Just a quick post

by Susan Rozmiarek

Yes, I've been pretty quiet on this blog lately. I thought that I'd post something before Ed completely takes it over with Descent stuff. I will have to say, Descent is an obsession around here lately. We've played four all-day sessions of Road to Legend and I'm having loads of fun with it, even though we heroes are getting our butts kicked. I've also been playing another game that scratches the same itch - Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition. The games feel very similar to me, yet each is different in its own way. I've got an article comparing it to Descent that I need to finish up and post here.

My biggest problem right now is fatigue. Our household is on a late-to-bed-up-before-dawn schedule right now due to the sports my kids are involved in and it is taking its toll on us. We can't make it to our weekly game group and Ed and I just don't feel like playing much when we are so tired. It's a lot easier to zone out with a computer game, which for me happens to be World of Warcraft. Some of my Gulf Gamer "friends" convinced me to give it another try. I'm hooked. Big time. They are helping me out a lot and with a Skype connection, it can be pretty social as well. My kids play too, so it gives us a common interest. But, it does take away from my game forum reading and posting.

We did host our usual big game day on Labor Day earlier this month. It was quite the crowd, with four tables of gaming going, and I got to play some good stuff. One of the hits was Shadow Hunters, an impulse purchase at our FLGS. It's a fun little filler in the same vein as Bang! but is easier to teach and doesn't have a tendency to drag on as long. I've almost finished a review of it that I hope to post soon.

A disappointment was Jamaica. I've wanted to try it for a long time and I found it to be a rather annoying game. It felt like I was always taking one step forward and two steps back which was frustrating given that the game is a race. It didn't help that I made a boneheaded move right out of the gate that put me behind the starting line and unable to make forward progress until I drew a card that gave me food. Oddly enough, I didn't finish in last place. The components were gorgeous, however. Too bad I didn't enjoy playing it as much as I did looking at it.

I've a few more games to comment on but I'm going to wrap this up. I'm currently sitting in the Pflugerville Public Library with my laptop, about 25 miles from home, waiting for my son's soccer practice to be finished.

Posted by Susan Rozmiarek at September 23, 2008 8:37 PM