A conversation by guys who have a passion for tabletop games and happen to have mics. (Family friendly)
| Intro | 3:00 |
| Kickstarter - Bones II | 4:20 |
| Lords of Waterdeep Expansion | 17:40 |
| Pathfinder Adventure Card Game | 22:30 |
| Interview: Scott D'Agostino Wizkid Games | 35:25 |
| Star Trek Attack Wing, X-Wing | 45:00 |
| Eldritch Horror Announcement | 1:07:00 |
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Space…The final Frontier – with those now immortal words
Capt. James T. Kirk launched a franchise, nay a legend, into the collective pop
culture consciousness some 40 years ago. Star Trek isn’t just a TV show or a
movie, it’s a part of mankind’s existence now, inspiring everything from
cellphones to medical technology. 
On Boardgamegeek.com they list Dominion as the #1 deck building game. That happens to be the first deck building game I played about five years ago. In Dominion players start with a basic deck and buy cards to build a more powerful deck. The player with the most victory points wins. The classes of cards are victory, curse, treasure, and action. The game has a medieval theme and playing time of 30-45 minutes. It is recommended for ages 10 and up. This is an easy game to understand and fun to play. It is recommended for 2-4 players or up to 6 players if you have the expansion..png)
Thunderstone is another deck building game. Like Dominion, in Thunderstone players start with a weak deck and acquire more powerful cards as the game progresses. Thunderstone is a fantasy based game with the cards being Heroes such as mages, archers, thieves, or warriors. Players use their cards to attempt to defeat monsters from the dungeon deck. It is recommended for ages 12 and up with a playing time of 60 minutes..png)
My favorite deck building game is Eminent Domain! I like the components of the game. It comes with little space ships! While Eminent Domain is considered a deck building game the focus isn't building the deck, but using your deck to survey, colonize, trade, and use technology to expand your civilization. Sometimes you use warfare and that is where the super duper space ships come into play! This is just one of many great games for space lovers. It is recommended for ages 12 and up. Playing time is 45-60 minutes and recommended for 2-4 players. Fun game!.png)
Collectible card games are games in which a series of cards are introduced a few times or several times throughout the year. The cards come in starter decks and booster packs. Starter decks are a box of cards with enough to get you, well, started! And booster packs are packs of around 10 or so cards. They will boost your deck. You buy the cards not knowing what you will get and build your deck from those cards. Just like with baseball cards, there are rare cards and special cards. In collectible card gaming half the fun is the anticipation of the cards and then the fun of opening the pack and seeing what you have! It is like a mini Christmas morning throughout the year!.png)
Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh are well known collectible games. In those games you collect creatures and use them to fight your opponent. Some creatures deal damage to your opponent and some are used to heal your damage. These are Japanese games based on the cartoon style called Anime. You have probably seen the TV shows and merchandise. These are very popular franchises and local game stores have tournaments. Two of our children played Pokemon for a few years. They prefer Pokemon for the DS. They are waiting for the new Pokemon to be released this Saturday!.png)
My family plays the game Magic. It is the same premise as Pokemon except in Magic the cards are creatures, spells, and land. The artwork isn't as cartoonish. My family has been playing Magic for several years. A new set comes out every year with booster packs throughout the year. One of the things they like best about Magic is a draft tournament. That is played at a local gaming store (our's is actually called Your Local Gaming Store). You pay a fee, usually around $20, and you get a set of booster packs. As you open the packs you pass the card to your left until all packs are opened. Then you play a tournament with the cards you received and you keep them! Some stores give prizes such as dice sets or store credit. It is fun to play with other people who enjoy the same game and the fun of opening cards with others..png)
If you would like to watch a game as it is played then Will Wheaton's Tabletop is a great webshow to watch. He has guest and they discuss the game components, rules, and then play through a game together. The show is edited to 30 minutes even though playing time may be longer. The banter between guests is fun and there is a lot of competition! Sometimes the language can be rated PG13 so watch with headphones or when you have time without children..png)
If you don't have time to sit and watch a webisode maybe a podcast is for you. There are numerous podcasts which discuss games. The Dice Tower has thousands of video reviews, podcasts and an entire network of other gaming podcasts (including my husband's, Rolling Dice & Taking Names). Sometimes Rolling Dice & Taking Names allows me talk! I just finished a segment with a friend which will air October 22nd..png)
Sometimes a website to scan through quickly is the best option. BoardGameGeeks.com is a great go-to site. You can search any game and they will give a detailed description of the mechanics and a synopsis of the game..png)
People game for many reasons. Party games are fun and quick. Gateway and strategy games can become hobbies. There are gaming clubs and conventions. People game for several reasons but mostly because they enjoy it and it is a hobby. As I was thinking about why my family specifically enjoys gaming as hobby I realized there were three major reasons, the mechanics of games, the diversity of games, and most of all the time spent together.
Mechanics means the way the game is played. Exactly what you will be doing in the game. This is the genre. As I mentioned yesterday, my family played gateway games for a few years not really knowing a lot about strategy games. We played Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Pandemic on a regular basis. One day my husband told us that he heard of a gaming convention where new games are introduced and you could try out just about any game in publication. It was GenCon and held in Indianapolis, Indiana. We are always up for a roadtrip adventure so we said sure! Well, that 2010 trip was a life changing experience for us. We realized there was so much more to gaming than what we were doing! Our boys began playing fewer video games and wanted to play tabletop games. Details of our GenCon trip will be a future post. Today I want you to know that there are so many different genres of games! In fact there are so many I will need to discuss one type a day for the next several days. You can look forward to learning about Card Collecting, Role Playing, Worker Placement, and many more!.png)
And who doesn't want to spend time with family and friends? In the past our family holidays were cooking, eating, and then sitting there. Now everyone expects a game! As you play a game you find yourself connecting with the people you are playing with. Memories are made as you are playing. We have friends we have been gaming with for over 10 years. Our children invite their friends over to play games. Over the next couple of weeks I will talk the different genres and themes and the specific games we have played. Hopefully you will think about trying one or two! On Sunday's we will have Sunday morning coffee and chit chat! So bring your PSL (pumpkin spice latte)!.png)
Settlers of Catan is a HUGE game! It has a large fan base. It even has it's own website, www.catan.com. Settlers of Catan was first published in 1995 but we did not discover it until 2005. My husband heard it was popular and we thought we would give it a try. We immediately liked it! The game is for 3-4 people (or 5-6 with the expansion). Ages are 10 and up. The game takes place on the island of Catan. Players build settlements, cities, and roads using their resources. Resources are gained by the placement of your settlements and dice rolls. Of course it isn't as easy as it sounds. Resources need to be traded and a robber pops up to steal them! Resources are wood, grain, brick, sheep, and stone (these resources are so popular plushies have been made of them). The first person to reach 10 points is the winner. This game is very popular. We go to gaming conventions and this game has local, national, and international tournaments! If you have not played it please give it a try! There are also numerous expansions to change up the game play. You can purchase it on Amazon or some Target stores carry it..png)
Pandemic is a popular cooperative game. Cooperative means players work together to "beat the game". However, Pandemic can be a hard game to beat! Players become disease fighting specialists and must cure diseases that have spread around the world. The diseases must be contained and cured before a pandemic occurs! Players can choose a character card with specific roles and skills. Roles include an operations specialist, scientist, medic, dispatcher, and researcher. It is recommended for ages 13 and up. Play time is 60-90 minutes. There are also new expansions and character cards. A fun party would be to watch World War Z and then play Pandemic!.png)
Flash Point: Fire Rescue is another cooperative game. It was published in 2011 for 1-6 players ages 8 and up. Players become firefighters and work together to rescue victims of a house fire. Players assume different roles such as the Fire Captain, Paramedic, Rescue Specialist, and others. Each role has different skills to contribute to the game. But you need to hurry because there are hot spots and fires are continually breaking out! How about having friends over and eating some spicy buffalo wings then playing Flashpoint?.png)
Ticket to Ride is a great game! It was published in 2004. It is recommended for 2-5 players ages 8 and up. Playing time is listed as 45 minutes, but it usually takes us a little longer than that. Players build a train from one US city to another determined by their destination cards. The tracks on the gameboard are colored and players must match their color cards to the track in order to build it. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins. The tracks overlap and intertwine so chances are someone is going to take the track you need. Then you will have to re-route! This game is especially fun because as tracks are being built you talk about cities you have been to or want to visit. It is a mini US geography lesson as you play! There are also expansions for Ticket to Ride. When you have ridden the rails through North America the expansion packs will take you through Europe, Africa, or Asia.