dragojustine (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dragojustine) wrote2007-09-30 03:27 pm
dragojustine) wrote2007-09-30 03:27 pm
Entry tags:
Possibly the most fun legally allowed
So customizing your LJ is possibly far far more fun than it rationally should be, especially when the psychological factor of procrastination is added in, and collecting userpics is so much fun that the average Republican probably wants to outlaw it. I have a list of a bunch of things I want to do to the CSS at some point, but right now, I actually think it's quite nice. My moodtheme TOTALLY needs an "accomplished " smilie, people. Victory!
And now that I have something to post to, I think I'll be adding in all my back-entries. Theoretically, one can use "date out of order," and thus avoid flooding all six people who have friended one with spam, right? We'll see if it works.
But that's not actually what has me so happy! No, that is because I just had the greatest night known to man! In a desperate attempt to pull myself out of the Just Moved No Friends Funk, I attended a completely random event from mypeopleconnection.com. It ended up being this board game night, running from noon to past midnight at a private house in Culver City. There were probably 25 people there (though by the time I left at 12:30, it might have been closer to 15, but the main group of guys was going to be there till morning). The games were eclectic and random, with an absolutely huge selection. War, board, strategy, card, silly, whatever. The feature event was a round of Bohnanza, which was awesome. Games amaze me in that concepts that seem incredibly not-game-like (seriously. I'm harvesting beans here people) can become so incredibly fun and engrossing and spark so much interaction and high spirits. The game was mainly good for it's odd constraint- no rearranging the order of the cards in your hand. Your hand is a stack, first in first out, with only very limited ways you can get around that. It's a very simple constraint that forces great strategy, and that particular combination of strict limits with great freedom is, I think, a mark of a good game.
Of course, I just liked it cause I won. There was even a prize, though the prize was a little expansion pack for a game I'd never heard of, so oh well. (All together now: Victory is mine!)
The other games too were fascinating. Caylus, which is the most convoluted looking thing I've ever seen, totally lacking the simplicity I so admire, and complex enough in strategy that I didn't feel capable of playing much beyond Go Fish after that. Ra, which I am probably not a huge fan of. Santiago, which is a beautifully original thing that inspires levels of engagement you wouldn't believe, considering you're fighting over irrigation. That one is delightful and I shall try to play it as much as possible. Basically, I think evey game on boardgamegeek.com must have been present. The group was wonderful, open, non-cliquish, and friendly at levels I didn't expect, and I didn't feel out of place or awkward for a single moment the entire time. For me, that is not only a minor miracle, it's completely unprecedented.
The game meets every Thursday not 10 minutes away, and they hold weekend events and tournaments every month or so, and are connected to a Friday evening group in Hollywood. I will at least be going every Thursday, and probably to the tournament coming up at the end of October (If I can play several more rounds of Caylus before then I might not even come in last).
This is, I think, the first moment that I've actually felt like this move to LA might be happy, as opposed to just scary or exciting. And... that's a relief.
And now that I have something to post to, I think I'll be adding in all my back-entries. Theoretically, one can use "date out of order," and thus avoid flooding all six people who have friended one with spam, right? We'll see if it works.
But that's not actually what has me so happy! No, that is because I just had the greatest night known to man! In a desperate attempt to pull myself out of the Just Moved No Friends Funk, I attended a completely random event from mypeopleconnection.com. It ended up being this board game night, running from noon to past midnight at a private house in Culver City. There were probably 25 people there (though by the time I left at 12:30, it might have been closer to 15, but the main group of guys was going to be there till morning). The games were eclectic and random, with an absolutely huge selection. War, board, strategy, card, silly, whatever. The feature event was a round of Bohnanza, which was awesome. Games amaze me in that concepts that seem incredibly not-game-like (seriously. I'm harvesting beans here people) can become so incredibly fun and engrossing and spark so much interaction and high spirits. The game was mainly good for it's odd constraint- no rearranging the order of the cards in your hand. Your hand is a stack, first in first out, with only very limited ways you can get around that. It's a very simple constraint that forces great strategy, and that particular combination of strict limits with great freedom is, I think, a mark of a good game.
Of course, I just liked it cause I won. There was even a prize, though the prize was a little expansion pack for a game I'd never heard of, so oh well. (All together now: Victory is mine!)
The other games too were fascinating. Caylus, which is the most convoluted looking thing I've ever seen, totally lacking the simplicity I so admire, and complex enough in strategy that I didn't feel capable of playing much beyond Go Fish after that. Ra, which I am probably not a huge fan of. Santiago, which is a beautifully original thing that inspires levels of engagement you wouldn't believe, considering you're fighting over irrigation. That one is delightful and I shall try to play it as much as possible. Basically, I think evey game on boardgamegeek.com must have been present. The group was wonderful, open, non-cliquish, and friendly at levels I didn't expect, and I didn't feel out of place or awkward for a single moment the entire time. For me, that is not only a minor miracle, it's completely unprecedented.
The game meets every Thursday not 10 minutes away, and they hold weekend events and tournaments every month or so, and are connected to a Friday evening group in Hollywood. I will at least be going every Thursday, and probably to the tournament coming up at the end of October (If I can play several more rounds of Caylus before then I might not even come in last).
This is, I think, the first moment that I've actually felt like this move to LA might be happy, as opposed to just scary or exciting. And... that's a relief.