Georgia Boardgames Association

I’m never sure what board game to buy for our game days, so I thought I’d open it up for suggestions.  Does anyone have a favorite they’d like to learn?  Also wanted to drop a quick note that we are working on our podcast and that a review of Augsburg 1520 is in the works for the boardgame blog.  I’ve got my pictures, but the review will take a while to write.  I also need to play it some more to write an intelligent review.

The board game podcast format will be simple with an introduction, two game reviews, and an ending.  I think that it will be about 15 – 20 minutes to start with, so it will fit it nicely when you have a shorter commute or only have a little bit of time to listen.

I have name for it, but that will have to wait until it is released.  No promise on the date yet or how many shows we’ll commit to.  Five sounds like a good first run, maybe more.  I’d like to finalize membership in the Georgia Boardgames Association first and that also takes time to do.  Any suggestions are welcome.

Lately, I’ve found that I enjoy reading board game rules, whether I’m playing the game or not, and I wanted to know if this is normal for the boardgame aficionado or is this something strange?  Most of all I find it gets me in the mood to play games even if it’s not the board game I’m intending to play.  I also enjoy reading the rules after someone has taught me to play a board game at  game day.  It reinforces the fun of the game, and I start to see the nuances of the game, if there are any.  Mistakes we made in playing are also made evident.

Recent rules reading:

Civilization, which claims you can finish the game in one setting with the standard rules.

Hammer of the Scots a game I’m desperately trying to work in, but I’ve heard it takes a few hours to play.

Bohnanza, I just learned this and reading the rules made me think of the fun I had.

What about you?

Oh, I’ve also found them lite reading when you’re sick, which I am.

I’m not a huge football fan, but used to be back in the ’70s when the Iron Curtain of the Pittsburg Steelers were in command.  I haven’t really cared that much for football in recent memory, though, until lately.  Times have changed for me.  I have an older son that likes football and has been watching the playoffs with some interest and really wants to watch the Super Bowl this Sunday.

So, of course we are going to watch it.  I’m going to do it up right with all kinds of goodies. But, and this is where you come in, I’m not sure which board games lend themselves best to playing while the television is on.  Obviously, less intense board games come to mind.  I’m thinking Carcassonne, Yahtzee (yes, I said the dice game), and something like, Hammer of the Scots.  Okay, that last one was a joke.  Maybe more like Wyatt Earp, my latest favorite.

What do you think?

Wow, we had 15 people today at our Georgia Boardgames Association meetup.  Some familiar faces and some new people too.  I’m not sure all the games that were played, but what I saw was:

Wyatt Earp

Bohnanza

Ticket to Ride and Ticket to Ride 1910

Carcassonne (lots of folks huddled around this huge tile game)

Walk the Dogs (for the kids playing board games)

Triominos (haven’t seen that one in a while, but fun)

Sequence (adult version)

Blokus

We even had one play test of a new game from a local game inventor.  Interesting looking game.  I wish we could have all helped you.

We had over 30 games available this month, and I wish we could have played them all.  Thanks to everyone who brought their games.  I would have loved to played Race for the Galaxy, Shogun, and Augsburg 1520,but we just didn’t have time this month.

Thank you all for coming and I hope you had a great time.  Look for information on future Georgia Boardgame Assocation meetings soon.   Don’t forget to check out our blog at www.georgiaboardgames.com.  I have articles, board game reviews, and soon hope to get our pod cast going.  It’s all hard work but worth it.  I’m especially pleased to see so many people coming from as far as 50 miles away, and I’m glad the GBA could provide the opportunity for you.

I have a special thank you for all the board game teachers today.  It’s hard to remember how to play all the board games let alone know them well enough to teach others to enjoy them.  I had my opportunity to teach Wyatt Earp today and it was a little harder to teach than I thought it would be.  Thankfully I had players eager and patient to learn.

Again, thanks to all who attended today, and I’m looking forward to next month’s board game meetup.

John Marchant

Georgia Boardgames Association

www.georgiaboardgames.com

This is a fine gateway game and also one that spouses (women ) tend to like.  Not so fun with two players, though.  I can only stand to go through the deck once.  I enjoy the set collection and negotiation, but the game gets tedious.  Perhaps I was tired that night and it could have been because I was playing my son.  We were learning it.  The forced order of the hand adds complexity, but almost makes it too difficult to predict future needs.  But without this forced hand ordering management, the game mechanics alone would be boring quickly. I’m not sure I understand the popularity of this game. 

“I’ll be the shoe. You draw seven letters. Don’t touch the side or his nose lights up.” I remember these from my childhood. Much of this was replaced by a joystick and later a keyboard and mouse. Now that I have children and discovered the new board game phenomenon, terms like First person shooter are being replaced with terms like game mechanic – from real-time strategy, to over the board economic development –to “Daddy, can I play this game,” to “Daddy, will you play this game with me.” There is new excitement in our home when a new game arrives, not because it’s new, but because we will soon be playing that new game together. And board game excitement is not simply for children. There is a huge culture on and offline of 20 – 60 somethings that are forming board game nights, clubs and associations all over the world. And like video games, board games range from simple to complex and can take anywhere from 20 minutes to eight hours to complete. Board games are raging back into style, and they are different from anything your father ever knew, rivaling video games in intricacy and ingenuity.

Over the past ten years, an explosion in the board games industry, which has largely been European in origin, has slowly caught fire in America during this decade, and if only the marketing resources were present, we might see a revolution of “analog” games that would cause concern for its digital industry counterpart. Video games were once seen as “geeky,” but now are the centerpiece of the home. But besides a console’s technological abilities, what is the point of the “media center” as the central hub of the home? What are the manufacturers of electronics trying to capitalize on? In a word – togetherness. This last element that video games attempt to hurdle, every board game has inherently, and, “together time,” cliché as the phrase may be, is still true. Friends and family are naturally together. It is what makes them what they are, and board games, not unsurprisingly, take advantage of this. In fact, there are no social exchanges like over the board face to face interactions, and though live video game services and split screen multiplayer games attempt to mimic being together, something is still missing. Much like talking on the phone, instead of in person, engaging someone personally over an internet connection, as opposed to a tactile experience in person, the electronic cannot capture the essence of what it means to be human and relational. There is something socially natural to board games missing from electronic games. The ironic effect of video games is the world it creates causes a world of isolation, and it causes us to wonder what we can do to get back those relationships we lost in the playing of the game. We are incomplete in isolation and desire to share our experiences.

To create that memorable experience lost to video games, board game makers are creating higher quality productions than anything in the past fifty years. And if you think merely throwing dice and moving characters around a square board is all that’s out there, you’re mistaken. Not only are many games “diceless,” but many are “luckless.” There are also ingenious game makers creating board games based upon cards, auctions, patterns, tile placement, secret deployments, farming, trading, and even negotiation. Economic development, for example, is a common theme in modern board gaming. Games like Rio Grande’s Puerto Rico base their entire gaming system around building an economy, complete with producing, selling, and shipping resources to the New World. Another publisher, Queen Games, created the board game Shogun, which uses economy and military might to decide the victor in over the board conquest. Even video game makers are seeing the board game market as a new and viable income source. Ensemble Studio’s computer game Age of Empires III, a fascinating real-time strategy game, has allowed board game maker Tropical Studios to create a board game by the same name. And while even the best video game attempts to create re-playability, they often fail. Beating a first person shooter on the sixteenth level is often unable to bring someone back to the game once it’s over, and the time in isolation to meet that goal is difficult to share. But re-playability and social interaction are standard components of board games. And the secret is that people like that interaction and want to come back to it. In my own experience over the board, being together is the most attractive part of the experience. Fun games are still required, of course, but instead of “I beat that level,” I hear, “I’ll trade you wool for ore; We both get to collect wood and wheat; String beans for stink beans!” These are the new mantras from my kids now, and I am with them when they say it, understanding all they mean by it because I taught it to them and learned it with them.

Now, if you think that I am someone who simply hates computers or video games, then you are mistaken. By trade, I am a computer programmer and server administrator and have literally carved my way into jobs by my fervor for that machine. And I do like technology. But there comes a time when stepping back and looking and reflecting reveals what is missing by staying on the digital side of our culture. I encourage you to step back away from your computer, yes, even the one you may be reading this article on, and take the time to buy a board game, learn the rules on old fashioned paper, physically (yes, labor) set up the game and play a game. Play a game with someone. Play with your friends and children and spouse. Play Mom and Dad. But remember that you’re doing more than moving pieces on a board – you’re together. Spending time with one another is the goal – together time all the time.

John Marchant

Georgia Boardgames Association
“Together time all the time”™

This was originally from another website of mine, but I can’t keep them both up, so I’m reprinting some of the articles here.

I went to a scrapbooking store today with my wife. Real niche audience, and I have no idea of the niche population difference between scrapbookers and boardgamers, but some of the game store owners should go in one of these stores. It was so nice and clean that I wanted to stay, and I hate scrapbooking (well, I kind of like Photoshopping.)

http://www.archiversonline.com/

Aside from the selection, it had a large back room with tables for scrapbooking. They had cutouts or whatever, machines that did “stuff” and fellow scrapbookers to help you. There was a “scrap to you drop” Friday’s for $15.

They also had classes, some free, some not, but most free. You could have substituted everything boardgame there and you’d have a great store. They even gave you dinner for the $15. Read demos, playing, etc.

And I’m sure there’s differences in the business as far as products and prices, but stil….

Of course, there’s that money thing and all that, but uh, besides that, stores could learn a thing or two about niche business from them (no I don’t work there.)

But I still don’t want to scrapbook. I bet my wife will be back, though.

There is always a tendency to in the review world to write on the latest and greatest.  After all, we live in a culture of news about the entire world in sixty seconds.  If it happened 120 seconds earlier, it may no longer be news at all.

But with some things in this world, you can write about and enjoy it even if it is “older.”  Books lend themselves to this easily, but I’ve found that another item, boardgames, do quite well with discussion.  Boardgames do not tend to be old news as quickly as video games, for example.  No one is discussing Pac Man for the Atari 2600 (okay someone probably is somewhere on earth), but I be you can find active board game discussions for Monopoly and Scrabble.  You’ll also find many discussions on games such as Settlers of Catan, Shogun, Twilight Emperium, and ton of other board games.  So, while I want to review the newest games, I also want to talk about some games that are not so new anymore, but still very good.  That’s what you’ll see here in the future – reviews young and old.  And, if you have a request, just drop me a email and I’ll be happy to try an review it. 

Remember, boardgames don’t depend on the latest hardware or technology.  They only depend on you.

Announcing a new event for Georgia Boardgames Association!

What: Georgia Boardgames Association January 26th Meetup

When: Saturday, January 26, 12:30 PM

Where: Click the link below to find out!

Event Description: Our next Georgia Boardgames Association meeting will be Saturday, January 26th from 12:30 to about 4:30. It will be at the same location as before, The Atlanta Bread Company, near Town Center Mall in Kennesaw. The location is on Barrett Parkway, convenient to I-75 and 575. The website and map are available by clicking here.

I will have games, but you are welcome to bring your own. I can’t guarantee everyone will get to play their favorite game, but there should be a good selection to choose from. I have my games posted on www.georgiaboardgames.com and bring most of them. The game selection changes periodically, so check back to see if your game is listed.

The Atlanta Bread Company has a great menu selection of sandwiches, salads, soups, and bakery goods. Coffee and soft drinks are also available. Prices are from about $3.49 – $6.50 for sandwiches, bakery items costing less. You’re not required to eat there, but you will enjoy it if you do. No outside food or drink, please.

I hope you enjoy yourself, and RSVP if you can. The first five to RSVP and play a game at the meetup will receive a free cookie from the bakery.

I look forward to meeting everyone. There is no cost to attend.

Last time we had a great time learning new games. At least they were new to me. So feel free to bring your own games, just be cognizant of the time it takes to play them. Since most games don’t take three to four hours to play, just about anything should be okay. This also means you don’t have to come in at exactly 12:30. Last meeting we ate lunch, played games, and played more games. Great fun.

I hope to see you there.

John Marchant

Georgia Boardgames
“Together time all the time”

It was great.  I met new people and learned a new game: Gheos by Zman.  It was very nice and well done.  Settlers, For Sale, and San Juan were also enjoyed, but not as much as the company.  Thanks everyone for making it a great board game day.