May 7, 2024: Winner Takes All . . . To The Game Closet

I can't figure out if I've shared this anecdote before; if I have, Google is failing me. But, to borrow an old quip, "Don't stop me if you've heard this one; I want to tell it again."

My wife's family has a tradition at their gaming table. It stemmed from her childhood, where certain parties (let's call them "her younger brother, Matt") would be less-than-gracious players. The behavior of these players – whomever he may be – would be such that it hampered the enjoyment of games in general for the non-winning participants . . . especially because such winner(s) were particularly skilled at games and thus won a lot.

The parents wanted to do what they could to promote unity at the table, so they had a rule: Whoever won the game had to put it away. This encouraged gracious behavior during the game (why risk alienating potential help with putting the game away?) and shifted the act of post-game . . . [more]

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May 6, 2024: Shattered Pixel Dungeon

There are a ton of great tabletop and digital roleplaying games out there, but sometimes you just want to enjoy some dungeon delving, monster slaying, and treasure hunting. If that sort of thing appeals to you, consider picking up Shattered Pixel Dungeon as soon as you can. It's a simple but addictive game that is easy to play but tough to master. My husband and I have become increasingly obsessed since downloading it to our phones a few weeks ago.

Shattered Pixel Dungeon is based on Pixel Dungeon, a roguelike game that came out in 2012. Shattered Pixel Dungeon retains the charm of the original, but builds on its predecessor with new music, new unlockable characters, new items, and plenty of other surprises. You start with the option of playing either a Fighter or a Mage. As you continue to play and earn achievements, you'll unlock the Rogue, the Huntress (my personal favorite), . . .

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May 5, 2024: If You Don't Succeed, Dry, Dry Again

I came across some random notes from our household's visit at the end of March to Who's Yer Con, a local three-day Indianpolis convention that punches way above its weight class in terms of fun. However, all these notes seem to be dry-erase-marker based: "Check dry-erase markers. Reinvigorate dry-erase markers? Buy extra dry-erase markers."

Playing it back in my mind, I recall that the markers we had weren't up to the task, and our various "works well with dry-erase markers" accoutrements did not work well with dry dry-erase markers.

Me Circa March was really invested in dry-erase markers, and so I feel prompted to share this tip with you: If you have forthcoming conventions and like dry-erase markers, plan accordingly.

-- Steven Marsh

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May 4, 2024: Train Games On The Train

Last Saturday, to be exact, on a special Austin Steam Train ride. Along with Jimmie, Randy, and Bridget, I demonstrated Express on a trip with more than 150 people. The point was just to go out and back, playing games. And we did that thing. Everyone had a good time and the railroad would like to do it again.

Express has been out of print for nearly 30 years. Now it's back. Designed by Darwin Bromley, this is the grand-daddy (well, one of the grand-daddies) of train games. If gin rummy and Mille Bournes loved each other very much and had a little game, it might look like this. I like it!

When a demo starts, everybody sees the cards with the nice train pictures and thinks "Oh, this is going to be a cute, friendly game." Then the shin-kicking starts, and the next thing you know, somebody's 12-point train is a smoking wreck. Did I mention that I like it?

Check your friendly local game . . . [more]

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May 3, 2024: The Curious Appeal Of New Games

I saw an online point made recently about games that I found very interesting. The thesis was this: Why do so many gamers buy new games when they probably already own so many other games?

The poster theorized that one reason is because of asymmetrical skill level in competitive games. That is, if you play with different groups constantly, then the player who's played 500 sessions of Crush All Who Oppose Me Mwah-hah-hah is going to have a tremendous advantage over a player who's struggling to read the CAWOMMhh rulebook for the first time. Sure, the new player might get the hang of it after a few tries, but if a typical CAWOMMhh game is 1 or 2 hours, the newbie will likely decide that constantly losing for many sessions is not a great use of limited personal gaming time.

In contrast, if players are cracking the seal together on (say) The Kittens Seem Cute But Hunger for Blood together, . . . [more]

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Your place is opulent and the textbook is cold. May 7, 2024: Winner Takes All . . . To The Game Closet I can't figure out if I've shared this anecdote before; if I have, Google is failing me. But, to borrow an old quip, "Don't stop me if you've heard this one; I want to tell it again." My wife's family has a tradition at their gaming table. It stemmed from her childhood, where certain parties (let's call them "her younger brother, Matt") would be less-than-gracious players. The behavior of these players – whomever he may be – would be such that it hampered the enjoyment of games in general for the non-winning participants . . . especially because such winner(s) were particularly skilled at games and thus won a lot. The parents wanted to do what they could to promote unity at the table, so they had a rule: Whoever won the game had to put it away. This encouraged gracious behavior during the game (why risk alienating potential help with putting the game away?) and shifted the act of post-game . . . [more] Share this post! May 6, 2024: *Shattered Pixel Dungeon* There are a ton of great tabletop and digital roleplaying games out there, but sometimes you just want to enjoy some dungeon delving, monster slaying, and treasure hunting. If that sort of thing appeals to you, consider picking up Shattered Pixel Dungeon as soon as you can. It's a simple but addictive game that is easy to play but tough to master. My husband and I have become increasingly obsessed since downloading it to our phones a few weeks ago. Shattered Pixel Dungeon is based on Pixel Dungeon, a roguelike game that came out in 2012. Shattered Pixel Dungeon retains the charm of the original, but builds on its predecessor with new music, new unlockable characters, new items, and plenty of other surprises. You start with the option of playing either a Fighter or a Mage. As you continue to play and earn achievements, you'll unlock the Rogue, the Huntress (my personal favorite), . . . [more] Share this post! May 5, 2024: If You Don't Succeed, Dry, Dry Again I came across some random notes from our household's visit at the end of March to Who's Yer Con, a local three-day Indianpolis convention that punches way above its weight class in terms of fun. However, all these notes seem to be dry-erase-marker based: "Check dry-erase markers. Reinvigorate dry-erase markers? Buy extra dry-erase markers." Playing it back in my mind, I recall that the markers we had weren't up to the task, and our various "works well with dry-erase markers" accoutrements did not work well with dry dry-erase markers. Me Circa March was really invested in dry-erase markers, and so I feel prompted to share this tip with you: If you have forthcoming conventions and like dry-erase markers, plan accordingly. -- Steven Marsh Share this post! May 4, 2024: Train Games On The Train Last Saturday, to be exact, on a special Austin Steam Train ride. Along with Jimmie, Randy, and Bridget, I demonstrated Express on a trip with more than 150 people. The point was just to go out and back, playing games. And we did that thing. Everyone had a good time and the railroad would like to do it again. Express has been out of print for nearly 30 years. Now it's back. Designed by Darwin Bromley, this is the grand-daddy (well, one of the grand-daddies) of train games. If gin rummy and Mille Bournes loved each other very much and had a little game, it might look like this. I like it! When a demo starts, everybody sees the cards with the nice train pictures and thinks "Oh, this is going to be a cute, friendly game." Then the shin-kicking starts, and the next thing you know, somebody's 12-point train is a smoking wreck. Did I mention that I like it? Check your friendly local game . . . [more] Share this post! May 3, 2024: The Curious Appeal Of New Games I saw an online point made recently about games that I found very interesting. The thesis was this: Why do so many gamers buy new games when they probably already own so many other games? The poster theorized that one reason is because of asymmetrical skill level in competitive games. That is, if you play with different groups constantly, then the player who's played 500 sessions of Crush All Who Oppose Me Mwah-hah-hah is going to have a tremendous advantage over a player who's struggling to read the CAWOMMhh rulebook for the first time. Sure, the new player might get the hang of it after a few tries, but if a typical CAWOMMhh game is 1 or 2 hours, the newbie will likely decide that constantly losing for many sessions is not a great use of limited personal gaming time. In contrast, if players are cracking the seal together on (say) The Kittens Seem Cute But Hunger for Blood together, . . . [more] Share this post! Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule		Latest Videos You are the 516th interstellar sex god here today. (29844219 since August 1, 1995)