Daily discussion post: Games people play

[liv]

I'm thinking about play at the moment. For me games are an important part of how I socialize, and I'm working out how much of that translates to the social isolation world. Or, as some community leaders have been framing it, the world of social connection with physical distancing.

So let's talk about what we do for play, and what we're playing during the pandemic. Here are some prompt questions, but feel free to talk about anything game-related!

Are games part of the way you interact with children? Have you rediscovered games as an adult? Or are you playful in some other way that doesn't involve formal, structured games?

Do you play board and card games? Are they a special occasion thing, perhaps once a year when the family get together for Christmas, or a regular hobby? What's the best classic game in your opinion? Are you taking part in the contemporary board game revival? Do you have a favourite, or can you suggest a game that deserves more attention?

What about video games? Do you play phone games (and if so, are there any where you would like to connect with other players and add new friends)? PC games? Who's finally getting to that long queue of stuff you downloaded when it was on special offer? Console games? Multi player or single, classic, retro or modern, big tough tens of hours games or casual? Do you have kids who play video games, and do you approve or need to restrict how much and what they play?

Do you take part sports for fun and play? Or do you follow any sports? Which teams are you into?

I know there are lots of kinds of games I haven't listed, all the various forms of role-playing and improv games, gamified self-improvement stuff like Duolingo and HabitRPG, party games, you name it!

And if you feel like talking about it, do tell us how you've adapted your gaming and play to new circumstances. What works virtually, what needs adapting? What are you reminiscing about or watching in the archives when there are no live matches? What have you come back to after a break if you're one of the people spending more time indoors these days? What are you looking forward to playing when the world goes back to normal?

Comments

Re: BOARD GAMES

[althea_valara]

Here's some board game recs! First, ones that I've actually played:

* Ricochet Robots
* Robo Rally
* Acquire
* Citadels
* Settlers of Catan
* Munchkin
* Devil Bunny Needs a Ham, downloadable for FREE from Cheap Ass Games

Then here's some I've watched Wil Wheaton play in TableTop on YouTube that caught my eye, though I haven't played them myself:

* Castle Panic
* Ticket to Ride
* Tsuro
* Gloom

Re: BOARD GAMES

[mothwing]

Thanks for the recs, will definitely keep a look out for them at the library. <3 I've wanted to play Munchkin before, Catan I have tried before.

Re: BOARD GAMES

[mothwing]

Wow, thanks a lot! I'll look into it. It really helps to know where to look.

[petrea_mitchell]

Board games: I love Euro-style boardgames! I don't have a regular group to play them with, so I was looking forward to the local gaming con this coming weekend to play a ton of them. Obviously that's not happening.

RPGs: I've been in the Pathfinder Society for 3 years now, mostly playing online since our local chapter only runs weekly games at one store on the other side of town. So no changes there.

Card games: I got into KeyForge last year. I've been playing every couple weeks at the local gaming store. There's an unofficial site, The Crucible, where one can play, but I've found it has negative effects on my in-person play because the software takes care of things a little too automatically that I wind up forgetting in person.

(What's KeyForge? I like to describe it as Richard Garfield's apology for Magic: The Gathering. Buy one deck, play that deck, no alterations. If you get bored with it, buy another deck to play.)

Video games: Any era, as long as it's turn-based and has a strong story component. Now that I'm stuck at home for a while, I've decided it's time to start on Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

[azurelunatic]

I was working at the relevant domain registrar when the copyright complaint about Scrabulous came down (and the website went offline because the register had to break the connection between the domain name people typed in to get there and the server it was hosted on).

It was intense. We had to officially tell them that we knew nothing and they would need to contact the owner for more information.

Our shift whiteboard had a Scrabble "game" on it for a while after that.

Then Scrabulous rebranded to Words With Friends, and people got their game on again.

Re: Hurray for Two Dots

[luckyzukky]

yep!! i haven't spent any money on the game, but it's still really fun to play in my spare time (which i have a lot of now lmao)

Re: BOARD GAMES

[ninetydegrees]

Legends of Andor is awesome! Don't know if you can get into Board Game Arena and find games you like but I remember people being nice there.

[ninetydegrees]

I'm a gamer too and have rediscovered board games as an adult thanks to Wil Wheaton's Tabletop and Habitica. Sadly most of my games are currently at the school I work at as I co-manage the board game club there.

I've never really stopped playing video games although I moved away from console games quite early to venture into the wonderful world of PC indie games but am back to Switch games only now that we get more variety there. Currently playing Dragon Quest Builders 2 and Two Point Hospital, planning to tackle Xenoblade 2 next or maybe New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, and mostly playing Food Fantasy on my tablet.

I must say confinement hasn't really changed my gaming habits as I mostly like playing alone (or playing the same game as someone else then talk about it) and don't watch let's plays these days.

Re: Hurray for Two Dots

[cynthia1960]

My two games getting routine use on my iPad are Furistas Cat Cafe and Bird BnB.

Re: Duolingo

[smallhobbit]

I'm attempting the Czech which isn't going very well - I have long lists of crib sheets! But like you I aim to maintain my streak.

I wasn't really aware there was any gamification - I got promoted to silver when I was doing Hungarian last year and seem to have been left there, but as far as I can say if I do something every day and don't make a total hash of it I shall probably remain where I am.

[cynthia1960]

Board games: Ticket to Ride and variants

Mobile games: Neko Atsume, Cat Condo, Furistas Cat Cafe, Bird BnB, Tiny Bird Garden (cats and birbs, yes I love them)

[magnetic_pole]

Cat Condo! Bird BnB! I like the names of these. What happens in these games? M.

[magnetic_pole]

You have a board game club at school! What a good idea. (I would have loved that as a student.) Is it a popular club? All my thirty- and forty-something friends are enjoying a board game renaissance, but are the younger folks, too? M.

[cynthia1960]

In Cat Condo, you build a ginormous cat tree and populate it with increasing levels of cats (40 in total). You merge cats at lower levels to level up and add to the cat tree.

Bird BnB is by the same people who do Furistas. You have a tree, and build nests to attract birds. You also add amenities for the birds and grow the foods they like.

I describe playing Furistas as being a madam in a cat house for cats. You fix cats up with humans, serve goodies to both cats and humans, and make sure everyone is happy.

[azurelunatic]

I'm mostly a phone solo/semi-solo gamer for myself.

I have a discontinued Spite & Malice (Skipoid) that I play to help me fall asleep. It's very soothing. I play against the machine on easy.

I Love Hue and I Love Hue Too are lovely (and fiendish) color discernment puzzles. They're meditative for me but won't let me fall asleep. I like to play it while on the phone, because there are no words to distract my words-brain and no audio.

Gems of War is both mobile and Steam; Belovedest and I share an account and take turns playing. It's a match-3 RPG + collectible card game, and we love our guild. Current guild leader is a friend of the family.

The guild activities are daily & weekly, so there's no need to play at a specific time, but we do have a chat.


My partner and their siblings like to play Jackbox, Ticket to Ride, hidden object games, and internet Cards Against Humanity. We do a Google Hangout and someone screen shares the game board. It's great fun.

[cynthia1960]

Oh, there's another set of I Love Hue! I am almost through all the levels on the first game. And yes, very fiendish.

[magnetic_pole]

These sound like Good Games. :) M.

[magnetic_pole]

Aw, Bella. <3

That's a diverse set of games there! M.

[magnetic_pole]

Pictionary! I hadn't thought of that in years, though I used to play it often. When we played with our neighbors, we had to ban one particular team configuration because the two twins always could guess the other's illustration.

I will think about giving Dixit a try, thanks! M.

[magnetic_pole]

Ha! Your mother. The things we need to do to keep family life sane. :) M.

[magnetic_pole]

Word Cookies sounds fun! (I'm a bit fan of Spelling Bee right now on the New York Times site.) I should look that up. Thanks!

Ah, the teams issue. I have one younger brother, and I remember that growing up we did everything possible to adapt games for just two players, but it's hard. M.

[magnetic_pole]

We’d like to play games with our kiddo, but he’s only 23 months so he’s not quite ready to join us ^_^

But he's clearly inherited the genes! Give him a month or two. :) M.

[magnetic_pole]

I had no idea there was Harry Potter Clue! Fun. But they've missed the opportunity to make Remus Lupin Professor Plum. :) I think my mental image of him came in part from memories of Professor Plum.

Fun to read, thanks! M.

[magnetic_pole]

I'm feeling very dull in this excellent gaming company. I mostly obsess about the various games published on the New York Times website, espcially:

Spelling Bee, where you're given seven letters and need to arrange them to spell different words (and where one letter needs to be used every time), and...

Set, where you match three of twelve cards that either all have illustrations of a similar number, color, patterns, or shape...or that are all different from each other (I find this second option especially challenging).

I play these first things in the morning over a cup of tea and can't get my day started until they're done. I seem to need to obsess over something, and these are fairly harmless...much better than obsessing over the news first thing.

Fun question! M.

[cynthia1960]

They are fun.