Alfred Wallace: Wish I was There

I wish I was in Essen right now, I tell you what.  I’ve been a little ambivalent about it in the past, but I’ve been converted.  Why?  Because right now I’m writing the draft of my masters thesis, and I’d probably take dental surgery right now over writing the stupid thing. 

(Actually, it’s not stupid—once it’s done, it’ll actually be a pretty darned good thesis, if you ask me—but it is frustrating.  About, oh, five or six years ago I had my first-ever attack of writers’ block.  Before that, I’d never had trouble writing; I could sit down and emit page after page of brilliantly-expressed wisdom (cough) without so much as a carbonated beverage break.  It was actually kind of frightening, suddenly having the words not come as easily as they had.  Ever since, I get scared that I’ll get blocked…which, of course, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in no time.  The idea is to have a nice big chunk drafted by…right about when you’re reading this.  Wish me luck.)

In the meantime, I’m going to blather a bit about games for a little while.

First—before I lose absolutely everyone—I’ve started a couple more games on Spielbyweb.  One is Amun-Re, the other Wallenstein (with advanced setup).  They’re called “For Your Edificationâ€? I and II.  See you there.

I just got my copy of GAMES magazine, and have been poring over the Buyer’s Guide.  As reported on BGN, the Game of the Year is Vegas Showdown, which seems like a pretty fine choice.  It’s a steal at $20—as is Nexus Ops, I hasten to add.  One thing I don’t get is how they decide whether a game fits into Family, Family Strategy, or Advanced Strategy.  More of an art than a science, obviously; it’s hard to pin down exactly where on the Weight Continuum to draw the line.  (Kind of a ludic Sorites Paradox.) Another slight complaint: Is Hey! That’s my Fish! really an “abstract strategyâ€? game?  Do we not know that it is not an accurate representation of penguin behavior?  That’s kind of been my assumption.

I consider myself a fairly educated game consumer, so I’m most interested in the games I’d never heard of in the buyer’s guide.  One especially caught myeye this year.  The oddly-named Hoffman-Singleton Game sounds like a good one for this Set-addict (I’ve got Set, Ricochet Robot, Toppo…I’m not the world’s greatest at these games, but I always enjoy them anyway).  I’m not 100% I know what’s going in the game from just reading the rules, but I’m intrigued.  There are Triads and Fanos (Fanoi?  Fani?) and chains and connections and God knows what else.  Basically you put cards down on the table, you look for connections, and you call out when you find one.  “It sounds like Set,â€? you say.  “In fact,â€? you add, “it sounds exactly like Set.â€?  Yes—but with different art.  (At the very least.) I’m sold.

Looking over the Games Hall of Fame…mostly the usual suspects, games that are classics, at least, that I can’t imagine really leaving off.  Monopoly, Clue, Diplomacy, Settlers, D&D, Magic: The Gathering, that sort of thing.  But…maybe it’s a generational thing, but Blockhead! and Bridgette seem like the odd ones out.  Anyone care to give me a brief explanation for why these games should be in the Hall of Fame?

In other news, do make sure to check out Yehuda’s column Learn to Love Board Games Again, a brief guide to “Euro-Izingâ€? the old chestnuts in the closet.  I’ll have to try out a few of the techniques…on, say, some of my wargames.

I recently dipped my toe back into the Magic: The Gathering waters, buying a few tournament decks’ worth of the new Time Spiral series.  It’s a game I really like, but it’s a hard game to play casually.  I enjoy it, though, so it’s good to have a few decks sitting around again.  Good to see Slivers in the deck again…they’re always fun.  Each Sliver is very weak, but the more you put out, the more powerful they all become.

…and that, friends, is just about everything I have in my brain right now that isn’t about Civil War Arkansas.  I’ll see some of y’all over on Spielbyweb, either building the world or tearing it down…

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