An Examination of Self

When I first started writing this post, it was mostly rambling around the fact that I'm just not that keyed up about the Essen batch of releases. In fact, I've only gone to the Essen Preview page once, and that was simply to see what the new Fragor Games entry was about. (I knew the name was Shear Panic, but I thought it was spelled "Sheer". Given the title and expected theme, I bet I'll like it.) I guess it's more along the lines of "I'm not really even interested in knowing what the new releases are."

Anyway, my initial draft of this post was a stream-of-consciousness thing that was pretty disjointed. It did leave me with one major question, though, and I decided that would be a good focus for my post this week. WHY am I not as interested in what's coming out at Essen this year?

I figure it's probably one or more of the following reasons:

1. The 2005 releases pale in comparison to 2004.
   
2. I've been focusing on the games I already own that I've never played. (down to six I'm still interested in playing. Woohoo!)
   
3. I've had a hankering to play more wargames, and I've got TONS of those that I've never played. (and GMT is great about sending me new ones every couple months or so...)
   
4. I don't have any more room on my shelf - something's gotta go if I get something new, and I'm running out of options.
   

Of course, it didn't help that I went to our storage unit the other day to track something down and was just stunned by all the stuff we have that we really don't need. (if we needed it, it wouldn't be in storage, right?)

So I ask you, the reader: Should I be interested? I know from my brief look at the preview page that there's four Martin Wallace releases. I'll likely buy all of those, particularly Byzantium (Couple my favorite designer with one of my favorite themes, and I'm all over it.). Anything else? Is the Essen-to-Nurenburg release season looking promising?

Two-player stuff

Jodie and I have been TRYING to get rail games on the table the last couple weeks, but we just haven't been able to find the time. We've aborted two India Rails and one Australian Rails (old version) plays before finishing. I hate aborting unfinished games. Just wish we had somewhere to leave it up without Megan and Mika (the cat) getting "involved." May have to rearrange the hobby room and put a table up.

Beyond that, Jodie's been gung-ho on St. Petersburg lately. And kicking my butt at it as well, I might add. I do think this game is better 2-player than any other configuration. There's a real give-and-take aspect to the game in 2-player that we both enjoy. We've reached the point where we know each others tendencies enough that we're playing three-four moves ahead at times.

We've been looking at Fjords, Rat Hot, and Roma for new additions to our repertoire. At times, it's felt like we've been in a rut in what we play. (some mixture of 6 Nimmt!, San Juan, St. Pete, Bohnanza, Alhambra, Carcassonne, and Ticket to Ride.) We'll see what Jodie brings back from Germany when she leaves in a couple weeks - I'm sure there'll be something interesting in what she buys.

Addendum:
Don't forget that next Monday, Sept 19, is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Aarrrrrr! Time to pull out those pirate-themed games.