I can’t believe I’m actually going to try this. When I told my wife she actually said, “You want to write?” People who really know me know that I do not like to write; I much prefer to talk; I could talk all day. I just don’t feel very confident writing. I am definitely getting better but I generally like to avoid it. Regardless, here goes nothing…
I have a large collection of games (several hundred, I think) and I’ve wanted to at least take an inventory and really find out what is there as many have been in boxes for several years. One day while musing about games and gaming, I thought of the movie Julie and Julia (where a woman spends a year making every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook). I thought that I could make my cataloging of games more interesting by playing all of them at least one more time (for a few it would be the first time) and then write about my experiences. So I'll be using my blog to talk about games in a social sense: covering topics like etiquette, hosting, playing fair, how to really have fun, and just socializing in general. There won't be any extended reviews of games or big discussions of strategy as many sites cover that.
I would like to give recognition to my good friend Brian Tanner and his blog opticwalrus.blogspot.com. Brian is one of the most talented and intelligent person people I know. His great blog has also been a big inspiration for me. Go check it out now.
Last Friday, May 27th, was my birthday and I had a Game Night at my house. I figured I could use the date as a start for a yearlong cataloging of my games and other games I play. That night I played a new game for me called Merkatur. It is an economic game but is the first time I've encountered a mechanic where "time" is used as a resource. It was quite fun. 3 of the 4 of us were new but because we all had extensive experience with games it went easily. I did not win but I still enjoyed it and would play again. In fact I would actively seek to play it again.
This brings me to my first thought on gaming. This is also, in my opinion, the most critical thing when it comes to playing a game: you are supposed to just have fun whether you win or lose. Make no mistake, I like to win and I try my best to win. But to me I've already won because I've enjoyed some time interacting with and getting to know some people better. Over the weekend I played 10 games (not a lot for me, but unthinkable to some) and I think I only won one, but it was a great weekend. Famed designer Reiner Knizia said it very well: "The goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important - not the winning". So you should try to win but not make it everything.
Just go out there and:
Have fun.
I have a large collection of games (several hundred, I think) and I’ve wanted to at least take an inventory and really find out what is there as many have been in boxes for several years. One day while musing about games and gaming, I thought of the movie Julie and Julia (where a woman spends a year making every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook). I thought that I could make my cataloging of games more interesting by playing all of them at least one more time (for a few it would be the first time) and then write about my experiences. So I'll be using my blog to talk about games in a social sense: covering topics like etiquette, hosting, playing fair, how to really have fun, and just socializing in general. There won't be any extended reviews of games or big discussions of strategy as many sites cover that.
I would like to give recognition to my good friend Brian Tanner and his blog opticwalrus.blogspot.com. Brian is one of the most talented and intelligent person people I know. His great blog has also been a big inspiration for me. Go check it out now.
Last Friday, May 27th, was my birthday and I had a Game Night at my house. I figured I could use the date as a start for a yearlong cataloging of my games and other games I play. That night I played a new game for me called Merkatur. It is an economic game but is the first time I've encountered a mechanic where "time" is used as a resource. It was quite fun. 3 of the 4 of us were new but because we all had extensive experience with games it went easily. I did not win but I still enjoyed it and would play again. In fact I would actively seek to play it again.
This brings me to my first thought on gaming. This is also, in my opinion, the most critical thing when it comes to playing a game: you are supposed to just have fun whether you win or lose. Make no mistake, I like to win and I try my best to win. But to me I've already won because I've enjoyed some time interacting with and getting to know some people better. Over the weekend I played 10 games (not a lot for me, but unthinkable to some) and I think I only won one, but it was a great weekend. Famed designer Reiner Knizia said it very well: "The goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important - not the winning". So you should try to win but not make it everything.
Just go out there and:
Have fun.
