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I heard this fun podcast the other day from The Dice Tower, in which Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia and Sam Healey made a list of their Top 10 Enemies of Gaming. It was altogether an amusing game podcast, an unexpected topic to me (I don’t know, maybe they do tongue in cheek lists all the time), but it was goofy and meta and philosophical all wrapped in one. I cracked up at a lot of Sam’s – humidity. grease, time and space (storage space).
Some notable items on the top ten that correspond to some of our posts:
- Not having a game group. Jasmine can relate, per her post A League of Your Own.
- Bad rules editing. Yep, one of the hardest parts to get right, as Seth said in Following Rules is Hard, Writing Rules is Harder.
- Uncaring participants. Been there – Game Wreckers!
- Analysis Paralysis. Hell yes. Luke covers how to Prevent AP in Design
Those are all great enemies of gaming. Here’s one that has stuck with me – in Tom’s list was Hype, and he commented on the “Cult of the New”. Actually, he said with Kickstarter it’s more the Cult of the Future. I think of this more and more as games do “box office opens” only to be immediately replaced. I know I fall victim to it. Not only because I’m a gamemaker, constantly entranced by new mechanics and ideas in forums, discussions, but also too – I have a pile of Kickstarter games I can’t enjoy fast enough.
BUT! Last night, I was playing THIS game:
Remember this one? Lord of the Rings, 2000. Maybe when I first discovered Knizia Oh, it’s been too long! In fact, when I looked at the enclosed “Hall of Fame” sheet included in the game (more games should do this, btw!), I noticed that the last recorded game was in 2005. Wow. That shocked me. 10 years ago! Where has the time gone? There’s been Lord of the Rings movies since then! Why haven’t I pulled this game out more often? When I first got it, we had so many epic battles against Sauron, many of which did not end well for Frodo and his mates.
I am glad I finally introduced it to some gamers that didn’t have the pleasure yet. It wasn’t quite the co-op masterpiece I remembered (and we owned Sauron), but it did still have lots of fun and charm and interesting mechanics in it. Got me thinking. What are some other older games I should pull out of the closet and give another go, like old times?
TOP 10 GAMES I SHOULD STILL PLAY FROM MY COLLECTION
Feel like playing along too? Let’s hear some oldies but goodies. One simple rule though – let’s not criticize anyone’s top 10. Yes, some may deserve to be buried in the closet, and maybe nostalgia is all it is, but let each person have that nostalgia. Let’s keep it positive, and focus on why something is on YOUR list.
10. LORD OF THE RINGS – DONE!
9. DRAKON – really great tile laying fun.
8. MAGIC THE GATHERING – because, well… magic!
7. AGRICOLA – Never did see all those occupations. Worker placement cult of the new took it’s toll.
6. NEXUS OPS – Horrible box cover, glorious game, best 3 player match ups!
5. ROBO RALLY – Yes. 8 people, lasers in every direction!
4. RISK – Well, not original Risk. Sometimes new IS needed. Maybe more Risk Legacy is in order.
3. D&D – If only time was not also an enemy of gaming.
2. CARCASSONE – the phone version scratched the itch for awhile.
1. PUERTO RICO – I miss it so!
Ok, that’s a few of mine. Not really in top 10 order. In fact, it doesn’t need to be 10 – just curious to hear YOUR games or any thoughts you have on the topic of how we stop this particular enemy of gaming at our tabletops!
ALso, write in if you’ve played an ‘older’ game recently!