Friday (I called it Thursday by mistake)

This is actually what happened on Friday. I got my days mixed up. I published it as Thursday.

I am focused on leaving on Saturday night, and writing this blog has become secondary to getting through Friday and getting ready for my trip. I tried to rise at 6:30 but rolled over and started my day a little later. I had a game at Richard’s house and spaced it was July 4th! I wrote a card from Mom Wild and put it in the mailbox, forgetting that there was no mail on July 4th. I managed to get the basic tasks done and chatted with Deborah for a while in the morning. I had time to make and drink some coffee.

I jumped in the shower, managed to get showered, and so on. I then headed to Air VW the Gray before 8:45 and headed to Portland. There was light traffic, and I soon reached Richard’s home.

I was time-boxed, and we played a new resource and worker placement game, Merchant’s Cove. This is another $200-300 maxed-out Kickstarter game. I have sworn off most game buying, especially those with maxed-out Kickstarter campaigns. I have bought too many that are just not that interesting to me or are too hard to play; I have never even unwrapped my copy after playing Richard’s.

This is an asynchronous game, meaning each player is playing a completely different game. I was playing the Captain, fishing for resources, and discovering buried treasure. There is also a master map, and we all interact with that map. Laura was growing mushrooms in a simulated fantasy garden with soil, insects, and spores to control. Richard was running a fantasy mechanical bakery with gears, dough, and frosting. We sold the goods that we built on a shared central market. I had a 60-point lead at the start of the last round, but still came in last. I did not produce enough goods on the final turn to win. Lauren had held on to her goods throughout the game and sold most of them for huge points in the last play. She won. Richard was only a few points ahead of me (not bad for my first play).

Asynchronous games are challenging to learn and understand their balance; they are like mini-games that can be learned within a larger setting. Additionally, the game requires distinct components and rules for each setup. This pushes the cost up. However, the base game is only about $60 (although there are over $150 in add-ons), and I might consider adding it to my collection. I liked the idea and enjoyed it. The designers attempted to have each player play a different style of board game. With add-ons, there are nine options!

I was out of time and headed out, wishing Richard and Laura a happy July 4th. Air VW the Gray then had a soft break. The computer crashed on the dashboard with a wait screen. It drove weirdly. I pulled over and waited. On the second try, the EV screens worked, but it said I was a ‘Guest.’ I was able to drive it, and it was running normally now. I reached Beaverton and parked at the Safeway. I got some snacks and watermelon radishes. The EV, this time, offered me users, and I changed back to me, and suddenly everything (including Kink.FM) was back the way I liked it. Hmmm. My guess is a software update (I checked, and there is none outstanding, meaning I might have loaded one).

With the radishes in the car, I headed to Matt and Nicky’s place for their 4th of July Party. Matt cooked (and burned on request) burgers and hot dogs, while a variety of food was also brought by others. Matt supplied ‘miracle berries’ that change your tastes from sour to sweet. I tried them, and it made a lemon taste more like an Orange. Wow! Radishes now were a sweet burn.

I chatted with my gamer friends, and maybe we’ll connect for some games. It was great to see many of the folks I have played with over the years. We shared notes on our new characters and how we did in various adventures. Matt plays three groups playing the same adventure.

I got a note that there were some events at First United Methodist Church, and the pride flag was gone. Somebody needed it. I thanked Matt and gave a few hugs to friends and headed out. I stopped at the house, grabbed a flag and pole. I replaced them without issue at the church. Back to the usual now.

I returned home with all the fireworks going and started on finally writing this blog. Sorry, it is rushed. Thanks for reading!