News that I missed, courtesy of The Babylon Bee:
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Sources close to local man Bradley Mudd say that the 28-year-old is currently torn between learning a new board game and getting his PhD in quantum physics.
Mudd began the internal debate Tuesday, as he began skimming through the rules of Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game in preparation for an upcoming game night.
According to Mudd, the question is a real toss-up because both options will involve roughly the same amount of work and will result in the same amount of financial gain.
“Well, I could do the important work of learning physics and unlock the mysteries of the universe,” Mudd mused to his mother, contemplating the 32-page rulebook on his kitchen table. “Or I could just devote the time to becoming an expert on the Sleeper Agent Phase. Ugh. I’m just not sure what to do. Chicks do really dig guys who can rattle off all six steps to resolving a Skill Check and can wax poetic on the intricacies of the Quorum Cards.”
“It’s just an impossible choice.”
Mudd also had to think about which game rule system he should emphasize in his studies, whether becoming an expert at games like Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread, Arcs, and Dune: War for Arrakis, or seeking out more complex academic endeavors like learning the rules to Combat Commander: Europe.
Go here to read the rest. A 32 page rule book Bee?  Really? The manuals of a game that I recently play tested, Flashpoint Campaigns Cold War, and which has just been released, number 13, and combined have well over 500 pages of text. These are supplemented by many, many videos going into the finer points of the rules in actual play. Obsession is such a weak term to those of us deep in the toils of truly complicated simulations. Oh, and the game I playtested has a professional edition sold to militaries, where the players are at least paid for their hours of mental toil. Is it worth it? Of course. The games provide many hours of “enjoyment” at the end of which you suddenly realize that the AI is playing poorly because it cannot handle all of the rules.
Skip-Bo anyone?🙈
Pretty sure the top pic is one of Dave Griffey’s brood.
I enjoyed reactor physics in Naval Nuclear Power School, Donald, as many people enjoy very complicated board games. I say whatever trips your trigger. Nothing poisonous and everything mentally beneficial in both.
PS, some of the smartest reactor operators in school made the very best board gamers in the barracks. 😉