Review - Quest: A Time of Heroes (2010) - Z-Man Games

Tyler has been asking me if there are any games we can play that will level up his characters. Obviously, HeroQuest would be my first pick, except it's way out of print. So, I stumbled across this as another option.

Loopin' Louie - When Adults Obesess Over Kids' Games

When I started writing this article, it was a comparison of Loopin' Louie vs. Loopin Chewie. However, as I wrote, two things became apparent:  Firstly, adults are willing to go to great lengths--simultaneously pushing the boundaries of carpentry, reason, and good taste--in order to modify a children's game into something more challenging, and secondly, that the obsession to modify the game is the real story.

Review - Temporum (2014) - Rio Grande Games

Do you like history? Do you like alternate history? Do you like movies about gladiators altering history? Do you like changing alternate history back into regular history? Step inside Temporum.

What is the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund?

For a moment, I would like to stop with the humorous stories, and talk about something I support within the gaming community. Every time I hold an auction on BGG, I give 10% of the profit to the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund. If you do not know about it, please give me 5 minutes to talk about it. Tom Vasel is an influential board game reviewer and podcaster of a popular show (of which I listen to religiously every week) called The Dice Tower.  Following the loss of his infant son, Jack, at the end of 2010, Tom started a memorial fund in his honor. I will actually quote the website here:

Tom is an influential voice in the board gaming hobby, and the community rallied around him in his time of need. Amazed by this generosity and kindness, Tom was determined to help others who might undergo similar tragedies. 

The Fund was formed to collect and distribute financial assistance to members of the public who are part of the gaming community and who have suffered personal hardship. It is our hope and prayer that the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund will provide Jack with a legacy to help out the entire gaming community. 

The Fund is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity.  Download the Fund's most recent IRS 990 report.

I think about what would happen if I lost any of my kids, and I don't know if i would have the strength or conviction to help others. It's really impressive to me that Tom started this. And there are testimonials on the site that I would also like to share.

To the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund organizers,

My family and I wanted to sincerely thank you all for the extremely generous donation that literally allowed us to financially survive what would have otherwise been a truly devastating summer. My 3-year old son, Noah, a liver transplant patient, became deathly ill this past early June and had to be flown on an emergency flight up to Amplatz Children's hospital in the Twin Cities from our current home in Tampa, Florida. Were it not for your incredibly gracious donation, our entire financial picture would have collapsed as I had no vacation time in the books with my current job (as a newer employee, I hadn't had time to have some saved up for this type of emergency) and I wouldn't have been bringing in any money to support our family during this difficult time. Not only did this kind donation save our family, financially, it also provided us with something nearly as valuable - peace of mind during a nerve-wracking summer. Thanks to the funds you released to us, we didn't have to stress about where our next meal would come from or how to pay for gas or hospital parking or our rent and bills back home in Florida. It was literally a family-saving gesture and we will never forget it (nor baby Jack, in whose name this fund exists). Thank you, again, SO very much for helping us in our time of need. Happily, Noah survived this dangerous time and is now doing so much better and definitely on the road to recovery and better health.

May God Bless you richly and help the fund to grow for others.

The gaming community is like nothing I have every experienced in my life. Complete strangers bonded by their love of games helping other gamers. I'm not asking you to donate, but what I am asking you is to be inspired and maybe grateful that we are part of such an amazing hobby.

Review - Taste Of Poland (2015) - Bomba Games

Being of Polish heritage, when I saw this game show up at Essen last year, I thought, "This would be an interesting game to try..." Lo and behold, they came out with an english language version! Also, I would like to add, prior to the review, I feel Polish shame, because I have eaten zero of these items. Pirogi, Golumpki and Chrusciki did not make the cut.

Over 5000 Views

Dear readers,

I would like to thank you for checking out our blog. We just passed 5000 views which is quite amazing for me. Cheers and here is to the next 5000.

It's Always Fun to Guess When You Play Guess....WU?

Last year, I stumbled across an article about a homemade game variant. The original game is known to all.  It's Guess Who? the venerable game of guessing faces that everyone, I'm sure, either played as a kid, or played with their kids. This, however was a version I was not expecting to find. This version is called Guess Wu?