After going to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe at the Children's Theatre today (which was ok, but not great. I liked the movie better, and I wasn't a big fan of the movie. But the stage isn't particularly conducive to battle scenes. And Aslan looses a bit in translation when he's really just some guy in a loin cloth and head dress, ala the stage production of The Lion King. I found myself spending more time worrying about whether there's some message about racism embedded in the story, rather than the traditional Christian motiff C.S. Lewis intended, then thinking about the story) we watched Journey to the Center of the Earth (which needed the 3D, or at least a big, widescreen t.v.) before shipping Eryn off to bed.
Then I broke out all the presents Kyle bought me for my 40th birthday. That included Dominion, a card-based game that's currently riding the top of the board game charts, and a snifter of Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey. The Buffalo Trace was better than the Bulliet Erik (the Hairy Swede) put me onto. It had a slightly sweeter taste to it. And although I don't usually prefer sweeter, that aspect of it was part of a more complicated taste, which made it much more interesting.
As for Dominion, I played with myself for an hour before I got it right. And then I showed Pooteewheet what I'd learned. Yeah...you heard me right. I served up three hands and pretended I was playing a few rounds to see if I could figure out the finer points. Given how easy it was to learn it, and the variety involved in only playing with a limited set of cards, and the replayability aspect of being able to change up the cards the table is playing with from game to game, I give it a thumbs up. The fact that you share the same cards instead of each player trying to formulate a deck from scratch, as in most collectible card games, makes it just a bit more about the strategy and less about who can collect the most, or read the most about card combos. It only took me about ten minutes to demonstrate the basic gameplay to Pooteewheet, so it's also an easy game for someone to learn, especially with a teacher. Tomorrow I'm going to see if Eryn can get the hang of it. That's usually my test for whether a game is in my favorites list.
"I played with myself for an hour before I got it right."
ReplyDeleteWe need Kevin here. Kevin's good at explaining this stuff.
Glad to hear the Dominion game looks promising and the whiskey is was to your liking. By the way, if you're holding off trying the bottle of Eagle 10 Year to save it for New Year's, you don't need to. I'll be picking up another bottle of it before then.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read about Dominion, it sounds like they will be issuing expansions like most other card games. However, the fact that everyone is still pulling from the same pool of cards makes getting them a much more of a choice than a requirement. You don't have that element (whether real or just perceived) of having to buy new cards to keep up with the game.
Let us know how it goes! We on the Bachmann-Lane side of Saint Geektown have been eyeing this particular gem. It's the latest Board Game Geek OMG and appeals to CCG dorks like us on a major level.
ReplyDeleteAt the last BG maraton in Bloomington there was a few rounds of it being played. It looked hella boring on the outside, esp when you see the guy color coordinated each of the 500 cards in sleeves (esp when they could barely close the box even with the plastic game holder removed). But then I read a review on BGG called "200 plays" where someone who has played the game that many times weighs in with detail. Needless to say, I was swayed and am interested to try it. I love the concept of deck building as the major mechanic.
Speaking of, we missed you and Kyle yesterday. While we only got a couple of board games in (including Goa, which is Sarah's new favorite), it was a treat watching Shaun playing Rock Band with a childlike giddiness only reserved normally for a fresh "new board game" smell (with accompanied new box fart).