Thanksgiving Weekend gaming

This Thanksgiving we packed up the car to drive 300 miles to my folks' house. My brother did the same with his family, coming from the other direction. (California is a long state!) As usual, I packed up a bunch of games, knowing full well we wouldn't play all or even most of them. But we've got room in the minivan, and so why not pack different games so we have options. :-)

As it turned out, I did manage to play quite a few games this weekend, but not the ones you might expect. Although I got in a few games with just my brother, and one game with just my son, most of the games were with one or both of my young nephews. These are little guys, ages 5 and 3, so we're talking little kid games. Both of them, especially the older one, had a good time with them. In fact, I think that 5yo will be playing games with me for years to come, so I'm more than happy to spend the time on kid games now.

I think this would make a decent subject for a podcast, so maybe that's what I'll do next. I know there are gamer dads out there with kids this small that are chomping at the bit to play games with them. Perhaps this show will give you some ideas of good games to try.

Quickly, then, the games I played this holiday were Viva Topo!, Slamwich, Tier auf Tier, Rattlesnake, Cribbage, Poker, Zertz, and Dvonn.
-Mark

BGTG 88 - Dominion, Arkham Horror, Marrakech, and En Garde

This is a session report & feedback show . . . but without the feedback. The reason for that is that I had to record this podcast in the car. I say had to because I spent too much of my at-home podcasting time playing Dominion instead! I started playing this game on brettspielwelt, and then got my own set to play face-to-face games. Hype is a turnoff for me, even buzz makes me suspicious, but in this case I'm enjoying the game just as much as everyone promised. I can't help but experience the game as a former Magic:the Gathering player, and I'm not sure what gamers without a CCG background will make of this. I think it's fantastic, and I try to explain why in this podcast. I think it's an incredible application of German boardgame style & elegance to CCGs.

This episode was originally planned to feature me gushing about games I really enjoyed, but I threw in Arkham Horror because it goes against that grain. Really, this isn't my kind of game, but that doesn't mean I'll never try it (or turn down my friends who want to play it). The last two, Marrakech (aka Suleika) and En Garde are new & old favorites.

-Mark

A fresh call for online games

As usual, your best bet to find me is on a play-by-web game. I've recently started the following, all of which can take more players as I write this. The password is the same as ever, BGTG.

On Mabiweb: In the Year of the Dragon, Samuari, Kreta, In the Shadow of the Emperor

On Spielbyweb: Amun-Re, Hoity-Toity, Reef Encounter, Santiago

On michaelshacht.net: Hansa (two of these)

On Boardgamegeek: Tigris & Euphrates (two of these)

All of these are in English, very easy to understand.

Also, don't forget that the offer still stands to play Vinci with me. Only Ed Rozmiarek took me up on that earlier offer, and we need a couple more players to start. This website is all in German, but we'll help a newbie learn the ropes. Once you get the hang of it it's a great interface.

-Mark

P.S. On BSW, look for MarkJohnson. I'll probably be losing at Dominion again, enjoying myself. :-)