For the past several months, my producer Boyan, and I built a list of about 140 games that were potential candidates for Tabletop. We spent the last five weeks playing them to find our final list of games for season three of Tabletop.
It was a very fun process that was also very challenging and kind of exhausting. #GamerNerdProblems
Before I tell you what some of them are, I wanted to talk a bit about the selection process, because it comes up all the time.
I did a Not The Flog all about this, but the basic rules are:
I have to love the game.
It has to be in print.
It has to be teachable in roughly five minutes (there are some exceptions to this rule).
It must have a good ratio of luck to strategy.
It shouldn’t have player elimination.
It can not have simultaneous play.
It needs to have good production values.
It needs to play in under 90 minutes with four players.
I’m sure there are some others that I’m not thinking of at the moment, but those are the fundamentals.
We also put games into categories, like:
Worker Placement.
Area Control.
Bluffing.
Co-operative.
Co-operative with a defector.
Bidding.
Negotiating.
Storytelling.
And so on. If we end up with two or more games that we really like that fit into the same category, we pick the one that we think would look best on camera, or is in some way a better representation of the category for some reason.
There were games that I loved, like Daniel Solis’ Belle of the Ball, which just won’t work on our show (Belle joins Sentinels of the Multiverse, in that regard). There were games that were so infuriatingly awful, like [GAME THAT SHALL NOT BE NAMED], they made me literally angry with rage. There were games, like Escape, that were supremely fun, but feature simultaneous play, so we can’t use them. There’s Rampage — which really needs to be played at human scale at conventions using cardboard buildings and plushie Meeples — that we can’t play because it’s impossible for us to shoot. There were games that seemed promising, but just fell apart at one point or another.
So we took over 100 games that we thought looked promising, and eliminated the ones that broke one or more of those rules. I’d say that left us with about 45 games in all those categories, which we played many times. I guess we’ll call those games the finalists, because I can call them whatever I want, since this is my show. In fact, we’re going to call them Batman.
So we took the Batman games and played them intensely over a span of about five weeks, ending up with 23 games to be played in 20 episodes. They’re all really great games in their various categories, and I’m super excited to see how they play out when we film the show.
I thought it would be cool to share some of the games we’re playing before we get into production, instead of making everyone wait until the episode comes out, so anyone who is interested in them can pick up a copy before the Tabletop effect hits, and also because I like the freedom to be open like this that comes with our crowd-funded season.
So, here are a few of the games we’ll be playing this season:
This is a gorgeous, perfectly balanced game, where players take a journey from Kyoto to Edo, along the East Sea Road. It’s from the same designer as Takenoko and Rampage.
In Libertalia, we’re all pirates trying to outwit each other and bluff our way to the best treasure. It’s super fast to learn and play, has massive replay value, and allows us to talk like pirates. Yar.
We describe this as “7 wonders express”. We’re all trying to have the best meal in a sushi bar, passing cards around the table and trying to keep what will help us, while we try to mess up what everyone else is trying to get. I just love this game, and it’s one of many that are simply outstanding offerings from Gamewright, a publisher that is increasingly becoming one of my favorites.
This is one of the few “gamer” games we’re going to play this season. It’s published by Days of Wonder, a company that usually publishes “lighter” games (like Ticket to Ride and Pirate’s Cove). I’m most worried about how we’re going to make this game work, because it has a ton of meeples and the art on the game, while beautiful, may feel cluttered on camera. I love it so much, though, I am determined to make it work. I even had my editor come over yesterday to play it, so he could give us ideas on how we can best film it. Not that it matters, but this was my favorite game at GenCon this year, and is so far my favorite of 2014.
Oh, I guess I should tell you a little bit about it, right? All these different colored meeples are on the board, and we pick them up and drop them off like in Mancala, as we use them to claim spaces, score points, and collect resources. It’s a little complex to learn (just because there’s a lot of information to digest), but once you climb the steep learning curve, the gameplay is very intuitive and easy to understand. Because it’s set in ancient Persia, there are Djinn that can help players, and it’s heavily thematic.
Also, while we were playing it yesterday, I got up from my crummy card table (I’m waiting for my Geek Chic table to arrive), bumped the table leg with foot (well, maybe I kicked it really hard because DEX is my dump stat), and not only did I knock all the meeples off their tiles, I spilled my iced coffee over all the djinn cards, and knocked a bowl of almonds to the floor.
Click to embiggen and get the full horror of my Anne Wheatoning.
It was the most epic and total destruction of a game I have ever witnessed, and I’ve been to France.
Not that it matters, but I ended up winning the game after we restarted with an entirely new setup. I’m really good at this game, so when I lose on the show like I always do, it’s going to be rough.
So there you have a few of the games we’re playing this season on Tabletop. Over the next few days or whatever, I’ll post some more of them. We go into production on Thursday the 8th, and we shoot until the 20th.
OH! And there will probably be a MAJOR AWESOME ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT SEASON THREE in the next few days. I hope you’ll join me in getting excited about it.
Autism is a poorly-understood neurological disorder that can impair an individual’s ability to engage in various social interactions. But little 5-year-old Iris Grace in the UK is an excellent example of the unexpected gifts that autism can also grant – her exceptional focus and attention to detail have helped her create incredibly beautiful paintings that many of her fans (and buyers) have likened to Monet’s works.
Little Iris is slowly learning to speak, whereas most children have already begun to speak at least a few words by age 2. Along with speech therapy, her parents gradually introduced her to painting, which is when they discovered her amazing talent.
“We have been encouraging Iris to paint to help with speech therapy, joint attention and turn taking,” her mother, Arabella Carter-Johnson, explains on her website. “Then we realised that she is actually really talented and has an incredible concentration span of around 2 hours each time she paints. Her autism has created a style of painting which I have never seen in a child of her age, she has an understanding of colours and how they interact with each other.”
Last year, 22-time Emmy award-winning reporter John Stofflet posted this news video he created for KING-TV in 2004, featuring Paul Smith and his artistic talents.
We all know that saying no is a necessary part of keeping a healthy schedule. Take on too much of others' work and you lose your ability to manage your own life. To get an idea of just how important that balance is, try keeping a "No List" of every time you told someone no.
And they're adorable. This is it, right? This is how the robot apocalypse happens: With a vanguard of cheerleaders doing synchronized routines with color-changing pom poms. We'll be too distracted when the overlords follow.
From Reservoir Dogs to Pirates of the Caribbean, Astronauts venturing into space have been recreating famous movie posters to promote their missions for a while now, and for Expedition 42, there was only one possible choice: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
From Flight engineer Samantha Cristoforetti:
I am incredibly excited to share with you the Expedition 42 poster! If you like it half as much as I do, it will still be your favorite expedition poster ever.
Enjoy, don’t panic and always know where your towel is!
Featuring (from left to right):
Terry Virts and Anton Shkaplerov as Zaphod Beeblebrox
Aleksandr Samokutyayev as Humma Kavula
Barry “Butch” Wilmore as Arthur Dent
Elena Serova as Ford Prefect
Samantha Cristoforetti as Trillian
Guest star: Robonaut, as Marvin the Paranoid Android
No matter how well you train your dog, they sometimes slip away from you. You try to get them back, and they just don't want to come. One Quora user has a solution: run the other way.
Och nu har jag vaknat, fast det inte ens är oktober. För jag är så glad! Jag har hittat GULA kulor. Det finns ingenting som gör en gran så göttig och mysig och lyxig som några gula kulor. OBS: Det är INTE guld vi pratar om. Den kalla, kyliga, lätt billiga guldlooken. Det får man förstås också ha med. Men det är inget surrogat för det o-så-viktiga - och O-SÅ-OMÖJLIGT-ATT-FÅ-TAG-PÅ gula. Speciellt inte när man som jag bara köper okrossbara kulor. Livet är för kort för glas som går i kras på självaste granen.
Dessa norpade jag åt mig på B&Q (byggvaruhus) för en spottstyver i veckan. Japp, pyntet finns redan i butik. När jag såg att de hade gult och okrossbart fick jag fan förhöjd puls. Det är pyntets heliga graal.
Anyhow. Jag fattade liksom det där med gult i granen på ett medvetet plan för ett par år sedan när Kirstie Allsopp hade ett julprogram på teven. Hennes gran var SÅ fin, lite skandinaviskt sparsam, och hon hade EN kornblå matt kula, EN lejongul, och EN cerise. Resten var röda. Det var _magiskt_. Gult gör att något liksom ... händer.
Happ, du tror jag är knäpp nu. Det må vara hänt. Så länge du kommer ihåg mitt toppentips: att ha lite varmgult i granen. OK? Varsågod.
P.S: Granhitler föddes när hon gick Reklam- och dekorationslinjen och gjorde praktik på NK i Göteborg tidigt 90-tal. Granhitlers arbete bestod i att klä, och i vissa fall tillverka dekorationer till ca 150 julgranar till det fina varuhusets årliga köpfest.
Visst, aningen flummigt men jag gillar verkligen den här synen på livet och döden. Känns vettigt. Flummigt men vettigt.
I’ve gotten a number of emails over the years from people asking whether they are being haunted by a recently deceased person. I’ve also gotten emails from people asking if animals slaughtered for food ever come back and haunt the people who ate them. So let’s talk a little about hauntings and how that all works.
No matter what the circumstances were surrounding your death, you are immediately offered the opportunity to slough off your mortal identity, cross over into the light, and release any mental or physical affliction you carried while alive.
The vast majority of beings with souls do this. They let go and move on. Instantly and totally. Whether they died peacefully in their sleep at age 90, or whether they were gunned down, committed suicide, or eaten by humans, most beings just let go.
Why? Because our natural state is being in the soul-state. Our natural state is as a loving tendril of Source consciousness, and when we let go of our bodies, we immediately and quite joyfully return to that state of being one with the universe and with Source.
Why would we stick around, waving our arms and saying “boo” at people who are still alive? Why would we continue to suffer by staying angry or upset at the circumstances or people that may have contributed to our release?
But, you ask, don’t people want justice?
Justice is a human concern, a human need. The reality is that your soul remembers that you came to earth to play. So when you die, your soul remembers how utterly freaking awesome it is to return to the ether. There is no strong desire to stick around and haunt anyone. Even someone who did you wrong.
So who are all these ghosts that walk around plantations or battlefields, reliving their final moments for all to see?
Some people who die tragically choose not to cross over so quickly. They are locked into their memory and may act out or replay it for many years. But eventually they let go and are guided to the light.
I also see people sticking around when they fear judgment from the other side. Murderers, rapists, and others who fear God’s judgment can hang out a little longer if they desire. It’s not healthy though and it’s completely unnecessary. But this is why hauntings are rarely happening by people who had a lovely life. Only those who fear judgment have the impetus to hang on to this life and identity as long as they can.
Now let’s make a distinction between hauntings and visitations. Once you cross over peacefully and well into that good old light, that doesn’t mean you’re completely disconnected from your living loved ones. You are allowed to check in and tune in to see how your family is doing. But you’re not haunting them.
You’re connecting energetically from your new plane, you’re not hanging on to this plane in a desperate attempt to avoid judgment, siphoning the energy of the living to maintain your place in limbo. No. You’ve integrated onto the other side and upon occasion you check in. That’s a visitation and is usually pleasant for both parties.
Animals who are slaughtered do not haunt the humans or other animals who ate them. Only the body was eaten, not the soul, which is intact in every way on the other side.
The beings that bother you most from the other side are the non-corporeal, never-been-human type who feed off fear and control. But that is not a haunting in the strictest sense of the word.
Hauntings are truly rare. Souls released from the confines of their bodies are more than eager to return to the ether.
