Dallas Petersen

I’ll admit it—I’m a boardgame geek. According to those closest to me, I have borderline obsessive tendencies, but, all things considered, I suppose if I’m going to be into something, it might as well be something that teaches strategic thinking, encourages cooperation, and provides enjoyable social interaction like boardgaming does.

In 2008 I played over 300 games. You might wonder, “Where does someone find the time for that?” Well, most holidays are dominated by hours of gaming—this past Christmas and New Year’s found me in 30+ gaming sessions. Add in a few pick-up games on the weekend, the occasional weeknight, and the Gathering of Strangers game convention and you’ll have the rest of my plays for the year.

Here are the twenty boardgames I played the most this year. Some are my personal favorite games, some are my family’s favs—regardless, they are the ones that got the most play.

1. Dominion (62 plays)
   Dominion is one of the most hyped games of 2008. I’m usually on the skeptical side of hyped stuff (whether music, movie, or games), but this game lives up to it. I learned this game in person from the publisher/owner of Rio Grande Games, Jay Tummelson, at this year’s “Gathering of Strangers” in SLC. Since playing that black and white, photo-copied prototype, I was anxiously waiting for its release. When it finally came in November, I snatched it up, then held onto it (unopened) until Christmas. In the meantime, I played BrettSpielWelt’s excellent online version. I logged probably 40-50 of my plays online until Christmas, at which time the real game was in steady rotation with my son, nephews, and mom. I’ll leave a more in-depth review to some future post, but suffice it to say that this is a great game. Go get it.
2. R-Eco (19 plays)
   This one caught my son Nate’s attention one day we were at Game Night Games in SLC. The illustrations on the box and the name weren’t great, and I hadn’t heard of it, but it was cheap and Nate was interested, so we picked it up. Score one for serendipity—this game is a hit with me and my family. I can actually get my wife to play this one. My parents liked it so much I bought a copy for them. The price is right and the game play is simple, fast, and fun—definitely recommended. I’m not surprised to see it in the top twenty of my plays for this year.
3. Agricola (12 plays)
   This is my favorite game. It’s another game that received a ton of hype during the 2007 Spiel gaming convention in Essen, Germany. Nate and I play this once a month. It has a ton of components, so setup time can be a bit lengthy, especially compared to Dominion or other card games. More details on this game will have to wait for another day.
4. Hive (11 plays)
   Another one of my favorites. This game is simple enough to learn that my five-year-old Abbey joined has played. Imagine chess without a board, and you’d be getting pretty close to what Hive is like.
5. Bacchus’ Banquet (10 plays)
   Light, fast bluffing game. Depending upon the character you are, your objective is either: A. Kill Caligula (by dagger or making him overeat); B. Collect the cards your character needs; or, C. Kill three other players (if you’re Caligula).
6. Cloud 9 (9 plays)
   This family “press your luck” game is all about trying to decide when you exit the balloon—stay too long and roll the wrong dice/have the wrong cards, you’ll crash with the balloon and get nothing. Leave at the right time, and you can slowly build up an insurmountable lead towards victory. This game was inexpensive, the components are simple and effective, and the kids like it. Definitely a great family game.
7. Hoity Toity (9 plays)
   Germans are world-renowned game designers and players. This game won the “German Game of the Year” (Spiel des Jahres) a decade or so ago—from the games I’ve played, you can’t go wrong buying any game that has won the coveted game design award. This game definitely proves that true. I’m actually surprised this only got nine plays this year—I expect to play this short, tense bluffing/bidding game more next year.
8. Niagara (9 plays)
   Another Spiel des Jahres winner and family favorite. The components are so fun that my seven-year-old daughter Jasmine often has this out, playing it by herself. At my home, if you can find a game that both the adults and kids enjoy playing, then it will get played a lot. Niagara is such a game.
9. Boomtown (8 plays)
   This bidding/bluffing game is about having the most mines and money at the end of the game. It’s quick, has great bidding tension, and good quality cards. Other than having some illustrations that needed some well-placed stickers, this game is quite good.
10. Felix: The Cat in the Sack (7 plays)
    I’m sensing a trend here—seems most of the games that get played a lot using bidding/bluffing and are fast. Felix is another such game. I’d take Boomtown or For Sale (not on this list) over Felix, but it is a good game nevertheless.
11. Jambo (7 plays)
    Jambo is one of several two-player games orginally published by Kosmos. Two-player games get a lot of play in my home because it’s rare that I can get the three or more players needed for other games. Of the two-player games, I like this game best—it’s wide variety of cards make the game different every time. It’s a great value and fun to play.
12. Kill Doctor Lucky (7 plays)
    Consider this a prequel to Clue—instead of trying to solve the murder, you’re trying to commit it. With everyone else trying to do the same thing, it can get tricky to accomplish your goal. This game is available in a free, black-and-white, printable format on the web, but I’d just pay the $20 to get this version. It’s worth it.
13. Odin’s Ravens (7 plays)
    Another Kosmos two-player game. Nate and I have had a good time playing this quick-paced game. The objective of the game is really simple, but the opportunities to thwart your opponent make it quite challenging.
14. RattleSnake (7 plays)
    Another favorite of my kids. The objective of this game is to place rattlesnake eggs on an adult snake without touching or knocking off previously-laid eggs. Sounds simple, right? Wrong—these “eggs” are the most powerful magnets I’ve ever seen. Placing the eggs is a fun challenge. This game gets used like Niagara—Abbey and Jasmine like to pull it out and just play with the magnets when they can’t get enough people to play it for real.
15. Bohnanza (6 plays)
    If boardgames were taught in school, this would be in the 101 class. I’m sure it wasn’t the first, but Bohnanza is certainly the most popular of the trading/set-collection games, and has been very influential for other game designers. This is a must-have for any collection.
16. Jamaica (6 plays)
    Fundamentally, this is simply a more advanced version of Candyland. There is nothing new about the game play and mechanics—it’s a standard race game. That said, the production-values—from the illustrations to the components to, even, the box itself—are the pinnacle of the games I own. It’s those virtues that make this game a fun family game.
17. To Court the King (6 plays)
    This is Yahtzee, just with the ability to change/influence your dice rolls with cards you acquire through the course of the game. Diana is the reigning queen of To Court the King.
18. Treasures and Traps (6 plays)
    This is Nate’s game, bought and paid for by him. The illustrations and box don’t look like something I would buy, but, fortunately, my son has a knack for gravitating towards really good games. This game plays somewhat like Jambo, but accommodates more players. I think the fantasy theme is what my son found interesting. Like Jambo, the wide variety of cards maximizes replay-ability.
19. The aMAZEing Labyrinth (5 plays)
    Another classic. This game is very simple, but engaging enough for adults. My daughter Abbey loves to play it, and pulls it out often.
20. Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game (5 plays)
    I won my copy of this game at A Gathering of Strangers this year. It’s a good two-player/two-team game. The game play is dominated by lucky card draws, but it’s fun nevertheless. Nate likes this one quite a bit.

There you have it—my top twenty most-played games for 2008. I’ll dig deeper into a few of the games listed above in future posts, but until then, try a few out. (If you’re in the Utah County or Salt Lake County areas, a great resource for trying-before-buying is Boardgame Revolution. You can rent games there for a week or two, then they’ll credit the cost of the rental towards the purchase of any game.)

Santa did all right this year:

Nate: Legos were the theme this year. Nate and I put together his “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Castle” lego set after all the presents were opened. It was quite the intricate, time-consuming, and fun project.

Sami: She got her wish—a Metallic Rose Nintendo DS and a few games. The games were a virtual babysitting and teaching game. Seems like they are both kinda like have a tamagotchi in the form of a DS game. She also enjoyed using the DS “Picto-chat” with Nate (basically IM for DS users—you can also draw pictures).

Jasmine: Dogs, dogs, dogs. She really wants a dog, but, with a baby sister/brother on the way, a wish for a dog is a bit in vain. She did get a few dog-related gifts (a Wii dog game and big dog book), but no real dog. Forecast is months/years of hearing about a Shih Tzu until she finally gets one. Maybe Diana and I will have to reconsider the whole “no dog” thing…

Abbey: Well, hate to say it, but Abbey was introduced to a bit of disappointment with Christmas gifts—she didn’t get want she wanted. She g0t this. Oh, well. She dealt with it okay, all things considered. I told her it was the American Girls’ “Bitty Twins” older sister. She has had fun with her Dora the Explorer TV Adventure Globe.

The Family: We got a bunch of boardgames for Christmas, too—Cash-a-Catch, Dominion, Nefertiti, and Taluva. Of the four, Dominion is destined to be our most-played game of all. It is a fairly quick game and easy-to-learn—a great family game.

2008 wasn’t packed with great albums, but there were a few that I really liked. Here they are (other than the first three, in no particular order):

1. Everything That Happens Will Happen Today by David Byrne and Brian Eno.
   By far, this album has gotten the most listens by me this year. Love it. Best of David Byrne since Talking Heads. I’m looking forward to more collaborations with Brian Eno—hope they come.
2. Furr by Blitzen Trapper.
   This was a late entry—it wasn’t until I saw it on All Songs Considered’s “Best of 2008” that I listened to them. Loving the retro ’70s sound of this band.
3. Viva La Vida by Coldplay.
   I’ve never been a huge Coldplay fan, but this album was blasting in my car stereo a lot this year.
4. Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes.
   Haunting folk music. Can’t say that I’m in the mood for this all the time, but when I want some good folk harmonies, I can’t go wrong by the Foxes.
5. Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket.
   About five great tracks on this one. Not nearly as good as “Z”, but My Morning Jacket is always interesting to listen to. I think the creative process for this album was akin to eating ginger at your local sushi-ya—I look for MMJ’s next album to be a bit of a “return to form.” But, who knows? I guess that is what makes them so interesting…
6. For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver.
   I’ll admit it—I’m giving into the crowd on this one (seems like it is on every “Best of” list), but it is a good listen. Not in steady rotation by me, but solid.
7. Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend.
   I tend to hate stuff that gets too hyped. This band was definitely hyped, but, by and large, lived up to it. I still prefer my African sounds a la Paul Simon’s Graceland…
   
8. The Symphonies: Dreams Memories and Parties by Emily Wells.
   I saw her, along with a handful of other women singer-songwriters, at a concert in SLC this year. She was a one-woman tour-de-force. I like her blending of hip-hop and classical music.
   

I’m laying on my basement couch as I type on my laptop. My two youngest girls, Jasmine and Abbey, are playing with their beloved Fisher Price family toys (I don’t know the exact name of the toys). They’re completely unaware of my observing/studying them. No, I’m not Diane Fossey studying gorillas in the midst of Africa, but watching my kids when they are unaware of my watching them is one of my favorite pastimes.

My wife Diana was commenting the other day that the Fisher Price family toys were the best “investments.”She added, “They play with them more than any other toys.” First of all, the use of the word “investment” by my wife to describe toys. It’s not exactly what I would have used to describe buying toys, but it is a beautiful–and revealing–choice of words. For my wife, toys are not the clutter-the-floors-thus-creating-pick-up-time-messes type of things that they are to me. For her, toys are the things that keep our kids occupied and enjoying life. Diana sees them as investments in our kids. It really is a fundamental difference between my wife and I. (Where would I be without her stabilizing influence?)

I did some volunteer work cleaning toys at a family and child services house a few years ago. As I was wiping every toy down with a Clorox solution, an employee came by and talked about the importance of the toys. She said that if you wanted to learn about a kid, watch them when they play. Our kids play “family” more than anything else. I was just watching Jasmine and Abbey act out spring break with their toys. As a family, we were planning on going to Las Vegas to visit with Diana’s family, but we had to cancel those plans because of some medical complications that arose for Diana (oblique, yes, but I don’t want to elaborate). Anyway, the kids are a bit disappointed with that decision. Their playtime dialogue with their toys underscores that. When I slow down and I take the time to watch my kids play, I learn a lot. More than that, I always have this swell of parental satisfaction and joy for what I have in life. I love my kids and family. God help me to keep my priorities straight when my job pressures me to do other things…

Sometimes I am very envious of my wife and the things she gets to do. Yesterday I worked at home during the AM. This gave me the chance to walk Jasmine to the bus stop at noon. As I turned to leave, Jasmine pulled me down, gave me a kiss and said “Bye Dad.” Then she repeated that again really loud several more times. I think she wanted the other kids at the bus stop to know I was her dad. Tears start to well in my eyes right now when I think of it. What an honor to be a father.

Okame hachimoku. My favorite Japanese proverb. One translation is “The bystander sees more than the player.” I first learned of it during my two years living on the island of Hokkaido in Japan as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It’s stuck with me ever since.

During my undergraduate English studies at BYU, this simple proverb’s underlying philosophy became manifest as literary critical theories. In genres ranging from Native American books to African-American studies to modern British literature, my professors encouraged me and my classmates to seek understanding and meaning using different critical theories; we were to peer through the so-called “lens” of a particular critical theory, and write about what we saw. Certainly, there are limitations to this endeavor—spending the proverbial moment in “someone else’s shoes” doesn’t make us that person. Our vantage point, while temporarily that person’s, is still borrowed. But, rather than discourage us from trying, that understanding should temper what we see with a bit of humility (even after years of study and doctorate degrees and how much we think we understand a person or people).

Notwithstanding the inherent difficulties, I’ve found it to be challenging, humbling, and—ultimately—enlightening to at least try to shift my perspective.