Board Games and Personalities

I know, bad monkey for not posting every day. things have been hectic here, gonna be doing some double posts till I catch back up.

So, I like to game. I do table top gaming such as Dungeons and Dragons, I play video games like Mario or Skyrim and often times I play card and board games. Poker and Monopoly are played, this is true, but I find my taste in games to be a bit more geeky and eccentric. I love games like Cosmic Encounters, Gloom, Settlers of Catan, 7 Wonders and a whole host more. These are part of a wave of "geek" games, systems based on geeky/nerdy concepts or unique rule system that I find absolutely adorable and cool.

Over the last few years, I have played many games. Now that I have a decent paying job, I can actually afford many of these games myself, and get to enjoy them on a far more regular basis. I have found with my friend and I, our personalities and even our attitudes tend to shift and change depending on the game we're in. I find it amusing and also fascinating to watch a normally quiet and simple person go to a frothing rage monster once they get a set of Cosmic cards in their hands, or see the inner goth bloom with a good game of Gloom.

I'm gonna do a simple review of two of my favorite games here, and some amusing notions on how we tend to suddenly act and change while playing them.

Cosmic Encounters - This is the original geeky game for me, the one that drew me into the world of board gaming and fun. The premise of the game is that you are one of over a hundred alien species (or 2 aliens together, if you use the variant rules) trying to conquer the galaxy. You have your own home system of planets, and you must use your alien powers and various cards drawn from a deck to conquer your enemies home systems. The first person to 5 foreign victories wins.

This game is difficult, I admit, but so much fun to play. Picking an alien can be daunting, and it takes several games to really get a firm grasp and understanding of the rules. It took me 4 or 5, and there are STILL some aliens I have never played and thus don't truly understand the rules for. If you get a game of experienced players however, watch out for some awesome fun times. The game can get very aggressive and heated at times, make sure to take breaks after the game is over to avoid issues.

We tend to get very aggressive and violent during this game, for some reason the concept of galactic conquest just makes people violent. We tend to get loud, lots of arm flailing and cursing happens. Even those of us not normally aggressive will become very dominant and headstrong, and its almost comical the bloodthirstiness that will radiate from Sarah's eyes. We can't play this game too much though, we've given it the nickname "the game that ruins friendships" for a good reason.

Skytraders - This was actually a random purchase, recommended to Jake by a game store owner, and I have found it incredibly awesome and fun. Its a long game though, so be prepared to play this for the long haul. The premise of this game is that you are one of 5 airship captains in a steampunk world, and you are attempting to gain control of the Skytraders guild. You do this by buying and selling goods, earning gold, influencing the market value of said goods and buying guild influence. The first person to the center of the guild influence tracker wins!

This is a game that once you sort all the pieces is actually really simple. You have limited movement, you must buy goods and sell them in other cities, and later you must roll dice to see which market goods you control. The buying and selling is straight forward, and I find the market phase rather exciting. So, you take your 3 dice and roll them. The numbers they land on correspond with a specific good. You now have the ability to make the price go up (thus more expensive to buy or sell) or make the price go down (thus cheaper to buy and sell). You have two minute to negotiate with your fellow captain on who will back what, and its always intense and a lot of fun. So much fun, in fact, we regularly forget to buy guild influence while playing!

Now you'd think with an aggressive game like stock market control we'd be just as ruthless as Cosmic, but you would be surprisingly wrong. When we sit down to play I always insist of drinking tea (because were civilized captains) and we all take on an air of sophistication. We have to work together at times to push the goods up or down as we need, and that need to find common ground and agreements makes us much more careful about being ruthless to another. There is a combat mechanic for fighting each other, but we so rarely do it I often don't even bother getting the ship combat upgrades in favor of ship crew that helps me buy/sell better. We act like proper steampunk airship captains the entire time, which causes no end of eyerolling from Lana or Sarah.

Things you didn't know until you needed to...

I have found there is a HUGE list of things that have been neglect in my education, and things I am just starting to learn I needed to know like...now. These are things I find very frustrating, not a bad frustrating mind you but still frustrating nonetheless, but I will struggle though them.

First off, no one accurately prepares you for success. Like, honest to gods I have never been prepared or ready for the kind of success I have found with my job right now. They always say hard work, loyalty and dedication will pay off...but when was the last time it truly did? I haven't been taught what to do with rapid and frequent success, never prepared for it. I still don't know what to do with it, but I'm just rolling with the punches right now and taking it one day at a time.

Also, it gets talked about all the time but no one can really prepare you with moving in with your future spouse. So much needs to be covered and figured out, so much needs to be accounted for but it all needs to be done with zero education and training. We're sorting through all of that as a couple, but its a step-by-step process. For us its been a mixing of the geek cultures, combining our media and gaming habits has been odd.   We both have separate lives worth of things, so who's things get put where and displayed out next to what? Figuring out how to start the process of combining bank accounts, consolidating our various personal lives and how to sort out each others families...we're learning as we go but I sure coulda used a course on this in college!

Also...weddings. Like, holy shazbot there is no education on planning anything wedding related. There are a million "ultimate guides" out there, and I keep seeing a lot of dollar signs adding up. It is frustrating that a modern wedding costs so much, neither of us come from rich families and are looking at paying for it ourselves (which leaves only 6000 for everything). And so many options, so many variables to account for that you had no idea until you started the process. It feels like my wallet is being held hostage for the sake of love, and makes me fussy. There's still more to delve into it, and maybe this wedding planner will be a boon, but I hate feeling like I'm being fleeced and am supposed to grin and bare it. I wish I knew what right options to take, what right way to go about things so I felt like I wan't just about to be screwed.

Life is going great, please don't take this the wrong way. I just wish I felt more prepared for these experiences that I'm going through, more ready to handle them. I think I'm doing pretty well all things considered, and handling it all well. But the Boy Scout in me always wants to be prepared!

Moving, ugh

I am exhausted form moving, and will be posting more tomorrow.

The last 24 hours have been a lot of pain and struggle, but we made it in and got everything into the apartment. The big unpacking is next, which sounds easier than it is. The place is nice, and I plan on doing some before/after shots once the rooms are in reasonable enough shape and not filled with boxes. I have been building furniture all day, which means fewer boxes have been unpacked but more places to put the unpacked items as soon as I'm ready.

Gathering of the Clans - Learning Time

This past weekend was my locally Barony's annual Gathering of the Clan event. This tends to be a silly/relaxed event, a lot of fun and games are had here and a good time overall. This was my first attendance at it actually, I missed last years due to a work conflict so I was looking forward to the fun and games. I had a lot of fun overall, and am always pleased to see my friends receive awards for their good works, but I also found myself learning a lot of things this event.

Here's my list of things learned, transcribed from my notebook. If I feel I need to expand the details, I will.

. Always plan ahead. Do not assume help will come, either get it yourself or plan to do the task without it.

. Do not overbook. If people have to be at certain places, make sure they don't have to be in 3 places at once. Set a good pace.

. Always take time to sit and answer questions, you never know who will decide to be chatty and you may just discover a new friend.

. Don't forget to put your contact info on your class hand-out :p

. When doing a Feast, you WILL hit a wall. You WILL hit a point where you're lot in the weeds and having your meltdown. Since you know that will happen, have someone be in the Feast prep team who's sole job is to get you through that breakdown point. They will save that feast and make sure you get back on schedule.

. Always triple check your portions, make sure you have enough ingredients!

. Roll with the punches. Some dishes may need to be scrapped mid meal, others may need to be rearranged  That's ok, that happens. That's not a hallmark of a bad cook, that's the reality of working in an unbalanced system called life.

. Cue cards for each dish, including ingredients, is a gold idea. Stealing that.

. Always carry personal spice and ingredients, you never know when emergency flour is needed!

. Sometimes, no matter how many times you double/triple check with someone, people forget things. Don't sweat it when they do, and just be ready to have their back when they need it.

. Faith is terrifying with thrown weapons. Do not piss her off when you re in a 70 foot radius.

. When you have the opportunity to put out a fire, do it. When you have the chance to tip the scales, tip them. When you can rush to catch the vase, catch it. But above all, remember that when you do these things you do them for chivalry and honors sake; not for the sake of notice or reward or praise.

. There are times that I forget Eva was a Queen of the East, but she will always find a way to remind me through her generosity and kindness and decorum.

. Pre-planning, pre-planning, pre-planning. Organize the web page, advertise the merchants, put the merchants in a good place for foot traffic, put everything where you said you would.

. Always assume that they will not follow your directions, follow behind to ensure compliance.

. "But the Baroness said" is a way to earn a smacking.

. Amalric is hilarious when drunk.

Trimarian Scribes

The smell of coffee and fresh cooked eggs woke Morie Gray before the quick peck on her cheek. She shifted in hopes to catch a glimpse of the delivery man, but she knew her dearest was already off and running to his next task. How Christoff could care to wake so early on a holiday weekend was beyond her, but the perk of delivered breakfast was enough to cause her reason to rise from beneath the blankets and off the rugs. She quickly dressed, the Scottish attire was perfect for the Trimarian climate due to its breathing room and ease of dressing, and she stumbled towards the center of camp before her fellows could.

Portioning out the breakfast to her companions, Morie let her mind unfog as she tried to plan her day. She knew that there was some scribal work to be done, but it would be nice and leisurely transcribing work. Giving a smile and a plate to those who stumbled out of tents, she was wide awake by the time the others had begun to eat. "Good morning James, good morning Milesenda. Sleep well?" She asked.

James gave a grunt and a nod, going first for the black gold in a cup before even considering the eggs. Milesenda gave him a knowing look and happily takes a bite of the breakfast. "We did, but James got significantly less than the rest of us. Per usual." She teases her husband, who's gruff look is melted by the soft kiss to his brow. 

"Bard work lasts until the last fire circle drops, which wasn't till nearly 3am." James responds sleepily, though life was fast coming to his eyes as he began his second cup of coffee. 

Morie shook her head and laughed at her friends morning ritual, it was the same every long gathering. This weekend was known as the Trimaris Memorial Tournament, a several day affair celebrating the founding of the kingdom. Christoff had already dashed off to feed the masses, no doubt the Archers were in service to the gate boundaries or to the Wyvernwoode Excellencies, and who knows what Adriano had gotten himself into this time. Later this day heirs to the throne would be selected, proving the line of succession was strong. A grand feast and court would need to be held, thankfully Milesenda had already prepared all of the scrolls needed.

At least, this was the assumption. That was quickly proven false as Adriano came sprinting from the direction of the royal encampment, red faced and out of breath as he arrived into camp. James sighs and grabs a piece of toast, shoving it into his mouth and speaking around it as he buckles his sword belt  "Alright brother, what trouble are you in now?" He teased, then took a bite of the bread.

"Trouble? No, there was a simple misunderstanding last night involving a Gypsy and an Italian woman. See she, the Gypsy, thought I was flirting with her and proposing a marriage contract. Not that I wasn't flirting, but that's not the point I - I am totally off topic." Scowling at his sword brother and trying not to smirk at the friendly laugh, he grabs a swig of water to refresh himself. "I bring a message from Her Majesty, the Queen of Trimaris, to Milesenda. They need a Grant of Arms scroll for high court this evening."

Milesenda's eyes grew wide and from her mouth issued forth a set of rather unladylike words thankfully in French Morie had been meaning to learn the language, but she didn't need to know French to understand that her friend was rather upset. "A Grant of ARms, in this kind of notice!? I don't have enough ingredients for ink, I'l need to construct a new brush or three, I'll need to barter for the parchment..." Standing up in a panic, she dashes for the tent to start gathering her pouches and harvesting materials.

Adriano blushed apologetically at delivering the news, but soon sits down to share breakfast with James as they discuss the adventures they both had undergone last evening. Morie sighs, they just didn't understand what was needed for this task but she wasn't sure they ever would. Their boasting stories between the two brothers were bad enough, that Norsemen story they both insist on retelling couldn't possibly be true, she had given up on trying to get them to understand or have them believe the work went into a scroll. Alas, she knew Milesenda couldn't go this alone and went to get her gathering pouch as well as well as her trimming shears. It was going to be a long day.

* * * * * * * * *

The sun had just begun its climb across the morning sky, and Morie and Milesenda were already running full sprint. Chimera are difficult as it is to approach, temperamental creatures that are best avoided whenever possible, but in the early morning at least they can be caught sleepy and off their guard. A quick snip from Morie's scissors got the needed tuft of fur for 5 brushes, but had awoken the creature with a start. Ducking behind a large rock, they both pant and catch their breath as the beast hunts for them. 

"Why do we need this particular hair again?" Morie pants, looking over to Milesenda and speaking in a hushed tone.

"Nothing paints as fine, nor smooths gold as clean. It the properties of the hair, almost like silk. We need it to spread the green ink anyway." Milesenda responds promptly, trying to retain her ladylike demeanor while sweating and out of breath.

A roar as the creature bounds towards them causes both the women to dash off and running, heading back towards the trail. Tired of running, Morie pauses and stops next to a large stone easily the size of a small child. Bending down and grunting, she hefts the large rock high into the air and as the chimera dashes forward she drops it on the beasts lion head. The animal crashes down, stunned, and Milesenda jogs back to her friend. Giving a low whistle she looks to the young Scotswoman. "Where did you learn that?"

Morie shrugs, wiping the earth dust off on her lower dress. "Highland games, you get really good at lifting awkward and heavy objects. Also, sometimes Scottish men need reminding that no means no." 

Sharing a laugh, they both bend down to the unconscious animal. No point in wasting a good prize, and the mane will grow back fast enough.

* * * * * * * * *

Morie tiptoed towards the great beast, swallowing hard. Standing up to an overgrown cat was one thing, walking close to a sleeping sea dragon  was something entirely different. She looked back at Milesenda, who was busy keeping the beast enthralled and asleep with her voice, and hoped the dust wasn't as bad as yesterday.

Milensenda knew there was a nest of sea dragons nearby, but she imagined there would have to be swimming involved to catch ones attention. This one was busy basking in the sun along the beach, unaware of the two ladies as they approached the three-headed creature. The sea dragon was soothed and comforted by the sound of a female voice, its why the mermaids were able to tame so many, but it took a lot of singing and the french woman was getting parched. "Please get the scale we need, I can't sing like this all week!" She shrilled melodically.

"Dragon scales are naturally resistant, I need to pull one right this instant. Sing something soothing so, the pain does not wake him oh" Morie sang back, trying to emulate Milesenda's voice but jarring in a minor chord. The beast stirred and threatened to wake, and Morie froze. Looking in panic, she waffled on dashing back to safety and looked towards the other for comfort or assistance.

Milesenda could sense and see the beast stirring, and shifted her voice to sing a soft song about the Sea King to bring the beast back to slumber. A heavy eye on one of the three heads began to open, but the power behind her words had the noble creature slowly drift back to its restless slumber. Singing with a sound of relief, she watched as Morie carefully yanked a single green scale from the beasts side and quickly scramble back. Milesenda kept singing till they crested the hill, then dashed back to safety away from the water.

"Where did you learn to sing like that?" Morie asks, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Besides having a bard for a husband? Battle scribing requires a wide variety of skills, to harvest the rare pigment ingredients." Pausing as she checks the list, she sighs in frustration. "I do not want to barter with dwarves for more gold..."

"Right? They just don't appreciate us, I think its the lack of beard." Morie adds sagely.

* * * * * * * *

The two ladies drug themselves back into the scribal hall erected on the site, the other scribes could see the work they had gone through that day and sympathized. After a brief lunch the real work began, the drawing and the word etching to craft the masterpiece Her Majesty had requested. Pausing mid-afternoon for a break, the other scribes all brought out their barter items to trade. Morie's haul of chimera hair was a big hit, easily traded for Elvish quicksilver and giant hair the others had brought with them. Trading supplies was always a happy experience, especially when the rarer inks are brought out.

Come the court that evening, the scroll was awarded with great fanfare and welcomed tears from the recipient. Morie and Milesenda relaxed back in their chairs, hands tired and sore from the frantic writing and drawing that had been done all day. Leaning over to kiss her and take her hand, Christoff smiles at his sweetheart. "That's an amazing piece of work love, do you think you could whip something up like that for me tomorrow? See it is a friends Peerage anniversary and..."

His words trail off and he falls silent at the glares threatening bodily harm from both Morie and Milesenda.

"Or..you know, I could not ask that of you.." he grinned sheepishly.

Some Thoughts on Peers, Associates, & Their Relationships - A Response

So my friend Illene, Baroness of Darkwater and a pretty nifty lady, posted this article today in her long forgotten blog (on a side note, hopefully this means she'll start blogging more!). It's a long one, primarily dealing with SCA shtuff but a good read if you have the time to scan through it. I was originally going to discuss my N1Z project today (for more info head to http://www.notonezombie.com/ ), but I felt like responding to her blogpost and answerin the question poised by her.

Here's a question for those of you brave enough to read to the end - what do you think makes a good peer, and/or a good peer-associate relationship?

Seeing as I am an apprentice to a Laurel here in the SCA, I felt inspired and almost required to find an answer for this question. I mean, before I took the belt from Mistress Madhavi I sat down and spent time figuring out what I wanted from our peer-associate relationship and what I wanted out of a peer. Hell, it was a question she required me to answer before taking me on as a student! But more often than not, this question is one that's never really asked or visible  to others outside of the peer or associate. I guess it can be seen as a private thing, but for me I find it a fascinating share and a great discussion topic.

As to what I think makes a good peer...they are a well-grounded person who has a passion for their focus and a desire to hare their knowledge. A good peer is someone who doesn't rest on their laurels, but someone who continues to learn and grow to be the best peer they can be for the kingdom. It is someone who understand that they have just as much to learn from teaching an associate, as their associate has to learn from them. Someone who understands that breaks need to happen and in the end its just a hobby, abet a fun one. Someone who will be like family towards their associates, because in a way they kinda are becoming as close as.

Side tangent, I'm personally not into the calling your peer Mom or Dad thing. Not that I think there's anything wrong with it, I just know I have enough mommy/daddy issues that I wouldn't want to put unrealistic expectations upon my Laurel for their behavior issues :p. Madhavi, at my belting, called me her little brother and I am happy enough with that.

As for a good peer-associate relationship...its whatever works for the peer and associate. There is no correct answer, because each relationship is going to be different to better serve the needs of the individuals involved. What I need from my Laurel (and what she needs form me in return) will be vastly different from what my friend Jake needs or my friend Lana needs. The best relationship is one what is fulfilling on both sides, both peer and associate are getting what they need emotionally/mentally/spiritually from the relationship and everyone's happy. If those aren't being met, then it's clearly not going o great now is it :p.

As an example, I like to tease and rib at my friend Jake for how he went about getting his yellow belt from Illene. For him, it was a formal process. There was a student contract, a big gathering of the Pelicans house, formal declarations and swag. For the belting it was done in front of a court with more fancy words and formalities. That's what works best from him and his peer, so that is correct. However, that's not what would have worked for me and Madhavi and it's something we both snicker about on occasion. I asked her on the way to a party at Gulf Wars to be her student, we later sat the next day watching her daughter fight and discussed it and what we both wanted/what it meant. We shook on it beneath that tree, and moved on with the process of getting to know each other. She asked me to take her belt while we both sat in the Ocala kitchen eating food, and later I was belted in a small private gathering of close friends and mentors. No formal words, no declarations or signs, just simple honesty and emotions and signs of mutual trust and respect. And that worked for us, that was the right thing for us.

So, for those who are reading this I highly suggest you hit Illne's blog and read it. Then answer the question poised, because I wanna snoop in and read your answers as well to learn and grow more ;).

Maybe its just me...

...or maybe I'm just too picky.

I've started all the planning for my Fall Coronation feast, and it once again brings me to wondering if I'm too "demanding" or too "picky" for my own good. I tend to have very specific visions and goals and ideals for things that I do, and too many times I feel like I'm the odd man out for having them :/

Now one thing I know I am is incredibly CDO (it's like OCD but the letters are in alphabetical order, as they should be) about much of my life, and many of my friends can agree wholeheartedly that I like to over-plan  But I guess...I dunno. I don't think it unreasonable to begin planning as soon as possible, and to plan with all the information available. With the Fall Coronation feast, I was told the theme of the event was to be decided upon the culture/time period of the Crown Tourny winner at TMT. And I'm sorry, but 4 months is NOT enough time to plan a Kingdom level feast even if its something simple like English food. So when I set out to put down my menu for the bid, I did it with full mind that I would not be changing the menu much by prep time.

So I know that I'm doing a 14th century feast, French in design with dishes coming from Le Menagier de Paris. Some of my dishes may change during my prep work in the coming months, but going forward I know that I want feast hall attire and entertainment to be stylized after the 14th century French feast halls. That means doing a lot of research into great halls and feast hall designs for my event, researching how food was served and in what order, how music was presented and entertainment was provided ..then me slowly going mad when I am forced to rely upon others.

I know it's only been a few days, but I still don't know from my autocrat how many people I am serving. Without that number, it makes it hard to start dish prep and testing. I'm going with a number at 125, more than that and I'm unsure I could have people comfortably move through the hall to provide nourishment. I'm already moving on art and design for the hall, I've got a bunch of links and info to send to my friend Lana who is really good at translating my explosions of creation into a thing that will actually work. My friend Ever is already on board as my Hall steward, as soon as I can formalize the ideas I have for serving and presentation I'm hoping he'll really enjoy them. I have 3 wandering Minstrels, roving and personal entertainment for each table so the whole hall doesn't have to have its conversation disturbed by entertainment. 

All in all makes me wonder...am I too picky? Like, I admit I am VERY demanding and focused on what  want to see in a hall, or what/how I want things served, or what I want performed and when. I know I'm very hands on and very micro-managing, and I guess I just worry that my style will turn people away/is the wrong way to do things. 

Ah well, back to my research! As an aside, here is an example of 14th century Great Hall, a scaled recreation of the great hall in Yorkshire. While English in location, at the time there would have been a strong French influence in the upper nobilities designs and french tapestries would have been hung on the halls: