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

House of Games

[ng_moonmoth]

Spouse and I have a closet overfilled with board games of various descriptions. We participated for several years in a gaming group that met at a pizza parlor near our home until it changed dates and moved.

We have a bunch of games we can't play right now, because they are either only for, or better for, more than two. There are online options for those, but part of the value in game playing for us is the interpersonal interaction, so not right now, thanks. We also have plenty of games that play with two. In that category in our house are multiple Carcassonne variants, a comprehensive set of Ticket To Ride maps, and what's currently getting the most overall play: Azul and Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra. I have also been a tournament bridge player and was able to contend at reasonably high levels; I have stepped away from that for a while for the sake of my mental health.

As far as video games go, spouse thinks of them as a time sink they have no patience for. I am a veteran of thirty years or so where my work entailed pushing buttons to make computers do things (software developer/manager), and I had no desire to do the same thing in my spare time.

Not being overly blessed with the physical skills that competitive sports emphasize, most of my sports activity is of the sort where one can compete against oneself and one's own limitations. I am a fairly regular cyclist who is frequently time trialing against my best time on a familiar route. Tenpin bowling, golf, and skiing are things I have enjoyed in the past.

We are both interested enough in the competitive aspect of sports to find it worth watching, especially when the competition occurs at the highest level. We watch as much for the story as for the outcome. Our interests wind up only casually intersecting US norms. American and most-of-the-rest-of-the-world football are both worth watching; our favorite vent there is bemoaning the porous state of the US men's national team back line, with figuring out just exactly who we should be as a footballing nation close behind. (Much less problem with the women: they're the best in the world for now, and we hope they can manage to stay ahead as the major footballing nations realize that the same things that make their men's teams excellent work for women as well.) Our DVR gets a lot of work during the Olympics and the Tour de France; also the Tour of California (where we live) before it was "put on hiatus" (hope it's not permanent) after last year's race. And if we have an emotional investment in a team in one of the more popular US sports, we'll watch and cheer for them.

[liseuse]

She in no way did it to keep family life sane! She genuinely thought the official rules were too lax :)

[ninetydegrees]

I'd love to have one as well! Can't say whether it's popular because we only accepted about 20 regular members and we didn't have to advertise the club to find them as it's something some students asked for. We have one big group of 13/14 years old who play their own D&D game, and other games occasionally too, and two groups of 10/11 years old we play lots of different games with, some they know, some they don't (so far, Ticket to Ride, Splendor, Takenoko, Black Fleet, and other "modern" games). The school is located in a pretty privileged area (with lots of scientists and engineers and other 'intellectual/academic' folk-types) so some kids are used to playing board games. Also I think Stranger Things, which lots of older teens love, kind of made playing games seem cooler ;)

[aome]

I hope you enjoy Word Cookies! :)

[aome]

How are Euro-style board games different from, say, American ones?

[petrea_mitchell]

The biggest difference is a much smaller role for random chance. Eurogames also have a reputation for more complicated mechanics, but that's not necessarily the case. Settlers of Catan is a Euro-style game, for instance.

[spikedluv]

I love playing cards, but I have no one to play with these days. When I was young I played with my grandmother; she's the one who got me into cards in the first place. Mostly pitch and rummy. Some crazy 8s. During college I had a summer job where they all took lunch/break at the same time and played pinochle. They taught me how to play and I loved it. I don't remember how to play anymore. :( I also liked games like Yahtzee.

These days I mostly play by myself on my phone: Rummy, Solitaire, Pitch (where I curse out my 'partner' all the time, lol), a matching game, a coloring 'game' and more that I cycle through an interest in.

Neko Atsume and Stardew Valley

[binary_sunset]

All queer folks in my age group are well aware of Stardew Valley, a sort of Harvest Moon/Animal Crossing type game that allows you to play as a farmer in a small town in the countryside. Throughout your time in Stardew Valley, you'll help the local economy, fight monsters in the mines, raise plants and animals on your farm, and get to know the surprisingly-deep citizens of Pelican Town. It's just a fun, relaxing game that's wonderful for a bit of escapism. They also added a Co-Op mode about a year ago, which I've been using to connect with my friends! We're kind of spread all over the place, since we're all in Uni, so it's nice to have a virtual space where we can work together and build something lovely! Also it's only $15 on Steam.

The other game I've been playing a lot is Neko Atsume, a Japanese mobile game that went viral a few years back. You basically leave food and toys out for your yard for the local cats, who give you money to buy more food and more toys! Eventually, you'll get all sorts of fun rare cats like Billy the Kitten and Hermeowne. Super simple, but very relaxing and the art style is so cute!

[binary_sunset]

I have it on good authority that only the most legit gamers play Minecraft. And don't be ashamed of your love for Animal Crossing! Not everyone has to be into super violent triple-A games to enjoy the medium! Hell, half of my steam purchases are visual novels, and my favourite game is Stardew Valley.

Re: Neko Atsume and Stardew Valley

[binary_sunset]

Oh! Silly me! I totally forgot about my RPGs! I was actually in two different campaigns at my Uni before the outbreak, and we've been able to transition online.

The first one is a Dungeons and Dragons game where I play a tabaxi (read: cat furry) who's a slutty, slutty rogue. We're currently exploring an island for an eccentric half-elf professor, and all sort of shenanigans ensued!

The other one used to be Dungeons and Dragons, but we transferred to Fate Accelerated to make it easier to play online. We're all still getting used to the gameplay, but I'm liking it so far. In that one, I play a tiefling (read: half-demon half-human with horns and a tail) who was raised by dryads. We're having a bit of trouble translating the dryad class into Fate, since it's a spellcaster class with animal transformation, and Fate doesn't have a baked-in system for dealing with magic characters. Right now in our campaign, we found an apartment to live that's just kind of... on fire. So we're trying to get it to not be on fire.

[binary_sunset]

Oh my gosh, Jackbox is so much fun! I really enjoy that you can play it remotely as long as everyone has an internet connection.

[brumeier]

Your lucky your son wants to spend time with you. Mine lives in his bedroom and only pops out looking for food or a bathroom break. It's like living with a sasquatch. LOL!

[brumeier]

LOL! Professor Plum!

[brumeier]

You have a Princess Bride board game? Jealous! I have a deck of Princess Bride cards that I don't think I've ever used for anything.

I miss those old Atari days sometimes. My brother and I would have epic Decathlon competitions that would give us blisters. LOL! And there'd be family Frogger competitions.

[magnetic_pole]

Seriously?!? I thought she was trying to keep you thinking. M.

[magnetic_pole]

Neat!

Ah, one generation's nostalgia is the next's new cool thing. :) M.

[liseuse]

Ahahahahahaha, nope!

[jesse_the_k]

Another SET fan! I adore this game because it's entirely non-verbal -- turns off my hectoring brain and connects directly to the graphic center. I am also terrible at it, but failing isn't hurtful, the way it is in a word game like Scrabble where I'm invested in "having a good vocabulary."

Do I have to pay the NYT if I want to play that linked version? Playmonster is the mothership, and that daily puzzle looks free.

[aome]

You'll have to let us know if you have any confirmed sightings, lol!

[aome]

Oooh, the decathalon! We had a knockoff version for our Mac (in those days, almost all the brand-name computer-based games were for HPs) and I was definitely better at running events than anything involving throwing, lol.

Edit: Princess Bride game.

[casualtanjiro]

New Horizons could not have been released at a better time! I've been playing my copy obsessively over the past few days.

I hope you love yours, when you finally get to play it!

[luckyzukky]

only the Cool Kids™ play minecraft lmao. and thanks for the reassurance!! ^^

Re: BOARD GAMES

[mothwing]

Oh, that looks good! Thank you, I'll check it out.

[magnetic_pole]

The non-verbal aspect is part of its appeal to me, too, for exactly the same reasons. :)

It's free at the NYT site, though I only play games there because I've never actually looked for them elsewhere. (Spelling Bee only lets you get so far into the puzzle before non-subscribers are kicked off, but honestly I find that helpful, so I don't obsess all day.) I'll have to check out Playmonster, thank you! I always learn so much from you, J. M.

[brumeier]

Almost forgot about the early computer games! Lots of Oregon Trial in school. At home, we had this weird all-in-one computer my uncle gave us, with a tiny green screen on it, and the big floppy discs. There was a ghost game we played a lot on that, and plus two RPG kind of games (no graphics) called Moraff's Revenge and Wishbringer. So many hours playing those games!

The Princess Bride game looks cool! Thanks for sharing the link! For some reason, it reminded me of Mystery Mansion, which it isn't anything like so I don't know why that happened. LOL!