Geekvice

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Episode 189 - Team Work

In this episode Kip and Morph discuss their DnD 5th Ed. expedition.

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Thursday, September 7, 2017

Episode 188 - Kip becomes a Cop

This week we have a hodgepodge of topics.

Kip works with the cops to catch a hit and run driver and watches Manhunt: The Unabomber.

Morph introduces his son to the greatness that is Back to the Future. And finally watches John Wick and Legion.

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Monday, September 4, 2017

GenCon Day 2

Day 2 started off with breakfast at the Yolk. A pretty good place that won out because of its proximity to the hotel. Day 2 was the day I was looking forward to the most. This was the day that I get to play some Battlestar Galactica (BSG). BSG is my all time favorite game. Getting the game to the table can be difficult because of the time commitment - usually 3 hours. Enough about that for now.

First game out of the gate was a RPG called Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors. Just so you know - I have very little experience with role playing games. I have a semi-regular DnD group, but that has been my only excursion into this world. I am not much into the role playing aspect, but I do like rolling dice. So, off we go to hunt some demons. The beauty of GenCon is getting to play games with people you have never met, and having a good time. My table was taken up mostly with people I have never met, and probably will never see again. I say mostly because Jason was at the table with me. This game is based on the FATE system which meant nothing to me, but I was game. I had a good time. Mostly because the people at my table were a lot of fun. We had a guy that was vision impaired, another guy dressed in chain mail, a boyfriend/girlfriend combo, and Jason and I. I might be missing someone, but I feel good that I remembered that much. Some went all-in on the role playing. The girlfriend at the table talked like a robot the whole time because her character is mnemonic. The vision impaired dude's character was dumb as a box of broken hammers. This prompted the guy to play the character with a southern accent. I guess in his world stupidity is enhanced with the accent.

The story we played was a murder mystery at a theatre. The main actor was killed and his body was found half sunken into the floor. So, this gives us the clue that paranormal is at play here. Of course, I played a character that is a meat shield. Battling ghosts with my fists didn't seem like an option. So, I was pretty sure my character would have nothing to do. This wasn't the case. I had to break out of a room the suddenly had its door disappear to be replaced by a wall. So, it was a Hulk smash moment for me. I liked it, but it wasn't the best my character had to offer. At the end of the battle there was a floating skull and a giant venus flytrap terrorizing the theatre. I decided to go all Michael Jordan and have my character leap into the air, grab the skull, and slam dunk it down the throat of the flytrap. Luckily I rolled really well and was able to complete the action with style. We ended up beating the demon and all is well.

After that we went back to the library to play some games. We ended up playing only two games. The first was Discworld: Ankh-Morpork. A fun game based on the Terry Pratchet book series. We had fun and I lost spectacularly. Mostly because we didn't understand a rule and it caused my to use a strategy that I didn't need, and I lost. Oh well. It happens.

Next up was The Castles of Burgundy which is a fun euro game. Jason and I had no idea how to play, but we slowly figured it out. You guessed it - I lost. This was a game I had been curious about for a while and glad I got to try it out. It ended up being a game I have no desire to own, but would play again if it ever pops up.

After another session of walking around the vendor hall, it was time to go play BSG. I was excited. Tired, but excited. We got there early and had to wait for the allotted time. The time came and went and nobody ever showed to play the game. No game. No players. It was like I missed a memo or something. Needless to say, but I as bummed out. I really wanted to play this game. Luckily some newbies at my home gaming group want to play. So all is not lost, but how do you set up a game to play and not show? I would never do that to someone.

After that we walked back to the hotel, and called it a day. It was both fun and frustrating. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Spoiler - it was.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Episode 187 - The Defenders

In this episode Kip and Morph talk about The Defenders on Netflix.

Check out this episode!

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

GenCon Day 1

Day 1 started with me showing how bad of a friend I am. When Jason signed up for events he included a ticket for me. My first event on Day 1 was a game that I did not get a ticket for Jason. So, we went our separate ways while I played Discworld: The Witches. This is a fun game. You play as one of the witches living and training in Lancre a magical land full of problems. It is a cooperative game in which you keep track of victory points to find out who won better. The game has a fun sense of humor. Fun things like the location names. In the pic is a card the depicts the location "The Place Where the Sun Does Not Shine". There is also a location named "The Long Man" and the graphics at the location is quire phallic. All that aside, I had a good time playing the game. We won, but I was not the overall winner. No surprise there. If you get a chance to play this game, I recommend giving it a try. We won rather easily. So, I don't know if this is a game I would own.

Next up was finding Jason in the vendor hall. After stopping off at my favorite game designers booth (Prolific Games) and playing Witch Slapped, I wandered around until Jason and I coordinated well enough that I found him among the throngs of peeps. I recommend Witch Slapped for those with kids or those who like fast paced games. Think slap jack with a gotcha mechanic. I own it and love it.

In the vendor hall I got to demo a game called Valerian: The Alpha Missions. It is another cooperative game, and it is based on the movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. You go around in the city made of random tiles and fight the monsters. I had fun, but the demo was setup for an easy victory and I did not get a feel for how challenging this game actually can be. I want to try it again as the full game. The jury is out on this one.

After vendor hall wandering and eating at the food trucks, we meet up with Bill, Alex, Josh, and Jody to play some games. They started off the night with 7 Wonders. I had played 7 Wonders a few times before and did not like the game. Granted those who try to teach me the game did not do a good job and I felt like I had no idea what was going on. Well Bill and Co. are good at explaining games, and now I know what the hell is going on in this game. I actually liked it this time. Naturally I did not even come close to winning the game, but no surprise there.

We played Sagrada next. Sagrada is a dice rolling and placing game. You are trying to complete a stained glass window and gain victory points. The game is pretty and has bunches and bunches of colored dice. Who doesn't like dice? I liked this game so much that I ended up buying my own copy. I love it when that happens.

From there we played a game Bill has under development. I am not sure how much I am allowed to say, but I will say it was very fun. It is interesting to play a game with one of the players is the designer and another is the artist. The game was still in play test shape and I was having fun listening to them talk about the look and feel of the card art. It is like pulling back the curtain. When this game goes to Kickstarter, I will back it. I will give a link to it when it goes live. I just am not sure of when. I will keep you posted.

Everyone from Prolific was tired. So, Jason and I left so they can rest. Back at our hotel we played four games of Santorini. Santorini is an abstract game for 2-4 players. Seems best with two. You are trying to build your structure before your opponent. There is a variant you can play by adding god
cards that give you special abilities. It is a fun game, and I won 2 out of the 4. So, not bad.

After all the gaming, walking, and eating fattening food, we were ready to call it a day. Stay tuned for the Day 2 recap.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Pre-GenCon 50

I finally made it to GenCon. It was 2011 since I was last there. Even though I have been wanting to go, things just didn't line up. Until now. I went with my good friend Jason. We drove up Wednesday in hopes of getting my badge before the crowd gets too crazy. I was foolish enough to not have my badge sent and had it waiting at Will Call. Not smart, but whatever. Once we rolled into town and checked into the hotel, it was time to walk over to the convention center and start standing in line. Standing in line with an expect 70,000 attendees sounded like a very bad scene, but to GenCon and the convention center staff getting my badge went rather quickly. At first I saw the line and thought I was going to be there for hours, but it was only minutes and I was free to enjoy. So, we walked around a little. The green library was near the big traffic circle I had to walk by every day to get from convention to hotel. I love this idea. KC has smaller ones that individuals make themselves. This is the first time seeing one created by the city. I assume it was the city anyway. The big obelisk was at the center of the before mention traffic circle. I like the architecture and statuary of downtown Indy.

After badges were secure it was time to get some food. There are a lot of choices near our hotel and we just wandered until something struck us. We found a Chicago style pizza place and decided we have walked far enough. I can't remember the name of the place, but they had this cool sign. Pizza was good and the staff friendly. We noticed some people playing a card game near by and knew we were home.

After a long drive getting there, walking around, and being full from dinner, we decided it was time to go back to the hotel and do some gaming. I was hoping we would have a lot of people gaming or looking to start a game with others. This was not the case. People in our hotel gamed in their little pods and that was that. So, Jason and I played the only two player capable game we had - Tiny Epic Quest. I had never played before and thought it sounded like fun. Just like any other Tiny Epic game, there is a lot in those little boxes. Pictured is the Item Rack with all the tools available attached. I never did get any of these items, but it was cool seeing them displayed like this. As you will notice as I talk about the games I played at GenCon, I rarely win. This game was no exception. I lost. It wasn't close, but I had a good time.

After finishing our game and failing to join any other game going on, we decided that was enough for the day. We wanted to get an early jump on GenCon 50. So, we called it a night.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Episode 186 - GenCon 2017

In this episode Kip talks about all the games he played at GenCon.

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