WoW, Minecraft, and Diablo 3. Oh my!!

     Oh man, lately my spare time has been consumed by World of Warcraft, Minecraft, and Diablo 3. Minecraft has overtaken the other two, though I still dip my toe, so to speak, in the other two. Basically Minecraft is like a 3D lego land, and I am currently working on building a pyramid. I tell myself I am only going work on this one thing and soon it is two hours later. So, anyone out there playing anything that keeps calling you back? Let me know!

Things are interesting around here

     Work has gotten better and worse at the same time, I am re-certified but the my job may be drastically changed soon. This craziness has been reflected in my home life as well, but enough of that. This past Saturday we had some friends over and we played Carcassonne and Telestrations. There were six of us and it was so much fun.

     In other news I am getting my 4E D&D game back off the ground but would still like to try something different sometime. That is right Doctor Who rpg, I am looking at you! In the next several days I am hoping to try something new in this blog (well, new for this blog anyways) so please stay tuned! Take care everyone.

Playing with Strangers

     I am reluctant to pay to play games at conventions because of some bad experiences at one of the big shows. It just felt like "Here's four dollars, poke me in the eye.", but that has not been the case at smaller conventions were there is no charge for playing.

     So, the point to this post is, does anyone set up games offsite or in free play areas of a con? If I were to say I was running a game at a certain time at a show, would there be interest? I would feel better running a game where I was in charge and could say "Hey man, tone it down a bit." instead of feeling trapped at a table with a jerk or two.

     That is all for now, feel free to leave me some feedback.Take care guys!

Carcassonne!!

     So, instead of playing 4E this last time, my friends and I played Carcassonne!! It is a tile placement game where the players are building a landscape from southern France. The game ends when the last tile is placed and the winner is the one with the most points. A tile may have a road, city, farmland, or a cloister on it.

       When you place a tile you have the option to place one of your followers, or meeples, on it. If it is placed on a road, it is a thief and you get points once the road is completed. Once you have scored points from a meeple, it returns to you. A meeple in a pasture is a farmer and remains there until the end of the game when you get points for each completed city your farmer supplies. A meeple in a cloister is a monk and grants points when all tiles around it have been placed. Finally, a meeple in a city is a knight and once the city is complete, grants you points and returns to you like the others (except farmers). There are some exceptions but it is pretty easy to pick up and play.

     In addition to playing with my friends, I got my family to play and both times everyone had fun. I am always glad to find a game that is easy to pick up and teach others to play. I feel good about the re-playability of Carcassonne and look forward to playing again soon!

    

Origins, Carcassone and the Doctor Who RPG

     So, I managed to get to Origins this past weekend for one day. Went on the family pass, so it was mostly shopping the dealer's hall and visiting with friends. I got to meet Wil Wheaton and get his autograph which unfortunately this cut into my hanging out with friends time, but was worth it to meet one of the "ambassadors of gaming". I forgot my decision to do more planning regarding these convention visits so started setting things up for this years Gen Con. Seriously, this is planning ahead for me. I am hoping to meet other bloggers there, so if any of you are bloggers and are attending Gen Con 2012, let me know!

     My big dealer's room finds were the Carcassone big box (main game plus five expansions!!) and the Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space rpg, both for half price. I have not played Carcassone yet, but I have been reading up on the Doctor Who game and plan on running it with my family this weekend. I will let you know how that goes, along with Carcassone. Take care everyone, and please leave comments!!

Deadlands Finale, Finally!!!

     So, about a month ago, we finally finished the Deadlands game I had been running. The last game we played can be found here http://randomencountersohio.blogspot.com/2012/03/deadlands-game-part-2.html . So the guys went after Miss Chambers as she fled the town and having a bit of a head start. They managed to catch up enough to her as she escaped in the ruins she had recently excavated.

     As the posse approached some cultists ran forward one of the boys attacked with his horse as the others drew their pieces, both sides exchanged hot lead, and horseshoes in one case! As the last cultist fell they noticed the squarish hole before them had a brazier lit at each corner, a broad stone staircase descending into it's depths.

     Heading down the steps, which led to a platform in the center where Miss Chambers was finishing an incantation. Three skin walkers slithered out of what was seemed to be hundreds of bodies all around the platform. The boys opened fire as the fiends advanced upon them, one of the skin walkers attempting to jump over stairs to get to the preacher in the back but slipping back into the mass of corpses. Johnny was in the front tussling with a walker as Richard took aim with his rifle. After some close calls it came down to Miss Chambers and one skin walker versus the guys. The preacher created a whirlwind that pulled Anna and the last walker into it, along with a flaming brazier. Johnny ran back up the stairs, remembering that he had seen a wagon as they arrived. Just as he hoped, it contained dynamite, and he shouted to his compatriots to get out of the way as he pushed the wagon down the stairs and into the whirlwind. The dancing flames and hot coals from the brazier caught the dynamite and exploded, setting the pit ablaze.

     Any questions or comments, I am done with my classes for work, and am getting back into the swing of things. Take care everyone!!

PvP Online:Shecky

     So, a few days ago, Scott Kurtz posted on his blog (check it out here http://www.pvponline.com/ )about his character, Shecky, cousin to fan favorite Skull. In it he states that "No character has been more universally hated among PvP readers, than poor Shecky." and I can see why he may be disliked, but hated is a bit strong. Apparently he was brought into the pvp universe to give Skull a sense of having come from somewhere and not just being popped into existence from the ether.

     His character works in broad strokes (pretending to be a baby to steal for booze money) but he has this underlying sneakiness and possibly warmth that just works for me.I'm trying to remember/locate the second story that he appears in but I seem to be at an impasse. It had to do with good old Shecky wrapped up in a romance (?) with a medusa. If someone knows where I could find that story, let me know please.
   
     Shekels Montgomery Troll seems very vaudevillian to me and I always want to read his lines as if W.C. Fields were saying them. Sure he can be a pain but his actions bring depth to the group as a whole, not just Skull. Kurtz states that what he had in mind was "a character comprised completely of tropes" which further pushes him into vaudeville territory for me, especially with the bowler hat, cigar, and spats.

     Personally I hope to see him again to further explore Skulls troll roots. Plus, spats and bowler hats rock!
Any thing to add? Leave me a comment and I will get back with you. Thanks guys and take care