Hello Top Men and Top Women! It’s Monday and I’m back to blogging because that’s what Mondays do best…or eat lasagna. I may be getting my references confused.
Last week was a week of meetings. I know more than I did before these meetings but they’re still things I’d rather not have to know. I have to keep reminding myself that in the long run things are better off, but the short run isn’t going to be fun. I said I wasn’t going to comment anymore, but it’s difficult not to think about it and so I’ve made a liar out of myself and commented again. That’s what a blog is for though right? Not the lying, the commenting.
My favorite (and only) niece turned 17 last week. We got together for brunch on Saturday to commemorate the occasion. I chose the funniest card I could find at the store (at least to me). She didn’t laugh. Well, she smirked. She was much happier with the money that was included in the envelope (go figure!)
I revisited Betrayal at House on the Hill over the weekend. It’d been at least 10 years since I’d last played. And now I remember why. The pieces are all there to have a fun experience, but it’s uneven. You can spend the entire game feeling like you didn’t get to do anything based on what cards you draw. I was the “traitor” which is to say my character died and I played the monster who killed him.
Much more fun was getting to try King of New York, Colt Express and Champions of Midgard. King of New York is a follow-up to King of Tokyo. It’s a gamier version of the original that still plays well. Colt Express I ended up liking a lot more than I thought I would. It’s simple without being boring. I just don’t like the gimmick of the punch-out train. It looks cool, sure, but moving the meeples around is a nuisance. Champions of Midgard is a worker placement game in the same vein as Lords of Waterdeep, only it incorporates a luck factor in that the warriors you recruit to fight for you are dice and so there’s always a chance they’ll fail the mission you sent them out on. After reading comments about it being a Lords of Waterdeep killer, I have to say I like Waterdeep better. I enjoyed Champions though and would gladly play again.
On the horizon, I have Blood Rage, Arcane Academy, X-Com and Android: Mainframe to look forward to being introduced to (my friends went on a bit of a game-buying spree). For my part, I’ll be bringing Star Trek Panic, Batman Dice, Hand of the King and Big Book of Madness to the table in the future (so did I). Perhaps even as soon as this Wednesday when the Criq finally begins its winter season.
I caught the WWE UK Championship tournament over the weekend. I liked what I saw. The cruiserweights were impressive from an in-ring standpoint but haven’t won me over personality-wise (Jack Gallagher being the notable exception). The UK roster has much more interesting characters. Wolfgang and Pete Dunne especially look to be standouts. I’m not sold on Tyler Bate, but he definitely had a huge following at the shows. I liked the two night format much better than the way the cruiserweight tourney was spread out over the summer.
So that pretty much covers what’s on my mind this week. Have a great seven and we’ll do this all again next Monday. Until then, know that sometimes, even something as simple as an automatic card shuffler can bring great joy.
