JEN LOVES BEER AND BOARD GAMES @iamjenjen41 - Tumblr Blog

Top Five Games Right Now:

So, it’s been a while since I did my top five games of right now. Last time Pandemic Legacy topped my list. It is SUCH a good game and I look forward to the sequel coming out this year.

This list is the top 5 of what we have been playing currently. This isn’t my top 5 of all time...that I think is coming soon.

Well here we go:

No. 5 - Roll Through the Galaxy - This game is one that I am always willing to bring to the table. My husband and I play it as a two player game frequently and we brought it out at our friends’ game convention (DonCon) and taught it to new people. It is easy to learn and if you can get an engine going in it, quite strategic and fun. I like the randomness of the dice, but also that there is a control so the randomness doesn’t completely make a turn unproductive.

No. 4 - Above and Below - We don’t get this to the table as much as some of the others on this list, but it is such a good game. I love the art and the story driven gaming along with the worker placement (not traditional worker placement, but still counts I think) aspect. Red Raven Games puts out beautiful games set in a world that is gorgeous.

No. 3 - Pandemic the Cure - This is a go to game for my husband and I. It is dice chucking and strategy altogether. It is still hard to win, even without the expansion. I will say getting the expansion with the extra characters really did make this game better for me. I love having a wide variety of unique powers to chose from when it comes to role selection in the game. This is another one we play with just the two of us or bring out with a group.

No. 2 - Sentinels of the Multiverse - No game in our collection has gotten more play than Sentinels. Not by a long shot and I am pretty sure nothing will ever come close. This game is one of my favorites. I love the individual decks. I love the strategy of what to play and when to play it for the full advantage. I love the feeling when we win against a particularly tough villain. I adore Sentinels and will continue playing it whenever we get the chance.

No. 1 - Mansions of Madness Second Edition - Right now this is my number one. The app is wonderfully implemented and the sounds in the background add a nice touch. It is hard to win. Technically we’ve only won twice out of our plays. (I did get a solo win, but hacking someone with a machete and taking off on the boat does not count as a team win.) I love the story element that drives this game. It is so well done. We only have the base game and the expansion that give you all the first edition minis and yet there are still scenarios we haven’t tried and ones we have not beaten. Fantasy Flight really outdid itself with the second edition of this game.

Well, there’s my current Top 5 Games Right Now. I love this hobby and look forward to playing new games that may adjust this list. I also am looking forward to exploring some of our existing games and seeing if one of them can bump one of these games off the list. Our closet is full of games that need playing, time to dig in and do it!

Question: What is your current No. 1 game of right now?

The New Adventures of Gaming with Kids

It has been a bit since I posted anything, but this topic has been coming up more and more as my friend group’s (framily) children are getting older. For my husband and I, we are getting a chance to have meaningful interactions with kids who we love and have enjoyed watching grow up.

Now that I am done with the mushy stuff, I am going to go into some of the fun and challenges of gaming with kids. (In all instances, I am talking about games that are not specifically designed for children. HABA makes some amazing games for kids that as my great-niece gets older, I plan on continuing to expose her to learning. I will encourage that hobby with her as much as possible. Christmas pictures of her playing Animal Upon Animal are the reason why.)

Let’s start with the challenges and hold the fun stuff for last. The first thing is making sure the game you are playing is age appropriate. This isn’t for a violence or nudity thing, most hobby games this isn’t a problem, but for a complication of rules. I am not going to bring out Aquasphere to play with my friend’s ten year old. Pushing games that are above the kids will probably have the opposite effect of making the kids interested in gaming. This creates a situation where the kid is more frustrated than anything and adults are in the position to quarterback the movements for them.

Second, I think theme can present a challenge. Kids like to be engaged while playing games. I would still be hesitant to bring out Notre Dame (one of my favorite games) to most of the kids. Not because I don’t think they would get it, I think that the older ones would, but because I think they would get bored with it. While I love Notre Dame and the rat tracker, not sure that theme will keep kids engaged. Interactive themes or themes where visualization of what is going on make for a better gaming experience.

Third is knowing your audience. I think this is key in all of gaming, but especially when you are going to be playing with kids. If you have a kid who has about a half an hour attention span, don’t grab a game with an hour play time. The risk of boredom and frustration run higher as the kid’s patience level goes down. This isn’t a fault of just kids, there are plenty of adults who need the same courtesy extended. We as adults can help guide the decision making on what game to play based on our knowledge of the kids. It is harder when you don’t know them as well, but still manageable by then picking games that start out at the shorter time span and moving up as you learn your audience.

Fourth is don’t expect the kids to think like adults. Adults, especially ones that have been gaming for a bit, start to feel out what strategies work and we start to optimize those strategies. Kids will often figure out a strategy, but it may be based on any number of variables. It may not be a winning strategy, but it may be what gives them the most fun. If collecting all of the green cubes on the board is what drives them, let them do it. At the end, if they question why the strategy may not have worked, then work with them on the nuances of the game. If they get frustrated during the game, be willing to let them take a breath and if they ask for help, be willing to provide it.

Now for the fun stuff and quite honestly there is a lot of it. Watching the kids in our framily start to love gaming has been a great thing to behold. In the last couple of years, more and more often the kids are joining us for gaming sessions. They are playing everything from Magic: The Gathering to Flash Point Fire Rescue and beyond. Seeing them evolve from watching us play to actively participating is great.

The key is that they are engaged in the game and want to play with the adults. By not forcing them to play, we have fostered an atmosphere that now they want to join us on their own time. I really think this is what has made playing with the kids so much fun for both them and us.

I highly encourage party games and cooperative games early on with kids. Not long ago, we had friends over and had a great night of first playing Mechs vs. Minions followed by Reverse Charades. The shininess of Mechs vs. Minions, plus the fact that we were working together (conga line of doom!!!) really engaged everyone. We finished one scenario and moved immediately into another. Following this we played Reverse Charades, a lighter party style game that worked really well. We had been sitting at a table for a bit, by playing something lighter it allowed all of us to step away from the table, burn some energy, and laugh.

When it comes to competitive games, starting out with a lighter fair for the new gamer is a good way to go in my opinion. Sheriff of Nottingham is a fine example of a lighter competitive game that is fun for everyone. Once again, I think engagement is key here. Everyone is engaged in that game. Another game that I would put up there with that is Celestia. Games where all players are engaged are key. Long breaks between turns can make a competitive game harder for everyone and especially for kids.

Here are some recommendations for starting to game with your family and kids in particular:

Celestia - bluffing game about riding on a blimp around cloud cities - competitive

Flashpoint Fire Rescue - save the victims from the fire and hope you don’t knock the building down in the process - cooperative

Sheriff of Nottingham - bluffing game about sneaking goods into the city - competitive

Ticket to Ride - building railroads - competitive

Pandemic the Cure - dice chucking to save the world from disease - cooperative

Code Names - I am hesitant to put this one on here, but I think it does work. This is definitely a know your audience type of game. - Team competitive

Mechs vs. Minions - campaign game based on League of Legends, may be a bit on the expensive side, but much fun - cooperative

Reverse Charades - everyone is acting, one person is guessing - party

These are just some basic suggestions. I am sure parents with kids have an even better feel for this than I do as a non-parent and definitely better advice!

Question of the Day: What games do you like to play with kids?

#boardgaming

Seafall!

So we started Seafall. This is the same group that played Pandemic Legacy. I am interested to see if we like the competitive legacy style game as much as we loved the cooperative nature of Pandemic Legacy.

More to come as we progress.

#Seafall #PandemicLegacySeason2please!

Top 5 new of 2016 and UP Fall Beerfest

Once again we are approaching the UP (Michigan) Fall Beerfest. If you haven’t been to this one and can make your way up to Marquette, Michigan it is worth it! This was my favorite beerfest last year and I am hoping for a repeat!

So far this year, we have seen movement in beers that previously weren’t distributed in Michigan making their way here. I love this as I want craft beer to be available to everyone. However, I will continue my Michigan craft beer love.

So, without further adieu, my top 5 Michigan beers that I had for the first time in 2016 (as of today): (yep, that’s a couple of caveats!) (yes, these may have come out prior to 2016, but they were new to me this year)

Number 5:

Mango Goes Tango from Drafting Table (Wixom, MI) - this low alcohol gose hit the spot after bike rides and on hot summer days.

Number 4:

A Saison Named Marcus from Witch’s Hat Brewing (South Lyon, MI) - there are so many things going on with this beer. It is tart and yummy and definitely not a traditional saison. I didn’t drink a lot of this one, because throughout the summer one of my favorite beers was on tap (Andrew Gose Grapefruity), but this one stood out to me and I would seek it out.

Number 3:

Sumatra Brown from Founders (Grand Rapids, MI) - if you love coffee and you love the brown style of beer, then this is the beer for you. This is excellent and hits all the great notes of a coffee beer for me. Due to the alcohol content, I tend to only drink one in a sitting (mainly cause I like being able to walk!), but it is one that I savor as I drink.

Number 2:

Wandering Walloon from North Pier Brewing (Benton Harbor, MI) - This one ranks so high on my list due to the quality of beer coming out of a fairly recently opened brewery. I love saisons and this one stuck out as being extremely high quality. Their porter, Old Shuck, wasn’t anything to sneeze at either. Check these folks out if you are on the west side of the state.

Number 1:

Devastation from Brewery Vivant (Grand Rapids, MI) - This is the bourbon barrelled Tree Bucket. Now, I will preface this with saying, I am not a huge Tree Bucket fan. However, something about how they aged this completely changed the flavor. It is almost tropical in flavor and so memorable. We got lucky to get some due to going into the brewery after the Fly to Coq bike ride and bought some to bring home. Brewery Vivant brought their “A” game with this beer.

So, there it is my top 5 favorite beers that I tried in 2016 for the first time. Now, we are only in September and there is so much beer to go!

Drink craft and drink safe!

Question: If you could have one chase beer, what would it be? I think mine is Mexican Cake by Westbrook Brewing Company. (only because I can actually get Dragontrax from Witch’s Hat!!!!)

Played Scythe this week from Stonemaier Games. Wonderful game and beautiful components.

#stonemaiergames #scythe

International Tabletop Day!

To most people this isn’t any big deal, but I like the fact that board gamers have put together a day to celebrate the hobby. So, get a glass of craft beer and find a place to hunker down to do some gaming.

For me the catch has become, what game do I want to play? I look into our game closet and see old favorites and new games that I want to try out. (Sounds like when I go to a brewery, where there are often old favorites, but hey what’s that new beer like?) Currently, just by glancing over my shoulder I see Abyss, Macao, Bruges and many others that are just calling out to be played. I think Matt and I have been saying for about a year that we need to get Pillars of the Earth back to the table.

So, why the dilemma? Well, that is cause we are currently in the golden age of board games. There are so many great games out and new ones on the horizon. Podcasts help us to weed out some of the junkers, but they also fill me with anticipation for the new hotness. (I’m looking at you SeaFall!) Heck, a print and play Kickstarter game (Secret Hitler), just was a smash hit at our last DonCon (massive friend get together in northern Michigan). There is literally something for everyone out there right now. From hot dexterity games to heavy Euros that will make your brain burn, you can find all types of games.

For those folks who are not gamers, there are a ton of games out there that are fun and aren’t going to take you three hours with a rule book. I highly recommend trying out some of the trick taking games like Diamonds and Eggs and Empires. They are fun, but have little twists that set them above playing standard card games. Also, there are a plethora of party games out there right now that are a blast. Codenames and Spyfall are both fun deduction games that have come out in the last year. For those who like a little math and deduction, Wits and Wagers is an old favorite.

For those with children, there are so many games out there that are great for kids. Haba has a wonderful line of children’s games and as they get older, you can graduate them into games like Kings of Tokyo and Mice and Mystics. I am currently running Mice and Mystics as part roleplaying and part scenario board game for a friend and her kids. We are having a blast.

It is really a great time to be a gamer. So enjoy International Tabletop Day with friends and the craft beer of your choice!

Question: What is one game that is sitting on your shelf that you really really want to play?

#internationaltabletop

Shark! Amazing shark tank at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium.

#greaterclevelandaquarium iknowthisisn'tbeeroraboardgame

What makes a great brewery experience? (Part 2)

In the first portion of my take on what makes a great brewery experience, I talked about customer service. In this one, I am going to talk about our role as the customer.

A craft beer brewery is a great social place. My husband and I always try to be social when at a craft brewery. This is done either through banter with the staff or chatting it up with people around us. More than one conversation has been struck up with us due to bringing board games to a brewery. Since we play hobby board games, they are often unfamiliar to the people around us, so we get questions about what we are playing. Participating in the social nature of the brewery is an important part of the craft brewery experience. I am not saying walk around and talk to every table, but being personable to the staff and enjoying what is going on around you, will make the experience that much better.

Also, of course, know your limits. It is one of the blessings of most craft breweries that I haven’t seen a lot of fall down drunks. In all my years of going to actual breweries (I am not counting beer fests in this cause they are a whole different animal), I have had very little experience with the rowdy or angry drunk. I have seen people who couldn’t have driven...heck I’ve been that person (two beers after running a 5K, not a good idea for me). But, craft breweries do not seem to be the place where people go to get smashed. From my experience, they are much more the place to go and socially drink.

Next, understand that every beer isn’t going to be for you, and that’s okay. I was at a brewery recently and heard someone say they would never go to Brewery Becker because they had a beer called Bean Soup, which tastes like bean soup. So, you are denying trying a place because they did one beer you didn’t like the sound of? I am not an a hop head, so I tend to steer away from a lot of IPA beers (even though that is changing...I’ve been trying more recently). Therefore, I am not going to walk out of a brewery complaining about them having three IPA style beers on tap. Instead, I am going to see if they have a stout or porter or amber that appeals to me. Go in to each brewery experience with a positive attitude about what you are trying.

Overall, we the patrons and our interactions with the staff, the people around us and the beer are a good part of what makes for a great brewery experience.

Question: Is there a brewery that makes one beer that makes you just keep going back for it?

#craftbeer

What makes a great brewery experience? (Part 1)

Last night, we had one of the best craft brewery experiences. We went to Salt Springs Brewery in Saline, MI. The place is jam packed. We put ourselves on the wait list. First cool thing, they will just call you when your place in the queue comes up, so if you want to wander around downtown Saline, you can. We walk outside and see their patio section has heaters and a small fire pit area. My husband and our friend decide, let’s go in and ask them if we can use the patio (even thought it doesn’t look open, because it is January in Michigan). Sure enough, moments later we are setting up a warming area on the patio. For the rest of the evening, we are enjoying high quality craft beer (the Christmas Saison...so darn good!) We also got to talk to the owner who came out and shared a beer with us. He was awesome and makes me want to go back to his place again.

The reason this experience happened was a focus on customer service.

While great beer will always bring people back to a location, great customer service will make the experience great. My husband and I have went to a good number of breweries and have seen both sides of the customer service coin. In the current state of craft beer, not only great beer, but great customer service will have us talking about the place for months to come.

There are breweries we go to that have great beer, but also amazing people who own and staff them. Bad Brewing and Witch’s Hat Brewing both have really exceptional ownership and staff which make for worthy experiences pretty much every time we go in to their locations or to an event they host or participate in.

Sometimes, just the staff alone can make an experience worthwhile and one that we will tell stories about for years to come. I am thinking of the “beer temptress” at Shorts Brewing for one. That was a fun February Saturday, four years ago that my husband and I still mention when talking about beer experiences. The “beer temptress” knew what good customer service could bring to an experience and not only made for a great afternoon of drinking beer at their location, but also served her brewery well in the fact that we spent additional dollars there because we were having fun. Good customer service is not just good for the customer, it is good for the brewery in the form of dollars spent and word of mouth.

There are many other factors that go in to making a good brewery experience, which I will be exploring in the next post.

Today’s Question: What has been your best customer service experience at a brewery?

January in Michigan and able to sit outside and drink a beer with a fire. I love my life! Thank you to Salt Springs Brewery for making this happen.

#saltspringsbrewery #craftbeer

Finished Pandemic Legacy 15 minutes before the New Year. Good timing!!

#boardgaming #PandemicLegacy

Top Five Games - Right Now

So, it is almost impossible for me to make a Top 10 list of board games that I like. A lot of that is because as I play new games or revisit older ones, I get caught up in how good that one is and forget another game that I love. I am apparently easily distracted by shiny objects. So, I am just going to do a brief Top Five - Right Now! (Subject to change tomorrow)

5. Eldritch Horror - This is a great cooperative game that plays best with 4-5, but can handle larger groups. The game oozes theme. It is complex and there is a lot of thought in to what you are going to handle next on the board.

4. Robinson Crusoe - Another cooperative game that has tons of theme. I love the shuffling in of cards into the event deck after you’ve had an encounter. I love that sometimes the best way to win is to fail a dice roll (that happened). Overall it is just a well put together game that I thoroughly enjoy.

3. Notre Dame - This is an older game that I can come back to again and again. I still remember my excitement of demoing it at Origins and having to make Matt come back to the booth with me to try it out. There is strategy offset with a bit of randomness. There’s a rat track, what more do you need!

2. Pandemic Legacy - This is why it has to be a Right Now post. I love this game. I am looking forward to trying March again tomorrow as we failed it last Sunday. I love how the game changes and how new rules are added as we’ve gone along. I won’t say too much as there are definitely things you don’t want someone who hasn’t played to know, but this is a great game.

1. Sentinels of the Multiverse - This has been sitting at my number one mentally for me for a long time. I am know for a fact that I’ve played this game more than any other game we own. I play it on the app. We take it up north for DonCon. We play it at home when we just want to relax and have fun with a beer. This game has more bang for the buck in our collection than any other game we own.

Question - What is your current number one board game?

Michigan Beer Festivals

So this year, my husband and I attended three of the large beer fests and one of the smaller ones. We attended the Michigan Brewers’ Guild summer, fall and Upper Pennisula beerfests, plus Beerfest at the Ballpark in April (this was the smaller one).

All four were enjoyable, let me start there. I had great experiences at all of them. The Beerfest at the Ballpark in Lansing, MI was the first of these. This was a smaller festival which allowed us some time to talk to quite a few of the brewers. While a lot of the breweries brought their staples, there were some special beers that were tapped which is a lot of the reason people go to these festivals. If I can only get a beer a couple times a year and the festivals are the easiest place to do, then those are the places I am going to be hitting first. This is at the LugNuts stadium and the set up is really good. There are a group outside in the entrance area and then there are breweries set up “inside” on the concourse. It really kept the congestion down for the most part.

Summer BeerFest is a bit of a zoo. The space is huge and it is crowded. We went on Friday and it was still very packed. It made it more difficult to stay together and harder to find some of the breweries we were looking to sample. That being said, there was great beer to be had pretty much everywhere you turned. For me, I remember OddSides Queen of Tarts (which I have since had in a bottle) and Eternity’s Deep Fried Twinkie the best. We went with another couple and it is always great to see what we all think of the same beer. Or of different beers from the same brewery. It really highlights the differences in tastes that craft beer can cater to for each individual.

The next was Fall UP BeerFest. This is a great festival if you can get up there. We had a ton of fun there. We were able to see some family who lives in Marquette and hang out with them for part of the festival. They are great people and just hanging out with them made the experience memorable. For the beer, I made sure to hit Ore Dock and BlackRocks as these are two of my favorite UP breweries. This was also the first time we got a chance to pour at a festival. We poured for Witch’s Hat from South Lyon, MI. This was a blast. Matt and I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the experience. First off, we love Witch’s Hat. Secondly, we really enjoyed interacting with the people and sharing beer we love with others who either hadn’t experienced it or had visited because they already loved it themselves. I was glad we got to participate in this aspect and to see some of the logistics to setting up and tearing down as we stayed and helped pack up. The big con to this one was while there is food via food trucks, the lines were pretty atrocious as the day went on...I was lucky and had access to the area where Palate from Milford was setting up food.

Finally, we went to Fall BeerFest at Eastern Market in Detroit. This is the freshest in my mind, because it was just last week, but I wanted to wait until we had gone to it prior to writing this article. This is a great festival to hit on a Friday night (never gone on a Saturday, so do not know what the experience is like). Two beers really took the spotlight for me at this event. Shorts’ L-I-V-I-N was great. It was one of those beers that I wanted to instantly go out and buy. Witch’s Hat brought their Wine Barreled Gose. This was also a big winner in my book. The festival itself is really well set up in my opinion. There were three or so different food vendors and if you didn’t want Slows, you could get food pretty easily. This and the Summer Beerfest are where you see a lot of breweries bringing out their special beer. We may have had a list that reminded me of a scavenger hunt in some ways. The set-up is actually really good for that in comparison to summer.

Overall, for memories and just overall having a good time, I would have to say the UP Beerfest was probably the best for me this year. It was just a great experience with cousins, beer and then getting to pour. All four festivals are worth going to and if you have a group of friends that wants to go, the more the merrier in my opinion. A lot of the memories for me aren’t about the beer, but about the people I get to share them with, the brewers we get to talk to and the new people we meet who share the love of craft beer that Matt and I do.

Why some games hold up better than others.

So, I am not joking when I say that my husband and I have probably around 200 games of Sentinels of the Multiverse (if you include the app). This game has immense staying power due to its diversity. I will definitely say that of all the games we own it has the most bang for the buck in our house. Diversity here is the key. I love the fact that I can play one of three versions of Argent Adept (I have Kvothe because my husband is amazing!) and each one will play slightly differently against the same villain. I love that basic Gloomweaver doesn’t scare me nearly as much as his variant version who regularly whoops me on the app.

But, Sentinels is a bit of an exception. Very few games have that level of diversity each time. So why do some games hold up so much better than others?

Part of it is design. Some games are designed so well that they hold up against the Cult of the New. An example of this is Stephan Feld’s Notre Dame. This game is incredibly well designed and its mechanisms hold up extremely well when compared to new games with innovative mechanisms. In the case of Notre Dame, the combination of managing (or choosing to ignore) the rat track, plus choosing your personal path to victory, keeps this game interesting for me every time I play it. There are many choices to be made with the card drafting and then on how you place your individual cubes each turn on the board. The design of this game keeps the overall game interesting every time you play as there are many decisions that you need to be make and no assured means to achieve victory.

Theme is another thing that will make some games endure the test of time. Robinson Crusoe is a great example of this. The theme is so rich each time you play the game that you feel like you are making life or death decisions. Our last game of this was a a nail biter with my character on the verge dying the next turn, ensuring our defeat. The theme of trying to survive on the island became very real when we looked at what we had to accomplish in one turn to ensure victory. We had one way to win and as I watched my friend role the dice to hit exactly what we needed, it felt like a rescue. There are other games that bleed theme like this. Pillars of the Earth is another great example of source material providing wonderful theme. Playing Touch of Evil is another game that really brings the theme to the forefront. All of these games will continue to hit our table simply due to the theme (along with good game design).

Uniqueness is also something that can make games endure. I think this is the weakest of the reasons though. So often, an innovative idea comes out and is often either a flash in the pan or is immediately copied by multiple other games. Tales of the Arabian nights so far is the only game that has really 100% captured the Choose your Own Adventure feel to a board game, making it unique among the others who have attempted it. Galaxy Truckers is another one to me that holds a special place for its unique mix of quick thinking plus strategy for surviving the round. These games will come to the table due to the fact that there really aren’t a wealth of games that are like them, so they bring a freshness to the table each time they are played.

The last, but to me probably most important, is the enjoyment of the game when played with my friends and husband. I am blessed with another couple who we regularly play board games with while enjoying a beer or two. Some games endure because they just fit well with the group. Eggs and Empires is a great example of this for our group. This is a game that gets pulled out quite frequently due to its simplicity of play and the fact that it allows us to fill some time while chatting and having a drink. Not all of these games are beer and pretzel games though. Euphoria is a thinky worker placement game that not only scratches the brain teasing itch, but also makes us laugh as we imagine the horrible things we are doing to our poor workers in this dystopian future.

Overall, there are going to be a lot of hobby games that may only get one play, so enjoy the feeling of love for the ones that endure throughout the years.

Question:

What is your game that endures?

#boardsgames

A nice stop during our food tour in Helsinki Finland

#bryggerihelsinki

So, it has been awhile

It has been a bit since I’ve been here, so just doing a quick update. Took an amazing Baltic cruise, including Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Russia, Finland and Sweden. Got to try some beer in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. In Finland, we actually got to visit as part of our tour Bryggeri Helsinki. Altogether it was a fine trip with my husband and two other families. We did get some gaming in as we took with us some card games that fit in my backpack. The big hit was Dead Man’s Draw. If you are doing a cruise and like to game, this is a great, easy to teach game that doesn’t take up a lot of space. We went to the “Irish” pub on the Norwegian Star and were able to comfortably play it with 4 players. We also used the game room on the ship to play.

We missed GenCon due to the cruise. I am hoping that the exhibitors learned from the mildly tepid responses I have heard, not to bring their Kickstarter games that are going to be released next year (if people are lucky). People want to buy the new hotness at conventions like GenCon. Being told you can demo a game, but have to wait for the Kickstarter is not how I want to spend a convention. From the many podcasts I listen to, it didn’t seem like too many people were enthused with that concept either. 2014 was an amazing GenCon, so I am hoping they get that 2016 upticks from what I hearing of this year.

Now that the summer is winding down, I plan on spending more time working on updates and playing games!!! (and drinking beer...even though the summer really just enhances the opportunities for that)

Tuesday’s question: What board game do you own that you are itching to play?

#BryggeriHelsinki

Taking Your Board Game To The Brewery

My husband and I love to take our games to the brewery. We have played both small and larger games at various places. The big thing is knowing the location and what is feasible. We like to take card games, like Innovation or Love Letter to breweries with not a ton of table space. These are nice games that take up a very small footprint. We have taken larger games, like Pathfinder Adventure Card game to breweries as well. Most notably, we’ve taken these to Bad Brewing Company and Witch’s Hat. The big thing there is timing. I am not going to load a bunch of games on a busy Friday or Saturday night. However, a Sunday afternoon has proven to be a perfect time (most of the time) to play games in a brewery environment.

Be prepared for people to ask what you are doing or playing. If you don’t like people going over your shoulder, the brewery is not the right place to play a game. If you don’t like answering questions about the game you are playing, really don’t go to a brewery. Everyone from the servers to patrons will ask what you are doing as they are not familiar with most hobby games. Personally, I love to play games at a brewery. I love talking to new people about beer and then showing them new board games. It is a great way to socialize and meet new people if that is one of your goals.

Some recommendations of places that we have played games at:

Witch’s Hat Brewing - South Lyon, MI - beer is great (big fan of the Tuscan Coffee Stout) - gaming footprint - small to medium. We have played larger games here, but only when it is not busy.

Bad Brewing Company - Mason, MI - beer is great (Chocolate Covered Coffee Brown - ‘nuff said) - gaming footprint - small to medium. Can take a larger game there on most Sundays when you can kind of get a long table to yourself.

Eternity Brewing - Howell, MI - beer is great, with Midnight Progress porter being my default beer of choice. - gaming footprint - small to medium. Most of their tables are round or smaller squares. Great for games like Innovation and Tsuro.

JAFB - Wooster, OH - If the Buckeye Imperial Stout is on tap, it is a must have. -gaming footprint- small to large. Only played games here once, but great space. This one has tables that can accommodate some of the larger games.

Kuhnhenn - Warren, MI - Great beer selection all the way around - gaming footprint - small to medium. The long tables are accommodating, but too narrow for any larger games. We easily played Guild Hall there.

Some breweries where I would not recommend taking games:

Perrin Brewing - Grand Rapids, MI I love this brewery, but it is more for eating and socializing, which is great and what I want when I go there. Lots of people and smallish tables rule this out as a place to play games.

Founders Brewing - Grand Rapids, MI Once again, another place I love, but it is just not the right environment for board gaming. This is another place where the focus is on socializing. Haven’t gotten in to the newly expanded areas as of yet. (Two events there both times we’ve been in the area).

New Holland Brewing - Holland, MI Love this place, but this is a food and beer place. Go there when they have a live band for the experience and the beer. (Whiskey Beer Cheese as well...do not miss the Whiskey Beer Cheese)

Honestly, though, when it comes to playing games at a brewery, use your best judgment. As gamers, we don’t want to put off a brewery, especially a hometown or local one, by taking up too much space on a busy night. However, if there is the space, I highly recommend making a brewery part of your board gaming experience.

WHAT AM I DRINKING NOW?

New Glarus- Spotted Cow

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