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I was recently in DC for the first time in A WHILE. After attending GMT's Weekend at the Warehouse and SDHistCon multiple times, I finally made it the east coast for Circle DC – a historical board convention hosted by Kevin Bertram (Fort Circle Games). It was a quick trip, but I had a fantastic time.
- I got to reconnect with some great friends,
- I ate some deliciously dank east coast pizza (which apparently runs out at multiple restaurants when I'm in town..and also turned into a negotiation game when only 3 slices remained with 5 hungry gamers.)
- I played some great games (i.e. In the Shadows, Molly House, Pax Penning, Gibberers),
- I fell in love with an adorable chihuahua named Sammy (quite possibly the smartest dog I've ever met),
- and I met Volko Ruhnke (!!) IRL. What a brilliant, kind, soul! ..and yes, you totally can be starstruck (twinkly eyes w/ "There Goes My Hero" playing in your head) at a historical board game convention. Who knew?
Then the following weekend, I disconnected from the interwebs and played board games with a bunch of friends in the mountains. I came back feeling mentally refreshed, but ended up physically sick with a minor cold. Totally worth it for two, awesome, back-to-back gaming weekends with people I love.
BOARD GAMES
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Flip 7
I know I love my big, beasty, heavy games, but I also love little card games – fun, compact for travel, easy-to-learn, "you can play with almost anyone", lil' card games. Flip 7 is a push-your-luck card game that you can allegedly play with 3-99 players...that's wild. I do tend to play this game with bigger groups, and it often feels as exciting as sitting around the 2nd hottest craps table in Vegas Atlantic City. Plus, you can basically start the game and teach as you play.
Flip 7 has a big deck of cards, where each number (1-12) has that same amount of cards in the deck – 1 one, 2 twos, 3 threes, etc. There are also a few special cards in the deck, which keeps things interesting. Your goal is to gain the most victory points, and avoid busting. Everyone gets one card dealt face-up to them at the start of the game, then when it comes back to you, you can either push and have the dealer reveal another card for you, or stop (being greedy) and bank your points. You're looking to have all unique numbers in front of you because you'll bust if you get a 2nd card with the same value. Soooo, while 12s are worth 12 points...there are 12 of them in the deck, so your odds of busting are high. If you're a Flip 7 wizard like me, you'll show people why it's called "Flip 7". If you manage to get 7 unique numbers in front of you and stop, you score them and get a bonus 15 points. I lost round after round, and then got a "Flip 7", and decided to stop. I cringed when we discovered, the next card was a x2 multiplier, which would've won me the game. It's exciting, raucous fun and quick to play.
BGG Link
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Black Rose Wars: Rebirth
I managed to get a few more plays in of BRW: Rebirth in the past few weeks. It never feels like enough though. Maybe deep down inside, I'm a mage? I've been gradually playing with new schools of magic, and for a "while", Famine was my favorite. But, in my most recent play, I decided to throw in the Pestilence school, which was cool! I summoned my little rats all over the board, and when they'd "attack' my opponents, they infested them with these little disease tokens that have a delayed damage effect. Ahh, so many cool schools of magic in this game!! I can't wait to explore more of them. I also had the opportunity to introduce more friends to this awesome spell-slinging game that has become one of my newest favs.
BGG Link
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Lovestruck
At the gaming retreat in the moments, I got to play an unforgettable 10-player game of Lovestruck, which is a social deduction game (akin to Werewolf, Mafia, Avalon, etc.) where we're contestants on a reality TV dating show. Some are there for the "right" reasons (LOVE)...but a few of us were there for the "wrong" reasons (Drama –> Fame). Without discussion, everyone role-played and it was such a fun, unique experience.
BGG Link
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TOP TRACKS
B.D.F.Q.
Matt and I often discover dope tracks at the end of "TV" shows we watch. I'm forgetting which show led us to B.D.F.Q., but lately it's pretty much my montage/eye of the tiger anthem.
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Barricades (AoT FTW!)
Speaking of songs that pep me up, the manga/anime series Attack on Titan stole my heart last year, in part due to the awesome music. Have you ever had a show resonate with you in a therapeutic way? Ok, ok, ok...most people would not consider Attack on Titan anywhere close to therapeutic at all...but the characters, the story, the plot twists, the music...it all hooked me in sooo much, in a time I needed it. In fact, one of the things I've been looking forward to the most in Q1 2025, is going to to see the Attack on Titan Beyond the Walls World Tour, to hear all the AoT hits performed live with visuals (!!). ...and I commend myself on my restraint in only getting tickets for 1 of the 3 shows in LA this weekend. Although, I already know when I see it, I'll regret not going to all 3.
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The Detail
I love when bands I dig pop back onto my radar after I've sorta forgotten about them. I'm pretty sure I have this Delta Sleep album on CD somewhere out there. I couldn't tell you how I discovered them, but I'm grateful to have rediscovered them. It's solid, indie rock with math-rocky riffs, and vocals reminiscent of Minus the Bear, but a tad more melodic.
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Where Are the Birds
Without overthinking it, I'm pretty sure Good Tiger was one of my favorite rock music discoveries of 2024. Amazing Drums + Amazing Guitars + Hooky Vocals = My Happy Place! I never get tired of listening to these guys...and you better believe, the next time I get a couple hours alone with my copper kit (Susie Q), I will surely be jammin' to their music. Although, I'm torn, because I also really want to learn/play every one of their guitar riffs. What can I say...They're Grrreat!
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I'm looking forward to my board game-related travels in April and May, but in the meantime, I can't wait to to play Empyreal Spells & Steam, in the near future. A train game with magic and spells?! Yes, please! I picked this up after loving my first play of Argent: Consortium last weekend. There's no such thing as too much magic or too many spells in my recent board game brain.
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