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Games, Raw Fish, Games, Showers
Sep. 13th, 2004 12:48 amAh, it's been a busy last four days.
Thursday (Games). Thursday was games as usual, with Mike A., B., and Chris V. all showing up for what I'd labelled as "short transportation games". Much to my surprise, we managed to burn through all my possibilities: Metro [5/4], Cloud 9 [5/3], Cthulhu 500 [5/4], and Station Master [3/3]. It was interesting playing so many in a night because afterward we could compare and contrast.
Every one was a review copy, so now the writing begins.
I should comment that Kimberly spoiled the first game (Metro) by stopping by and tell everyone, "Oh, Shannon beat me when we played that together; you should really watch out for him." Everyone promptly beat the hell out of me in the game.
I also learned that Michael A. and I have slightly different attitudes toward games: he thinks you should always play to win, while I think you should always play to attain the best position that seems a good possibility. This was brought on when I purposefully cost him points in Station Master to assure myself of a second place finish, after first place became out of reach. Mike A. says that nothing except winning is worth anything--except maybe doing better than I do ;).
Friday (Raw Fish). Kimberly & I did a bit of shopping in downtown on Friday, then went out to dinner at Manga Manga, a cute little sushi restaurant. We've gone there a bit: I can get sushi and she can get something "safe". This time I had California & Shrimp rolls. Tasty. Manga Manga isn't the best sushi I've ever had, but the restaurant is quiet and the wait staff is very friendly and attentive, so I like it.
There was, not surprising, gaming on Friday night too. Kimberly & I got to try out a new game I'd just received called Entdecker, which I liked quite a bit. Fortunately, so did she. It's a cool combo of exploration, edge-matching tile-laying, and majority control. Entdecker is a game that really hasn't received the attention it deserves.
Saturday (More Games). Saturday is of course regular roleplaying day. As ever, our South Bay contingent was running a bit late, so Eric R., Donald and I managed to fit in three games of a cute little set collection game called King's Breakfast. Then we played our regular RuneQuest RPG, but this week was miniatures battle since we're starting a little war; it was a nice change of pace. Then there were even more games in the evening, first because Donald's brother had shown up and it seemed rude to leave him out (that was Formula De), then because I wasn't ready to give up gaming for the eve quite yet (that was Coloretto and later Mammoth Hunters). Ended things up around 8 or 9, at which time there was a oh-so-high-quality reality TV marathon to watch with Kimberly (the first Apprentice followed by one of the last Big Brothers).
And I'll comment that, after a second play, Mammoth Hunters is another game that really hasn't received the attention it deserves. It's chaotic but a lot of fun.
Sunday (Showers). Which leads us to Sunday, which was the day of Katherine & Michael A.'s not a shower party. It was my second trip into the hills of Berkeley in a week, as it was being held at the house of a friend of a family north of the campus. We decided to walk it, and Kimberly was starting to flag after we passed Northgate, but just then Katherine & Michael showed up and offered us a ride. Very convenient.
The location was surreal. An absolutely beautiful classic house up in the hills with a gorgeous interior and a great view of the Bay. There was a ton of catering staff, and everything was very class-ay. (As was the catered food, which included some delicious tuna tartarer, another delicious raw fish dish; I barely squelched the urge to ask if there was any tartare sauce to go with it.)
We chatted with Mike & Katherine, met the girlfriend of Mike C. (who used to game with us on Thursdays), and Kimberly got to chat with a few of her friends she hadn't seen in quite a while. Eventually, though, the party got too much for her and we headed home.
It's good to see Mike A. & Katherine so happy, as they're both terrific folks.
After that it was an evening of The Shield (now watching season 2 on DVD), and some book reading (A Game of Thrones) and review writing (Cthulhu 500) for me.
And remarkably no game playing.
Given that my little Geek record shows 12 games since Thursday, I think I'll live.
Thursday (Games). Thursday was games as usual, with Mike A., B., and Chris V. all showing up for what I'd labelled as "short transportation games". Much to my surprise, we managed to burn through all my possibilities: Metro [5/4], Cloud 9 [5/3], Cthulhu 500 [5/4], and Station Master [3/3]. It was interesting playing so many in a night because afterward we could compare and contrast.
Every one was a review copy, so now the writing begins.
I should comment that Kimberly spoiled the first game (Metro) by stopping by and tell everyone, "Oh, Shannon beat me when we played that together; you should really watch out for him." Everyone promptly beat the hell out of me in the game.
I also learned that Michael A. and I have slightly different attitudes toward games: he thinks you should always play to win, while I think you should always play to attain the best position that seems a good possibility. This was brought on when I purposefully cost him points in Station Master to assure myself of a second place finish, after first place became out of reach. Mike A. says that nothing except winning is worth anything--except maybe doing better than I do ;).
Friday (Raw Fish). Kimberly & I did a bit of shopping in downtown on Friday, then went out to dinner at Manga Manga, a cute little sushi restaurant. We've gone there a bit: I can get sushi and she can get something "safe". This time I had California & Shrimp rolls. Tasty. Manga Manga isn't the best sushi I've ever had, but the restaurant is quiet and the wait staff is very friendly and attentive, so I like it.
There was, not surprising, gaming on Friday night too. Kimberly & I got to try out a new game I'd just received called Entdecker, which I liked quite a bit. Fortunately, so did she. It's a cool combo of exploration, edge-matching tile-laying, and majority control. Entdecker is a game that really hasn't received the attention it deserves.
Saturday (More Games). Saturday is of course regular roleplaying day. As ever, our South Bay contingent was running a bit late, so Eric R., Donald and I managed to fit in three games of a cute little set collection game called King's Breakfast. Then we played our regular RuneQuest RPG, but this week was miniatures battle since we're starting a little war; it was a nice change of pace. Then there were even more games in the evening, first because Donald's brother had shown up and it seemed rude to leave him out (that was Formula De), then because I wasn't ready to give up gaming for the eve quite yet (that was Coloretto and later Mammoth Hunters). Ended things up around 8 or 9, at which time there was a oh-so-high-quality reality TV marathon to watch with Kimberly (the first Apprentice followed by one of the last Big Brothers).
And I'll comment that, after a second play, Mammoth Hunters is another game that really hasn't received the attention it deserves. It's chaotic but a lot of fun.
Sunday (Showers). Which leads us to Sunday, which was the day of Katherine & Michael A.'s not a shower party. It was my second trip into the hills of Berkeley in a week, as it was being held at the house of a friend of a family north of the campus. We decided to walk it, and Kimberly was starting to flag after we passed Northgate, but just then Katherine & Michael showed up and offered us a ride. Very convenient.
The location was surreal. An absolutely beautiful classic house up in the hills with a gorgeous interior and a great view of the Bay. There was a ton of catering staff, and everything was very class-ay. (As was the catered food, which included some delicious tuna tartarer, another delicious raw fish dish; I barely squelched the urge to ask if there was any tartare sauce to go with it.)
We chatted with Mike & Katherine, met the girlfriend of Mike C. (who used to game with us on Thursdays), and Kimberly got to chat with a few of her friends she hadn't seen in quite a while. Eventually, though, the party got too much for her and we headed home.
It's good to see Mike A. & Katherine so happy, as they're both terrific folks.
After that it was an evening of The Shield (now watching season 2 on DVD), and some book reading (A Game of Thrones) and review writing (Cthulhu 500) for me.
And remarkably no game playing.
Given that my little Geek record shows 12 games since Thursday, I think I'll live.