Having created almost 3,000 posts (!) in the last decade, there’s probably way more content here that I’ve forgotten than I’ve remembered. Though I highly recommend going back to the very beginning and reading everything in chronological order, you could also use this handy list of a few of my favourites!
In high school, an essay I wrote changed my life. It was a four-page piece reflecting on my childhood and how much I’d grown and matured since. It was my first time writing for reasons beyond completing an assignment. Instead, it was an opportunity to dig deep into my soul and speak on my life in a way that I hadn’t before. A lot of emotion poured out of my heart and into that piece, as those thoughts and feelings were just bottled up this whole time. Doesn’t hurt that I got a perfect score on the assignment, but it only served as further validation that pouring my heart out in that manner was ultimately a good thing for me.
From that point forward, that emotional slant became the approach to everything I wrote. Besides being an effective vehicle for getting my thoughts and feelings across, I selfishly liked writing this way to clear my mind and soul of whatever was percolating in my brain. It’s therapeutic in a way.
In Third Person was no exception. Treating this as if it were my personal online journal about video games, I tried to write everything with that same passion and thoughtfulness, regardless of the content type or subject matter. It’s been an interesting experience trying to make this voice of mine work with this subject.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, tens of thousands converged on the Metro Toronto Convention centre for Fan Expo Canada. This my 10th show and the event continues to be a highlight in my pop culture calendar.
If you’ve been following along on my Instagram or Twitter, you’ve probably seen most of what I’m posting here. But I will try and add some commentary to some of the cool things I saw at this year’s show!
I’m not a Star Trek fan. While I enjoyed the first two Chris Pine movies, the franchise’s particular flavour of sci-fi wasn’t my cup of tea. And yet around this time in 2010, I found myself dying of laughter as William Shatner went on a hilarious rant about his time working on the show. Even with no real background on his work or his life, I was moved by the sheer spectacle of this famous guy with a microphone on stage. I still haven’t really delved into the world of Star Trek, but I’ll never forget that one night at Fan Expo Canada.
Up until my wife and I visited our first convention with that William Shatner panel among many other attractions, video games, board games, and other nerdy pursuits (TM) have mostly been a pastime I’d enjoy alone or with a small group of friends. By attending my first convention, it opened the door to celebrate our shared fandoms with a community. My life hasn’t been the same since.
What is your flavour of summer?
Some like fresh fruits, as it is that time of the year when they’re harvested. Ice cream? While it’s a year-round phenomenon in my house, it’s definitely best known as a summertime treat. For my fellow Canadians, there’s nothing more refreshing and patriotic as a Tim Horton’s Iced Capp.
For me, nothing says summer quite like a slushie, slurpee, icee, or whatever name you ascribe to that flavoured ice beverage.
Between my adolescence and some point in my late 20s, I held a very negative perception of board games. Scarred by the old mainstays that relied heavily on randomness and player elimination, I wrote them off as a kids activity. Then one fateful night, Steff tricked me into joining her friends for a game of Dominion and my life was changed forever. Â For years after that, board games consumed almost all of my hobby time to the point where board game content became the majority of my output for this site.
Though I’m somewhere across the pond, the show must go on!
Game night! Tune in for a special marathon featuring every episode of Board Game Talk tonight at 7pm EST!
Never miss a stream by following my channel and turning your notifications on! You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram for stream updates and other cool stuff posted daily!
Buy the Nintendo Switch from Amazon.com
[Purchasing through this Amazon affiliate link gives me a small commission without adding any extra cost or effort to you. Thanks for your support!]
The sub-genre of tabletop games where you stack things until they fall over goes deeper than Jenga. I’m not throwing any shade at the classic, but it’s so ubiquitous that I feel like many don’t know anything else beyond it. For example, Animal Upon Animal is a fantastic alternative, where players stack animal-shaped blocks on top of each other. Another game that’s attempting to topple the Jenga empire is Verti-Go. Does it have what it takes to carve some time out of your schedule to give it a chance?
The last thing I need to aid in my crippling addiction of buying every DropMix expansion in sight is more DropMix cards. Yet here we are. Due to the additive nature of the game, I had to make a wish list, right?
I went through the not-so-scientific process of scrolling through my Spotify for the first five songs that I thought would be great DropMix songs. Keep in mind that while I want to hear songs I genuinely like, I’m also asking for songs that I think would work within the game’s framework of breaking songs down to their individual instruments and matching those with instruments from other songs. Here’s list one of probably many to come!
During my childhood, the original Fireball Island board game made quite the impression on me. Unlike many games of its time, this one was played on a 3D board, complete with pathways, hills, rickety bridges, and an ominous fireball-shooting mountain at the top. You could steal treasure from other players by passing them on the board. Of course, there was also the fireballs. Strategically positioned on the map, you could send one crashing into your rivals, knocking them down while causing them to drop their treasure. This level of adventure and treachery was beyond cool at the time.
Though the original has been long out of print, the game returns as a modern remaster from Restoration Games. Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar certainly looks the part when you set it all up, but does it maintain the essence of the original while making the game play well for modern times?
In Third Person 