Limbo for $2.50 is today's Steam jam! Loved the demo but never bought the full game, so all over it.

So, Kingdom Builder after a few plays is pretty good. Didn't blow me away or anything, but I don't regret buying it. It might be a little too light-weight and/or abstract, but I still need to play it with more than 2 players. We tried it 4 or 5 times. Quick breakdown: you take turns putting down settlements on a hex map that's randomized every game (you connect 4 map pieces out of 8). The winner of the game is the person with the most VP, which is also randomized via 3 Kingdom cards (out of 10) that set the rules for each game. Example, score VP for building next to water, your longest group of settlements on a horizontal line, or the most settlements in a sector of the map. So each game is potentially pretty different. Lastly, each board section has a unique location to it, meaning every game there are 4 unique location tokens you can collect that give you an extra action on your turn, like "build an additional settlement on a grass tile" or "move any settlement 2 spaces in a straight line". So, on your turn, you turn over a terrain card that dictates where you must build 3 settlements (everyone has 40 settlement pieces), adjacent to you existing settlements if possible. There's 5 terrain types. So, pull the card, place your settlements, do any extra actions you've earned, then that's it. Game is quick because once someone depletes their supply, you play out everyone's last round then that's that. Some of the scoring conditions were pretty fun, but when it comes down to it, it really feels like a relative to "Through the Desert". More variable for sure, but still pretty close to that level of depth I think. I bet a lot of thought went into the design of the game, and how the maps fit together is pretty interesting, but since you can really only do so much in a turn, it doesn't feel very deep. It's quick though and I bet if you were playing with some competitive players, it could get interesting. In a 2-player situation, there's enough room to not really bother each other, so maybe we were missing out on some cutthroat aspects that exist in 3-4 player sessions. I'll bring it next meetup and if you get a chance in the meantime, def give it a play. Not bad by any means, but def not what you'd expect from the guy who created Dominion.

I've heard really good stuff about Risk Legacy, like its basically the best version of Risk yet. That'd be great if you grabbed it. I was a littled weirded out by the "permanently" marked up and changed stuff you do to the game, but I bet it'd be a blast. Don't we get to name cities too? Can't wait to see what gems come up.

Bought Kingdom Builder today, the new game from the Dominiom creator. Gonna try it in a few hours. Looks fun and fairly light, so Ill post my thoughts later.

Has anyone heard about Risk: Legacy? It just came out, and it's a very intriguing idea. I think I'll pick up an Action Team copy over the holidays.

The basic engine is a simple wargame similar to Risk (rewired to take 1-2 hours to play, instead of infinity). The twist of the game is that cards, actions, and game outcomes can permanently modify aspects of the game including the board, card mixes, and faction/unit abilities.

For example, the first thing you do in the game is pick a modifier for the faction you picked. This gives the faction something like an extra unit/turn, an extra die, etc. This modifier is a permanent sticker so it doesn't just apply to your game, but anyone who ever plays that faction in the future. Similarly events will place cities on the board. Whoever plays them, physically stickers and labels the board with the new terrain, and names the city. Provinces can be destroyed or modified. Cards and components removed from the game are physically destroyed.

After playing enough games (20 or so I think) you run out of changes, and then you've got a uniquely customized version of the game. Sounds fun!

Some good stuff on Steam today! The new Deus Ex for $25 and Space Marine for $33.

Had an epic t-day. Didn't overdo it this time although I'm draggin my feet for sure.

Arkam City is badass! Best intro to a Batman game.

Gonna go kill rampage through Battlefield, shotgunning fools in the face. That's what I'm thankful for :)

| Oh my god, I thought I was going to puke for a minute there..

Ate 2 whole plates LIKE A BOSS. Had a giant pressure buildup.. wasn't sure if it was going to come out clean natural gas or black gold. Thankfully I didn't puke all over the place. If you had asked me before hand, I would have put it 50/50 at best.

Brined turkeh and all the fixins!

| All fixed!

OK, did some rewiring and cleanup and the house should be all fixed up!

Today's Steam deals didn't seem that great -- New Vegas for five bucks (tempting), everything else is kind of a pass.

Same to you! We're loning it this Thanksgiving, which is a first for us. (Maybe one other year.) Just too busy with the baby and the long trip to where all of our friends are! I'm looking forward to a chill day, though. I ended up ordering a turkey and fixin's from Mimi's Cafe. We'll see how it is... it was a pretty staggering amount of food for eighty bucks. Should have leftovers for sure. I did make my signature Jell-O salad (with secret ingredient) however. The wife is hooked on that stuff.

New Steam sale items come up in an hour! I decided to pass on Orcs Must Die. I played the XBLA demo and it seemed fun, but not something I'd play for more than another hour or two.

I loved those Abe games back in the day. Oddyssey came out in my second or third year of college and I played the crap out of it. Way better than going to class, hanging out with girls etc.

Have a great Thanksgiving guys!

| Batman Arkham City - $1

Onlive has a sale right now. First game you buy is $1. ONE DOLLAR! Your choices include Batman Arkham City. I got that shit! Do the free trial first and see if youre happy with how it runs. Runs fine with my internet and looks good. It would look better if it wasn't streaming, sure, but it actually is totally passable and plays great. ONE DOLLA! They also have stuff like Deus Ex, Saints Row 3, La Noire, and some other new games.

Ugh, didn't even know the sale started today. Orcs Must Die was really fun from the demo, so might get that. Edit: Got it! It's really fun, and 75% off makes it $3.74. It's a weird action/tower defense with a total WoW look and humor. Already had the oddworld box, man those games are hard.

| Falling in MY lava... sheesh!

Don't feel bad you missed it! It would've sucked balls!

I think you're the ONLY one who will get to see the whole, functioning experience.

Thanks for the headsup! I do want to play F:NV... although I have a backlog of games and the Steam holiday sales are about to start up... maybe I'll hold off a bit?

Edit: I see the sales have begun! Ooh, you can get all the Oddworld games for 3.75. I never played Stranger's Wrath and supposedly they're putting out an HD upgrade which owners of the original get, so... click!

Dear Jon,

Best Buy has Fallout New Vegas for PS3 for $8 bucks with free shipping:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Fallout+New+Vegas+-+PlayStation+3/9701386.p?id=1218152459820&skuId=9701386

I don't know if you already got it, but you like PS3 jams, so get it.

R

Yeah, jr0n was pretty pissed. Ooops. I even took a screen shot of him scolding me.





Also, eLzar has been working out lately...





D>M>

Wish I would have checked it out before Enron broke it all! I bought some more RAM and now I can magically play Battlefield 3 with maxed graphics and it never crashes. Thank god it didn't work this well when it came out or I would have never left my room. But I promise to go back into Minecraft when you fix your place up.

| Well, never mind!

Well, Enron had some fun adventures checking out my place:

1. Died in some lava, in a place where I didn't really think it was possible to do so (note to self: add more safety glass)
2. Found an issue that meant Room 3 didn't happen at all (note to self: time for some substantial rewiring)
3. Had a creeper blow up right outside the front door.

Sorry man! Next time will be better!

Meantime, I've got the place closed for renovations... stay tuned!