Socializing

post thumbnail

Big Fun With D&D Tiny Adventures

If I’d known that facebook’s attraction to me would be as a game platform, I would’ve tried it a lot sooner. Yeah yeah, you can meet up with high school friends (I hadn’t talked to them in a decade; trust me, they weren’t being elusive), connect to people with similar interests (agoraphobia and hermitism, but you see the problem…), and learn about diverse products and services (because I’m not marketed to nearly enough). No, it turns out that what facebook holds for me is Dungeons & Dragons: Tiny Adventures .

Tiny Adventures is less like an RPG and more like a slightly more interactive Progress Quest . You choose a character class/race combo, which matters very little; it’s not like the wizard casts spells while the rogue sneak attacks or anything like that. No, there’s a bit of a stat difference between every class, and there are some equipment differences (no heavy armor on your wizard, but they use orbs) but otherwise adventures are going to play out the same.

Click to continue reading “Big Fun With D&D Tiny Adventures”

26Dec2008 | John | Comments Off | Continued
post thumbnail

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.

Click to continue reading “How to Host a Game Night, an Apples to Apples Review”

29Oct2008 | John | Comments Off | Continued