I'm happy to report that gaming has still been a part of my weeks/days since my last post, but not quite to the extent I'd like. Things are busy, and will continue to be as we move deeper into summer/fall.
I was hired as Head Coach of the women's varsity soccer team at my old college. It's very exciting and definitely something I've wanted to do since my playing days in college. However, it's more on my plate for sure - all good mostly - but more on the plate.
It brings me back to why I love solo gaming, and why board games NEED to remain in my weeks, even if it's to a lesser extent than I'd like. They are my 'zen', my mental release and just one other part of my day where I can always smile (yes, even when I lose 🤣).
Steam and digital gaming have been played over the last two weeks for sure, as some days bring me home later in the evening and I either have less time and/or energy to bring a game to the table. However, when I have been able to get to the table it always feels like a breath of fresh air. As much as I still enjoy the digital versions, it sure feels good to sit down to no screens/technology and just enjoy the beautiful artwork and fun world in front of you, ya know? 😊
This week was animal themed. Not by design. I just had the urge to play Ark Nova and Wingspan.
I was definitely bringing in some nice animals into my zoo playing Ark Nova, and was moving along the tracks well I felt. However, when I got to the end I was a bit lost scoring wise with the new scoring rules. The old scoring had to do with the markers crossing each other. In solo, if they crossed you'd win. But now I questioned whether solo still used that 'old' method or not. I felt good about my zoo, so I simply used the new scoring method and tracked it as is. In doing so however, it becomes a 'beat your own score' type solo game. 🙄 That's not bad to me, but it's definitely not my favourite way to solo.
My next task when I have time is to dive into the ARNO solo mode, which definitely looks like it will be an even better solo experience to the game. I found some YouTube run throughs as well which will be handy I'm sure. It looks to me like it'll bring a similar solo experience that the MarsBot has in Terraforming Mars (which more mimics the multiplayer game experience). 😀
My Wingspan plays were lots of fun a couple nights ago. Now with 2/3 expansions, I enjoy playing with all of them. SO MANY BIRDS! Wow! The little tweaks with the Oceania Expansion are fun new elements as well. I lost by 1VP in game one. It was a great game! Game 2, I lost again by 6 or 7VP. Both games had me feeling quite happy with my aviary though I must say. 🙂
I'm off to a practice this morning with some of our veteran players, but I'm hoping that my afternoon will bring some opportunity to get to the table before or after dinner. I'm in the mood to dive into an immersive world today; Scythe, Gloomhaven, Root, West Kingdom series or Raiders of the North Sea series... 🤔 So many great options.
The new scoring in Ark Nova is unnecessary, but at least it doesn't change the game. A.R.N.O. and the MarsBot try to fix things that aren't broke by adding automated opponents. The official solo modes of both Ark Nova and Terraforming Mars are fine. And the solo mode of Ark Nova already mimics a multiplayer game. It has exactly the same progression as when you play against a good opponent, where near the end you absolutely can't do everything you'd like to do anymore and have to choose carefully.
That said, of course I hope you'll enjoy those inferior variants, Derek 😜