Tuesday with Games

I am writing this on Wednesday morning, and I have a dentist appointment to restore two teeth with failed fillings, which were likely done long ago in Maryland or Michigan. So again, this is a rushed.

Starting this story with Tuesday morning, I had one cup of coffee (shocking, I know); though it was liberal and tasted the resistance to stupid government stuff, I forgot to put some in a travel cup. Sadly, it was left unconsumed (and I had it Wednesday morning—reheated). I did get an NYC bagel (thanks, Joyce) with cream cheese and a banana.

I wrote fast, skipped some of the usual boilerplates, and focused on events and putting them together from my memory. As usual, it took a while for me to remember what lunch was. I forget lunch because I have little emotional connection to it; science shows that you need to create an emotional connection to easily remember something. This is why we would play sports videos at Nike IT meetings; the response to the incredible video locked the meeting into your memory. I often read at lunch and surf the Internet as lunch is usually alone and blurs the memory of lunch.

Returning to the story for Tuesday, I boarded Air Volvo after publishing the blog. At 8:50, I was soon in light traffic post-rush hour (Portland runs early for traffic). I arrived, and Lauren and Richard treated us to beignets and Cafe du Monde chicory coffee. I had sent them the mix and coffee from New Orleans. James joined us, and Lauren got a brief explanation of the board game and app-run horror-based game Mansion of Madness.

This is an H.P. Lovecraft-based story, and the system is slow. It tells stories slowly, trying to build horror. This can be frustrating, and we were at it for five hours. While I like the theme and it is interesting, the other players are gamers, and they just want to win, and soon, there is pressure from them to rush and game the story and system. Some undefeatable creatures and threats can only be avoided, but that is an uncomfortable solution, and soon, we are spending resources fighting and not solving the story. The game, with its slow start and rising risks, resembles the board game Pandemic, and soon we are discovering connections, and we know the solution, but it is too late. Lauren’s character is rushed by three monsters, one undefeatable, slain, and we lose.

Mansion of Madness is a game I try to like, and it has some appeal. It is hard to play fast and furious, the usual board gamer approach, and it contains puzzles and other problems that, while interesting for some folks, never interested me. They stall play to me. If I were the designer, if you fail, there should be a light cost, and then the results are given to move the story forward. I will play some more and see how it goes.

That was my morning and some afternoon. Traffic was strange as 26 inbound was backed up by an accident, but soon, Air Volvo had me home. I reheated the pasta and ham I made and then tossed the rest as I would not get back to it again. I did the dishes and found I was tired as I was up at 6:30 and then played a mind-bending game for the morning.

I had no liberal coffee left (it shipped from Portland), and I was down to my last partial roll of toilet paper. Oh my! I headed to Safeway, bought many items, and spaced the need for coffee. I should have made a list—yes, dear reader, I know. Three bags and over $200; this explanation of the election in my mind and not all the anti-liberal conversations. Things cost more, and liberals did not talk about that and how they would help people, thinking that was too liberal, but is actually old school FDR-like and would have worked.

I spent the evening having a frozen pizza for dinner, reading, and talking to folks on the phone. After a shower, I went to bed early and soon could not stay awake.

Thanks for reading!