Today’s Game – 9/13/2009 – Who? What? Where? (Board Game)

So to continue with the varied types of games I want to discuss, I’m going to touch on one of my favorite board/social/party games. So without much adieu, here’s today’s game

Who? What? Where? (Board)

First off, this isn’t so much of a board game, as it is a set of 3 boxes of cards and some paper. The cards of course are a selection of Who?s (Famous People or Characters), What?s (activities), and Where?s (locations, both specific and general). Each player selects one card from each to draw their scene, and with a time limit imposed, it levels the playing field between artists and those artistically inept. The drawings are then passed around, and points are awarded for guessing the categories correctly.

The fun in the game comes from the wildness of interpretations visually as well as the crazy guesses that are thrown out. The other great thing about the game is that it is very well paced, with drawing, guessing, and sharing. It doesn’t suffer from the end of the game lulls that bog down things like Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly.

However, as much fun as the game is, there’s a handful of things that could be improved. The first, which can’t really be controlled since my edition sat for about 4 years before being played, is the timeliness of some of the cards. Some of the Who?s leave players now scratching their head, since they haven’t been relevant in about a decade. The second is the amount of content that is in the game, since playing the game multiple times, especially with a lot of people, you start seeing the same items again, leaving you guessing on the interpretation. And the third is that the box is just way too big for a game that is really about the size of 3 decks of cards.

Today’s Game – 9/12/2009 : Fantasy Football (Various)

With the start of the American Football season upon us, one of the big things that surrounds the actual sporting events is Fantasy Football. And while the past couple of entries have been titles I’ve gushed over, this one doesn’t follow suit.

Fantasy Football

There is some slight appeal to the game, when playing with a bunch of friends, and not one of the versions that is the equivalent of gambling (contest ones) or those when playing in a faceless, nameless, friendless league. However, usually after the third week, interest wanes from some participants, and the ones that have fared the best are the only ones left actively playing.

Most of the league management now is done via some form of internet service, like Yahoo, EA, or ESPN, so that cheating is mitigated and scoring can be done in real time. However, this is what changes how people watch the actual American Football games. I fall into the same camp that many of the ESPN.com Page 2 columnist also reside, stating that the Fantasy Football is EVIL.

If I am a NY Jets fan, and during the real world week the Jets are playing the New England Patriots. However, Tom Brady is the quarterback for my fantasy team. This brings the dilemma that do I want to see the team that I normally cheer for completely obliterate their division rivals, or do I want to see the person on my fantasy team have a great game and score lots of points so I can beat my friend?

This little dilemma is what makes those that play fantasy football BAD FANS! Its plain and simple, if there’s any reason you would want to see any damage done to “your” real-world team, you are a bad fan. Period.