I have some new cups for our game nights! As it turns out, we like them so much we're actually using them every day.
I bought some of those "spill-proof" cup/jar things, and painted chalkboard paint on the sides - now you can write your name so you know whose cup is whose. You can even write it in your player colour! They are not totally spill-proof - most of them have a gap where the straw goes in, so please try not to knock them over. However, they are less spilly than your usual glass and the shape of the base makes them much more sturdy on the table. So you may put your special games-night cup on our game table, but still - be careful. :)
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Sunday night was my first-ever time hosting a Meetup - our Girls' Game Night. I was so incredibly nervous.
Originally, I decided to host these nights as there seemed to be quite a few people who were interested in my Tuesday night group and I wanted to provide something similar for them. I actually have an incredibly full gaming schedule already, let alone family time and other parts of life, so this one would have to be less often. I started a Facebook group, but I didn't get the numbers to make it worthwhile. 4 or 5 people is fine for a game group, but only if most people attend every single time, and I know from experience that wasn't going to happen. At that point, I had to decide whether to abandon the idea or to throw myself fully behind it. Abandoning it was tempting. I have plenty of gaming opportunities and get my girl-game time regularly anyway - to be honest I was/am doing this for other people. I decided not to be a quitter and decided to shell out the small fee to host a Meetup Group. So yes, I'm paying to run a game group to benefit other people, and providing the rather pricey games, and can't afford to hire a space for the meetup so I also had to invite strangers into my own home which was certainly not the greatest set-up. Why am I doing this?? I'm doing this because I want to provide other women the chance to play these games and enjoy the social experience they bring because I know it's fun. I'm doing this because although there are a quite a few gaming groups around, they are male-dominated and quite a few women are just not comfortable with this. I'm doing this on the offchance I get to meet other awesome women who share my interests. I'm doing this because so many women (especially mums) just don't get the opportunity to give their brains a regular workout, and I believe that it's a really important thing to do. So - Sunday night. Everyone arrived and we had a huge potluck - there certainly wasn't a lack of food. Unfortunately it was absolutely pouring with rain which made a real racket on the conservatory roof. Trying to play a game in there would have been very unpleasant, so I decided to set everyone up around the coffee table and pull out a modern party game. I also thought this was a good idea as a bit of an icebreaker since about half the group were friends of mine and the other half were strangers, not to mention that some members of the group had never played a modern game before! I bit the bullet and practiced being decisive by setting up Codenames. I felt like a few people were apprehensive over the idea (more likely they just didn't know the game so didn't have an opinion either way) which made me more nervous than I already was and that caused me to do my typical jumping-into-the-rules-too-quickly and messing them up. This is doubly frustrating as I know, intellectually, how to do a good rules explanation. I can do it if I make sure to be mindful and deliberate. Next time! Codenames isn't complex though, so once we got playing everybody cottoned on to the idea and seemed to really enjoy it. I was super impressed that almost everyone tried out being Spymaster - if you've played it, you know how difficult that is. I love that "give it a go" attitude. :) I think we played 4 or 5 games before the end of the night and one person even put the game on their own to-buy list! There were difficulties. I've run games events for my friends for years, but I've never run a Meetup before. It was a bit awkward for everyone to have the meetup at my place. My house is small and my family is right there. This might have been less of an issue if we'd been able to use the games room and kept everyone separate from the general household. The location is something I'd like to address and we have a couple of ideas, but I really can't afford to hire somewhere as that would put the cost of running this to the point where it's not worth it (even if I asked for contributions). Let's call this a work-in-progress. Overall, I think the Meetup was a success. It seemed like everybody had a good time. *Except for from Feb-April where I didn't record my games. I have 169 plays of 86 different games in 15 different locations in 2016. November was my gamiest month with 29 games played. I have gamed with 53 different people! Most commonly: Angela (61 games), Devon (46 games), Amy (31 games), Luke (28 games), Martyn (26 games), Rosie (26 games) and Mark (24 games). I am best at Sequence, Galaxy Trucker, Jenga, Owner's Choice, Coloretto Amazonas, Codenames and Takenoko.
I am worst at Splendor, Tokaido, Puerto Rico, The Manhattan Project, Fluxx and Junk Art. Girls' Games Our Tuesday girls' group held an end-of-year potluck and played some Cards Against Humanity. Most creative pot-luck moment - Julia's failed fruit-salad turned amazing smoothie! Angela and I, addicts that we are, continued to catch up on Tuesday nights anyway with a friend or two. A couple of people have shown interest in our Girls' Group. I'm actually the newbie here - this group was started by the other members and unfortunately we don't have space to add anybody else. However, my plan this year is to implement another group like this (although less often - something like once a month) if the interest is there. New to the collection My Amazon haul arrived early in the month, and I decided that I could have one now, one as my Christmas present, and one later when I would appreciate it. The first game I opened was Tokaido, as I thought it would be a good one for the family. I hadn't expected much as the general opinion is that it's very very light. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the gameplay it contained. To my shame, I still haven't played it with the younger kids. For Christmas "Brad" gave me Broom Service and I got a full group of players to try it out with me on New Years' Day. With light rules and cute graphics, it's still pretty strategic and one of my more "euro" games. I still have not played my copy of Splendor, but I finally gave it to myself the other evening. :D It's a game I've played a few times and am familiar with, and one which warranted owning so I could play it more often. I also went to Te Wharehouse and picked up good ol' Uno and Skip Bo. The kids love these and they are great for number skills. Don't underestimate young kids' ability to play Uno - as soon as they can recognise numbers they're good to go! Katie first played it when she was 3. Other gaming Christmas Day itself was definitely a success in the pressie department! Not only did I get Broom Service, but managed to convince my Mum into getting me Junk Art (a wooden stacking game) and my friend Gareth gave me a copy of Mombasa! I was grinning from ear to ear getting three whole games this year!! I didn't get any games played on Christmas, though, as Mum and Ken generally don't enjoy them. Although I haven't made it to a Wednesday for a while, I also managed to get a few games in with various friends. Recent Gaming Moments Games I played in DecemberTokaido* (x3) Fluxx (x2) Junk Art* (x2) 7 Wonders Blood Rage* Cards Against Humanity Coloretto Amazonas Dominion Magic: The Gathering Sherlock Holmes: The Card Game* Skip-Bo Takenoko *New to me Played online at BoardGameArena (as Kyanite): Carcassonne (x2), Takenoko (x4), Seasons, Puerto Rico, Tobago, Bombay*, Dragonheart. Most enjoyed: Takenoko Why? My love affair with Takenoko continues, and the Chibis expansion has breathed some new life into it, too. It's just a fun, light, relaxing game. Least enjoyed: Sherlock Holmes: The Card Game Why? I actually played a lot of games I don't like very much in December, as is always the case when you are catering to many different people. Good thing I enjoy playing anything - even games I don't like! However, Sherlock Holmes had the biggest gameplay problem. In Sherlock Holmes you play cards to travel, investigate, arrest etc, and those cards inform which ones you are allowed to play next. Unfortunately we kept getting stuck in the "countryside" by a certain travel card that was very common. You could only play two specific cards to follow it and we just weren't drawing them. We played a couple of rounds but this happened each time. The game is thematically entertaining, but it's never fun being unable to move forwards. (Sorry John! I would still play it again, though.) |
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