Hi. I’m Mike. Would you like to play a game?
When I was 7, I played a computer game called Lunar Lander. The object was to land safely on the moon without running out of fuel. Today, I play Kerbal Space Program. The object is to land safely on the moon without running out of fuel. In the 30 years in between, games have been my life. From the old Dungeons and Dragons gold box series to World of Warcraft, from SimCity to the Sims, from Mario to Master Chief, from Tetris to Portal, video games have always been a part of my life.
My love for board games has always been there, just under the surface. For years I tried to coax it to the surface, but it was never the right time or the right place. Dungeons and Dragons, at least, did come to me at the right time and place, and so became my life for nearly 20 years. Finally, in the last few years, the real world of board games has been revealed to me. I never knew what a “European style” game was, nor had I even heard that there was such a thing, but now I do. I have friends who actually like games more challenging than “Sorry” and are actually smart enough to give me a run for my money. Right Place, check. The availability of these games has seemed to explode recently, and the internet has opened up opportunities for smaller run games to find their way (to my) home. Right Time, check.
My favorite games seem to be the ones I rarely win: Pandemic, Lords of Waterdeep, Agricola, Catan (ok, I win that one pretty often). I love a challenge and actually don’t like a game I win every time (Monopoly, I’m talking to you). I take my fun pretty seriously and I play to win, but I will always play fair.
Pretty Sneaky, Sis 