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The spark for the idea came during the pandemic, when we here on Funeratic decided to try some Zoom conversations and games. Two people who I admire for (among other things) their ability to converse quickly and freely with strangers and to get along instantly with seemingly anyone, Erik Bates and Matthew Preston, talked to each other for the first time and of course they hit it off immediately. I knew I wasn't imagining it, because other people on the call remarked on it. The idea got stuck in my mind that it would be fun to see those guys together in person.

It took a few years for that idea to manifest, but the opportunity presented itself last summer. I had been talking to Erik about Legendary: A Marvel Deck-Building Game, a board game that we both enjoy, and I remembered that Matthew once expressed interest in my Extra Life campaigns, particularly the time when we played through the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It dawned on me that having both of them visit for a long weekend to play an updated version of that campaign could be a lot of fun! It took little convincing to lure them here, and we settled on the weekend before Thanksgiving for the best time to visit.

I am not exaggerating when I say that getting to plan that campaign is what got me through a hellish October, what with its multiple hurricanes and a hospitalization. There were a lot of long nights lying in pain when I needed something to occupy my mind, and matching up the cards to the games to best represent a tour of the MCU did the job perfectly. I wound up planning a total of 22 games, using up most of the cards in my collection, with almost no repeating of cards (which allowed me to pre-shuffle the 44 decks before the guys arrived). It eventually required a spreadsheet to keep count for me automatically to assure that I didn't put too many or too few cards into a game. I had a blast planning all of that.

And of course, even more fun was getting to hang out with the guys and play! They flew in on a Friday afternoon and left on Monday evening. Between that time, we had a couple of local meals out with Kelly, including the Linger Lodge where Matthew and I once dined with Aaron Shurtleff and Steve West back in GooCon: Siesta Key in 2008, had a lot of laughs at the AirBNB that we rented (cat allergies kept us away from my house), and spent countless hours playing the board game around the table. I think in the end, we played 17 of the planned games, which is about how many I expected, and each of us won several games. We played literally up to the last minute, determined to win the final game based on The Marvels and with Erik striking the winning blow against the mastermind just as the Uber back to the airport pulled up.

This weekend was worth every minute of time it took to plan it and every dollar spent to make it possible. I'm beyond grateful to Erik and Matthew for flying down and being up for a long, frivolous, nerdy weekend with lots of raunchy in-jokes and good company. The only part that I regret is not setting aside more time just to be relax and talk without playing the game. There should have been more room for Kelly (who hung out at the table some but didn't play) and more time for doing something touristy while in Florida. Oh well—that sounds like all the more reason to plan a return trip! :-)

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Four Replies to When Erik Met Matthew

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Logical Operator

The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »