Tabletop Season 4; Can't Wait!

Tabletop Season 4 began filming while I was catching up on season 3

For those of you who don't yet know, Tabletop is a show produced on the Geek&Sundry Youtube channel. Developed by Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day, hosted by the Wheaton, Tabletop gives you an idea of the game mechanics and some hints to strategies as a kind of "before you by" concept. Tabletop is also the platform from which the Wheaton encourages everyone to "play more games". The games that they chose commonly feature cooperative play in the style of the German games we mentioned before in this post. They are almost all board and card games, a few dice games get thrown into the mix and they play quickly unlike a game of Monopoly which went a record 13 days in our house when we were kids.

The show was launched in an effort to bring families and friends to the table. While not intended as an anti-tech message, I seem to hear "Put your phone down" after he says "Play more games." From a social sciences perspective a game of some kind is an excellent way to find common ground in groups unfamiliar with each other or, in my case, too familiar with each other. Games were the ONLY way to bring my siblings and I together. I am notoriously anti social, given my introverted tendencies. In most of the selected games, players work with each other against the game to triumph. Castle Panic, Forbidden Anything, and Legendary come to mind. These dynamics follow in the same footsteps as Cataan. Cooperative play games tend to be less discouraging to play than say Monopoly when the action is consistent and one person dominates the wins.


Season 4 will air this Summer  Just released....  the list of games being previewed this season. 4 of them are ones that I have been eyeballing at the game stores. I am most excited for Mysterium. It seems like with the right people it could play like and episode of Scooby Doo. Beyond that, the description of game play seems like something that we all would enjoy over here.The art on the box drew me in. I am a sucker, a SUCKER, I tell you, for illustration. And honestly, the art is almost always what draws me in. If you hook me with the box of the box story I am in.

Season 4 he we go!

Board Games: Ticket to Ride

An Easter present this year, Ticket to Ride from publisher, Days of Wonder. It was created by Alan R. Moon, it says so right on the box, and shown in Wil Wheaton's first season of Tabletop on Youtube. I fell in love with this game watching him and his friends play. It is honest to goodness live action game play, give it a look.

This is considered a German style board game. Wikipedia describes German or Eurostyle board games as being simple, multi player games with medium to short play times. Simplicity does not reduce the fun factor here! The rules are not complicated and they do not rely overly much on luck as American games such as Monopoly tend to do. Not mentioned in the article is the characteristic of cooperative play rather than competitive game play. Settlers of Catan, published in 1995 is one such cooperative play game. And it is also the most popular by far though not the oldest of these german styled games.

During the last decade German or Eurogames have taken the world by storm, or so it would seem. They have been around since the 1950s. My first encounter with these games came in the early 90s when I was doing daycare. A local toy shop stocked Ravensburger brand games and puzzles. While more expensive, thus requiring careful investing, they were, and are, superior to most board games commonly available in the big box stores.

And thus, I can also say one of the biggest differences between American and German or Eurogames is the quality. From the professional quality of the designs, to the quality of the construction and the package-feel (the weight, texture and smoothness of the paper, weight, texture and sturdiness of the pieces) American games just do not have the same gravitas. Though, smaller game producers (publishers other than Parker Brothers and Hasbro) are keeping up with the competition, German games are the standard by which this game geek measures all others.

Initial game play went quick even though it was the first time that I've actually played. With three people it went pretty well, not super fun and hilarious like in the video. But it was fun enough for my friends to want to do it again. And that is what really counts. Wired magazine has a great article on German games and the Father of Cataan, Klaus Teuber.

When I get to Germany I want to be sure to get to the Essen Trade Show where new games come out and special editions can be had. One year, Baden-Wurttemberg had a special edition released in the region's honor. I am hoping for some special editions for Ticket to Ride Germany. Alan R. Moon, has made a permanent fan out of me.

Not from actual game play. Set up for photographic purposes only.