Ok, I’ll admit it, I’ve had a few rage fulled posts on here about things that tick me off. I feel the need to add some balance. So, here’s a list of things that have made me very happy lately.

1. Oath of the Gatekeepers Pre-Release

I did the pre-release with a few friends at Wizard’s Tower . Was I particularly amazed by the set? Not really. The clouds did not part and shine light upon some mechanic or mythic rare that completely changed my life.

What I did have was a really freaking good time. I love the two headed giant format. As a fairly casual player, it’s always appealed to the parts I love most about magic, which is playing with friends, and finding new and interesting ways to make said friends flip a table. It’s a fantastic social way to play, and this new set really lends itself really well to the format. The surge mechanic has it right in the text: “You may cast a spell for its surge cost if you or a teammate have cast another spell in the same turn”.  I’m a fairly slow build kind of player, and having a partner who describes himself as “a suicidal death monkey red player” works really well for me. Got two players who love blue and red and pair them up? Surge cost for everything!

Wizards of the Coast showing some love the the 2HG format wasn’t the only thing that made me love the pre-release. The atmosphere and players at Wizard’s Tower are what keep me coming back. Even the most competitive players were still friendly and fun to play with, which is a relief. As I mentioned before, I’m not a super competitive kind of player, and in the past that has sometimes aggravated the more serious players. It’s this kind of community that makes me comfortable bringing in new people to my favorite pass times.

Hell, both my partner and I had decided to play a rather chunky 60 card decks. At one point, without thinking, I made a comment to my new opponents along the lines of “Aww look how small their decks are!”…..

Thank you guys for having a sense of humor, and not ragging on me too hard when I turned bright red.

2. Playing interactive graphic adventure horror survival ….wait a minute

What the hell do you even call this genre? I’ve tried looking it up and I cannot for the life of me find a generally accepted name for this type of video game. Here’s what I’ve got from Wikipedia:

Life is Strange: “graphic adventure video game”
Telltale’s GoT:  “graphic adventure fantasy drama video game”
Until Dawn: “interactive drama survival horror adventure video game”

Holy hell, they just keep getting longer and longer… Screw it, I’m calling them “Player choice” games.

Back on point, I’ve been playing a lot of these games lately and the more I play, the more I find myself loving the genre. Yes they’re stupidly casual. They don’t require you to be good at timing jumps, or aiming shots. At most you have to be good at quick time events, but even those are generally far and few between. The real skill in these games lies with your coping mechanisms. Some of the best games in the genre are fantastically written. These games get me invested in them like a good novel would, but the adding of graphics and music just make it that much more immersive. You get attached to the characters, invested in the relationships. And when something happens, you feel it. To prove my case, I give you Exhibit A:

Exhibit A: Nick losing his shit

Here we have Nick’s reaction playing Telltale’s Game of Thrones. This particular blanket eating was due to Nick choosing the option that I suggested, only to immediately regret it. I still don’t think he’s fully forgiven me for some of my choices in our playthrough.

These games have been a pretty big hit at our regular game nights as well. There is something fun about having a regular group of people yelling answers on a time sensitive situation and seeing what mayhem we end up with. These are also the kind of game that I can sit down and just enjoy on my own. If you’re looking for an immersive game with a story that will leave you itching for more, I’d recommend any of the games I listed above.

Be forewarned though, with at least one of these games my lasting reaction was “I need a hug”.