Games

I enjoy all types of games, from role-playing games to computer games to card games. Below are some of the games I play.

Role-Playing Games


Dungeons
and
Dragons
I've just recently started playing Dungeons and Dragons again, after probably ten years. I'm having a lot of fun just gaming along with the nostalgia. The new d20 system is a lot better than the old AD&D system (1st edition, before there were "editions") that I grew up with. Skills and feats have been added to round out characters and, with the other games being published under the d20 license, cross-genre playing will be much easier.
GURPS GURPS is a Generic Universal Role-Playing Game. It's not a perfect system, but it's the best one I've found so far. My old gaming gropu, HEGGA used to play a number of odd campaigns using as many of the books as possible... I've started my own GURPS pages.
Traveller I started playing Traveller with the three little black books. I loved the richly detailed background and found the system quite simple and playable. I never played any of the later versions, though I did my some of the T4 books. These days, I'm mostly interested in GURPS Traveller.
Feng Shui Feng Shui is an action packed game which defies if not flaunts the current standards of role-playing game design. It emphasizes action-packed combat and allows you to play scenes and characters from any action movie. Now with Burning Shaolin out, I can add Feng Shui elements to my D&D Games. Check out Wuxia Style Combat" and "Faceless Hordes", a pdf with Feng Shui rules for d20 games.
In Nomine In Nomine is Steve Jackson Games' newest game. I finally got my copy and I love it. I haven't had a chance to play it, but I like the looks of it. It's actually pretty different from the original playtest I saw, but I think i can convert some of the old powers to new songs.

Board Games


Scrabble My wife and I play Scrabble when we're not playing cards. I refuse to use the Official Scrabble Players' Dictionary since it has words in it that aren't words and doesn't have words in it that are words. We usually use a combination of dictionaries we own and negotiation. My wife usually has the advantage in the latter...

Card Games


INWO INWO, Illuminati New World Order, is a trading card game based on Steve Jackson Game's old Illuminati game. I still liked Illuminati better, but INWO is fun. It's almost as much fun to read the cards as to play...
Knightmare
Chess
Knightmare Chess, a new game by Steve Jackson Games, turns chess on its head. It makes the game a lot more intense as you never know what's going to happen. There's nothing like having to checkmate a knight after your Queen has been blown away by an exploding Bishop...

Computer


Neverwinter Nights Now that I'm using a PC, I've started playing Neverwinter Nights. It's like D&D but without having to arrange the schedules of five or six people with jobs, families, hobbies, etc... I can play alone or with my wife. I can even play with my friends if we ever get a chance. It's a good balance of PnP D&D and a computer game. I like that I can cheat, if I want to, which isn't really cheating in PnP games. The player-created modules are nice, though, even if the quality is spotty.
Alpha Centauri For a while, Alpha Centauri was my favorite time-waster. I generally prefer turn-based games to first person shooters and real-time action so I can take time to pull toys out of my daughter's mouth and eat dinner while playing. I started out with Civ II below, but Alpha Centauri has more features I like. I am particularly interested in the increased flexibility and improved diplomacy. Hopefully, both will keep improving. I just wish the Mac version and PeeCee version could network. Damn Microsoft and Apple's incompatible network toolboxes.
Tomb Raider I love Tomb Raider and all it's versions. While I find it amusing that she grunts and moans while she's running and climbing, I just enjoy the action and the perspective. I don't usually enjoy first person shooters, but this one has puzzles that are tough enough to interest me but easy enough to keep me from getting frustrated. I started out with the PeeCee version, but have since acquired the Mac version by Aspyr Media.
Civilization II Well, Civilization II for Macintosh is produced by MacSoft. I'm waiting for CivII Gold with network play to come out. Micropose makes the PC version but they don't get a link here since they don't link to the Mac site.
WarCraft WarCraft by Blizzard Entertainment is an excellent tactical game with an element of economics thrown in. Very fun and addictive.
WarCraft II WarCraft II by Blizzard Entertainment is more complicated than WarCraft which is both good and bad. There are a lot more options and the CD-ROM includes editors so that you can easily create your own scenarios. The added complexity makes it quite a bit more difficult, as well.

Other


Lego While not technically a game, Legos are a lot of fun. I have no idea what a Fibblesnork is, but it's a cool Lego web page.

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Last modified: Monday, September 10, 2007 by Bolie Williams IV, bolie@io.com.
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