What I Played Today: April 8

Spyfall, Codenames, Virtual Reality, You Don't Know Jack 

I went to a friend's place with the assumption that we were playing board games, but I was wrong! We would spending the evening on an adventure into the realms of VIRTUAL REALITY! Oooohhh Aaaaahhh!

Anyway, before everything got set up and everyone got really distracted, we played a couple of games I haven't played yet that got a lot of talk a few months ago, Spyfall and Codenames. Spyfall is a bluffing game, kinda, in which everyone gets a card saying they are at the same place, except for one person, who just knows they are the spy, and they need to figure out where everyone else is. Each player asks all the other players questions, until someone get suspicious of who the spy is or the spy figures out which of the 25 locations everyone else got.

It's a fun game! We failed a few times before I was the spy and everyone figured out I was lying out my nose, even though what I said was completely reasonable! But I like this game and I would like to play it more.

Then Codenames, in which there is a grid of random words, and each team has a leader and guessers. The leader says a word and number to the guessers, and the guessers try to discern similar words on the grid that are related to the leader's word. It's a fun, creative experience with a lot of interesting intersections of language that just gets me deep down as a linguist. It's really good and I love that this game is so open-ended. No game will ever, ever be the same. I probably should pick this up.

And then I was thrust into a world outside my very perception, into VIRTUAL REALITY! Someone had won a Vive in a contest, and so had all the stuff and goodies to play several games. It was a constant presence throughout the night, and I finally got to tap in and experience a few minigames, like playing first-person Angry Birds with funny goofs and a longbow simulator. I was not exactly overwhelmed with it (although I was still hesitant to, say, walk off a cliff in VR) but it is definitely a new experience. One you are aware of, of course, but I'm glad that technology has finally gotten here, because it's very, very interesting. And very very expensive.

I also suffered through a few games of You Don't Know Jack. Not because I don't like You Don't Know Jack, just that everyone was extremely distracted and I was bothered by this. There was a fun theme game though, in which the host really hopes that Paul Rudd will show up and builds the entire game around it. I like the writing of these games so much.

What I Played Today: November 3-10

MAN I was busy. There was a conference at work and I didn't feel like it and whatever, so...highlights!

I somehow ended up playing Assassin's Creed 3 for a good twenty minutes. It was kinda dumb, I don't remember what happened. Maybe I'll just YouTube what happened to Desmond.

A lot of Rune Factory 4, I'm creating a lot of stuff, and I think I need to complete the second dungeon before anything really interesting happens.

I ended up playing a CCG based on Might and Magic, as if that is still a thing that people still give a shit about. It was decent.

There's a new game called Desktop Dungeons, and it's a rogue/puzzle game, and it's pretty neat, if dumb and hard. You've got to take it slow.

I played a lot of You Don't Know Jack, because trivia is fun. Also something called QuizUp, which is also trivia. I'm the best in Tabletop Games in Minnesota, assholes.

Swords and Potions 2 continues to be a thing I do.

And I finished Analogue: A Hate Story on a whim. I did not see the last twist coming, because I'm a stupid. But yeah, good work. I like this kind of thing. Hurray this.

What I Played Today: January 19

Halo 3, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, You Don't Know Jack, Incan Gold

Video game party, with a lot of screens. There was quite a bit of Halo, with a bunch of regular games, bunch of Rockets, bunch of variants. I was maybe the second or third most-skilled Halo player in the room, so I did well enough, but I still kinda suck at it. So, I did okay.

Some guy brought Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, for the Wii. Which is a game alright. It is pretty weird! Why did they release these weird fighting game? Who even knows these Tatsunoko characters?

You Don't Know Jack was also played, I am still pretty good at trivia. I know things!

And I guess Incan Gold was played. It was pretty late, I wasn't quite paying attention.

What I Played Today: December 6

Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble, You Don't Know Jack, Hotline Miami

I had been wondering about Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble for years, literal years, and I finally realized that I owned it, and by gosh I should probably play it. So I boot it up, and was immediately delighted that the whole thing is presented as an old-timey board game. You choose the leader of your gang, and collect other members, and complete weird little mini-games as you wander around the school, flirting with boys. It's just weird and a little charming.

Also played more You Don't Know Jack. Still jokes!

And I got through that level of Hotline Miami, and now I'm onto the next. I remember watching a bunch of dummies try really hard to get through this one and fail a lot. So, fun.

What I Played Today: December 2

Sentinels of the Multiverse, You Don't Know Jack

Lazy day, tried to play Sentinels of the Multiverse by myself, got super bored about half-way through the fight because it was taking forever...the lady with 200 hit points is just goddang ridiculous. I was probably going to lose though...Mr. Fixer is just not that good of character. Although he did manage to deal like 5 damage to everyone at one point.

Also played a little bit of You Don't Know Jack on the Xbox. I love when there are themed games, in which a story is told. In this one the writers just forgot to write questions for the last half of the game, so the questions just got weirder and weirder. Eventually, the last question is "Pigs has corkscrew penises, right?" and you have to choose from "Yeah, right" or "I don't know." Then we get to the Jack Attack, which wasn't written at all, so each question is "pick 'this one'" and you have to pick 'this one'. It was hilarious. These guys are good at this, you guys. 

What I Played Today: September 7

Dixit, You Don't Know Jack

I ended up playing a game of Dixit with children somehow? Yeah, I don't know. Life is weird sometimes.

Then I got bored at the game store waiting for something interesting to happen, so I went home and played You Don't Know Jack. It's a game in which funny things happen! Did you know that teton is French for nipple? Neither did I!

What I Played Today: July 14

You Don't Know Jack

I'm not supersure...I'm pretty sure I played that Facebook version of You Don't Know Jack. I like that game. Sure wish it didn't try to convince me to tell all my friends whenever I play a game though.

What I Played Today: June 22

You Don't Know Jack

Man, if someone forced me to admit it, I'd probably say I played You Don't Know Jack again. I know me. Ruts, having no clue what is going on, etc.

What I Played Today: June 21

You Don't Know Jack, Magic: The Gathering

Stress gaming. Playing games because I need to. Oh jeez you guys what the hell am I going to do?

What I Played Today: June 19

You Don't Know Jack

Yeah, I probably played this game. I would believe that. It's a good game. Jokes and stuff.

What I Played Today: June 16

You Don't Know Jack

I have discovered the You Don't Know Jack Facebook game, and I think it is great. $7.50 great, in fact, as I stupidly bought a bunch of games because I want to play more. It's a real tight experience, only four questions and a Jack Attack, but the fact that it puts you in a conflict with five random jerks and the reintroduction of the Gibberish Question (something I quite missed from the Xbox version) makes for a really steady experience.

So of course after I felt that I wanted to not burn through all my games in one day, I pulled out the Xbox version and played by myself for quite a few games, like a nerd. I still love the dynamic of the wrong answer of the game, because it requires you to pay attention to two different things. It still stings when you answer a question correctly and notice that the wrong answer of the game and thought, "Man, I could have gotten more money."

What I Played Today: June 25

You Don't Know Jack, Rock Band

It was a wedding day today, so there wasn't a lot of time to play games, but for some reason there was a small amount of time where we had time to kill, so a few games of You Don't Know Jack were played. I really don't like the Jack Attack, mainly because it usually determines the game. Don't make the end of the game useless, guys! But it was fun.

Also, after many, many drinks, we all hung out and played some Rock Band for a long time. I remember having a great time, although one song I did was apparently super impressive, because as soon as we finished, everyone in the room was complimenting me. I didn't think I did that great, I was singing back-up vocals and could barely see the words on the screen from my place in the back of the room. But there goes my ego again...

What I Played Today: April 7

Rift, You Don’t Know Jack

General gallivanting, played some Rift, didn’t do anything important. Also enjoyed some You Don’t Know Jack. There was this really cool moment where during the question 4 intro, one of the fours that dance was shot, and during the next game, the question four intro was just a picture of crime scene tape. Dark, very dark, but very funny. BUT! Nothing of real interesting tonight.

What I Played Today: March 27

Dominion, You Don’t Know Jack, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Dungeon Raid

A couple of games of Dominion, with some old favorites hitting play again, specifically Chapel. It has been forever since I’ve gotten a chance to play with the cheapest card in the game. It lets you trash up to 4 cards from your hand. A card that confuses newbies, but for cheap, super-effective players like me, a delight. I used that to pump up a deck that was mostly gold and provinces, and some cheap tactics to force my opponent to tack half a dozen curses. It must have been pretty annoying.

I will not be discussing my crushing defeat in You Don’t Know Jack, but rather let you know that my opponent has a disease that prevents him from losing a game of YDKJ. Luckily, it’s not contagious.

Stabbing guys in the Bro-hood; I actually realize I enjoy Manhunt a lot more, considering the alternatives. One trick that I’m having a lot of fun with is using morph to turn a static crowd of dumbies into versions of me, and then jump into a nearby bush. The signal isn’t accurate enough to let them know I’m not one of the duplicates, so I’m almost guaranteed a lure. There is a counter to it, Templar Vision, but that can counter all kinds of shenanigans. I think I’m going to start Morph a walking group, and then walking away, forcing a pursuer to waste time following a group of nobodies, or blowing their Templar Vision. Lot of opportunities for mind games.

I also have been tricked into downloading Dungeon Raid, a puzzle RPG that doesn’t shamelessly comp from Puzzle Quest. Instead of just matching three, you draw a line through like symbols and get a bonus; either refilling your hit points, getting gold, repairing armor, or killing dudes. The dudes appear on the grid itself, and you have to draw lines through swords to kill them. It’s a slow burn, as you slowly level up, get more skills, and buy more gear. You also eventually unlock new classes. It’s interesting how slowly it builds, and absurd how long the game can go on. I hit a streak on a warrior character, strong enough that I couldn’t die on purpose in normal mode, but with no endgame, I just kept getting more powerful without opposition.

What I Played Today: March 20

Time’s Up, Rock Band, You Don’t Know Jack, Dance Central

Party night, with a lot of times playing games, switching around from one to the other. We started with Time’s Up, an old classic at this point, although we constantly seem to pull two different things whenever we play. A) Really obscure albums and movies that dart around the table with nobody getting them (this time it was Zorbo the Greek) B) Ava Maria, a clue card that seems to come up every single game. I really don’t know why so many cards have those two words printed on them. In a weird case of synchronicity, there was a clue that was the name of someone in the room, and once again, the person whose job it was to guess the name didn’t pick up on this, and guessed “Mama Mia.” Not as bad as yesterday, but still very weird that it happened twice in one weekend.

Two quick dance battles on Dance Central, although I did find out that a couple of new songs that are really good were released as DLC, “Weapon of Choice” and “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul, which I need to pick up as soon as possible. Then we went into the usual marathon Rock Band session, which was pretty fun. We tackled “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which I think went really well, but otherwise the play eventually fizzled.

Then we moved on to You Don’t Know Jack, which I continue to like, despite the fact that it seems people do not know useless trivia as much as I do, because in a large group, it came down to a two man competition. But I like sharing the humor of the game with people, it’s probably the only trivia game that can play to a crowd, because if you aren’t playing, at least you’re being entertained.

What I Played Today: March 18

Dominion, You Don’t Know Jack

Couple of friends came over, and we played some Dominion, a couple of games with Prosperity and Intrigue. It was fun enough, although not much worthy of comment happened. I made a filthy joke about the Peddler, and I think I won a game by a lot, but otherwise it was a standard good session of Dominion. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Plus a couple of games of You Don’t Know Jack, which I’m liking a lot as a party game, because even if you don’t know the right answer, at least something funny will happen when you get it wrong. I don’t exactly have enough controllers to play with more than two people in my home, so I had to play with my DJ Hero turntable, which worked, surprisingly, although it meant that I couldn’t screw my opponents. Not exactly the most elegant solution.

What I Played Today: March 10

Wrath of Ashardalon, Rock Band, You Don’t Know Jack

Once more into the breach, in which we got our butts kicked, but not in the way we expected. We had to close down a portal, but first we had to find it, and to do so we had to get through all the monsters. Which we had a real problem doing. The game doesn’t give you a lot of creatures that’ll go down in a single hit, and so they are constantly tormenting you. We ran through the dungeon, putting up blade barriers behind us to take out the chumps, but it ended up not matter, because although we managed to stay alive despite all odds, we ran out of time because we just didn’t have the damage output we needed (i.e., more than 1 damage per turn).

Played a lot of Rock Band, there’s a lot of interesting new songs, including some Bonnie Tyler! Which is a mess to read on the vocal track, because there are three vocal parts going pretty much nonstop. But it was still fun to play for a bit, although I am out of practice and doing two parts at once is pretty hard.

A couple of games of You Don’t Know Jack, which I’m going to continue to lose. One question of note is a question that asked what Samuel Jackson would say if he found himself on the Snake River Plain. Now, I knew the answer immediately, because that’s where I was raised. So as soon as the funny answers start, I put in my answer: I’m tired of this motherfucking Snake River Plain in this motherfucking Idaho. Two seconds later, my opponent logs his answer, and gets it right. The reason he got it right? Because I answered so quickly. I could have used my screw and gotten double the points, but instead I gotta show off that I know things. Well, that probably would have backfired anyway, like when I assumed my opponent didn’t know stuff about ballet. He did…

What I Played Today: March 3

Mansions of Madness, You Don’t Know Jack, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

There were mansions full of madness today. This is the latest game by Fantasy Flight, set in the Arkham Horror universe, in which you take a group of adventurers into a spooky house, while one player controls all the baddies and the horror. The set-up sounds like Descent, but it’s a lot more story-driven, where the players are looking for clues and trying to avoid all the baddies around the house. Even the combat is story-driven, where each attack involves drawing a card and resolving the text on the card. The players occasionally also have to solve wiring puzzles, which is neat. It’s pretty clever, and I like the game. I almost instantly want more stuff, and I know it’s coming too, because if Fantasy Flight pimps anything, it’s the Arkham stuff.

Two games were played, where I sat on both sides, investigator and keeper. During the keeper game, I was tasked with getting samples from players and raising a shogoth. I thought I was doing alright, but the investigator knew what I was up to and often was able to shoot down the few enemies I could get on the board, and eventually time ran out and I lost. During the investigator game, I was too cautious and wasted time looking everywhere but where the clue was, and I eventually ran out of time, causing everyone to lose. That mission also led to far more enemies roaming the map, but my pretty good rolls kept me from getting killed. That is, until I broke my arm.

I lost a couple of games of You Don’t Know Jack, because I am not good at Jack Attacks. My opponent is just so much faster at getting the answer. There was a neat category in which you had to match the lyric in the song with the dance that went along with it. I enjoyed that, even though I keep losing. (Sad trombone.)

In the multiplayer of Assassin’s Creed, I had four awful games and then one really good one. I think I need to start changing my tactics up; there’s a lot of awesome things I could be doing that I’m just not because I’m depending on the same sets over and over again. I also lose out on a lot of bonus points. I was thinking to myself, “It has been forever since I got a kill streak of something,” and I actually managed tonight, scoring a clean 750 bonus points for getting five silent kills in a row, which catapulted me to a solid lead. I also used the decoy correctly at one point, which was also awesome. I see a possible walking towards me so I trigger the decoy, who bolts away from them. They start chasing after them when I wheel around and bonk them good, which scoring 300 points for an escape stun. But, I really want to use disguise or something again. I never seem to use them.

What I Played Today: March 2

You Don’t Know Jack, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Played a couple of games of You Don’t Know Jack, for fun. It’s gotten to the point where there’s not much else to talk about it, it’s still funny, it’s still good, and…that’s about it!

I spent some more time with the single player in Assassin’s Creed. Just a lot of running around; the main missions involves the French suddenly and inexplicably attacking my friend about ten minutes outside of Rome, which is…weird. I knew this guy was fighting the French, I just didn’t know it was happening in my backyard. I also had to do an awful mission where I had to close the gates while dozens of French tried to kill me, but I paid them back next mission when I was tasked with killing 20 Frenchmen. Harder than it looked, because I had to kill them all without a fight. But, I did it, and now it’s time to pull some Trojan horse nonsense.

What I Played Today: February 24

Gosu, You Don’t Know Jack, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Disc Drivin’

The game about goblins hit the table today. I had kinda forgotten how to play, as did my opponent, and he got frustrated because he burst out of the gate without getting a card drawing engine into play, while I took advantage of some jerk named Kaq, who lets me draw a card whenever a card is flipped, and then used some graveyard combos to flip pretty much every card my opponent owned, easily winning the next two great battles. It was not even fair.

I got floored in You Don’t Know Jack. I am not very good at Jack Attacks, at least against this guy. I am not fast enough, and there was an entire game where I didn’t know the answer to at least half the questions. So, yeah. I should play online so that my feelings aren’t hurt for being awful at this.

Then I stabbed some guys! In an electronic facsimile of the Italian Renaissance, at least (which in story is itself an electronic facsimile of the Italian Renaissance. Oh the layers). Anyway, I had a couple of bad games, followed by a couple of good games, and a lot of waiting. There was this one jerk who did this weird trick where he would lay down a smoke bomb, stand there and watch me cough, and then a moment later I fall down from poison and he nets over 1000 points. He pulled this on me twice, and while my initial instinct was “That can’t be right,” I think I figured how that nets so many points, and now I think that it’s incredibly cheap. So…now I want to try it. I’m not proud.

I also had a great game where I was doing quite well but not perfect, able to evade a lot of my enemies, and in the last seconds, someone tried to kill me and missed, and then my target came running straight towards me and I stabbed him and took 1st. I was excited, because hurray for a comeback, and I knew this was worth points towards a challenge reward. So I checked to see how many more times I had to perform this fairly difficult stunt to get the next chunk of XP, and found out that the next reward comes when you make a comeback in the last 10 seconds 30 times. This sounds impossible. There are so many factors that cause that circumstance, and I can’t imagine replicating it 30 times in a single lifetime. I’ve managed to do it twice, and I am about 20 games from the highest level (at which point XP rewards become pointless). The fact that this is the 2nd tier of three for this particular challenge makes me think they didn’t think this one through.

Oh, and new game on the block, Disc Drivin’, which is a stupid name for a thing, by the way, but it’s fun. It’s the board game Pitch Car with some modifications that are only possible in electronic form, such as power ups and speed strips and neat ramps. It’s fun, although I’m a bit concerned that there are a few sections where you can just get stuck and keep flying off the map every turn while your opponents lap you. There should be a mulligan option, move your disc to somewhere where you can actually do something.