Do You Want To Play A Game?

Wow, it's been a VERY long time since I last posted to this blog. What can I say? S#!t Happens!

Things have changed over the years and I'm now into gaming - Board Games, RPG (Dungeons & Dragons) games and others that strike my fancy.

I'll try posting more often to talk about the games I've been playing and asking for feedback, tips and advice. Feel free to share your gaming stories as well.

So to get right down to it. 

I've started collecting Board Games and RPGs. I play the games I collect, so it's not strictly as a "collector' in the postage stamp or baseball card sense. For Board Games, I've discovered Kickstarter as a great place to buy (back) some very interesting games.

The most recent game I acquired via Kickstarter is In The Name of Odin. As the name implies, this is a Viking themed game but it's not a cut-throat PvP type of game but rather a Euro-style worker placement/resource management game. It's very enjoyable with beautiful, evocative artwork. I've only played it one time so far but look forward to many more enjoyable gaming sessions with this one.

Prior to In The Name Of Odin, I was able to purchase Dawn of the Zeds as a bonus for backing another Kickstarter project (more on that in a future post). Previously, this strategy game had only solitaire mode but the 3rd Edition introduced Co-Op play. I've had several sessions of Dawn of the Zeds so far with my sons and they keep asking to play again, so I'm sure we'll have more sessions to report in the near future.

How about some Dungeons & Dragons?

I've also found eBay to be a great resource in acquiring older, out of print versions of D&D. I've been able to find affordable copies in good condition that I am very satisfied with.

I've purchased or won bids for the Basic and Expert D&D rules sets. I like the simplicity of these earlier versions of the game compared to the most recent versions which seem to want to replicate video games and ensure characters never die.

Using the Basic rules set from 1981, my sons and I have just started playing Palace of the Silver Princes. This is the one by Jean Wells that was recalled due to the suggestive artwork and monsters.

I've also purchased the Tales of the Lance adventure boxed set from the AD&D 2nd Edition Dragonlance Campaign Setting. The copy I bought is in very good condition with unpunched cardboard characters and adventure cards. I'm reading the first Dragonlance Trilogy right now and am looking forward to 'playing the novels' with this adventure in the near future.

I'll share more details of my gameplay experiences with these and other games that I've collected in future posts.

If you are a gamer, what games to you enjoy? Please leave a comment.

Mmm-Mmm Good!

Hey, it was Dave's Day at Famous Dave's BBQ today. Had some real good Chopped Pork and Beef Brisket. The deal is, anyone named Dave gets a free entree' up to $15. This was my first time going, so I chose an entree' under $15 so I'd get it free. It turns out that they just credit you $15 anyway, so I could have gone for the full slab of ribs and received $15 off.

Next time, I'm goin' for the ribs!

Wow, it's been awhile!

So I thought I'd try posting on my blog again. I was looking for an aluminum can recycling company in the area and found this one, Blue Grass Recycling. They appear to be the only place in Northern Kentucky where you can sell your pop cans.

So if anyone knows of other recycling centers in NKY, please let me know.

The reason I'm looking for a recycling center is because my granddaughter Zoey has been collecting them to pay for more butterfly larva (caterpillars) for her butterfly habitat we bought her from this place, Insect Lore.

We followed the directions and it really worked. Amazing!

Hip-Hop du Deutscheland??

I think I've seen it all now. Here's an example of how the rest of the world is becoming Americanized.



Maybe this is why the rest of the world hates us? Could it be that Rammstein was right when they sang about "We're all living in Amerika"?



You be the judge.

Football: Fantasy and Reality

First the good news...

My Fantasy Football Team didn't do too bad in this first weekend of play. I was actually impressed. Although we lost our head-to-head match up, we posted a very respectable 108 points. The rest of the league teams posted scores only in the 60's and 70's (so far). I'm sure some will add a few more points once tonight's CHI vs GB game and then the two Monday night games are completed, but all in all I think 108 points is a pretty good showing.

Now for the bad news....

Although the WKU Hilltoppers fared much better this past Saturday against the South Florida Bulls than they did against UT last week, they still have much work to do.  A slew of penalties (13 for 124 yrds) killed several drives, and at least one touchdown. Without the penalties the Toppers very well could have won this one; USF is not a powerhouse like UT and the Bulls were a much closer match to the Topps than were the Vols.

In a lot of ways, this game seemed very similar to last year's game against Ball State. IN that one the Hilltoppers played very competitively against Ball State and had a decent chance at winning that one too, except for some unfortunate penalties and miscues.

Next week brings the University of Central Arkansas to Smith Stadium. UCA is an FCS (Div II) team, the only one Western faces this season. The Toppers really need to rise up and win this one to prove to the naysayers that they were ready to move up to FBS (Div I) Football and that the days of playing at the Div II level are behind them. As I mentioned in a previous post, it will be a few years before Western has a Bowl caliber team but it will come eventually and when it does, no one will remember these lean times.

My Fantasy Football Team

OK, I've drafted my first ever Fantasy Football Team tonight, here's the line up:

Starters
QB - Eli Manning, NYG
WR - Roddy White, Atl
WR - Antonio Bryant, TB
RB - Brian Westbrook, Phi
RB - Frank Gore, SF
TE - Visanthe Shiancoe, Min
W/R/T - Marion Barber, Dal
K - Ryan Longwell, Min
DST - Philadelphia

Bench
QB - Matt Cassel, KC
RB - Le'Ron McClain, Bal
TE - John Carlson, Sea
DST - NY Jets

Transactions
- Dropping bench K, Kris Brown (Hou) in order to pick up WR Muhsin Muhammad (Car)
- Dropping bench QB, Matt Cassel (Hou) in order to pick up QB David Garrard (Jac)

Notes
After the draft I realized I had a hole at WR on two bye weeks, so reasoned that it was better to drop my bench kicker and have only one week with no kicker than to have two weeks with only one WR, based on the scoring system. I also decided to drop Matt Cassel and pick up a different bench QB based on Cassel has an injured knee and has seen only light practice. I figured it was better to have a definite starting QB than a questionable one.

Anyway, that's my team. Let me know what you think or offer any suggestions you may have. I'll post my results here at the end of week 1.

Better Luck Next Time Toppers

Well, the score was a little one-sided (Hilltoppers 7, Volunteers 63) but they stayed in it and gave it a good effort. Hopefully they'll be watching the tapes on this one to figure out what went wrong.

On several occasions when the Hilltoppers' Senior QB Brandon Smith did have time to throw a pass, apparently no one could get open. When he did find a receiver open it was usually for only a few yards.

If it hadn't been for several Tennessee turnovers, the Vols halftime lead of 28 - 0 would have been a lot worse. One example - an early first quarter interception that gave the Hilltoppers possession of the ball with decent field position. However, their attempt at some kind of first-down-reverse-flea-flicker ended up putting them back 10 yards where they promptly went four and out.

In fact, for much of the game the Toppers were posting negative offensive yardage.

The Hilltoppers did finally find the goal line in their only real drive of the game late in the 3rd quarter, no doubt when the Vols were resting their starters. It wasn't long though before the Vols' starters were back in the game where, in the 4th quarter, they scored another 35 points!

It's going to be a few years before the Hilltoppers even have a chance of knocking-off one of these Top Tier teams, but I have faith in them and fully support the schools decision to move up to the FBS.

Hang in there Topps and better luck next week in the home opener in Bowling Green against the University of South Florida!!