Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations (RC Bell)

As the name implies, Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations is a historical catalog of the hobby from ancient times until the present.  R.C. Bell walks the reader through games by category (such as race games, war games, games of position, dice games, mancala games, and more).  The point is to explain the rules of as many historical games as possible, enabling readers to create and play them at home.

This was pretty good, but definitely not intended to be read cover to cover; this is a reference work. I enjoyed the occasional historical commentary more than the endless lists of rules; especially intriguing were those games whose similarities to other offerings helped archaeologists trace movements of peoples throughout the ages.  Also insightful were the concluding sections on how to make your own games; clearly, this was written in another age.

Rating: B

What's in a Name?

Lasty, our aptly-named Subaru in 2008

Have you heard?  Macedonia is changing its name, and it's being met with mixed (and violent) response.  It highlights the importance of names.

Names appear to matter a good deal.  They're imbued with meaning, trigger emotional responses, and (in the case of Macedonia) can even bar entry into national alliances.  In the Bible, there are several instances of God dictating or changing names; clearly, they matter. Why?

Frankly, I don't know.  Yet I know they do.  Naming something- even an object- makes us act differently toward it.  Farmers are cautioned against naming their livestock for this reason; perhaps names indicate relationship.  And that brings me to a much less serious topic (but one that got me thinking about this in the first place): naming vehicles.

Every car I've owned has had a name.  Gold 1. Tiggy.  Lasty (shown above).  And our two current vehicles, Phantom and Ghost Rider. 

Ghost Rider is the latest addition, joining the family when Tiggy died last fall.  To name her, we went through a fun process.  We generated 32 names (below), then paired them off.  The family voted on each matchup, with the winner advancing playoff-style to the next round, until Ghost Rider won.  Several other finalists:
- Shadowfax (the car is white, but not fast, so the lord of horses didn't seem appropriate)
- Subie Doo (a Subaru, I was really rooting for this take on Scooby Doo)
- Shifty or Clutch (a manual transmission, this seemed appropriate)

I wished I had an answer on why names matter, but they do.  So name your stuff!  You may find changes how you look at your possessions.  And you might get some funny looks, too.

Bella
Oakenshield
Shadowfax
Shifty
Clutch
Stormtrooper
Pegasus
Ghost Rider
Penny
Weiss Geist
Subie Doo
Nittany
Skeleton (or skeletor)
Saoirse
Bones or "Boney"
Dusty
Monte Cristo
The Count
Vodo-Siosk Baas
Sunrider
Specter
Banshee
Boo
Ghost
Serra
Geist
Endurance
Traveler
Lightmaker
Falcon
Eagle
Redemption

Karuba

Today's review is of the 2015 release, Karuba.  For 2-4 players, it takes 30 minutes.

Overview
You are an explorer, seeking fortune and fame in temples long lost to the jungle- but you're not alone. Other treasure hunters search for a way to riches- can you get there first?

Karuba is a path optimization game. Each player has 4 explorers and 4 matching temples, placed on opposite sides of the board. Each player has 30 numbered tiles with different paths. One player shuffles their lot and draws one at a time, announcing the number selected. Each player then places that tile on their board OR discards the tile to move one of their adventurers along the path to the temple of matching color. Points are earned through picking up gems found on some tiles and reaching the temples before other players (first to reach a temple gets 5 points, second gets 4, etc.). The game is over when all tiles have been played.

game in progress; image from here

Review
I like this game. The 'use or discard to move' mechanic for each tile makes for interesting choices. The more valuable tiles- those with more paths- also allow players to move more squares, producing tense decision-making. And the randomness is identically shared among players- everyone's playing the same tile, so nobody can claim bad luck.  It's a decent title for kids, too. My only knock is the setup- it takes a while. That aside, check this out.

Rating: A-

Lost in Translation

A figure on the dashboard caught my eye.  "Current consumption: 7.6L per 100km."  Though in English, the rental car's display seemed foreign.  A math lover, though, I put to turning that into something I could comprehend.  Thankfully, the numbers were easily achieved:
- 3.8 liters in 1 gallon
- 100 kilometers is 62 miles
Okay, so the car was telling me it was getting 2 gallons per 62 miles, or (as we would say in America) 31mpg.  Easy enough, but it illustrated life in a foreign land: the reality of constant translation.

Life overseas can be hard, in part because I have to think a lot more- and most of the time, that's due to the need for translation.  As a German (or, in the above example, one of their vehicles) is communicating with me, I absorb the phrase and internally try to turn it into something I can understand in English before replying.  Even if I understand the individual words, the sentences require more thought to process- so much of our communication isn't literal but figurative, so there's an added step:
- translate the words
- think on the actual meaning
It makes for awkward and stilted interactions, often ending with the German switching to English so we can move things along.

My initial time in Germany was defined by broad exploration of the continent.  In England, it was intense reading.  Now, in my second Germany stint, I'm increasingly thinking about language and the desire for fluency in Deutsch.  Wouldn't it be amazing!  But to get there, one thing I have to do is embrace German for what it is and stop the constant translating in my mind.  Because truly 'getting' a language, I suspect, requires understanding it on its own terms, and not compared to another tongue.  I think there's a lesson here, broadly witnessed in all areas of life.  Jump right in and immerse yourself in something different; you'll never truly understand otherwise.

59 Seconds

Today's review is of the 2007 release, 59 Seconds.  For 2 players, it takes . . . 59 seconds.  Okay, more like 10 minutes.

Overview
The dealer deals four piles of cards, two for each. Each player gets a 5-card refresh pile and 1-card action pile.  Then both players get a 21-card draw pile and take the first five.
 The dealer flips the timer, and it all begins- each player flips their action pile card and plays a card from their hand on top of EITHER action pile that is one number higher or lower than the printed value. Anyone playing a card immediately draws back up to five

If neither player can play a card, the top card of each refresh pile is flipped and play continues until time's up or the piles are empty. First to get rid of their cards gets 10 points (or 5 if over a minute). Then a new round starts and play continues until a player has 50 points.

Review
This is a bad game.  Wish I could sugar-coat it, but I can't.  The obvious problem- which happened both times I played- is what do you do when your hand has no cards you can play? The refresh piles were quickly exhausted and we still weren't through.  It's not addressed in the rules, and it happens relatively frequently.  Can't believe this got through playtesting as-is.

Rating: D

Get Lost

Our first few weeks in Germany has reinforced the value of getting lost (both geographically and linguistically). It happens a lot as we learn our way around. Modern conveniences certainly help us map our surroundings, but to really know your way around, you have to jump right in and get firsthand knowledge on how to get out through lots of trial and error. I love it and hate it.

I love it because it's how we grow. Leadership positions taught me that- you'll spend a good amount of time early on having no idea what's going on, but 'drowning' in unfamiliar territory makes you get smart fast (or, in my case, at least learn to fake it). We grow through our mistakes and uncomfortable situations.

I hate it because I prefer using my brain as little as possible. Studies have shown how much time the average human spends on autopilot, and it's impressive. Thinking is hard- it's easier to go through the same old familiar routine so much that we can do it in our sleep. Ever drive to work and realize, upon arrival, that you have no recollection of the journey? Yeah . . . It's scary but not uncommon.

Moving overseas has jolted us into the unfamiliar, and forced us in the process to learn some new ropes. But ultimately, that's a good thing. So here's to getting lost and messing up.

The Hobbit: Extended Edition Trilogy

I spent the last week watching The Hobbit: Extended Edition trilogy.  How did it compare to the theaterical releases (reviews found on my main Lord of the Rings page)?

Pretty well, actually.  Though the theatrical releases were themselves bloated, adding more content provided more connective tissue and made for a more enjoyable experience.  I better understood why some things were happening, and some additions were awesome.  For the first two films, anyway.  Adding more to the worst of the bunch, The Battle of the Five Armies, only increased the number of over-the-top and absurd battle scenes.  But that film should have never been done in the first place . . . should have stuck to two.

If you're a fan of the original Tolkien-Jackson films, check out these extended edition takes.

So Begins 2019

This post captures my hopes for the year.  I normally have a 'laundry list' of sorts, but this year will be different.

Looking at my 'year in review' posts from the last few years, a few areas stand out . . . as not changing.  So this year, it's back to basics.  My three main goals for 2019:

- spiritual: re-establish good routines in prayer, scripture, and leading the family in devotions/teaching
- financial: determine a good system for budgeting/tracking expenses- and stick to it
- nutritional: radically improve diet and overall health

Any other goals- in parenting, etc- will improve with the above.

Side goals remain:
- read 40 books (potentially based on a 'German reading list')
- create a board game
- have adventures in Europe and blog about trips/family life overseas
- become fluent in German
- slow down and enjoy every area of life (even the mundane chores- stop 'looking away to the future' or leisure time)

To 2019!