Random Geek Child

Virus Alert! Virus Alert!

Virus Alert is a computer-oriented card game involving strategy and sabotage. You add different parts of the computer, like graphics and software (it doesn’t matter which ones) to the collection in front of you. You can sabotage the other player by playing piracy, which lets you steal 1 card from their collection, or cards like virus, which allows you to put virus tokens on the other players’ cards. You can also play cards to remove virus tokens from your cards. You win by having ten computer pieces without viruses on them. Virus Alert

When I played with my mother, I won! I actually won with closer to 13 computer pieces, since six of my cards had viruses early on. I however, managed to play a card that, by chance (rolling a d6), let me clear six virus tokens. That was great! I had around 4 graphics cards in play by the end.

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Kids of Catan

Kids of Catan is a children’s game from the Settlers of Catan. It was, unfortunately, discontinued before they came out with Catan Junior. I’ve played it since I was 3, and I personally enjoy it. While not necessary, I found the back story in the instructions quite fun, and also wryly amusing, as the Mad Robber is called Eric (I know several Erics). Kids of Catan

The characters are placed in slots on a spinning table, kind of like a Lazy Susan. Behind each character are 3 slots for resources. The red-roofed buildings are split into groups depending on the number of players. When you role the die, move 1, 2 or 3 spaces (depending on the role), and pick up the resource in that space if you don’t yet have it. If you land on Eric, take a resource of your choice out of your cart and put it in a matching color-coded space.

When you reach all three resources, unload them all and place one of your red-roofed buildings. When you run out of those, the next time you earn all three resources you place the green-roofed building. This symbolizes that you won.

Each of the little buildings has markings on it. They are actually symbolizing real places. There’s a church, a bakery, a butcher, a school, a tower, a gate, and 2 different types of houses, both of which come in larger quantities. The green-roofed building is the Town Hall. I love the simplicity of this game, yet at the same time the complexity of the story and buildings. I like the fact that the story isn’t necessary, but very complimentary.

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Why was 6 afraid of 7?

Because 7 Ate 9! 7 Ate 9 is a lovable math game. It’s small and portable, so you can play it at a restaurant (I have!). It’s a very fast moving game, though, so beware! You and your partner each have half of the deck. You draw as many as you want at a time. There will be a card in the middle, with either a +/-1, +/-2, or +/-3 on it. The numbers on the center of the card range from 1-10. You have to use the +/- numbers on the side of the card to find which card to play. (2+/-1=1 or 3. 9+/-3=6 or 2. (9+3=12, last digit is 2.)) 7 Ate 9

This is, I repeat, a speed game. Thus, you are not waiting for the other player to play a card! Your goal is to be the first person to finish your deck of cards by playing them. Then, eat the food you surely ordered before starting the game! Mmm, burrito bowl (my personal experience)! Yum!

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Wallamoppi…

Wallamoppi is a very simple game, despite the strange name. But don’t take “simple” to mean “easy”. For easy it is not.

In Wallamoppi, both players get a color (decided at random). The player with the dark piece goes first. You take turns drawing tokens at random and placing them, 8 in the bottom row, 7 in the next row, and so on. Then you reach the next phase.

The dark team goes first. When they’ve chosen a piece, they say “Ready!” and the other player drops a marble down a marble run. The team currently going has until the marble reaches the hole at the end of the run to pull out a piece, stack it on top of the tower (positioned on top of the pyramid), and stop the marble. All without knocking over the tower (though bumping the pyramid is fine).

This goes until someone either fails to stop the marble or knocks over the tower. The person that succeeds in not doing either wins! I found this game quite convenient, as our friends from Britain were over with their three-year old. It makes a quick play, simple to understand, while still being challenging to even the most experienced players.

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History is a Song

I’m going to say ahead of time, this post is a little off topic. I, however, felt the need to mention this group, who I have been listening to a lot.

History in music is something I was first introduced to through my cousin and uncle. Sabaton is a group of musicians that write songs about historic battles and warriors. We like to play their music while playing World of Warships (see previous post).

My favorite of their songs is The Lost Battalion, a World War I song about a group of Americans trapped by the Germans in the Argonne Forest. I have a project at my school where we’re studying the 1910’s-1920’s in Language Arts and making an Animoto video of it. I got special permission from my teacher and my partner to use this song as part of my project, since my friend and I chose World War I as our topic.

My second favorite song is Resist and Bite. Resist and Bite is a World War II song about the Belgian blitzkrieg, where forty men stepped to arms to hold off the Germans. They succeeded for a total of 18 days. Again, I love this group and suggest their music to those interested.

Cheshire Moon

Much have I listened to our friends Lizzie and Eric perform… also known as Cheshire Moon. They are close friends of ours and I’ve been listening to their music for a long, long time. My favorite of their songs is Wanderers, which is on the CD Crowes & Consequences. I received Crowes & Consequences in my stocking one Christmas, and have loved it ever since. I’m not sure what my second favorite is, but if you like YouTube, Cheshire Moon has a good selection of their songs here.

This particular occasion we were at a convention friend’s house, and, no surprise, I was the only kid there. My godmother, Marinda (who seems to be getting mentioned more and more), was also there. Mom had pre-ordered me a wonderful pair of handmade fingerless gloves (in TARDIS blue), which I wore for the majority of the show.

The next day we went to the Greater Chicagoland Pagan Pride Festival, where Cheshire Moon would be later in the day performing. Unfortunately, we already had a commitment for that afternoon, but since it was a gaming group, I didn’t feel bad about it. We ran into Eric, but couldn’t find Lizzie. I also wore my fingerless gloves to the Pagan Pride Festival, since they were cozy.

The first time I saw them perform live was at Capricon, a local convention. Possibly their geekiest song is Masters of Library Science (“And about that plush Cthulhu, well I can’t help it he’s so fluffy!”). *grins* Anyway, I love their work and would recommend them to any geek I know.

Hope you like Renaissance!

Every year I go to the Bristol Renaissance Faire, which is a great place to meet cool people and get tons of awesome stuff! To add on to that, there are plenty of interesting acts, such as one of the ones we watch annually, Dirk & Guido: The Swordsmen. Their motto runs along the lines of “We are bold and stupid men!”.

Bristol Renaissance Faire It was tremendously funny. We were also introduced to more musicians, The Dread Crew of Oddwood. We saw Adam Crack’s Firewhip show, displayed on the right.

There’s a lot of role-playing and lots of cool things to do. Every year we get sassafras and I go on the pirate ship. They have tubs you can smell. The best one this year was mermaid food, and the worst one was starfish armpit (probably because they have 5). All in all, I enjoyed myself very much.

Patch your Work

Patchwork is an awesome, intense strategy game we got for my dad for his birthday. You are trying to patch a quilt. There’s a circle around the board made of strange looking pieces. There’s a marker in the circle. This comes in later.

The person who has most recently used a needle goes first. After that, the person in back on the board goes next. You have 2 choices. Jump to the place directly in front of your opponent, taking 1 button per space you jumped over, or use your buttons to buy a piece. The pieces you can browse from are the 3 pieces directly clockwise of the marker(told you it was important!). You buy it for the stated amount of buttons and move the stated amount of spaces. When you buy the piece, move the marker to where the piece you are purchasing is in the circle. Take the piece and place it on your personal board.

If, using either method, you pass a button or tile space, there are special rules. If you pass a button, count how many button symbols you have on your personal quilt board and collect that many buttons from the bank. If you pass a tile space, assuming your opponent hasn’t already done so, take the special tile. Special tiles are the only 1×1 pieces in the game. The first person to get a solid, 7×7 section receives the 7×7 achievement, which counts in scoring. The game ends when someone reaches the end of the board. For scoring, you count your buttons, then subtract 2 for every empty space on your board. I won a game with my dad, 9 to -10! That’s saying something, as my dad is ridiculously good at logic games.

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World of Warships

World of Warships is an intricate strategy game. You choose which ship you want to play, then click ‘Battle’. You wait in queue until enough people in your rank range also click ‘Battle’, then you get drafted into a randomized battlefield. That’s when the fun begins.

You have multiple bars for what speed you want to go at. You turn by pressing A and D, move faster by pressing W, and slower by passing S. You can choose a spot on the map to autopilot to using M, and Shift will let you scroll in. 1 and 2 are different shell types and 3 is torpedoes, if you have them. R is repair, which you use if something is immobilized or a crew member is injured. T is your special skill, if the ship has one. You left click to shoot.

This, like other wargaming games, is a fast-paced, quick decision simulation game. I like the fact that though you shoot stuff, there’s no gore.

This game is fun, interactive, and strategic. It is also historical as the ships are modeled off of genuine ships. I play it with my father, uncle, and older cousin.

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Gold Ahoy!

Gold Ahoy! is a game my godmother, Marinda, lent us. (Marinda was also mentioned here.) It is really fun and simple, so I’m going to put some role-playing in this post. You have been warned.

Ahoy, Mates! Ye shouldn’t be here! Me hears pirates washed ashore here! Right Boys? Argh!!! Aye, we be thinking ye should leave. Maybe take us with, ay? We don’t much fancy pirates! Hehe.

If ye be staying, let us tell ye our tales of woe. We be shipwrecked here, with only our cutlass and Polly here as company. We be loners in a wide ocean. And we be taking that ship o’ yours, too. What’s that? A contest over the ship? We accept, eh Polly? What it be about?

Oh, finding treasure, eh? That’ll be easy as steering a ship, eh? We be each finding paths to the treasure. Whoever finds the most paths wins, eh? Sounds fun, eh Polly? “Polly want a mango! Polly want a mango!^*“ Aye, Polly, a mango be nice.

Aw, ye won by one chest. We just be waitin’ for the next scurvy seadog to come around. They always do, eh Polly? “Polly want a mango! Polly want a mango!” Aye, Polly, we best get back to our ship and sail home. We get a new ship next time.

In other words, I love this game. It’s simple and doesn’t take very long.

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* Because Polly doesn’t really want a cracker, aye?

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