Closed, Normal Service Resumes Very Shortly

I'm off for the weekend to go hang out with Unitarians, this blog resumeth next week.

My predictions about last weekend were mostly right. Everyone enjoyed it hugely, but... well... Munchkin is the kind of game where you end up having conversations several days later which involve the phrase "You KILLED me and STRIPPED MY CORPSE even of cards you weren't meant to steal!" whilst the other party looks guiltily at their feet.

Though not too guiltily. It is Munchkin after all.

So, Games Day Then...

It's Games Day at my house tomorrow. This concerns me since there appears to be no faster way to learn which of your friends are untrustworthy, unscrupulous, backstabbing fiends than playing Munchkin with them.

Yes, Alexi Conman, I am looking at you. And no, I haven't forgotten the whole Plutonium Dragon incident.

I've laid in supplies of beer, fizzy pop, pizza and cake, and ensured that we have the necessary individuals present:

1. One frazzled gamesmaster,
2. At least one person who has not played the game in question before, and wishes everyone would just be nice to them
3. A couple of people who actually know how to play the game and will be nice to person 2.
4. A couple of people who actually know how to play the game and will take the existence of person 2 as an opportunity to test out their backstabbing skills to the max*.
5. Someone to sit in the corner and actually not play the game, but provide a running sarcastic commentary on all the players' bad decisions.

* I'm not naming names here, I'm just making a prediction based on how these things pan out. 'Cause, if you're not tough on the newbies, how will they learn to play the game? ::evil laugh::

Still, at least we're not playing these:5 Board Games That Ruin Friendships

Happiness Ain't Good For Blogging

Yep, it's the inevitable blogpost about not really having anything to blog about. I'm not really cycling or diving at the moment, due to the weather. It turns out that the very tiny downside of being secure in your job is that the war stories are less interesting. "I wrote a press release as part of the job I'm now sure I've got" is more fun for me, but less interesting to an audience than "Half of my team will get fired in a few months, and I might be one of them".

This is not a complaint.

I could try writing that "What It's Like To Be High-Functioning With Asperger's Syndrome And A Few Other Funny Personality Traits" article I keep meaning to do, but right now that doesn't seem like as much of a priority as getting on with Christmas.

Possibly Christmas will provide a few funny stories. Until then, I'll be entertaining myself by mastering the fine art of Munchkin. A game that can be best summed up by the following exchange between me and an experienced player during my first time playing it:

Me: "So, at this stage I could use this Wandering Monster card to send the Plutonium Dragon to defeat the coalition Alex has put together to fight the Bullrog, but my only reason for doing that would be to be a complete dick to Alex?"

Experienced gamer: "Yep, you're getting the hang of the game."