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Games for Traveling!

We took a week long trip to Costa Rica! While we had a lot of adventures planned, downtime is always a part of air travel and hotels stays abroad. Our hotel wasn’t located in a walk-able area, so we were either on a tour or back at the hotel, waiting for and/or recovering from an adventure. So, of course, I packed GAMES! These are actually the ones that made it out of my luggage. They are all…

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Today's Doonesbury cartoon.

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Yup, I love it.

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PAX East quick thoughts

Typing this on my phone as we drive back from Boston, so apologies for the rambling and typos. I am sleepy and having many thoughts about this past weekend and the many before. I went to the first PAX East back in 2010. I keep thinking about how much the world of gaming has changed since then. 15 years ago, downloading entire games was not a thing yet for the consoles. There were so many…

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Tabletop Tuesday: Obsession (2018)

‘Obsession’ is a favorite with my gaming group, but I think is the kind of game that players really have to lean into the story to really enjoy. The flavor text is that you’ve got your “starter home” – just a small country estate with a only a few rooms – private study, butler’s pantry, front parlor – and a gazebo and bowling green outside. You want your family to be the most popular, and that…

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Twin Peaks: Season 1 & 2 + Movie

Back in March, we started watching the original Twin Peaks series. Last weekend, we finished the box set. I can see why Season 1 is considered a big turning point in TV. It was strange, scary, funny – it was all clues and cliffhangers. Everyone was a suspect! Everyone was a little…odd and that made them endearing (except for Donna and James who may be the most boring people in the town). While…

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There Will Be Fangirling (Luke has a new album otw)

Do you have any content creators that you will always promote on their behalf because you know they deserve it? Luke Westaway is one of those people for me. He’s just a very nice human. I’ve chatted with him via social media, met him in-person once, and watched countless hours of his videos as part of OutsideXtra, Oxventure, and now his own channel, NormalAdultLuke. I have also listened to his…

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I need every nerd to get on the xbox boycott train with me because the more pressure we apply, the sooner microsoft takes action to address their complicity in the Palestinian Genocide and the sooner they do that the sooner i can not feel sick about wanting to play minecraft*

*obviously me playing minecraft is much much less important than the lives of Palestinians, which is why I'm not doing it right now. As part of the boycott. But damn if I don't wanna play minecraft.

But seriously. The more traction this builds, the more effective it'll be. I highly encourage you to bring it to the attention of your fave minecrafters, your friends you play with, whoever.

Some Minecraft influencers literally make a living off Minecraft. I'm not going to begrudge them, especially those who are disabled or otherwise disadvantaged, their money. However, if anyone is in a position to maybe stream other games or take a break from Minecraft content, that'll be a big deal. Imagine if Minecrafters with millions of subscribers joined this boycott. What impact could we have then?

Also explicitly called out in this boycott are Candy Crush and Call Of Duty, as well as subsidiary companies Blizzard, Bethesda, and Activision.

Many of the priority targets of BDS have been on big ticket items like computers or shoes. Not buying a Dell or HP computer isn't a big ask for a lot of people. If you felt like you couldn't really participate in those boycotts, here. You can do this one.

Actionable steps that don't cost money:

cancel game pass if you have it.

Don't use your xbox console if you have one.

Uninstall COD, Candy Crush, and/or Minecraft.

Let people know you're doing this, and give them the links to learn more.

Ask your favourite minecrafter if they're considering joining the boycott.

Sign this petition about the incident that kicked off this boycott and learn about the unjust firing of Abdo Mohamed and Hossam Nasr from Microsoft.

I've seen a lot of people talk about "well I already own Minecraft and have for years so it doesn't matter if I play because I'm not giving Microsoft money".

Player retention matters a lot in live service games. With the Minecraft movie just released they'll be expecting a spike in players, not a drop. Furthermore, if everyone I saw say "It won't make a difference if I don't take part" did take part, it might make a difference.

If you're a bedrock player (console, etc), there are microtransactions available in game. Not playing means not even seeing those, or the brand tie-ins they include. A drop in bedrock players will reduce the amount of brands paying to put their content in bedrock.

I personally was quite torn about joining this boycott because Minecraft is practically a part of my personality these days. It's a special interest for me, and it's something i spend probably 10-20 hours playing each week, without exaggerating. I've decided that therefore i'm going to do my damndest to make sure this boycott succeeds and can end. Because playing while the boycott is ongoing just isn't something I feel right doing, even though a part of me is genuinely itching to play.

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UnPub Festival 2025 - quick thoughts

I had been aware of UnPub Festival for awhile – it is relatively local to me and one of my favorite board game streamers, Beneeta Kaur, has always posted about it when she went there. I had visited the UnPub tables at PAX East a few times but I had yet to visit the Festival main event that is usually held somewhere in Maryland. But this year I finally made the journey (it was only 20 minutes away…

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Reposting in honor of Val Kilmer

movie thoughts: Val (2021) Watched this autobiographical documentary of Val Kilmer back in 2021 when it was released. It hits even harder now. Definitely a man with many layers and dedicated to his craft. Highly recommend giving it a watch.

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Chicken Fried Dice (Solo mode)

I am really enjoying Chicken Fried Dice as a solo game (and testing out my new microphone). You can sign up NOW on Kickstarter to be notified when the campaign goes live!

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Gaming Diary #3: Critter Kitchen, Clank! Catacombs and Quacks' glow-up

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Twin Peaks Pilot

I was a little too young for Twin Peaks back when it originally aired. I have a vague memory of my parents watching the show regularly, but since season one aired in 1990, I was probably in bed by the time it started. But it is a big part of the pop culture landscape and definitely paved the way for shows like ‘Severance’ so when my partner suggested we watch it (he hasn’t seen it either), I…

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Digital Board Games on Sale!

The Steam Spring sale kicked off yesterday and run through March 20. Hundreds of games on the site are discounted, and some of the best board game adaptations are among them! This is a great time to fill up your virtual shelf with great games! From Dire Wolf Games website Some of the best adaptations of modern board games are made by Dire Wolf and almost their entire catalog is discounted.…

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Gaming Diary #2 - Tiny Epic Dinos, Flip 7 and BGA Duels!

I spent Friday night popping out all the bits for X-Men Dice Throne and the Marvel Dice Throne Adventures game – hoping to try a solo mode this weekend. Why is popping out bits of cardboard and then organizing them into a little tray SO relaxing? I guess it is just finding a bit of order in the chaos. The Ladies’ Table group at my FLGS met up this week so that was where my gaming happened. The…

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Gaming diary #1

Today I got to play two relatively new titles – Creature Caravan and Canopy Evergreen. Creature Caravan is set in a magical realm. You are leading a journey across the land, gathering different travelers into your caravan along the way. But it is not an easy journey – ember zombies roam the planes and can attack when you least expect it (okay, that’s not true, they are clearly marked on the…

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Game thoughts: Dave the Diver

Considering how many games I started at the end of 2024, I wasn’t sure which one I would finish first. But something about ‘Dave the Diver’ had me coming back for more. Perhaps the chill ocean vibes, the quiet life on the island, or the charming pixel graphics. Yes, I just had my PC upgraded to handle more, but these advanced sprites were all I wanted. If you haven’t played ‘Dave the Diver’,…