The Tao of Gaming

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).