The Nerd isn't Dead, Only Dreaming

I suspect I've used that title before. Oh well.

I'm not dead. Just super busy at work and pretty exhausted afterwards. And there's this little monster at home that is against things like sleep or sanity (I knew we should have named her Cthulhu).

I want to write review on the most recent issue of Saga and how the Spiderverse event is going. So keep an eye out for that.

I picked up the new Call of Duty. It's enjoyable, but I find the novelty fades fairly quickly, and the weapons aren't balanced enough to promote switching things up.

Dragon Age: Inquisition comes out tonight. Assuming I don't fall sleep beforehand, I'm planning on picking it up at midnight and playing for a bit. I'll be surprised if I make it past the character creation...

This weekend I'll be attending a gathering of friends celebrating the release of the new Smash Bros... but playing the crap out of it all day. I might write a few thoughts afterwards.

TableTop Season 3 started. Check that out, the first episode is a solid one and they made me really want to get Tokaido :/

And I hate the announced title for the Star Wars film. But whatever, I'll avoid the rant on that one.e

Back to work. Or sleep. See which one wins...

Board Game Night: Ticket to Ride

Last night was the second night at my attempt of a regular board game night. Previously, we played RISK: Legacy and a couple quick games. Last night the feature was Ticket to Ride: Europe Edition.

The final board.

You may remember that this game was recently featured on TableTop, considering I wrote about it. Well, one of our regular players, whom I'll call "The Roommate," happened to own a copy. Since The Wife was joining us, along with "The Mick" (seriously, that's not being racist), I thought it would be a perfect game to try out.

It went very, very well. I didn't quite think I would enjoy it as much as I did, but there were more avenues for strategy than I had initially realized, and the rules were very simple to follow. Turns could go fast or slow, depending on how prepared the players were or how screwed they got when someone stole the route they were planning on taking. There were two moments where I got blocked and either had to take a long way around or use a train station.

For being a lengthy game with a decent amount of pieces, it was incredibly easy and fun. It reminded me of simpler games such as Monopoly, yet actually had options and strategy. I strongly recommend it for any gaming group, just starting or veterans.

The final scoring process was also a lot of fun, if a bit heartbreaking. I'd managed to complete my four routes (no one took extras) and only used one train station -- I was in first place. Then we counted the longest route... and I was short by two cars! The Wife got the bonus ten points and won the game at the literal last second with a score of 109 to my 107. Damn.

The victor (playing red trains).

Final Stats

Difficulty: Easy to Intermediate
Fun Factor: High
Replayability: High, especially considering the different versions.
Winner: The Wife
Rating: 9/10

After that, the guys and I played a couple games of Cthulhu Fluxx. The Fluxx games are fairly simple, but I especially appreciated the attention to Lovecraft Lore the cards and card synergy reflected. Fun for any group due to self-explained rules and especially fun for fans of the Cthulhu Mythos.

House Rules for Younger Players
-Play without Destination Tickets the first few times and simply focus on scoring points by taking routes and getting the "Longest Train" bonus. This keeps the game simple and allows players to get used to basic strategies (like cutting off an opponent to try and stop their "Longest Train" bonus). After a few games of this, introducing Destination Tickets should be a smooth process. For any bonus rules that come with different versions, they are generally well explained, but feel free to introduce them when they make sense for particular play group.

Day 30ish: A Good Board Game for Beginners

I'm not sure if I've really don't a post for this, so I may have some other suggestions in the future, but for now I wanted to talk about Forbidden Island. It is the only game that I own that was also featured on TableTop, so I figured I'd link to the video and give a brief description why it's good for beginners.


The object of this game is to get four idols with the assistance of up to four other players, before the island floods. Players take on one of four unique character roles when doing this, be they the Pilot who has an easy time moving around the board, or the Engineer who can help keep things from sinking. There are item cards that assist players, idol cards that allow you to actually get the idols, and flooding cards that, well, flood things.

It can get pretty hairy from the get go, but the actual rules are very, very simple. One of the beautiful things about the game, beyond the pleasing-to-look-at art, is that the "board" is actually a series of randomly placed tiles, promising a unique game every time you play.

For getting a new gamer involved, cooperative games are nice because one person doesn't lose and feel inadequate. Everyone wins or loses together and the only important thing is that they had a good time doing it.

Anyone have any exciting Forbidden Island stories? I've only played it a few times myself, but it is a very easy setup game. Also, it's Wife approved!

Day 24ish: International TableTop Day is coming!

April 5th! Can't wait!

Since I'm coming in VERY late with posts, here's a quick reminder to folks that second annual (though I think it needs to hit three to actually be considered annual) International TableTop Day is April 5th.

Check out the website for more info (the fact that a site for this http://www.tabletopday.com/.
exists makes me all tingly inside):

When the big day comes around, I plan on either playing Eldritch Horror or possibly picking up a new title just for the day. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm happy to take them.

Games on my current want/research further list:

I love Star Wars. I love Risk. I LOVE this.

A Touch of Evil (Looks interesting)
Axis and Allies (Classic, but never played it...)
Risk: 2210AD (Heard many good things, but went with Godstorm instead when I had the chance)
Risk: Star Wars (Original trilogy and it looks pretty damn good)
Catacombs (An active component to a board game? The Wife might actually beat me!)
Descent (This seems like a game I'd really enjoy, not sure about how many I'd need to sit with)
There are plenty more... Every time I see a board game display, I'm always seeing something new that looks extremely interesting.

Day 23: More TableTop

This episode of Tabletop features an alternate version of a game played last season, Ticket to Ride. The Europe edition had a few more rules, but was more or less the same game. This one was interesting for how close it came.

As Wil says at the beginning of the episode, this is a very strong game to get folks interested in board gaming. The rules are easy, the level of active competitiveness is generally low, yet the potential for multiple strategies is very high.

Take a look and remind me to thank Mr. Wheaton for carrying the Month of The Nerd...

Day 12ish: Drama on TableTop!

... So, I fell asleep again. Instead of some content I worked (relatively) hard to create, I'm going to let Wil Wheaton take the wheel! Well, kind of.


Tsuro and Tsuro of the Seas aren't normally my kind of games, but I think The Wife would get a lot of enjoyment out of them -- she's stated in the past that tile laying games interest her, and the rules seemed to have no nonsense. The Wife generally refuses to play a game with a recommended age above 8, but I'm generally able to convince her. Maybe I'll hunt down one of these so I'm not such a lousy (board game) husband.

Also, there's a chance to win a signed copy of this game... The thought of owning something signed by Wil Wheaton is almost bucket-list worthy, if I didn't want to add another very unlikely thing to my already improbable list.

Also, as a side and so I feel a little bit better about this sparse post, all Pokemon fans should make sure they've seen Pokemon: Origins. It is made up of four episodes that tell the story of Red as his story goes through the journey we all played in the original Red and Blue titles. There are a lot of nostalgia moments and the anime is beautiful, what more could you need?

Day 1: Board Games!

Happy new year! Almost missed today's first post... you know, the beginning of "The Month of The Nerd" I mentioned last time!

To start, I just wanted to write a bit about what has been catching my interest more and more lately: board games! I've always enjoyed them in various forms, but titles such as Monopoly and Sorry! aren't exactly what I'm talking about. Classic, mainstream board games are fun and almost anyone can play them and have a good time.

Well, I suppose you CAN spice it up...

Unfortunately, my preferences have always been a bit more difficult to get into and therefore make it difficult for me to find anyone to play with. Starting with Chess, a very common strategy game, there are many people who don't have any clue how to play and much less drive to learn. Bump it up to something like Stratego, and the real strategy is to just find someone willing to try it out!

My favorite games are competitive strategy games that have many techniques available and long enough to actually see progression. Risk would be the entry level board game here and I was fortunate enough to find a group of friends in college to play with. In fact, we played almost every single night. I've got multiple versions: "Updated" Risk, Godstorm, Star Wars (the prequel one, unfortunately), Halo, and, my favorite, Legacy. I'll eventually collect more, but my main quest with Risk at the moment is to find a steady group to finally play through multiple Legacy games -- the board actually has permanent changes and additions that add up to a unique version after 10-15 times played. I still don't know what all the changes will be because I'm trying to find a group that can enjoy all the transformations and not just random players who may never touch it again.

So much potential!

Thanks to Wil Wheaton's TableTop show on the Geek and Sundry YouTube Channel, I've been seeing a whole range of games that I'd never consider -- mostly due to having no one to play with, but also because they're generally expensive and I'm always loathe to try something new with no guarantee of enjoyment.

Very excited to add Cthulhu to my board gaming!

Since watching every single episode of TableTop (which comes out something like every other week), I've picked up Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures, Forbidden Island, and Eldritch Horror (not featured on the show, but a similar title was). The last two are even cooperative titles, which usually doesn't interest me. The Wife and I enjoyed Forbidden Island and I'm still trying to get her to play a full game of Eldritch Horror -- the first attempt was a bit of a bust because I didn't know how lengthy the setup could be.

X-Wing Miniatures is enjoyable and scratches my collectible itch, which isn't always easy to do.

For those who struggle to find players in their own board game quest, I suggest you reach out to your local hobby shop. I have two relatively close to me that host regular game nights -- usually card games such as Magic: The Gathering, but if the shop sees an interest elsewhere, they're generally willing to branch out. I hope to stop in on one such night at TJ Collectibles in Milford, MA soon and see what board games they actually play and how open they are to suggestions. I'll do a further post on that when it comes to pass.

Anyone else have any board games they love but maybe aren't that well known? There are a lot of grand strategy titles I'd love to look into, but that will be a ways off until I can produce enough offspring to field a game of something like Twilight Imperium...

I have no idea what any of this does (Twilight Imperium)...

Enough rambling for now! No clue what's coming tomorrow, but it will definitely be something. Yeah, something.

TableTop - Elder Sign

What do you get when you mix Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, and H.P. Lovecraft? An episode of TableTop that has three of my favorite things!

Check out TableTop Season 1 Episode 11:

... Now I really need to pick up a copy of Elder Sign. The game looks just confusing enough for me to get super interested in and have no one to play with v.v

Also -- first recording of The Podcast is a Lie tonight, look for it soon! And tell your friends, damn it!