Divisive fact: House rules on games beat what’s listed on/in the box.

I say this because some of y’all been creating bloated over designed games that rely on a massive text book sized set of rules that impedes the fun we are trying to have. So if I should trim those rules down, or eliminate some clunky mechanics that’s a plus in my book. Why slavishly hold to the printed word if those words are either unclear, overly complicated, drag on the flow of the game, or are just upsettingly idiotic. So, now we have House Rules, and those outweigh the printed rules around here. Provided – he says. We all agree on them prior to playing. Can’t just be out here changing the rules on the fly. Unless! You all encounter a game crashing/ending bug that you all refuse to accept and can negotiate a new addendum rule to alleviate the issue. So that’s my thought on that. Like – the makers of Uno have these wild thoughts about what you can play after certain cards are dropped, and we say – yeah fuck that noise, we be about our own rules here my friend. +4’s on +4’s, as many +2’s as you have in your hand can be played at once, and if you get the smack down laid upon you, you gather your new horde of cards, and still get a turn to play card(s) if you have the number, colour, face card to do so, or else you pick up a card and the turn moves on. Don’t at me, I said what I said.

Pretty sure today is Saturday. Looks lovely outside, with the sunshine, blue skies, and reduced humidity. I need to bag up some wind blown apples for my friends horses this weekend. Best to clear them out before the wasps all settle in. They, the wasps that is, get so aggressive in late August and September.  Make the apple/pear trees a real hazard to have near by.

Once again I didn’t spend as much time utilizing our back patio as I would have liked. But since we go to the cottage several times a year, I sit looking out on the lake as opposed to the giant cedar hedge we have here. So not a downgrade, but it seems sad we don’t sit outdoors here much when we have the deck, stone patio, and a reasonably private space to be in with shade/sun, and breezes. I think our house would be better if the massive front & side yards were our actual back yard space. But it is what it is.

I was just interrupted by a massive Caterpillar crawling out from under the dishwasher across my kitchen floor. Beige-green in colour with a few long black spikes. How oddly random is that. I’ve gone ahead and scooped it up into a Tupperware container and put it outside on the deck. Where on earth would that have come from? Do we have gaps that lead in from outside under the counter/sink/dish washer? Is this a sign of some other expensive issue? I just can’t wait to find out.

Fridge is slowly heating up once again, but not icing over in the freezer portion, so that’s new, as far as the malfunctioning fridge sags goes. New water softener still isn’t right, but kind of works. Water heater was fixed with a new overflow valve, so that’s a check in the win column. Fun times.

It’s the longest you’ve waited for a Kickstarter fulfillment, so far…

I once went in on a very expensive doll for my now oldest daughter, who was many moons away from being born, and then my second child was born two and a half years later (also a daughter) before that particular campaign was finally fulfilled. So now it sits hidden in my closet because I only have the one. Also it was expensive, and not that many comparatively were made. And if I give it to one of them now, they’ll fight over it, and likely break/lose pieces to an expensive art piece. So in my office it shall remain, boxed up, in mint condition. Untouched. And out of the sun.

I say all this because I am now two years plus, deep into waiting on nearly two hundred D&D minis from Blacklist Games, and their Lasting Tales Kickstarter from April of 2021. I have held off buying any additional mini figures to paint & base while I wait for this massive box of bits to arrive. Well, I say that. But I did buy a small jar full of 3d printed minis so that my kids could paint up some on their own on a rainy day. I took half of the jars worth, and split the other matching half between the two kids. And no, we have not painted them yet. That’s like a Nov – April kind of hobby. Same with my Resin kit. Can’t be a hermit during the summer. Fine to hide away during the winter, but not when it’s blue skies and warm out.

Some people however have not had to wait in excess of three or more years for an item to go through production, and then a prolonged distribution phase. And it shows. I get it, waiting sucks. But for many this is their first kick at the world wide mass production can, and shit gets scrambled, lines crossed, language barriers abound, and shipping prices fluctuate, as world wide pandemics hit. Fun times I imagine. I wasn’t hoping to run a big game so I’m fine to wait another six months to a year. After a while you sort of give up on it, and if it comes in you think, hope restored! Otherwise you carry on and try to do better research on who you trust with $100.00 USD. Live and learn.

Or you move over to Gamefound, or some other such private crowd source firm, and buy your games there, as they have a better track record for successful completions on new IP. Awaken Realms runs off of Gamefound, and they have been very reliable. The Nemesis game, Lock-Down, and Kings of Ruin all went off trouble free. There were more than those three but that’s all I can recall off of the top of my head. Plus their games are super well packaged for international shipping, and I’ve had to issues with my stuff. I realize my experience is anecdotal at best, but I have one more game coming from them around Christmas of this year, I think. They update us all the time, so I’m not concerned about the shipping date. I appreciate the transparency, and the community involvement in designing portions of the game/characters.

Welcome to Saturday. Week three is officially completed. Nearly halfway through summer break. Days are flying by. Crazy! Have a great weekend! Ciao Bella!