My gaming experiences.
7 Wonders and Sushi Go
Another family game night is coming up, so I decided to buy two new games: Sushi Go! and 7 Wonders. Both are card-drafting games and received excellent reviews from the board game blogs. I can’t wait to put them through the paces with family and friends.
Today the UPS guy delivered the Amazon package with the games one day ahead of schedule. It was exciting adding them to our modest-yet-growing games library. It was like Christmas in July.
Fantasy Football Is Almost Here
Even with futbol slowly overtaking my love of football, there is still no sport better suited for the fantasy game than the good ol’ NFL (sorry, old-time baseball rotisserie geeks; weekly matchups are 100 times better than accumulating stats over a season). Just as the sports media like to say that there is no offseason in the NFL anymore, the same applies to fantasy football. Player news, injury updates, team breakdowns, and every bit of football minutia is now available via the Internet 24/7/365.
Matthew Berry is a legend in the fantasy football community. He’s known for his ESPN column and he appears on various fantasy football shows and podcasts. He’s also the author of my favorite book on the game, Fantasy Life: The Outrageous, Uplifting, and Heartbreaking World of Fantasy Sports from the Guy Who’s Lived It (my review here).
So, here we are, still in June, and Berry published his first fantasy football column of the year (the first NFL game is September 10th). He’s done this every year for the past decade and it’s a great way for us fantasy geeks to officially begin our offseason planning. It’s a compilation of stats from the previous season, done in a way that will have any fantasy football owner second-guessing themselves on any player or team. Once the NFL news cycle heats up with the first preseason games, we’ll be able to throw away all of the previews, stats, and Berry’s column, in favor of updated previews, stats, and columns.
Once the season is over, though, we’ll all go through the old news and reports we’ve read, trying to find that one tidbit that, depending on our success or failure, confirms that “I knew I should’ve listened to Berry!” or “I can’t believe I listened to Berry!” And before you know it, it’ll be next June and we’ll realize there’s no fantasy football offseason anymore.
There’s a Moose in the House
My wife picked up a copy of There’s A Moose in the House at Barnes & Noble. It was in the clearance section, so she only paid two bucks ($9.99 list price) for a light and entertaining card game.
The theme, artwork, and object of the game are funny. You are trying to fill your opponent’s house with moose by playing moose cards onto empty room cards. There are also door cards to close empty rooms to keep the moose out and “moose trap” cards that remove moose from a room, leaving it available for another moose to enter. After the deck is exhausted, moose in your house are counted; the player with the fewest is the winner.
It’s a simple game and takes about 15 minutes to play. The instructions are a bit longer than necessary and somewhat unclear until a run-through or two. After a few warm-up games, you’ll be giggling as you and your opponents try to bring rampaging moose through each others’ homes.
We liked the game, but I doubt it will be part of our regular rotation of games. It might play better with more players; it was okay with 2 players, but up to 5 can play and I think our nieces and nephew will enjoy it. Still, I can’t think of many better ways to be entertained for two bucks.
Pandemic
I’ve been groggy all day. Was it because I decided to play a late-night solo game of Pandemic?
At least I was able to pull out the win on the next-to-the-last turn. I’ve played dozens of games at the Heroic level and even though I win more than I lose now, it’s still a challenge. I am, however, looking forward to playing the expansions.
Just not so late at night.
Pandemic and Ticket to Ride
I’m considering changing my 2015 Goals list to include “Play 10 New Games.” I’ve bought and played four new games in two months, so I’m nearly halfway there and I have more than enough on my Amazon Wish List to make this a reality. While my stepdaughter was back for spring break, she really got into Pandemic, which happens to be my favorite game of the new bunch. My wife is slowly getting into it as well and we managed to win on Heroic Level this morning.
Running a close second is Ticket to Ride, which is my favorite for a family experience. Everybody has a great time playing this and, as I’ve read in several articles, it is a great “gateway” game to bring in new players to the hobby. I love that my niece and nephew enjoyed it so much that they immediately wanted to play after their first game.
The other two games I bought were fun as well: Tsuro and Castle Panic. Tsuro is quick and light; easy to learn and a perfect “warm-up” game. It was fun with my youngest niece, who learned quickly and nearly won in her one attempt. As for Castle Panic, I believe my nephew and I were the only ones who took to this one. When we played with his sister he was our designated sound-effects guy, eagerly providing the soundtrack for each goblin, orc, and troll that we slayed.
I’ve loved every second of our game nights. It’s much more satisfying bonding over board games than video games or television shows. Even the good-humored trash talk has been great; I’ve learned that my wife is quite skilled at the art, as she regularly reminds me who owns the longest win streak (7 straight) in our Ticket to Ride matches. Hint: it’s not me.
I love the friendly rivalry my wife and I have going with our current obsession: Ticket to Ride. She was killing me over the last few days, winning 7 straight, before I won 4 of the next 5 games.
Did I gloat? Of course! And tonight my choice of beer could not have been more appropriate. The laughs were long and hard, with both of us ready for the next match.
We introduced my niece and nephew to three new games today: Tsuro, Castle Panic, and Ticket to Ride. My wife and I were impressed with how quickly they picked up each game. We started the session with several games of Tsuro. It was the perfect way to get things rolling, since it only takes one or two turns to learn how to play and the game itself only lasts 10-15 minutes.
Next up was everyone’s favorite of the night, Ticket to Ride, which won over both my niece and nephew just as it had won over me, my wife, and stepdaughter. After the first game, everyone immediately wanted to play again, which is all you need to know to understand its popularity. It’s a fantastic family game and deserves all of its praise and accolades.
Finally, Castle Panic was a hoot, as my nephew was in charge of the sound effects for slaying each goblin, orc, and troll. He was the biggest fan of this one, more so than my niece and wife, and he quickly grasped the rules and strategy. We cheered when the Barbarian was picked up and won both games we played. High fives were given and promises were made to play again.
Yesterday I talked about Tsuro, one of two board games that I bought recently. The other was Castle Panic, a cooperative game that’s on the easy side of the learning scale, with a fun theme; I mean, who doesn’t like to slay trolls, goblins, and orcs? You and your partners are defending the castle against wave after wave of monsters. Each monster has 1-3 hit points and you use the cards to take away those points. Other challenges face you, including a Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark rolling boulder that crushes everything in its path, plagues that thin out your ranks, Orc Lords leading the charge on the castle, and many more.
Over the past few nights, I’ve managed to go 3-1 in solo play. It’s definitely on the easier side of the difficulty scale, which is exactly what I wanted as I was stocking up on games for my niece and nephew’s visit. I hope they enjoy it as much as I do. I’ve already added the Wizard’s Tower expansion to my Amazon wish list.
Here’s the always entertaining Wil Wheaton and his Tabletop episode on Castle Panic:
My wife’s a natural at Tsuro.
In anticipation of a visit from my niece and nephew, I bought two new games, one of them being the light and easy Tsuro. My family and I had fun breaking in the game the other night. It’s easy to learn and my wife’s a natural, winning the majority of games during our brief session.
Each player receives three tiles and is required to play one. Their dragon token is then moved along one of the paths on the tile. As each tile is played, paths are joined and the token can be taken on long or short journeys around the board. Fly off the board, however, and you’re out. Last dragon on the board is the winner.
Tsuro only takes about 15-20 minutes play, so it’s perfect for non-gamers and newbies or a nice filler between longer-running games. Along with Ticket to Ride, Zombie Dice, and Pandemic, I’m adding Tsuro to my rotation for International Tabletop Day on April 11th.
I had a little work to do today, then had a relaxing dinner with my family. We went to our favorite Salvadoran restaurant for pupusas, horchata, and conversation, which inevitably turned to how much we loved yesterday‘s amazing hand rolls at Kazu Nori. Yes, we love to talk about food while we’re eating.
After our meal, it was a few games of Zombie Dice and Ticket to Ride for more laughs and relaxation. I finally managed to win a game of Ticket to Ride; my stepdaughter’s a natural and she’s been crushing me and my wife since we started playing.
Food, conversation, and games. It’s what makes up my favorite Sunday Funday.
