Convention Round-Up: Let's Play Green Bay

I had the opportunity to attend the second annual Let’s Play Green Bay this past weekend (April 12-14).  Last year I only attended one day, but was able to finagle both Friday and Saturday this time around.  Conventions can be great fun and the large ones are mini-vacations, in and of themselves.  But they can be expensive and intimidating.  Smaller, regional, low-key events will provide much of the same flavor, if not all of the same thrills, in a more accessible and casual atmosphere.  You can also save on travel expenses by attending closer conventions – or as in my case, staying with family!

Assemble Cards! (A Review of Super Hero Squad)

You’ve read their comics, seen their movies, daydreamed about them, and maybe even dressed up as them. Now, you can assume the powers of Marvel’s greatest and lesser known world defending crime fighters. The twist is that you have to fight each other – must be inspired by Marvel’s Civil War?! Do you have what it takes to don masks, capes, high-tech weaponry, and genetic-altering phenomena? Find out with the new Marvel trading card game, Super Hero Squad.

The Fellowship: An Unexpected Journey

I wrote a long post about CCGs (customizable card games) for my personal blog, which you're welcome to read if so inclined. The basic gist of it: My name's Lenny, and I'm addicted to CCGs.

Hi, Lenny.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I used to be addicted. When 100% of my money was discretionary income, 100% of it was spent on trading card games. Overpower, Redemption, and then the Star Wars CCG were the biggest monetary sinkholes, but I also dabbled in just about every other CCG that was released, even the lesser-known ones. When Magic: The Gathering was in its heyday, there were many, many copycats.

Because of my former addiction, I've tried hard over the years to steer clear of overly mercenary collectible card games. When I discovered Dominion, I found what I imagined was the Platonic ideal for all those CCG shadows on the cave wall: no random collecting, no trading, simple enough rules that anyone can jump in and play.

Rome WAS Built in a Day (a review of 7 Wonders)

[Editors note: The following is a Nemesis Review, featuring opinions from our in-house eurogamer, @Farmerlenny, and his deadly enemy the thematic space-loving @Futurewolfie.  Make sure to read both opinions to get a better overall picture of the game!]

Gamer hype is not uncommon, and 7 Wonders, even before its many official accolades (including the first-ever Kennerspiel des Jahres), has been a particular geek darling. Copies last fall were hard to track down, and the hype continued to be laid on thick. (I suspect some of this was an indirect geek brag: "Not only is this game awesome, but I have a copy and you don't.") Still, a seven-player game that could be played in half an hour, produced interesting decisions, and allowed strategic planning seemed far-fetched, and I was sure the hype could not be true.

After a geek super-couponing deal at Barnes & Noble that any frugal mom would be proud of, I secured a copy of 7 Wonders (for less than $2 out-of-pocket, I might add /geekbrag). What do I think about it? Find out below!

Friday Question: What Was Your Gateway Game?

In the board game community, we often talk about "gateway games," those games we present to the unwitting uninitiated to draw them into our fold. "Gateway games" are those games that change the way a person views gaming. A lightbulb goes on, and the person says, "Wow, bits of cardboard can be fun!" This Friday's question offers you a chance to share your story: what was the gateway game that drew you into the hobby? A bonus question: do you still like your gateway game? Answer in the comments!

[editors note: friday question is now saturday question, because @futurewolfie has a real job and doesn't always get a chance to write his side of the post.]

@FarmerLenny answers:
It's hard for me to credit any one game. My family is a board- and card-game-playing family, and I remember my first games of Pinochle and Dutch Blitz (or maybe just Pinochle) with a certain relish. I also played several CCGs (namely Overpower, Redemption, Star Wars, and Marvel Vs.), which were certainly precursors to more complex games. But as far as the board gaming hobby is concerned, I suppose my entry point would have to be Kill Doctor Lucky or Acquire. I think Settlers of Catan predated both of these games in terms of when I played it, but my first experience of Settlers was not exactly favorable. (Admittedly, my friend was so excited to teach it to me that he didn't wait till we had the proper number of players, and we played a two-player game, which was pretty lame.) I played Kill Doctor Lucky on a visit to my sister and brother-in-law's house, and I loved it so much that I ordered my own copy when I got home. I wanted to make sure I had a copy to share with my friends. And Acquire was the game that completed the work that Kill Doctor Lucky began. Acquire, as I've mentioned elsewhere, has it all and has remained my favorite game, built on this nostalgia factor.

@Futurewolfie answers:
Whoof, this is kind of a big question for me.  I don't know if there was one specific game that drew me in.  If you read the first post of this blog, you can get a pretty good idea of my story. But it was pretty gradual - my family played bored games sometimes as a family activity growing up, but they didn't really stick much (and I didn't realize why til much later.  We played not-fun games like Clue).  Heroclix was a boardgame I played a lot in highschool, but I think I got into it a lot for the novelty of playing as superheroes.  Settlers of Catan opened up a door that lead me to the world of greater board-gaming, and while Settlers is a fine game, I wouldn't say that game really brought me into the hobby.

Really what did it for me was just finding the FLGS in my area after the local Gamers Paradise shut down.  Incidentally, finding this FLGS (called "Games Plus") made me realize how non-gaming-paradise the Gamers Paradise actually was.  Games Plus offered several shelves full of unrecognizable (at the time) games, and I distinctly remember standing next to Bryan saying, "There are so many games here.  A lot of them HAVE to be amazing - I just wish I knew which ones."  Now I'm a lot more educated, but my first game from that world was Android - a game that, despite its length and complexity, taught me that board games could be complex, strategic, have interesting themes, and not involve rolling dice all the time.


What's yours?