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Happy Labor Day!

Get out there and play some games!

How do you find out about new games?

Chubby Unicorn and I were talking about games recently (shocking, I know). The topic of where we find out about games came up. We’ve mentioned that we’ve backed a few games through Kickstarter (as evidenced by the Kickstarter tag), but how did we find out about those games?

Some of those came from just browsing Kickstarter itself, specifically the Tabletop Games section, but in general the basis is BoardGameGeek.com. The site is a wealth of information, and there are many folks who delight in posting about upcoming games. One source I enjoy is the BoardGameGeek News blog. I also “subscribe” to many games on the site, which means when a new forum post is made I’ll get a notification on the site. Often this will just be folks asking rules questions, but you will also find rumors of a new expansion or new game from the same publisher.

The better source of information is usually direct emails from the Publisher/Designer/Game Company. Most of these folks have a mailing list you can join and they do NOT abuse it (at least not the ones I have been on), generally only sending emails out when they are working on a new game, prepping for a kickstarter, or the like. These emails are often the first time I hear about a new game or expansion.

Lately, the news updates from the Tabletopia on Steam have also been showing me some new games and piquing my interest.

To summarize, I find out about my new games through:

  1. Newsletter Emails from publishers/designers/game companies
  2. BoardGameGeek News on BoardGameGeek.com and subscriptions
  3. Tabletopia Announcements through Steam
  4. Browsing Tabletop Games on Kickstarter.com

What about you?
Where do you find out about new games?
Let us know in the comments.

Changes to the Gaming Group

For about 5 or 6 years we gamed together. At times we couldn’t all make to a game night, but it was the six of us for what seemed like forever. Chubby Unicorn, Professor, Space Cat, Clumsy Ninja, Shutter, and President Gamer. Even after Professor and I had our son (Quaggan), we continued to game together. We just shifted game night to game day, otherwise Professor and I would have gone insane long ago.

We fell into certain habits. President Gamer would need a bowl of M&Ms and would bring a meat and cheese tray, Shutter would bring gluten free snacks, Clumsy Ninja would occasionally bring her to-die-for stuffed strawberries, and usually Professor and I would make a dessert. Space Cat’s food contribution was always a surprise.

We went from a tiny table that could barely hold our larger games, to a table with a leaf which only urged us to buy bigger games or more expansions, and our collection certainly has grown.

There were times over the years when one or more of us discussed the possibility of a move, but it was always in hypotheticals.

Then it happened.

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Gaming Styles

A while back, President Gamer told Chubby Unicorn about a website (Quantic Foundry) that would tell you your Board Game Motivation or Gaming Style. Being a lover of gaming she took the quiz then had the rest of the group try it out. The results were mostly unsurprising (low conflict for many of us), and we just take Space Cat’s gregarious trait to mean she likes the social aspect. She isn’t exactly what you would call chatty.

Chubby Unicorn: Low Conflict, Relaxed, and Grounded

Chubby Unicorn: Low Conflict, Relaxed, and Grounded

The Professor: Low Conflict, Relaxed, and Grounded

The Professor: Low Conflict, Relaxed, and Grounded

Space Cat: Low Conflict, Grounded, and Gregarious

Space Cat: Low Conflict, Grounded, and Gregarious

Clumsy Ninja: Immersed and Independent

Clumsy Ninja: Immersed and Independent

Shutter: Grounded and Gregarious

Shutter: Grounded and Gregarious

President Gamer: Low Conflict, Strategic, and Independent

President Gamer: Low Conflict, Strategic, and Independent

Additional Data available from Quantic Foundry

Format

The posts on the blog will, generally, fall within two broad topics: Story and Play-by-Play Breakdown.

Story mode posts will strive to frame the game play using a narrative structure (e.g. Kyra and Merisiel entered Sandpoint and headed for the Rusty Dragon Inn to see if there were wrongs that needed righting.), while the Play-by-Play Breakdown will speak more to the choices being made in the games (e.g. Kyra and Merisiel start at The Rusty Dragon Inn; Kyra explores, encounters a Mace and acquires it).

Furthermore the following categories are used to help delineate game types:
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Introducing

In the beginning, six intrepid friends set out on an epic journey, determined to complete each quest presented to them. Some will succeed and some will fail. Some will bring them together while others will divide them. They may meet other adventurers along the way, exploring new quests. In the end, no one knows who will remain, yet they journey onward.

If you’re going on an epic journey, you pretty much have to be intrepid right?

Several years ago, the six of us began meeting once a month for game night, playing a variety of games. We win some, we lose some. We play cooperative games as well as competitive. Occasionally we’ll play games with people outside our group, usually games that can’t accommodate six players. Life happens, though, and sometimes that means people move on (literally), but we’ll continue to enjoy another friendly game night.

A few of our Favorites

A few of our Favorites