A little birdie told me I don't post enough on this blog. The same little birdie receives more hits on her blog than I do. So even though I am in fact working on a full post for a new game we recently played, here's a quick post to pass the time...
Boardgames are awesome. So are pandas. You know this to be true, because I have told you.
It is on the internet now, so you must believe it.
Parrots are also awesome. And it turns out they enjoy boardgames too!
The talented Mr. Chaucer and his wooden meeple friends.
Chaucer is a nifty guy, as evidenced in someone else's blog. (I feel obligated to plug said blog, because it seems a majority of my meager number of hits are linked from there...)
He is being particularly well behaved here, balancing that meeple on his head long enough for a picture. Unlike the day before, where I was trying to make some very difficult game related decisions and he kept trying to bite me. Maybe he just wanted to play too...
By the way, the big red guy next to the green guy is a colossal meeple from meeplesource.com.
In a cage match between the Chaucermeeple, Colossal Meeple, and Pandameeple, who would win?
I promise a full boardgame post is coming soon. I'm working on it now. There are vegetables and rubies and puppies and dwarves in this game. You are looking forward to it, I imagine.
I would never call myself "crafty." That would be like calling asparagus "delicious" or curling "boring" (I don't care what you say, asparagus is gross and curling is the best olympic sport, hands down. Don't argue with me).
But even I can throw something nifty together every now and then.
Behold! Meeple lamp!!!
This is Mozzie. He's a teddy bear. And a heavy drinker.
No, no that's not the right picture. My apologies for the bear. I'm a bit ashamed of his behavior.
Ahem...
Behold! Meeple lamp!!!
Let there be light!
It was really easy to make. Just a mason jar, lamp kit and lots of meeples.
Approximately 237 meeples. Roughly. Yes.
I got 250 of the little wooden fellas for $55 from meeplesource.com. Maybe that's a lot of money, but look how adorable they are in all their multicolored glory! Worth it.
Mound o' meeples.
I bought the mason jar at the mason jar store (or maybe Target) and the lamp shade at the fancy hat store (or maybe Target).
Moonshine container and party hat.
Finally, I found this jar lamp kit on amazon. The lamp-y portion just screws over the top of a quart mason jar.
The jar has its own party hat. Plug it in, it gets a little buzzed.
Some assembly was required, but me and the bear were up for the challenge.
Now, I know what you are thinking. "Robster, that is the greatest thing I have ever seen! Except for that picture of a manatee hugging a shark."
"But those meeples were so expensive! Why did you make such an expensive lamp?!"
Ok, first, the lamp is awesome and stop judging me.
Second, it is, in fact, not a lamp at all. As a board gamer, I need extra meeples (in case I lose 250 of them over the course of everyday play). And I need a place to store them.
This, my friends, is a glass meeple storage device with a lighthouse on top.
So that lost meeples can find their way home from sea in the dark.
Despite what your parents told you, new board games do not come from the stork. That would be ridiculous. Board games and babies couldn't possibly come from the same place.
No, the answer is not so simple. The process of picking out, buying and prepping a new board game for play is more complex than that. Here's how it works.
Step 1: The Board Game Itch
You haven't bought a new game in a while. You are a collector, always looking to add to your collection. And there's that empty space on your shelf. And that paycheck is burning a hole in your pocket. And you start to develop a little twitch. And then...and then...!!!! And then your self control is gone!
This is the board game itch. It's like having an army of spiders crawling along your back. Spiders
made of poison ivy. Poison ivy spiders that eat your money. But you
love them.
And it was meant to be scratched. Just like a cookie was meant to be nommed.
When it strikes, you need to find a new game to buy. The place to start looking is boardgamegeek.com. If you've read my other posts, you'll see several links to this site already, and there will be more to come. Look at their game list where you can find pretty much every game ever made listed in order of user ratings. The top 100 are a good place to start looking for a new game. Unless you are like me and have a gaming group that already owns most of those. But the site is huge, and you can spend hours searching through the game list and forums to find just the right one.
For my latest search, I looked at games by designer. Our group has been playing a lot of Stefan Feld games lately and enjoying them very much. I stumbled upon one game that looked intriguing.
Luna: A game with a moon on the box.
The box was pretty. I won't go into game details here. I just wanted to show you the box with the white haired witchy woman with the glowy stick.
So the game looked interesting, the box looked interesting, and the game designer is known for putting out some gems.
But it also appeared to be out of print in the US.
This happens a lot. Designer board games are only printed in limited quantities. Sometimes they get reprinted after the first sellout. Sometimes they don't. And it's terrifying to think that you will never own a great game because it is not available anywhere.
But sometimes you get lucky and can find that one, single online store that has a couple copies left in stock and is not selling them for ridiculously inflated prices. So you buy it...
Step 2: Buy another one
Because you are already paying for shipping. Duh.
I bought this one too, another Feld game that was just published last year.
I like boxes with puppies on the cover.
Step 3: Wait
Wait for it...
Step 4: Ask and you shall receive
I ordered these games from an online store called Game Surplus. The information section on their website has this amusing little tidbit:
"we further minimize our shipping costs down by
reusing boxes and shipping materials (in clean, good condition ) whenever
possible. So, don't be surprised if a box of 'Pop Tarts'
shows up at your door."
I got super excited about the pop tarts. Or something better.
I was actually a little disappointed with the box I got.
Sorry to say it, but this box is boring.
It's not a bad box. It is in one piece, made of sturdy cardboard, holds things well, does everything a good little box should do. Sadly, though, it isn't pop tarts or gopher repellent.
There is some interesting graffiti inside though...
What strange markings...
And inside there were board games and some appreciation! So I was very happy.
YOU'RE WELCOME!
Needless to say this place is awesome and I will probably order from them again in the future.
Step 5: Punch and Package
In my opinion, the best part of a new game isn't that fresh new cardboard smell. It's the piece punching. It's just so much fun! Look...
Pre-punching:
Mid-punch:
Post-punching:
Awww...why's the fun gone?
Wasn't that exciting?! The answer is yes. It's the best.
And then you wish you had more games so you could punch more.
And now with all those tasty little cardboard bits, you have to put them somewhere. It's great when the games come with their own little baggies.
A cacophony of wood and plastic.
Of course, you can trick out your game further with nicer storage options. And putting card protector sleeves on all cards is a must. Hey, you just spent $50 on a game. Protect your investment!
Put the cardies in the sleevies. And the bits in the boat.
