A conversation by guys who have a passion for tabletop games and happen to have mics. (Family friendly)
.png)
| Intro | 1:30 |
| Francis Drake Boardgame | 5:30 |
| Coup Card Game | 28:00 |
| Highlight Segment 1 | 37:18 |
| At the Table - December | 40:10 |
| Outro | 54:00 |
| Highlight Segment 2 | 1:04:00 |
As you all know if you have listened to some older episodes, Marty and I really started getting into the gaming world with Decipher's Lord of the Rings TCG. During that time, we signed up for the online version of the game developed by Worlds Apart in hopes it would give us some more opportunities to play the game that we enjoyed. It really didn't catch on with us, but we tried online card games again by delving into Magic the Gathering Online. I still have an Xbox version, a PC version and even purchased Ascension to add to my collection of card games that I can do online. I play every once in awhile, but not that often..png)
| Robinson Crusoe Discussion | 6:00 |
| Soap Box about Zman | 19:30 |
| Corey Jones Interview | 24:55 |
| Discussion on Hex and iOS games | 42:00 |
| Chris Norwood Interview | 54:00 |
| More Eldritch Horror Discussion | 1:03:30 |
| We are out of here | 1:08:30 |
.png)
.png)
.png)
So as we approach Halloween DragonCon is the perfect convention to talk about because it is a GIANT costume party! DragonCon is held in Atlanta, Georgia over Labor Day weekend. This year there were an estimated 52,000 people in attendance. DragonCon is a 24 hour a day costume party! There are also discussion panels, film festivals, and a celebrity hall! There is a gaming room for gamers to play a RPG or other pick up game. But the main focus is Cosplay.
.png)
Origins is a great family gaming convention. There was a children's area where you could pay per hour to play video games with supervision or a tabletop gaming area. There is also a giant sized Settlers of Catan to play. If you attend with non-gamers there are a lot of family activities in Columbus to check out..png)
When we go to conventions there is one thing besides gaming that they have in common, costumes! Super heroes, pop culture characters, steampunk ladies and gents, and so many unique characters! Do you like thinking of a costume for Halloween? Getting all the accessories and just right pieces is fun. Think of doing that all year! Voila! Cosplay! We have seen some amazing costumes! Suddenly I found myself daydreaming about costumes. Okay, I daydream a lot..png)
.png)
.png)
When we returned from our trip we started looking for Role Playing systems. We played Dungeons and Dragons, Savage Worlds, Iron Kingdoms, and Pathfinder. As we played different systems and campaigns our boys wanted to start writing their own campaigns. There are pre-written scenarios or open campaigns where you write your own story. Our boys have always enjoyed English class and do well writing papers, but it's not like they would wake up on Saturday morning and say "Oh, I can't wait to write to an essay today!" But honestly they do now say "I can't wait to write a new scenario". Adam has written an Iron Kingdoms scenario titled 'Merry Cryxmas'. We had a great time playing! It is now a Christmas tradition. We can't wait until December! He has also written and been Game Master for his friends. They would play more but senior year activities keep getting in the way!.png)
Now I NEVER would have thought that anyone in my family would have the desire to paint. They showed no interest in painting at all. They liked paint by numbers and watercolors when they were young but that is as far as it went. Now when they saw the game Warmachine by Privateer Press it was like a light shining down and heavenly music playing. It was Liz Lemon saying "I want to go to there"! They wanted that game bad! They wanted to collect figures and build their faction. They wanted to paint people! They jumped right in and studied types of paint and painting techniques. They spend hours painting small figures. It isn't just my family though. Our friends also paint miniatures. People who haven't thought about painting suddenly talk about shading, dry brushing, and washing. You see the goal isn't just to use the miniatures in the game, but to have the best looking faction! When they go to tournaments they enter their figures in painting contests then play the game. Special cases have been ordered to store their figures in. We also have a curio cabinet just for figures! Oh, and my son did win third place in a painting competition!
| A bit of whinning | 2:20 |
| MACE Convention | 10:30 |
| The Ladies | 20:00 |
| Back to the us | 48:30 |
| At the Table (Halloween) | 53:15 |
| Essen | 57:30 |
| RDTN Contest | 01:13:30 |
.png)
An oldie but goodie is Perfection. In Perfection players have 60 seconds to fit 25 pieces into the corresponding hole. The board is pushed down and after 60 seconds it springs up causing the shapes to fly around. Perfection is for ages 5 and up. It is very addicting! .png)
Blokus is a good game that was published in 2000. It is also recommended for ages 5 and up. Players use transparent colored tiles and take turns laying their pieces so that at least one corner touches their color. Play continues to no one can place a tile. The last one with a tile wins..png)
Cranium Cariboo is good for children ages 3-6. Children learn colors, shapes, numbers, and counting. It is a cooperative game where players draw cards and open treasure hunt doors that coorespond to their card. Once the door is open they look for a ball. When a six balls are collected they win! This game was published in 1998. I hate that we missed this one!.png)
.png)
.png)
Dystopian Wars - Miniatures.png)
.png)
.png)
A very simple dice game that is great for Halloween is Zombie Dice. Zombie Dice is a "press your luck" party game. There are 13 dice and at their turn players select 3 random dice and rolls them. The dice have icons representing brains, shotgun blasts, or runners. The object is to get 13 brains first. Be careful, don't press your luck too much or you will get shot and lose your brains! This game is recommended for ages 10 and up. This is a great party game because 2 - 99 people can play! Sounds like Halloween party to me!.png)
In King of Tokyo the object is collect 20 victory points or be the last monster standing. In the game players are robots, aliens, or mutants fighting to be the King of Tokyo. There are six dice with the icons for 1, 2, or 3 victory points, energy, heal, and attack. Players roll three times and decide which dice to keep. There are also special cards that can be purchased with energy to boost your rolls! It is recommeded for ages 8 and up and plays 2 - 6 players. It has a Godzilla feel to it and it is fun family game..png)
On day 8 we talked about deck building games. In deck building games you acquire new cards through the game to make your better. Quarriors is a dice building game. Players can customize their dice pool depending on their dice rolls. Each player is a mystical warrior and starts with 12 identical dice and can acquire spells or creatures (the dice) to add to their pool. This game is recommended for ages 14 and up but our 10 year old played with no problem. I really like Quarriors because I like that each player has their own dice bag and the dice you pull are random. You don't know what creature or spell you will get. I like the unknown and waiting to see what it will be! I also like the colors of the dice. I know that is probably a silly factor but the dice are neat to look at during the game!.png) |
| Mr, Keurig ready for Halloween gamers |
.png)
Besides being key in many games, dice are just plain cool. I like the different sides and how they look just laying in a pile! I keep trying to think of ways to decorate with dice. We have two distinct dice memories. The first year we went to GenCon, a national gaming convention, we saw the dice vendors. Travis (10 at the time) and I were mesmerized! There was section after section of dice. Any color combination you can imagine. They were also any size! From teeny weeny to about the size of a baseball! There was even a huge bin filled with dice and you could buy either a mug or pitcher full! Another memory was just last year at a local gaming convention, MACE. There was a vendor who had a big old timey gum ball machine converted to a dice machine! Yes, you put in .50 and turned the knob and you could get anywhere from 1 to 5 dice! So much fun! It was our equivalent to playing the slot machines in Vegas! It was so much fun to hover around each other and then the excitement when the flap was raised and out poured dice! |
| Our family dice sets |
.png)
Worker placement games are games where players use tokens (the workers) and place them on an action of choice. For instance, the first worker placement game I played was Lords of Waterdeep. In Lords of Waterdeep the players are secret rulers trying to gain control of the city. Agents are used to construct buildings and complete quests. The player with the most influence (points) gains control of the city and wins the game! Lords of Waterdeep was published in 2012 for ages 12 and up. The playing time is 60 minutes but it usually takes us about 90 minutes. Lords of Waterdeep is part of the Dungeons and Dragons family. I guess you could say it is a spin off of Dungeons and Dragons. If you play D&D or know someone who does, but want something different from a RPG then give Lords of Waterdeep a try. It is a great worker placement entry game!.png)
Another worker placement game we have is Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar. This is a great visual and hands on game. Players place their workers (Mayan tribe members) on a rotating gear. Players must pay with corn to perform different actions. You have to plan and always look ahead because you must feed your workers. So don't spend all your corn!.png)
If you are a book geek like me then maybe you have read The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet . There is a worker placement game based on the book. I can't believe I haven't it played it yet. In The Pillars of the Earth players are characters from the book and are trying to build a cathedral by placing workers to perform different tasks..png)
Tzolk'in and Pillars of the Earth are considered moderate level games. If you are ready for a more involved and "heavy" worker placement game then Agricola is a good game. Agricola is more involved with the rules and structure of play. In Agricola players are farmers in a shack with nothing but their spouse. You build up from there..png)
.png)
One of the biggest miniature games right now is Warmachine. While I do not play Warmachine my family does and I like the storyline. It is a steampunk type story and I like steampunk! (a future blog :)) There is also a RPG based on Warmachine called Iron Kingdoms that I do play! So how does miniature gaming work? In Warmachine there are figures that are collected, assembled, and then painted. These figures can be super small and there is a lot of detail to the painting! Very tedious! At a convention in 2010 my family saw this game displayed and they were hooked! Now no one had EVER painted ANYTHING! But they were hooked and have been assembling and painting ever since! This game literally brought out a desire and a growing talent in painting..png)
After the figures have been painted there are a set of rules and players follow the rules to combat one another. Each figure will have different responsibilities and skills. My husband and oldest son have gone to tournaments and entered figures in painting contest..png)
.png)
Miniature gaming definitely incorporates hobbies in it's play! I have been amazed to see how my family has started painting when they were never interested before. We have set up a painting table and they take a few hours here and there to paint together and talk. It is so wonderful to see especially when our oldest will be gone to college next year. Sniff Sniff. Miniature gaming has provided memory making hours for us. Those hours could have been spent playing videos games, out with friends, or just doing our own thing. Miniature gaming is a hobby game; painting, collecting, or history buff. And with these hobbies families grow closer!