20.05

Jonathan here: Finishing up my 24 hours with some more computer games.  Tackled European Assault, a plastic army man miniatures game, and now playing some Star Wars Empire at War to close out the game-a-thon.

Thank you to everyone who has donated, followed the happenings here, and who has supported both Ben and myself.

The next episode of both Wargaming Recon and Geeks Explicitly will discuss the game-a-thon.  It is, regretfully, the reason why no new Geeks Explicitly episode was released last week.  I hope you will accept my apologies for that.

19.51

I can’t tell if this is a lot or not, but here are all the physical board games we’ve played for our 24 hour game-athon. I did a ton of games on the iPad and one on the laptop, and Jonathan did a bunch on his laptop/computer as well.

18.11

Jonathan here: Having a delicious vegetarian dinner.  Grilled American cheese, red onion, and heirloom tomato panini accompanied with heirloom tomato quarters lightly drizzled with Wegmans Fat Free Roasted Red Pepper dressing and seasoned with a dash of salt and pepper.  A fruity Newport Storm Blueberry beer will wash it down, followed by some Cape Cod low fat potato chips.  Then, MORE GAMING!

17.48

Jonathan here: Hearing my stomach rumble must mean it is time for dinner.  What to play while I eat?  NHL ’12 of course.  Then I can play some more Where’s the Water? and Angry Birds on the iPad before digging into plastic army men.

Consequently, Ben’s 24 hours has finished but I have a bit more to go.

16.25

Jonathan here: All my crops in Farmville 2 are slowly growing.  The goal is to get lots of coins so I can expand into the rabbit section of the farm.  While I wait, about an hour or so, for crops to grow I am switching over to Plague Inc. on the iPad.  If you like the following games, you’ll like Plague Inc.:

• Pandemic (board game)
• Pandemic (flash game)
• Pandemic 2 (flash game)
• Pandemic’s spin-offs (flash game)
• The movie Outbreak or Contagion

The game puts you in the shoes of a disease trying to exterminate mankind.  I never knew exterminating the human race could be so fun.

While I game I am listening to an iTunes playlist entitled Mad World 1.  All of the songs are tracks that iTunes thinks are similar to the rendition of Mad World performed by Michael Andrews, as heard in the film Donnie Darko.  Should you be interested, they are:

1. Mad World – Michael Andrews
2. No One Knows – Queens of the Stone Age
3. The Freshmen – The Verve Pipe
4. The Hand That Feeds – Nine Inch Nails
5. Heart-Shaped Box – Nirvana
6. If You Could Only See – Tonic
7. Doesn’t Remind Me – Audioslave
8. Buddy Holly – Weezer
9. One Headlight – The Wallflowers
10. We’re Going to be Friends – The White Stripes (this is from the Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack, but Jack Johnson did a rendition for Curious George)
11. The Saints Are Coming – U2 & Green Day
12. Mad World – Tears for Fears (the 80s artists that made the song famous)
13. Bullet With Butterfly Wings – Smashing Pumpkins
14. Hash Pipe – Weezer
15. Everything You Want – Vertical Horizon
16. Working Class Hero – Green Day (made famous by John Lennon)
17. Like a Stone – Audioslave
18. Anna Molly – Incubus
19. Joker and the Thief – Wolfmother

16.10

Jonathan here: After some much needed rest, I awoke and consumed some delicious breakfast.  Farmville 2 and NHL ’12 on the Xbox beckoned me.

With the NHL on lockout for the forseeable future, playing hockey video games (and going to Providence Bruins games) are how I must sate my desire for ice hockey.  NHL ’12 allows you to play the Winter Classic.  Two teams play outside on an ice rink.  The physics of the game change and a lot of fun can be had.  This is my favorite mode in NHL ’12.

I had to take another break for some house hunting.  Then it was back in the action with more Farmville 2 and Where’s the Water? for the iPad.

02.02

Right folks, if anyone’s still tuning in. :) Grabbing my iPad and heading upstairs. I’ll play until my eyes get glued shut, and then finish up the rest later today.

Have a great one, and thanks for tuning in!

01.53

Yeah, Elder Sign is a lot harder when you’re getting tired and mess up. There’s no undo button in that game, and Cthulhu’s already ripped our mortal world to shreds twice.  On to something a little less ‘elder god’.

01.36

Here’s what’s been played so far! Roughly 19 hours of gaming. Not to shabby! Several of the quicker games, like Bang or Monopoly Deal were played two, three or four times.

1. Ascension (iPad) x5
2. Ticket to Ride (iPad) x2
3. Nightfall (iPad) x3
4. My Alphabet Card game x2
5. Hungry Hungry Hippos
6. My Singing Monsters (iPad)
7. Masters of Orion 2 (PC)
8. Mi Gato se Incendia (My Cat is on Fire!) x2
9. Ascension (ipad) x3
10. Disney Sorry
11. Carcassonne (android)
12. Quarriors
13. Upgrade Wars
14. Bang! x4
15. Talisman
16. Family Business x3
17. Monopoly Deal x3
18. Zombie Dice x3
19. Thunderstone Gateway (iPad)
20. Caylus (iPad)
21. Elder Sign (iPad)
22. Masters of Orion 2 (saved game from #7)

01.24

Just played a few rounds of Zombie Dice with my wife, and then she went to bed. I’m now out of human partners, surrounded by cats and about to fire up the old iPad and play some virtual board games. Probably Thunderstone Gateway, Elder Sign and Caylus, followed by some Masters of Orion 2 on the laptop.

I expect I’ll retire around 4am this morning, as I have a family obligation during the late morning, and then I’ll finish up my last 3-4 hours this evening!

01.24

Jonathan here: Playing Win the White House and then crashing for some sleep before finishing things off tomorrow.

01.16

Jonathan here: Budget Hero is a great, free, game that allows you to sit at the helm of the US federal budget.  You get to pick which changes to make to expenses and revenue.  The game starts by requiring you to pick 1-3 badges.  Each badge represents a goal.  WIll you try to emulate the President’s or Mitt Romney’s plans?  Maybe you want to make the government more efficient or increase social programs.  It is up to you.

01.07

Played a few games of Monopoly Deal!

01.00

Jonathan here: I left Ben’s house, got home, and booted up Farmville 2.  This is an improvement over the original Farmville.  Gearing up for some online political games via Games for Change.

00.36

Playing Monopoly Deal now – the card game. First time, just starting to get the hang of it!

00.06

Family business is concluded. I died. a lot.

23.27

Now playing: Family Business! Mobsters go to war.

23.10

And Talisman is done. Game called on account of Jonathan dying thanks to a bum follower. We didn’t want him spectating for an hour while the game played out.

NEXT!

22.48

I am ogre. Hear me roar.

22.39

Jonathan here: Talisman is a fun game.  Very interesting.  Lots of detail.  Nicely sculpted models.  Beautiful artwork on the board and cards.  BUT, it takes longer to play than Monopoly.  Maybe there’s a short form?

22.18

As usual, my wife is kicking ass at Talisman. If there were a professional Talisman league, I could probably retire from my day job.

22.00

Jonathan here: Chips Ahoy, the delicious bane of my existence.  I can’t stop at one.

21.51

Jonathan here: This stupid Strength 3 Farmer keeps kicking my butt.  You’d think my Craft: 4 added to my Strength: 2, courtesy of my Warhorse, would allow me to stampede a stupid illiterate farmer.  Guess not.

21.47

Jonathan here.  My first, weak, Magus may have died a quick death after becoming a Toad.  My second character is a mighty Dread Knight complete with Warhorse, which allows me to add my craft (magic) to my physical combat abilities.

Not only am I an Evil character, but events in the realm of Talisman have forced me to become even more evil.  Now I am really, really evil.

I am quickly learning that Ben’s wife manages to do well at a surprising speed.  Note to self, she mustn’t win.

21.46

2nd death of the night with Talisman. Oy, they’re falling fast!

21.19

First death of the night!

20.53

Jonathan J. is already down 3 lives in Talisman. D’oh!

20.22

Jonathan here again.  Played my first game of Ascension and it is AWESOME!  I tied for first place with 50pts.  Thought I was losing most of the game because I acquired heroes and didn’t spend much time attacking monsters.

The game has good production values and I really liked the artwork.

Up next is my first game of Talisman.

20.22

Ascension done! Now on to the mother of all long games. No, not monopoly. No, not risk.  TALISMAN.

18.43

Dinner break is over! Going back to Bang! and then… Ascension!!

18.28

Jonathan again.  You can help us to help kids in need.  We are gaming for 24 hours to raise funds for Boston Children’s Hospital as part of the EventLife 24 hour game-a-thon.  Between Ben and myself we have raised 9.  Can you help us reach ,000?

The gaming continues, after dinner, with Ascension and many other fun board games.  But, we need YOUR help.  Please consider making a donation if you can.

You can donate securely HERE.

I also want to give a big thank you to Wargaming Recon listener Tidal for making it possible for us to play a squad level WWII plastic army man game.

18.07

Almost time for dinner.  Ben and his amazing wife have prepared an aromatic feast.  Pulled pork and pasta with red sauce and sausage.

Today we’ve had our fill of snack food.  Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips, Tortilla chips and salsa, crackers and cheese whiz to get the party going.

17.59

Poor Scott.  Little did he know when he was preparing for today that he’d have to stop at a sporting good store to pick up an athletic cup.

17.52

BANG! MANCATO! BANG! MANCATO! BANG! MANCATO!

Yep, they’re really good at ducking.

DUELLO!  BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

17.49

Who knew that BANG!ing other gamers could be so much fun.  Until you’re on the receiving end.  Thank God for MANCATO!  Or, BARILE.  Being the RINNEGATO is tough.  So glad there’s a BIRRA to replenish our strength.

Game one ended with the Outlaws, including your’s truly, winning.

Second game I’m a Rinnegato and lost.  You wouldn’t believe how much BANG!ing is happening and with children present.  YIKES!

17.03

Whelp… I’m out. Got banged by Scott, fatally.

17.00

Playing Bang! for the first time!

Everyone’s Bang!ing my wife. But then, they all missed. But my best friend from childhood banged me twice.

Mancato!

16.22

Just finished my first game of Upgrade Wars.  Very interesting game mechanic, lots of fun to play, and happened to lose.  There’s a reason Ben wins over 75% of the games he plays.  He’s spent more than 20 hours playtesting this enjoyable card game.

It can’t hurt that he’s also the designer.

Taking a break to eat more chips and do a bit of live blogging.

Don’t forget that it is NOT too late to donate to Extra Life 24 hour Game-a-thon with funds going to Boston Children’s Hospital.  Donate securely HERE.  So far 159% of my goal has met because of the generous donations of people like you.

16.20

Updating the list of stuff we’ve played so far!

1. Masters of Orion 2
2. Mi Gato se Incendia (My Cat is on Fire!)
3. Ascension (ipad)
4. Disney Sorry
5. Carcassonne (android)
6. Quarriors
7. Upgrade Wars
8. BANG!

16.03

Ben only says it is going well because he is kicking Scott and my collective asses.  Don’t listen to him, he is a troll after all, in the corner or otherwise.

15.57

Playing Upgrade Wars now. 10th or 11th game with this prototype. Going well!

14.14

Played my first game of Quarriors.  Started strong and then got beat by a 6 year old girl.  That’s the story of my life. Great game though.  Lots of fun.  I think I want a copy.

We’re play testing Ben’s new game Upgrade Wars.  One of his daughters insulted the game.  It was hilarious.  In my best mockingly sarcastic voice “I hear it is the best game ever invented.”
Managed to bring in half a dozen bags of potato and tortilla chips in a single go PLUS all of the games and equipment I brought with me.  ”Borrowed” my wife’s Macbook, brought along my Blue Snowball Mic and other recording equipment.

This is a blast and all for a good cause.  So far I’ve raised 9 dollars, that’s 159% of my goal!  Thank you everyone!

14.08

Also, Jonathan J. is in the house!

14.07

Whelp. 3 adults just lost to a 6 year old at Quarriors.

13.19

Scott is in the house! Starting up with Quarriors soon.

13.04

My wife and I are getting our asses handed to us in Disney Sorry. My six year old is killing at this game.

12.41

Played a little Carcassonne on my phone, and now gearing up to play Disney Sorry. After that we may transition to some more ‘adult’ games as more adults start showing up. :)

11.35

Just played a few games of Mi Gato Se Incendia! (My Cat is on Fire!)

11.09

About to play Mi Gato Se Incindia!

10.59

Just got another donation!

10.30

Taking a break from table top games to play Masters of Orion 2.

10.25

Unboxed Alf’s Fantastiqa! It looks amazing. I’m continually impressed with Alf’s games – starting with the quality of the pieces. Great card stock, awesome, chunky cardboard bits, wooden meeples of impressive size… looks great!

09.51

Got a little Hippo goin’ on.

09.21

Just got another 0 donation!

09.15

Kids are back from their grandparent sleepover! Time to start some real games.

09.09

Games played so far:

1. Ascension (iPad)
2. Ticket to Ride (iPad)
3. Nightfall (iPad)

09.05

My first win of the day!

08.38

Dammit! So close.

08.31

A little later on today, I’ll be playing Alf Seegert’s Fantastiqa! The review copy arrived yesterday with perfect timing. I was hoping to get a play in for Extra Life.

08.13

Ascension on the Ipad!

08.10

iPad time! Since I’m all alone (not counting the cats) at the moment and i’m not expecting anyone for another 45 minutes or so, it’s Ascension and Ticket to Ride on the iPad.

08.00

Wha? OK! ok, I’m awake! Sheesh.

After a slightly more rocky night than I would have liked (thank you so much, intermittenent thunderstorms) I’m awake! Starting my day off right with a decent breakfast.

From here, it’ll be about 45 minutes on the ipad! I’ll be keeping a complete list of what I’m playing and posting updates and pictures throughout the day.