I'm always happy to have people come and play games with me.

Especially little cuties in monkey pjs!

flying tackle-hugs billytea

t goes down, flailing

Hi Trudy! Happy New Year! How's things in the Big Apple?

Hey billytea! I got Ticket to Ride Europe for Christmas. Thanks for the rec; it's very fun. We played it on New Years Eve and Scola kicked our butts.

Excellent stuff, I'm glad you like it. I've been playing a new game with Wallybee, "1960: The Making of the President." It simulates the 1960 Presidential election. More complicated than the games we usually play, but the subject matter particularly interests Wallybee, and she's been enjoying it. (So far she refuses to play Nixon.)

It's a great game for learning about the period. There are event cards covering all sorts of features of the election, like Nixon refusing makeup and appearing unkempt in the debates; or the Southern Democratic electors who threw their votes to Larry F Byrd instead of Kennedy. (And Mayor Daley, in "Late returns from Cook County", giving Kennedy some extra shots at Illinois.) Our last game, it came down to a final shot Wallybee took at swinging Michigan back her way. Failed by one, and Nixon became the next resident of the White House.

My housemate just got sent that from a friend. It seemed very high quality, but thought of playing it made my little brain hurt.

My housemate just got sent that from a friend. It seemed very high quality, but thought of playing it made my little brain hurt.

It's not simple, though most turns have the same phases and it starts to play fairly intuitively once you get some practice. But yes, it's a playing mechanism that was adapted from high-level wargames (e.g. covering all of WWI, or the Cold War), and they're not known for simplicity of rules. The chief difference between this style and Euro games like Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan is that in the latter, the theme doesn't really matter so much, so elegant mechanics and decision-making are the big things; while for 1960 et al, they're trying to simulate the feel of the subject matter, which makes for more complicated rules to capture all the elements.

I'm in for either type, but it's harder finding gaming partners for the more complicated games.

I'm in for either type, but it's harder finding gaming partners for the more complicated games.

Maybe if you married one.

Hey Hec, the other day, what made you think I wanted to move to Portland?

Hey Hec, the other day, what made you think I wanted to move to Portland?

You had that wandering gleam in your eyes? Everybody wants to be near Cass? I knew you weren't happy at your job? Who wouldn't want to live in Portland?

Please concoct my specious theory from the above options.

Ah!

Maybe he just thinks that every few years you should move further up the coast. Next it will be Seattle, then Victoria, and eventually Alaska.

Hi Trudy! Happy New Year! How's things in the Big Apple?

Getting cold. How's the Land Down Under?