November Game Day Tally, 0-5

So last Saturday I was fortunate enough to host another game day. This was a small event with only 3 other folks, so we decided to play some hard hitting lengthy games.

We started with Starcraft, which worked out well since we all had played one week earlier. The game went just over 4 hours and I lost.

We passed some time before dinner with China and Pompeii. Both games went fast and were a lot of fun. I liked China for the way it combines 2 regions with one color giving you added choices not to mention the way scoring was done. Still though, I lost.

Pompeii as well was fun. I liked the sudden shift from go see the volcano to get the hell out of dodge. Funny quick game, which I proceeded to lose.

Next we all learned Antike. While I had never played before and did not expect to win. James, the anti-Eurogamer next to me also played for the first time and dominated.

So the tally thus far, 0-4

We ended the night with Age of Empires III, A game I have played a few times. Here I thought I may have a chance, but James, anti Euro boy himself, not only won, but by almost twice the points of the 2nd place person. Just goes to show you, some days you win, some days you lose, but James sucks everyday.

The Ultimate show down of Ultimate destiny

Friday Mike, Big Time, James, and I settled down in our stocking caps to kick some space aged ass. That is we played our first game ever of StarCraft.

I have been waiting for over a year to get this game, and when it arrived last week it was burning a hole in my house dying to get played. So without further waiting… here are my thoughts on the most anticipated (by me anyway) game of the year.

It come from Fantasy Flight Games, so I knew the quality of the pieces would be excellent. I was right. I few of the miniatures broke in transit but are easily repaired. The board, pieces, and cards are all excellent quality and just scream, “play with me!”

The rules… Well even though they are a hard to digest 48 pages long, most of that is sample game play. I was able to condense them into a 1 page “Cheat Sheet” which worked very well.

Game setup – about an hour this first time since it was read the rules, setup a bit, read some more, setup some more, etc… Once it was setup though the concept of how you “create” the galaxy seemed to work well and the advent of Z-axis routes was pretty neat. (Z axis simply means that since the 2-D board is supposed to represent 3D space, some planets on the board, even if not physically located next to other planets, can be traveled to as if they were adjacent.)

So then game play started. The first turn went well and no one seemed overwhelmed by the rules or phases of each turn. In the end the scoring was very close (having done away with the special winning scenarios since they made the game go to fast and no one was really paying attention to them anyway) The game took about 4 hours (average for 3.5 new players since Tim had played once before) and I we all learned some very good strategy for the next time we play like what seemed to work and what did not help us much.

Final thoughts:
This game needs to played again so we can use the strategies our first “dry run” gave us. I love the twist on movement and combat. Even at one of the board, you are not necessarily safe unlike Twilight Imperium where you can build and defend your home region. This game certainly comes off as a kill quick or be killed. The one player who played it completely safe got the lowest score by a fair margin.
I love the combat system since it is fresh, used no dice, and allows a strategic element to the combat system as a whole as you decide whether to save or use your special cards. Add to this the technology deck which allows you to place add on items either to combat or in general and each combat round was unique.
I like the development and resources. Nothing feel better then upgrading a building to make new types of units.
I like the fact it really feels like a Board Game version of StarCraft, not just a game using the name.

What I was not sold on was the special victory which seems to blind side you unless you are watching very single aspect of the other players. I had more time working toward area control and victory points, then special victory conditions which in my mind were way to easy for some folks to achieve. Fantasy Flight seems to love making special victory conditions and/or easy ways to archive points (like the Twilight Imperium Strategy that gives 2 Victory Points each time you choose it, although this was changed to 1 in the expansion, most folks won using the original card rather then a mixed strategy.)

Combat was cool but long. A large battle took a long time waiting for the two players to choose cards, etc… Not terrible, but long. Thank goodness combat is only 1 round.

I think most of the game is well balanced, but combat did seem to favor the Defender at least in being able to hold onto regions. It will take a few more games to see if this is really true.
The combat deck is messy, in that you have a combat hand, a combat deck, a tech deck, and a discard all using the same background. Some times my combat hand was bigger then my deck, and all in all the placement of so may “same type” card got confusing. Only the tech desk had it’s own little area, the rest seemed to get confused as folks grabbed their Combat Deck thinking it was their hand, etc…

All in all, I give this game a solid 8 our of 10 for being one solid fast paced game of area control, combat, and resource management. Even with my little gripes this game was worth the wait and one I look forward to playing again soon.

Rock-Con does not feature “THE ROCK”

So this year I attended Rock-CON for the very first time. For those who do not know what this is, Rock CON takes place in Rockford Illinois and gathers Miniature and Board gamers from all over the state to play games.

This year it was held inside a large indoor recreation center with about 50 tables setup with games. At first the show seemed very slow with folks first arriving and setting up the various games, but by around noon it was packed with all sorts of games including one that took up over 10 tables with large (About the size of a breadbox) pirate ships.

The day is spilt into 3 sessions (or games). The first session I played Coliseum with a few folks and had a very good time. It was the first time I played and I did fairly well. The next session I actually ran and hosted a game called Age of Empires III. This is a pretty easy game to understand so I figured I would open it up to entry level players (Having only played once before myself)

This was a mistake…

It seems entry level players was read as entry to the world of games in general. Here I am walking toward my table and see a group of total misfits. I was thinking, “at least they are not my group.” Then I looked at the table number and realized. “YUP, they are MINE!”
I am a very patient person but this group really stretched that out for me.

You had Preston the Ninja – literally dressed up like a Ninja. (BTW, this is a convention to play games and shop a bit, not a Star Trek Convention. He was the only person in costume. It did not help that his cloak did not help to “Cloak;’ the smell of being in that outfit all day. YIKES!
You had Gwen, a sweet lady in her 20’s or 30’s who just DID NOT GET IT. She tried but this was a game well beyond her skill set. Besides asking to re-do her move every 3 minutes and starting strange conversations like (Your Shirt reminds me of Star Wars, which was said to Mike whose shirt simply said… STAR WARS!) she was all right.

We end with Nick, a teenage boy who had never played a game in his life. ANY game really. He must have grown up in a pod, and his social skills reflected that. His dad was there (who did not play) who informed me by whisper that his son was a bit shy. No shit bro, the kid did not speak for the first 3 hours we played. In the end he came out of his shell a bit (funny it was when Dad was not around) and did fairly well.

I did terrible mostly since I was tutoring everyone else the entire game long. A game that averages 2-3 hours pushed into the 4+ hour mark and by the time it was done, I was spent. No third game for me, I am taking my toys and going home!

Halloween Party gets infused with Wits

So the Halloween party was a huge success. We had fewer people then we expected. It seems baby sitters are hard to come by on Holiday weekends (Who knew). Either way the party was a lot of fun and we even had some special guests with Zack and his wife Amanda stopping by.

In a twist of irony, the only downside was the insane amount of food I prepared but it all worked out in the end now that I have snacks for the next 3 weeks.

Even though the rule was no games, Tim brought Wits and Wagers by my request. At first when I suggested we play it some of the ladies gave me odd looks like I was trying to sneak in contraband or something. I suggested we play it once and if anyone did not like it, we could do something else. In the end we played 3 times and I absolutely love this game.

I am not a big fan of trivia games, but this game has added elements which made it really rock. Its really not about knowing the right answer, but betting on who you think has the right answer. For me it was more about playing the averages then trying to get the questions right every time. Basically everyone answers a trivia question secretly. Then all answers are revealed and placed in order on a game board. You then choose if you want to bet on 1 or 2 of the provided answers. The actual answer is revealed, and those closest to the correct answer make back money they bet on it. 7 questions total, and the game is over. The person with the most money wins.

It’s a fast game perfect for parties and brought some added fun to the night. We even talked Rachel (the anti-christ of strategy games) into trying out some new games next time we play. We will have to see if that was true or just the wine talking.

Welcome to Zombie Town

At the Halloween Game Day, we chose to play a game no one had played before. More so, we actually chose a game that fit the Halloween theme of the day; ZombieTown.

In ZombieTown, each player is trying to survive a sudden plague of Zombies coming from the center of town which just so happens to be a graveyard.

You start with a single home and a single gun (with only 3 bullets) The basic premise? Stay alive, collect more guns so you can, stay alive, find survivors to help you, stay alive, etc…

While each player can play independently, the rules do allow you to attack fellow players, take stuff from their homes, and even move zombies toward them each turn.

You win by collecting points. Points earned after the 10th round of play from the Zombies you killed, houses you own, survivors you collected, barricades you built, and guns you have.

The game is based on Twilight Creations other famous “Zombies” tile game and general play style is very similar, however, there are some key differences to note.

The largest complaint I had about “Zombies” was the length of the game and the sudden shift in play style once the helicopter tile is played. Add to this the very aggressive “screw the guy closest to winning” and the game frustrated more often then not and seemed ot last longer then needed.

ZombieTown corrects for this is a couple ways. First, the game is limited to 10 rounds (11 if you play a special card) so eventually it will end.

Players who get cocky, can get killed which means you are out of the game.
It about points, so no sudden “run for the escape” plays toward the end.

Less luck and more strategy can really pay off in this title.

I ranked the game pretty good (7 out of 10) but this before I realized there were many updates o the rules which balance out the game play more, so I am already looking to play again with the revised rules.

The game supports up to 6 players and lasts about 2-3 hours.

StarCraft is officially released in the US

The news hit just last week.

StarCraft, the highly anticipated new title from Fantasy Flight Games, has hit the US shores. The official release date is October 29th, but most game stores will not the title until mid November.

The game was showcased at 2007's GenCon convention, and amazingly met with mixed reviews. Fans of Fantasy Flight games seemed to enjoy the detailed and mixed mechanics of the game, while hard core fans of the Computer games it is loosely based on had fair remarks for the new title.

Regardless most folks are pretty excited about the title that has been on the Board Game Geek for almost 2 years eagerly awaiting a release date.

We are hoping to have our copy by the 31st, how cool would that be, and will hopefully have it on hand for RockCon this Saturday.

Labor Day Weekend Report

Labor Day weekend this year was fantastic even if I had to film a wedding in the middle.

I took off Friday since the girls had the day off school. We ran around a bit and played. We also watched the Sponge Bob Square Pants movie for the 50th time. They love it and I at least can stomach the humor.


Saturday was a wash. Mike and I drove to DeKalb Illinois (About 2 hours) to film a wedding for 2 hours at Northern University. We filmed on the football field (GO HUSKIES!) and it was hotter then hell out there. The wedding was a non-event, but we did get to see Jordy’s little brother Seth at his Game Store in town. It was very impressive.

We took the 2 hour drive home and got together with James for some Video Game Madden fun (I lost every game)

Sunday started the “family” part of the weekend since I insisted there would be no work (aside from the wedding) on weekends so I can make more time for the wife and kids. (Read the last blog on the new job and you will understand)

Sunday started with a trip to Lake Geneva. I got up Super Early so I could get some Video work done before the day began so we got out about 9:30. We walked around the downtown area, shopped a little, and took the girls to the beach (no swimming though) It was a perfect day. We left around 1 to go to a Birthday party for Erin’s cousins youngest Josh.

Afterward we drove home and Erin asked if I had ever been to a Drive in. Truth be told, I said no. Recently it has become a running joke how many things I had never done in my “Privileged” life. For example I had never taken a train (Commuter anyway or a taxi) until just a few months back.

So in a snap decision we went home, ate, and left for the movies. The drive in was a real experience. Sophia fell asleep 10 minutes into the first movie (Underdog, I do not blame her)

Lilly had a bit of a rougher time, waking up every now and then pretty upset. All in all though it was an interesting experience. At least the second movie was “SuperBad” which was actually pretty funny.

Monday we were going to do nothing but sit around. That changed since Erin and I get stir crazy way to easy. (Last few weeks we planned to take it easy we did everything from fishing to Antique shopping)

So we packed up the kids again and went to the Toy Store for some Holiday gifts (Huge Toys’ R Us sale) started a roast in the crock pot for a special family dinner, hit the bookstore for some new reading material (including a book on Day Trips for WI), and a scenic drive just for fun. It ended with a good dinner, bath, and some TV before returning to work this week.

This is what it’s all about.

Mr Floss goes to Washington

So I am, here again to explain why it was so long since my last post.

Truth is I have some real good reasons for once in my life.

In July I moved away from technical support in my weekday job and left Virtual Office after 6 years. I took on a new job as an Implementation Coordinator (still with Hewitt)
Basically as we sell outsourcing support to clients, I come in from our Support Center and arrange the transition, training, and process of how it will look from our side. Or in short, a 50-60 hours per week project manager.

The new job has afforded me the ability to get some new training and new experience which I am very happy about since I was reaching the limit of how far I could climb in Tech Support.

This new job helps me better position myself for leadership type roles in the future.

This was apparent when after only 6 weeks in the role I got to go to Washington DC to represent Hewitt Support Center for the US OPM (Office of Personnel Management) This will be Hewitt first government contract and could open the door for a huge expanse of future government business, so I am pretty excited to be part of the overall process. It hard and the hours are long.

Staying organized has helped as has the support of the others in my role (1 to be exact who is busier then I am) but he has been very helpful to ease me into this lions den.

For OPM I have to go through an FBI check with interviews, family history, etc… so do not be surprised if you get a knock on your door with some MIB’s asking questions about me.

The people you meet

I have been playing games for over 20 years now. It really started with Magic the Gathering in the Early 90’s, but even before then I played the Milton Bradley and Hasbro family favorites. In the many years I have played, mostly it was among friends and family, but as my taste in variety of games grew so did the people I played with.

It continues to amaze me the variety of people who play games. It’s like a wonderful melting pot of people from all walks of life. If only the rest of the world could solve their racial and religious problems by just getting together in a friendly atmosphere and playing a game. (I recommend Age of Empires as it is a current favorite at our table)

I was thinking of this as I looked over pictures from the last game day I hosted. At first I did not even notice (which is a good thing I think) the vast variety of people who gather in friendly competition. We span ages from 16 to 50+. We have folks from all walks of life, economical status, blue and white color, various races, etc… And yet when we get together none of these things apply or are even notices since once the game starts you are a gamer, representing your pawns, cards, or pieces. In a world where we seem focused on all of our differences, I am glad to be part of an organization of people where these things do not exist, or at the very least are left at the door.

Many people post about problems they have with their group or certain members. I though I would take a moment to compliment my group and the players who have made my gaming experience the best I could hope.

How cool is this!?

WizKids games, makers of Heroclix, Mechwarrior, and various other miniature games has announced a new line of CLIX coming in September. This time you can take on the role of Master Chief and play out your favorite HALO battles using Action Clix.

So far it looks to have about 80 characters and even vehicles. I cannot wait to get my hands on some of these and see the rules. I hope they have a demo at WizCon this year!

Equally exciting is that the final line of Aliens vs. Predator Horror Clix has also been completed so now I can have those epic wars.

Wait,

What about Superman vs Aliens vs Halo vs Freddy Krueger.

AWESOME!

Return of the Geeks

A short post for this fine Tuesday. This past weekend was the perfect time to game here in Kenosha mostly because it was 100 degrees outside.

We are still almost 2 weeks off from the Zach Myers going away Game-A-Thon but already it looks to be a nice full house which is nice since he has been gaming with us off and on for over a year. I wonder what games he will choose?

This Friday we have a double helping of game nights with the Got Dice group getting together as well as the Kenosha Gamers. Willie had a great idea to add a calendar we all have access too online to coordinate when we have them so those of us who try to get to all of them do not have to pick our Friday night Friends. There should be a link to the calendar in the left column.

Anyway, I am going to try and post some new reviews later and some new additions to our game library. Stay cool.

El Grande may have met it's match

Anyone who knows me knows that El Grande is one of my all time favorite games. Friday night I got to play Age of Empires III the board game and I have to say it give El Grande a great run for the money. It has several similar aspects in that almost nothing is random. Bidding and strategy make up 95% of the game play which means you control almost everything that happens to you and how you play the game. While there are some random elements, you choose whether or not to pursue each aspect of the game (commerce, discovery, combat, trade, order, etc...) meaning the game has several different approaches. Just the 5 players we played with took very different approaches to the game, and the one we though would come in low on score ended up winning by a good margin showing the game can twist based on the actions each person chooses. Plain simple, a great strategy game I cannot wait to try again.

10 things that make me a nerd

Check our my personal forum for 10 things that have moved me to accept my Nerrdom

And in a true stunning example of Irony...

Your results:
You are Lex Luthor

A brilliant businessman on a quest for world domination and the self-proclaimed greatest criminal mind of our time!


Lex Luthor 74%
Dr. Doom 74%
Mr. Freeze 69%
Apocalypse 66%
The Joker 58%
Magneto 58%
Green Goblin 57%
Juggernaut 49%
Two-Face 45%
Venom 43%
Catwoman 42%
Kingpin 42%
Riddler 40%
Dark Phoenix 34%
Poison Ivy 25%
Mystique 25%

It's true! I Took this stupid quiz, and would you believe it...

My Idol, my favorite Super Hero... IS ME!

Nice to know my second choice was Green Lantern, another favorite. SWEET!

Your results:
You are Superman
You are mild-mannered, good,
strong and you love to help others.



Superman 85%
Green Lantern 85%
Iron Man 70%
Spider-Man 60%
Batman 60%
Supergirl 60%
The Flash 55%
Catwoman 45%
Robin 40%
Hulk 40%
Wonder Woman 35%

Join the Dark Side

I recently added a guild to the Board Game Geek website for the SGW game group. Tim had notices that Guilds were now available. With his donation of a few Geek Gold, I was able to get the guild started and hopefully we can get some members added. BGG also has a BLOG but I prefer to use my one Blog since it is linked to other Blogs I have. The guild will allow us to post updates, share ideas with other guild members, even check games we all have in a single place on the best Game Information site I know about.

So go to the boardgamegeek.com join the site, and join our guild.

See you there.

Transformers is gonna rock!

Sorry, but having seen more previews I have accepted that even if Michael Bay adds an unneeded love story, the transformers themsleves are going to steal the show completely and this Action Movie (Remember, ACTION, movie) will be great. Hopefully having Steven Spielberg at the Producer seat helped. When I saw Optimus Prime transform and heard the old animated series transform sound I mimicked as a kick (about 40 more times though since it took a while to transform some of the toys) I was down right giddy. 2007 special effect and action, homage to 1985 fan boys like me, and all is good I say. I was a sceptic, but now I plan to go opening night and even got the RISK game based on the movie. I gues the blof July 5 will tell if if I am right or wrong. :)

For you that think it is gonna suck, at least this was not their idea for "LIVE ACTION"

The Road to Eldorado (Tectonic actually)

Here is a link to the complete story so far in my endeavor to create my own game from thought to production. http://www.strategygamersworld.com/tectonicbirth.htm

The Tec in Tectonic

Tectonic has received a face lift as I have moved it to a final production version. (Minus a few snags like the image above)

Some of us had an opportunity to play the game in both it’s basic (original) version, and the new advanced rules. Both played very well and the card and tile quality was above even my bloated expectations.

I am hoping to get some more play testing done over the next few weeks and move this bad boy to the shelves by the end of the year.

Thanks to everyone who has helped test this game.

More then Meets the Eye

Well you should have known. With the new Transformers movie almost here it was only a matter of time before the products hit the shelves. While I could care less about TF paper plates or Silly String Shooters, one item did catch my eye right away. Yet another Risk Variant, this time taking place on the fables TF planet of Cybertron.

I have not played yet, but the rules seem solid and fun, so maybe something good will come out from the movie.

Creative "Dilemma" Writing

Check out this news article featuring friend and fellow "Gamer" James Barnabee about drawing the line in creative writing.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0704280458apr29,1,3751613.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

March Madness Pics are Online

Come see the images Tim shot at the March Madness Event

http://www.flossvideography.com/imageprivate/index.php?cat=18

Whats New Pussycat

Sometimes I sit at my PC and struggle for anything to write in this Blog. Maybe in the last few weeks there has not been any great game events or reviews for me to post. So as I sit here and try to think of what to add I will simply keep typing until something hits me…

Well, April Game day was a big success in that I only thought 3 people were coming and it turned out to be 13. We had to split into 2 groups just to get the games in. We also had a chance to play a game I had never played before, Arkham Horror. We did manage to play it completely wrong, but hey, it s a complicated game with lots or rules the first time through.

I have also been eying my next batch of games I want. Starcraft looks sweet and there is a new expansion to Zombies that adds underground zombies attacks and realms. Heroscape is also coming out with wave 9 which should be cool as well as the Marvel Hersoscape game for those of you who needed another Marvel crossover into an already excellent game.

2007 should shape up as some big new expansions hit the market like a new Descent Expansion that adds campaign rules for extended game time and character development, and even a new expansion to Runebound. Maybe the game will be less boring for me now having played it several times and found it to be the same almost every time.

I am also excited about Stonehenge. This is a game where 5 different groups created 5 different games using the exact same pieces and components, so it could be interesting since you can play any of the 5 games right out of the box. Expect it later this month to hit shelves.

Anyway, that about does it for me now.

March Madness Game Day Review

March Madness was a huge success and I have to say it was even better than my Birthday Game Day last year (Which is a tall order since that was one of the best I have had in my life. We had with a record turnout of 12 folks at the highpoint including a few newbies to the group like Renee, Tim Scott’s wife, and Eric Letarte, a friend of the Myers clan, who were all in attendance as well.

Tim Scott made his second appearance, and rounded out the rest with Jordy, Tim Myers, Mike D. Jim B. James M, Andrew M. and rounded out with yours truly.

We opened with The Spectre battle, and because James and I (having discussed the game the night before) decided to give each player a 300 point army instead of 200 based on the 9 players who took me on 1:1. Well, Huge mistake on my point. Although it was over an hour until the Spectre took a hit, once the groups came together and worked out a strategy, it was end of the line for me in a matter of 2-3 rounds. Although my goal of taking out the heavy hitters was accomplished at least by taking out 2 Supermen, and a few others of choice. Although I got my butt kicked, and got made fun of for having to lift the Spectre’s Cape to view one of his dials making it look rather “provocative” it was a fun time and introduced a bunch of folks to HeroClix in a fun unique way.

Afterward we moved to break up games including Blockus, Guillotine, and a few other fast filler games before one group moved to El Grande and Betrayal at House on the Hill.

Again, I did not survive Betrayal, but in my defense, Jim who became the traitor, read the haunt wrong giving him a slight advantage, like 150 times for powerful then he should have been. We may have lost but now we have total right to rip him a new one. Well worth the loss.

We broke for dinner and dessert, which was the greatest ice cream cake I think I ever had, if not for the fact the piece I had made me feel I had eaten an entire ice cream truck.

Finally the evening wrapped up with the New RPG and 8 players (9 when Erin joined later on) I will have another full recap of the game elsewhere, but I will say I think I pulled off my goal to creep everyone out a bit and make the game a fast paced thrill ride. Everyone got to participate and we had some great laughs, not the least of which was the last line of the night, “I turned into water!”

Way to go Eric, we are happy for you bro. Hopefully that is enough for him to return to see all the sick things I can do with water…

Every RPG should start with one of these

Here is a little video I put together for my RPG group to help get them in the mood.

If they find Earth, it will not have a Battlestar CCG

Well in a strange twist, the most popular series on Sci-Fi, and one of the top 3 Science fiction series on TV was not strong enough to keep the CCG (Collectible Card Game) version of the show alive.

Sales slumped so bad that Wizkids even cancelled the next expansion for the game (which was due in February 07) so it will never see the light of day, or Earth for that matter.

Battlestar was not a bad CCG. Once the mechanics are learned it plays well, and has many features of current CCG games with some new twists. So why the failure?

Mostly, in a world of 1000 CCG games on the shelves, and every game trying to capture the awesome Juggernaut that is Magic the Gathering, this game simply does not inspire you.

Fans of the show may like the cards and artwork, but it plays like many other CCG games, and fails to draw you into the Battlestar world. For those not familiar with the show, there are simply better games and more wide spread games out there.

In the end I am glad I grabbed a few copies and boosters. Who know, they may be worth more after the game leaves the shelves for good.

So ends this transmission, "By your command!"

A fond farewell

Today we say goodbye to Michael Barnes on the BGG. Michael is the first BGG user to be banned and although I have not always agreed with his opinions, he was a huge contributor and added spice to what I sorely believe will become a much lighter fair on the BGG.

I fear this also opens the floodgates for future banning and worse, a more critical censorship of what can be posted on BGG.

I always though if you did not like what a person said, you could ignore it or the types of forum psots they are prone to do, but I guess I am too much of an adult and take responsability for myself, unliek those who need to ban those they don't agree with or just plain dislike.

Too bad I say.

So long Michael.

Your may be Ameritrash if

To Follow the Eurosnoot Blog, here is the official SGW "You may be Ameritrash (American style games player) if" list.

1. You think, "Who give a rat's ass about rules, this game has Zombies and half naked chicks!"



2. A games value is dependant on not just how many dice it has, but how many of them are custom dice.



3. You have every variant of Risk, including both versions of Star Wars Risk.



4. You pay $80.00 for a game because it comes with miniatures, that you can then spend another $80.00 on plus days of work to paint, all for the thrill of playing the game once, maybe twice, then boxing up again.



5. You know who Michael Barnes is.



6. You buy any game with name Zombie, Monster, Evil, or Attack in the title.



7. You use the cubes from the few Euro games your buddies talked you into getting to prop up your Heroclix figures in the back row of your collection.



8. You do a game check at every game day. If you cannot pronounce it, you will not play it.



9. You have played Warhammer 40k and Space Hulk and enjoy them for their subtle variance but similar thematic elements. Plus miniatures are cool!



10. You have every played a game based on a movie or TV show.

You may be a Eurosnoot if...

For those who do not know Eurosnoot is a title give to Euro gamers by American game players. While anyone can be a Eurosnoot (not just Europeans) many of you may not even know you are a Eurosnoot, so now you can take my "You May be a Eurosnoot if" test.

You may be a Eurosnoot if...

1. You could care less about the theme of a game as long as it has small wooden cubes.


2. You actually know who Reiner Knizia is.


3. Most of your games have titles that are not English.


4. Dice, we don't need no stinken dice!


5. You think being a Bulgarian Grain Farmer or Aztec Accountant sounds more intriguing than being a Zombie Hunter.


6. You played Risk once, but is was on a dare, and you were drunk, otherwise you never would have played it.


7. You bought the expansion to Thurn and Taxis because you felt there was so much more that could be explored with a game about creating Postal Routes in Europe and the turn of the century.


8. You think, "Why have miniatures when Meeples are so functional."


9. You have a different expansion for Carcassone for each day of the week.


10. You painted a Rubicks cube all black and presented it to yourself to represent your ultimate dominance at all Euro Games

Wood shop plus geek equals...

OK, so I got the idea from another geek, but I have wanting to do some word work projects to get back in the swing of using the tools for some upcoming projects for the kids. As such I got some plywood and have started making little "rough" projects. Here is one of them.

It is a card sorter, making sorting cards easier and allowing folks to pass entire sets of cards easily. Works great for games like Settlers of Catan or other games with tons of different decks in the game. Shown here with Descent. Now I just have to seal it so it does not cause splinters. :)

Manstuary Delayed

I had really hoped to start building the Game Den this year in the basement (Manstuary as I call it) but it seems I will have to wait until the Fall or next year due to budget constraints. Not bother though, I did get to place my new hand painted Superman images up the Family Room so maybe my master plan of turning my entire house into a Manstuary will come true.

OK, Maybe not.

Game Day February - Session Report

Game Day in February may have been re-titled, "Trials and Tribulations"

We started by playing Descent with the new Well of Darkness expansion. I played the overlord, James, Tim and Andrew played our Heroes.

I picked a moderately hard (or so I thought at the time) quest since all the players had played the game before.

Normally a quest will last several hours, but less than 2 hours in, I had decimated the heroes and they were only about 1/4 the way in.

So we tried again, this time I played a hero, James played the overlord. You would think the advantage would be on our side since I knew the quest in total, and Tim and Andrew knew what to expect in the beginning. We chose new characters well suited (again, so we thought) for the quest. 1 hour in, decimation ensued again.

Maybe it was the quest you say? Possibly, so we tried another.

This time we did a bit better, but at about 1/3 the way in,

say it with me now...

DECIMATION.

Not sure if we are missing something, but we got 3 plays in when most folks only get 1. I thought maybe we missed something, so I checked the boards and FAQ for the game. NOPE, it seems there is just this vast division of folks who think the game is too easy (what are they smoking) and those who think it it too damn hard (I am a charter member of the latter)

My conclusion: I plan to try again, different missions each time, and see if we cannot kick the Overlords ass for once.

Descent - Journey in the Dark - Or as I call it, "Really Fracking Hard!"

Saturday we played Descent 3 times and each time the heroes died before making it past the first 1/3rd of the mission. I have played difficult games before but this was just crazy. We all played well as a group, chose our characters (not random) and even played the same quest twice thinking we would do better the second time knowing more of what to expect.

Nope, pass the silver tray please so I may place me ass upon it and hand it over to the overlord who barely had to break a sweat to annihilate us.

Now I just want to play again to prove I am not a complete loser.

Say Goodbye to Hollywood

Last game event we suffered our first casualty. Norma, the loveseat in the Game Den, sister to Bertha the couch, was defaced when a pen left carelessly in the pocket of a gamer exploded and left the shape of a crushed bird forever imprinted on the arm.

Let us all take a moment of silence for the passing of this cherished friend lost in the name of gaming.

Let us also reflect on the lesson we have all learned from this.

Take your pens out of your pocket before sitting.

That is all. We no return you to out normal broadcast.

Welcome Home

Welcome all to the new SGW Blog where I will be posting new information, news, reviews, and my personal tid-bits on the gaming community.

I have tried setting up Forums in the apst only to find few folks update them, most use other forums like BGG anyway, and I got email spam from it daily, so now, I will take another road to gather my daily dish of Game Info.

Hope to see you again soon.