The Tao of Gaming

It's a stretch to say that all of you have already played this, but it's just a mild stretch (I wager), given that RttA was playtested/demoed at the Gathering in '08 (where, following standard procedure, I studiously avoided it).

It's solid, and the Jacqui enjoys it. I particularly like that:

• all the developments appear useful
• You have choices from turn 1 (no "build up" turns)
• The clever combination of skulls with two goods, and that 1 or 3 skulls are "Good." Adds tension

I've also printed out the Late Bronze Age expansion (no thanks to my crappy Dell printer, which stopped working less than six months after purchase). I'm sure we'll try it.

About the only thing is that I really want to just print out cards with the developments, so that I can quickly see who has what. And maybe toss in a Civilization-style on number of each card. A nice system that can stand plenty of variants and tinkering.... well done.

I finally played the St. Petersburg expansion, again probably years after everyone else. I liked that the Mistress is no longer a turn one game breaker, but we had a turn 1 judge do roughly the same thing. I'd burned out because of the computer game, but I think I'm ready to play St. Pete again, at least with the expansion.

I've also played four games of the BSG expansion, and I'm sure it will surprise nobody here that I like it, although when playing with 5 you have to not let someone play a Cylon leader. (With 4/6 it debatable).

Since the Pegstivus group broke up around 5pm, I ended up trying the new "Limited Card Game." So I wrote up a quick review of Warhammer:Invasion at the Geek.

Short form -- OK, not great. I'd play it again, but I'm not going to buy it. If it gets a card base built up perhaps I'll change my mind, but I doubt it.

includes Snow Tails, Uruk, Masters of Venice and Roll Through the Ages. I must admit, I'm a touch worried about MoV's fiddliness, but it just sounds like its in my wheelhouse. With cheese. En fuego. I will now spend a few days dialing back expectations.

I'll probably place another order (with at least Shadow Hunters and the BSG expansion) in a few weeks...it seems expensive, but compared to recent Automobile related expenses (actual-, not Wallace-) a few C-notes on games seems minor. And I'll take a bit of time to look at the the new GenCon stuff (Chaos in the Old World looks fun)

Looking at this geeklist, the following thoughts popped into my head.

• Ameritrash is apparently like pornography .... in that you can only define it by knowing it when you see it. That, and occasionally inappropriate plastic. (Survive is Ameritrash? Really?)
• Apart from linguistic games, I can't argue with the list. I've played almost every single title (or tried to, in the case of Magic Realm ... and I briefly owned a copy).
• The two games I haven't played are entirely due to lack of access (Space Hulk and Tales of the Arabian Nights), and I'm undoubtedly playing the latter when I get a chance. And the former just announced a reprint...
• That being said, I won't play a few of the games anymore. Despite Peter's withering attack on Talisman, I enjoyed playing it at one time, but a recent game reminded me why I stopped. It was fine, until the expansions started coming out. I've been actively avoiding Junta for a few years.
• Dune has never done anything for me, but I recognize I'm in the minority.
• I'm with the commenters — where the hell is BloodBowl. Football? Check. Plastic, check. Dice, check, violence, check. Lots of chrome, check. And mate. Still, the list hasn't been invented that doesn't have at least one glaring "Where is that" and one "WTF, mate?", so one or two omissions are expected. (BloodBowl is over 20 years old, I think). Illuminati (as "Beer and Pretzel classics") probably belong as well.

My nodding sagely is partially due to my intro to gaming. (The first games I played as a freshman were Cosmic, Wiz-War, Kremlin, Talisman and Junta, with a game of Titan that confused me to death). I guess I got lucky that my first game group only played a few games ... they settled for classics. Just something to consider when introducing new players to gaming.

With the upcoming release of Pegstivus, I'm getting ready to place my order ... Ideally I'd like to just do one big online order, but I'm still not sure where or what. (I don't really need to buy Pegstivus, as there will be quite a few local copies, so it's not a pressing issue).

What will I be buying? Well, that assumes more planning than I normally make ... right now there are two categories

Good titles I'd buy, but there is a local copy, so I don't know:

• Pegstivus
• Automobile (also, a reprint)
• Snow Tails
• Dominion + Intrigue

Unknown titles that intrigue me, and there's no local copy (italics mean I know little about it, so chime up):

• FITS
• Say Anything
• Steel Driver (based on Larry's comment)
• Pruesschise Autobahn
• Masters of Venice
• Planet Steam
• Shadow Hunters
• Tales of the Arabian Knights
• Die Hexer von Salem
• Uruk
• Roll through the Ages
• Endeavour (based on some comments from last time)

It may be that I'll just look at the various online shops, see who has what, and then decide based on availability. But if a) Any of you want to hcime in on the games I hadn't mentioned before (in italics) or b) trade me your copy then that will solve that. (I'll pretty much trade for anything on that list).

(I just noticed that Roll Through the Ages is now $20 at Boulder ... at that price I think I'm willing to take the chance. Yes, this is the price I pay for not playing games at conventions, but $20 at risk is better than my time at gaming conventions for a game that may never get published).