A Book by Emily Dickinson

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

Doggie Stardom

Uggie, my new favorite actor, is now retired. Sad day. He is one talented little pooch.

Think, Think, Think Silly Ol' Bear

“When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.”  - A. A. Milne

"Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?"
-Winnie the Pooh

Little Red Riding Hood

Pages From My Sketchbook

Welcome to the Weekend

Look what I found under my bed! A clip on mustache, I totally forgot I owned one. Makes my day. Although, I can't quite remember where I got this mustache, so I'm not really sure who's nose it's been in...that is a little gross....but the fun factor out weighs my reservations. I feel like one of the mario brothers.

FREE Board Games!!

The other day I was looking around on board game geek and I found some FREE board games. I haven't actually tried any of them out yet. But I'm itching too. They might turn out to be duds but I'm willing to chance it. They are called print and play games. You print out the cards, game board, rules, etc. Assemble it. And you are good to go. Here are some of the games I'm thinking about trying (Click on the links and scroll down the the "file" section of the page to download the games):

Zombie in My Pocket

Agora

Silk Road Maker

Cheese Chasers

Chunky Fighters

d6 Shooters

Splut

Update:
I printed out Zombie In My Pocket and assembled it.
 I am having a lot of fun playing it. So far the score is:
me: 2
zombies: 1

Here is the game the zombies won:

I Heart Board Games

I don't know if you know this or not but I am a gamer. No, I'm not talking about video games (I can barely play duck hunt and the original Super Mario Brothers). I mean old school, unplugged, board games.  I really like one player or two player games. Although, I enjoy some group games as well. I like cooperation games, dice games, set collection, memory games, deduction games, and light strategy games. For me it is more important to have fun playing, than actually winning. Not that I want to lose all the time but I'm alright if I don't always win. Does that make sense? 
When I was a kid, I loved it when the electricity would go out because I knew we would pull out the kerosene lamps and flashlights and play board games. I was always disappointed when the lights came back on. Good times.
Games I liked as a kid:

Aggravation * Battleship  * Trouble * Backgammon * Guess Who * Connect Four * Clue * Pizza Party* Memory * Boggle * Dungeon Dice * Checkers * Chinese Checkers * Pogs  * Candy Land * Snakes and Ladders * Hi Oh Cherry-O * Uno * Old Maid * War * Rummy * Sorry * I Doubt It * Hide and Go Seek * Hop Scotch * Tag * The Game of Life * Go Fish * Perfection * Mouse Trap * Marbles * Hotdog (A "game" my younger brothers and I made up.) * Yahtzee * Pick Up Sticks* Tiddly Winks * Scattergories * Monopoly * Hangman I still play some of these games (with the exception of Hotdog...I'm not playing that with my brothers ever again! I'd end up in the hospital if we tried it now!) There was a long period of time where I thought I didn't like playing games. Mainly, because I never won. I now know my brothers were cheating.  I wasn't going to cheat so it never occurred to me that other people might cheat me. Particularly when we would play Battleship, my brothers would move their ships around. Not that I'm still bitter about it or anything. It makes me a little hesitant to play with them now.

So for a long time I thought I didn't like games. However, my friends, the Millers, changed my mind. They introduced me to a whole new world of games. Eurogames. What is Eurogames you may ask? Well, I am just learning about them myself but from what I have seen so far they  are awesome. Okay so here is my limited knowledge of Eurogames (also called "Designer Games" or "German Style Games):

-They are board games that have adults as the target audience (Hang on aren't board games just for kids? I think not. There is a whole underworld of gamers out there...and no they aren't all weirdos living in their parent's basement...oh, wait! That's me.)

-They are usually beautiful games that are well made with high quality components.

-Most Eurogames come with lots of different expansions so you have a many options of how to play.

- Playing times usually pretty short. It doesn't take 3-5 hours to play like Monopoly or Risk.

-You probably won't find these games at Walmart. You'll have to actually go to a Game Store or order them online.

-They don't have player elimination (which is something I really dislike about alot of American games. You get kicked out of the game really early on and then sit there feeling stupid while everyone else keeps playing). In these games, all the players are in the game until the very end. And in some games, during the game no one knows who is winning until it is over.

-They generally have simple rules.

-These games usually have lots of player interaction without overt conflict, which can mean less hurt feelings.

-Unlike most mainstream games, these games usually require more strategy than luck.

-They can be kind of expensive (This is a downside but these are games that I will want to play over and over again so I like to think of it as an investment.)

-Most of the games come from Germany. Germany is like the King of Board Games. They publishes hundreds of amazing games each year.

-There is a Spiel des Jahres Award for the German Game of the Year.

-The Designers and Artists' names are are on the box. These people are famous in Germany.

I'm not sure I will want to play some of the hard core strategy Eurogames but I am finding lots of fantastic lighter games as well. Here are some of the ones I've enjoyed so far (these games are also known as "gateway" games and are often used to introduce people to Eurogames...they certainly made a good impression on me...and if anyone wants to buy these games for me, you'd make me one happy duck):

Ticket to Ride: Europe

A video about how to play Ticket to Ride

Alhambra

A video about how to play Alhambra

Settlers of Catan (aka Catan): Cities and Knights Expansion

A video about how to play the original version of Catan.

A video about the Cities and Knights Expansion of Catan.

There are a few games I can't stand:

-Don't make me play Taboo. I hate Taboo. I can't think fast and I'm not articulate, even when I have time to think. On top of that, I'm always on a team with someone who is way more competitive than I am and I don't find the pressure fun.
-I hate the Farming Game . Period. I'm sorry but I don't find being in debt fun. Just thinking about this game makes me shudder.
-Also, don't ask me to play Trivial Pursuit. What are you trying to do, prove just how stupid I am?! No thank you. In the words of Mark Twain: "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

Here are some other games I like:

Sherlock. It is like an advanced version of memory. When cards are removed from the game, new cards are added in their place. Players have to remember what cards have changed and what cards are still the same. I still haven't won a game but I like playing in spite of that, it is a nice challenge.

Blink This is a fast paced game about pattern recognition. I probably like this game because I'm good at it.

Scotland Yard One player is the criminal who moves secretly across the board. All the other players are scotland yard trying to catch the criminal. Lots of fun.

Slamwich It is kinda like a sandwich version of slapjack.

 Castle Panic This is a great cooperative game where you are trying to defend your castle from monsters. I like that either you all win or the board game wins. It also makes a good solitaire game.

 Mystery Rummy: Jekyll and Hyde It is a two player advanced version of rummy with a fun theme.



Now if I can only convince my family to play these "strange" games.