Game Time…

These days my regular gaming fix is done at the computer, but not computer games, oh no, I still play traditional RPG but use the technology as an enabler. We use a virtual table top application called Fantasy Grounds to show the characters, maps, rule books, dice rolls and other cools stuff as we currently play Necropolis-2350, a Triple Ace Game using the Savage Worlds rule set. In addition to this we use a group voice application called Mumble to talk to each other on.

Playing this way allows a group of us to get together regularly without the hassle of travel also to have fellow gamers all over the place (currently it is London suburbs, Wales and Canada – but has previously included people from Belgium and Finland).

Even with this technology some of us do miss the extra non-verbal communication you get from a face-to-face game and the subtly it adds to the party interaction, so those of us that are near enough try to get together once and a while to play games in person.

This time we played a few new games that we varied in style and objective, but were all great fun.

Munchkin Quest – This is a dungeon crawl variant of the humorous card game that is maddening and hilarious in equal measures. You have the same sort of characters and monsters as are in the card game but it incorporates a more visual interlocking board that you can explore. We found it a little slow to pick up at the start, but we eventually got into the swing of things.

Red Dragon Inn – This is a great fun game full of humour. The premise of the game is that you are stereotypical adventurers who have finished beating up monsters in a dungeon and have retired to the Red Dragon Inn for a few celebratory drinks. The last one standing is the winner (we have heard a variant of the game is where you actually drink along with your characters – could get messy).

Pandemic – this is a fabulous co-operative game where you are a group of specialists out to attempt to prevent the spread of four diseases that threaten to become a pandemic and sweeping across the world. It is a real brain teasing strategy game that is very difficult to win – we just managed it with one card left.

We also played a fast and furious card game that was something like snap that really got our hearts racing.

The guys pointed me towards a great website that has a bunch of gaming inspired web channels called Geek and Sundry, here there is a channel called TableTop that is hosted by Wil Wheaton, where they review and play out various board games giving you an idea how they look and play before you buy. From this I have added a couple of games to my wish list – Forbidden Island, Fiasco and the Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen.