While there are a lot of great things about living in Florida, there are plenty of things I miss about Toronto. Besides the obvious friends and families, I mean. One of which is gaming. Not the total geeked-out gaming (although I’ve played a few of those on occasion) but board games. Like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, Betrayal at House on the Hill. If you’ve never played some of these games, they’re more involved than the board games you played as a kid, but they’re also a heck of a lot more fun (IMO). They do take more time to play and require a bit of dedication to assimilate the longer rules.
As far as I’m concerned, there are definite pluses for that time invested. For instance, in Betrayal and Settlers, the game board changes every time, which is something I enjoy. I like the variety, it keeps the game fresh every time we play. In Betrayal, the players start out playing as a team against the creatures and supernatural beings in the house, but at a certain point (which also changes with each game) one of the players becomes a traitor and competes against the rest of the players. There are fifty different possible traitor scenarios, and even when those are repeated, the layout of the board affects the outcome of the game, so it is not predictable. Hubby likes these games because winning often relies on strategy rather than luck (he’s VERY unlucky with dice, so it’s not a surprise, really).
So, why do I miss these games? What difference does geography make? Most of the games we own (and… er… it might actually be a closet-full) require a minimum of three players. Hubby and I have made friends since we moved, good friends, but for the most part, we feel a little like pushers, trying to convince people to invest time in learning the intricacies of the rules and the hour or two required to play a single game. We worry they won’t have as much fun as we do. Although, maybe I shouldn’t worry. Even if they hate whatever game, it’s still cheaper than going to see a bad movie.
We’ve started to grab some two player games, and there are some good ones out there, but for the same reasons I haven’t had time to write lately, I haven’t had time to play games either. Soon, though. There’s a GREAT game store in Orlando and we’ve got three new games calling for a test run.
Hi, I loved Wolfsbane and stopped by and noticed your latest blog post here. I’m a fan of games like that, too. “Betrayal” is one of my favorites! 🙂
IMHO, while picking up two-player games is a good idea TOO…try to introduce your friends to games. Just start with simpler ones–maybe card-based ones, or silly ones, or even more social-type games (e.g., Apples to Apples) as a gateway drug, er, game. 😉 Nothing wrong with being a pusher. You’ll be able to tell if they don’t like them, and just make sure it’s clear “hey, just thought we’d try something diff–if you don’t enjoy, just say so, or if you don’t want to give it a try, that’s okay too.” Keep it low key/low pressure.
You’d be surprised. I know someone who’s into games, but his wife isn’t really…yet she’s tried a few with him and she enjoys some of them. (Granted, that helped–having the hubby be into games.) Anyway, good luck. You’ve gotta at least try, though…never know who’ll wind up being a bigger fan than even you 😉 unless you give it a shot.
Sorry to ramble. Can you tell I LOVE games?!
P.S. Also look for a local board/card gaming club maybe? Go to a SF convention and hang out in the gaming room, maybe you’ll meet local folks who’re interested in playing games regularly/socially with you (outside the convention)?
Just a thought!
Hey Kendall. Nice to hear from you! And thanks for the advice – I’ll have to try some of your tactics 🙂 I’ve never tried Apples to Apples – I’ll have to take a look and see how it works as a ‘gateway game’… I’m glad I’m not alone in my love of games 🙂
I mentioned Apples to Apples since it’s a very low-key social game that non-gamers like. But other possibilities (in the card genre): Fluxx, Aquarius, Bang!. I’m sure there are simple board games to start people off slowly–for some reason, I’m just thinking of card games.
I’ll have to check those out at the local game store (there’s a real good one about 40 min. away). We’ve got card games like Dominion and Race for the Galaxy, but I’m pretty sure those aren’t for beginners 🙂
I love Dominion! Never tried Race for the Galaxy, but I heard it was good.
Of course, there’s the board game to really scare them off…Arkham Horror (love it). 😉 Hehehe.
Uh, yeah, I’m intimidated by Arkham Horror as well! We’ve played it a couple of times, but I can’t quite decide if I like it or not.
I like it but it takes…all…day. And for a while there, every time we played, we discovered something we did wrong the previous time–lots of rules. But I still love it–the horror part, the theming and flavour text, and the cooperative (us versus the game) aspect.
I know what you mean about the rules – we experienced the same thing the first couple of times – one day I may know exactly how to play 🙂 I do enjoy the cooperative aspect, too. Pandemic is a pretty good cooperative game as well, although we only win against it about half the time.
I’ve never played Pandemic, but folks were playing a quasi-live-action version of it at Outlantacon a few weeks ago, on a giant map that was like a quarter the size of the (very large) gaming room. 😉 I’ll have to try that one day.
I first heard about Outlantacon a couple of weeks ago and it sounded like a lot of fun – I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to get up there sometime for it!
It was my first time there–great game room. Next year, it combines with Gaylaxicon. 😀 I’ll be there.