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A Gaming Life
Stronghold Games & Rex Brynen Reach Agreement on Aftershock Name Controversy
Good news has reached us here at Dude Central!
Since I’ve already posted twice on this issue (once criticizing Stronghold for the Twitter block campaign and then asking them to end it when they took the Aftershock Kickstarter campaign down), it’s only fair to post the good news.
Rex Brynen and Stronghold Games President Stephen Buonocore have reached an agreement ending the issue regarding the names of the games and how similar they were.
Kudos to Rex for being diligent about it, to Stephen to being open (eventually) to discussing it and it sounds like everything’s resolved to everybody’s satisfaction.
Stephen has also lifted all of the Twitter blocks as well.
Now, with all of this behind us, we can go back to enjoying the games that Stronghold produces (well, many of them anyway) and I don’t have to wonder whether I should even post my next Top 25 Games Played post (oops, spoiler!).
It’s all well that ends well.
On to more gaming!!!!!
Smash Up: International Incident Coming March 22!
(Edit – 12/20/19: For those finding this post some other way, the review is up!)
Long-time followers of this blog know how big a fan of Smash Up I am.
I’ve done tons of reviews for expansions (ok, three, but tons sounds better, doesn’t it?).
However, recent events have brought a few new followers (thank you for joining us!) who might not be aware.
This is not a Smash Up blog, so don’t worry. But there will definitely be some content about it.
(Smash Up is, incidentally, #27 on my Top list, so it won’t be appearing in any of those posts).
So imagine my giddy excitement when I saw the Alderac Entertainment Group announcement of the latest expansion coming on March 22.
It’s a never-ending train of Smash Up goodness!
World Tour: International Incident is the latest in the wacky saga designed by Paul Peterson.
Does this look jam-packed with goodness or am I just biased?
(Editor – Do you really want an answer to that?)
Top 25 Games Played of All Time (15-11)
After a steady couple of days (thanks, Reddit!), it’s time to get back to the real business of this blog.
That’s right, fashion shows board games!
Apologies for the delay in getting back to the Best Games Played of All Time after a rollicking start, but let’s just say that I hate colds (Editor – Wow, what a controversial stance to take. You should make placards).
Anyway, let’s rectify that by jumping into the Top 15 with five more games that I just love to play.
Before continuing, let’s make everything clear as usual.
I have played 296 games as of the time I ranked them (I’ve reached 300 now), so some “classics” aren’t going to be represented because I haven’t played them.
Don’t get your underwear in a knot if your favourite classic from 2005 isn’t on here.
With that being said, are we ready?
Ok, now that that’s we’ve covered that (nice hair, dude)…
An Open Letter to Stronghold Games
(Edit: A resolution has been reached!)
(Original post below)
It’s all over.
For now.
Yesterday, Stronghold Games pulled the Kickstarter for the new Aftershock game after it had fully funded.
According to company president Stephen Buonocore, this was because:
“the Deluxe Edition upgrades (and their associated costs) weren’t resonating with as many people as we had hoped.”
No mention of the naming controversy at all, though I do know at least a few of the original commenters who had pulled their pledges did so after hearing about it.
I’m sure he’s right, though, that the response to the deluxe items and such was very muted as well.
I’d like to post an open letter to Stronghold Games that I hope somebody will forward to them (since I’m still blocked on Twitter). I’d like to get back to the Stronghold Games that we all know and love.
I’m addressing it to Mr. Buonocore as well as Stronghold staff because we really don’t know where the “block” directive came from (though it’s likely, I’m being open-minded)
Here we go.
Stronghold Games Continuing Aftershock Twitter Tantrum
(Edit: The Aftershock Kickstarter campaign has been cancelled. Apparently due to the quiet response to some of the “deluxe” things they were offering. Nothing about this controversy, but I thought I would update you on that part at least.)
(2nd Edit: I’ve since posted an open letter to Stronghold Games suggesting that they do the right thing and end the Twitter silencing, as well as address the naming controversy.)
(3rd edit, in case you find this post first. A resolution has been reached!)
(Original post below)
I love Stronghold Games. I really do. (Look, I even still linked to their site).
I have nothing against them. In fact, I love many of their games (two have already appeared on my Top 25 Games Played ever, and there will be more, and sorry the Top 15 hasn’t shown up yet, but I’ve been sick).
From everything I’ve heard, and from people who I also like and respect, Stephen Buonocore is a great guy. One of these days, I’d love to go to a con and get a pic of him kissing me on the cheek like he has so many others.
Which is why I am completely mystified at what they’ve been doing on Twitter over the last few days.
What could have justified this?
Let’s tell a story.
New to Me – January 2019
Damn, I hate colds. Colds that work their way into your head and then just sit there, clogging up your sinuses until your head feels bigger than when you get a compliment from somebody you really admire.
But not in a good way.
The cold I’m currently suffering from almost made this post late, but thankfully I do most of these as I play the games, so there wasn’t as much to do this time around.
Conventions always make them a bit harder too, because I tend to get a lot of new games played at them.
So it’s a catch-22, as I get the joy of playing and discovering new games.
But then I have to write about them.
Not that I’m complaining! I love sharing these experiences with you.
Almost as much as I love my fellow Cult of the New to Me members, who have all taken pity on me because I’ve been sick.
In other words, there haven’t been any rebellions.
Instead, they’ve been bringing me hot toddies.
My food taster has had his fill of bourbon by this point.
So, without further adieu (all of my adieu was sold by my underling to somebody in Birmingham anyway), let’s get started!
Top 25 Games Played of All Time (20-16)
As a relatively new board game blogger (less than 2 years, and just hitting 200 posts), I sometimes don’t feel right making “Top 10” lists. The number of games I’ve played, in relative terms, would probably not even fit in Tom Vasel’s pinky finger tip (and you’re welcome for that image).
That’s why I go for top games played by me, rather than just top games. I can’t speak with any definitive voice about the entire genre at all.
I realize that I’ve never played many of the games that some people would consider top tier. I’ve only played 46 of the BGG Top 100, for example (that number actually surprised me, as I thought it was less).
So consider these posts a bit of an inside look at how my brain works in regards to games (Editor – Oh God, you don’t want to do that to them!). Hopefully this gives you a little insight into my tastes and lets you reflect on just what you would put on this list.
So how about we move into the Top 20 with #20-16?
Let’s begin!
Top 25 Games Played of All Time (25-21)
It’s been almost three years in the making, but I almost hit 300 games played since I started recording plays and I thought it would be a great idea to give you what my top 25 games played are.
Thanks to Pub Meeple for the marvelous (if extremely time-consuming) ranking engine! It took 2050 comparisons and about 2 hours of swiping right or left (it’s like Tinder for your boardgame collection if Tinder had a “which person would you rather meet?” comparison function) but I broke them all down.
Just a note before you get outraged. There are tons and tons of games out there. I’ve played 295 of them (as of the ranking). There are some “classics” that are not on there because I’ve never played them. No Blood Rage or Rising Sun, or even Gloomhaven.
Also keep in mind that many of these I’ve only played once. Thus, subsequent plays may affect how I feel about them. These are not reviews or based on some kind of objective value.
These are just the games that appeal to me the most.
Hopefully you’ll find this list interesting. Let me know what you think or what your rankings are like in the comments!
Where are the Best Games Played in 2018?
As promised in my “Taking a hiatus” post right before Christmas, I was planning on doing a Top 10 games played in 2018 as well as a list of top games played of all time.
I wasn’t sure how many “Top games of all time” I was going to include in my post, and I’ve since decided to make it a nice Top 25. Out of 295 games played, I think 25 is a good round number.
A funny thing happened after I ranked all of my games, however (thanks so much to Pubmeeple for having a game ranking engine that works great!).
After looking at my list, I realized that the Top 10 Games played in 2018 were also the Top 10 Games played of all time (spoiler!!!).
Why post a duplicate list?
So, over the next week or two, I will be posting the Top 25. Once I’ve posted 10-1, I will link to it here. Those are also the best games played in 2018.
(Edit: Here is #10-6 in the Top 10!)
(Edit: Here is #5-1 in the Top 10!)
However, since I don’t want to have a nothing post where I go “ha! Made you click!” (clickbait is not in my vocabulary), how about I instead tell you the best new to me game played in 2018 and the worst?
Best:
Easily the best new to me game played in 2018 is Architects of the West Kingdom, designed by Shem Phillips and S.J. Macdonald with art by The Mico.
War of the Worlds: The New Wave – on Kickstarter
(Edit – 12/20/19: for those of you who found this page some other way, the review is live!)
While I have never read the actual H.G. Wells book, I am a big fan of the War of the Worlds concept. I watched the original movie a *long* time ago. The Tom Cruise movie was pretty cool, I’m probably one of the few fans of the 1988-90 TV series that starred Jared Martin (who?) and Lynda Mason Green (WHO?).
The other day I stumbled upon something on Twitter that made me sit up and take notice, though.
Grey Fox Games announced that War of the Worlds: the New Wave (designed by Denis Plastinin with artwork by Igor Savchenko) was on Kickstarter now.
It’s an asymmetrical deck-building 2-player game, which really made me perk up and go “huh????”
This game is based on the book, not the movie (or even the series, which I think is seriously underrated).
Dude! Take Your Turn! 