Rudi Pfenniger @rpfennig@qoto.org

@beesinspace first one that came to mind (though, definitely a bit heavier) would be "Gloomhaven" since you're all actively working together against the game (as compared to something like "Descent") as a dungeon crawler. "Agents of SMERSH" for an interesting storytelling game or "Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island" as a survival game.

@pauldavidson luck of geography for us. Was a bit later to watching their videos but found out about SHUX in 2019 and had a "huh?" moment... "You're based in the UK but you have a board game conference in Vancouver?" Made a bit more sense later and besides not complaining since it was just a short trip on transit to attend each day when we finally managed to go this year. So... just extremely lucky that they've picked Vancouver as the place to hold SHUX and hoping they continue to.

@pauldavidson my gaming group consists of my middle son (it's his copy of "Oath") and a friend a few doors down from us. We tend to do a deep dive on a few games rather than covering lots of games. We just finished a round of "Terraforming Mars" going through all the different expansions and combinations plus "Ares Expedition" for comparison which was a solid 3-4 months before we started on "Oath". We'll probably spend a couple more months with it but it might get bumped for "Frosthaven" when that shows up.

My son and I were able to attend the SHUX this year and during a signing session he got Tom, Quinns, Ava and Pip to sign his "Oath" rulebook (Matt was sick for a chunk of the conference and missed the signings). Ava was the first to sign and added "Don't worry if you're behind" which Tom countered with "Worry if you're behind".

@pauldavidson it is a tricky one. For us game play tends to either be chaotic or someone getting into a position where no one can stop them. Definitely in "the journey is its own reward" sort of category where it's less about winning and losing and more about "what just happened?" and having a good laugh about it.

We played a bit of "Root" before this and while play isn't asymmetrical like "Root" it often ends up with each player pursuing their own path to victory and you end up having to drop everything to deal with a player who will suddenly win at the start of their next turn while still moving your own goal ahead.

What convinced us to get give it a try was Tom Brewster's review of it for "Shut Up & Sit Down" where he encapsulated the weirdness of the whole experience.

Hope you get a chance to give it a try at some point (though the other tricky part is that it takes a few plays to really start to shine as you try out different victory conditions and the game shifts with cards added and removed from the world deck).

Just finished a #boardgame of "Oath". Still figuring it out after seven plays with most games being a roller coaster of "I've got this...", "No... no, I do not...". Tonight was no exception, with an early usurper, me agreeing to become a citizen to give us a couple rounds of breathing space, a secret vision, more crazy dice rolls and the final "the Chancellor wins, so I win and he loses" based on the number of relics I had collected as a Citizen. So far it's been a very unstable history over seven games with only one of us managing to hold onto the Chancellor role from one game to the next.

Board at beginning of tonight's game:

@smokefire to soon... but Bluesky has a Software Engineer, Mobile position open.

Will be curious to see if it continues to get funded. Seems unlikely given the areas that were cut today.

@derickflorian thanks for the welcome. I think it's interesting to realize that STEM is often STEAM with the Arts being a trigger for our own curiousity and creativity whether its an episode of #startrek or a favourite #scifi book

My attempt at an #introduction:

I'm a software developer with a degree in philosophy. So, whenever I start at a new company I try to reassure my fellow developers that I did take some programming courses while doing my philosophy degree and that I stuck around for a 5th year to also get a degree in English literature... and then went on and got a computer systems diploma with a focus on data communication.

Current job title and interest is Mobile Applications Developer.

I bounce around from one geeky interest to another with the energy of a frenetic gerbil, whether its #comics, #boardgames, theme parks (#Disney and Universal), #scifi, or drifting into a re-invigorated interest in classic #literature gathering as much joy as possible.

Currently playing "Oath" at weekly game night and just finished reading "Still Just a Geek" by Wil Wheaton.