Last week I mentioned how we bought some games while on vacation in Boston. Along with Zombie Dice, we purchased "Cthulu Dice". It is another simple dice game (die game actually - is that a pun?). In this game, each player picks a target player and tries to curse him in an attempt to steal their sanity. Sanity is measured with little glass stones. When only one person has any sanity left, he is the winner. If everyone runs out of sanity, Cthulu wins.
We have played this game with different groups of friends. Learning curve is short - maybe three minutes to learn. Like Zombie Dice, this game does not have the depth to be the sole focus of a game night. Unlike Zombie Dice, Cthulu Dice has the "screw your neighbor" quality that many find fun - Kinda like "Lunch Money" - a long time favorite that I should write about later.
I just finished watching season four of Supernatural. Dylan W. and I started watching Supernatural about halfway through season one. Santa bought me season 3 on DVD. I never managed to have the time to catch episodes of season four. I had some Amazon reward dollars to spend, so I purchased the fourth season through Amazon Video on Demand and have spent the past dozen or so evenings watching all the episodes.
I'm not very knowledgeable about the other internet video services. I see the commercials but haven't felt the need to try them. I've been very satisfied with Amazon's services. And I am also satisfied with the fourth season of Supernatural.
The season starts with Dean returning/escaping from Hell. Quickly, we are introduced to Angels, which is surprising. The first three seasons presented a world with no intervention from heaven and gave the impression that demons were unchallenged by anyone other than hunters. About half of the episodes deal directly with the season's over-all story arc. The rest of the episodes are diversions from that plot and provide some levity and novelty to the season.
Episode 5 - Monster Movie - is shot in black-and-white and is an offbeat tribute to the classic creatures of the night - Count Dracula, The Werewolf, and The Mummy. Episode 12 - Criss Angel is a Douche Bag - Title says it all.
My favorite new character is Castiel, an angel played by Misha Collins. The introduction of Angels to the scheme of things has really increased my interest. I've enjoyed movies like "The Prophecy", "Constantine", and "The Seventh Seal" that have angels and divine intervention involved. There is a lot of involvement, for good and ill, in this season.
And, did I mention Sam becomes a demon blood sucker (as opposed to a blood sucking demon?)?
While in Boston, Tony and I did some game shopping. Since we seem to be stuck in a Zombie mode, Steve Jackson's "Zombie Dice" seemed like a good pick. A little more complicated then "LRC" and more complicated than Yatzee, this novel game can be mastered in under a minute. We have played it on several different informal occasions. Zombie Dice does not have the depth to be a stand-alone game for a game night, but would be fun as a filler between games or for casual play while shooting the camel turd. No previous experience with undead required.
Great summer read. Wil Wheaton recommended "boneshaker" (probably on a tweet) and I found the book in a bookstore in Boston the same day. Karma. Had to purchase it. Was a quick read. Steam Punk and zombies - couldn't be to bad? Turned out to be good. Nothing high brow here and nothing earthshaking (pardon poor humor) or extremely novel. Just a good solid story about a young man trying to find out about the father he never knew and a mom trying to protect same child. Throw in a fictitious steam-punk version of Seattle, zombies, airships, and a diverse set of characters and you get some fun.
