GamerDad Unplugged

2010 Holiday Guide Posted

2010-12-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

For anyone who still checks this, I posted up my annual holiday Unplugged guide this past weekend (so timely!)

Here's a link: http://www.gamesanityblog.com/2010/12/19/unplugged-holiday-guide-2010/

stuff...

2009-04-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

OK, so not many people actually follow this posting.

I started a twitter thingy recently (mostly to report the games I play via the nifty BGG twitter feature) but I figure I could "twit" or whatever when I post new columns...

So, theoretically, it would be easier to use Twitter to do the kind of thing this RSS feed does.

If anyone still reads this and doesn't want to follow me on Twitter instead (I don't plan on posting often, just when I play games and when I post new game stuff, although Science Theater stuff might mix in there...) Let me know and I'll figure out something.

Otherwise, this "blog" might die off and I'll be using Twitter instead.

My twitter feed is under "ScienceTheater"

-Matt

New Stuff - Obama, St. Peters, and more

2009-01-24T16:23:00.000-08:00

Wow, an actual update! Here's a few new posts...

Why Obama should play boardgames Some thoughts on how boardgaming would teach a president a few lessons...

My Annual Holiday Boardgame Guide at www.GamingWithChildren.com

This space intentionally left blank- (mostly just a link to a St. Petersburg session report)

Games of Christmas Past - a classic game I bought my father

I shall taunt you a second time

A quick and easy guide to annoying your opponents.... (not that I recommend trying it... :)

GenCon Reports

2008-09-20T11:35:00.001-07:00

Sorry for leaving off so much stuff on this blog link. I'll see if I can keep this more current for those few faithful who subscribe to this RSS feed...

Here are my GenCon reports from August:

At BGN: (Boardgame News)
Aug 21 - Matt Carlson: Gen Con 2008 Photo Report

Since that time (Aug 21st) I’ve written several more articles over at GamingWith Children. If you’re interested at all, check out Gen Con – The Boardgame, Gen Con – The Video Games, and/or Gen Con – The RPG.

Updated oldies

2008-04-18T21:16:00.001-07:00

Here are some oldies but goodies just reposted onto Gaming With Children:

Unplugged: A Different Kind of Game
An introduction to modern boardgames and a bit of intro of myself.

Unplugged: The Awards Shows
My take on some of the boardgame awards and the games that have won them.

many updates

2008-04-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, apologies for not posting recently. I was caught up in some Winter business, and also was dealing with a possible move of the GamerDad site to a new setup.

Well, I'm back againf finally and GamerDad.com has moved. It is now combined with GamingWithChildren.com. I'll still be writing a biweekly post on boardgames of some sort, its just now at a new URL (GamerDad.com will continue to exist and will forward you on to the GamingWithChildren site.)

As part of the move, I'm revamping some of my old "classic" articles for inclusion on the Gaming With Children archive. In the meantime, I will be transferring some of my old reviews onto the BoardGameGeek web site while trying to simultaneously create a bit of new content for posting as well...

In the meantime, here are some of my latest ramblings over at Boardgame News where I'm also a biweekly contributer:

April 5, 2008 - Concentrated Gaming
March 22, 2008 - Matt J. Carlson: The Return of the Club
March 8, 2008 - Matt Carlson: Secondary Boardgaming
February 23, 2008 - Matt Carlson: A Risky Retrospective
February 9, 2008 - Matt Carlson: Is Your Game Tight or Baggy?
January 26, 2008 - Matt Carlson: Unnecessary Pieces
January 12, 2008 - Matt Carlson: A Hello, a Lack of Dimes, and an Election

Z-Man's 1960 election game

2008-01-27T20:10:00.000-08:00

Here's a short overview of my thoughts on Z-Man's excellent new card-driven election game:

Unplugged #79: 1960: The Making of the President

Take a liberal amount of quality mechanics, add one part history, and mix to result in an excellent game that can also teach.

GamerDad Unplugged Nickel & Dime

2008-01-21T15:02:00.000-08:00

Unplugged #78: It's Time for Nickel and Dime

A look at my most-played boardgames of 2007.

Holiday Shopping Guide

2007-12-18T20:36:00.001-08:00

A tad tardy, but here's this year's holiday shopping guide of games I liked over the past year...

Unplugged: 2007 Holiday Shopping Guide
Fun doesn't have to be plugged in. Check out a few of these suggestions and enjoy some face to face gaming this year.

#77 - Buying Creativity

2007-11-28T13:30:00.000-08:00

The conclusion to my D&D and RPG gaming kick... a few books and modules to help an overworked DM get his/her players more involved in the game...

Unplugged #77: Buying Creativity

For a modest fee, a role-playing DM can get a creative prod or a fleshed-out new challenge saving time and effort.

#76 - Accessorize your D&D

2007-11-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

Unplugged #76: Accessorize your D&D

While Gucci and Loren steer clear of role playing games, you can still spruce up your game.

A short little review of several accessories to make roleplaying better, faster, stronger... well at least faster and better.

Unplugged #75 - Of Dice and Men

2007-10-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

Unplugged #75: Of Dice and Men
Play the stock market or suck up to a monarch in two dice based games.

Links directly to the two games reviewed:

To Court the King and Owner's Choice

Ca$h n Gun$ and Mr. Jack

2007-10-08T03:38:00.000-07:00

A look at a couple titles Asmodee has made available in English:
Ca$h n Gun$, and Mr. Jack...

Unplugged #74: Cash, Guns, and Jack the Ripper
Bring the fun of gangsters and murderers into your family game night

The HeroCard system... Orc Wars

2007-09-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

A look at the cardgame-boardgame hybrid that is the (non-collectible) HeroCard system. Details of Orc Wars are given along with a few mentions of their other (interchangable) boardgame titles.

Unplugged #73: A non-collectible, board-based card game
How well can you mix a collectible styled card-game with a boardgame theme?

GenCon 2007

2007-08-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

Here are all the articles covering various topics from this year's GenCon convention in Indianapolis, IN...

Unplugged: GenCon 2007 Indianapolis, invaded!
Unplugged: GenCon 2007 - The Video Games All your board are belong to us!
Unplugged: GenCon 2007 - The Role Playing Fear the brain in a jar!
Unplugged: GenCon 2007 - There's always a first time Boardgamer and family man, Larry Baxter, describes his first visit to a game convention.
Unplugged: GenCon 2007 - Boardgames, Boardgames, Boardgames An alphabetical tour of publishers from Asmodee to Z-Man Games
Unplugged: GenCon 2007 - And more Boardgames The second half of our alphabetical tour

Colosseum, the boardgame

2007-08-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

Days of Wonder's newest boardgame, Colosseum.

Unplugged #72: The Expanding Colosseum
Currently, I sweep out the lion cages, but what I really want to do is direct!

A pretty good game. Not great, but definately above-average. It is targeted at lighterweight gaming but the complex forward planning necessary for good end-game play limits its beginner accessbility. The "intense auctions" variant makes the game a more intense game, at a slight reduction in player interaction. (less trading.)

Stonehenge

2007-07-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

A review of Titantic Game's Stonehenge "Anthology" of games....

Unplugged #71: Stonehenge - The Swiss Army Knife of Boardgames
Play one of the five games in this pentalogy, or design your own.

Age of Empires III: Age of Discovery

2007-07-08T22:43:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I liked the game quite a bit. My favorite sort of "snowball" or "garden-tending" style of game, but just a tad shorter than some of the same ilk.

Unplugged #70: Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery

The bittersweet tang of limited actions and too many good choices are mixed to create an excellent family strategy game.

Unplugged #69: Mission: Red Planet

2007-07-02T08:07:00.000-07:00

A medium-length review of Asmodee's Mission Red Planet.

Unplugged #69: Martian Steampunk, who could ask for more?

Take a Martian theme, add in some Jules Verne, and mix liberally to create a fun, family boardgame.

Twilight Struggle and Here I Stand

2007-06-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

Unplugged #68: Cold War, Hot Game
“Now the trumpet summons us again… to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle…” - JFK.

A review of Twilight Struggle and a brief review of Here I Stand... both by GMT Games

Chopsticks, Robots, and Witches - Oh my!

2007-06-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

Unplugged #67: Three Flavors of Family Fun
If you like dexterity games, puzzle games, or pattern matching; I have a game for you.

A review of:
Wicked Witches Way - Asmodee
Ricochet Robots - Rio Grande
Chopstick Dexterity MegaChallenge 3000 - Pair-of-Dice Games

Unplugged #66: Role Playing Accessories

2007-05-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Unplugged #66: Role Playing Accessories

Some inexpensive accessories to spice up your role playing game, for when you have more money than time

(Mostly some maps and other props that can add a little spice to an RPG...)

Unplugged #65 - The Command and Colors wargames

2007-05-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

A whole bunch of stuff all based around the Command & Colors wargame system by Richard Borg...

Unplugged #65: Command and Colors
The best light wargame system on the market, you are commanded to check it out.

(This is a review of C&C: Ancients and BattleLore, as well as an overview of the whole C&C system.)

I also broke out the three available versions of the game (Memoir '44, BattleLore, and C&C Ancients) into their own review link. A fair bit of background is the same for them all (explaining the game system) and then I go into details for each game...

BattleLore (Boardgame)
Fun, fast, and easy to teach, it is the best darn fantasy miniatures game around...

Command and Colors: Ancients (Boardgame)
A great, accessible wargame that recreates battles of the Roman empire.

Memoir '44 (Boardgame)

#65 - A diatribe on D&D and new developments

2007-05-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

Unplugged #64: D&D Update
The Dungeons and Dragons role playing game, now 33% more user-friendly!

(Wherein I look at the D&D Basic Game, D&D Player's Kit, some new developments in modules, the Fantastic Location line of supplements, and the Complete ----- line of books.)

Boardgame Review of D&D on Gone Gaming

2007-04-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

I thought some of you might get a kick out of this. In my entry (today's) to the group blog, Gone Gaming, I give a review of Dungeons and Dragons as if it were a traditional Euro or American style boardgame...

The attempt was to do something humorous, while still pointing out reasons there is plenty of cross-over between boardgame and RPG players. (If you're unfamiliar with the site, it is a group blog primarily focused on boardgames, with different folks contributing, mostly on a biweekly format. I write biweekly on Wednesdays. It is one of the more well read boardgame-focused blogs around...)

Here's the URL of the article if you're interested: http://boredgamegeeks.blogspot.com/2007/04/eurogame-review.html