The latest Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club session report is up. Games played: some prototypes, Tobago, Bridgetown Races, Carson City.
We try Bridgetown Races, and decide that it and Carson City are both imperfect.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
RIP Jack Vasel: Nov 15, 2010 - Jan 24, 2011
My good friend and colleague Tom Vasel and his wife Laura Beth Vasel lost their 2 month old prematurely born baby boy yesterday. There are no words, really. But I wish Tom and Laura my deepest condolences on their terrible loss.
Tom has chronicled every step of Jack's birth and sickness on Facebook, as well as other sites, throughout the process. He wrote about the great anticipation that the entire family felt for finally having a boy baby, the joy that each day that Jack's life gave to them, and the terrible decision that they needed to make when faced with the knowledge that there was no longer any hope for brain function.
Tom's friends and relatives regularly sent prayers and wishes, but no less - in fact, greatly more - were the prayers and wishes of thousands of BoardGameGeek gamers who have read Tom's reviews and The Dice Tower listeners who have listened to his excellent game podcast. Tom surely has received strength and some small measure of comfort from the gamer community. I'm proud to be a part of the community, proud of my fellow gamers.
Tom and Laura: May God continue to shine his light on you and your family. May Jack's memory be a blessing.
Yehuda
Tom has chronicled every step of Jack's birth and sickness on Facebook, as well as other sites, throughout the process. He wrote about the great anticipation that the entire family felt for finally having a boy baby, the joy that each day that Jack's life gave to them, and the terrible decision that they needed to make when faced with the knowledge that there was no longer any hope for brain function.
Tom's friends and relatives regularly sent prayers and wishes, but no less - in fact, greatly more - were the prayers and wishes of thousands of BoardGameGeek gamers who have read Tom's reviews and The Dice Tower listeners who have listened to his excellent game podcast. Tom surely has received strength and some small measure of comfort from the gamer community. I'm proud to be a part of the community, proud of my fellow gamers.
Tom and Laura: May God continue to shine his light on you and your family. May Jack's memory be a blessing.
Yehuda
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Weekend Gaming
Friday night at my friends, I played with their kids: Jungle Speed (Tal won in a three-player game) and Blokus Duo (I won twice).
The next day I headed to my cousins for one of the kids' bar mitzvahs. I brought some big box games to play with my cousins and brothers' families over shabbat, but they never came out. Everyone was busy with lunch, etc, and then Settlers of Catan, Apples to Apples, and Magic, and playing with the pet chameleon and its food supply (a box of live wriggling worms) and talking. There were too many kids and adults running around to bring out a more contemplative game.
And yet, they were always asking me if I had any new games. Whenever I said "of course", there was a chorus of 12 to 15 people of all sizes and ages yelling that they wanted to play too, and then wandering off to do something else, play something else, or just fight, before I could bring anything out. None of my games could take 12 people, anyway.
I read a book.
The next day I headed to my cousins for one of the kids' bar mitzvahs. I brought some big box games to play with my cousins and brothers' families over shabbat, but they never came out. Everyone was busy with lunch, etc, and then Settlers of Catan, Apples to Apples, and Magic, and playing with the pet chameleon and its food supply (a box of live wriggling worms) and talking. There were too many kids and adults running around to bring out a more contemplative game.
And yet, they were always asking me if I had any new games. Whenever I said "of course", there was a chorus of 12 to 15 people of all sizes and ages yelling that they wanted to play too, and then wandering off to do something else, play something else, or just fight, before I could bring anything out. None of my games could take 12 people, anyway.
I read a book.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Session Report, in which we try Gosu again and still find it confusing
The latest Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club session report is up. Games played: Tobago, Gosu.
Emily and Eitan come and I introduce them to two new games, both of which they like. hey think there should be more curses in Tobago; we'll try mixing them back into the deck next time. And they like Gosu, but I suspect that they're the only ones in the club who will.
Emily and Eitan come and I introduce them to two new games, both of which they like. hey think there should be more curses in Tobago; we'll try mixing them back into the deck next time. And they like Gosu, but I suspect that they're the only ones in the club who will.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Shabbat Gaming
I went to Cliff's to play some games with his kids and with Mace and his kids (and fiance's kids). Lots of kids, suffice to say.
The kids wanted to play Bang. There's a reason I don't like Werewolf; it's the same reason I sold my copy of Bang. This session reminded me why. We had 6 players, and I was the renegade, already a generally hopeless position in which to start the game. I was eliminated after taking only one turn, for no particular reason and with no way of preventing it. I watched for the next 45 minutes while one of the outlaws refused to kill the sheriff because he thought it would be a "better win" if he killed all the other outlaws first.
The kids then wanted to play Munchkin, and I said no way (at least, not with me). I convinced the adults and two of the kids to play Terra Prime, a game I wanted to learn. It's the other first game from Tasty Minstrel games, whose game Homesteaders is one of my all-time favorites.
Terra Prime is an exploration and settlement game, similar enough to other games in the genre. There may be more to it than what I experienced on my first play since I only made it through a few rounds before I had to leave. In particular, in this kind of game, I need to know how the scoring works at the end of the game, so I can't say that I've actually played the game yet. I'm keen to play a whole game, however.
The kids wanted to play Bang. There's a reason I don't like Werewolf; it's the same reason I sold my copy of Bang. This session reminded me why. We had 6 players, and I was the renegade, already a generally hopeless position in which to start the game. I was eliminated after taking only one turn, for no particular reason and with no way of preventing it. I watched for the next 45 minutes while one of the outlaws refused to kill the sheriff because he thought it would be a "better win" if he killed all the other outlaws first.
The kids then wanted to play Munchkin, and I said no way (at least, not with me). I convinced the adults and two of the kids to play Terra Prime, a game I wanted to learn. It's the other first game from Tasty Minstrel games, whose game Homesteaders is one of my all-time favorites.
Terra Prime is an exploration and settlement game, similar enough to other games in the genre. There may be more to it than what I experienced on my first play since I only made it through a few rounds before I had to leave. In particular, in this kind of game, I need to know how the scoring works at the end of the game, so I can't say that I've actually played the game yet. I'm keen to play a whole game, however.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Session Report, in which we try Gosu and Tobago
The latest Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club session report is up. Games played: Gosu, Tobago, Carson City.
We try Gosu and I give a brief description of it, the problems we had with it, and how it might still be interesting.
We try Tobago and like it, except for Binyamin who thinks there is too much luck.
We try Gosu and I give a brief description of it, the problems we had with it, and how it might still be interesting.
We try Tobago and like it, except for Binyamin who thinks there is too much luck.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
25 Meters from Death
Gaza residents have fired mortal shells into Israel and planted bombs all week, as they have for several weeks prior; some Thai agricultural workers were injured this week from some of their shells.
My step-son Eitan returned from patrol on Friday evening and went to sleep. He was awakened shortly after and told that militants were in the area. A sharpshooter team was dispatched, and simultaneously a group of soldiers in control of a Keshet mortar system was told to target the militants.
It's still unclear as to what caused the error: a software problem, or an input problem. I'm not sure why both a sharpshooter team and a mortar team were assigned the task. Whatever the reason, at least one shell from the Keshet fell on the sharpshooter team. Nadav Rotenberg lost his arm and leg and died a few hours later. A commander had his face blown off ("moderately wounded"), and three other Israeli soldiers were injured.
Eitan was 25 meters away from the explosion. He was among those who tried to give first aid.
I remember Eitan telling me about one of his paratrooper jumps a few months ago; he told us that one of the soldiers broke his leg when he landed but still walked to the target location; it was his job to serve as a beacon for the other jumpers. Apparently, that was Nadav. Returning after a ten week recuperation, Nadav was told to stay out of combat, but he refused.
He was one of Eitan's friends. The funeral is today.
My step-son Eitan returned from patrol on Friday evening and went to sleep. He was awakened shortly after and told that militants were in the area. A sharpshooter team was dispatched, and simultaneously a group of soldiers in control of a Keshet mortar system was told to target the militants.
It's still unclear as to what caused the error: a software problem, or an input problem. I'm not sure why both a sharpshooter team and a mortar team were assigned the task. Whatever the reason, at least one shell from the Keshet fell on the sharpshooter team. Nadav Rotenberg lost his arm and leg and died a few hours later. A commander had his face blown off ("moderately wounded"), and three other Israeli soldiers were injured.
Eitan was 25 meters away from the explosion. He was among those who tried to give first aid.
I remember Eitan telling me about one of his paratrooper jumps a few months ago; he told us that one of the soldiers broke his leg when he landed but still walked to the target location; it was his job to serve as a beacon for the other jumpers. Apparently, that was Nadav. Returning after a ten week recuperation, Nadav was told to stay out of combat, but he refused.
He was one of Eitan's friends. The funeral is today.
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