26-VI-2019 or NUFFLE!!!
by Aaron Shurtleff on June 26, 2019
Good day.
Am I really going to start doing daily mini-blogs just because my co-workers called me out? Apparently.
Nuffle, as I am sure you all know, is the great god of dices, who is known to be fickle and reward as much as he punishes. It comes from the table top game Blood Bowl. It is sort of a parody of football (American football, for all those who need to be assured that I speak not of soccer), using various fantasy races and similar archtypes. The idea is basically to win the game, by scoring the most points (of course), but it also allows for a fairly violent game where maiming or killing your opponents leads to you having a numerical advantage in players on the field. It's not really violent (which is what all people who play really violent games will tell you, of course), but it can be a bit much, I suppose. It's amusing. I've never really played the table top game, but I did (do) play the original video game Blood Bowl, which is based on it. I don't play Blood Bowl 2, because the computer I had at the time was not able to run it. I think the computer I am using now will run it, but the first time I bought it, I had to beg Steam for a refund when it didn't work, so now I am a bit reluctant to buy it, because I am pretty sure they won't be so nice if I buy it again and I can't play it. No need to waste money, right? Besides, there's a Blood Bowl 3 in production, so maybe I wait for the new game. ... That's a lot of exposition. Anyways, Nuffle comes from the "sacred texts" or some such thing. [It's actually a pronunciation of "NFL"..hee hee the humor] When folks play the game, if they roll well, then Nuffle approves. If they roll poorly, they curse the day that Nuffle turned his eyes from them. It's hilariously quasi-religious, and amuses me to no end to see/hear it.
I watch a lot of Blood Bowl 2 on YouTube and Twitch. I said that right?
It's been a long day. Not much to say. My house is being flooded with flies. I think there's something seriously dead outside making flies like crazy, but I can't seem to find it. We put out the giant fly traps, the ones that look like jars with holes in the top and a fluid that attracts and drowns flies. You know the type? THIS That link probably won't work, but I tried. I have a full one outside my back door [Which is the title of my sex tape hurr hurr hurr]. No, I don't mean it has a lot of flies. I mean, within two weeks of placing it outside, it has the fluid at the bottom full of dead flies, and there is a gross layer of live flies writhing around in the rest of the jar, and sometimes, you can see the maggots poking around in there too. They claim these jars are re-usable. I can't clean that. I can't. I know about the dangers of plastic and all the rest. Nope. Not this disgusting jar. Not happening. Sorry to the next generation, but this I cannot do.
Oh, crap. I need a song. And it can't be something ridiculous like "A Lap Dance is So Much Better When the Stripper is Crying" by Bloodhound Gang. No!
I haven't put a sad song in lately. "Hold Her Down" by Toad the Wet Sprocket is sad, but not in any way the type of subject matter I am thinking of. "Rosealia" by Better Than Ezra, maybe? Still kind of a bad subject (and why am I stuck on songs about violence against women).
sOnG oF tHe DaY: "Not An Addict" by K's Choice. Earlier today, I was watching one of those "Teen's React! Do They Know These Songs from the 90's???!?!?!?!?1??!" videos, and one of the songs was "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind. (which they didn't know, by the by) After the teens (kids, youths/yutes, etc.) listened, they mentioned it was about crystal meth addiction (which blew their minds!! lol). "Not An Addict" is also about drugs, of course, since you read the title, you probably could have guessed. The song has always stuck with me, even though probably most people have never heard of it or the band. Drugs are bad. Right?
I also read that a gaming YouTuber killed himself recently. His account name (is that what it is called? his handle?) was Etika. I haven't personally seen anything he ever did, but suicide is still tragic, and I hope his family, friends, and other people close to him find some measure of peace in the days to come. It's always tough to hear about these kinds of things, and it inevitably leads to the "thoughts and prayers". Not that thoughts and prayers aren't nice, but it just never seems like enough, you know?
The other thing that comes from this kind of tragedy is what I am about to do. I apologize for what seems like a trite expression, but I think this is also important in the wake of this kind of thing.
If you're hurting, and you are thinking about self-harm, please don't. Reach out to someone. It doesn't have to be me, but I don't mind if you do. I won't promise you the answers. I can't make any guarantees that whatever it is will get better. But I do know that you're not alone. There's people who care, even if it doesn't seem like it now. The number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255, and they got folks out there 24/7. You want me? Send me a message. I don't want my number out there for the world, but I'll give it out personally if someone needs it.
Ok, enough of that serious stuff. You're here for fart jokes and potty humor. I have had bad gas lately...
How about this? Do you like board games? I sure do! The games I have been playing most recently are "Terraforming Mars" and "Sagrada". Also a bit of "Kerala" and "Noctiluca", which is the most recent addition. I would recommend any of them.
I don't play much as far as video games since I quit World of Warcraft. Some Minecraft from time to time, maybe a little Best Fiends on my phone. I actually watch other people playing games on YouTube or Twitch and it scratches that itch for me, I guess. I can't watch WoW, though. It's one of those things that you kinda have to play to really enjoy..for me at least. And I don't have the time or energy to play it any longer. It takes a lot to keep up with it...for me at least.
This is going kind of long.
Welp, I'm out.
In the immortal words of LL Cool J: "Yo baby, let me see your earrings jingle"
Three Replies to 26-VI-2019 or NUFFLE!!!
Aaron Shurtleff | June 28, 2019
Do you have any of the Terraforming Mars expansions? We also have the map pack (Elysium/Hellas) and the Preludes. The map pack gives you two new maps with different spaces and milestones and awards and really gives you a lot more options when playing (although you can easily be working on a milestone that isn't actually on your map accidentally). it's almost like tripling your game. Preludes adds a few corporations, cards, and starting resources. It shortens the game a bit, I find, so if it's hard to find folks to play because the game goes on for too long, it helps a bit. It adds a new level, but doesn't get too outrageous. Best of all, the cards added all have a particular mark on them, so if you mix them in and then decide you don't want them for a game, it's fairly easy to remove them.
I will have to check out Res Arcana if I get the chance. My brother-in-law is dying to get his hands on a game called Wingspan, but it's been sold out and on back order for months! I hope that's a sign that it's a really good game!!
Scott Hardie | June 29, 2019
I have played with friends' copies of the Elysium/Hellas boards and just picked up my own copy this week. I can't wait to try them. I have also played with the preludes and, while I like the idea, I find that they shorten the game too much for my taste; to each their own. I look forward to trying the other expansions out there.
I have tried the drafting variant in the rules, and it makes the game take much longer, but it's definitely an interesting twist on the game, trying to anticipate what your opponent wants and cutting them off.
A house rule that I want to try is trading. It bugs me that in a game about corporations, there's no doing business across the table. It seems to me that you should be able to make trades for resources, map tile ownership, unplayed cards, and played cards (keeping them played but changing owners). As long as you're not trading turn order or promises of future elements (like trading production rates), I don't think it would break the game; in fact, I suspect it would make the game a lot more fun and interesting. I have a couple of friends who are experts in the game who I want to ask to try it; I wouldn't foist such a house rule upon beginners.
MiracleASSassin
Aaron Shurtleff uses this area as a dumping ground for his random thoughts... Read more »
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Scott Hardie | June 28, 2019
I've heard good things about Blood Bowl for years. I always wanted to try it.
I too have had trouble getting providers of old games (looking at you Steam and GOG) from working on my computers, both Windows and Linux. Six years ago, I paid a few bucks to GOG for a couple of old 1990s games, and they didn't work, and there was no refund, but I didn't care because it was only a few bucks, and I went on with my life... except every 3-4 months since then, GOG has sent me some kind of legal email about changes to their privacy policy and how they use my information. I cannot unsubscribe. I haven't done any business with them since. Hey GOG, maybe just leave me alone?
We get black flies in our house occasionally too, a byproduct of having a septic system instead of being hooked up to the county sewer line. Running all of the faucets and flushing all of the drains every few weeks really helps to avoid it. Every time I go around the house doing that, I think, "I wonder if my friend Aaron the professional bug expert knows a better way to deal with black flies. I bet he doesn't get black flies." Apparently I am wrong. :-P
Terraforming Mars and Sagraga are awesome! I just played Terraforming Mars a few nights ago. I'm having a "Space Game Day" in a few weeks with my gaming Meetup group to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, and we're going to play Terraforming Mars all day. I can't get enough of that game! The fact that I can play it solo is a plus, because I don't have to wait to be around other people in the mood for a longer game. I beat it alone with every corporation, which took a while because solo play is so damned hard to win. (If you're looking for a counter-recommendation, I just tried Res Arcana last night and loved it immediately. Terraforming Mars has spoiled me for every game because now I want every game to have a solo mode where I can just play it over and over again.)