I returned home on Saturday after playing games and saw that I had forgotten to leave a light on. You could not see the table and candy very well. My bowl of candy was still full, though it had been reduced; I grabbed a few and went inside. I had a few to celebrate. I had returned from Richard’s in Portland to Beaverton, driving more slowly and with careful attention. Black-on-black costumes are hard to spot at night.
We played the newish cooperative board game Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons and fought some famous D&D villains in a D&D reskin of the fun Horrified series. Richard bought it to play tonight, and soon we were fully immersed in the adventure. It was extra fun for me, since I had played D&D in those locations and run the villains. I knew the villagers’ stories we needed to rescue. I could imagine what they looked like as I ran the matching adventure in D&D during the Pandemic using Roll20. Without spoilers, it was a fun game and not easy. A good balance.
We played the first game, and Richard’s character became “dark” but had to drop an item at the end of every turn. We made it work and managed to almost complete the defeat of the three villains (each a separate puzzle to solve), but the monster deck ran out, and we lost. It is the main timer of the game. Strahd, a famous D&D vampire, takes multiple turns to defeat. I was surprised by how much of the D&D canon they reproduced. I enjoyed the game and recommend it to my graybeard D&D players who remember the vampire Strahd before he became more than a single adventure.
Before this, I was at Lucky Labrador having lunch and playing Plague of Dracula
Before this, I was at Lucky Labrador having lunch and playing Plague of Dracula, as it was Halloween. This is a solo game where you try to stop the vampire playing in a Bram Stoker-like story/game. I had a BLT and two beers (yes, I said salads and water now, but it was Halloween and their BLTs are so good).
I brought my laptop and books in case I found it too tedious, as solo games can sometimes get repetitive. I did manage to fight off the vampires, with one bite from Dracula removed by Dr. Seward infusion work. At the time, I ran out of time; Renfield had escaped, the hunters were well armed, Van Helsing had arrived, and two nests of coffins were eliminated. Attacks on Mina and Lucy had been repelled with no loss. I found the game telling, as you, dear reader, can see, a story as you play. Writing your version of the novel.
I did not get to finish, as, like many solo games, Plague of Dracula takes lots of time. In solo play, the game structure slowly builds the tension and capabilities of the player. The clock, in this case the number of turns, seems slow at first, but then everything seems to happen at once. I will return to the solo game again.
Before this, it was a usual morning: I reheated coffee and rose late from lack of sleep, pushing myself to make the best of the day. I wrote the blog, read lots of church items, and tried to assemble candy for the kids (and adults).
Though out of order, when I returned to the house, I brought the kitchen back to order (while enjoying a few bits of Halloween candy) and bought the current season of Nova on PBS: Store Age Masterpieces (S53, E11). I watched the show about the prehistoric cave paintings from over 35,000 years ago. These are the ones done as 3-D drawings and show movement, of sorts, in flickering firelight. Once again showing that ancient peoples were artisans and very capable.
I fell back on the manual clocks, as it is time change day.
I felt better after my visit to Portland, playing games, chatting with Deborah, and just enjoying the day. It was a good day.
I was a bit sad a few times. It is my 30th year in the house (we got the keys on Halloween), and many memories rushed back. But as I said in yesterday’s blog: Thirty More!
I also missed that I stopped by the Comic Monkey on my way into Portland and got the #2 of the D&D comic. I had ordered it. To park, I did a U-turn, and a big black SUV was annoyed as I cut them off. I read the comic and loved it. Here if you are interested, dear reader.
And with that, I think I will say thank you for reading!
