I got the chance to go to BGG Spring in Dallas for the first time at the end of May. My lovely friends from Phoenix, Ohio and Atlanta wanted to meet up somewhere in between all of them, and we all stayed at an airbnb near DFW Airport. I had an amazing time with these guys, and it was just what I needed to de-stress from a chaotic few months. We usually met up yearly for Friendship Con, which I’ve written about here and here.
There’s a misconception among a few people (namely some men I’ve dated) that I’m horrible at math. But in reality, I’m actually pretty decent at math; I just can’t for the life of me do it in my head. Give me some writing utensils and/or my cell phone, and I’ll be able to calculate things and cruise into board-game victory any day.
The first time I encountered Sentient from Renegade Game Studios was late last year, and I was so blown away by it that it immediately made the list for my top 10 games I played for the first time in 2017. Sentient is a clever set-collection, area-control, dice-manipulation game that sometimes involves math. I seriously squealed and said, “That’s FOIL!” when one particular card came out in that first game.
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I first encountered No Motherland Without last October at GMT Weekend and immediately fell in love with the game. Game designer Dan Bullock was there, and I had the pleasure of gaming with him and a few other folks I met that weekend. I was drawn to No Motherland Without because it’s a card-driven game similar to Twilight Struggle and 1960: Making the President, both of which I love, plus it also has some unique elements that make this game stand out. It’s set in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the game is now on Kickstarter! (Edit: The Kickstarter has since been cancelled, as the designer is deciding how to progress. Stay tuned!)
For the past two years, every time there was a board-game garage sale or flea market, I’d always be on the lookout for Wasabi! It’s an older Z-Man game from 2008, and it’s on my list of grail games that I wished I had a copy of. Recently, my Hooked On Geek podcast co-host Greg randomly mentioned in an episode that it was a grail game of mine, and then two weeks ago, Mike said he was going to send me his copy because it never got played. Wow!! The board game community is seriously just so frakkin’ awesome.
So Feudum has arrived on our table, and, despite its whimsy artwork, it’s quite a beast. A behemoth to be exact. And maybe a sea serpent. My buddy @idontknowrules has been seriously talking about this game since forever, and we got it on table pretty much as soon as it hit his doorstep. The game mechanics aren’t too difficult to learn, but understanding how the system works is quite brain burnery and puzzly. ‘Tis super excellent.
Hello, friends! It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? I’d like to say I’ve been busy gaming and just haven’t been writing but it’s been a combination of life events that has slowed down all the gaming I’d like to be doing. Inspired by Jamey Stegmaier’s personal blog, I thought I’d share some personal updates with you all. By the way, have you read how much that guy writes on his work and personal websites? It’s pretty amazing.
Arizona Game Fair happened last weekend, and I’m seriously still on a high from all the whirlwind weekend of gaming, hanging out with old friends and meeting more new ones. This is the second year of Arizona Game Fair, and I already can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year. Save the date, folks — March 29-31, 2019! …
February always sneaks up on me. Often I haven’t quite recovered from the holiday pandemonium, and, in a blink of an eye, January is over and it’s February — which is littered in ALL THINGS PINK. Don’t get me wrong — I love romance, love and all that wonderful stuff, just not when it’s forced down your throat at every single corner of the world. Plus, aren’t we supposed supposed to show our love and appreciation year-round anyway?
I always feel very lucky to have found such a great gaming community here in Phoenix. There’s seriously never a shortage of folks to play with, and getting around the Phoenix area isn’t a huge ordeal. (I’m looking at you, LA.) In an effort to turn Phoenix into a gaming-industry destination, Andrew Long created the Arizona Game Fair. This year will be its second year, to be held on Feb. 9-11, 2018, at the Mesa Convention Center. I can’t wait to go there and game!
