Well, this was a fun weekend.
Every month or so, my friends Chris, George, and I get together for a Game Night. About the only common theme in our Game Nights is that we don’t play video games; we stick to board games or card games. It’s usually pretty fun, and we spend from 5-6 PM to 1 AM or so playing different games, only stopping for a dinner out.
This time, it was my turn to host, and I decided to do something different this time around. Instead of going out for dinner, I figured I would grill hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. Not only would it likely taste better, it would cost less than going out. As it happened, it turned out to work extremely well, as the burgers and dogs ended up being cooked more or less perfectly and were delicious (if I do say so myself). It also allowed for more flexibility, as Chris’s girlfriend Brandy arrived an hour or so after we had eaten, and was hungry. Instead of having to pick up food on the way in, I fired the grill back up and made her a burger. :-) For dessert, we had already bought Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream and Smuckers magic shell topping. Jennifer made Ghirardelli triple chocolate brownies, and we ended up with delicious brownie a la modes. :-) All in all, dinner was a resounding success.
As far as the games went, Chris, George, and I finished up a Dungeons & Dragons campaign we started during the last Game Night. It was a campaign called “Mines of Madness”, and was a play test campaign for the next version of D&D written by the author of the webcomic PvP, Scott Kurtz. Unlike the previous session, which ended up being very combat-heavy, this session required a lot of problem-solving. More than once George (our DM) despaired that we wouldn’t figure out the puzzles, but Chris would eventually say something that would provide the clue I needed to solve the puzzle. Eventually, we triumphed, and got our hands on the object of the campaign’s quest: the Forever Stone. We enjoyed it enough where George is now putting together a follow-up campaign.
After we finished the D&D campaign, Brandy arrived. I usually feel bad for Brandy during our Game Nights, as we usually don’t play games she wants to play. While Jennifer sat in the living room while we played D&D and read Ender’s Game, I wanted both women to play with us and not feel left out. Fortunately, I had planned for this, and had picked up a copy of Cards Against Humanity earlier in the week. I don’t think I need to describe the game, as popular as it is. We had an absolute blast playing, spending most of the game laughing our asses off. We resolved to pick up at least one expansion pack for the next Game Night. :-)
Depending on how long it takes for George to create the follow-up campaign, we may end up playing a board game at the next Game Night. Chances are it’ll be either Talisman or Arkham Horror, the latter of which we haven’t played as a full group yet. In any event, the night was a resounding success (probably the most successful one yet), and I’m looking forward to the next one. :-)