Simpsons’ intro. Christmas. Gaming all night. Generally tired
January 1, 2009 in BOARD GAMES, FAMILY, THE SIMPSONS NEWS
THE SIMPSONS NEWS
Been working hard on the new opening these last couple of weeks. Came into work last Friday and Saturday for a few hours. Stayed late every day this week and I’m planning to work this Friday and Saturday as well.
It’s really stressful and kinda fun at the same time. Working on and revising the original scenes. So far I’ve worked on the shots of Maggie “driving” these last couple of days. The first two scenes were fairly easy scenes in general but the last scene I got was really big and a lot of work. It’s the scene where Maggie and Marge honk the horn at the same time. All I had to do was Maggie because someone else drew Marge but it is still a lot of work. As of the time of this writing, I’m still working on it.
Sooo tired right now….
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
FAMILY
We had a very active Christmas. I can’t say I had much fun. It was very busy. I think the best part was seeing Munchkin and Dante open up and play with their presents.
We usually celebrate the 24th. It’s a tradition my native country tends to do. We stay up and countdown to midnight as if it’s new years and then we hug and cheer. This year, I worked on the 24th, drove two hours home in heavy traffic, got ready and drove an hour back in the direction I’d come from to go to the Christmas eve party. It wasn’t pleasant. Very few people showed up to the party, and most of the people I was hanging out with (my brother Juan and his wife Deborah) were just as tired as I was. Munchkin seemed to have the best time of all. We had a white Elephant and she liked picking the present and then opening it. Later, my brother, Deborah, Alesha and I sat on the couch fighting off sleep, waiting till midnight. We didn’t have much energy to do much. Munchkin had fallen asleep on me at that point. We left soon after midnight.
The 25th was a little better. The kids woke up early and we gave them their presents. Then we all got ready and went to a Spanish Mass in the morning. We got there three minutes late and thought we wouldn’t get a seat, since Christmas Masses are notorious for being crowded. We were surprised to find the Mass had very few people in it. After Mass we went to my in-laws and hung out there for a while. I was tired and fell asleep on their couch for about fifteen minutes or so. Munchkin and Dante opened up presents and played with them. When Dante began to get fussy and sleepy, we left (he doesn’t seem to like going to sleep in their house for some reason). We then drove to my parent’s house and spent the rest of the night there. My cousin Carolina and her family showed up, as well as my brother and Deborah. I brought my Playstation 2 this time, so that my cousins daughters had something fun to do. They probably had the most fun of all. Everyone else seemed to be just as tired as they were the night before. We ate, opened presents, and talked. Besides the girls playing video games, no other games were played that night. I got some cool Legos though.
Best part of the Holidays was seeing the kids have fun with their new stuff. Otherwise it was just a lot a work. Personally, for me, the best day last week was Friday night. Why? Read on…
BOARD GAMES
Andy came over to play games Friday. I had been so desperate to play games the whole week that when he came over, I just decided I was going to go on a “board game binge” and get “drunk on games”. It was 3:00 am by the time we stopped playing that night. We played seven games, not all the same board game. Three were Dreamblade games, one was a game of HeroScape, two were game of Magic: The Gathering CCG (which Alesha joined us for) and one was a game of World of Warcraft Trading Card Game. I managed to lose every single game.
PODCASTS
Father Roderick (of the Daily Breakfast and other SQPN shows) surprised me last week when he mentioned me on his Christmas show. He also mention my obsession with board games (although he was very kind about it and said it was my “passion” for board games).
In any case, it gave me the idea that maybe I should blog about my top ten board games, why they differ from most of the mass market games (since most of the ones I like are not mass market), and why I personally find them to be so much fun. After that, maybe I’ll write about other games I own (and even the ones I don’t) and write about why they are interesting. As soon as I get some time, I’ll begin doing that.
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Happy New Year Luis!
Luis, have you checked out Dominion yet? I think you would enjoy its deck-building without being a CCG.
(PS: Happy New Year!)
Hi Mischa,
I haven’t played Dominion yet but I’ve heard a lot about it in the podcasts I listen to and I saw it played at the board game store two towns over. I would have to try it to see if I’d like it. Seeing it played made me realize how I was suppose to build decks in Magic. Up until last Friday, it had been about 13 years or so since I had played it. I was using my old cards (which are probably worth a lot now). Thanks for the advice. I’d look into it. HAPPY NEW YEAR.
YAY MIKE!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AS WELL!
Happy New Year Luis! May 2009 be more fortuitous and less exhausting!
Hey Luis, Merrry christmas and Happy New Year!
I’ve wondered, since you have such a “passion” for board games, why don’t you create one?
Thanks Bill,
Happy New year to you too. Yeah, it’s just been one of those months.
Hi Maria,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you as well.
To answer your question, well, I’ve kind of been thinking about it. If I DO make up a board game:
1. I’ll just do it for fun. Mainly because it’s very difficult making and producing board games (and there isn’t much money in it either) and…
2. It will probably be a Dreamblade rip off (in the way that Yu Gi Oh!, World of Warcraft TCG, Lord of the Rings CCG…etc are all rip offs of the Magic: The Gathering CCG) mainly because I love the game so much, I want to play more games like it and because the game is now out of print.
I listen to a lot of “hobby board game” podcasts. They often interview game designers and they sometimes take you through their process. It’s very involved. It’s one thing to come up with an idea, the problem is the play testing takes a very long time. Lots of fine tuning to find just the right balances to get the game to feel just right. If the game isn’t fun, people aren’t even going to want to play test it. It’s more work then fun if your idea isn’t working right off the bat. Even if it is working, the play tester’s job is to try to find a way to “brake” the game, in order to see if your rules are solid. It’s an involved process. Many games take years to get right (depending on the game).