Time for another game carnival!

Go visit the 6th edition of the Game Carnival! There are articles about all kinds of games there. My favorite is about a lawn game called Kubb. Since the pieces are just wooden blocks, I bet I could get my handy husband ABM to make a set for me in no time. September is the perfect time to play outside with the kids, now that the miserable summer heat has let up a bit. Anyway, go visit the carnival and find your favorite article!

Thanks for your feedback!

I appreciate all the kind comments from experienced hobby gamers and bloggers. I promise I will read them in a more timely manner in future :-).

Nathaniel Todd said,

"You mention in a post (it may have been a different one) that you don't have access to a veteran gamer to help explain new games to your friends, and I agree that with most designer games that would be a big help. Given a few curious friends and a couple hours, however, I love to just open up a new game and figure it out."

It is encouraging to know that even experienced gamers have to slog through games. It makes sense, really. When a new game is released, someone has to be the first to play it. Unfortunately, my adult group isn't very patient when it comes to learning rules (especially my husband ABM). They expect me to know the game before I present it to them; if they have to struggle even a little, they want to fall back on our old favorites of Pounce and Poison. That's why I test games on my kids first. They are more patient about learning rules and they make good coaches for the adults.

In response to my Clue post, Mark suggested that I try Clue DVD. My husband is also interested in trying a DVD-based game. Now that we have a laptop with a DVD drive, this game is much more possible. I can't see crowding a group around the TV in my tiny den! Commenting on the same post, Nathaniel said that a game has never worn out its welcome with him. All I can say is that he has either been extremely lucky or he has a higher tolerance that I do :-).

Dumb, dumb, dumb!

I just noticed today that I have several comments on some of my older posts. For some reason, I thought that when I chose the option "send notification to my email address when someone comments" that it covered all my blogs. Now I realize it is only for my main blog. Duh! I hope I haven't scared anyone off by not responding to comments. I'm off to read my feedback :-).

Changing my focus a little

I originally started this blog to talk about board games and card games. While I still want to feature them, I would also like to add casual games (PC and online) into the mix. My kids, who are my main game group, have more homework than they did in previous years so we haven't been playing cards as much as we once did. ABM, my husband, has been putting in a lot of overtime so the adult game night is on hold for now. That leaves me to play games on the computer. Rather than let the blog go silent, I want to write about what I am playing in the interim.

One thing I don't want you to worry about is me posting reviews of shmups (shoot-em-ups) or other hardcore gamer games. As a wife and mother of four kids, I have too many other responsibilities to go gonzo over the big games. My taste in computer games is a bit more retro. I will be following the same guidelines I follow for picking board games: cheap or free to get and easy to learn. I hope you will stick with me!

Many ways to play Ingenious

Ingenious started life as a board game by Reiner Knizia. Now there are several places that let you play it online, as well as a PC version that you can download and play offline. As I mentioned before, I downloaded the PC version. Since I don't belong to a big gaming group, playing computer versions of these games is the only way I can try before I buy.

Let me give you a brief outline of the rules. Ingenious is a tile placement game. Each tile consists of two hexes stuck together. Each hex has one of six symbols on it and each symbol is a different color. On each turn you place a tile so that it is touching the same symbol (for example, yellow circle next to yellow circle). You score one point for every matching symbol next to the one you placed. So if I placed a green circle next to a row of four green circles, I would get four points. The game ends when there are no more empty spaces for tiles. At that time, each player looks at the color on their scoring track that has the least points; that is your score. The player with the highest score wins.

Ingenious is a game that lends itself well to being played on the computer. It reminds me of a lot of the casual games that are popular on the internet right now. I don't think I would want to play it against bots that often, and that's not because the bots beat me all the time :-). This game just seems like it would be more fun at a table with live players. With games like this, I am not very good at picking the best move, so I get my enjoyment from chatting with friends. Still, the computer game served its purpose -- it let me test-drive the game.

I'm pretty sure that I want to buy this game now. It is moving to the top of my list. The rules are simple enough that the kids can play it without adult supervision. It is also perfect for our friends who are prone to forget game rules from one session to the next. The scoring is similar to the other Knizia game that I own, Poison. That will increase their comfort level. I can't wait to get this one in the house!

Places to play Ingenious online:

Marquand.net
Brettspielwelt

Game called because of . . . eww!

I know that I owe you guys a description of Ingenious, but I ran into a little trouble. I will spare you the details of my yucky illness; let's just say I was too delirious to string 5 words together. Hang in with me and I will get that review up soon!

Computer version of Knizia game "Ingenious" for free

The Reiner Knizia "Ingenious" is the current freebie at the site Giveaway of the Day. You have to download and install it today for the game to be fully functional. I've downloaded programs from GotD before and they have been a hit-or-miss affair. However, I am going to give this a shot and let you guys know what I think. Of course, you don't have to wait for me -- go over there and download it for yourself!