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Tom Vasel
The collected columns of Tom Vasel, former regular columnist and current host of the Dice Tower podcast, who offers to following short biography:
Tom Vasel has been playing board and card games all his life. However, in the past several years, he's been introduced to "designer" board games, and they have become his passion. Tom is currently living in South Korea, where the boardgame scene is exploding, and he's written hundreds of reviews on board games. Other game-related activities include meetings at the local military bases and the school's board game club, and boardgame presentations in various educational venues. Many of his board gaming articles can be found at either TheDiceTower.com or in the archives listed below.
Currently, Tom is joined by Sam Healey to produce the audio podcast The Dice Tower. Published weekly, the Dice Tower is a ninety-minute show that discusses all types of card and board games.
On a non-gaming related level (and much more importantly), Tom is a missionary pastor, with five small girls and a lovely wife. Tom is very involved with his local church and school (which does include a lot of board games).
Tom currently resides in Uijongbu, South Korea.
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Tom Vasel: Choosing Games
Well, I hate to drag myself away from the tantalizing puzzles of Tanga, but I had a very intriguing weekend, and found games!
First of all, some of the foreign schools in Korea get together once a year for a “family gathering”, in which we follow a program, do boring stuff, blah blah blah. However, at one point, everyone splits up into different activities. One activity is always board games, in which they tell you to “bring you favorite game!” Now frankly, I don’t trust anyone to bring their favorite games, so I’ve always borught mine own. This time, I was travelling down to Seoul with my family in tow, and didn’t want to overburden myself with too many games.
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Posted by Tom Vasel • Sep 18, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (3)
Tom Vasel: Optimist no more?
I certainly have a reputation for writing positive reviews, and I must confess that I do have a bright outlook on games. A few years ago, someone mentioned to me that I would eventually become jaded and a curmudgeon about games, and not be so overly enthusiastic about new releases. Well, I’ve played over 1100 different games now, and written almost half that many reviews, and I was surprised to see a post by someone that I had grown a bit more curmudgeonly and was more jaded.
Hmmm.
So I looked both words up at www.dictionary.com
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Posted by Tom Vasel • Sep 11, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (3)
Tom Vasel: Starting from Zero - what a shock!
OK, this past week I finally got Shocking Roulette, after several people told me it was a tremendous way to choose the starting player for a game. For those of you who don’t know about this “game”, it’s a device in which two to four players stick their fingers in, then a button is pressed. Lights flash, a noise is produced, and eventually one of the players gets a decent shock. It’s an interesting idea, for sure - and I couldn’t believe how much fun it was to watch groups of kids play this.
Posted by Tom Vasel • Sep 4, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (2)
Tom Vasel: Sorry, nothing here…
Folks, people ask me how I do so much online, and the (short) answer is that I attempt to waste as little time as possible. But sometimes real life comes up with more pressing concerns, and my gaming stuff has to sit on the sidelines.
Today is one such day, and so there’s not much of a blog here. But I’ll have one next week, I promise.
For now, I’m taking my wife out on a date. Gotta keep priorities straight.
Sorry to have nothing here - go listen to the Dice Tower!
Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games”
www.tomvasel.com
Posted by Tom Vasel • Aug 28, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (2)
Tom Vasel: Get your homeade expansion out of my house!
I like expansions as much as the next person, if not more. When I hear that one of my favorite games is coming out with a new expansion, I’m usually quite giddy with excitement. I like playing Carcassonne with all the expansions, Duel of Ages with everything added in, and Heroscape with as many figures as I can fit on the table.
Sure, sometimes it’s nice to play just the basic game without the expansion, such as Settlers of Catan, but in other cases, the expansion makes the game so much better that I’ll never play without it (Mississippi Queen).
Posted by Tom Vasel • Aug 21, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (4)
Tom Vasel: Explanations
Over the course of the past couple of weeks, scads of new teachers are arriving at the school where I teach, and I’ve invited many of them over to my home for dinner. We also hosted a church event in my home, with many folks coming over for food and fellowship.
Now I can’t help myself, I have to take everyone who visits over to the game room, if only to see their reaction. Not all my games are there (there’s a good hundred or so at school), but there’s close to 1,000 games in one room. Of course, everybody’s reaction is one of surprise, and then they usually make a comment along the lines of…
Posted by Tom Vasel • Aug 14, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (9)
Tom Vasel: Alas, poor card games!
I’m typing this as I’m getting ready to run out the door - school is starting this week with a vengeance, and I have quite a bit to do prepping for my classes.
A few weeks ago on www.boardgamegeek.com, I posted a thread about a card container that I was looking for here. Since then, I have ordered thirty of these, and am anxiously waiting to put my card game shelf into order - which is in a disarray.
Posted by Tom Vasel • Aug 7, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (12)
Tom Vasel: Roll them dice!
This past week, I’ve sorted through all my dice by size and number of sides. Of course I have piles of six-sided dice, but I also have over one hundred twenty-sided dice, and piles of twelve, eight, ten, and four sided dice. I also have the following oddities, dice I’m especially proud to have.
Posted by Tom Vasel • Jul 31, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (9)
Tom Vasel…Thoughts on some recent games
Because of summer vacation, I’ve had a lot of time to play games over the past weeks. Here are some quick opinions of the games I’ve played, many of them new from Origins.
Caylus - This game is as amazing as everyone makes it out to be. As long as I can avoid the analysis that people have done on the ‘net, and avoid playing with those folks, I think that I will gladly play this game anytime. Five players seems to be the most fun when playing, although it takes a little longer than I normally would want.
Pecking Order - Hmmm, I’m not seeing the draw for this game. It’s more than a simplified Lost Cities - it’s almost too simple for me. Maybe the game would be better with more cards?
Posted by Tom Vasel • Jul 24, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (2)
Tom Vasel: Back off the new guys!
When I first started playing designer games several years ago, the focus was certainly on Europe. Most games were in German, with only some reprinted into English by Mayfair and Rio Grande. There was a lot of effort put into rules translation on the web, and talk about how to do proper paste-up jobs was common. People had to figure out exactly how to import games, and it was almost a badge of honor to see how many foreign games were on ones’ shelf.
Today, that’s simply not the case. Yes, when it comes to “Eurogames”, Europe is still the place where most are produced, but the English speaking world no longer has to hunt for the elusive English editions. Even if one ignores the massive original American content from Fantasy Flight Games and Days of Wonder - to name a few, almost any good game of note printed in Europe is likely to have an American edition - whether printed by Z-man Games, Rio Grande, Mayfair, etc.
Posted by Tom Vasel • Jul 17, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (17)
Tom Vasel: Early thoughts on new games
Vacation is fun, and I had a terrific time. But all good things must come to an end, and so I’m back in Korea, back on the review typing circuit. (And wow, that review pile is rather large). I had a terrific time in America, gorging myself on the plethora of food and spending time with family and friends. I brought back about 250 books to read over the next coming years (I love sci-fi and fantasy fiction), as well as picking up one of the antithesis to board games - a Gameboy DS Lite.
I rarely buy video games systems, which is a combination of lack of funds and lack of time, but I’m constantly seeking for a good handheld system for the obscenely long airplane flights and subway trips that I take each year. I’ve been blown away with just how good the Gameboy DS is, and Advance Wars has really got me playing - kept me happy much of the trip back to Korea.
Posted by Tom Vasel • Jul 10, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (3)
Tom Vasel: Week one in America
(As I started to type this, I realized that I’m late! Normally I type my blog on Monday afternoon Korean time – so that it’s posted Monday morning in America – but that doesn’t work when I’m actually IN America! My apologies for the delay.)
For the first time in a long time, I’m on a “real� vacation. The kind in which you simply kick back your feet and relax – spending time with your family. For the first time in five years the entire Vasel clan (all seventeen of us) are getting together for a family vacation. Thus, for the next couple of weeks, you won’t see many (if any) reviews and other game information – as I’m taking a much needed break. Don’t worry, after Origins is over, I will be back with a vengeance, typing up tons of reviews and getting back into full Dice Tower mode.
Posted by Tom Vasel • Jun 19, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (1)
Tom Vasel: Where have I been?
You would think that having been absent for two weeks, I would come back with something snazzy, something to rival all the other bloggers with wit and charm. But I don’t have much for you this week. I’m going to pull the excuse that I was too busy. When people ask me how I manage to write all my reviews - the answer is that sometimes, I just don’t. I’m behind on reviews and this blog - all due to several factors:
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Posted by Tom Vasel • Jun 12, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (0)
Tom Vasel: That’s it! I’m moving.
So in nine days, I’m moving.
The move isn’t that far, or even that big of a deal in some ways. For one thing, I’m moving only about a mile (as the crow flies), and I’m not leaving Korea, like some of the teachers. Also, the move should go fairly well, as for only $400 the movers will come in to our house, pack everything up, move it, unpack it, and then clean the new house. Talk about a great deal!
Posted by Tom Vasel • May 22, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (1)
Tom Vasel: Well?
It’s been a tremendous weekend, with a great Mother’s Day celebration and a bit of pre-celebrating for my seventh wedding anniversary today. Even though I had a terrific time, however, it’s certainly been a controversial weekend - at least in my email box.
Much of the controversy stemmed from a few things:
- I made an error when I explained the rules from Bang: A Fistful of Cards - incorrectly explaining the setup rules.
- I failed to make mention of a FAQ about Bang: A Fistful of Cards that clarified the rules, changing the usage of some of the cards.
- I failed to compare Pizza Box Football to football games that were released quite a few years ago.
- I called the mechanics in Bolide “new and innovative”, when they were in fact used in a game that was released thirty years ago.
- I have made grammar and spelling errors in my reviews.
- I have a junior high school writing style.
Posted by Tom Vasel • May 15, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (13)
Tom Vasel: The Dice Tower 2.0
Well, episode # 50 of the Dice Tower, in which we say “goodbye” to Joe Steadman, is coming up in just a couple of days. While this is a good accomplishment, we’re very pleased to have put the show out for over a year. I’m thrilled to pieces over the Dice Tower, version 2.0, which will begin with episode # 51.
There are some negative changes, to be sure, which mostly revolve around Joe’s leaving. No longer will we have the bashing of Eurogames and the promoting of ASL. No longer will there be the “edge” of the widely diversified opinions between us. Many have told me that they enjoy the banter between us, and that sadly is going to be gone.
But at the same time, I’m very pleased about what is coming up, so I thought I would take my blog to give you a bit of a preview of Dice Tower, 2.0.
Posted by Tom Vasel • May 8, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (2)
Tom Vasel: Dice Tower Preparation
Missing two weeks of blog posting would probably get me fired by Rick, but I’m hoping that he was too busy at the Gathering of Friends to notice. This week, I thought that I would tell you how we put together a typical podcast of the Dice Tower, so that you can tell me how to do it better, of course. While I’m sure that I don’t put the tenth of effort that a professional radio show puts in (and I’m doing most of ours solo), this process might be interesting to those thinking about doing their own podcast - which seems to be more and more common.
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Posted by Tom Vasel • Apr 24, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (1)
Tom Vasel: Full Disclosure
Two parts to my blog today, with some serious notes towards the end. But first, let’s talk about the contest from two weeks ago!
Several people emailed me and let me know that my email address was hard to find, and for that I apologize. But let’s look at some of these pictures. which were admittedly a tough contest....
Posted by Tom Vasel • Apr 3, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (6)
Tom Vasel: What is this?
Thanks a lot, Greg!
After reading your blog, I guess everyone who reads this site decided to cut down on their gaming time, starting with my blog.
I say this, because for the first time ever, I got not a single response to one of my picture contest, the one I posted last week. So, the contest still stands, and anyone who gets even ONE right can win.
This week is vacation time, and like Greg stated, much (if not most of it) is to be spent with my family. So we’re off to Lotte World, one of the largest indoor amusement parks in the world, and probably the second best amusement park in Korea.
Or maybe not.
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Posted by Tom Vasel • Mar 27, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (5)
Tom Vasel: Goodies!!
OK, well I wasn’t able to post last week due to extreme business at our school.
Or something like that.
I was busy, okay!
Anyway, I thought I would make it up to you this week - so I’m including a contest (for 10 Geekgold!), and an exclusive interview (not part of my series)! Hopefully that will make up for the missing last week.
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Posted by Tom Vasel • Mar 20, 2006, 03:01 AM • Comments (4)
Tom Vasel: Future Gamers, or not. Who cares?
This past week saw the birth of my fourth daughter, Clara Faith Vasel, on March 3rd - which also happens to be the birthday of my eldest daughter Melody, who just turned six. Now I am blessed with four very little girls, who each provide a little trouble mixed into a ton of joy.
Because the gaming community is so tight and friendly, I announced the birth and immediately got several messages with congratulations. A few of them remarked about how great it was to have another gamer in the family. At the same time, it was suggested to me that I do a Dice Tower Top Ten list on how to “grow” a gamer, from childhood on up. And this started me thinking.
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Posted by Tom Vasel • Mar 6, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (7)
Tom Vasel: Meeple Pillows
I finally got a chance to play Command and Colors: Ancients - and it’s quite good. I’m not sure how much I enjoy the extra complications yet - I’ll have to play it several more times.
Since last week, I posted a contest right when BGN crashed, and since no one has sent me an answer that has more than three correct guesses, I thought that I would run this contest one more week. Twenty geekgold for the winner!
Posted by Tom Vasel • Feb 27, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (2)
Tom Vasel: Their favorite games
First off, here’s the answers to my contest last week - something I thought was fairly simple - yet no one got them all right!
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Posted by Tom Vasel • Feb 20, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (2)
Tom Vasel: Game Contest # 1
Hello once again from Korea!
Somewhat at a loss of what to talk about this week, I instead decided to put up an easy contest challenging my three readers to guess the games matching each number below. I took a snippet from the rules, and hopefully that will allow you to guess them all! No Google! Since I have no prize to offer up, why not post your guesses below? I’ll reveal the answers next week. This will be the first in a series of game contests here at BGN, and hopefully they will get better as we go along.
Posted by Tom Vasel • Feb 13, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (11)
Tom Vasel: Communities
The online world is a tantalizing place. I found this out when I first graduated from college. Having access to my own computer at my own house caused me to purchase Ultima Online, because the idea of interacting with other people in a game setting seemed fascinating and appealing. Once I started playing, I found it to be great fun and decided to get my friends involved. So for Christmas one year, I bought five more copies and gave it to my good friends so that we could game together. They did join in the gaming, and it was indeed very fun.
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Posted by Tom Vasel • Feb 6, 2006, 03:00 AM • Comments (3)
