Boardgames: A Crash Course

What is the first thing to pop into your mind, when I mention the word boardgame? I have no doubt that the #1 answer - in America at least - would be Monopoly.

If I were to ask your average American to list 10 boardgames, their choices would probably look something like this: Monopoly, Clue, Risk, Pictionary, Uno, Scrabble, Chess, Cranium, Trivial Pursuit, and Yahtzee.

What do all of the above games have in common? If you guessed that they are popular because they are mass produced and mass marketed to the public - you would be exactly right. These games have been ingrained into the public perception as to what boardgames are all about. They are not exactly bad games per say, its just that they encompass a very small slice of the TYPE of games available, while encompassing a MUCH larger percentage of people owning them. Well, I am here to tell you that there is a whole world out there of boardgames that are not getting ANY mass media press and little to no attention.

German games or "euro" or "designer" games have an avid following in Europe and other parts of the world, but are not well known here in America. (The German title is somewhat warranted as some of the games do indeed orginiate from Germany). I first stumbled upon "German" games back in 2002 while surfing the internet and happening upon the website for Funagain Games. What I found there was a multitude of games that I have never heard of, but that sounded really interesting. My first purchase was a highly rated little game called Carcassonne, which we to this day still refer to as "the Tile game". The first time playing this I was amazed at how simple it was at its core, but also how much strategy and variation was present in the game which is sorely lacking in many "popular" American boardgames. From then on, I was hooked. My next purchase was the much heralded Settlers of Catan. While Catan is a little more complex then Carcassonne, it had a deeper level of strategy and an instant addictive quality. After introducing these two games to friends, we got together to play them every week and always had a great time.

After the success of Carcassonne and Settlers, I went on to research and purchase many more "euro" games over the past few years. Some of them have been big hits like: Bang!, Citadels, Lost Cities, Blokus and Wits & Wagers and have been requested by my wife or friends. Other games that I have bought that have got only a few plays or have yet to be played, but look promising include: Boomtown, For Sale, Niagara, Nexus Ops, Candamir, and HAVOC: Hundred Year's War.

What are some other differences between American and "euro" games besides the difference of not being mass produced? The other major difference is that "euro" games tend to offer more opportunities to make strategic decisions and offer a player more control. On the other hand, American games tend towards being highly luck-driven and sacrifice strategic choices for simplicity. However, some "euro" games go too far on the strategy side of things to the point that the rules to the game become overly complicated to learn or explain or the gameplay is too dry (not enough "fun"). While these "heavier" games certainly have a following, these type of games will never hold a large appeal to the average game player.

The best "euro" games, in my opinion, are the ones that introduce more strategy into the gaming experience without sacrificing simplicity. I think that these games hold the most promise in bringing more Americans into the fold of "euro" gaming. These games have been giving the name "Gateway" games for this reason. Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, as well as Ticket to Ride are the 3 most mentioned games, but there are many others. Another segment of games that I see becoming more popular in America are party-style games that introduce some strategy and are not strictly based on knowledge and drawing/speaking abilities. I think Wits & Wagers is a prime example of this.

So where do "euro" boardgames go from here? I think that many more people will continue to get introduced to the best "euro" games through friends and game groups and help to spread the word. The internet is the best place to find out about boardgames and Boardgamegeek (BGG) is the premier site. There are also quite a few avid game players that have their own websites, or write blogs on the subject of boardgames. Tom Vasel is probably one of the most well known as he has wrote over 400 reviews and runs a weekly podcast on boardgames. Many game designers also have their own websites and participate on BGG. Many more game players are also trying their hand at game design (myself included) and you can find them at the Board Game Designer's Forum talking about their latest game ideas.

Another source for finding out about boardgames are printed magazines. A few of these are geared towards gamers only and are not even readily available in the U.S. However, there is a brand new publication on the shelves at your local bookstore called Knucklebones. I just picked up issue #3 and I was very impressed. I would call this magazine a "gateway" magazine as it is very accessible for someone who has never played a "euro" game, but yet still provides enough depth and content for those who do. I would highly recommend Knucklebones to anyone and it even has a puzzle section in the back for puzzle lovers.

Next on Boardgames... I will talk about the Florida Suncoast Gamers - a group of people I recently met who get together regularly to play strategy boardgames.

A Demanding Pregnancy

My wife has not had the easiest of pregnancies. This is our first child and neither of us would be prepared for the dreaded 1st trimester. Going back a bit... We had been practicing Natural Family Planning (or NFP), since we got married. We decided we didn't want kids right away, and so we used the NFP method to not conceive and it worked great - no pregnancy. Back in late 2004, we had switched our intentions to try to conceive. 8 months of trying and we got nothing. Our NFP instructor referred us to a doctor who specializes in the Creighton Model for Fertility (the technical name for NFP). For various reasons, she recommended for Bethany to have some bloodwork done. After we got the results back, it was determined that her progesterone levels were too low. Our doctor informed us that low progesterone in the 1st trimester can often leads to miscarriage. Also, low progesterone later in pregnancy can lead to pre-term labor and/or a low birth weight baby. Because of the various risks, our doctor recommended that Bethany would need to take natural progesterone (non-synthetic) to get her levels up. The next decision we made would turn out to be a costly and painful endeavor. Bethany was placed on vaginal suppositories and wouldn't you know it, the 1st month we had a little bun in the oven.

Now that Bethany was pregnant, we were put on a strict monitoring program to track her progesterone through pregnancy. This required bi-weekly blood draws. The first few weeks she continued to take the progesterone vaginally. However, this did not prove to keep her progesterone high enough. It was determined by our doctor that she would have to take the progesterone by injection. My first reaction was panic, because they expected ME to administer the injections! My first experience doing it wasn't bad as I had the help of our NFP Instructor. However, the first night that I was to administer the injection by myself - I froze. I just couldn't do it. So I did what any son would do in an emergency situation - I called my Mom. Thankfully a next door neighbor and friend of hers, Michelle, was a nurse and agreed to give Bethany the shot. We drove over there that night and I felt a huge weight off my shoulders as she agreed to give the shot from then on!

The frequency of the shots was a real pain too - twice a week. So 2 times a week, we drove to my parent's house and Bethany took her shot like a man.... I mean woman. She eventually got used to them, but I know that she didn't much care for getting stuck in the butt with a large needle. For added fun, because of the thickness of the progesterone serum, this inter-muscular shot took anywhere from 90 seconds to 3 minutes to adminster depending on the dosage. So not only was there the intial pain of the shot, there was also a uncomfortable and sometimes intense burning sensation during the adminstration. The progesterone also made the area very sore and made sleeping and just moving around difficult for several days after. The twice a week regiment would continue for what seemed forever (6 weeks?), until we were finally able to drop it to once a week. Add this on top of the regular 1st trimester joys - puking, anxiety, severe sleepiness, and generally feeling like crap - it would turn out to be a very difficult 3-4 months.

Sometime in November, her worst symptoms started to ease a bit and she gained some much needed energy. Still the shots continued as she could never get much above Zone 3 (progesterone level), and we needed to reach Zone 4 to safely discontinue the shots. In Early December, we had decided that Michele had done her part and either my Mom or myself would need to start giving Bethany the shots. The first night we decided this, Michele coached my mom through the process and she did an OK job. The next week, I decided I would try it, and after a faulty start, I was able to do it. The following week's shot came up and I couldn't find the right spot for some reason. I ended up giving it to her in a slightly different area and boy was she in pain! We were both worried that something was dreadfully wrong, but after a few days had passed, things returned to normal. I felt really bad about that one!

Christmas was coming up and we finally got some good news.... Since she had hit Zone 3 twice, we were told that she could skip a week! Yeah! Still, Bethany worried that her level would drop without taking the shot as it became sort of a security blanket for her. A tough 2 weeks of waiting passed and we got her level again. It shot way up to Zone 4!!! Finally, after 25 weeks of pregnancy, no more shots were needed!

Now to the costly part... The progesterone, supplies, and blood draws were not cheap as insurance only covered a small amount. Still, we would do it all over again if we had to. Some things in life have no monetary value you can assign them and this is one of them.

Next on Babies... The Decision for a Natural Birth

The Calm Before the Storm

The last 5 years for me have been both the most busy and the most rewarding. I got a new job, met my wife, got married, bought a house, and discovered a new and exciting hobby - playing and designing boardgames. However, the biggest most monumental change of ALL.... has yet to arrive. My first born son, Gabriel Marlie Mistretta, is due to enter this world in a mere 10 weeks time. It is both a thrilling and terrifying thought. Do I have what it takes to be a good dad? I certainly think I do. I know that I couldn't ask for a better partner to enter this new phase of my life with than my loving wife, Bethany. Soon, we are to be a family. Even with only a little over 2 months to go, it still feels like the day is so far away. But alas, I know it will be here before I know it, and so I am enjoying this "calm before the storm".

I am using this weblog to provide an eagle's eye view of mine and my wife's transition into parenthood and other current interests. My main focus will be on my new interest in boardgames from assisting with my partner's business, to designing my own games, to finding a really cool gaming group now called the Florida Suncoast Gamers. So keep reading, things are about to get REALLY interesting...