Podcasts

So over the past few years I've taken to listening to some podcasts. Mostly they are gaming podcasts, but I do have a couple non-gaming ones thrown in there. I thought I'd write about the ones that I keep on a regular rotation now, as I've given some up as well.

The Dice Tower - When it comes to board game podcasts, this is the grand-daddy of them all. I think they've been going for something like 9 years now. They make a fun podcast, have lots of different contributors, and provide some good insight on various board games. Mostly though, I listen for their Top 10 lists. Every other week they do a Top 10 list of games for a specific category, such as games from 1998 or games you'd play with your mom. These are entertaining and also give you some good ideas for possible purchases and trades.

The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast - This is a group of 4 guys that talk about gaming of all kinds. Video gaming, board games, RPGs, miniatures, just about everything you can think they'd discuss. Mostly it is board games, but I like it that they discuss other parts of the gaming hobby that I'm not involved in. The real reason I listen to them though is because as a listener it is like you have just been placed in their game room, after a game, and you hear 4 long time friends just shootin' the breeze. This podcast is what I imagine would be in any game room in any situation with buddies of a long time. I can see myself sitting around talking to my long time gaming buddies like Jonathan, Dave, and Ryan just recording it. This would be the Secret Cabal - just Indiana style.

Ludology - This is more of a gaming thought podcast. Goeff and Ryan, both pretty smart guys, discuss specific game topics or theories or sometimes will even go very indepth on a single game. Most interesting to me though right now is that they are live blogging, I guess that is what you'd call it, where they are doing every other episode on how their design of a game is progressing. Their thoughts, feed back, problems, just about everything about the process. This makes for some really interesting discussion and since I like designing games...ok...one game, I like this podcast.

On Board Games - This is the podcast I was able to be a guest on once. These guys often have a rotating 3rd chair, which makes for a lot of variety in their shows on a lot of gaming related subjects. One thing I have noticed though, is that I usually don't agree with Donald who is one of the co-hosts, which actually is a good thing, because I know if he says he really likes a game then I'll probably not like it as much and vice-versa.

Agenda7 - This is a brand new podcast that is on Andriod: Netrunner, which I talked about the last time I blogged. I've been enjoying listening to it and have been surprised how professional they already are with their content. I tried out a couple other Netrunner podcasts, but this one was by far the best of them. I'll stick with this podcast if I stick with the game itself as a good source for playing strategies and deck building thoughts.

Winvasion - This was my first single-game specific podcast. It only has 3 episodes so far, but it is about Invasion, so it has to be in my rotation. Invasion is probably now in my Top 5 games of all time, so any podcast where they discuss it is great.

This American Life - The first of two non-game related podcasts (where my listening is really lacking I know). This was recommended to me by a friend at work and I have really liked it. It is basically a reposting of a Chicago radio show. It is a very weird show with all kinds of topics. There are stories about people who hear music in all sounds, people who map the cracks of sidewalks in the cities, tele-evangelists, abusive parents, and just about any random subject you can think about.

Mark Driscoll - Sometimes I also try and listen to Driscoll's sermons as well. Though I don't line up with him theologically in everything and I'm also not a big fan of his church model (him preaching via screens to every church), he preaches with passion and he also preaches the truth. His sermons are not only entertaining, but insightful, and give me a something more deep to think about throughout the week than games or whatever random subject This American Life happens to have.

So that is a lot of podcasts, Didn't realize I regularly listen to that many, though I just recently added Agenda7, Winvasion, and This American Life. Anyone got suggestions for another non-gaming podcast to listen to?

On the Cusp

If you've read this blog at all, you know I'm a gamer. If you haven't read this blog at all, assuming you are a halfway intelligent person, you probably figured that out from the title. In follows my ramblings of why I'm on the cusp in a gaming decisions as far as semi-competitive play goes.

A little background. For the last two years, I've been playing and really enjoying, Warhammer: Invasion. It has become my most played game ever, I've put quite a bit of money into it, and also quite a bit of time. The game play itself is great, but the biggest problem with Invasion, is that out of all the Fantasy Flight Living Card Games, it seems to be in the bottom two as far as popularity goes. In the past two years, despite a meetup.com group, announcing tournaments and Invasion nights at two different local game stores, and trying to convince friends to join me in a more competitive environment, only 4 people have actually gone so far as to purchase the cards. Twice (in 2 years), in tournaments I've run we've had 8 people play, but most nights we've only had 3 people show up (not much of a tournament there). This is all my organizing of course, because there are no other Invasion organizers in Indianapolis that I've been able to find. I've drove twice to Louisville to play in tourneys down there.

Recently, FFG released Android: Netrunner, a redo of a 1996 game made by the same designer as Magic: The Gathering. In the board game world, it has exploded to way higher levels than Invasion ever dreamed of getting to. For example, on boardgamegeek.com where I prefer to go for my gaming news, there is already almost 200 forum pages for Netrunner that just released in August. Invasion has only about 120 and it released in 2009. Obviously that is just people talking about it on a single website, but it also shows the level of interest in it compared to Invasion. If you recall, I wrote a little bit about playing a Netrunner tournament in the World Championship in November, but at that point I was still holding out that Invasion was my game of choice when it came to LCGs and so never got into the game.

So what is this cusp? Well, quite simply do I drop Invasion and play Netrunner? Back in the early 2000s I played the Lord of the Rings: Trading Card Game and really enjoyed it. Partly because it was LotR, partly because the game was good, and partly because of the competition that could be had. Invasion ignited that spark again. I really like the game, the theme is ok, and the competition is great if there is competition. I have a couple friends who I get together with and play one on one, but there just aren't the great weekly or monthly tournaments that I used to enjoy with LotR:TCG and there is hardly anything that I don't have to organize myself. 

Though, at least right now, I don't enjoy Netrunner as a game more than I enjoy Invasion, I think as an organized competition I might, because I'm hoping there will actually be organized competition. The popularity of Netrunner could just be a flash and burn out quickly, but then again it could not. Also, my wife will play Invasion with me, even though it isn't her favorite, because of the short play time of 20 minutes. Netrunner, while I think she will like the theme more, does take a little longer and because of the asymmetrical style is more daunting I believe. So on the wife front, we'll see what happens. 

So what is my decision? Well, right now I've purchased some Netrunner cards and will probably get cards through the first cycle. I'll probably finish out the cycle that we're currently in for Invasion as well. Then I'll have to make up my mind. I don't have the money or time for two such games, which can easily become a hobby by themselves. However, I still want to play them, because I do enjoy them. Regardless of my decision, I'm sure I'll get my money's worth of play from them, but I'm not sure either one may end up giving me that organized competition I hope for.

11:11

In first Thessalonians Paul admonishes them in chapter 5 to do a lot of things, be thankful, don't return evil for evil, to be sober. However, he also throws in "pray without ceasing" and that is what I wanted to talk about today. I've never been what you'd call a "Prayer Warrior". My grandma Pat is for sure, but I'm still lacking in that discipline. However, I have taken up a reminder to myself to pray for my children.

Every time I see a digital clock say 11:11, usually in the morning, since I'm unlikely to be up most night at 11:11, I pray for my girls. I pray that they'll come to know Jesus like I know him and even more so. I pray that they'll listen and obey their momma and I. I pray that Krista and I will in-turn raise them right, be patient with them (something I fail at plenty), and invest in their lives. I pray for their future husbands, that wherever they are, they are growing in their love for Christ. Finally, I might pray for something specific that is happening that day such as Ella's snotty nose (okay, that one is happening every day and has since she was born) or Kaylee's latest hurt.

These prayers don't take any time really, often before 11:12 comes around I'm done. They are silent, they don't bother others, but they help me pray without ceasing. Of course, nobody really prays without ceasing, but the point that Paul was making and the point that I'm making is that prayer should be a part of your life. It, like his other commands, should be how you live and who more important to pray for then the beings God has trusted to you to raise and given you stewardship and responsibility over?

It's funny, since I started doing this, I've noticed how much more I notice it is 11:11. I have begun looking for it, hoping I'll see it. Of course, I can pray whenever (that's what is so awesome about not having to have a priest or sacrifice to intercede for me), but having this reminder to pray in a busy, pre-occupied day is a good thing.

Here is a cool source of potential prayers for your children: https://www.reviveourhearts.com/articles/31-biblical-virtues-to-pray-for-your-children/

Every 100 Games Series - The Resistance: Avalon

My 3,700th game played was The Resistance: Avalon. This game was my first and only successfully funded board game that I've backed on Kickstarter. It is a re-theme of the original Resistance and with all the plays over the holidays made it onto my review series.

Game Play
This game does so much with so little. You play with 6 to 10 players who are all wanting to go on quests for King Arthur. However, each player has been secretly assigned a role as either a Knight loyal to the good Arthur or as a Minion of Mordred. Each round the leader of the quest chooses a number of people to send out. All players then vote on this quest team, either approving or disapproving the team, trying to be sure that only those that are loyal to Arthur attempt the quest. If a team is not approved, then the person to the left of the leader chooses a new team, and everyone votes again. Once a team is approved, those on the quest secretly choose if it succeeds or fails. All it takes is one fail vote for the quest to come to utter ruin, which is what the Minions of Mordred want. Whichever side is the first to get 3 fails (Mordred) or 3 successes (Arthur) is the winner!

Thus far, everything I've explained is the same as the original game, but now is the wrinkle. Merlin is in this game, he is loyal to Arthur but knows who the Minions of Mordred are without them knowing who he is! This can be extremely powerful for the Arthur side, however one of the minions is an assassin, so Merlin can't be too forthcoming or at the end of the game he will be assassinated and the Minions of Mordred will win anyways.

The game does offer some other roles for players to play as well, but our group thus far hasn't even added them in, because it is that good just from the base game. Maybe eventually we'll get there, but for now with new players I think it is best to stay with the base.

Components
I think the components in this game are top notch. I probably should sleeve my cards, at least the succeed/fails cards, because they get handled a whole lot and even though they are great quality will eventually show signs of differences which would hurt the game. There are multiple game boards that allow you quick reference according to the number of players you are playing with. The only problem and it isn't really a problem, is that the approve/reject tokens players use to decide who is going on a quest have many white spots on them now after about 20 plays. It doesn't really bother the game though, since most of the time we've just held these in our hands anyways. Finally, the art is extremely good in my opinion. There aren't a lot of components that you see during the game, but you can expect great art from them.

Strategy
This game is a pure negotiation and deduction game. It is all about how you can trick those Loyal Servants of Arthur into believing you are one of them and sending you on that quest that you will fail. It is all about, if you are for Arthur, making certain that you send only the right people on the quests to bring glory to his realm. There is strategy in the game, such as not failing a quest, in order to gain someones trust. There is also skill in observing to see how people approve/reject teams and see a pattern. However, the real skill in this game comes into how well you can manipulate the other players to your will.

My Thoughts
This game is just a blast! I'm very glad that I own it and it will be staying in my collection permanently. It doesn't take much time to play or teach and is a game that you immediately want to play again. Avalon's theme is fun for me, but it really doesn't play into it much. We tend to just call them the good guys and the bad guys and go from there. I really like that I've played it quite a bit so far and still haven't felt the need to add in the extra roles, which just gives me something to look forward to in the future. Well, enough gushing from me, on to the recommendations.

Recommendations
Youth Workers - I'm a youth worker at my church. I've got a friend that is a Youth Pastor. Both of us heartily recommend this game to people who will be taking long bus rides with youth, on retreats with youth, or just hanging out with a group of teenagers. We've always played Mafia/Werewolf with them, now this is the one I'll be bringing out.

Werewolf/Mafia Players - This one is for you. the downside to Werewolf is that you have to have a moderator and that if you are eliminated early, then you just have to sit and watch the game. The Resistance lets you keep playing and keep enjoying the game. There isn't player elimination and there isn't moderating. However, it only goes up to 10 players, so for groups 11+ you can stick with Werewolf.

Reserved Group - So far I've only made glowing recommendations. If your group of players is reserved and quiet, this isn't really going to be for you. However, I have seen quiet people turn into a yelling accuser, if people don't talk and accuse and declare shenanigans, then the game loses much of its fun.

Holiday Gatherings - I cannot recommend this game more for these type of events. We played this with both sides of the family and played it a lot. My mother-in-law who is about as far as you can get from a gamer, played this 5 times with us in 2 days. During Thanksgiving my whole family played it 8 times, 5 times in a single sitting! If you want that party game feel, but don't want to play Apples to Apples or Trivial Pursuit, this is a great game to try out.

*Every 100 Games Series - Back in March of 2006 I began tracking each session of the various board and card games I play. I soon got the idea to write a review on every 100th game I played, one because I like writing reviews, and two because it is interesting to see what game I review next. You can find a list of all of them here: Every 100 Games Series Reviews.

The Top 10 Board Games from 2012

Every year I keep track of all the new to me games I've played for the year, you can read my blog posts about 2010 and 2011. This year has included over 60 new to me games, so it has actually been a little less than the average over the past several years, but still that is over 1 new game a week. So even to be in the Top 10 isn't too bad for these games. I do want to give some honorable mentions, as picking 5-10 was really difficult for me this year. Some others that almost made the list were: Legacy: Gears of Time, Divided Republic, and Eminent Domain. Finally, I have purposely left out Guild of Thieves, because though I know it isn't the greatest game in 2012, because I published it myself it is something I'm proud of and think is good.

10. Smash Up. It was real tough trying to decide what game to fit into this 10th slot. I decided to go with Smash Up though, because I do enjoy the game a lot, though to get that enjoyment there is a learning curve. It probably took me 3-5 games before I understood the different races, what to expect from them, and how to make them work together to make the game fun. Until that time, it can seem very boring and mathy of just play a card and go on with your life. However, I feel it deserves a spot on this list, because it is unique compared to a few other games that may have made the list. Status: Owned and looking forward to the expansion.

9. Dune. This game has so much theme, that it got me to read the book after playing it. Another game were all the players have special abilities and even different win conditions. You negotiate and form alliances, but only at specific times, and try to control the planet Dune. This is a game you'll need a bunch of time and a bunch of dedicated people to play, but you won't regret doing it. I was lucky enough to play with a really cool home made set, which made the experience even better. This is an absolute epic game though, both in time and story, so it will be an once every couple years experience. Status: Won't be purchasing, because it wouldn't get play time in my group.

8. Android: Netrunner. This is another living card game, similar to Warhammer: Invasion, where players build decks to compete against each other. The cool thing about this one is that one player plays as the Corporation and the other players is the Runner who is trying to hack into the Corp's servers. Both players go about game completely differently, which makes your deck building and play style completely different as well. I've played about 15 games of it this year and would like to play more. Status: Not getting, just because I only have the time and money for one LCG, but I would get if I didn't already have Invasion.

7. A Fistful of Penguins. The first dice game on this list. Players roll penguins, kangaroos, squirrels, and other animals trying to get sets, while spending the penguins to be allowed to roll again. I've played the game about 20 times face to face and well over 70 times on my iPhone with their app. It is a cute game, yet a game that has enough depth to keep me interested. If not for #2 on this list, it would be my favorite dice game of all time I think. Status: Own both the digital and physical versions.

6. Last Will. This game takes a bit to wrap your mind around, since you aren't trying to get all the money in the world, rather you are trying to spend it all as fast as you can! You start with $X and try to be the first to get rid of it all by taking expensive carriage rides, going to special dinners, and buying mansions to let them run down and selling them at a huge loss. This is a game, that uses all the Euro mechanics we know, and turns them upside down into a fun and engaging game. Status: I'd like to add to my collection.

5. Trajan. This is a themeless Euro game, but it is a great Euro game, possibly Stefan Feld's best. Though both Macao and The Castles of Burgundy might fit that bill as well. The coolest part about Trajan is that it uses the hundreds of years old Mancala mechanism of moving pieces from one cup to other cups and getting them around the board. This is how you select your actions in the game though and the more pieces you move at once, the faster the game proceeds. Status: I'd trade for it for sure, and consider purchasing it.

4. Chaos in the Old World. I'll be up front with this one. The theme isn't for families. It is quite mature and one that I wouldn't suggest to anyone under 15 years old. Players play as various gods in the Warhammer universe, trying to control the world. I think if this game was themed as a pre-WWI game, it would be in my collection in a second and be very popular with my group. As it is, I'm on the fence about owning it. However, as far as game play goes, this game is absolutely great. Players all have asymmetrical powers and win the game in a variety of ways. The game play is intriguing and deep and the area control makes for a huge plus for me. Status: With the theme it stays as only a possible trade.

3. The Resistance: Avalon. If I have 10 or less players, I'm going to choose this game over Mafia/Werewolf everytime. In it players are either Loyal Servants of King Arthur or Minions of Mordred. However, this information is all hidden and players attempt to figure out who is who while trying to complete 3 of 5 quests for the victory. There are a few special roles you can add in, but I've got to say, you hardly need them. This has been a hit with my family and with my game group and I'm glad I helped Kickstart this one. Status: Kickstarted and still owned.

2. King of Tokyo. This game much like Tichu and Dominion is a game I've sold several copies of just this year, because it is just FUN to play. The best part though is that it is fun to play, not just for me as a gamer, but for my non-gaming friend, or even the 6 year old who loves rolling dice. The amount of cards that come with the game, the fun monsters, and the quick play time make it perfect for any person who wants to play any game. I honestly believe that. Basically, you roll dice 3 times, get points, heal your monster, and kill other monsters while the cards adds special abilities for everyone. That's it! The only reason it gets beat out by the next game, is because generally I prefer to play somewhat deeper games than King of Tokyo provides. Status: Bought soon as I could after playing.

1. Age of Empires III or as it is currently called: Glenn Drover's Empires: Age of Discovery. Why haven't I been playing this game for the past 5 years?! It isn't a new game, but for some reason I hadn't played it until this year and I'm really glad I did. It immediately went on my must own list and for the reason it has most of my favorite things in gaming. It has lots of cool plastic bits, especially the very nice merchant ships. It has worker placement. It has direct conflict, but only up to 4 times a turn for the whole table, which makes it the perfect amount for players to mess with each other, while keeping it minimal enough not to make the whole game about it. Finally, it has varying player abilities with the buildings that can be purchased, and so each player's strengths differ as the game progresses. This is a game, that there is little doubt in my mind, will one day be in my Top 25 games of all time. Status: Received for Christmas!

Also, every year, I give out the Dust award to that game that I absolutely abhorred the most that year. This year it goes to a party game: Would You Rather? This game is broken. You roll a dice, move your piece, and hope to land on a spot that will let you do a challenge to move up to the inner circle, to roll your dice, to hopefully hit a spot that will let you move up to the next inner circle, where you will roll your dice....you get the idea. It is possible to keep rolling, over and over, and over and over, and over, and never hit that spot to even get the challenge. This game is horrible.

An Expected Journey (some spoilers)

I didn't mess the title up. Nine years ago, after coming out of the midnight showing of The Return of the King, I expected I'd eventually be making the journey to see Bilbo's journey through Middle-earth happening on the big screen. Friday morning at 12:01 am, I did and so here are my thoughts on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

First, going into this movie, I was expecting to watch a hobbit themed fantasy adventure film and honestly this was much more than just it felt very Hobbit! This surprised me and maybe Jackson will wander more from the book in the next two installments (he did in LotR), but for this first one I thought he stayed pretty close to the book and had several direct quotes from it, including the cleaning up song by the dwarves and my favorite direct quote about how the game of golf was invented by Bullroarer!

Second, I was really worried that they were going to make a Gandalf/Galadriel love connection. Thankfully they didn't. They just showed how much Galadriel cared for and comforted Gandalf which is true to form, since she really wanted him to be the leader of the White Council. Either way, though I don't think the hand patting and hair brushing had to be in the movie, I do think it wasn't done romantically, so I'm just fine with that.

Third, the music is awesome! I absolutely love the dwarven theme music. The Misty Mountain song is great, they continue having different sounding music for the different locations that the scene is in, and Howard Shore has once again invoked an epic sound to the world of Middle-earth.

Fourth, I like the dwarves. I like them a lot. The dwarven culture is my favorite from Middle-earth (I know everyone likes elves and hobbits, but I like me some dwarves) and I think Jackson did a very good job with them. There are a 13 of them, so I understand making them a have a different beard and profile, even an old orc axe in the head of Bifur. I'm not extremely impressed with their beards though. Fili's beard is pretty much non-existant. I understand getting rid of their colorful hoods, but dwarves need beards! Out of all the beards to mess with, the biggest and most important one not to "fix" is Thorin's, and as I said a year ago when they released the first trailer, he looks like a salsa dancer. At least his beard does. He is going to be King Under the Mountain. He needs a king's beard. Okay, rant over.

Fifth, the Riddles in the Dark scene is absolutely awesome. It is funny, it is scary, it is disturbing, it is exactly what it should be. Gollum is excited to have someone to talk to and remembers games he played with his grandmother, yet at the same time he is evil. I thought it was great.

Finally, go see this movie! If you are a LotR fan, go see it. If you have yet to get into the great Tolkien universe, go see it. It is a fun, entertaining movie, that sticks relatively close to the story from the book (I'm sure this will change in the next two movies) that shows how Bilbo earns his place as the 14th member on the Quest to Erebor!

P.S. I'm going again, who wants to go?!

Best Christmas Movies

Just a quick thought on great Christmas movies and maybe a few on some not-so great Christmas movies. Let's try for the top 5 Christmas movies. I think I can do 5.

1. The Muppet's Christmas Carol. I remember first watching this at the Strand Theater in Shelbyville with my dad. We watched it on their smallest screen, which was about the size of many TVs today. I don't remember liking as much then as I do now. I guess it has grown on me. The sly comments, the fun Muppets, and Michael Cain as Scrooge is just great. My personal favorite scene is when the Book Rats are asking for more coal. Scrooge gets angry and they quickly say, "It was the frog's idea!"

2. It's a Wonderful Life. I just really like the movie. It is good clean entertainment with a deep message of how a single individual's life can change the lives of many people around them. Jimmy Stewart is one of the greatest actors of all time and he shines in this. My favorite scene from the movie is right after George is back on the bridge from his adventurers and Burt the cop comes up to him and George realizes that Burt knows who he is and starts screaming, "My mouth's bleeding!" That's good stuff.

3. White Christmas. Well, it's in TechniColor! Why else would I love it? I think because White Christmas is my favorite Christmas song, so that has to do with me liking this movie so much. Perhaps also watching it a lot as a kid. I think though it is honestly Danny Kaye. He makes the movie with his humor, dancing, and singing. My favorite scene, probably is actually the very first one, when they are all celebrating Christmas at war in Europe.

4. Home Alone. I laugh a lot every time I see this movie. The bandits just make it hilarious too me. Sure, it's Three Stooges humor, but it is still extremely funny. The story about Christmas with family is good and all, but I watch this to laugh when the bandits step barefoot on ornaments, burn their hands, get hit by paint cans, and everything else that happens to them. My favorite scene...I don't know. Any of them that makes me laugh, so a lot of them.

5. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. The one with Jim Carey. I like the song Where Are You Christmas. I like the humor for the most part. I like the Whoville crazy looks and I like they made a whole movie out of a poem. My favorite scene is when the Grinch is going through the phone book declaring his hate for all the residents of Whoville.

There is the list. What'd I miss? I'm sure there has to be something I didn't think about that would've made it. Now for the bad Christmas movies:

1. The Santa Claus 2 & 3 - Horrible.
2. Anything on the Hallmark Channel about some lady that who lost her boyfriend/husband to an accident or some other misfortune and then finds true love on Christmas.
3. Elf. I don't get the love for this movie. It probably shouldn't be on the bad list, but I'm putting it there out of spite to even out all the great lists it'll be on.