Starting fresh …

Starting fresh I began with one of my favorite topics: Joss Whedon shows. I decided to create a poster for three of my favorites and focus on something they all share in common. The female characters in Buffy and Firefly are always lugging around weapons. Dollhouse is packed with them as well but they’re usually Echo’s personalty alterations and the result of tech; in particular the chair.

I knew that I wanted to set the images against a red background, it seemed appropriate for the context of the poster. Then I found pictures of a stake, River’s Reaver axe and a chair. 

Munchkin

I am one of the players in the munchkin group. As we were not familiar with the rules, the game did not really go smoothly. At first, we were a bit frustrated. The tokens seem to be useless and the introduction doesn’t list the rules clearly at all.

Although we didn’t play that well, I actually think the game is interesting. By nature, it is a collaborative game which allows only one winner. The “curse” cards are superbly useful when you want to fight down 1 particular player. By cursing, you can add strength and level on a monster. For example, initially the player is fighting against a level 1 monster, after cursing, it could be lv 10 or even higher. This exceeds the player’s expectation and he/she will not be able to defeat the monster, thus die.

Luck plays an important role in the game. I was a level 10 player (with bonuses) which is pretty high among the group. However, when I drew a card from the “door” cards, it turned out to be a level 16 monster while other players just drew a monster which is level 5 or even lower.

I believe if we know more about the rules, this card game will bring a lot of fun.

Munchkin Land

During the gaming session on Tuesday I had the pleasure of playing a card game called Munchkin.  this game is basically a RPG with a very comedic tone.  The games tag line goes like this: “Go down in the dungeon. Kill everything you meet. Backstab your friends and steal their stuff. Grab the treasure and run.”  To me this sounded like a really fun game.  At first the game was quite frustrating because trying to decipher the tricky rule book was no small task.  It seemed like the way in which the rules were written made it so you had to argue with your competitors over the true meaning of them.

Frustration in Hobbit Nation

Call me selfish or call me a non-team-player, but I am NOT a big fan of collaborative board games like The Lord of the Rings. I consider myself a pretty competitive person, but that does not mean I am unable to work with other people. I am very used to board games, however, where you are playing as your own player with your own goals, and not team goals. I wouldn’t say that I had a bad experience playing the game, but it was just something I was not expecting.

Catan Doesn’t Need to be Settled Anymore. It Belongs to Rachel.

I’ve played Settlers of Catan thrice now.  And thrice has it been settled by someone else.  Alas, it was not meant to be.  Maybe Middle Earth needs my help? Settlers of Catan somehow manages to be refreshingly new and exciting each time I play; perhaps due to playing with new people, or maybe because the game relies much more on strategy than luck.  The resource-gathering aspect of rolling the die ensures that each player has something to do even when it is not their turn, and the bartering of resources encourages interaction and often hilarious conversation with the other players.

You want your family to go hungry tonight? Didn't think so. Lumber for Wheat.

In Catan It’s Always a Good Time to Buy.

In last night’s gaming session I was surprised to find myself Playing Settlers of Catan once again. It was enjoyable to return to this semi-collaborative, more aptly described as cooperative, game for a second round. Understanding the rules and having a good sense for general strategy allowed me to focus much more on the mechanics at work.

Browser-Based Virtual Worlds?

An early virtual world concept built with open web standards.

Just saw this on Ars Technica: a very early virtual world concept built entirely with open web standards.  Obviously it isn’t much to look at yet, but as a Mac user I can only hope that gaming companies throw their weight behind this.

[Kataspace]