Two weeks until Rachel returns. I just video Skyped with her, and though the sound kept dropping off on her end (so I could hear her, but she couldn't hear me .. which is about normal, anyway), I still melt over her smile. Sigh.
I'm also missing my C Lanzbom CDs. I wonder where they went.
Shabbat Shalom.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Session Report, in which I play Reef Encounter for the first time
The latest Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club session report is up. Games played: Dominion+, Trias, Taj Mahal, Cuba, Tichu, R-Eco, Dvonn, Reef Encounter.
I play my first game of Reef Encounter. It doesn't displace Tigris and Euphrates. And I get to play Trias again, yay!
My brother isn't coming for shabbat after all, but I'm still having my friends and some other guests for lunch.
I play my first game of Reef Encounter. It doesn't displace Tigris and Euphrates. And I get to play Trias again, yay!
My brother isn't coming for shabbat after all, but I'm still having my friends and some other guests for lunch.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Only 55 minutes late
This shabbat I've invited my brother and his family, game players. And also some mutual friends of ours; the husband is a happy game player (Bridge and Scrabble, especially), and the wife likes Settlers of Catan and a few other games.
Funny that none of Rachel's students took the time to rate her on Rate My Professors. Anyhoo, she should be in Costa Rica right now, or soon, which is where her mother lives most of the year (in Monteverde). I've never been there :-( .. And she returns to Israel in about two weeks.
Funny that none of Rachel's students took the time to rate her on Rate My Professors. Anyhoo, she should be in Costa Rica right now, or soon, which is where her mother lives most of the year (in Monteverde). I've never been there :-( .. And she returns to Israel in about two weeks.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Longer the Line You're Standing On ...
... the less likely that it will have been worthwhile to have done so. This applies in Israel. I don't know if it applies elsewhere.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Librivox.org: Free Downloadable Audio Books
BBC gets pretty repetitive, not to mention the fact that their concepts of interesting and balanced don't match mine, and Israeli radio stations are hit and (mostly) miss. And I can't listen to game podcasts all the time. So I was thrilled to find librivox.org, a site that does for audio books what Project Gutenberg does for books: convert them and put them online, for free.
There's something about listening to a soothing voice read a literary classic that makes even the most complex book enjoyable and accessible. Those of you who have a hard time sitting down to read an 18th or 19th century novel might just get hooked if you can listen to it being read. I think it evokes the primal pleasure of being read to as a child. And a reader - a good reader - makes any text more vibrant and comprehensible.
The audio files are divided by chapter. Some books are read the entire way through by a single reader, while others are read by different readers. Quality varies, but most are good. Some are excellent. My favorite so far, and my lucky first choice to which to listen, was Brenda Dayne reading The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.
The version of Anne of Green Gables that I listened to had a few middle chapters read by someone with a cloying voice, but there are at least five versions on the site. Silas Marner was also read excellently.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Game Idea: Comic Book Collector
Something I just thought of three days ago, and haven't worked on yet.
A game for 3 to 6 players about collecting comic books, played over 9 rounds. Each round, copies of the latest issues for several comics arrive at the comics store. The issues are good or bad objectively (i.e. they receive a hidden objective rating). The past issues still in the store drop in price. The previous past issues are sent to the used bookstore. At the used bookstore, the ratings of issues are known, and the prices are determined by a) how many of the previous issues have sold, b) whether the issues were good, and c) whether the comic series is good or bad, on the whole.
When someone buys an issue from the comic store (where the rating is still hidden), he or she gives the issue a personal rating. If someone else buys the issue based on their recommendation, and the issue's rating is, in fact, good, they gain Cred. If they mis-represent an issue's value, they lose Cred.
The game starts with asking your parents for money. This amount is limited until you've paid back all the money, after which the amount you can borrow increases. Repeat, with the amount increasing each time.
There is a trading phase.
There is a phase of selling to, and buying from, the used bookstore.
At game's end, you gain Cred or cash for your collection. There are two winners: the player with the most Cred is the Cred winner. The player with the most money is the cash winner.
A game for 3 to 6 players about collecting comic books, played over 9 rounds. Each round, copies of the latest issues for several comics arrive at the comics store. The issues are good or bad objectively (i.e. they receive a hidden objective rating). The past issues still in the store drop in price. The previous past issues are sent to the used bookstore. At the used bookstore, the ratings of issues are known, and the prices are determined by a) how many of the previous issues have sold, b) whether the issues were good, and c) whether the comic series is good or bad, on the whole.
When someone buys an issue from the comic store (where the rating is still hidden), he or she gives the issue a personal rating. If someone else buys the issue based on their recommendation, and the issue's rating is, in fact, good, they gain Cred. If they mis-represent an issue's value, they lose Cred.
The game starts with asking your parents for money. This amount is limited until you've paid back all the money, after which the amount you can borrow increases. Repeat, with the amount increasing each time.
There is a trading phase.
There is a phase of selling to, and buying from, the used bookstore.
At game's end, you gain Cred or cash for your collection. There are two winners: the player with the most Cred is the Cred winner. The player with the most money is the cash winner.
Session Report, in which we play In the Shadow of the Emperor
The latest Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club session report is up (and has been since Thursday, oops). Games played: Set, In the Shadow of the Emperor, R-Eco, Container.
I review our first play of ItSotE. And we sure seem to be playing Container a lot.
Shabbat Gaming
Lunch at Nadine's with the usual crowd. I played another game of In the Shadow of the Emperor with Bill, Shirley, and Ksenia (first play for all of them). The game went for me pretty much the same as the last game went, only I made a few more VP's before I was wiped off the board for the rest of the game.This time, I thought I was losing more than I actually was.
Ksenia took the province that gives 1 VP per round during setup and managed to keep it the entire game. I figured that she was winning, and I was right. Scores were closer, so the few VP's that were decided arbitrarily by one player in favor of one of two other players made more of a difference. For instance, Shirley's last decision as to whom to hand the Emperor on the last round change the standings between me and Bill.
Final scores: Ksenia 22, Jon 21, Bill 20, Shirley 18.
While we played, Nadine, Adam, and Sarah played Reef Encounter (second play for Nadine, first for Sarah and Adam), and Abraham taught Emily, Eitan, and Shachar how to play Container.
About This Blog
The last post on many a dormant blog is an apology for not posting more frequently in the recent past, followed by a promise to post more often in the future. For that reason, you'll get neither of these out of me.
I have full time work right now, as well as a household to manage on my own until Rachel returns at the end of the month, and most of the rest of my spare time is spent on Purple Pawn. Still, it makes me sad to see this blog cultivated so sporadically.
I'm not apologizing (except, perhaps, to my sponsors). But I think I've gotten out of the habit of posting on this blog partially because I was afraid to post anything less than the endless series of high-quality posts that I posted in 2006-8. I have to get over that fear.
And so, I am going to try to post something, anything, on this blog again, at least once a day. It might be complete junk, a single sentence, a picture or link, or whatever. But it's the only way to get started again. Good posts follows naturally from a regular posting habit. You'll just have to bear with me for this phase until I get my groove again.
I review our first play of ItSotE. And we sure seem to be playing Container a lot.
Shabbat Gaming
Lunch at Nadine's with the usual crowd. I played another game of In the Shadow of the Emperor with Bill, Shirley, and Ksenia (first play for all of them). The game went for me pretty much the same as the last game went, only I made a few more VP's before I was wiped off the board for the rest of the game.This time, I thought I was losing more than I actually was.
Ksenia took the province that gives 1 VP per round during setup and managed to keep it the entire game. I figured that she was winning, and I was right. Scores were closer, so the few VP's that were decided arbitrarily by one player in favor of one of two other players made more of a difference. For instance, Shirley's last decision as to whom to hand the Emperor on the last round change the standings between me and Bill.
Final scores: Ksenia 22, Jon 21, Bill 20, Shirley 18.
While we played, Nadine, Adam, and Sarah played Reef Encounter (second play for Nadine, first for Sarah and Adam), and Abraham taught Emily, Eitan, and Shachar how to play Container.
About This Blog
The last post on many a dormant blog is an apology for not posting more frequently in the recent past, followed by a promise to post more often in the future. For that reason, you'll get neither of these out of me.
I have full time work right now, as well as a household to manage on my own until Rachel returns at the end of the month, and most of the rest of my spare time is spent on Purple Pawn. Still, it makes me sad to see this blog cultivated so sporadically.
I'm not apologizing (except, perhaps, to my sponsors). But I think I've gotten out of the habit of posting on this blog partially because I was afraid to post anything less than the endless series of high-quality posts that I posted in 2006-8. I have to get over that fear.
And so, I am going to try to post something, anything, on this blog again, at least once a day. It might be complete junk, a single sentence, a picture or link, or whatever. But it's the only way to get started again. Good posts follows naturally from a regular posting habit. You'll just have to bear with me for this phase until I get my groove again.
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