2011: the highlights

Wow, it had been 7 months since my last post. I would make a promise to write more, but that would be a lie. Let's just say that if I feel passionate enough about something and feel I can add even a minimal amount of value by writing about it, it will likely end up here.

That said, I recently got to thinking about the past year, and figured I could share some highlights (inspired by a Nintendorks Chatter topic named "2011 - the Highlights"):

• Visited my dad's side of the family in Lebanon! I had gotten pretty out of touch with the arab culture, so after 13 years it was really nice to visit and meet my 2-year old niece, and re-meet my cousins and other family members. Visited some really cool natural landmarks (especially the Je'ita grottos), and had so much great food, yum. I still hate arabic music. And the drivers there - it's chaos on the streets.
• Visited Paris! This being the more touristy of our two-part summer trip, my brother and I roamed the streets and tried to soak in as much of the main city as we could in 3 days. Getting incredibly bad diarrhea on Day 3 did not diminish the awesomeness of this trip, which aside from the regular touristy stuff included singing Sweet Child 'O Mine karaoke in a small Parisian bar on Pigalle street (the hooker district). I was also really proud of my 'Dany points at Parisian Lampposts' photo album idea, where I'm pointing at a post but there's some famous landmark in the background.
• Finished my MBA and got a pretty great job! In hindsight, I paid way too much for my education and despite much valuable learning, from an ROI perspective, I wish I had gone to a different school. Moreover, my job is definitely on the lower end of the payscale compared to my fellow graduates', but at least I like what I do and the company I work for does great things worldwide, so it's pretty fulfilling knowing the impact of my work.
• Got to play board games on a regular basis! A new coffee shop opened last year in Toronto called Snakes and Lattes (it's really popular, if anyone's looking for a business idea), and with its location and ginormous selection, it has become easier and ever to get together with enough friends to enjoy a good strategy board game or two. Awesome times.
• It's been a good year for our improv group, The 404s! We've had some new blood join, we started a monthly gig at a Toronto bar, and more geek conventions want to book us as guests than we can handle given our lives with full-time jobs. We're very minor celebrities in a super niche community, but it's still pretty awesome to receive that treatment and to have 'fans'.
• Went to a Foo Fighters concert! Best concert I've been to this year, and second best concert I'd ever been to. Dave Grohl is the man when it comes to putting on a good show. I was blown away and wish I could be even a tenth of the rockstar he is.

Having said all of that, August/September was an incredibly sad time with two deaths in the family. And I haven't had a good woman in my life for far too long. I also feel like aside from my MBA classes and stuff for my job, I haven't learned much this year, which is a bit of a bummer.

But I'm optimistic for 2012! Started Aikido classes in the last month and really enjoying so far, planning to stick with it for a while so it might be a good topic for next year's review! I also plan to move to Toronto by mid-next year, but that hinges on me securing financial stability, which I'm also pretty optimistic about. Drastically reducing my commute time and living independently again is going to be a nice fresh kick in the pants for my life. I can't wait.

As for the women...well, what are you waiting for, ladies? I'm here for the taking.

Review: A Game of Thrones: The Board Game

I've been loving the crap out of A Game Of Thrones: the Board Game recently. If you can ever afford a 4-5 hour block of time to set aside for gaming with a friend or five (this is a 3-6 player game, but I wouldn't recommend it with just 3), this game is worth looking into. I had spent many Sundays playing the now-out-of-print original 2003 edition at Toronto's very popular Snakes & Lattes board game cafe, and when I heard Fantasy Flight Games was re-releasing this gem last month with updated rules, much nicer components,  and gorgeous artwork, I didn't hesitate to put down the $50 for a pre-order. Now that I've had a few sessions with the new edition, I'm ready to lay down the word on what's up (or something like that).

At its core, A Game of Thrones is a military conquest strategy game in the vein of Risk, but minus the randomness, and with a strong emphasis on alliances and treachery. Each player controls one of the 6 major Houses from the A Song of Ice & Fire series, and the goal is to capture 7 castles and strongholds on the continent of Westeros, or be the one with the most at the end of 10 rounds. Each round has 3 phases:

• Westeros phase: world events occur, potentially affecting the military and political status of all players vying for the isle of Westeros. There may be a Wildling attack at The Wall, that all players must collectively defend against. A Mustering event allows players to create new military units for combat. Political power is just as (if not more) important as military power in this game, and the Clash of Kings event forces players to bid their power tokens on three areas of influence: the Iron Throne, the Fiefdoms, and the King's Court, which significantly affect players' abilities and limitations. 
• Orders phase: players secretly assign orders to all of their units. This is not limited to movement and combat: units can passively raid other areas to disrupt their plans without direct engagement, as well as pledge to support combat occurring in adjacent areas. The support command is by far the biggest source of heated arguments and controversy, as in addition to their own armies, support units may aid battles that their House is not actually involved with. 
• Action phase: players execute their now-revealed orders one at a time, claiming territories with valuable resources, capturing castles and strongholds, playing nice (or betraying) their allies, and fending off their enemies. This is where everything happens and the order in which you execute your commands matters a great deal. 

The rules can be incredibly intimidating at first - there is a whole lot that can happen - but after one or two rounds you find that everything makes sense, with only a few small details requiring regular clarification from the rulebook. Unfortunately, in my experience players WILL try to find every opportunity or loophole to get out of whatever situation they face, so the rulebook will often be consulted. With this in mind, this is not the right buy for a person new to board gaming. However, if you've already played your Catans, your Carcassones and maybe your Dominions, and are thirsty for something with a bit more complexity, this will fulfill that need nicely.

In addition to being a fun and smart military conquest game, A Game of Thrones: the Board Game captures the flavour of the A Song of Ice & Fire series very well. Most prominent characters make an appearance as army leaders during combat, and the forming of alliances (and breaking of said alliances at the most opportune moments) is a defining aspect of the game, leading to much treachery and controversy. Table talk is absolutely crucial in this game, so it's not for the meek...but I absolutely wouldn't have it any other way.

In conclusion, A Game of Thrones offers an engaging, noisy experience for those who can set aside several hours with at least 3 experienced gamer friends, or fans of the series who are willing to learn.

Oh, and you get to gang up on House Lannister to make sure they die a horrible death every time...that's got to count for something, right?

Toronto - Beirut - Paris Journal. Day 0 - If I'm Dyin', I'm Flyin'

My dad, brother, and I decided to fly out on Friday the 13th to a politically unstable country (and my homeland from my dad's side), then to Paris during the G20 summit (which will surely involve rioting of some kind). This journal covers my daily experiences hoping to cheat certain misfortune.


7 hour flight to Paris.

First time using Air France. Seats were REALLY uncomfortable – very narrow and I have a hard time imagining anyone but skinny people having enough ass room. Entertainment selection was very limited. Watched No Strings Attached – good twist on the typical romantic comedy…Portman’s character was a heartbreaking bitch. But goddamn I’ve been starting to really notice her hotness lately. A bit of turbulence, but I’m used to that. Tried to sleep, but just ended up laying in my seat for 2 hours with my eyes closed.
Enjoyed the view of the countryside as we flew into Charles-De-Gaulle airport. Green fields, tiny hamlets and villages, little clumps of forestry… it looked like the early stages of a game of Civilization were unfolding beneath me. Nobody clapped when we landed! As a child, every summer my brother and I flew between the UAE and Ukraine or Hungary, and right as we hit the ground and the plane completed its descent the entire plane-ful of people would burst into applause. Maybe that’s a third world thing? Or a 90s thing?

3 hour layover in Paris.

Only 15 minutes of free Wi-Fi?! I manage to send a quick FB message and tweet my disappointment, and have not had internet access until the posting of this journal entry. Bumming around the duty free…damn there are some expensive liquors here, 6000 Euros! We stop by a coffee shop…chocolate croissant is fine (was hoping for superlative since this IS Paris, but then again it’s also just the airport…guess I’ll hope for better next weekend when I actually visit the city), “American Coffee” is half a small cupful…shoulda ordered an Espresso. There are free PS3 kiosks in the waiting areas, which is kind of neat until you find out all they have is a crappy street soccer game.

4 hour flight to Beirut.

This time we’re flying Middle East Airlines, Lebanon’s official airline even though it’s only a small part of the Middle East. Apparently its owes its name to a first mover advantage when it came to middle eastern airlines. (I really should edit that last series of sentences). Horrible logo colour scheme and branding IMO. The most offensive part of my trip by far was the half hour of advertising that was force-fed to my eyes and ears right after the safety instructions. Basically, my screen couldn’t be turned off and the sound was blasted over the PA system. If this is the future of travel (advertising revenue to offset cheaper plane tickets, as alluded to by my marketing prof last year), then I’d like a warning when signing up, and significantly cheaper plane tickets. Hell, I’ll even fill out surveys and perform research studies if it means my flight’s cheaper. Just let me know beforehand, because this coming out of left field totally turned me off. But at least my ass fit in the seats, unlike with Air France.

This time there was clapping when we landed! I guess it is a third world thing :/. Maybe we’ve learned to better appreciate and get excited for when we don’t die.

Detailed insightful well-written article on interesting topic

Just kidding, I don't post anything of that sort. April Fool's!

It's a card game! It's a board game! It's...Dominion!

This was originally a forum post I made on Nintendorks, which I've tried to flesh out and turn into a full article/review type thingy. While I've abandoned my initial "Everyday Better Guy" project a long time ago (though not in spirit, really), going forward I'll be updating this blog more frequently. Expect musings about gaming, improv, and anything else that comes to mind that I end up wanting to write passionately about.

Dominion, created by Donald X. Vaccarino and published by Rio Grande Games, is a medieval-themed board game released in 2008 and ranked as overall #8 on BoardGameGeek.com. While I've enjoyed playing with friends in the past, I recently got hooked on playing online opponents at http://dominion.isotropic.org. This website houses an unofficial version of the game played by over 3000 registered users. The built-in leaderboard tells me I've played at least 250 registered games (and who knows how many unregistered ones) since starting two months ago - a remarkable and saddening feat considering I'm 'slaving away' on my MBA studies at the moment.

Not many card games become as popular or successful as Dominion, especially without some kind of special hook. No zombies, intergalactic bounty hunters, or monsters lure players into giving this game a chance. It's the gameplay that shines, and has players spreading word of mouth about its greatness.

One of the special things about Dominion's gameplay is that it's a card game about building a deck of cards - so meta! Each player starts off with the same 10 basic cards in their deck, and the winner is the person who builds the best deck by the end. The road to victory requires that players amass the largest kingdom by buying the most Victory cards. However, Victory cards are useless in the deck aside from at the end of the game (when points are totaled), so players must build an efficient deck that also incorporates the right balance of Action and Treasure Cards (which in turn, are useful during the game but not counted towards points at the end). The game pulls off a generic medieval theme in an oddly elegant way, cards being named after elements of medieval europe, such as Villages, Militia, and Chapels.

In trying to outline why the gameplay is so good, I decided on four elements of game design that I think Dominion pulls off exceptionally well:

• SIMPLICITY: The basic mechanics are deceptively simple and fast-paced. Only three main types of cards (Actions, Treasures, and Victory Points) and three simple phases during your turn (Action, Buy, Clean-Up). This leads to a (usually) very fast-paced game: online games are usually done within 15 minutes, in-person games rarely take more than 45.
• VARIETY: Each game can be different, as the available-to-buy Action cards are (often randomly) picked from a pool of 25 or so different ones (and many more become available with the expansions). As a result, card interactions and combos vary every game. 
• STRATEGY: Many decision are dependent on opponents' actions and often require some foresight, for good players at least. There can be a lot of interaction, and cards that seem useless in one game can be the key to victory in other card sets, so one must always consider the mechanics of the game to find new combos. There are multiple paths to victory: you can play offensively, defensively, try to rush for a quick win, or just mind your own business.
• FAIRNESS: This game has just the right balance of luck vs. skill. Since there is no rolling of dice, one has a great deal of control over their destiny. And even though one can fall at the mercy of the 'luck of the draw', each turn brings about a completely new hand of 5 cards, so only the unluckiest of players (or worst deckbuilders) can get stuck in a rut of terrible draws.

This wouldn't be a proper review without some criticism, but I'm hard-pressed to find any serious flaws with the game. If I were to nitpick, it would be that random setups of the Action cards can sometimes result in boring matchups with no significant card interactions. However, these instances are exceptions rather than the rule, and players can always choose to customize their card sets to eliminate the chance of a boring setup.

In conclusion, Dominion is an excellent game with fantastic mechanics and a generic, but well-executed theme which doesn't at all detract from the gameplay. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a deep strategic game that is easy to learn but can take time to master.

And lastly, I'd like to recommend the Dominion Strategy Blog, which contains a plethora of interesting and educational articles on advanced strategies for the game.