An update on the cycling thing first, still no confirmed date, jon lim and rei have indicated their interest in coming with me.
Soe yewtee will probably be fixed as the end point and then everyone can find their way home from there (which means I'll probably backtrack the way we came up). The route is extended (for me) due to a modification of the meeting place which should likely be clementi central. So I gotta cycle to clementi central first, then head up to jurong to meet with the original route. Might take the west coast road bike path out from clementi.
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Now, board games. They're not always really board games, some are purely card games, but who cares. I learnt that games like bang, shadow hunters and citadels are classified loosely under euro style board games (perhaps a silent attack at the americans and their lousy board games heh), but the distinction between these two types of board games is that the type that people are generally more familiar with are very much 'party' games (so boring), while euro style games are more about strategy and pitting skills against one another.
I find playing these board games much more fulfilling than things like dota because it allows me to play with friends and many friends at that. Depending on which group of people I play with, I might find myself constantly amused and laughing at the little antics, or perhaps thinking through my strategies seriously in an attempt to outwit the other players, or a mix of both. No matter what, I enjoy it. And spoilers in board games are alot more funny than spoilers in dota.
Anyway, it sudden occurs to me that I have this new found interest in boardgames and that my birthday coming in roughly half a year's time. Im not sure how these two things are related hmm, do you know?
Why, lets talk about the games Im currently looking at, in order of how much I want it:
1) Dominion
I knew about the existence of this game, knew that it was highly rated, and actually saw it when I was with europe. Instead of overspending on a game which I dont know if it will really be that fun (after all I already spent a hundred) since I dont actually know how its played, I decided not to buy it. Now after playing zac's one, damn maybe I should have gotten it.
The deck building style of dominion is highly intriguing and apparently it spawned many new games of that style since then. If I want another board game to add to my collection, this is next. Its a fantastic game. And of course, it has six expansions, and I want them all wahhahaha.
2) Carcassonne
Carcassonne has a retarded number of expansions, you gotta spend a few hundred to get everything. We could start small and get only the original though, and that's good, and maybe over a few years build up the entire collection hehe. Another game with unique gameplay, though I havnt tried it out myself, but it seems interesting enough for me. Hailed by critics and also by the many people on forums who declare it the best game ever.
3) Bang! expansions
I know I already have three expansions hehe, but more is always good, but it seems to me that wild west show may not be that great an expansion, because it mostly merely introduces new characters and another high noon/fistful of cards like set (which I already find it a little bit of a waste considering you can only play one set at a time). The others are interesting though. Valley of shadows and gold rush arent released in english yet, but I think they would make good additions to the game. What I really am interested in however are unofficial expansions, of which amongst them death mesa and robber's roost look REALLY interesting, but you have to get a printing service yourself to do it. The bang blog where they originated from teaches you how to do it though, so thats good.
I totally wanna get these games, but purchasing too many of them myself is extremely costly mmhmm. I wonder if there is any other possible way that I can ever acquire these. Oh well I dont know. Do you? Maybe it has something to do with that birthday thought I had just now =D.
Anyway, aside from these 3 that I really want, here are some other potentially interesting ones.
4) 7 Wonders
Another critically acclaimed game, it was the winner of this year's most prestigious board game award thingum. A card development game like dominion, but with its own unique differences.
5) Agricola
The one turn off of this game is that im afraid it might end up a little bit like a mix of citadels, carcassone and dominions. I dont know for sure though, but the description of it looks somewhat like that. Still, worth a shot.
6) Ticket to Ride
An interesting concept, but im not sure if I really would like it that much. I might want to try it at a board game cafe first.
7) Shadow Hunters
Shadow hunters is a very interesting game, but I feel it has two major problems. Firstly, an over-reliance on luck. Secondly and even more unfortunately, a lack of replay value. After having played it about 5 times, I have lost the great excitement I had for it. I played more than 10 games of bang already though, and the game is still quite fun.
And the wikipedia article for it is pathetic xD.
So everyone, remember, about five months from now, while I'll be having BMT at tekong, you guys should totally go online shopping =D.
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