I
am a unusual man; that is a comment that I receive nearly every day. This is
fine as I don't really care what the mainstream population around me thinks. As
far as I know, I am the only man who dresses in a Victorian/Steampunk style in
the town of Pocatello, Idaho. Pocatello is a college town whose population is
mostly Mormon so a man like myself tends to stick out among the crowds. A 6'4
man dressed in a Victorian overcoat and sporting a fine top hat is hard to miss
in a town that dresses as conservative as it can. A good number of the
townsfolk stop me in my daily business wondering if I am part of a play and why
on earth would I take the part of Jack the Ripper. You read that last statement
correct; most people seem to think that I dress like Jack the Ripper. Never
mind that we have no idea what the man might have dressed like; it seems I am
the perfect image for most people when I am in my full wardrobe. It is much
easier to agree with people than try to explain that I dress either Victorian
or Steampunk depending on the day. Since the people have given me this new
persona; I decided to adopt it within my main hobby. And thus, the Board Game
Ripper was born. A man whose sole
purpose was to explore board games helping people investigate the next killer
game for their collection. You see, I even have a tag line.
I,
like a great many people within the hobby, want to share my views on board
games. Besides this humble blog I also intend to start my own video reviews. It
is my intent to bring my own hopefully unique viewpoint to the world of
designer board games as I feel a great many people are all trying to be the
greatest family friendly star. For those of you that may have stumbled upon
this blog by accident and have no idea what I am referring too, let me explain.
There is a world of board games that some call designer board games. This is a
vast and large hobby where people love to post videos and write blogs
describing how to play said games and what they think of them. These games are
a huge improvement over the mass market games that most people know like
Monopoly or Sorry. Board games you see, have become quite advance in the modern
age and there is a entire hobby dedicated to playing these games. I would urge
anyone to join this hobby and would argue that you will have a experience like
never before.
For
those who are a part of this hobby, I would like to take the time to describe
myself so you will better understand my views on the hobby. I have been a
geek the majority of my life mostly
spending my youth in video games and I have a brief run with magic in my high
school years. It was my wife who would introduce me to this amazing world. She
had played some of the classic games with an old friend of hers and always
mentions those times with fond memories. In our second year of courtship, I
decided to purchase one of these games she was always mentioning. I got onto
Amazon and ordered some strange game named Vikings. The game was expensive and
I gasped with shock at the numbers that appeared before me; how naïve I was at
the time. But it was for my love so I bunkered down and purchased the game even
though it had some cheesy looking artwork. The game arrived and my love was
ecstatic about the game insisting that we play it that very night. I sat down
looking at the strange pieces before me wondering what I had gotten myself
into. We played the game along with one of our good friends; Epic Failed we
called him since he seemed to love rolling a one on any dice. We played the
game once, than a second time and finally a third time. I lost all three times
thus beginning a curse that would haunt me for the rest of my life; I almost
always lose.
This
was the gateway game that broke me into the hobby and I fell in love with
Vikings instantly. Even now I still have that same copy that I purchased some
seven years ago. I may not play it often but I will always hold on to that
game. it holds a special place within the Ripper's collection; it's my first
victim you might say. Since than I have expanded on my collection and have
explore explored the hobby as fully as I can. Board games fit a niche for me;
they are fun social experience that I can enjoy with just about anyone and are
challenging to my mind. I much prefer my hobby over the main social interaction
found in this town; cheap bars among main street every Saturday night. Now that
I have no doubt excited you with my tales of introduction into this hobby; lets
look at some of the quirks I bring to the hobby:
1.
Every game is a potential victim
I
don't have a stance in the age old argument of Euro game over Ameritrash games;
I find I like both. As such there really is no game that I won't try and I have
yet to encounter a theme that I find distasteful. Usually the darker the theme the more I enjoy the game and I love
to look for uniqueness among my games. So if you are looking for me to lean in
one direction then I am afraid that I would disappoint you for I love a good
worker placement game as much as a dice chucking war game.
2.
Complexity is the flavor of the day
While
I have no problems with filler games or games of a lighter nature; I tend to
find that my favorite games are heavier to complex games. I love punishing
games and want to feel that each victory point was a hard earn battle. Perhaps
my love of cogs has lead me to favor games with complex mechanics that all
intertwine with one another. Now don't get me wrong; I do owe a fair bit of
lighter games as well only it has to have a theme that is truly unique or just
itch that one spot just right. I tend to be more critical of lighter games than
medium or heavier games.
3.
I Only Party With Family
I
do love a good party game when I am with my family or people I know will not
enjoy this hobby. That being said, I am not a huge party game fan and my party
game collection consist of maybe thirty or so party games that I found at the
local thrift store and only bring out when my parents come over. Now don't get
me wrong; I have a blast playing Pictionary with my in laws but I don't
consider these games to be on the same level as the games in my collection. For
me, a party game is a good tool to use with children or when the more
conservative members of the family come over.
4.
No Cow Is Sacred
Now
I know that there are some games whose names are said in hushed tones and
everyone is suppose to bow their heads in awe. Unfortunately that is not the
Ripper's style. I usually find that about half of the games that people are
raving about each year are mediocre at best. I have strange taste and value
uniqueness over stream lined or simplified games. There are a lot of classic
games in the hobby that I tend to find over hyped like Puerto Rico; a good game
that is not the perfect game that people claim it is.
5.
Give Me More, Not Less
I
also differ in that I rarely purchase second editions of board games as I like
complexity and options in a game. Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem
with aspects of games being stream lined if there is a problem that needs to be
fixed. However, I don't want a game to be stripped of complexity just to sell
more copies to a few more idiots. If the option in a game is not broken than
don't try to change it. This also ties into my views on most simple games. I am
not a fan of light weight games and the ones I do own I keep to play with my
children when they get old enough. So
please don't be upset if I don't give a light weight game a favorable review;
it might be a great game but it is just not the Ripper's style.
So
now my dear readers, I hope you have a better understanding of the Board Game
Ripper and know where my taste in games lies. I will do my best to review as
many of the games in my collection as possible as well as giving my views on
current topics in the hobby. There will come a time where my views may offend a
reader and I do apologize for that but such an event is inevitable. If I do
offend you in the future than I offer my humble apologies and we may have to
agree to disagree. With that said , I do hope that you enjoy this blog and any
future content I may have to offer.
Sincerely
yours;
The Board Game Ripper
