That Blighted Reach!

A couple of weekends ago I was at HandyCon. I feel very lucky to have this really first rate con more or less on the doorstep (an hour's drive away in Milton Keynes – handy indeed). Not only is it very well organised, friendly, and fun, it also runs four times a year!

Anyway, the main event for me was a pre-arranged game of Arcs: the Blighted Reach. My copy of BR had been sitting untouched and taking up up a lot of space on my shelves, ever since it arrived when the Kickstarter rewards shipped. I was daunted by the thing, to be honest, that huge box full of cards and bits and rules. I felt like I ought to love it, but was not at all sure that I would.

So on HandyCon's Saturday morning I duly met up with Ted and Arthur, both very experienced BR players as was obvious from the host of yellow stickers on their BR box, one for eacg play! They did a great job of explaining the rules to be, and helping me through my first few turns. But boy this game is a beast! I don't have great eyesight and this is a game that has a lot of cards in play, many of which are upside down at the other side of the board, not to mention the Edict cards which are slipped into a little book where they were even less accessible to me. There are quite a few games these days where it helps a lot to be able to read small text upside down at a distance. It's quite a trope – build a tableau of cards, each of which subtly or not so subtly changes the rules – but BR strikes me as the apotheosis of this style of gaming

It was a fun experience – mainly because Ted and Arthur went out of their way to make it so. But probably not one I wish to repeat. And certainly not one I need to own (especially given the size of the box!) So when I got home BR went straight up on the BGG Marketplace, and sold almost immediately. It felt like a burden lifted.

(To be clear, I still own, and love, the Arcs base game, and the Leaders and Lore mini expansion.)

Time to ditch Cosmic Encounter?

I have had mixed success introducing Cosmic Encounter to gamers who have never played it before. About 50% of the time it goes down really well, and a hilarious evening ensues. But the other 50% of the time the game is met with blank stares or even open hostility. I just got back from a weekend spent with old boardgame buddies in a hired cottage in Somerset. Although we have played CE before, this time one player in particular became very angry – with the rules writing, with the game itself, and by implication my stupidity in thinking this is a good game. A difficult and not at all hilarious evening ensued.

I think it matters the expectations with which a group goes into a game of CE. If you are expecting a strategically deep space empires game in which you can develop a strategy and see it through to possible success – sort of a Twilight Imperium Lite – you will be sorely disappointed. It's more like a party game with aliens.

Anyway, not sure I want to risk any more 50% experiences. Maybe it's time to ditch my copy? (My nice FFG copy with the expansions anyway; I still have my ancient copy of the 1977 version hidden away somewhere which I might hang onto for emergencies.)

My shelf is famous now?

I was recently featured on Actualol, Jon Purkis's excellent and long-running video channel. He had invited viewers to submit a shelfie along with requests for help with our collection-related problems.

I have to say I was touched by the introduction he gave me: "this is the man that got me into modern boardgaming".

Here's a link if you want to see that deeply gratifying tribute, along with Jon's response to my shelfie.

Here is the text of my email to Jon that accompanied my shelfie:

What to do about nostalgia? For years now I've kept my collection at around 150 titles. A significant proportion of these are "nostalgia titles", games that I hang onto because they remind me of happy times in the distant past. Lots of old-school wargames. Monsters like Civilization or 1830. Let's face it, I have far more gaming years behind me than ahead of me, so most of these games I will never play again. And I want to remain engaged with the hobby which means inevitably buying some of the latest titles, and of course finding room for them on my already crowded shelves. So my question is: how can I overcome my nostalgic attachments and finally say goodbye to some of these dust-gathering old friends?

And here are some tips that Jon gave me for clearing out my "nostalgia" games:

Tip: Play it one more time

Tip: Take a photo, ditch the game.

Tip: Out of sight, out of mind.

Tip: Find it a new home.

Jon's final words on my collection: "Let this be a lesson!"

So, did I take any of Jon's advice? Well, I sold one wargame that has been gathering dust on my shelf for at least two decades (Hellenes, GMT). And I have posted three more on BGG Marketplace – no interest so far. I have also sold Arcs: the Blighted Reach, but that's another story...