Rethinking the Desirability of My Collection

I have been wanting to re-rank my games for some time now. I dropped my one "10" game and was trying to think about what should take the top spot. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of one...

What?! I can't come up with a favorite game? So I sit down and stare at the screen filled with the titles in my collection in an attempt to discover a game I enjoy playing over anything else. Still, nothing! The best I could come up with is: "Well, I really love playing this game with these people, but not with those - I must rather play that instead."

Okay, I realize a lot of the enjoyment I get from playing games comes from how much the other players are enjoying themselves. So where does that leave me as far a ranking my games? Well, what if I rated them as if I had the perfect group for that particular game. Much more reasonable as that would let me decided which game I prefer.

Then the next problem arises: I haven't played some of these games in so many years that I begin to doubt if I would have as much fun now as I did then (Advanced Civilization jumps immediately to mind). Is that indicative of a lower rating? I'm not sure. If I look at games I play the most nowadays - namely Heroscape and Battleball - they are far from the most enjoyable games I own, each for different reasons.

Appeals to the BGG rating scale descriptions offer some guidelines, but are a little vague - I don't see how they could be anything else though. It's all so subjective. I firmly believe that they have to be ranked in relation to other games.

I'm at a loss.

Maybe I should stop being a !@# lamer noob (got called that in some online game and I found it funny enough to remember) and get over the fact that it's just game ratings I'm worrying about. But I know myself. I'm too anal-retentive to let it drop. Gotta have it all neat and orderly so I can say this is my favorite game!

On the up side, the rest of my life is going so well that I have the mental/emotional wherewithall to have this be something worth thinking about. And yes, ranking your game collection is an emotional process. Come on! Admit it!

Cub Scouts and Collecting

My church's cub scout pack had a meeting tonight. The theme was "Collections". One of the adults knew I had a large (to them anyway) board game collection and invited me to show it off tonight. Soo...I hauled all my games down to my car, packed them in as best I could, slowly drove to the church and set up.

I was surprised at how many tables I took up. It's a lot more impressive looking when they are all spread out. It was fun to answer a bunch of questions (mostly from the parents) about games and over all I had a good time. It sure was different from the usual baseball cards, beanie babies, pokemon cards, etc that were there - although I have to admit there were some pretty cool collections as well.

Probably the most frequent comment made was: "Games at our house never last that long. The kids destroy them." or something along those lines. When that happened, I turned to my kids who accompanied me (none are old enough for cub scouts yet) and asked them what "Dad's Rule" was. They promptly took on serious faces and replied: "Don't touch Daddy's games!" Then I smiled. I never let on what condition their games were in...

No Gaming This Week

Maybe everyone used the excuse of the holiday on Thursday to go home. Don't know - but nobody showed up this Saturday to game. I'm pretty bummed.

Gaming is like air and sex - you don't realize how much you need it until you're not getting any.

Oh well, Thanksgiving is coming up soon and we've got certain family members (who LOVE to play games) who will be in town for two weeks!

Table Too Small or Game Too Big?

A few weeks ago I picked up a copy of Heroscape. I've been drooling over the bits for awhile but hadn't taken the time to actually set the game up - for a variety of reasons. Last night I finally got my chance, and started piecing together the first scenario.

Let me give you the range of thoughts that were going through my mind that night:

1) Wow, this game is really neat!
2) Okay, runnig out of room on the table, better move the box to the floor.
3) Hmm...still not enough room. Move the flower vase to the kitchen.
4) Crap...okay, I think the extra leaf to the table is around here somewhere...
5) Whew! Finally got it all together.
6) Where am I suppose to roll the dice?!?

Return and Report

This past Saturday I got together with my newly found gaming group. This is the second time I've met with them, and I can't tell you how much I had been looking forward to it. My wife's sister was in town so she didn't get to go with me - but there is always next week...babysitter willing.

There must have been around 10 or so people again. I wrote up some game sessions for two of the ones I played (Mississippi Queen and Knights & Cities of Catan), but I decided not to do one for the last game I played, Roborally.

Why?

We play in a public space that had a fair amount of traffic through it due to a college football game happening later that day. While I was playing K&C, two young boys (around 10 years old or so) came up to us and asked if they could play one of my games (I had brought quite a stack). Sure! I didn't have a problem as long as they were careful, besides their dad was with them. So they looked through and grabbed Roborally. (silent prayer to myself...PLEASE be careful!)

As we finished up K&C they brought Roborally back and thanked me. Not a problem. Several of the group had to leave and I wanted to get one more game in. Another of my fellow gamers (Eli) wanted to learn Roborally and invited the two boys to play with us. The way they were talking, I assumed they knew how to play...

Honestly, I have never wanted to act on the impulse to reach over the table, grab somebody by the head and scream to their face to shut up...until then. These two boys asked question after question (simultaneously) the whole time. I mean they didn't even wait for an answer before they started the next one....and almost none of them had to do with the game. Did I see such and such movie, do I like Star Wars, does your roommate not like games (I'm married), does your wife not like games (no she does), why doesn't he (pointing to Eli) babysit for you so she can play...

The just kept talking and talking and talking. I had to tell them several time (politely of course) to not distract us while we figured out our cards...to no avail. They (to all appearances) just randomly threw down cards and immediately wanted to start turning them over. I had to remind them (a lot) to wait for the rest of us to get our cards down. They both died by falling off the board or into a pit the first round....and the second round....and then preceeded to have a pushing match (while shooting each other to pieces) with each other on the third and fourth.

Through all this I conviently forgot to go over some of the rules (to speed things along) and Eli was doing a fairly decent job of grasping the idea. And to his credit, he managed to laugh off the whole aggravating experience. By the fourth round I was so far ahead it wasn't really fun for anyone (well for me and Eli that is) so I made up the excuse that I needed to get home and packed up (I think Eli gave a sigh of relief).

Afterwards the dad came up to me and thanked me for playing with his sons. I have the feeling that he knew what we had just gone through so I remained civil and said it wasn't a problem.

Now, I'm all for playing with younger folk, but....I'm just glad I wasn't the one who invited them to play.

A Real, Living Gaming Group!!

Okay, so I get a message here on the Geek about two weeks ago from Andy (ralgnar), who is new to the Geek, wanting to get together for some gaming. Sure! You bet! So we set a meeting time and place for Saturday at 10am. We meet up, sit down and start to pull out our games. Suddenly, a group of people are standing next to us with armfuls of games....I thought they were with Andy....nope. Apparently there is a gaming group who meets at that spot every Saturday at 10!

WAAAHOOO!

Holy Smokes!!! There ended up being 11 people there (male and female)! Did I mention they meet every Saturday? I have people to game with!!!

Since I can't remember everyone's name, I can't do a detailed session report. But here is the abridged version: We first split into two groups. The one I was in played Munchkin with several expansions (don't hate me because I'm a geek), and I have to say they are a fun group to play that with. The other group played...I think it was called Ninja Burgers...? Looks funny but not really my thing. After that, I managed to convince (not that it was hard) three others to play Through the Desert with me. I came in second to last. Had a great time, though. While we played that, a game of Carcassone was started. I had to leave after that - family obligations and all - but I know my wife and I will both join in as often as we can.

Anyone else in the area (Pullman, WA - Washington State University) feel free to join us!

Go for an Early Birthday Present

I've mentioned several time how bad at the game Go I am. However, something keeps me playing. I have a birthday coming up in a week and last night I got a bit of a "present". On the Keisdo Game Server I finally managed to play enough games to get a solid ranking - that is a ranking without a question mark after it.

This may not seem like such a big deal (it is only a 25K rating after all), but for me it is a kind of milestone. Happy Early Birthday to Me!

P.S. Next goal: get above 20K :P

A New Gamer is Born!

Almost a week ago (Monday, Sept 13) my wife gave birth to a little baby girl. I haven't announced it until now because I've been a bit busy with my other three kids, and school, and family, and visitors, and...you get the idea.

When our last two kids were born, we brought games to the hospital to play while we waited - obviously not during heavy labor. This time we only brought two games because we weren't expecting a long wait - her water broke a week early instead of going in to be induced a week late.

First, I am unashamed to admit that I won my first game of Hera & Zeus while we were there. My victory was only slightly blunted by the fact that I beat a pregnant lady having a baby. Still, I can't really feel bad, because she totally slaughtered me in a game of Upwords.

9:22 in the evening Emma was born, unbeknownst, into a family of gamers. Do you think the nurses would have let us out of the hospital if they knew?

Generations come and generations go, but the games will stay in our family forever!

Games vs. Legos

I love games. I also love legos. I had forgotten how much I love legos until today. My wife and I are about to have our fourth child (one week until the due date) and it has been a tradition of sorts to buy gifts for our other kids when a new bundle o' joy arrives.

So there I was wandering through the toy section of Walmart trying not to drool too much over Heroscape (after all, I was there for presents for the kids...not me). I picked up a baby doll for our youngest daughter (age 2) and I was trying to find something for our other two (ages 4 and 6) without spending a lot of money (pretty tight budget these days).

And then I hit the lego section.

Of course! We already had a small 100 piece or so set that my kids enjoyed playing with - but there never was enough for everyone. So I snapped up the last 1000 piece bucket on the shelf and headed home.

Well, I did a bad job hiding the presents and within five minutes of getting home the packages were opened. Happily, I got down on the floor amid the scattered legos and began building. Holy smokes! From the moment I ran my hands through the colored bricks and listened to the distinctive sounds that only legos can make, I was done for. Long after the kids moved on to other things, Dad was there still building and taking apart, building and taking apart.

My wife comes in and asks, "Who did you buy those for anyway?"

So later in the day, I'm on the internet looking at the lego website and planning out future purchases when it hits me...this is exactly what I do for board games! Not only am I a Board Game Geek, I'm a Lego Geek as well!

This then begs the question: Should I nip this in the bud before I have every closet in the house packed with games and every blank spot along a wall lined with lego containers? OR Do I spread what limited funds I already have (or don't have as the case may be) between the two?

Oh, the horror, the horror !

Tickle Me Tikal

Holy smokes! It's mine! It's finally mine!! ( ::Happy Snoopy Dance:: )

Thanks to the generosity of Scott Lewis, the game that has been on the top of my "To Get" list for years finally resides in my household. Of course I'll be sending a game to him as well (Shhh! It's a secret - not the fact that I'm sending him a game, just which one it is).

If I was a little puppy you'd have to put newspaper down - I'm so excited I could squirt! However, I shall endeavor to maintain some semblance of decorum. Between this and the other game trades this past month, plus the Dark Tower find, this is pretty close to a Golden Age of Gaming for me as ever.

The only blot on that picture, however, is the lack of a gaming group. Yes, I play most of my games with my family - which is quite enjoyable - but I'm thinking of (GASP!) being proactive and start putting up flyers around campus. (School this semester is going incredibly well by the way - helps being an old fart who loves what he is studying.)

Life is GOOD !

More Go...or Go More?

I've complained fairly recently in the past about being terrible at Go. That hasn't changed. I'm ranked at 29? Kyu on the KGS. That being as it is, why do I keep playing? What is it about Go that makes me play again. Certainly chess doesn't have that kind of pull on me - and neither does any other abstract game for that matter. In fact, I have a rather strong dislike for abstract games in general...but why not Go?

Log it in the "Mysteries of the Unexplained."

I've been slowly working through the Sensei Library beginner section http://senseis.xmp.net/?BeginnerStudySection and while some of it makes no sense to me, I think I have improved because of it. My absolute highlight was in the last ranked game I played on KGS, I invaded my opponents territory and consciously made a "live" shape that I had seen on the Sensei Library. Granted, had I been playing against a more experienced opponent, it probably never would have worked - it would have been too obvious - but for me it was an important victory for my morale (btw, I still lost that game by a huge margin).

All in all, it is strange that I should keep going with something at which I am really quite terrible. Perhaps I'm finally getting to the point of being "teachable".

Many Mini Minis and Me

Saturday morning I was taking some time for myself and wandered over the Hobbytown USA where they sell (hardly any - maybe 10 different titles) board games. As I was walking toward it I noticed that the hallway of the mall just outside the store had about 10-15 long tables with tons of awesome scenery and minitures lined up along the edge (apparently getting ready for battle) - but there was NOBODY sitting at the tables.

So I wandered into the store with the intention of asking what was going on. There was a small group of guys sitting in there talking - one of the employees caught sight of me and came over with a big grin. "How ya doing? Can I help you with anything?"

"Came in to look at board games."

Boom. Smile disappears. "Oh. Ok." And he walks away without another word. I guess I was no longer welcome - and I didn't even get a chance to ask about the tables...

I guess I found out where all the college kid gamers hang out. Maybe they thought I was going to be an old grognard with stories to swap. Sorry to disappoint. Don't get me wrong, I think miniture battles are really great looking, but I'm not going to get involved for a couple of reasons.

First, I'm a terrible painter. I just don't want to spend the time to get good at it. Too many other things on my plate. I think that is why Mage Knight originally appealed to me - I didn't have to paint the stupid things.

But then I found out reason #2 that I'm not going to get into minitures. I want hexes, I want grids, I want SOMETHING that shows me EXACTLY how far my units move. I don't want to deal with measuring. I'm too anal for that - I'd make it too fiddly for my own enjoyment.

That being said, I could WATCH a battle with painted minis and nice terrain for a long time. I do enjoy that...as long as I don't have to get all pent up about my units.

Too bad being a board gamer automatically makes me an outcast in this part of the gaming world...

Friday the 13th and I Win a Game of Go

Does it get any more scary than that?

Trade? Trading... Traded!

My very first entry of my journal I mentioned that I could no longer purchase any more games. While that has not changed one bit, I have managed to get more new games (well, at least new to me) in the past month than I have in any comparable amount of time (sure, a lot of them are card games - but it's not about "dollar value", it's about "fun volume"!). How was that possible?

Game Trading!

I love it! In the past month, I have gotten Hera & Zeus from Mike Frantz (chuckles2000), Cities and Knights of Catan from Caleb Diffell (cnd_77), Coloretto and 6 Nimmt! from Nate Sandall(Cavedog_pdx), and now a mystery game from Scott Lewis (gamegarage)!

Hera & Zeus - I have already played several time with my wife. We both enjoy it even though I've managed to lose EVERY time.

Cities & Knights - I loved Seafarers but I know this one is going to be very different. I'm excited to try it out.

Coloretto - Haven't played yet. Nice to have a lighter card game to pack around now.

6 Nimmt! - Played many games online. Looking forward to playing face-to-face.

As for the unknown game, I'm excited to see what it is. Has it been a good month or what? Lots to look forward to - so now I don't have to mock myself in my solo gaming sessions of Barbarian Prince!

Last Call For Game Trades

The straw that broke the proverbial camel's back has landed. I'm going to be clearing out a large portion of games that I own but don't really want...starting this weekend. If I have something listed for trade that you want, now is the time to contact me - even if you think the trade is not fair (i.e. my "expensive" game for your "cheap" game). I'll probably accept. I imagine most of them will go to Goodwill (let someone else have the "Great Find" - I know I always enjoy that). I prefer to trade, but the times are a-changin' and the game closet got a LOT smaller.

So come one, come all. If you see a game (or games) you like, make me an offer!

What's That Sucking Noise?

Oh! It's my Go playing!

Since 2AM last night, I've played MANY games of Go. I've rediscovered why I'm not a big fan of abstract games. For the record, I lose most of the board games I play - but I have a good time. Go on the other hand...

Don't get me wrong. I have been enjoying myself. But after each game I sit there with a deer-in-the-headlight look thinking to myself "I don't get it." Granted, I'm new to the game and there is a lot to grasp, but I can't lose myself in the theme or the experience like I can with other board games I play. I end up frustrated with lack of players who suck as much as I do (teachers are great, but I'm usually in the mood to PLAY not sit in class). I'm going to have to reiterate what I've said before about Go: I think it would be neat to be good at it, but I'm not really up to spending the time to get good at it.

For now, I'll continue to play every now and then - but I'm not going to do it exclusively.

(P.S. Many thanks to those from BGG who have taken the time to review my games with me - my opinions above in no way reflect upon you guys. You're great!)

Go Go Go!

It's 2AM and I just finished my first full-sized 19x19 game of Go on the Kiseido Go Server. I lost by 131 points. Sheesh. Still, I enjoyed myself which is a bit surprising because I'm not a big fan of abstract games and Go is the ultimate abstract. What sets Go apart is that I actually think it would be neat to be good at it whereas Chess, Backgammon, etc. I could care less about.

I went over to play because of another journal entry talked about it. So let me add my info:

My user name on the Kiseido Go Server is sbwilson (go figure) and my current rank is 21k - it is probably quite a bit lower but I've only played the one game and the system just doesn't know how much I suck yet.


This might be the beginning of an interesting foray into the world of Go. I expect to write more about it in the future.

"It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye."

Clean Livin'

Holy smokes!

Okay, I was on my way home from work. As I was passing by the university's colleseum, I noticed that a nearby church was having a huge rummage sale there. So I decided to stroll on through to see what lame games were there. I saw quite a few people carrying the standard gaming drivel (Shadowlords, Trival Pursuit, Conspiracy, various kid games) when a large box caught my eye.

Dark Tower!

All those people buying all that other crap and completely dismissing Dark Tower! "Something must be wrong," I thought to myself. I elbow my way through the crowd. I notice the box looks lopsided (tower doesn't fit nicely without the cardboard inserts) and has one split corner. Perhaps that is why it's still there. Still, there is very little shelf-wear. So I pop the (EGADS!) tape holding it together and check to see if everything is there.

Geez! The board still creaked when I opened it. This game had hardly been played! Ignoring the hostile looks of some of the attendents (presumably for having opened the game) I try to catch my breath and slow my racing heart. One key token missing. One warrior with a broken sword. Other than that, the game is pristine! How much? $3!

Firmly tucked underarm I head towards the entrance and wait nearly half an hour to make it though the line. Finally! I'm ready to pay my $3 and pull out my checkbook (didn't have any cash on me at the time). ACK!!! NO CHECKS LEFT!!! Heart starts racing again. Short of breath. Stunned-deer-in-the-headlight look.

I look for a place to stash it. Nowhere. Crap. I'm now being followed by a suspicious fellow. I put it underneath the table I got it from and walk quickly towards the exit. When I get outside I break into a run (someone probably thought I was stealing something), hop in my car and break the record for driving from work to home.

I fly up the stairs, throw open the door and shout, "Babe! Where's your checkbook? I need it NOW!" Five seconds later I'm running back out the door with a "I'll explain when I get back!" shouted over my shoulder.

Another speed record. I try not to knock down the slow people in front of my to get back to the table where the game is. I look. It's not there! NOOOOO! Ah wait! There it is on top! They must have seen me stash it and went to make sure everything was okey-dokie.

Paid. Out the door. In the car. Back home.

My wife's exact response: "You must have bought a game. I never see you move so fast in this heat unless it was for a game." Boy, do I love her!

I realized I didn't explain very well when she said, "You spent HOW much on a game?"

"No no no no. It's worth over $100. I only spent $3!"

She calmed down after that.

Verdict? IT WORKS! It REALLY works!

Explaination? (to quote Bugs Bunny) "Clean Livin'!"

---

(So anyone want a copy of Dark Tower? I don't really want it - I just couldn't stop thinking of how many games I could buy/trade with it!)

Return From Camping

The family reunion went surprisingly well. We were one of the last to arrive Thursday night, so I wasn't planning on gaming since it was getting late. However I heard a voice coming from the campfire, "Hey! I have this great new game called Apples to Apples. Wanna play?" Of course the ones who know me better then replied, "Oh, you better get Steve over here - he loves games."

So we played with about 10 people until we could no longer read the cards by the dying campfire. Since this was a public campgrounds I'm afraid we were a little to...enthusiastic. No, we were just plain loud. I felt bad for those who came up for some peaceful, quite camping.

Next morning I was up early. I went down the the lake edge and watched the sun rise then took a hike for some exploring. I tried to come up with some pithy saying relating games and life but came up blank. So I headed back.

Everyone was still asleep. Lightweights. Being who I am, I pulled out my game case and the Book of Classic Board Games. I'm not much of an abstract fan, but this was a way to kill time. So I played a game of solitare and then some Go on the 9x9 board in the book. Go really facinates me. It's really the only abstract that does. I've never actually played a game with another person yet.

I was about halfway through when people starting waking up. When they saw me already up and playing by myself, there were a lot of rolling of the eyes and looks of "he's the strange one in the family". Hardly.

After breakfast, the family split. About half went down to the lake to play in the water and half went huckleberry picking. I convinced two of my brothers-in-law (not too hard to do) to hang back and get a game started. I pulled out Modern Art. I had played only once or twice before and had a hard time remembering the details of the game (it was the only set of rules that didn't get packed). But I explained the basics and we were off.

As we were nearing the end, something finally clicked in my brain. I had to not only worry about how much the painting was going to be worth, but how much I was paying to the others. Pretty basic strategy, I know, but it finally made sense to me. Gene was going for a landslide victory in the last round, but David and I had enough cards of another artist to kill Gene's profits. I managed to barely win. They both really enjoyed it and started a conversation on what they would do differently in the first few rounds now that they knew how to play. Ah...after game analysis! Is there anything better?

The huckleberry pickers came back and we all joined the rest down at the lake. Most of us went swimming (COLD!) or canoing while the grandparents sat on the shore and chatted. I started up a "How Deep Can I Dig a Hole In the Sand" and was quickly joined by all the little kids. We didn't get that deep (to me anyways) because we were so close to the water, but the kids enjoyed digging and then having one of them stand in it and burying them up to their waist.

Lunch rolled around and I began to wish I owned a hammock. Not having one, I propped myself up under a nearby tree and snoozed. I woke up a little bit later to the distinctive clatter of Can't Stop pieces. Does that make me even more a board game geek when game pieces can be identified by their sound? I wandered over to where a lot of the girls were gathered and listened to the smack-talk and watched the final throws. They offered to play again, but Can't Stop isn't really a favorite of mine so I offered to teach them a new game, Mamma Mia.

I really botched this one up. Instead of being intelligent and rereading the rules to refresh my memory, I started rattling things off. They picked up the basic idea quickly, so I thought everything was good. However, when it got down to scoring the pizzas it got confusing. We finished and they said it was all right but nothing great. I had to agree.

We sat around and visited with other family for a bit and then struck up another game, Quo Vadis. I got Gene and David to play again and my wife joined us this time. None of us had played before, so we were very hesitant for the first part and there wasn't much negotiation. It wasn't until near the very end that we realized the laurels were what was going to win the game. I was in absolutly no position to get anymore and we couldn't stop Gene from voting himself into the last spot in a few turns. I came in last and David won. We all liked it and would like to try it again now that we know what is going on.

We were called to dinner so we sat around and talked some more. As the light started to fade Apple to Apples came out again, this time with a lot more people wanting to play. I wasn't sure if I could handle a party game (everyone was looking pretty tired to begin with) so I nobly offered to put my three kids to bed so my wife could stay up and play. Everyone thought I was a great husband/father...don't you love family politics?

As we were packing up early next morning to go home, my wife told me how it went. Apparently she strongly dislikes the way they were playing. Everyone gets a card in, no speed, no competition, and (when it came to a few of her sisters) no rhyme or reason to the style of playing. For example: my wife's youngest sister (age 17) loves TV (side note: this is the girl who also brought a hair dryer, curling iron, makeup, etc.). The description on the card she read was "boring" and someone turned in the card "Television". Well, she picked that one just because she loves TV and doesn't think it is boring at all. Things like that really ruined it for my wife and probably others as well.

Looking back it was a pretty good weekend. I got to play more games than I expected. I probably would have brought less games in order to play some of them more times, but that might not have happened in any case. All in all, I'm happy with my family, happy with life, and happy I'm a board game geek!

Family Reunions, Camping, and Games

Ah yes, family first. Case in point: We are leaving after work today to go to a huge family reunion this weekend.

My wife's side of the family has planned a camping trip with 30+ people and as we were packing, I couldn't pass up the chance to pack as many games as possible. True, playing games with the extended family has been irritating...um...interesting in times past. There have been those moments of pure fun to keep the hope alive.

So there I was emptying out a clear plastic container that had been used for emergency car supplies (jumper cables, flares, extra diapers, etc.) to use as a temporary game box. I limited myself to only those games that could fit in there - so no huge boards. Here is what I managed to squeeze in:

Apples to Apples
Settlers of Catan
Settlers of Catan Card Game
Can't Stop
Quo Vadis
Mamma Mia
For Sale
Take It Easy
Modern Art
Rook
Citadels
Parcheesi
Dominoes
A Deck of Cards

--Books--
Gamut of Games
Card Games Around the World
Book of Classic Board Games

I wanted to get a good range of games as some are decidedly non-gamers and think I have some sort of mental aberation...which really isn't that far from the truth.

When we get back, I'll probably make a geeklist of these games with comments on if we played and how it went.

Back in College

No no. This is not a rememberance of my good ol' youthful days of college. I'm literally back in college. A 30-year old with a quickly growing family quit his job, moved across the state of Washington and is now working part-time at the university library so rent and food (not to mention tuition) can be paid.

Needless to say, gaming purchases will be non-existent. That's not to say I don't occasionally drive across the state line to a small game shop in the basement of a drug store to drool over the outrageously priced games. At least I can touch them.

It's actually not much of a withdrawl. I never had much of a gaming group. We've moved around too much to develop anything. I know my kids wish I'd play more games with them, but I have only a few kid games at their level (my oldest child is 6). Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spending time with my family, but board games don't seem to be part of that. Pretty sad for a self-proclaimed board game geek. Maybe as they get older.

For now, it becomes a balancing act of family, school, and gaming. It's going to be an interesting year...