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| Hayden & Bob playing Sequence for Kids ("Animal Game") |
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Games & Gastronamy
Welcome to the first installment in a series of my posts called, “Games & Gastronomy”!
As a self-prescribed foodie, I am always as interested in the food accompanying our game nights as much as the games themselves! Jennifer and I usually pair up to provide delicious delicacies, Greg keeps our mugs and glasses full of comforting liquids, Bob eats whatever is put in front of him to avoid low blood sugar, and Kia roves the floor looking for tidbits that may have dropped for her snacking pleasure.
Since food is such an important part of our gatherings and since this was my weekend to blog the festivities, I thought it only appropriate that I seek to provide complimentary pairings between our games and gastronomy.
Boggle/Alphabet Soup
The only appropriate pairing that I found for a game of mixed letters was, of course, homemade Alphabet Soup. Most of us had only had the Campbell’s Soup variety but this version was significantly healthier and do to my heavy hand, it had a generous dose of pasta letters as well. While slurping various phrases, we assessed the Boggle competition ahead of us. Knowing that Bob is the “master of words”, each person dug deep hoping to find an expert linguist within them. The battle started out rather even but as each round continued, Greg and I found ourselves fighting for ABL (Anything But Last). The competition was close but Bob eventually prevailed with the top score.
Birds and Animals/Tofurkey & Stripple Paninis
Attempting to find a food pairing with a game named “Birds” and “Animals” automatically leads one down a carnivorous path. So, to honor our highly developed vegetarian stomachs, I had to be a bit creative. Thankfully, the fake meat industry is alive and well and I was able to make a yummy grilled sandwich of tofurkey, stripples, smoked gouda, and cherry preserves to accompany our Adventist version of “Go Fish”. After reminiscing about the many Sabbath afternoons we spent playing this game with our siblings (while our moms and dads participated in “lay activities”), the fishing began in earnest. An early favorite in the bird game, the Common Merganser, was coveted by all but Jennifer came through with the win. Later, while we were complaining that the animal pictures on the cards were not as we remembered as kids, Bob snagged the Musk Ox and took the last win of the fishing series.
Bible Brainstorm/Manna
For our last Bible game in the “B” section, I decided that we HAD to have Manna. Unfortunately that decision made it clear to everyone (including me) that Heather should only cook……and NOT bake. Let’s just say that the anemic, flattened chunks of dough that resulted from my baking attempt were not even close in resembling that "fine, flaked-like thing" found in Exodus. We did managed to consume all the chunks, however, in an attempt to fuel the synapses between our brains and mouths. Bible Brainstorm was a Cranium-type game that combined charades, pictionary, trivia, and a word scramble. The Thaynes prevailed over the Wendts due to their difficulties encountered in the drawing department. How does one draw "The Glory of God" anyway??!!
Blink
I did not plan on us getting through so many games this evening so I didn't prepare a pairing for Blink. In fact, I don't even remember playing the game. I must have blinked and missed it. Sorry.
Written by Heather
Blink
I did not plan on us getting through so many games this evening so I didn't prepare a pairing for Blink. In fact, I don't even remember playing the game. I must have blinked and missed it. Sorry.
Written by Heather
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Eight Percent
Several games went back in the closet tonight. As I (Greg) slid the boxes to the back of a shelf, I felt a small sense of loss knowing that it would be a long time until we would get to see those games again. Then again, I thought, we put down another eight percent of our 100 games in just one weekend! At this pace, maybe we will see those games again this year.
Our weekend started with some farming smack talk and four very determined gamers as we rolled out one of our favorite and more challenging platforms for competition, Agricola. We paired this game with one of it's well designed expansions, Farmers of the Moor. Utilizing a combination of the "Komplex" deck and the "Advanced" deck, we set out to play. About fifteen minutes of card reading later, and after a quick reminder of the details of the rules, we began spreading out on our acreage. Based on our game play, we can conclude that many hands make light work. Another way to put it is, "have lots of babies, 'cause they make cheap labor." (I think the game's theme predates laws against that.) You still have to feed them and make sure they have a warm bedroom to sleep in, but it's still good to have the workers. It is one of the closer games we've played in a while. When all the points were tallied up, we found that there were only two points separating the winner from the two who tied for "number 1 loser." Somehow, I managed my farm and family the best and edged out a close one for the coveted win. Bob came in a close one point behind. The girls, with all their horses and other pastured critters, were close enough that one or two changes in any turn and the game would certainly have declared a different master farmer.
We exchanged our overalls and pitchforks for togas in the Roman forum as our list dictated Alea Iacta Est was our next challenge (see picture above). We rolled our dice and moved our... well... dice. Nothing more fancy, but when one starts with eight of them in hand, there is a rich feeling to the options available. This was the girls' game. They worked their patricians and provinces into a perfect support system and left the boys in the Latrina pondering where we went wrong. Heather ultimately gained the most popularity in Rome to solidify her victory. Jennifer gave her a run for her money, losing by just one point.
Trading our equipment and clothing once again, we became city planners in Alhambra. While I'm not sure what kind of clothing the architects of these town squares would have worn, I'm sure it wasn't the garb of farmers or Romans. The game got off to a roaring start, or rather, everyone just got greedy, grabbing for money on their turns. Of course, that doesn't last long as eventually pockets get very warm with a pile of money burning a whole in them. Thus the purchase of buildings and arranging them around the fountain got underway as well. Surprisingly, Jennifer found a way to come up just one point short, again. She was getting a little worried about this plan to play through 100 games if she was going to continue to be a point or two away from winning every game. I was awarded the win here, too. Not a bad weekend already. Having a fast start and a nice long city wall made the difference.
And now, for something completely different, we played Apples to Apples. Bob and Heather smoked us. Those lucky card players seemed to have a great card for every turn. In the end, Bob collected the most green cards and just edged Heather for the win. Yet another game having a difference of just one point between the winner and second place.
It had already been a great weekend of friends, food, and fun playing games. The fact that we got into the B's on our list just took it to another level. Good old Backgammon was next and we all had to brush up a bit on the rules. Jennifer had never played before, but picked up the game and some basic strategy quickly. After some practice, we played as couples. We (Jennifer and Greg) were able to make a good enough run to win.
We had to take a break at this point. No more games until morning. So we went our separate ways to rest and prepare ourselves for another day of battle.
"A ha, HA, ha, ha, ha, ha, HA." This is an attempt to quote Heather, who used the nearly canned sounding chortles in an attempt to avoid real laughter while reading the definitions offered her in Balderdash. Here is a little of what she was up against:
-- Wheeple: A poor attempt to whistle loudly. (the correct answer for a particular round)
-- Bayocks: The back section of a rhinoceros, near the tail. (Not the correct answer, but laugh inducing)
-- Tankle: The retirement party for a circus clown. (Also not the correct answer, but good for a few guffaws)
...And on they went. Somehow Bob pulled out a victory from third place to the finish-line. It was a masterful takeover. I had been in first for much of the game, with Jennifer right on my tail. But Bob would not be denied.
Bananas! Jennifer and I had never played Bananagrams before. After whetting our appetite with Bob and Heather, we just had to have our own game. So we are now the proud owners of a copy ourselves. Which reminds me, we need to return their copy as we needed to play some more after the party disbanded for the weekend. It's a thoroughly stress-filled joy ride. We played this one tournament style. After one practice round we set out on our race. The first game was over quickly with Bob handily beating all of us. This did, however, eliminate Heather (as she had the most tiles left). I was out next. Then came the final round. It was Jennifer versus Bob in a winner take all, no holds-barred, mano a mano, knock-down drag-out, word to the end game. Bob seemed to be leading for much of the game, but now Jennifer was coming on. The game was long and grueling. Each player had too many of the letters they didn't need and not enough of those important ones. Somehow, in the end, Jennifer placed her last two tiles and declared an end to the game. We had our banana champion.
For our final romp through our game weekend, we learned and played Bible Blurt! We weren't sure what to expect here as none of us had played Blurt! (at least to my knowledge). The game plays basically the way you might expect. You literally blurt out answers until someone manages to get it right. Each of us took our turn being the reader of questions for the other three to blurt out possible answers to. After quite a few funny bouts of probable and sometimes improbable blurts, Heather found herself in a challenge position with Bob to trade places on the board. She won the challenge and it was smooth sailing to victory after that.
Wow, what a run of games. Eight percent of our collection gone, just like that. We decided we needed a little break from gaming, so we took an opportunity to watch one of Greg's favorite movies: How to Train Your Dragon. Fun accents, different story concept, few inconsistencies, and an ability to stay true to the theme while not being too serious all make this an easy watch. It was a nice way finish our weekend.
-Greg
Our weekend started with some farming smack talk and four very determined gamers as we rolled out one of our favorite and more challenging platforms for competition, Agricola. We paired this game with one of it's well designed expansions, Farmers of the Moor. Utilizing a combination of the "Komplex" deck and the "Advanced" deck, we set out to play. About fifteen minutes of card reading later, and after a quick reminder of the details of the rules, we began spreading out on our acreage. Based on our game play, we can conclude that many hands make light work. Another way to put it is, "have lots of babies, 'cause they make cheap labor." (I think the game's theme predates laws against that.) You still have to feed them and make sure they have a warm bedroom to sleep in, but it's still good to have the workers. It is one of the closer games we've played in a while. When all the points were tallied up, we found that there were only two points separating the winner from the two who tied for "number 1 loser." Somehow, I managed my farm and family the best and edged out a close one for the coveted win. Bob came in a close one point behind. The girls, with all their horses and other pastured critters, were close enough that one or two changes in any turn and the game would certainly have declared a different master farmer.
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| Three happy gamers |
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| Kia is less interested in the game and more interested in the snuggle |
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| Apples to Apples (or Pineapple to Orange?) |
It had already been a great weekend of friends, food, and fun playing games. The fact that we got into the B's on our list just took it to another level. Good old Backgammon was next and we all had to brush up a bit on the rules. Jennifer had never played before, but picked up the game and some basic strategy quickly. After some practice, we played as couples. We (Jennifer and Greg) were able to make a good enough run to win.
We had to take a break at this point. No more games until morning. So we went our separate ways to rest and prepare ourselves for another day of battle.
"A ha, HA, ha, ha, ha, ha, HA." This is an attempt to quote Heather, who used the nearly canned sounding chortles in an attempt to avoid real laughter while reading the definitions offered her in Balderdash. Here is a little of what she was up against:
-- Wheeple: A poor attempt to whistle loudly. (the correct answer for a particular round)
-- Bayocks: The back section of a rhinoceros, near the tail. (Not the correct answer, but laugh inducing)
-- Tankle: The retirement party for a circus clown. (Also not the correct answer, but good for a few guffaws)
...And on they went. Somehow Bob pulled out a victory from third place to the finish-line. It was a masterful takeover. I had been in first for much of the game, with Jennifer right on my tail. But Bob would not be denied.
 |
| Hayden attempts to provide a little distraction for the battling players. |
For our final romp through our game weekend, we learned and played Bible Blurt! We weren't sure what to expect here as none of us had played Blurt! (at least to my knowledge). The game plays basically the way you might expect. You literally blurt out answers until someone manages to get it right. Each of us took our turn being the reader of questions for the other three to blurt out possible answers to. After quite a few funny bouts of probable and sometimes improbable blurts, Heather found herself in a challenge position with Bob to trade places on the board. She won the challenge and it was smooth sailing to victory after that.
Wow, what a run of games. Eight percent of our collection gone, just like that. We decided we needed a little break from gaming, so we took an opportunity to watch one of Greg's favorite movies: How to Train Your Dragon. Fun accents, different story concept, few inconsistencies, and an ability to stay true to the theme while not being too serious all make this an easy watch. It was a nice way finish our weekend.
-Greg
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Opening Day (Travel and Money)
Our year of gaming commenced on January 2 after Heather and Bob returned from New Years weekend frivolities out of town.
At the top of the list, Games 1 and 2 were a newly received gift and a related predecessor, those being 10 Days in Europe and 10 Days in the USA, respectively. We dove in with our planes, ships, and automobiles while touching up on our geography of eastern Europe. We have not had any refresher courses in geography since grade school, so the first benefit of gaming that we discovered this year is improved geographic knowledge.
Jennifer was the best student in the class as she scooted around Europe and became the first game winner of the year. I (Bob) enjoyed the game play element of having different ships designed for different bodies of water (the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Baltic); however, such enjoyment did not bring me any closer to winning.
Back in the USA, the land where everyone owns a car, or four, Heather deftly won by sightseeing around the Northwestern states, with the rest of the Rhinos nearly completing their trips as well. The second benefit of gaming we discovered this year is knowing one's whereabouts.
Game 3, Acquire, an oldie and goodie, was a definite switch in style with money and stocks. The Rhinos got off to a good start with seven small corporations on the board. In general, ownership of corporations throughout the game was contested by two individuals at a time, so that any given corporation rarely had three stockholders. Bob managed to position himself so that he was involved in the most mergers, often as the majority stockholder. Heather masterfully dominated the largest corporation on the board, and although she was not involved in many mergers and was often strapped for cash, managed to land in the middle of the pack. Greg and Jennifer fought valiantly for corporate power and payoffs, yet the tiles they drew didn't always leave them with the options they wanted. The third benefit of gaming we discovered this year is location, location, location.
-Bob
At the top of the list, Games 1 and 2 were a newly received gift and a related predecessor, those being 10 Days in Europe and 10 Days in the USA, respectively. We dove in with our planes, ships, and automobiles while touching up on our geography of eastern Europe. We have not had any refresher courses in geography since grade school, so the first benefit of gaming that we discovered this year is improved geographic knowledge.
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| A memento from our travels |
Jennifer was the best student in the class as she scooted around Europe and became the first game winner of the year. I (Bob) enjoyed the game play element of having different ships designed for different bodies of water (the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Baltic); however, such enjoyment did not bring me any closer to winning.
Back in the USA, the land where everyone owns a car, or four, Heather deftly won by sightseeing around the Northwestern states, with the rest of the Rhinos nearly completing their trips as well. The second benefit of gaming we discovered this year is knowing one's whereabouts.
Game 3, Acquire, an oldie and goodie, was a definite switch in style with money and stocks. The Rhinos got off to a good start with seven small corporations on the board. In general, ownership of corporations throughout the game was contested by two individuals at a time, so that any given corporation rarely had three stockholders. Bob managed to position himself so that he was involved in the most mergers, often as the majority stockholder. Heather masterfully dominated the largest corporation on the board, and although she was not involved in many mergers and was often strapped for cash, managed to land in the middle of the pack. Greg and Jennifer fought valiantly for corporate power and payoffs, yet the tiles they drew didn't always leave them with the options they wanted. The third benefit of gaming we discovered this year is location, location, location.
-Bob
Introduction of an Idea
To say that the Wendts and Thaynes love board games......is a gross understatement! To say that we love to play board games together......goes completely without saying! Over the past 6 years we have logged hundreds of hours together playing various Euro games, strategy games, card games, and "frou frou" (party) games. Delicious food, ample drink, an adorable little boy, and two fluffy pets have always accompanied our happy times. As you can imagine, we have collected an abundance of game specimens over the years! It occurred to us in late 2011 that there were many great selections on each of our shelves that just never got played. Thus we decided that in 2012 we would play ALL the games that we owned. That turned out to be exactly 100 games and we agreed to play them in alphabetical order.
This blog is an account of our Year of 100 Games.
This blog is an account of our Year of 100 Games.
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