board games

Hand-To-Hand Wombat

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I supported a Kickstarter campaign a few months ago for a new board game. I received the game back in September, but kept it aside for Christmas. Last night we played it as a family. Welcome to Hand-To-Hand Wombat.

Mortal Wombat!

Because I backed the Kickstarter from the beginning, I got a bunch of extras for the game. Like a timed stopper, blindfolds,fuzzy cards, wooden wombats, and a neat fanny pack to carry those in.

The game is pretty easy. At the start you are dealt out a card. Only one person will be the bad wombat. All the rest are good. There are four pyramids to build that are six levels high. Everyone has their eyes covered and we all reach into the box and attempt to build the structures- except the evil wombat. They are also blindfolded and try to stop the structures before the timer ends. No one knows who the evil wombat is, so after each round a vote occurs. Unanimous vote means a person goes out. Even if they weren’t the evil wombat!

Talking is allowed to try and communicate while blindfolded. After each round you can try and convince each other who to vote for. Not until one of the teams gets to three points do you reveal your team card.

This game got pretty intense and we played only three matches. But it was chaotic fun! I recommend this game to those who like quick rounds. Plus it can be played with younger to older people without much difficulty.

Pick your copy up at Indigo and have a great time yelling at everyone!

Telestrations

Posted on by Josef Havelka

This afternoon my wife and I picked up our two youngest kids from school and headed out for an early dinner. As I have mentioned previously, I like to support local and small businesses. Tonight we took the kids to The Raving Gamer.

My wife and I have been to The Raving Gamer a few times ourselves. We enjoy the atmosphere of eating and playing board games. It always gave us a chance to try some games before purchasing them.

Tonight, we were the only people at the Raving Gamer. That is mostly because of the COVID restrictions in British Columbia. No indoor dining permitted. Outside in the parking lot of The Raving Gamer is only one table for four and a few tables for two. Not exactly a “Patio” compared to mainstream restaurants. But it serves its purpose allowing patrons to still enjoy a meal. As you can see, the food was appetizing and tasty.

Just before our early dinner, we played a game called Telestrations. Where you get given a word and have a minute to draw it out, then the next person guess the word, the next person draws the word and the person afterwards has to write what they think the word is and so on until it gets back to the original player. Like a game hybrid of telephone and Pictionary.

The game was fun for the four of us. I would like to see how much more creative it would turn out to be for up to twelve people playing. During the few rounds we did play, we laughed pretty hard. We all wanted to play more of the game, but know that it would be a fun party game with more players.

It was definitely a game we would recommend for larger groups. Obviously once Covid restrictions are lifted.

Are you supporting small businesses these days? Or perhaps playing games during the pandemic? Send me some recommendations for either of those. I want to still enjoy life and share experiences with others.

Saturday Games

Posted on by Josef Havelka

This morning our laundry line snapped after a dozen years of use. So I went to Home Depot and grabbed a new line and put it up. I also picked up a few 2×4 boards and some odds and ends for some other projects. Until shortly after lunch, we were all busy.

This afternoon was a warm one with lots of sunshine. We chose to hang out in the backyard on our tree deck. We needed a break after a full morning of working around the house. Did I say it was warm? I lied. It was hot.

We played a couple of different versions of the card game Timeline. A great trivia style game that involves figuring out when events took place. I recommend this game to everyone. We always have fun playing it. Bonus- it’s educational!

We followed it with a few aggressive games of Uno. That is sure to tear families apart the way Monopoly does. Lots of yelling and accusations of cheating.

All in all a great afternoon with the family.

Raving Gamer

Posted on by Josef Havelka

For my wife’s birthday, I took her out for lunch this afternoon at a place called The Raving Gamer Bistro in Langley, BC.

It’s the perfect style of place for my wife and I. It’s locally owned and operated. The menu serves locally-sourced ingredients from many of the places that I love to visit in Langley and nearby.

I enjoyed the Three’s Company Grilled Cheese: Golden Ears cheddar & gouda on Langley’s A Bread Affair’s Three’s Company bread.

My wife ate the Raving Water Buffalo Burger: a house-made patty of local water buffalo with bread and butter pickles, fresh tomatoes, red onion, gouda from Golden Ears Cheese Crafters, double smoked bacon and a house-made Russian dressing.

Both of us opted for the house-cut fries with “butta-shoyu” & Japanese spice; and a local beer to wash it all down.

During our lunch, we had a chance to enjoy some one on one time while playing board games. The selection of games to play was extensive. After our meal, we browsed through some of the games for sale. These aren’t your typical Monopoly variations or poker games. Many of the games I had never heard of. But when I asked the staff about games- they had knowledgeable answers.

We had a nice quiet lunch- we were the only two customers in there. It sounds like they are much busier in the evening time, especially on the weekends. I highly recommend visiting the Bistro. But be prepared to spend time and money! We were there for about an hour and a half and spent $100. But we also picked up a game that we have been wanting for some time now. So it was worthwhile investment for the future of our fun!

Breaking up the Doldrums

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Spring Break has been treating us to some wonderful sunshine and warmth so far. We’ve taken full advantage of it. From washing cars to yard work- our kids have been doing chores without complaints! I know, crazy talk but it’s true.

Here’s the thing, they do the work so they can have the freedom later. Our kids get to play some video games in the morning before we start on the chores for the day. If we get the chores done in a timely manner- the kids then get to play some tabletops games before dinner. Win-win for all of us! Plus a clean yard and car.

I love the fact that they also want to play their games outdoors. They put on some music in the background and proceed to play nicely together. They’re even getting some D&D characters made and shall depart on a journey that will likely last a few days. Seeing our children do their part around the house without a battle and getting along with one another makes me super proud.

What motivates your kids? How have you been spending Spring Break?

Game On!

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Monday was a stat holiday which also meant “Game Day” at our home. Ok, not because it was a holiday- our kids are off for summer as it is, but we had a “Game Day” just because.

My wife and I often start our day by playing an old N64 game- Pokémon Puzzle League on the Wii in our bedroom. She loses pretty regularly at it. I’m not sure why she keeps wanting to play, but it’s kind of our thing. So I keep playing.

Since the weather is nice, I’m trying to get the kids not to play so many video games or be on their iPhones and iPads. A difficult task when they see mom and dad lazing in bed playing video games…

So I offered to hang with the kids throughout the day. We have a large collection of board games and tabletop games hidden away in an ottoman. Yesterday we decided to play a couple of these games outside.

First choice was Monopoly. Our oldest prides herself in kicking butt every time. This was no exception. I think she only won because we use the center of the board for the taxes incurred throughout the game and “Free Parking” as the winning spot to get those dolla bills- yo! (As the hip kids say…)

Just before dinner we played Settlers of Catan. I am viciously good at this game. I have an almost Rain Man ability to watch the cards being issued and played by each opponent. I’m also good at figuring out people’s strategies on the board. Needless to say- I killed it last night!

We ended our evening by watching “Ready Player One” as a family. Recently, a few people I know online have been mentioning the novel, so it was fresh in my mind. (Check out Cole Campfire Blog sometime for some outdoor inspiration.) Since four of the five of us in the family had read the novel, and my two youngest had already seen the film- it was an easy choice for family movie night. Clearly, the movie is not like the novel- a bit disappointing- but fun to watch nonetheless.

Our impromptu game day was a ton of fun and a good way to connect as a family.

It was a dark and stormy night…

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Such a classic start to almost all stories written by children.  I didn’t want to title today’s post that way, but it really did fit.  Tonight is a crazy evening with high winds and tons of rain.  We’ve already lost power a few times over the past couple of days.  We are expecting to lose it again some time this evening.  But that won’t stop us from having a nice quiet Saturday night as a family.


We already have a fire burning- warming up our family room.  Dinner was made, enjoyed, and the dishes cleared away.  We’ve gotten into our pajamas, house coats, & slippers early this evening in order to lounge and relax.  


We are deciding upon a few family games to play.  NO MONOPOLY.  That game always ends in a fight.  But we do have many other games that will allow a variety of shorter gameplay so everyone is happy.

On the table tonight is Tsuro, Yardmaster, Timeline:Inventions, Timeline:Diversity, Timeline:Science&Discoveries, Nightmare Before Christmas Yahtzee, Nightmare Before Christmas Trival Pursuit, & Poop.

Timeline seems like a good educational style game as you try and play all your cards based on history in a timeline.

Tsuro is a path game where you place tiles and try to remain the last stone on the board.  Quick and strategic.

Poop is a card game all about flushing a toilet without overflowing.  Humorous and silly.

Yardmaster is about moving trains (I should be great at that one, since it is my regular job).

We love gaming as a family, and even though we still have electricity, not every moment we spend together as a family should be infront of a screen.  That being said, I’m going to publish tonight’s blog and check out until tomorrow.

Having fun

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I like fun.  Who doesn’t?  There’s entire industries devoted to make products to help in the enjoyment of fun.  My favorite form of fun is gaming.  Mostly playing board games aka tabletop games.

I’ve always enjoyed board games.  As a child, my friends and I had week long battles of Monopoly fueled on candy and cola.  As a teen, a few of us played Risk in a Tim Hortons until 4am, again fueled on caffeine and sugar.  A few years ago, my wife and I began attending Comic Cons.  

In 2013, we attended Emerald City Comic Con where I spent the majority of the weekend at their tabletop gaming area.  It was in a secluded area of the Con where not a lot of people went to.  I learned, and played, numerous different games.  Somehow, I ended up winning at a game I’d never played before (Zombie Dice) and won the opportunity to play a game the next day with the Queen of the Geeks: Felicia Day.  I went back to my hotel that night and binge watched TableTop season 1 in order to try and learn Felicia Day’s gaming style.  The next day, I played Munchkin against her and a couple of other people.  We all lost to her.  But, it was here that I fell in love with gaming again and knew I would have to bring it home to my family.  

 

She tells it like it is.

 
Geek and Sundry hosted the gaming area at Emerald City in Seattle.  Wil Wheaton and his cohort, Felicia Day were there at this event, and they promoted the first ever International Table Top Day.  It was a way for people everywhere to share their favorite board games with each other.  To celebrate the first year, we held games at our home and invited friends over and made trophies for some ridiculous categories.  It was a lot of fun.  We had such great weather that we moved some of our games outdoors.

 

The Doctor teaching me Wasabi.

 
Since then, our gaming collection has grown.  Our kids have mastered all of our games to a point that they teach others at the numerous conventions we attend.  We play games at home and often get into arguments over which game to play.  Today, the power is out and we are all at home for the day.  Now to decide if we will play Munchkin, Ticket to Ride, Zombie Dice, King of Tokyo, Exploding Kittens or one of the other obscure games we own.

 

This year’s date is set!

 

I’m happy that my family likes to play TableTop games.  We are looking forward to this year’s International TableTop Day on April 30th. If you need to brush up on how to play some games, or just want to have fun watching celebraties play, head over to TableTop on YouTube for some good laughs.

Since I’m not at work on the railroad today, it’s time for me to get off my iPhone and kick my family’s butt at Ticket to Ride.