Games

Games are an intrinsic part of my life, providing me with both entertainment and wisdom. I strive to be an excellent gamer, and by that I mean I strive to fully experience the game itself, not obsess over my success or failure at it. I am extremely lucky because my husband owns Gamescape North, so we are surrounded by plenty of games and gamers.

In 1992, I logged into a MUD variant called MUCK, and I have been involved with them ever since, but I don’t “play” them like games. MUCKs are more like virtual reality to me, and I have quite a bit to say about VR.

Several years ago, I dipped my toe into the waters of online gaming via Star Wars Galaxies and EverQuest II. In 2006, I switched to World of Warcraft. Kingdom of Loathing is a clever game that I occasionally play. And last but never least, there’s Glitch, which I am currently beta-testing.

I still consider Myst to be the best video game of all time.

Offline, I have a modest board game collection that I love to share with friends. Here are some I have played recently.

My favorite is Scrabble, as it is a puzzle game based on words that can be as simple or as complex as you make it. It is both an addiction and a sentimental habit. I made a friend once by posting to alabama.birmingham.general, looking for Scrabble players. Her name is Rebecca, and together we created the Birmingham Boardgamers, which I hear is still going strong. Lest you think I am some sort of Scrabble genius, I am not rated, nor have I competed in any tournaments. But I do remember my best bingo to date, which is BANJOES.

Second only to Scrabble is Qwirkle, which has key similarities but is quite different and challenging on other levels I enjoy deeply.

Chess is another favorite. It is infinitely complex, fascinating, and fun. In Birmingham, I had an excellent chess teacher and friend named Freeman. I have just started to explore the world of online chess; I much prefer to play in person.

My all-time favorite party games are Dixit, the card game of visual metaphor, Fluxx, the card game of ever-changing rules, and Zobmondo, the game of hypothetical questions that appall, amaze, and generally disturb.

My newest game obsession is geocaching, an activity that blends puzzle-solving, mapping and hiking into both simple and complex adventures, depending on the experience you would like.

Alone, I like puzzles of all sorts, especially sudoku and crossword puzzles.

Last but never least, I love playing tabletop role-playing games like (pre-4e) Dungeons and Dragons. I am not currently involved in a campaign, and I miss it very much.