Tuesday, August 16, 2005
It often comes as a shock to my roleplaying friends when I get chatting with them about board games. Most of them know me mainly as an RPG player and GM, and few of them really know how deep my obsession with board games really goes. Obviously I'm not talking about games like Monopoly and Sorry here (although I do enjoy those more traditional board games), but more strategic and tactical games like the so-called Euro games, as well as war games and American-style strategy games.
Perhaps the most surprising thing is my dirty little secret that I enjoy these types of games a hell of a lot more than I enjoy RPGs. In fact, I've said for a few years that if I could find a board gaming group that would meet on a fairly regular basis, I'd probably give up on RPGs altogether. Of course, I've never ever found that type of group ... although the two groups I've become involved with recently -- Canucks Amuck and T.A.B.S. -- are pretty close.
Over the last couple of months, I've been enjoying meeting the people involved in those two groups and getting a chance to try several board games I'd never had a chance to play before. I've even increased the size of my collection a bit -- and I'm actually going to be able to play these games. It's a novel concept, being able to play the games I buy. :)
While I was on vacation, I had the chance to play several games I'd never played before -- some of which were games I had purchased and some were owned by others. For instance, I got a chance to play a four-player Settlers of Catan game over a week ago with Jacquie, David M. and David's wife. That same night, David and Maria introduced Jacquie and I to a neat abstract strategy game called Blokus.
During my stay-at-home week-long vacation (last week), I hooked up with Xavier and others for some gaming. I spent twelve hours at Xavier's place on Thursday, and we gave The Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation, Duell and (later on with a group) La Citta. On Friday, Xavier and I connected again for a game of Tikal, which is one I will definitely have to purchase when I get a chance.
On Saturday, I saw Sean, and the two of played his newly-acquired Munchkin Fu, which I very much enjoyed. I doubt I'll buy it, seeing as it's still pretty much the same thing as Munchkin, but it's still fun. Throughout the week, Jacquie and I also played Poker's Wild and a couple of games of Carcassonne. On Sunday, Jacquie and I got a chance to play Carcassonne: The Castle, which we borrowed from Xavier. The Castle turned out to not be as good as regular Carcassonne, but it's not a bad game.
More games are planned for this week. I'll be heading up to the north end of the city on Thursday night to play Granada: The Fall of Moslem Spain with David B, and then I'll be at his place again next Tuesday for Ogre. On the weekend, Xavier, David M. and I are hoping to get together with our significant others for a game of ... possibly Bohnanza, but possibly something else. Not really sure about that yet.
So many games, so little time. :)
Perhaps the most surprising thing is my dirty little secret that I enjoy these types of games a hell of a lot more than I enjoy RPGs. In fact, I've said for a few years that if I could find a board gaming group that would meet on a fairly regular basis, I'd probably give up on RPGs altogether. Of course, I've never ever found that type of group ... although the two groups I've become involved with recently -- Canucks Amuck and T.A.B.S. -- are pretty close.
Over the last couple of months, I've been enjoying meeting the people involved in those two groups and getting a chance to try several board games I'd never had a chance to play before. I've even increased the size of my collection a bit -- and I'm actually going to be able to play these games. It's a novel concept, being able to play the games I buy. :)
While I was on vacation, I had the chance to play several games I'd never played before -- some of which were games I had purchased and some were owned by others. For instance, I got a chance to play a four-player Settlers of Catan game over a week ago with Jacquie, David M. and David's wife. That same night, David and Maria introduced Jacquie and I to a neat abstract strategy game called Blokus.
During my stay-at-home week-long vacation (last week), I hooked up with Xavier and others for some gaming. I spent twelve hours at Xavier's place on Thursday, and we gave The Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation, Duell and (later on with a group) La Citta. On Friday, Xavier and I connected again for a game of Tikal, which is one I will definitely have to purchase when I get a chance.
On Saturday, I saw Sean, and the two of played his newly-acquired Munchkin Fu, which I very much enjoyed. I doubt I'll buy it, seeing as it's still pretty much the same thing as Munchkin, but it's still fun. Throughout the week, Jacquie and I also played Poker's Wild and a couple of games of Carcassonne. On Sunday, Jacquie and I got a chance to play Carcassonne: The Castle, which we borrowed from Xavier. The Castle turned out to not be as good as regular Carcassonne, but it's not a bad game.
More games are planned for this week. I'll be heading up to the north end of the city on Thursday night to play Granada: The Fall of Moslem Spain with David B, and then I'll be at his place again next Tuesday for Ogre. On the weekend, Xavier, David M. and I are hoping to get together with our significant others for a game of ... possibly Bohnanza, but possibly something else. Not really sure about that yet.
So many games, so little time. :)
// posted by Chris @ 4:03 PM 
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