Dallas Petersen

Most-Played Games, 2010

February 12, 2011 – 9:50 am

Here are my top twenty most-played games for 2010:

Title	Plays	Notes
Dominion	80	Some online plays included in this total. I have all the expansions, and it remains my favorite, most-played game four a couple of years in a row now. I’ve liked the game since Jay Tummelson, owner of Rio Grande Games, taught me the game at the 2008 SLC game con, Gathering of Strangers.
Neuroshima Hex!	41	iPhone app. Chess-like game. I’d suggest buying the iPhone version rather than the board game.
Long Shot	18	Fun family race game. Plays up to eight, and has been widely popular with the non-gamers in my extended family. Quite the luck fest, but fun.
Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age	18	Nice and quick CIV game. Can’t see spending the $25 for the real game, but enjoy my iPhone app and homebrew copy.
Poison	17	iPhone app. A Reiner Knizia-designed game that is a math-y, balanced set-collection type of game, a common trait of his games. Not necessarily bad, just sayin’…
Cribbage	14	Mix of iPhone and real plays. Love the new Copag cards I bought for Cribbage and other traditional card deck games.
Hive	13	Mix of iPhone and board game plays. It is a great, short, chess game. Worthy of anyone’s collection.
Ingenious	11	iPhone app. Ditto on my Knizia comments above. It is a good game, but gameplay feels same-y and just rethemed.
Knights of Charlemagne	10	iPhone app. Knizia again… why do I keep doing this? Games 5, 8, and 9 should just be one game.
5ive Straight	9	Picked up a mint condition, cards-still-shrink-wrapped copy from the American Fork DI. Considering it was made in 1970, it was pretty cool to find a great copy. I’d never heard of it before, but it had decent ratings on BGG. It is a precursor to “Sequence,” and a lot better.
Summoner Wars: Phoenix Elves vs Tundra Orcs	7	Good, fast, tactical war game. Really like it. My son likes this one, so it gets played.
Finca	7	Great family game. Simple, but strategic enough to keep it interesting. Great bits. My wife likes it, so it will stay in steady rotation and continue to get more plays. Was up for SDJ but was bested by Dominion—bad luck for them. It really could have won if Dominion hadn’t been in the mix.
Incan Gold	7	A classic that my kids like to play.
R-Eco	7	Great, relatively unheralded card game. Simple mechanics but well-executed. Definite recommend for any collection. It will appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike. Card quality sucks—like shuffling cardboard—so I’d love a new edition to come out with better quality cards.
Word on the Street	7	Fun word game.
Pandemic	6	Ground-breaking co-op game that gamers and non-gamers seem to enjoy.
Qwirkle Cubes	6	Way better than the original Qwirkle, and a favorite of my wife’s.
Small World	6	I have all the expansions for this one. It’s a lightweight Risk type game, but lots shorter and better theme. My son likes this one.
Carson City	5	An improvement of Caylus, IMO. I’d like more plays of it, but hard to get to the table in my house.
Dixit	5	A wonderfully, surprisingly good family game. Reminds me of Apples to Apples, but much more creative. SDJ winner for 2010, and well-deserving of the honor.

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Inspiration

“My Burdens Were Made Light”

July 30, 2010 – 3:43 pm

This is great.

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Inspiration

“My New Life”

May 4, 2010 – 12:06 am

I love this video.

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In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

November 26, 2009 – 9:23 am

I love Thanksgiving! Check out this video: “In the Spirit of Thanksgiving”

“What are you thankful for?” Hmmm… I’m especially thankful for:

Watching my wife love and care for our baby, Sawyer. It is a tired-to-the-bone-but-still-loving-him kinda thing. The love of a mother for a child is inspiring.
Coming home from work and having Abbey (my five-year-old) grab me by the head, grit her teeth, then vigorously rub her nose against mine. It is a rough Eskimo kiss, but, man, I look forward to it.
Playing boardgames with Nate (my eleven-year-old and oldest).
Hearing Jasmine (my eight-year-old) talk about the latest pet she wants. One day we were at the pet store. I swear Jasmine has never seen or thought about crabs before in her life (maybe that is an exaggeration), but she leaves the store convinced that a crab (named George) is what she needs. Two hours later in the van—”Crabs, all I can think about is crabs, Dad.” It makes me smile. Love it!
Seeing Sami (my nine-year-old daughter) care for and nurture her younger siblings. She is growing up so fast!
Reading with Abbey and seeing her get this big smile and flush of excitement when she understands a word for the first time. I love that enthusiasm and discovery.
Thinking of my son, Nate, this morning as I was lying in bed. The thought came to me to sit down with him and say, “You’re my son, and I must seem so much older than you. But when you get older, and that age difference doesn’t seem so great, I hope that we think of each other as friends. I would love that.”
Having the Spirit remind me, inspire me, and comfort me.
Baptizing Jasmine a few weeks ago. There was such a strong spirit.
Seeing the love of my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the actions of those around me.
Having a job that gives me abundant chances to be inspired and challenged.
Holding my baby boy, Sawyer. He is so CUTE. I can hardly stand it sometimes. I just love coming home to him. I love how he gets excited to see me—his smile and joy cannot be contained—his whole body literally jumps for joy.
Knowing that this is Diana’s and my last baby and relishing every minute of it.
Seeing my wife smile and hearing her laugh. Comfort, strength, joy, love—we’re going into our 15th year, and I can’t imagine life without her.
Having family home evening this week, being able to teach my kids about patriarchal blessings, nearly crying as I read the portion in it about my wife and kids, and knowing that I have a Heavenly Father that is watching over me.