March Roundtable: Luck Mechanics

March Roundtable: Luck Mechanics

Happy March! Here in the Pacific Northwest we’re sandwiched between bitter winter and the slightly warmer temperatures of spring, but mostly it’s just cold. How lucky we are! Thanks for applauding my super smooth transition—this month we’re talking about luck and luck mechanics in games, which is different from actual luck. I would know, considering I lose every board game I play because I have no actual luck. (more…)

GYGO: At This Point We Might As Well Call This Roundup “This Week in Layoffs”

GYGO: At This Point We Might As Well Call This Roundup “This Week in Layoffs”

Another week, another Wednesday! I haven’t been playing many games recently, though I did just try Horrified, a co-op monster-hunting board game. It was a lot of fun! The rules seem complex at first, but once you get into the groove of things it’s a lot of fun with flexible difficulty. We took Dracula and the Creature from the Black Lagoon down on our first try, so you’re welcome for saving the world from a double monster menace.

Anyway, here’s the gaming news this week. (more…)

GYGO: At This Point We Might As Well Call This Roundup “This Week in Layoffs”

GYGO: Black Flags Raised Against Hasbro

Get Your Game On is back for another week of news in the gaming world, which knows no schedule or bounds! I personally have been taking a generous break from playing games at all lately… but it’s not like it’s any safer from the outside looking in. (more…)

More Than Just Fishing: A Roundtable About Sidequests

More Than Just Fishing: A Roundtable About Sidequests

I’ve written pretty thoroughly about how I am a particular type of gamer. I prefer games that are story and relationship focused, and that don’t require a lot of level grinding or random quests. This includes my tabletop play style—apologies to my DM/wife who is sitting on a bunch of Kingmaker sidequests that our party has ignored! Because of my pickiness, I don’t play a lot of games, but lately I’ve been feeling like this framework of “pickiness” is unfair. Am I a gamer aberration? What makes me different from all of you? Why the heck do y’all enjoy repetitive level grinding?! (more…)

Let Me Tell You About My OC(s): Tabletop RPGs as Disempowerment Fantasies

Let Me Tell You About My OC(s): Tabletop RPGs as Disempowerment Fantasies

Late last year, I suddenly felt like I needed a break. Not a little one, either—I felt overwhelmed with responsibility for everything from taking care of my pets and family to texting friends to ask when everybody was available for our next D&D session.

All this happened alongside discussions in therapy about my intense need to be strong and capable and weather the world without asking for help. It’s a story I’d told myself and everybody else since I was a kid—that I was responsible for my own wellbeing and if I felt like I needed assistance, I was wrong and should just become stronger. You can imagine that, after 33 years, this story’s gotten a little old. (more…)