2011, Off to a slow year.

So far 2011 Achievements in Gaming has gotten a slow start. I have not attended a gaming night at Pulp Fiction in well over a month. Honestly, I've lacked the motivation to drag my butt out from the front of my fire place. I have picked up a few games from local thrifts, and trades from board game geek .com. However I have lost my motivation along the way. Seasonal affective disorder? Naw I'm just lazy. I heard from Andy Mahon that the new game 7 Wonders is great fun. It is on my list to play as well as several other games. One bright spot is that I submitted an event application for Gencon. I always try to do something new at Gencon. I have never hosted an event before. It is entitled the "Sid Sackson Fan Fest." I opened the event up to 4-16 players who would like to gather and play Sid Sackson games including Acquire, Can't Stop, Focus, and others. Prizes & swag for all!! I did manage to play the '80s version of Mystery Mansion with Ian this week. I up graded the game by adding painted figures from an old copy of DVD Clue rather than using the pawns that came with the game.

My Five's & Ten's of 2010

Five and tens are a traditional list of board games that were played at least 5 & or 10 times. It might suggest gaming favorites, or other trends/patterns such as quick, easy games. I have logged all of my games played for the past five years, so it makes for some interesting comparisons. I logged 239 playes in 2010. I got in the most games in April (41) and the fewest was in February with 6.

My 5's are; GoSu 5, Animal Upon Animal 5, A World Without End 6, Carcassonne 7, Acquire 7, Scrabble 9, Can't Stop 9

My 10's are; Call of Cthulhu 11 & Magic the Gathering 16

In a nice note, two Sid Sackson games are on this list, Acquire & Can't Stop

My first two games played in 2011 were Perry Rhodan: The Cosmic League & Carcassonne.

Carcassonne, Not Just Another French Town

This has been a fun weekend in gaming. On Saturday, we were invited to Tom Leisure's birthday party that included dinner and gaming. Tammy and I played two games; Bang and Carcassonne. Tammy enjoyed both games, and had wished that we played Bang again as she was just understanding the strategy when she was shot & killed. I was the Sheriff, and the deputy and I won the game by defeating all of the outlaws. When we got home, Tammy grabbed my Ipad, and I went to sleep while she played ?? how many games of Carcassonne. This afternoon, she played Ian and he beat her 120/80 points. Suffice to say I got out the game, added the river expansion, and we played two more games of Carcassonne. Hunter and Ian each got the victories. It made for a fun evening, as we enjoyed the Survivor final and a hot meal with fresh baked bread!!

Fresco

I played two back to back game of Fresco this past Sunday. We played the basic game first and then with all three expansion. I like the ability to assign my workers/painters but I did not enjoy the card expansion as it just became a victory point grab. It really derailed the them for me. While it was fun, the replay value is suspect. On a separate note, Carcassone on the IPad is very fun. I found that it captures the board game very well.

My secret Santa struck again as another package arrived yesterday. I got a copy of 7 Wonders! Thank you secret Santa.

The 6th Annual White Dragon Con Has Come & Gone

The 6th Annual While Dragon con was another successful day of board gaming. It is hard to believe that it has come and gone already. 16 like minded board game enthusiast gathered at my home last Friday. As in the previous 5 years, El Grande hit the table. My only goals for the day was to play Dominion with Eric Carter and learn my new game Fresco. Every thing else was just icing on the cake.

You might be asking yourself what is the White Dragon con (or not?) Six years ago, on the way home from Gen Con Indy, Pat, Andy, Ryan, and myself decided that we needed a day of gaming in the winter to help us scratch our competitive itch until the next Gen Con. So the White Dragon con was born. It is loosely based around mine and Pat’s birthdays.

I had a great time playing Dominion with Eric, Andy, and Josh. Dominion is such a fun card game that is always refreshing to play as no two games are ever alike. In the game, you are building a deck of cards that allow you to purchase victory points along the way. However do many victory point cards get in the way of your card deck functioning. The game foundation includes coin cards, victory point cards, and action cards. To begin each game, you select 10 action card piles that you use purchase as you build your deck. Given that there are over 100 action cards to choose from, the card combinations are huge! Playing with Eric was a real treat as he is a professional artist, and his art is featured in the game. I don’t know about you, but playing a game with the designer and/or artist is a real bonus for me. As I have shared in previous posts, board and table top games are creative works of art. Playing with the artist is so very humbling for me as I so admire their creative endeavor and inspiration. I am sure that it was a seed planted in me by both of my parents as my mother was an artist for Hallmark cards, and my father was an interior decorator. Thus enjoying the arts is a very important family value in the Endres home.

Fresco is a double whammy for me. Not only is is a very elegant beautiful board game, but in the game your are playing an artist who is working with a crew to restore a fresco in a Renaissance church. In the game you have to manage your crew, buy paint, mix colors, and impress the local Bishop. After a first play, I am eager to get it to the table again.

A third unexpected treat was watching my wife play 10 Day Across Asia. It was the first time she has played a game at the White Dragon con.

I would like to close by thanking my secret Santas for some wonderful early Christmas gifts including Gosu, and Fresco. I hope my secret Santa targets enjoy the games that I sent them.

November in a Nutshell

It is hard to believe that November is almost over. Thanksgiving was a blessing as we spent the day with Tammy's parents. Her father is battling cancer, and I enjoyed visiting with him while watching football and eating a wonderful meal. The day ended as we brought home an 8 week old farm kitten that Tammy named Pearl. She is has been very curious and lovable this weekend.

I have played several old and new favorite games this month including Agricola, Dominion, and Gosu. I am participating in several board game secret Santa gift exchanges, and I received Gosu. It is a game of Goblin Supremacy. The board game geek data base describes it as a hybrid of Race for the Galaxy and Magic the Gathering. While I have not played Race for the Galaxy, it is no where near Magic. I like the fact that it has a neat game mechanic that triggers when you get behind in points. You are never really out of the game.

On November 9 - 12, I traveled to Rochester, NY to research project X. It was a very successful trip.

This Friday the 3rd celebrates the 6th annual While Dragon game day to celebrate mine and Pat's December birthdays. It is always a tradition that we play El Grande.

That JayHawk is a very ANGRY BIRD

Wow, so many ups and downs this past week. Mizzou lost twice, the Chiefs won 1 & lost 1 in overtime, and KU won after scoring 5 touch downs in the fourth quarter yesterday. Ryan & I were the only pair that stayed the whole game in our row. Plus, I visited with my college room mates who are split a pair of KU football season ticket. I have not seen Mike in 20+ years. During that time, he has served two tours of duty in Kuwait for the US Navy. Thank you Mike.

Last week, Pat and Kevin joined me at my house for an evening of games. We played Dominion, A World Without End, and a three player game of Sid Sackson's "I'm the Boss." It is a very open ended business negotiation game. It is a game that I think would play very well with 6 players.

Angry Bird has attack the Endres home like a virus. Hunter, Tammy, and I have all down loaded onto our droid phones. It is so addictive. Launching birds at pigs via a sling shot has never been so fun.

I did not attend game night tonight as I have been grading papers throughout most of the day. After dinner tonight, we did play 4 games of "10 Across Asia." Overall, the past week in gaming has been very rewarding. I am participating in 3 Secret Santa Board game exchanges this year. To give expecting nothing in return!!