Trying to do Everything

It’s annoying when you have lots of stuff that you could be doing, you just don’t feel like doing it. It’s like when you get assigned a project, the weeks between when you get it assigned and when it is due are terrible because every time you do anything for your own entertainment, you think about how you could, and probably should, be working on that project.
But now the problem isn’t any specific project, it’s life in general. Every time I do anything for entertainment I feel as though I should be doing something else. “You should be reading your scriptures or studying for your upcoming math prize exam (it’s like the previous one that I won (which is on my mom’s blog), but this time it’s bigger (the whole state) and I really want to win first place in the state (at least place) or write the paper that’s due soon or write a blog post or work on scouts or work on chapter notes or study Spanish or whatever. You don’t have time to entertain yourself!”
Anyway, let’s talk more about the math competition, cause that’s pretty cool, I guess. The one that I won was pretty interesting for several reasons.
First off, I didn’t really expect the story to get puffed up the way it did. All the people who went got recognized and put into the newspaper when all you really had to do was show up.
Second off, won $65. It was pretty nice. Depending on what happens Thomas and I are thinking about getting a Switch with Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We’ll see if our plans ever go through.
Third off, the fact that I won the Algebra II section. I knew that I was good at math, but it’s good to get some reassurance. I got 15% higher than 2nd place and 25% more than everyone else (in the multiple choice section, I don’t know about the free form). But the next step is the state-wide one I mentioned earlier. I really want to get 1st on that so I can know that I’m actually really decently pretty good at math. One problem with it though is it (I’m pretty sure at least) is over all of Algebra II (and below (so, Algebra I and Geometry)). The other competition was only the semester of Algebra II and below (once again, I’m pretty sure, not 100%). With help from a couple of teachers and Thomas, I’ve been studying some and practicing for it. Got a couple of the tests they used in the past, trying to do the problems, getting problems explained etc. We’ll see what I can do, the test is on March 8th. Since I won’t exactly know everything the test is on, I don’t really know what’s going to happen. There is money involved in this competition also. In the past, they have given $25 for the winner of the school and then more money if you place in, like, the top 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 or something like that in the state. Previously it was $200 for 1st place and then less for 2nd and less for 3rd and so on. If I can win, and if we decide to get the Switch, I’ll have more money to contribute to the cause.
Meh, whatever. I been watching quite of bit of anime recently, which deserves its own blog post, I would say. It’s preeeetttyyyy gooooodddd.

Writing about Writing

I’ve thought about writing (well, I guess typing, which in the context of this blog post actually makes a slight difference) about this subject for a while and am now getting around to it. Looked at my ideas for my next blog post and decided that this was my best option since I should let the ideas (with the exception of one) age a little bit longer (saying that makes me want to play Viticulture). The other ideas mainly dealing with lists and favorites and such. Think it’s best if I let my opinions fully formulate before talking about them.

Anyway, the topic of today, other than random stuff that I’m probably going to interject randomly, is how much I enjoy typing/writing. Specifically, blog posts. There is kind of this ‘hump’ of effort I have to get over, but once I do and I start writing my blog post it is really enjoyable. (The ‘hump’ of effort being, I actually have to start the blog post, kind of annoying when I have/want to do other things. (kind of like starting a board game you know will take a certain amount of time, and you aren’t sure if you have time so you keep putting it off until you actually don’t have time (because it’s the end of the day (the analogy made sense in my head (I guess it’s kind of hard to put some thought process down on paper))))). But writing my blog post is only part of it. I think it’s the typing that I really like. I have pretty good Words per Minute (whenever I take a test, I normally get between 60-70 wpm), so it feels really good having my fingers bounce off the keys and such. The way the Chromebook and our computer keys sound when pressed is really nice too. Gives a satisfying noise. Makes me want to type really fast. But it’s also about creating something. Revising it. Making it your own. Double checking it for grammatical errors--of which I’m sure I still make a few--and then posting something I’m decently proud and happy with. Also, I’ve never really thought about it since it never comes up during school conversations or whatever, but I like the idea of being able to tell someone that I have a blog that I put onto (decently) regularly to. (Depends on your definition of ‘decently’, I guess.) But it also has this strange feeling attached to it. The fact that someone, other than my family and a couple other people, could just look up my blog and get access to everything I have written. Someone could read the entirety of this blog and figure out part of who I am, without me even knowing it. Kind of like someone reading your journal (although not as personal (although personal in a different way (it’s like a journal that I’m okay with people reading. I post things here that I would never write into a journal, there would be no need (partially because I have this blog, but I think you get the idea, maybe))). Of course, the interesting thing is that basically none of this applies to a school assigned paper (I think the only thing applying is the fact that I still get to type). Don’t know what makes the big difference between the two. Maybe has to deal with how, with a blog post, I chose to make it, I chose the topic, and I chose to publish it. With a school paper, I kind of just go off what they give me. No gigantic creativity leaps that I have to make. Even when I’m not assigned a specific topic, I still feel limited. I can’t literally write about whatever I want. Guess that’s why I call this blog that. Because here I have the freedom of writing whatever I want.

Anyway, that’s the blog post this week, might/probably will come next week with another one. Might be the other blog post that doesn’t involve listing things, so I can let those things sit around a little while more. Maybe. Might be a list post instead.

Christmas Games Reviews

Adjusted the sizes of the layout. Not sure if it's too noticeable, but I think it looks slightly better and doesn't feel as crammed. It being so small wasn't much of a problem back when my posts were smaller, but they've gotten larger as of late, so I increased the size a little bit.

We got tons of games for Christmas. If you want to see the full list look at my mom's post here.

Had a similar idea to Andrew, but after he posted his post (which you can find here), I've decided to basically convert to the style of that blog post. Go give his a read real quick and come back here so you can compare his opinions of the games we played to mine (the games we talk about slightly differ, although most of them are the same). It's kinda interesting, I think. Ordering them on my favorite board/card games list will come later, for now you only get my brief thoughts on them.

SeaFall: Playing through the campaign of SeaFall was amazing. It rose higher than my bar of expectations. After hearing the mixed opinions about the game I was kind of scared it wasn’t going to be that enjoyable. But, man, it was a blast. However, is it a good game? Sure I loved it as a Legacy Game, but I don’t see myself pulling it out and playing one of the two ways you can after the campaign. I would rather play other games. So there it sits at the top of the closet where it is hard-ish to reach, along with Pandemic: Legacy.

Viticulture: Viticulture is absolutely fantastic. Will it become my new number one? Don’t know yet. But when I look in the closet and seriously consider playing the solo variant, I know it’s a good game.

My Village: My Village is very enjoyable. Is it better than Village? Hmmm… maybe. One thing Village has over My Village though is killing off my people. In Village, it felt strategic and was one of my favorite parts of the game. In My Village killing off my people doesn’t feel rewarding enough. It is often, if not always, better to try and not kill your people off. It barely rewards you and getting your person back is just annoying. I miss the powerfulness (not a word, apparently) of having your people remembered in the book of remembrance that was present in Village.

Mystic Vale: Mystic Vale is really nice and feels clean. I love the system and it has the quickness of Dominion, which is a really nice bonus.

Codenames/Codenames: Pictures: Codenames is and isn’t what I was expecting. The game played out fantastically. But before getting a chance to play, I heard about how it was the top party game on boardgamegeek, and it surprised me. Maybe it wasn’t quite what I thought. Well, it was exactly what I originally thought it was going to be. Which was strange. In a party game setting pulling out Codenames feels strange to me, I just wouldn’t do it. It feels too thinky for a party. I would play it with four, five or six (six being the sweet spot, I think), but anything above that I would instantly pull out Avalon or Telestrations instead. Granted, I haven’t played it will a larger group than 6, so I don’t really know how it would go. Anyways, still a great game.

Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Castles of Mad King Ludwig is in a strange place right now. I love the gameplay, there is nothing wrong there. But when I saw that the box said it lasts 90 minutes I was surprised. The gameplay makes me feel as though it shouldn’t be that long, but the thing is the gameplay doesn’t feel dragged out at all. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but it is a weird combination. Feeling as though it shouldn't take that long, but, when playing, it doesn't feel long (even though it actually does take that long). Still quite fun to play, regardless.

Imhotep: Imhotep is quite amazing, and certainly went higher than my expectations. I was kind of hesitant to get it, but I’m glad it’s in our closet. The actions are simple, which really aids this game. It doesn’t limit the fun, it makes it quick, plus the actions are simple enough that I’m not afraid to pull it out and explain it to people.

Caverna: Caverna is incredible. But, to me at least, it doesn’t completely replace Agricola. In Agricola, I really enjoy the personalization you get at the beginning of each game through the occupation and minor improvement cards. Asymmetrical powers is one of my favorite game mechanics. It also has a nice tight feel to the game where I feel every choice matters. Also, I, along with Joseph, feel as though we haven’t explored Agricola completely. There are still some things we haven’t done and things we feel are a good idea, we just don't really do. And that’s with no expansions (of which we have, and plan to, own none). However, that being said, Caverna will probably end up higher on my favorite games list due to the fact that it will hit the table more often. Since it doesn’t feel as tight I’ll be more likely to pull it out if I just want to play a fun game and not stress (not sure if that’s the right word) about each of my moves. However (I really do use that word a lot), if I am in the mood for a tighter game I will definitely pull out Agricola over Caverna any day of the week.

Shakespeare: Andrew says my thoughts exactly.

Alhambra: Alhambra's gameplay is very nice. I especially enjoy the quickness of it. I grab some money, you grab some money, I buy a tile, you place a tile, I grab some money etc. It gets around to your turn rather fast at some points. Getting to go again after paying for a building exactly is really cool. Sometimes it feels like it adds a little push-your-luck element to the game. My thought process sometimes: "Should I grab that money so I can buy it for exact next turn, or should I get it now? Cause if I don't get it now someone else might grab it before me, which is no bueno since the walls fit perfectly into my Alhambra." And since you can see what money your opponents are picking up, if you're looking closely enough you can pull off these cool triple turn moves and stuff.

Fresco: I really do love the hidden worker placement in this game. The wake-up chart is awesome also (although I do prefer Viticulture’s). The game itself is also really enjoyable. But, the two-player variant is, in my opinion, not the best. Not as bad as 7 Wonder’s variant though, that’s for certain. And it’s not bad by any means, the core is the same, something just didn’t feel right. If I have three or four players, however (seriously, I use ‘however’ sooooo often), putting this on the table will be on my mind.

Treasure Hunter: A fun, quick game. The drafting mechanic flows great. Only annoying thing is you have to shuffle all the cards you used this round for the next round, making short pauses in the otherwise quick gameplay. Small annoyance in an overall fun game.

Kingdom Builder: Kingdom Builder is a nice semi-lighter game. Since we got two expansions right in a row I haven't played with everything in the base game, yet alone the expansions. We have 16 different boards and tons of goal cards, which is great for variety. Still undecided if/how we would play with more than one card in hand. I was thinking something like instead of drawing one card and placing settlements there, you would draw two cards and pick one to put settlements in (you would then discard the other card and draw back up to two).

Avalon: Believe it or not, this Christmas break is the first time my copy of Avalon has been used. Got it last Christmas and never got the chance to play it. Glad I got it though. To be honest, it’s a lot more fun and balanced than I thought it was. I went in with the intention that bad guys were slightly overpowered and that it was kinda hard to figure stuff out. Turns out good guys stand a far better chance than I thought. They, in fact, won most of the games. This is due to the fact that there is a lot more info going around than I thought possible. Whenever I played I was genuinely surprised how the good guys could track down the bad guys. Lots of fun.

Board Game List Major Revamp (additions, changes etc.)

Well, my upgraded list (which should go live within the next minute or two (so if you got here before it has, big props to you)) now has 13 more games added onto it. These include random games that I enjoy that have been in our closet, but haven't gotten around to adding them, and some new games that we got recently (well maybe recently isn't the best word to use here, but you know). The new additions are: Istanbul, Chess, Oltre Mare, Telestrations, Oddly Obvious, Ticket to Ride: Europe, Timeline, Citadels, Zooloretto, Steampunk Rally, Love Letter and Dixit.

There are also some shifts in the games that were originally there (both due to new games and actual normal shifts)
Istanbul is a new game that has been lent to us until Christmas. My mom got a copy for it for her birthday. It's a really good game, like really really good.
Chess is chess. It's a great game which has no luck (other than first player).
Oltre Mare has been in our closet for almost as long as I can remember. I've always enjoyed playing it, but I'm just getting to ranking it against the other games now. It's a nice game, I should play it more often.
Telestrations is a really fun party game. I know a few non-gamers who have played this game and also really enjoy it. I have quite a few fond and hilarious memories about this game. Like, seriously, what was it? Hitler rhinoceros with a broken leg? Something like that anyway. Eric will know what I'm referring to.
Oddly Obvious is a new party game that my parents have gotten recently. It's pretty fun, but I happen to be really bad at it. At least compared to my parents, I am. Want to play it with my siblings to see how I do against them.
Ticket to Ride: Europe is, well, Ticket to Ride. In my opinion not the best game of all time by any means, but it's not not fun. In fact, it is pretty fun.

Timeline is a nice, short, fun game. It's not over complex which means it’s good at breaking up bigger, heavier games. Got it last Christmas and is now being added to my list.
Citadels is a game I got a while back. Added it.
Zooloretto is a game I mentioned in a previous post. It's fun, and if someone asks me to play it then I'll almost never turn them down. (although I might suggest a different game, but if they insist I wouldn’t say no)
Steampunk Rally is a game that Andrew gave us a print and play version of (which was really well done, BTW). It's fun (I seem to be saying that a lot), but rarely hits the table. Might be because we just look over it due to its box. (currently resides in a ‘password’ box)
Love Letter has a weird place in my heart. As you can see it's on the bottom of the list. I don't love it anymore. I like it, but I don’t love it. However, I have played sooo many games of it. Most of them in one sitting. Also a different story for a different time. That experience was so fun that it should be on the list (and, you know, because I enjoy playing it).
Dixit is pretty chill.

Game shift:

Ashes has gone down since I haven’t got to play a game in like, forever. (I swear the meta has changed soooo much since the last time I played) (like, new expansions got released, Enchanted Violinist got nerfed, and people finding new deck archetypes all shook up the competitive scene).

Also, games I want to play during Christmas break:

Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn, Dominion, 7 Wonders, The Castles of Burgundy, Summoner Wars, 7 Wonders: Duel, Dead Of Winter/Dead of Winter: The Long Night, Agricola, Tzolk'in The Mayan Calendar, Village, Terra Mystica, Five Tribes, Small World,  Magic: The Gathering, Eldritch Horror, Pandemic, Oltre Mare, Seafall, Istanbul, Oddly Obvious, Ticket to Ride: Europe, Timeline, Citadels, Zooloretto, Steampunk Rally, Love Letter, Somerset, Elysium, Avalon, any games I/We/Jamieson’s get for Christmas

I think I got all of them, but I may be missing a couple.

Cat Ninja and other

I’ll talk about some other stuff before the main event: Cat Ninja

Pumped for Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up. With Joseph going on his mission as of the 16th, there will be even less board gaming to go around. That is of the limited quantity of it anyway. We’ve been getting into Super Smash 4, improving our skills and what not. I’ve been doing pretty good for myself, and would go as far as to say that I’m the best out of the four of us (Thomas, Ben, Joseph and I). My main right now being Ness, although I do play with Corrin and Mega Man just as frequently.

Anyway, back to the board gaming thing. I’m excited to get back to playing some. Haven’t really played much of anything as of late. A couple of Dominion games here and there, but that’s basically the extent of it. Want to play any game that deals with resources, not sure why. Top of my list being Terra Mystica and Agricola. Want to play Somerset at Christmas too, since that deals with resources.

Anyway, Cat Ninja continues to be the best game in the world. My friend Comptyn and I kinda started a trend. I swear everywhere I look there’s someone playing Cat Ninja. At one point in my dad’s class (sorry dad) there were up to 7 people playing it at once.

To my left, right now four people are playing it (I’m in A.P. English right now, it’s a work day but I’m writing parts of this instead).

Anyway (I feel as if I use the word anyway a lot, guess I’m not one much for variety), the point of me bringing up Cat Ninja is to bring up the fact that I hold one of the World Records now (specifically the one where glitches aren’t allowed).

You can watch it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIhLN5vhZOE&t=0

Finished it in 5 minutes and 43 seconds. The previous record being 6 minutes and 20 seconds (it might have been more than that, I don’t remember). (Note: speedrun.com has not approved this record yet, but has approved the one I'm about to talk about)
I also now have the World Record for the game with glitches, getting 5 minutes and 34 seconds with the previous record being 5 minutes and 39 seconds. The previous World Record holder, however, said he would get back into playing the game so he can get it back.
You can watch it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiTQzqhHY9A&t=0s
Him, myself, and the guy who started speed-running Cat Ninja originally, now have a discord group chat where we talk about the game. We talk about glitches, how we got into the game and other random stuff. It seems like we'll all be fighting for the World Record in coming months.
Exciting times.