Board Games

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Wheee! A Monopoly Review

Last year for Christmas, L got me a "retro" Monopoly set, with the original tokens, wooden houses and hotels, and generally a more compact feel than newer sets. It’s pretty cute, in other words, plus it feels a little more… I don’t know, can a Monopoly set feel mature? In any case, we played a two-person game exactly once and then set it aside. I knew, though, that she harbored a hankerin’ to play again. Skip ahead many moons, and we’re now part of a fairly stable clique of three couples who get together and play games. L floated a game of Monopoly to the crew, and they agreed that it’d be worth a try.

Man! Six-player Monopoly is a whole different kettle of fish. For pete’s sake, somebody had developed a complete set before the first go-’round was completed by anyone! Sly dog, but as he himself predicted he over-extended himself and went down in 4th or 5th place. Deals flew across the table rapidly, egged on by everyone’s relative rustiness at the game and inexperience with it in general. In other words, some awful trades were made.

My own series of early turns lead to some pitiful opportunities, and I never had more than three properties to my name…

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24Dec2008 | John | Comments Off | Continued
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How to Host a Game Night, an Apples to Apples Review

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="168" caption="Apple to Apples: the Apple Crate Edition"]the Apple Crate Edition[/caption]

I recently met a new couple that I really like, and they live incredibly close to me. It so happens that another couple with whom my partner and I have been friendly also live close by, and we’ve all said to each other at different times that we should hang out more than we do. So, what the hell, I introduced them to each other and suggested that we all get together. In the back of some of the involved minds is a similar thought: “D&D Group!” But that’s not something you just jump into, so we’re getting started with simpler games first. It’s been almost a decade since I’ve had to host a gathering where a bag of dice wasn’t all I needed to entertain; how’d it go?

I knew everyone involved was a game-player to one degree or another, so at least I had some hints. It also was not a dinner party, so food was simple enough. I peeled and cut some carrots, opened up some great Dorito-like chips for Trader Joe’s, got out some pretzels, and chilled some wine and soda. Simple enough. Now to pick games, and here’s where I made my only serious mistake. The game I led off with was Twitch, a Richard Garfield game that’s sort of a mix between Uno and War (or Egyptian Rat Fuck, or any other speed-based card game you can think of). The thing is, while the rules are fundamentally simple, it’s a difficult game to be any good at right off the bat, leading to a lot of frustration for all but the savviest game players. I wasn’t even that good at it, as it’s a game I’ve admired but almost never had a chance to play. We gave it a few minutes, I took stock of the grimaces and frowns, and pulled it off the table.

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29Oct2008 | John | Comments Off | Continued