’ve been to Chick-Fil-A I’ve found the food to be bland and boring; it seems like Popeye’s would be more my jam.

After the local Popeye’s sold out of their initial stock of chicken sandwiches, I was looking forward to its return this month. Of course, the lines have been out the door whenever I drive by, so I’ve missed out on the madness so far.

Thankfully, there’s a terrific Korean-style fried chicken restaurant in town that decided to start offering its own version and it’s absolutely delicious. The Secret Spicy Chicken Sandwich at BB.Q Chicken in Rancho Cucamonga is slightly sweet and spicy, with a perfectly crispy and juicy chicken patty on a grilled bun.

How did I find out about this awesome sandwich? I’ve been helping host a game night at BB.Q Chicken every Monday night for the last month and a half. We’ve had some great times playing games with friends and making new friends as well. It’s fun sharing my passion for the hobby with new gamers and my regular gaming buddies have been great in supporting the event.

Management has also been supportive of the game night and give all of us gamers discounted food and drink. It’s a fantastic setting to enjoy the hobby and some good eats.

November Writing Challenge Day 10: Sushi Roll Again

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

A week ago I wrote about my newfound love of Sushi Roll, the dice version of the modern classic card game, Sushi Go! After a few more plays I’m not as enamored of it (it’s ripe for an expansion, just like the original needed Sushi Go Party! to freshen things up), but it’s still a go-to for a quick and fun dice chucker.

Today my brother and his family stopped by for a surprise visit. My niece is a big fan of Sushi Go! so I made sure to introduce her to Sushi Roll tonight. She learned quickly and throughout our game we kept talking about how it was making us hungry.

Of course, we had to have sushi for dinner.

We went to the local revolving sushi restaurant, where the sushi is on a conveyor belt and makes its way around the dining room. We enjoyed putting in our special orders, which arrived on the “express lane” conveyer belt above the regular sushi.

And when it was all done, we were stuffed beyond our gills, ready to roll home. I may have won Sushi Roll, but I was no match for my niece’s appetite for the real thing. I’m ready for a rematch, though.

November Writing Challenge Day 9: dude

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

The game dude (all lower case) is a surprisingly fun card game. Much like Happy Salmon, you’re trying to match cards with one other person. Everyone shuffles their deck of dude cards, then secretly looks at the top one and says it out loud. If two players think they’re saying the same form of “dude” then they say “sweet” and reveal their cards.

If you don’t match, then you both discard your card into the middle. If you do match, then you both set your card aside and score it at the end of the game. The game ends when one player no longer has any cards and the most points wins.

What I love about dude is that it’s so easy to learn and leads to some hilarious in-game moments. How do you say the “dude” that’s printed against the tie-dye background? Will your “dude.” sound like “dewd”?

I know, it’s not a brain-burner. It’s super light, super silly, and way more fun than it seems. It’s not something you’ll want to play at every game night, but it’s great to have around as either an icebreaker with new gamers or as an occasional filler game.

November Writing Challenge Day 8: L.A. Comic Con

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

Last month I was on the Play More Games: A Tabletop Discussion panel at L.A. Comic Con. Moderated by Chelsea Schwartz, I joined some of my fellow tabletop gaming industry folk as we talked games and more for an hour. It was an honor to be included and I’m excited to see board games making their way into non-gaming conventions.

I have more to say about L.A. Comic Con as well as Nerd Expo in Pasadena, but I’m saving that for my expanded articles that I’m writing for other websites.

The one thing I will share, though, is how much I love the cosplay at conventions these days. It’s come a long way from when I’d go to the con in San Diego (before it become Comic Con). From anime and manga characters to obscure pop culture references, there seems to be a cosplayer for everything.

In fact, the cosplay is so good now that I don’t recognize half of the costumes.

Years (decades!) ago I’d see the standard superheroes and villains, along with various Vulcans and Klingons. Today’s cosplayers have taken things to the next level, with serious attention to detail from head to toe. As I told my wife while we were admiring all of the amazing costumes at the con: today’s convention cosplayer is tomorrow’s Hollywood costume designer.

Pictured above is one of my favorite cosplayers last month, right outside the convention center while my wife and I snacked on all of goodies from the street vendors. The piano worked and, yes, he did play this song.

November Writing Challenge Day 7: Raider Football

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

Photo Credit: https://www.si.com/nfl/photo/2017/10/19/classic-oakland-raiders-photos#2

I remember the exact moment I became a Raiders fan: it was an exhibition game between the hometown Los Angeles Rams and the visiting Oakland Raiders. Until this point I’d been rooting for the L.A. team because that’s where we lived and all of my classmates seemed to like the Rams. My dad had taken me to the game and it was the first time I saw an NFL game in person.

I was amazed at how big the Los Angeles Coliseum was and how small the players looked down on the field. Something about those players in the silver and black, though, just appealed to me. My dad used to root for them, too, I think because he liked the outlaw image of the team.

While my dad wasn’t an outlaw by any means, I’m sure the Raiders’ independent spirit appealed to him. He was someone who’d left his homeland behind, seeking opportunities in country where he was a minority. He only had my mom and her extended family in Southern California as his support system. He did what he had to do to provide for his family.

I remember Sundays being his day to watch football and drink a Michelob or two. I was thrilled whenever he asked me to grab a beer for him from the fridge. When the Raiders were losing, he’d tell me not to worry, since the Raiders were a second-half team. And more often than not in those days, Ken Stabler would lead the team back for a win.

While neither of us follow the team as passionately as we did before (in fact, the older I get, the less of a sports fan I become), I’m not one to change my sports team loyalties. I’ll always be a member of the Raider Nation, thanks to my dad.

November Writing Challenge Day 6: Tacos

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

It’s not Taco Tuesday, but let’s talk tacos anyways. Living in Southern California I’ve always believed we have the best tacos outside of Mexico. I know I’m not the only one who subscribes to the theory that Mexican food goes down in quality the further away you get from the border. I’ve had tacos in New York that were barely edible.

In fact, I used to be a snob about tacos. I want a tiny warm corn tortilla filled with carne asada or lengua or even cabeza, topped off with cilantro and onion, with a splash of salsa. Bringing me a hard shell, cheese, and ground beef was like spitting on a plate and serving it to me.

From hand battered and deep fried fish to freshly carved al pastor with a slice of pineapple, I love tacos of all types. Bonus points if I can get grilled green onions, a smoky jalapeno, and a fistful of radishes on the side.

I was thinking about how my taste buds have changed over the years. I used to be the guy that would drown any kind of Mexican food in salsa. The hotter the better. Now, I want to enjoy the taste without breaking into a sweat.

And maybe I’m mellowing in my old age, but those hard shell tacos with the ground beef and golden cheese? I’ll eat them, if I’m in the right mood, which means if I’m feeling nostalgic for the tacos from my youth, served at my non-Mexican friends’ homes. The tacos I’d eat after baseball practice at the snack shack. Or the rare occasion when I found myself at a Pup ‘N Taco or Naugles.

But if given a choice, gimme those tacos from a truck or, even better, from some pop-up roadside stand after a night of cocktails and shenanigans.

November Writing Challenge Day 5: Resistance Reborn

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

On Day 3 of my writing challenge I wrote about The Rise of Skywalker and yesterday I found Star Wars: Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse in my mailbox.

I immediately dove into it and I hope to finish it this weekend. Resistance Reborn takes place after The Last Jedi and early on it feels like it’s setting up The Rise of Skywalker. General Leia, Rey, and Poe are all dealing with being the last of the Resistance. Where are their allies? What can be done about the First Order?

While I’ve read a bunch of Star Wars books, I’ve never read one in anticipation of an upcoming film. It’s usually been as a way to enjoy the Star Wars universe when no movies are planned. It’s exciting to see these characters come to life through the written word (and, yes, John Williams’ iconic music plays through my head more often than not while reading).

I’ve got a few pitches out to various websites for coverage on Resistance Reborn, so hopefully I’ll be able to write a bit more about it soon. Thanks to my friends at Random House for the advanced copy, which I’m enjoying so far.

If you’ve never read a Star Wars book, I’d highly recommend Timothy Zahn’s classic Thrawn trilogy. Published way back in 1991 during the dead time between the original trilogy and the first prequel, it’s still a fantastic series of books well worth reading. After Disney acquired the property it became part of the non-canon Legends series, which was a shame since Grand Admiral Thrawn is the best bad guy outside of Darth Vader and all of the books featuring him have been awesome. Thrawn-some, if you will.

Thankfully, Thrawn is officially part of the Star Wars universe again, thanks to a new series of books by Zahn and as part of the animated Rebels series. Although I’m not aware of any plans of making a feature film or television series about Thrawn, I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney eventually does. He’s too good of a character not to be up on the big screen.

November Writing Challenge Day 4: Sushi Roll

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

Sushi Go! was one of the first “hobby” games I bought when I first started getting into tabletop gaming. I put hobby in quotes because even though you can easily find Sushi Go! at Target and other retail outlets, back in 2015 I didn’t know that. I thought only gamers would buy this game of odd-looking cards.

I’m glad I bought it and will always play a quick game of it or its bigger brother, Sushi Go! Party, which has a lot of new cards for a different gaming experience every time you play it.

Recently, Sushi Go! publisher Gamewright released the dice version of Sushi Go!, the appropriately named Sushi Roll. Instead of the cute cards of the original game, it’s all dice in this version.

After a half-dozen plays I have two main things to say about Sushi Roll:

  1. It’s not as pretty as the original . There’s no way to transfer those gorgeous drawings from the cards onto the dice. But the dice do contain the familiar icons of the dumplings, shrimp tempura, and desserts.
  2. I now prefer it to the original in terms of set-up (which can be way too long with Sushi Go! Party) and play time. Sushi Roll is a quick game: roll dice, pick one to keep, pass to your neighbor, rinse, and repeat.

Like the original, you’re trying to collect sets for more points. For example, whoever has the most maki rolls on their dice will score six points at the end of the round. Same goes for halibut, etc. It’s fun rolling all of the chunky dice and trying to get what you need to complete a set such as shrimp tempura. If you didn’t have a lucky roll of the dice, you can still turn in a menu to re-roll any number of dice.

You can also use chopsticks to steal one die from another player. Just turn in your chopsticks token, take another player’s die, and put one of your dice onto their player board. After three rounds, victory points are added and the most points wins.

Sushi Roll is another winner for Gamewright for both fans and non-fans alike. And maybe it’s just me, but I’m totally craving sushi right now.

November Writing Challenge Day 3: The Rise of Skywalker

I’m blogging every day this month. Some will be game-related, but this challenge is different than my most recent play-a-game-and-blog-about-it challenge. I’m writing a single post every day: no topic guidelines, with some posts being a collection of random thoughts. Click here to read yesterday’s post.

Has there ever been a more perfect teaser trailer than for Star Wars: The Force Awakens? I still get goosebumps watching it, which I tend to do whenever a new Star Wars teaser, trailer, or behind-the-scenes trailer is released. In only 30 seconds it captured all of the nostalgia from the original movies and introduced us to this strange, yet familiar new world. Here, watch it again, then we’ll talk about The Rise of Skywalker:

I’ve loved all of the new Star Wars movies, including The Last Jedi and Solo, both of which haven’t been universally acclaimed by fans. The final chapter in the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, hits theaters next month and I’m equally excited and sad to see it. Excited because it’s Star Wars. Sad because it’s the end of an era.

And while we all know Disney will pump out new Star Wars material in various formats for years to come, this is the end of a story that captivated me as a child and into my teen years.

The original trilogy will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the first “big” movie I remember seeing at a theater, when my parents took me to the old Pasadena Academy, an old-school moviehouse that was converted into a multiplex many years ago.

I already have my tickets to The Rise of Skywalker, thanks to my local comic book shop’s special screening the night before the official release date. I’ve seen all of the new Star Wars movies this way, with members of the 501st Legion showing up for pre-movie photo ops, Star Wars giveaways, and the thrill of watching the newest film with my fellow Star Wars fanatics.

I’d probably be more sad about The Saga ending if not for my nephew and nieces. Knowing that there will be new characters and stories from this amazing universe for them to enjoy puts a smile on my face. I hope they get as much joy out of whatever Star Wars they get in the future that I’ve gotten from the Skywalker story.